NEWS

[towhom]

Building the Terrestrial Planets: Constrained Accretion in the Inner Solar System
arXiv
Sean N. Raymond¹, David P. O’Brien², Alessandro Morbidelli³, & Nathan A. Kaib^4
1 Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University
of Colorado, UCB 389, Boulder CO 80309-0389;
[e-mail]
² Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ
³ Observatoire de la Cˆote d’Azur, Boulevard de l’Observatoire, BP 4229, 06304 Nice Cedex 4, France.
⁴ Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
22 May 2009
arxiv.org/abs/0905.3750

Abstract
To date, no accretion model has succeeded in reproducing all observed constraints in the inner Solar System. These constraints include:

• the orbits, in particular the small eccentricities, and
  
• the masses of the terrestrial planets -- Mars' relatively small mass in particular has not been adequately reproduced in previous simulations
  
• the formation timescales of Earth and Mars, as interpreted from Hf/W isotopes
  
• the bulk structure of the asteroid belt, in particular the lack of an imprint of planetary embryo-sized objects
  
• Earth's relatively large water content, assuming that it was delivered in the form of water-rich primitive asteroidal material

Here we present results of 40 high-resolution (N=1000-2000) dynamical simulations of late-stage planetary accretion with the goal of reproducing these constraints, although neglecting the planet Mercury. We assume that Jupiter and Saturn are fully-formed at the start of each simulation, and test orbital configurations that are both consistent with and contrary to the "Nice model." We find that a configuration with Jupiter and Saturn on circular orbits forms low-eccentricity terrestrial planets and a water-rich Earth on the correct timescale, but Mars' mass is too large by a factor of 5-10 and embryos are often stranded in the asteroid belt. A configuration with Jupiter and Saturn in their current locations but with slightly higher initial eccentricities (e = 0.07-0.1) produces a small Mars, an embryo-free asteroid belt, and a reasonable Earth analog but rarely allows water delivery to Earth. None of the configurations we tested reproduced all the observed constraints. (abridged - see this link for complete article including full resolutions of figures 3 and 4)

Complete (abridged) article available for download at the link displayed above.

[towhom]

Marine scientists stumble across 4,600m volcano
The Guardian
Friday 29 May 2009 22.14 BST
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/29/underwater-volcano-indonesia

Scientists scouring the ocean floor to study the nature of tsunamis have discovered a massive underwater volcano off Indonesia's western coast. The 4,600m (15,000 ft) mountain spans 30 miles at its base, marine geologist Yusuf Surachman Djajadihardja, said yesterday. Its discovery was "completely unexpected", he said. It was not immediately clear if the volcano is active, but he said if it were and it erupted, it would be "very, very dangerous". An international team of scientists discovered the volcano 205 miles west of Sumatra island while carrying out a survey of the Indian Ocean floor this month.

[Eagles Disobey]

The Eagles Disobey website is fully restored, awaiting the return of the Eagles and their team from the sea.

The site had a few hour glitch due to bandwidth, so I followed the lady Dr. Burisch's instructions and bought more. If I had to, I was told to post this.



(CyberEagles Grunt)

[ninathedog]

A surprisingly strongly worded article from AFP —

Nearly half Israeli outpost land is Palestinian

6 hours ago
www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ijr7ubrCmOTs0RJ5K1l1dhGYqCNA

JERUSALEM (AFP) — Nearly half of the land occupied by Israeli settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank is private Palestinian property, a watchdog group said on Sunday.

Forty-four percent of the land where the wildcat settlements were built belong to private Palestinian owners, Peace Now said.

The vast majority of the outposts -- 80 of the more than 100 in the territory -- were either partially or wholly built on private Palestinian land without authorisation of the owners, it said.

"Defence Minister Ehud Barak said recently that he wanted to dismantle the outposts built on private Palestinian land -- he is going to have lots of work in the coming weeks and months," Peace Now head Yariv Oppenheimer told army radio.

A senior settler official, Danny Dayan, rejected the report, saying that "not a single Arab has been harmed" by settlement activities. (note: this is a lie.)

Although the international community considers all Israeli settlements illegal, Israel makes a distinction between those authorised by the government and so-called wildcat outposts, set up by zealous settlers without state approval.

More than 280,000 people live in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The majority moved to the settlements for economic reasons, but an extremely vocal and often violent minority thinks the Jewish people have a God-given, biblical-era right to the land.

The residents of the outposts tend to be the most radical settlers, establishing their homes on any land they see fit.

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.

www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ijr7ubrCmOTs0RJ5K1l1dhGYqCNA

.................

Life in Occupied Palestine
Anna Baltzer, Jewish American Columbia graduate, Fulbright scholar, author of Witness in Palestine, and the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, shares her discovery of Israel's human rights violations in Palestine.
Produced: 2007

part one—Introduction

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEJ_-q-hZhI

part two—Restricting Movement

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2L0joUFFs4

part three—Health Violations

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtwiUlC355g

part four—Road Blocks

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa3nfRgKjP4

part five—Settlements

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CYJ9siFfx4

part six—Outposts

www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5kdLcSlbcw

part seven—The Wall

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq--HiX_A00

part eight—Resistence

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaESk7TpDyU

part nine—Stone Throwing and Political Imprisonment

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HytO07qhRI
..............

Anna Baltzer at HCEF's 10th Conference
Anna Baltzer speaking from HCEF's 10th International Conference in Washington, DC on October 24-25, 2008. The conference theme, "A Decade of Seeking Peace: Pursuing Hope, Security and Human Dignity," reflected on HCEF's ten years of service to Arab Christian communities in the Holy Land -- Palestine, Israel and Jordan. Ms. Baltzer is the author of "Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories."


www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCRLLAaSn4c

[towhom]

May 31, 2009 19:08:21 GMT 4 @ninathedog said:

A surprisingly strongly worded article from AFP —

Nearly half Israeli outpost land is Palestinian
6 hours ago
www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ijr7ubrCmOTs0RJ5K1l1dhGYqCNA

Edited for length only.

Hi jen!

I find it horrific that the information shared need not be centered around the Palestinian/Israeli "conflict". In various ways and at various levels, this "theme" is being replayed around the globe. While we may not have an "occupied territory" here, we still have people being denied the basic things that one needs for simple existence. We have drug wars - not only those deemed "illegal", but those "approved" by an agency that is in place to "protect" people. We have racism - and because of that, some are getting away with "verbal genocide" and are using the "Freedom of Speech" mantra as their banner. We harbor our own "criminals" - those who pollute our waters, destroy our food supplies, spew filth into the air making it unfit to breath - all this and more...and we are PAYING them for this.

In truth - there are NO BORDERS. We are either for humanity or not. There are no "groups" more entitled to live than others. That is the TRUTH.

Yes, it is difficult to see the posts - but view them we must. They are "US". I thank you for your diligence in sharing them, jen. I know that your heart cries every time you post another page of lives filled with sorrow.

Many, many Blessings to you and yours, jen.

Peace and Joy
Always with Love

Sally Anne

[avid]

May 31, 2009 20:52:46 GMT 4 @towhom said:

May 31, 2009 19:08:21 GMT 4 @ninathedog said:

A surprisingly strongly worded article from AFP —

Nearly half Israeli outpost land is Palestinian
6 hours ago
www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ijr7ubrCmOTs0RJ5K1l1dhGYqCNA

Edited for length only.

Hi jen!

I find it horrific that the information shared need not be centered around the Palestinian/Israeli "conflict". In various ways and at various levels, this "theme" is being replayed around the globe. While we may not have an "occupied territory" here, we still have people being denied the basic things that one needs for simple existence. We have drug wars - not only those deemed "illegal", but those "approved" by an agency that is in place to "protect" people. We have racism - and because of that, some are getting away with "verbal genocide" and are using the "Freedom of Speech" mantra as their banner. We harbor our own "criminals" - those who pollute our waters, destroy our food supplies, spew filth into the air making it unfit to breath - all this and more...and we are PAYING them for this.

In truth - there are NO BORDERS. We are either for humanity or not. There are no "groups" more entitled to live than others. That is the TRUTH.

Yes, it is difficult to see the posts - but view them we must. They are "US". I thank you for your diligence in sharing them, jen. I know that your heart cries every time you post another page of lives filled with sorrow.

Many, many Blessings to you and yours, jen.

Peace and Joy
Always with Love

Sally Anne

Thanks Sally Anne
We get focussed into the immediate dreadful circumstances, and our attention is taken away from the bigger picture. The actions of those who do us all harm - deliberately. The repercussions worldwide. The goobers' 'investments': 'Big Pharma', the Agri-business industries ie Monsanto, the military machine, Oil/utilities et al, same investors time after time. Globally.
It's like unravelling a visciously knitted 'Evil Isle' multi-threaded sweater, but keep unpicking, and re-use the fabric for more useful purposes.
We see their loose ends don't we...

[towhom]

Breakthrough In Quantum Control Of Light: Implications For Banking, Drug Design, And More
ScienceDaily
May 31, 2009
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090529093155.htm

This image represents a quantum state with zero, three and six photons simultaneously. The theory is on left and the experiment is on the right. (Credit: UCSB)

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have recently demonstrated a breakthrough in the quantum control of photons, the energy quanta of light. This is a significant result in quantum computation, and could eventually have implications in banking, drug design, and other applications.
[Note: "Other applications" - you mean "weapons applications". Don't be shy - just spit it out. Maybe someday the real funders (that would be us, the TAXPAYERS) will benefit from this "wonderful invention", too...]

In a paper published in the journal Nature, UCSB physics researchers Max Hofheinz, John Martinis, and Andrew Cleland document how they used a superconducting electronic circuit known as a Josephson phase qubit to prepare highly unusual quantum states using microwave-frequency photons. The breakthrough is the result of four years of work in the laboratories of Cleland and Martinis.
[Note: Please don't try this your microwave at home. You'll burn your popcorn and it will taste like, uh, unsalted photons...]

The project is funded by the federal agency called the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, or IARPA. The government is particularly interested in quantum computing because of the way banking and other important communications are currently encrypted. Using large numbers, with hundreds of digits, encryption codes are changed daily and would take years of traditional computing to break. Quantum computing could potentially break those codes quickly, destroying current encryption schemes.
[Note: Yes, the better to "hear you" with, my dears...]

In the experiments, the photons were stored in a microwave cavity, a "light trap" in which the light bounces back and forth as if between two mirrors. In earlier work, these researchers showed they could create and store photons, one at a time, with up to 15 photons stored at one time in the light trap. The research shows that they can create states in which the light trap simultaneously has different numbers of photons stored in it. For example, it can simultaneously have zero, three, and six photons at the same time. Measuring the quantum state by counting how many photons are stored forces the trap to "decide" how many there are; but prior to counting, the light trap exists in a quantum superposition, with all three outcomes possible.
[Note: That's "quantumese" for "PMS" aka "Photon Manic State".]

Explaining the paradoxical simultaneity of quantum states, Cleland said that it's like having your cake and eating it –– at the same time.
[Note: Kinda like "feeding a monkey and watching him sh*t"...at the same time...]

"These superposition states are a fundamental concept in quantum mechanics, but this is the first time they have been controllably created with light," Cleland said. Martinis added, "This experiment can be thought of as a quantum digital-to-analog converter." As digital-to-analog converters are key components in classical communication devices (for example, producing the sound waveforms in cell phones), this experiment might enable more advanced communication protocols for the transmission of quantum information.
[Note: That is the description used for defining the state of goober processing faculties. We "hypothesize" that there neurons SOMEWHERE near a goober head but not necessarily with a functional and/or connective synapse. Because of this, they need an analog translation device that decodes digital signals and re-routes them in a format they can understand - see the Cartoon Channel.]

First author Hofheinz designed and performed the measurements. He is a postdoctoral researcher from Germany who has been working at UCSB for the last two years on this project. The devices used to perform the experiment were made by Haohua Wang, a postdoctoral researcher from China, who is second author on the Nature publication.

The scientists said their research is leading to the construction of a quantum computer, which will have applications in information encryption and in solving or simulating problems that are not amenable to solution using standard computers.
[Note: Yeah, like "where did our taxpayer dollars REALLY go".]

Journal reference:
Max Hofheinz, H. Wang, M. Ansmann, Radoslaw C. Bialczak, Erik Lucero, M. Neeley, A. D. O'Connell, D. Sank, J. Wenner, John M. Martinis & A. N. Cleland. Synthesizing arbitrary quantum states in a superconducting resonator. Nature, 2009; 459 (7246): 546 DOI: 10.1038/nature08005

Adapted from materials provided by University of California - Santa Barbara, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

[fr33ksh0w2012]

Hi All,
Computer Probs MINE WAS ROACHES ANNOYING THINGS! USING COMPUTER AT COMPUTER SHOP CANT STAY LONG!

[avid]

Jun 1, 2009 6:34:45 GMT 4 @fr33ksh0w2012 said:

Hi All,
Computer Probs MINE WAS ROACHES ANNOYING THINGS! USING COMPUTER AT COMPUTER SHOP CANT STAY LONG!

Hi fr33
Wondered where you'd gone! You've got roaches in your computer Eeeuuuwww!
Hopefully it will be fixed soonest.
Love Avid

[ninathedog]

May 31, 2009 20:52:46 GMT 4 @towhom said:

May 31, 2009 19:08:21 GMT 4 @ninathedog said:

A surprisingly strongly worded article from AFP —

Nearly half Israeli outpost land is Palestinian
6 hours ago
www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ijr7ubrCmOTs0RJ5K1l1dhGYqCNA

Edited for length only.

Hi jen!

I find it horrific that the information shared need not be centered around the Palestinian/Israeli "conflict". In various ways and at various levels, this "theme" is being replayed around the globe. While we may not have an "occupied territory" here, we still have people being denied the basic things that one needs for simple existence. We have drug wars - not only those deemed "illegal", but those "approved" by an agency that is in place to "protect" people. We have racism - and because of that, some are getting away with "verbal genocide" and are using the "Freedom of Speech" mantra as their banner. We harbor our own "criminals" - those who pollute our waters, destroy our food supplies, spew filth into the air making it unfit to breath - all this and more...and we are PAYING them for this.

In truth - there are NO BORDERS. We are either for humanity or not. There are no "groups" more entitled to live than others. That is the TRUTH.

Yes, it is difficult to see the posts - but view them we must. They are "US". I thank you for your diligence in sharing them, jen. I know that your heart cries every time you post another page of lives filled with sorrow.

Many, many Blessings to you and yours, jen.

Peace and Joy
Always with Love

Sally Anne

Thanks, Sally Anne

Yes there are horrible things everywhere, acts of humans against other humans. Knowing this, I can only focus on one thing and this issue was chosen for me by Hiba Daraghmeh, the young suicide bomber who killed herself and murdered three others because her action made me ask WHY? and I had a burning need to know. A month or two before her crime was the death of Rachel Corrie and when I heard of this that day from an art professor, I was amazed that an American was murdered in this way. Please google her name if you haven't heard of her, although I've posted entries about both of these young women here on The Golden Thread.

Yes, it breaks my heart and what most especially breaks my heart is that the U.S. sends BILLIONS of dollars each year to Israel and Israel uses this funding to commit atrocities against a helpless and entrapped people and then the American media is used to convince the Americans (us) that it is the fault of the Palestinians that they are abused. Blame the victim.

I started out on this project of educating myself and others years back, feeling that if Americans were aware of this, they would force it to stop. Other people have had the same thought, for example Alison Weir, a journalist, who started the website IfAmericansKnew.org for this express purpose and I do suggest that people, especially Americans, visit that website so they will see how the media twists the facts. The issue is laid out quite clearly there. ifamericansknew.org

Being American, I know that most people here are quite compassionate. Our government and our media do not represent us well overall, projecting us as a bloodthirsty and materialistic nation. The fact is that we've been manipulated. If only this truth would come out into the open, we could begin to change things. Secrets are not healthy when they hurt people.

I don't know what to say about this, except that over half the people living in Gaza are CHILDREN.

And also, please take some time to watch the video I posted above, presented by a very lovely and intelligent woman who does also happen to be Jewish. In the end, this small fact counts when it comes to the issue of Israel and Palestine. Especially startling to me was the part about viewing the Israeli wall in the West Bank from the side allotted to the Palestinians and from the side of the "Jews Only" highway. I was not aware of the fact that the wall is so concealed from the eyes of Jewish Israelis, many of whom also do not know of the crimes committed in their names, unbelievable as that may sound.

I'm just beginning to introduce these issues to a neighbor I have who is Jewish and I do intend to ask her to watch this presentation. We have much to talk about...slowly, slowly. This is hard for her to hear. She is supportive of Israel. She does not know.

baby steps will take us to our destination...
one person at a time.

love and blessings and peace to you all,
jen.

[towhom]

Newly discovered reactions from an old drug may lead to new antibiotics
EurekAlert
Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/uocf-ndr060109.php

A mineral found at health food stores could be the key to developing a new line of antibiotics for bacteria that commonly cause diarrhea, tooth decay and, in some severe cases, death.

The trace mineral selenium is found in a number of proteins in both bacterial cells and human cells called selenoproteins. University of Central Florida Associate Professor William Self's research shows that interrupting the way selenoproteins are made can halt the growth of the super bug Clostridium difficile and Treponema denticola, a major contributor to gum disease.

Infections of Clostridium difficile (commonly known as C-diff) lead to a spectrum of illnesses ranging from severe diarrhea to colitis, which can cause death. It's a life-threatening problem in hospitals and nursing homes worldwide, and the number of cases is on the rise. There are an estimated 500,000 cases per year in the United States alone. Between 15,000 to 20,000 people die each year while infected with this superbug. Treponema denticola is one of leading causes of gum disease and costs individuals thousands of dollars in dental care each year.

Self's findings are published in the May and June editions of the Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry and the Journal of Bacteriology. The National Institutes of Health and the Florida Department of Health funded the research, which was conducted at UCF during the past three years.

"It's the proof of principle that we are excited about," Self said from his research lab at UCF. "No one has ever tried this approach, and it could potentially be a source for new narrow spectrum antibiotics that block bacteria that require selenium to grow."

The key discovery occurred when the team found that the gold drug Auranofin, used to treat arthritis, impacted selenium's metabolism process. The chemical reaction changes the selenium, which prevents bacteria from using it to grow. Auranofin is an FDA-approved gold salt compound that is used to control inflammation and is already known to inhibit the activity of certain selenoproteins. Since certain bacteria, such as C. difficile, require selenoproteins for energy metabolism, the drug acts as a potent antimicrobial halting the growth of the bacteria.

The initial studies with C. difficile led to studies with T. denticola, known for several years to require selenium for growth. While testing the gold salt, Self's group also uncovered another surprise; the stannous salts found in many antimicrobial toothpastes in the form of stannous fluoride also inhibited the synthesis of selenoproteins. Previous independent research had already established that stannous salts are more effective at preventing tooth decay and inhibiting growth of T. denticola, but the mechanism of this inhibition of growth was not yet known. These findings could lead to new approaches to preventing gum disease.

"No one has tried to block the metabolism of selenium before as a therapeutic approach," Self said. "That's what's new and exciting and could lead to a whole host of other possibilities, including a better understanding of how the gold salt works for arthritis."

Self said more research is needed, and he already has another grant proposal before the NIH that would move his research forward.

Self has a Ph.D. in Microbial Physiology from the University of Florida, and he began his research on the biology of selenium as a post-doctoral fellow at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the NIH. Prior to graduate school, he served as a microbiologist at the Food Safety Laboratory at the Florida Department of Agriculture in Tallahassee. He joined the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences within the College of Medicine at UCF in 2003.

Self has authored 34 publications, and his lab has garnered more than $2.5 million of research grants. He has also recently served as a grant reviewer for the National Science Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and the NIH.

UCF Stands For Opportunity --The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research university that ranks as the 5th largest in the nation with more than 50,000 students. UCF's first classes were offered in 1968. The university offers impressive academic and research environments that power the region's economic development. UCF's culture of opportunity is driven by our diversity, Orlando environment, history of entrepreneurship and our youth, relevance and energy. For more information visit news.ucf.edu

[towhom]

Commonly used medications may produce cognitive impairment in older adults
EurekAlert
Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/iu-cu060109.php

INDIANAPOLIS - Many drugs commonly prescribed to older adults for a variety of common medical conditions including allergies, hypertension, asthma, and cardiovascular disease appear to negatively affect the aging brain causing immediate but possibly reversible cognitive impairment, including delirium, in older adults according to a clinical review now available online in the Journal of Clinical Interventions in Aging, a peer reviewed, open access publication.

Drugs, such as diphenhydramine, which have an anticholinergic effect, are important medical therapies available by prescription and also are sold over the counter under various brand names such as Benadryl®, Dramamine®, Excederin PM®, Nytol®, Sominex®, Tylenol PM®, and Unisom®. Older adults most commonly use drugs with anticholinergic effects as sleep aids.

While it is known that these medications do have an effect on the brain and in the case of sleeping pills, are prescribed to act on the brain, the study authors suggest the amount of cognitive impairment caused by the drugs in older adults is not well recognized.

"The public, physicians, and even the Food and Drug Administration, need to be made aware of the role of these common medications, and others with anticholinergic effects, in causing cognitive impairment. Patients should write down and tell their doctor which over-the-counter drugs they are taking. Doctors, who often think of these medications simply as antihistamines, antidepressants, antihypertensives, sleep aids or even itching remedies, need to recognize their systemic anticholinergic properties and the fact that they appear to impact brain health negatively. Doing so, and prescribing alternative medications, should improve both the health and quality of life of older adults," said senior study author Malaz Boustani, M.D., Indiana University School of Medicine associate professor of medicine, Regenstrief Institute investigator, and research scientist with the IU Center for Aging Research.

Dr. Boustani and colleagues conducted a systematic evidence-based analysis of 27 peer reviewed studies of the relationship of anticholinergic effect and brain function as well as investigating anecdotal information. They found a strong link between anticholinergic effect and cognitive impairment in older adults.

"One of the goals of our work is to encourage the Food and Drug Administration to expand its safety evaluation process from looking only at the heart, kidney and liver effects of these drugs to include effects of a drug on the most precious organ in human beings, our brain," Dr. Boustani said.

"Many medications used for several common disease states have anticholinergic effects that are often unrecognized by prescribers" said Wishard Health Services pharmacist, Noll Campbell, Pharm.D., first author of the study, noting that these drugs are among the most frequently purchased over the counter products. "In fact, 50 percent of the older adult population use a medication with some degree of anticholinergic effect each day."

"Our main message is that older adults and their physicians should have conversations about the benefits and harms of these drugs in relation to brain health. As the number of older adults suffering from both cognitive impairment and multiple chronic conditions increases, it is very important to recognize the negative impact of certain medications on the aging brain," said Dr. Boustani.

The brain pharmacoepidemiology group of the IU Center for Aging Research currently is conducting a study of 4,000 older adults to determine if the long term use of medications with anticholinergic effects is linked to the irreversible development of cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer disease.

Authors of the JCIA study are Noll Campbell, Pharm.D., Wishard Health Services; Malaz Boustani, M.D., MPH; Tony Limbil, M.D., MPH, of University of Illinois; Carol Ott, Pharm.D. of Wishard and Purdue University; Chris Fox, MRCPsych and Ian Maidment, B.Pharm., of Kent Institute of Medicine and Health Sciences University of Kent and Medway NHS Trust, United Kingdom; Cathy C. Schubert, M.D. of the IU School of Medicine; Stephanie Munger, B.S., of Regenstrief and IUCAR; Donna Fick, R.N., Ph.D., of Pennsylvania State University; David Miller, M.D., of the IU School of Medicine and Rajesh Gulati, M.D., of IU Medical Group – Primary Care.

The study was funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation, the Atlantic Philanthropies, the Starr Foundation, and the National Institute on Aging.

[towhom]

Endless original, copyright-free music
EurekAlert
Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/f-sf-eoc060109.php

UGR researchers Miguel Delgado, Waldo Fajardo and Miguel Molina decided to design a software programme that would enable a person who knew nothing about composition to create music. The system they devised, using AI, is called Inmamusys, an acronym for Intelligent Multiagent Music System, and is able to compose and play music in real time.

If successful, this prototype, which has been described recently in the journal Expert Systems with Applications, looks likely to bring about great changes in terms of the intrusive and repetitive canned music played in public places.

Miguel Molina, lead author of the study, tells SINC that while the repertoire of such canned music is very limited, the new invention can be used to create a pleasant, non-repetitive musical environment for anyone who has to be within earshot throughout the day.

Everyone's ears have suffered the effects of repetitively-played canned music, be it in workplaces, hospital environments or during phone calls made to directory inquiries numbers. On this basis, the research team decided that it would be "very interesting to design and build an intelligent system able to generate music automatically, ensuring the correct degree of emotiveness (in order to manage the environment created) and originality (guaranteeing that the tunes composed are not repeated, and are original and endless)".

Inmamusys has the necessary knowledge to compose emotive music through the use of AI techniques. In designing and developing the system, the researchers worked on the abstract representation of the concepts necessary to deal with emotions and feelings. To achieve this, Molina says, "we designed a modular system that includes, among other things, a two-level multiagent architecture".

A survey was used to evaluate the system, with the results showing that users are able to identify the type of music composed by the computer. A person with no musical knowledge whatsoever can use this artificial musical composer, because the user need do nothing more than decide on the type of music".

Beneath the system's ease of use, Miguel Molina reveals that a complex framework is at work to allow the computer to imitate a feature as human as creativity. Aside from creativity, music also requires specific knowledge.

According to Molina, this "is usually something done by human beings, although they do not understand how they do it. In reality, there are numerous processes involved in the creation of music and, unfortunately, we still do not understand many of them. Others are so complex that we cannot analyse them, despite the enormous power of current computing tools. Nowadays, thanks to the advances made in computer sciences, there are areas of research – such as artificial intelligence – that seek to reproduce human behaviour. One of the most difficult facets of all to reproduce is creativity".

Farewell to copyright payments

Commercial development of this prototype will not only change the way in which research is carried out into the relationship between computers and emotions, the means of interacting with music and structures by which music is composed in the future. It will also serve, say the study's authors, to reduce costs.

According to the researchers, "music is highly present in our leisure and working environments, and a large number of the places we visit have canned music systems. Playing these pieces of music involves copyright payments. Our system will make these music copyright payments a thing of the past".

References:
Miguel Delgado; Waldo Fajardo; Miguel Molina-Solana. "Inmamusys: Intelligent multiagent music system". Expert Systems with Applications. número 36, páginas 4574-4580, 2009.

[towhom]

Food security and the income gap
EurekAlert
Public Release: 1-Jun-2009
www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/ip-fsa060109.php

The income gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots" must be taken into account when considering the issue of food security across Asia, according to a report to be published in the International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology.

Lily Kiminami, Professor in Regional, Rural and Development Economics in the Institute of Science and Technology, at Niigata University, Japan, explains that society at the regional, national and international level has a role to play in ensuring food security, that can cope with changes in food consumption, and be made sustainable in the light of climate change and in times of economic strife.

Until now, research on food policy has focused only on investigating the relationship between average income level and corresponding food demand at the national level. Research related to the impact of the income gap on food security in the face of economic changes has proved inadequate. As such, she and her colleagues have investigated the impact of economic growth on food consumption in Asia and taken into consideration the income gap.

Rice is the primary staple food across the majority of Asia, Kiminami points out. With only a few exceptions, most Asian countries show that the proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in grain agriculture is high while income per capita is low. Moreover, the large population densities also mean that the area of cultivated land per capita is also low. Where there are different social, economic and cultural conditions, in East Asia, for instance, it is apparent that rice consumption tends to decrease as income rises, with high-end products, such as meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, being eaten in preference to rice.

Such a localized socioeconomic shift would suggest that food security where all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food for a healthy and active life, is not necessarily attainable given an ever-increasing income gap.

In order to achieve sustainability and food security, Kiminami suggests that there must be a shift from purely efficient food production to efficient and sustainable. Such a shift would involve the implementation of redistribution systems, such as food assistance for the poor, and further improved food production policies that take into account the needs of the millions of people across Asia's rapidly developing nations living below the poverty line.

"Food security and sustainability policy in Asia" in Int. J. Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, 2009, 8, 318-333

[jack]

Hi everyone... some of the old timers will remember me... Ive been crazy busy but now that summer is here the gym is finley slowing down a bit... I found this to be very interesting. As fast as tec is growing, its something like we double our learning about everything every 6 months, this will be crazy stuff in a few years... well here it is... Have a great day all...
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