Bucket trucks go high-techHarry Clark - CleanMPG - Dec. 30, 2012
The Odyne Hybrid truck.
I have personally spent many hours in a conventional bucket truck burning an awful amount of diesel and gasoline iwhile inspecting bridges for the NY State DOT. ODYNE appears to have a better way...
Odyne is a cleading manufacturer of advanced turnkey hybrid drive solutions including advanced PHEV technology enabling trucks over 14,000 lbs to have substantially lower fuel consumption, lower emissions, improved performance, quieter job site operation and reduced operating and maintenance costs.
Odyne?s modular system reduces fuel consumption by up to 50% compared to traditional diesel engines, depending on the application. The system offers the greatest benefit for trucks with driving cycles that have a high percentage of starting and stopping and extended periods of work site engine idle time to provide power to equipment or tools. An Odyne hybrid system helps fleet managers reduce their carbon footprint and meet sustainable energy goals by displacing the use of fossil fuels with cleaner, lower cost electricity from the grid, while providing a quieter, safer working environment.
Odyne ihas developed proprietary and patented hybrid technology featuring robust automotive grade components combining reliable electric power conversion, power control and energy storage technology with advanced electric propulsion motors and modular lithium ion battery systems. The Odyne hybrid power system interfaces with Allison Transmission?s industry leading fully-automatic transmissions and features Remy?s HVH250 series electric motor, boasting industry leading power density and efficiency, Johnson Controls modular lithium-ion battery systems and other robust quality components designed for rugged applications.
The system easily integrates with medium or heavy duty vehicle powertrains and is optimized for the demanding work truck market. An Odyne system can be installed on a wide variety of new and existing vehicles and is applicable across chassis manufacturers. According to a company release, the company has delivered more large trucks PHEV systems for fleets across the US than any other supplier.
The System overview
Quiet operation for safer working conditions and extended work day
Zero or significantly lower emissions at the job site
Extra power for 12 volt loads
Air conditioning and cab heating (optional) with the engine off
Flexible operation, with software tailored to the application
Parallel hybrid system for non-hybrid powertrain backup
Regenerative braking to restore battery power
High Capacity electrical energy storage increases vehicle efficiency
Hybrid launch assist for improved acceleration, climbing and initiation of turns
Power for vehicle mounted equipment and/or optional work site 120V/240V electrical loads with engine off
ODYNE ADVANTAGE
A minimally intrusive design that preserves the chassis warranty, providing greater reliability
More productive time in the field with fewer trips to the pump
Charging from the grid at off-peak rates, ability to operate as hybrid without charging
Fuel savings of up to 1750 gallons annually over the truck life
Depending on duty cycle, up to 50% fuel economy improvements v.s. non hybrids
Reduced fleet operating and maintenance cost
50 extra horsepower while driving (anti-idle trucks don?t offer)
Officials at Lowry Park Zoo say an African elephant named Mbali gave birth to her first calf last Sunday. Mbali was one of 11 elephants rescued from culling in Swaziland, Africa, and brought to the ...
US troops sent to Chad to evacuate diplomats citizens
Times of India - Sunday 30th December, 2012
Chad to help evacuate US citizens and embassy personnel from the neighbouring Central African Republic's capital of Bangui in the face of rebel advances toward the city. Obama informed ...
Kenya Chiefs arrested after failed police post attack
Standard Digital - Sunday 30th December, 2012
A chief and his assistant were on Saturday evening arrested in Garissa after a botched attack on an Administration Police (AP) post in Bulla Argi. The two were arrested after a suspected gunman ...
US troops sent to aid African diplomat evacuation
San Diego Union-Tribune - Sunday 30th December, 2012
WASHINGTON -; President Barack Obama says 50 U.S. troops have deployed to the African country of Chad to help evacuate U.S. citizens and embassy personnel from the neighboring Central African ...
Kenya Good greedy side of Kenyas 10th Parliament
Standard Digital - Sunday 30th December, 2012
Parliament had an eventful 2012 passing laws that will help improve governance, but the MPs equally engaged in mischief to secure their sectarian interests. MPs had by December 18 passed a record ...
World AU chief to holds talks in Central African Republic
Standard Digital - Sunday 30th December, 2012
Updated 58 mins ago The head of the African Union is due to arrive in the Central African Republic for talks as rebel forces continue to advance towards the capital Bangui. The AU says Thomas ...
CAR rebels one step from capital
Mail & Guardian - Sunday 30th December, 2012
The rebels, who already have control of four other regional capitals in the centre and north of the country, faced no resistance as they entered the town of Sibut around 150km from Bangui, a ...
Zimbabwes human rights chief quits citing inhibiting laws in country
General Sources - Sunday 30th December, 2012
human rights commission , who was appointed to help curb rights violations, has resigned citing inhibiting laws and lack of resources. The Herald newspaper ...
Central African Republic Conflict Obama Says U.S. Troops Will Help Evacuate American Citizens
Huffington Post - Sunday 30th December, 2012
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says 50 U.S. troops have deployed to the African country of Chad to help evacuate U.S. citizens and embassy personnel from the neighboring Central African ...
Egypt allows Gaza supply convoy
BBC - Sunday 30th December, 2012
Egypt has allowed a shipment of construction materials to enter the Gaza Strip from its territory for the first time since 2007. A convoy of trucks carrying thousands of tonnes of supplies donated ...
Colleen Cason Teen changes course for Africa
Ventura County Star - Saturday 29th December, 2012
That's exactly what happened to Rodrigo Martinez when he vowed to change his ways. And he is good with it. The Ventura teen spent part of last summer in Jos, Nigeria, teaching youngsters in the ...
South Africa Top Google searches 2012
RNW - Saturday 29th December, 2012
American singer, producer and model Whitney Houston, who died in February this year, was the most searched in the People category, followed by Olympic medallist Caster Semenya and celebrity actor, ...
In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, Shmuel Fortman Hapartzy, the Cain and Abel School for Prophets founder and teacher speaks to students in Tel Aviv, Israel. Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets. For just 200 shekels ($53) and in only 40 short classes, anyone can become a certified, modern-day soothsayer at the Cain and Abel School for Prophets.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, Shmuel Fortman Hapartzy, the Cain and Abel School for Prophets founder and teacher speaks to students in Tel Aviv, Israel. Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets. For just 200 shekels ($53) and in only 40 short classes, anyone can become a certified, modern-day soothsayer at the Cain and Abel School for Prophets.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, students sit outside of the Cain and Abel School for Prophets founder in Tel Aviv, Israel. Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets. For just 200 shekels ($53) and in only 40 short classes, anyone can become a certified, modern-day soothsayer at the Cain and Abel School for Prophets.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, brochures for the Cain and Abel School for Prophets are displayed in Tel Aviv, Israel. Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets. For just 200 shekels ($53) and in only 40 short classes, anyone can become a certified, modern-day soothsayer at the Cain and Abel School for Prophets.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, a painting of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson adorns the wall in the Cain and Abel School for Prophets in Tel Aviv, Israel. Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets. For just 200 shekels ($53) and in only 40 short classes, anyone can become a certified, modern-day soothsayer at the Cain and Abel School for Prophets.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) ? Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets.
For just 200 shekels, about $53, and in only 40 short classes, the Cain and Abel School for Prophets says it will certify anyone as a modern-day Jewish soothsayer.
The school, which launched classes this month, has baffled critics, many of whom have dismissed it as a blasphemy or a fraud.
On a religious level, Jewish tradition recognizes a few dozen prophets from the biblical era ? from the monumental figures of Abraham, Moses and Elijah to lesser known foretellers of doom and tormented questioners like Micah the Morashtite and Habakkuk. Tradition says no one can be a prophet ever since the Romans destroyed the second temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 and the era of prophecy can only be revived with the arrival of the Messiah and the temple's rebuilding. As one Talmudic phrase puts it, the only prophets now are children and fools.
But also, on a philosophical level, how do you learn divine inspiration in school? And can anyone learn?
"There is no way to teach prophecy," said Rachel Elior, a professor of Jewish thought at Jerusalem's Hebrew University. "It's like opening a school for becoming Einstein or Mozart."
That hasn't deterred the school's founder and sole teacher Shmuel Hapartzy, a follower of Chabad, a worldwide Orthodox Jewish outreach and worship movement that has come under fire because part of its membership crowned its late leader the Messiah. The Chabad movement in Israel has distanced itself from the school.
Anyone looking in the curriculum for "Parting the Sea 101" or "How to Predict the Future" or even "Principles of Proclaiming A Jeremiad" will be disappointed. Instead, students learn about the meaning of dreams, the classification of angels, the mysteries of the holy spirit. They learn how to discern a person's inner feelings from his or her external behavior and appearance.
Hapartzy can't guarantee his course will give his students a direct line to God. But, he says, the syllabus provides the essential tools to bring out the prophet in anyone.
"In the past there were prophets but even now, in our time, divinity is being revealed to everyone. We just need to open our eyes to it," said Hapartzy at his introductory course, which is held at a religious center in grungy south Tel Aviv, known more for its licentious street parties than piety.
And graduates do get a diploma.
There's little "profit" motive to the venture. Hapartzy said the token fee is to prove students' dedication and is donated to the religious center hosting the school. There's no application process ? anyone who wants to become a prophet can do so by just showing up for the course.
The school's inaugural class this month welcomed a mixed bag of 12 students ranging in age from 18 to 50. One man had scruffy stubble and wore a blue track suit. Another walked in with a guitar slung over his back. Others fiddled with their phones during the lecture or stepped out to smoke. Two had long beards and wore Jewish skullcaps.
Darya Popdinitz, who drove in from Jerusalem for the course, wore a pink hat with dangling pompons. She said her knowledge of biblical prophets was limited, but she was "curious" about the course.
"It's a real diverse mix of people," said Hapartzy.
The class itself is a modest study group. In the small room, the men sat in a circle around Hapartzy, with the women separately in a corner, following Orthodox Judaism's segregation of the sexes. Hapartzy lectures and hands out study material ? photocopied excerpts of holy books ? and a question period follows. The students' homework is to conduct good deeds and pray.
The 34-year-old Hapartzy has a varied background. A software engineer and Russian immigrant, with a long beard and dressed in black ultra-Orthodox garb, he said he was originally an atheist. He dabbled in "sciences, mysticism, Chinese philosophy, astrology, black magic and Christian cults" until, he said, he turned to Judaism.
He compiled the study materials from writings he said could be found in any religious library ? including, no surprise, the books of the biblical prophets. Since there's no traditional set course for becoming a prophet, Hapartzy used his own judgment for what subjects would be appropriate.
Like some in the Chabad movement, Hapartzy believes that the Messiah has already come and that the age of redemption is nigh, so it has possible to have prophets again. Claims by some that late leader Rabbi Menachem Schneerson was the Messiah split the Chabad movement and brought harsh criticism from other Jews.
Hapartzy said his school aims to prepare everyone for the new messianic era. The school is named after the sons of Adam and Eve ? Cain was the first murderer and Abel the first victim. The name represents a person's different spiritual poles, which the school aims to unite, Hapartzy said.
The desire to open up the realm of prophecy to anyone has raised hackles in some circles.
"It's completely crazy," said Menachem Brod, a Chabad spokesman. Facebook commenters have accused the school of "charlatanism and blasphemy."
Roie Greenvald, a 27-year-old tennis instructor attending the classes, also showed some skepticism. While he expressed interest in the spiritual development the course offers, one crucial detail stands in the way of his religious elevation.
"I'm not going to become a prophet," he said. "I don't think it pays very well."
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Follow Tia Goldenberg at http://twitter.com/tgoldenberg
For six years, scientists at the University of Texas at Austin conducted research to determine why women chose to have sex. Of the 237 reasons women provided, not one included a reference to the appearance of the penis itself. The women enjoyed what the penis could do, and they certainly seemed to enjoy situations in which a penis played an active role, but the simple thought of a man's penis didn't cause them to run for the bedroom with joy.
Women might never be visual creatures that stand in long lines for a glimpse of a man's outer workings, but a woman who does spend time getting up close and personal with the penis might experience more than just gratitude from her partner. By spending just a little time on penis health care issues, women could experience benefits of their own.
Elimination of Odors Men may slather on cologne and daub on deodorant, but that might fail to mask intimate odors. Poor hygiene is often to blame, as dead skin cells and bacteria can combine and produce a distinctive, fishy smell that's hard to ignore. Thankfully, a bit of gentle soap could banish the odor for good. Circumcised men can handle their cleaning issue with a swipe of soap and a thorough rinse. Uncircumcised men need to retract the foreskin before they clean, but the same soap-and-water routine works for them, too.
When the guy is fresh and clean, women can introduce a little penis health cr?me as a reward. The emollients can help skin to regenerate at a healthy rate, allowing dead cells to slough off with ease. Fewer trapped skin cells means less odor, less repulsion and fewer awkward moments during intimate encounters.
Softer, Responsive Skin The penis is designed to react to even the softest touch, but rough penis treatment on a daily basis can result in tough, hard skin that's slow to respond. Men can cause this damage by:
? Wearing rough clothes ? Neglecting lubrication during intimate moments ? Avoiding athletic supporters ? Using harsh soaps and washcloths
Unreactive, rough skin can make sex less pleasant for everyone involved, and severe cases of dry skin could even kill an encounter before it begins. Penis skin that's rough, dry and peeling may appear unhealthy, and women might fear that the condition is contagious. Women might also worry that added friction could make that dry skin worse. When health considerations like this enter the picture, a romantic moment could flutter right by.
Penis health cr?mes contain ingredients that can soften and soothe the skin, allowing roughened cells to slough off. These dead cells are replaced with healthier, new skin that's more responsive and much more appealing. Women might enjoy handling skin that's soft and supple, and men might feel more comfortable showing off their skin, knowing that a long talk about health care won't follow a sudden skin exposure.
Finding the Right Product Women might be tempted to dip into their own cosmetic supplies in an attempt to soothe penis skin. Unfortunately, women's health care products are often thick and heavily scented, and these two attributes could mean disaster for the sensitive skin of the penis. Perfumes can be drying, and thick ointments can lock in odors. Men might also dislike the idea of using a woman's product on a part of the body that's associated with manliness and sexual prowess.
An ideal penis health cr?me (health care experts recommend Man 1 Man Oil) contains no feminine fragrances that could offend men. In fact, fragrances of any sort are a bad idea, as they can cause irritation. In addition, products made for the penis should be quickly absorbed, softening skin quickly without allowing dead cells to accumulate beneath a veneer of lotion. Women who invest in a product like this can help their men, and they might also help themselves.
Author's Bio:?
For additional information on most common penis health issues, tips on improving penis sensitivity, and what to do to maintain a healthy penis, visit: http://www.penishealth101.com. John Dugan is a professional writer who specializes in men's health issues and is an ongoing contributing writer to numerous online web sites.
NASA has snapped its most amazing self-portrait yet of the Curiosity rover on Mars, showing the robot posing with its ultimate destination: a huge Martian mountain.
The new view of Curiosity on Mars is actually a mosaic of dozens of high-definition color photos taken by the rover between Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. The image shows Curiosity surrounded by the tracks of its wheels, with the 3-mile-high Mount Sharp rising into the sky in the distance.
NASA featured the latest Curiosity portrait as its image of the day Dec. 27 after releasing the photo earlier this month.
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The prominent Mount Sharp is the central peak of Curiosity's vast Gale Crater landing site. Another mountain in the image, on the rover's left, makes up the northern wall of the expansive crater.
To create the eye-popping Mars photo, Curiosity used its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a powerful camera mounted at the end of the rover's robotic arm. Curiosity turned the camera on itself much like a human tourist might when traveling alone, snapping a series of photos that rover team members then stitched together into a high-definition composite view.
The rover had to move its robotic arm through more than 50 positions in a single day to capture its entire car-size body on camera. ?NASA scientists used a test version of Curiosity on Earth to practice the Martian photo session.
NASA unveiled an earlier version of Curiosity portrait, composed out of 55 separate images, in early November, but the latest view includes significantly more detail and a wider view.
The Mars rover Curiosity is headed toward a spot near the base of Mount Sharp called Glenelg, and will continue to perform experiments along the way. The $2.5 billion rover's primary mission is to determine if its Gale crater landing site could have ever supported primitive microbial life.
Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter@Spacedotcomand onFacebook.
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Only a couple of days after we showed you what were purportedly leaked official images of the upcoming Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class sedan, this came in: according to?China Car Times, toy makers in the Middle Kingdom have apparently managed to make diecast models of the new CLA, which were put up for auction on online shopping giant Taobao?around the region of 300 RMB (RM150) apiece.
The car news website says the 1:18 scale models have since been withdrawn from?Taobao, but the images are circulating around Weibo?(the Chinese version of Twitter). It adds that the models are made by French toy car maker Norev.
Exterior-wise, the model appears to be less kitted out than the one in the alleged press shots. Front and rear bumpers and wheels are clearly more sedately styled, and the interior (which is pretty detailed for a toy!) seems to echo that in the earlier shots ? that is, carried over from the A-Class. We see only two headrests at the back ? a four-seater, just like the CLS-Class?
It could be that this one is the base model in miniature, and the one you see in the earlier shots is the CLA 45 AMG.?Whatever it is, at next month?s Detroit show, all will be revealed.
Some call it ?grumpy old man complex.? Other experts label it: ?irritable male syndrome,? a spike in the outward crankiness of guys of a certain age. As more baby boomers hit 60? be ready for more grouchy outbursts, like a Donald Trump rant set to explode.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A major animal welfare group has agreed to pay $9.3 million to the owners of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to settle a lawsuit brought in response to now-dismissed legal claims of mistreated elephants.
The settlement, announced by the parties on Friday, removes the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, from litigation by Ringling Bros. against the Humane Society, the Animal Welfare Institute and a former elephant handler for the circus.
The ASPCA and others originally filed suit in 2000 against Feld Entertainment, producer of the circus, accusing the Virginia-based company of mistreating the Asian elephants that perform in its shows.
The case, which cited the Endangered Species Act, was initially dismissed.
But an appellate court allowed the former elephant handler, Tom Rider, to pursue an individual claim that he was emotionally injured by the company's treatment of its elephants. Rider was responsible for watching over and feeding the elephants while working for the circus as a "barn man" between 1997 and 1999.
Following a trial in 2009, a District of Columbia district court judge ruled in favor of Feld Entertainment, finding that Rider had overstated his love of elephants and was not a sufficiently credible plaintiff for the case to proceed.
The judge declared Rider to be essentially a "paid plaintiff," finding that his only source of income during the previous eight years had been the animal-welfare groups involved in the case and media companies producing reports about it.
Feld Entertainment, in turn, sued the various animal welfare groups and Rider, accusing them of abuse of process, malicious prosecution and violation of federal racketeering laws through unfounded litigation.
ASPCA President Ed Sayres said his group decided it was in its best interest to settle the dispute and that the agreement was not an admission of wrongdoing.
"We are glad to put this matter behind us so we can focus most effectively on our life-saving work, preventing cruelty and improving the welfare of animals," he said in a statement, noting that the courts never ruled on "the merits of the elephant abuse allegations."
Kenneth Feld, chairman of Feld Entertainment, which says its shows are seen by 30 million people a year, called the original litigation an attempt to destroy a family-owned business.
"Animal activists have been attacking our family, our company, and our employees for decades because they oppose animals in circuses," he said in a statement. "This settlement is a vindication ... for the dedicated men and women who spend their lives working and caring for all the animals with Ringling Bros."
The circus currently has 45 elephants, most of which were born in captivity, and has met or exceeded legal requirements regarding the animals' welfare, company spokesman Steve Payne said.
(Writing and reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Steve Gorman and Bill Trott)
?Those disabled people, they?re not somebody else.?
Public health leaders, including APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin, discussed health equity for disabled Americans at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?s Public Health Grand Rounds last week in Atlanta. Photo by CDC
The words from APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin identified a continuing public health problem ? health equity for Americans living with disabilities ? at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?s Public Health Grand Rounds last week in Atlanta.
Defining the word ?disability? shaped much of the dialogue, along with making ?prevention of disability a core issue of medical care,? in the words of CDC Director Tom Frieden.
?Take the stigma out,? Benjamin said. ?As I get older, it?s clear to me every morning when I get up a little stiffer than I did the day before, it?s clear someday I will have more challenges. Everyone should be able to see themselves in this place?.It?s not somebody else?s problem, it?s our problem.?
Obesity, smoking and trouble accessing health care disproportionately affect disabled Americans, according to CDC data. Additionally:
one in six American adults live with a disability;
people with disabilities are 2.5 times more likely to have unmet health care needs than their non-disabled peers; and
$400 billion per year is spent on disability-related health expenditures.
Benjamin and Frieden called for an emphasis on preventive care for the disabled, including mammograms, colonoscopies, flu shots and exercise.
?How do you define and measure health life?? Frieden asked. ?How do you measure disability? One of the researchers commented that, ?People are changing in their expectations.? People expect to be running a marathon at 65. I was recently in Japan for a public health event and my colleagues described going skiing and on the mountains, and most people there were over 65. They have a tremendous culture of fitness and staying fit. This is something that?s not easy to change, but it?s important.?
In his speech at the memorial service for the Newtown victims, President Barack Obama included mental health in calling for a national response to the massacre, a conversation that so far has focused on gun control. "I will use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens -- from law enforcement to mental health professionals to parents and educators -- in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this," the president said.
Lat week, White House spokesman Jay Carney pointed to the federal health law as evidence that the administration has already started to tackle the issue. Mental health issues are "clearly a factor that needs to be addressed in some of these cases of horrific violence," Carney said.?"Obamacare, if you will, has ensured that mental health services are a part of the services" provided under the health law.
Insurance coverage for mental health treatment has long been spotty. More than a?quarter of U.S. adults have a diagnosable mental health problem in any given year, but?fewer than half receive treatment. While the Affordable Care Act, along with the Mental Health Parity Act of 2008, goes a long way toward assuring coverage for most Americans, some gaps persist.?There are questions, for example, about just what counts as equivalent treatment under the parity law, and whether it's being fully enforced.?
Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about mental health coverage:
Didn't the Mental Health Parity Act already guarantee coverage for Americans with insurance?
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, signed into law in 2008,?made a big dent in the problem of mental health coverage.
Under that law, employers with more than 50 workers that include mental health services in their insurance plans were barred from covering them at a lower level than other medical conditions. That means that the plans could not provide fewer inpatient hospital days or require higher out-of-pocket costs, more cost sharing or separate deductibles for mental health conditions.
An estimated 140 million Americans were expected to benefit from the changes. But Paul N. Samuels, director and president of the Legal Action Center, says that some people still aren't receiving equal coverage, and the law is not always enforced. "That's a problem we're really concerned about," he says.
And while the law guaranteed parity for employees of companies that chose to offer mental health coverage, the law didn't require employers to offer such coverage. Even so, in 2012, 85 percent of employers offered some form of mental health benefits, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.
Mental health coverage under small business and individual market plans was not included in the Parity Act. In short, whether you have mental health coverage in an employer-sponsored insurance plan depends on where you work.
What if I don't have mental health coverage in my employer?s insurance plan? Will the ACA change that?
Employers with 50 or more workers can continue to not offer the benefits. But small group and individual plans?will be required to offer the coverage in 2014 through online exchanges created under the law.
I'm planning to buy an insurance plan through one of the new exchanges. What kind of mental health coverage will I have?
All plans sold in the exchanges will be required to provide coverage for mental health and substance abuse as one of 10 essential benefit categories. That coverage must also comply with the?parity laws already required for large employers. The exchanges will be open to individuals and small businesses.
The same rules will apply to small group and individual plans purchased outside of the exchange.
This means that beginning in 2014, if you, or your small employer, are purchasing any new insurance plan, coverage will include mental health benefits on par with any other medical condition. It?s not clear what exactly will be covered ? for example, group home and residential treatment outside of a hospital.
I'll be covered under the Medicaid expansion authorized by the law. What kind of mental health coverage will I get?
If you earn less than?138 percent of the?federal poverty level (about $32,809 for a family of four), you may be newly eligible for Medicaid coverage in 2014. Like people who purchase coverage through the exchange, new Medicaid beneficiaries will receive mental health benefits on par with other medical or surgical needs.
That coverage is less robust than the current traditional Medicaid coverage offered by states, says Jennifer Mathis, deputy legal director at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. That's because most states offer mental health benefits for Medicaid recipients that are more generous than the coverage offered by commercial insurance plans. But the new Medicaid benefits will be modeled on and measured against private insurance purchased by small businesses now.
Mathis says, however, that it will likely be difficult for states to maintain two parallel Medicaid programs, one for current beneficiaries and a second for the newly eligible. She hopes that most will choose to offer all Medicaid recipients the more robust benefits instead.
What else in the ACA may improve mental health treatment?
The ACA has several other provisions that will affect mental health coverage and treatment.
The Prevention and Public Health Fund created by the law, for example, includes $35 million to integrate primary care and mental health care, $10 million to train and recruit mental health professionals, and an additional $53 million in mental health screening, surveillance, and suicide prevention funds.
The ACA?also requires that plans offer depression screening for adults without a copayment, co-insurance or a deductible.
What problems might arise?
While the ACA "provides enormous potential and opportunity to make sure than many millions more Americans obtain the services they need," says Samuels, "that will only happen if the implementation of those reforms is effective." Samuels worries that the rules from HHS will not be clear or strong enough to make the parity laws meaningful. He also worries about getting everyone who is eligible for coverage enrolled, particularly those with severe mental health disorders who be may homeless or living on the fringes of society.
In addition, governors in several Republican states have said that they will not expand Medicaid, leeway they were given by the Supreme Court's health law decision in June. That could leave many Americans without any form of insurance coverage, including mental health benefits.
Access to treatment will likely also remain a serious stumbling block. States have cut $4.35 billion in public mental health spending from 2009? to 2012, a trend that is likely to continue over the next several years, according to the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors. At the same time, the system has seen nearly a 10 percent increase in usage.
As many as 30 million people are expected to gain insurance coverage beginning in 2014. Of those, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration?estimates that 6 to 10 million will have untreated mental illnesses or addiction, adding additional demands to a system that is already overwhelmed. Patients may experience long wait times to see a psychiatrist, for example, and may require additional investments to expand the mental health workforce.
"I think there will be initial period where you may see folks with mental health coverage waiting longer than they'd like to get care," says Joel Miller, senior director of policy and health care reform at the state mental health program directors group.
Cashmere comes from the soft undercoat of goats bred to produce the wool
Photograph by iStockphoto.
Winter is upon us, which means that cashmere sweaters?a staple of holiday gift-giving and cold-weather fashion?have returned to store shelves. Those planning to purchase a garment boasting the label ?100 percent cashmere? can expect a hefty price tag; at Banana Republic, one cardigan is priced at $198; elsewhere, you can find cashmere sweaters for upward of $500. Why is cashmere so much more expensive than other kinds of wool?
Its costly production process and scarcity. Cashmere comes from the soft undercoat of goats bred to produce the wool. It takes more than two goats to make a single two-ply sweater. The fibers of the warming undercoat must be separated from a coarser protective top coat during the spring molting season, a labor-intensive process that typically involves combing and sorting the hair by hand. These factors contribute to the relatively low global production rate of cashmere?approximately 30,000 pounds a year compared to about 3 million pounds of sheep?s wool.
The name cashmere comes from an old spelling of Kashmir, the region where its production and trade originated, possibly as early as the Mongolian empire in the 13th century. According to historian Michelle Maskiell, author of ?Consuming Kashmir: Shawls and Empires, 1500-2000,? from the 1500s to as late as the early 1900s, Iranian and Indian emperors used Kashmiri shawls in political and religious settings; in the Mughal Indian courts, for example, the acceptance of a shawl from a political figure established a hierarchy between the giver and the receiver. In the late 18th century, Scottish textile manufacturer Joseph Dawson discovered shawls made from cashmere in India? and began to import the material to his factory in Scotland. Dawson sold shawls to upper-class British women who prized the fabric for its softness and warmth. (High-quality cashmere can be up to eight times warmer than sheep?s wool despite its light weight.)
But not all cashmere is equally luxe: The texture, color, and length of the fibers all affect manufacturing and pricing. Naturally, whiter cashmere fibers require less dye, diminishing the damage that coloring causes to its natural softness. Quality also depends on the region in which the wool is collected. In Inner Mongolia, for instance, the winters are harsh and the goats have a more meager diet, which produces the finer hair seen in the highest quality garments. Still, even the best raw material can be compromised by a sub-par finishing process. The fineness of a cashmere item comes down to that process, as the spinning and weaving of the fabric affects the look, feel, and touch of the final product.
China is the largest supplier of the raw material needed to make cashmere wool, but Europe has mastered cashmere manufacturing methods, and has cornered the market on premium quality (and costlier) products.
Luxury Explainer thanks Nick Hahn, founder of Hahn International, LTD and Karl Spilhaus, president of the Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute.
Strange behavior: New study exposes living cells to synthetic proteinPublic release date: 27-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Richard Harth richard.harth@asu.edu Arizona State University
One approach to understanding components in living organisms is to attempt to create them artificially, using principles of chemistry, engineering and genetics. A suite of powerful techniquescollectively referred to as synthetic biologyhave been used to produce self-replicating molecules, artificial pathways in living systems and organisms bearing synthetic genomes.
In a new twist, John Chaput, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and colleagues at the Department of Pharmacology, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ have fabricated an artificial protein in the laboratory and examined the surprising ways living cells respond to it.
"If you take a protein that was created in a test tube and put it inside a cell, does it still function," Chaput asks. "Does the cell recognize it? Does the cell just chew it up and spit it out?" This unexplored area represents a new domain for synthetic biology and may ultimately lead to the development of novel therapeutic agents.
The research results, reported in the advanced online edition of the journal ACS Chemical Biology, describe a peculiar set of adaptations exhibited by Escherichia coli bacterial cells exposed to a synthetic protein, dubbed DX. Inside the cell, DX proteins bind with molecules of ATP, the energy source required by all biological entities.
"ATP is the energy currency of life," Chaput says. The phosphodiester bonds of ATP contain the energy necessary to drive reactions in living systems, giving up their stored energy when these bonds are chemically cleaved. The depletion of available intracellular ATP by DX binding disrupts normal metabolic activity in the cells, preventing them from dividing, (though they continue to grow).
After exposure to DX, the normally spherical E. coli bacteria develop into elongated filaments. Within the filamentous bacteria, dense intracellular lipid structures act to partition the cell at regular intervals along its length (see figure 1). These unusual structures, which the authors call endoliposomes, are an unprecedented phenomenon in such cells.
"Somewhere along the line of this filamentation, other processes begin to happen that we haven't fully understood at the genetic level, but we can see the results phenotypically," Chaput says. "These dense lipid structures are forming at very regular regions along the filamented cell and it looks like it could be a defense mechanism, allowing the cell to compartmentalize itself." This peculiar adaptation has never been observed in bacterial cells and appears unique for a single-celled organism.
Producing a synthetic protein like DX, which can mimic the elaborate folding characteristics of naturally occurring proteins and bind with a key metabolite like ATP is no easy task. As Chaput explains, a clever strategy known as mRNA display was used to produce, fine-tune and amplify synthetic proteins capable of binding ATP with high affinity and specificity, much as a naturally occurring ATP-binding protein would.
First, large libraries of random sequence peptides are formed from the four nucleic acids making up DNA, with each strand measuring around 80 nucleotides in length. These sequences are then transcribed into RNA with the help of an enzymeRNA polymerase. If a natural ribosome is then introduced, it attaches to the strand and reads the random sequence RNA as though it was a naturally-occurring RNA, generating a synthetic protein as it migrates along the strand. In this way, synthetic proteins based on random RNA sequences can be generated.
Exposing the batch of synthetic proteins to the target molecule and extracting those that bind can then select for ATP-binding proteins. But as Chaput explains, there's a problem: "The big question is how do you recover that genetic information? You can't reverse transcribe a protein back into DNA. You can't PCR amplify a protein. So we have to do all these molecular biology tricks."
The main trick involves an earlier step in the process. A molecular linker is chemically attached to the RNA templates, such that each RNA strand forms a bond with its newly translated protein. The mRNA-protein hybrids are exposed to selection targets (like ATP) over consecutive rounds of increasing stringency. After each round of selection, those library members that remain bound to the target are reverse-transcribed into cDNA (using their conveniently attached RNA messages), and then PCR amplified.
In the current study, E. coli cells exposed to DX transitioned into a filamentous form, which can occur naturally when such cells are subject to conditions of stress. The cells display low metabolic activity and limited cell division, presumably owing to their ATP-starved condition.
The study also examined the ability of E. coli to recover following DX exposure. The cells were found to enter a quiescent state known as viable but non-culturable (VBNC), meaning that they survived ATP sequestration and returned to their non-filamentous state after 48 hours, but lost their reproductive capacity. Further, this condition was difficult to reverse and seems to involve a fundamental reprogramming of the cell.
In an additional response to DX, the filamentous cells form previously undocumented structures, which the authors refer to as endoliposomes. These dense lipid concentrations, spanning the full width of the filamented E. coli, segment the cells into distinct compartments, giving the cells a stringbean-like appearance under the microscope.
The authors speculate that this adaptation may be an effort to maintain homeostasis in regions of the filamentous cell, which have essentially been walled off from the intrusion of ATP-depleting DX. They liken endoliposomes to the series of water-tight compartments found in submarines which are used to isolate damaged sections of the ship and speculate that DX-exposed cells are partitioning their genetic information into regions where it can be safely quarantined. Such self-compartmentalization is known to occur in some eukaryotic cells, but has not been previously observed in prokaryotes like E. coli.
The research indicates that there is still a great deal to learn about bacterial behavior and the repertoire of responses available when such cells encounter novel situations, such as an unfamiliar, synthetic protein. The study also notes that many infectious agents rely on a dormant state, (similar to the VBNC condition observed in the DX-exposed E. coli), to elude detection by antibiotics. A better understanding of the mechanisms driving this behavior could provide a new approach to targeting such pathogens.
The relative safety of E. coli as a model organism for study may provide a fruitful tool for more in-depth investigation of VBNC states in pathogenic organisms. Further, given ATP's central importance for living organisms, its suppression may provide another avenue for combating disease. One example would be an engineered bacteriophage capable of delivering DX genes to pathogenic organisms.
###
In addition to his appointment at the Biodesign Institute, John Chaput is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Written by Richard Harth
Science Writer: The Biodesign Institute
richard.harth@asu.edu
[ | 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.
Strange behavior: New study exposes living cells to synthetic proteinPublic release date: 27-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Richard Harth richard.harth@asu.edu Arizona State University
One approach to understanding components in living organisms is to attempt to create them artificially, using principles of chemistry, engineering and genetics. A suite of powerful techniquescollectively referred to as synthetic biologyhave been used to produce self-replicating molecules, artificial pathways in living systems and organisms bearing synthetic genomes.
In a new twist, John Chaput, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and colleagues at the Department of Pharmacology, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ have fabricated an artificial protein in the laboratory and examined the surprising ways living cells respond to it.
"If you take a protein that was created in a test tube and put it inside a cell, does it still function," Chaput asks. "Does the cell recognize it? Does the cell just chew it up and spit it out?" This unexplored area represents a new domain for synthetic biology and may ultimately lead to the development of novel therapeutic agents.
The research results, reported in the advanced online edition of the journal ACS Chemical Biology, describe a peculiar set of adaptations exhibited by Escherichia coli bacterial cells exposed to a synthetic protein, dubbed DX. Inside the cell, DX proteins bind with molecules of ATP, the energy source required by all biological entities.
"ATP is the energy currency of life," Chaput says. The phosphodiester bonds of ATP contain the energy necessary to drive reactions in living systems, giving up their stored energy when these bonds are chemically cleaved. The depletion of available intracellular ATP by DX binding disrupts normal metabolic activity in the cells, preventing them from dividing, (though they continue to grow).
After exposure to DX, the normally spherical E. coli bacteria develop into elongated filaments. Within the filamentous bacteria, dense intracellular lipid structures act to partition the cell at regular intervals along its length (see figure 1). These unusual structures, which the authors call endoliposomes, are an unprecedented phenomenon in such cells.
"Somewhere along the line of this filamentation, other processes begin to happen that we haven't fully understood at the genetic level, but we can see the results phenotypically," Chaput says. "These dense lipid structures are forming at very regular regions along the filamented cell and it looks like it could be a defense mechanism, allowing the cell to compartmentalize itself." This peculiar adaptation has never been observed in bacterial cells and appears unique for a single-celled organism.
Producing a synthetic protein like DX, which can mimic the elaborate folding characteristics of naturally occurring proteins and bind with a key metabolite like ATP is no easy task. As Chaput explains, a clever strategy known as mRNA display was used to produce, fine-tune and amplify synthetic proteins capable of binding ATP with high affinity and specificity, much as a naturally occurring ATP-binding protein would.
First, large libraries of random sequence peptides are formed from the four nucleic acids making up DNA, with each strand measuring around 80 nucleotides in length. These sequences are then transcribed into RNA with the help of an enzymeRNA polymerase. If a natural ribosome is then introduced, it attaches to the strand and reads the random sequence RNA as though it was a naturally-occurring RNA, generating a synthetic protein as it migrates along the strand. In this way, synthetic proteins based on random RNA sequences can be generated.
Exposing the batch of synthetic proteins to the target molecule and extracting those that bind can then select for ATP-binding proteins. But as Chaput explains, there's a problem: "The big question is how do you recover that genetic information? You can't reverse transcribe a protein back into DNA. You can't PCR amplify a protein. So we have to do all these molecular biology tricks."
The main trick involves an earlier step in the process. A molecular linker is chemically attached to the RNA templates, such that each RNA strand forms a bond with its newly translated protein. The mRNA-protein hybrids are exposed to selection targets (like ATP) over consecutive rounds of increasing stringency. After each round of selection, those library members that remain bound to the target are reverse-transcribed into cDNA (using their conveniently attached RNA messages), and then PCR amplified.
In the current study, E. coli cells exposed to DX transitioned into a filamentous form, which can occur naturally when such cells are subject to conditions of stress. The cells display low metabolic activity and limited cell division, presumably owing to their ATP-starved condition.
The study also examined the ability of E. coli to recover following DX exposure. The cells were found to enter a quiescent state known as viable but non-culturable (VBNC), meaning that they survived ATP sequestration and returned to their non-filamentous state after 48 hours, but lost their reproductive capacity. Further, this condition was difficult to reverse and seems to involve a fundamental reprogramming of the cell.
In an additional response to DX, the filamentous cells form previously undocumented structures, which the authors refer to as endoliposomes. These dense lipid concentrations, spanning the full width of the filamented E. coli, segment the cells into distinct compartments, giving the cells a stringbean-like appearance under the microscope.
The authors speculate that this adaptation may be an effort to maintain homeostasis in regions of the filamentous cell, which have essentially been walled off from the intrusion of ATP-depleting DX. They liken endoliposomes to the series of water-tight compartments found in submarines which are used to isolate damaged sections of the ship and speculate that DX-exposed cells are partitioning their genetic information into regions where it can be safely quarantined. Such self-compartmentalization is known to occur in some eukaryotic cells, but has not been previously observed in prokaryotes like E. coli.
The research indicates that there is still a great deal to learn about bacterial behavior and the repertoire of responses available when such cells encounter novel situations, such as an unfamiliar, synthetic protein. The study also notes that many infectious agents rely on a dormant state, (similar to the VBNC condition observed in the DX-exposed E. coli), to elude detection by antibiotics. A better understanding of the mechanisms driving this behavior could provide a new approach to targeting such pathogens.
The relative safety of E. coli as a model organism for study may provide a fruitful tool for more in-depth investigation of VBNC states in pathogenic organisms. Further, given ATP's central importance for living organisms, its suppression may provide another avenue for combating disease. One example would be an engineered bacteriophage capable of delivering DX genes to pathogenic organisms.
###
In addition to his appointment at the Biodesign Institute, John Chaput is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Written by Richard Harth
Science Writer: The Biodesign Institute
richard.harth@asu.edu
[ | 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.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson, who spearheaded the Obama administration's crackdown on carbon emissions, said on Thursday that she will be stepping down after almost four years of battles with Republicans and big industry over her proposed regulations.
Under her leadership, the agency declared for the first time that carbon dioxide was a danger to human health and could be regulated under the Clean Air Act, leading the EPA to develop a new regulatory regime to limit carbon emissions.
But many environmental activists felt that measures to address climate change by the Obama administration were too timid, and it is unclear if that will change in the president's second term, regardless of who succeeds Jackson.
Leading the list of potential replacements are Bob Perciasepe, the current deputy EPA administrator, who will take over the agency on an interim basis; and Kathleen McGinty, a former head of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection and a prot?g? of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.
Also said to be in the mix are Gina McCarthy, the EPA's assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation; and Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board.
Jackson's departure was not a surprise. Analysts had not expected her to stay for President Barack Obama's second term.
She had faced withering attacks from industry groups and Republicans, who hauled her in for numerous hearings in Congress, as well as some pushback from within the Obama administration.
Obama thanked Jackson for her service, praising her work on mercury pollution limits, fighting climate change and helping set new fuel economy standards for vehicles.
"Under her leadership, the EPA has taken sensible and important steps to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink," Obama said in a statement.
Jackson, 50, is expected to leave the EPA after Obama's State of the Union address in early 2013. The post of EPA administrator is a Cabinet-level job.
The administration is expected to face a tough fight to get any potential nominee, and especially one seen as being in the mold of Jackson, confirmed by the Senate.
Jackson is the first major energy policy official to step aside since Obama's re-election last month. There has been speculation that the similarly embattled Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a Nobel prize winning physicist, may not stick around for Obama's second term. Ken Salazar, the U.S. Interior Secretary, may also depart.
BRUISING ENCOUNTERS
Jackson's years at the agency were marked by some bruising encounters with Republican lawmakers, who accused her of orchestrating massive government overreach that they said was choking U.S. economic growth.
Republican lawmakers passed numerous bills aimed at undoing Jackson's regulations. None of these measures were signed into law, but the White House did begin to pull back or delay rules in the face of the relentless onslaught.
For example, Obama's decision in 2011 to delay rules to restrict emissions of smog-forming chemicals from power plants led to speculation that Jackson would step down at that time in response to the setback.
"From an energy and consumer perspective, it has to be said that the Jackson EPA presided over some of the most expensive and controversial rules in agency history," said Scott Segal, director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, which lobbied against many of the EPA's proposed regulations.
States and governors have also fought Jackson's rules in the courts. In a major win for opponents, a U.S. appeals court in August overturned the EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, aimed at reducing harmful emissions from coal-burning power plants.
In a statement, Jackson, the first black administrator of the 17,000-strong EPA, said she was "confident the (EPA) ship is sailing in the right direction."
While tensions ran high with industry, Jackson's tenure has been hailed by many environmentalists and public health advocates, who say she leaves a legacy of cleaner air.
"Administrator Jackson has been one of the most effective leaders in the history of the Environmental Protection Agency," Larry Schweiger, president of the National Wildlife Federation.
Reports in recent weeks have suggested that Jackson, a chemical engineer by training, might be under consideration for the post of president of Princeton University in New Jersey.
Media reports also indicate that the one-time chief of staff to former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine might be mulling a run for governor in that state.
Despite her contentious dealings with Congress, Jackson maintained a surprisingly cordial relationship with one of her biggest critics, Senator Jim Inhofe. She even kept a photo of the Oklahoma Republican and his grandchildren in her office.
"Lisa Jackson and I disagreed on many issues and regulations while she headed the EPA, however, I have always appreciated her receptivity to my concerns, her accessibility and her honesty," said Inhofe, who has called climate change a hoax, chided the Obama administration for a "far left green agenda" and vigorously opposed carbon regulations.
Inhofe said Jackson's departure offers the White House the chance to appoint someone "who appreciates the needs of our economy."
UNFINISHED AGENDA INCLUDES FRACKING
A self-described pragmatist, Jackson passionately fought to limit air pollution. She often described her two sons' struggles with asthma when discussing the importance of clean air.
Jackson also rejected her critics' complaints that stronger environmental rules were incompatible with a robust economy.
When broad climate change legislation sputtered in Congress in 2010, the EPA became the White House's main vehicle for addressing carbon emissions.
Since then the agency has finalized rules outlining restrictions on carbon emissions for new power plants, effectively prohibiting the construction of new coal-fired plants without carbon-capture and storage technology.
"Her successor will inherit an unfinished agenda that begins with the issuance of new health protections against carbon pollution from existing power plants - the largest remaining driver of climate change that needs to be controlled," said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The EPA will also have a major role in the federal response to the shale oil and gas boom. The agency's study of the booming but controversial drilling practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is due out in 2014.
Most regulation of fracking has fallen to the states, but the EPA has said it plans to propose standards on wastewater from gas wells by 2014 and is considering rules that would require more disclosure about the chemicals used in fracking.
(Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Ros Krasny, Will Dunham and Mohammad Zargham)
This Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012 image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrians helping a wounded man after a government airstrike hit the Hama Suburb of Halfaya, Syria. A government airstrike Sunday on a bakery in a rebel-held town in central Syria killed tens of people, which left scattered bodies and debris up and down a street, and more than a dozen wounded were trapped in tangled heap of dirt and rubble, activists said. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)
This Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012 image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrians helping a wounded man after a government airstrike hit the Hama Suburb of Halfaya, Syria. A government airstrike Sunday on a bakery in a rebel-held town in central Syria killed tens of people, which left scattered bodies and debris up and down a street, and more than a dozen wounded were trapped in tangled heap of dirt and rubble, activists said. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)
This Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012 image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Free Syrian Army fighters running towards the scene after a government airstrike hit Hama Suburb of Halfaya, Syria. A government airstrike Sunday on a bakery in a rebel-held town in central Syria killed tens of people, which left scattered bodies and debris up and down a street, and more than a dozen wounded were trapped in tangled heap of dirt and rubble, activists said. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)
Free Syrian Army fighters walk amid the ruins of a village situated a short distance from an area where fighting between rebels and government forces continues, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Virginie Nguyen Hoang)
BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian rebels fully captured a northern town near the Turkish border on Tuesday after weeks of siege and heavy fighting, activists said.
The takeover of Harem, a town of 20,000 in northern Idlib province, was the latest in a string of recent rebel successes that include the capture of wide areas along the border with Turkey. Most of those areas have been in northern Aleppo province, where anti-government forces have captured at least three large military bases.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebels captured Harem in the early hours of Tuesday. Mohammed Kanaan, an Idlib-based activist, said the last post to be taken was the historic citadel, which overlooked the town. The army had turned the citadel into a military post.
"Harem is fully liberated now," Kanaan he said via Skype. He added that as the rebels pounded army posts and checkpoints in Harem, the troops withdrew to the citadel that later fell in the hands of rebels.
Rami-Abdul-Rahman, who heads to Observatory, said nearly 30 soldiers and pro-government gunmen surrendered late Monday. He added that rebels set free all gunmen at the age of 16 or less and referred others to local tribunals.
"Harem was very important because it is one of the towns that was loyal to the regime," Abdul-Rahman said by telephone about the town that is nearly a mile from the Turkish border.
In his traditional Christmas address, Pope Benedict XVI decried the slaughter of the "defenseless" in Syria, where anti-regime activists estimate more than 40,000 have died in fighting since the uprising began in March 2011.
The pope encouraged Arab spring nations, where long-serving dictators were forced to step down.
In Aleppo province, which neighbors Idlib, local activist Mohammed Saeed said rebels attacked a military base in the town of Mannagh near the border with Turkey. He said it is one of four air bases in the province.
Regime forces have been using helicopters to carry supplies to besieged areas and to attack rebel positions.
The regime has had increasing difficulty sending supplies by land to Aleppo province after rebels captured in October the strategic town Maaret al-Numan. The town is on the highway that links Damascus with Aleppo, Syria's largest city and commercial center and a major battleground in the civil war since July.
"Airplanes and helicopters are the only way to send supplies since the Free Syrian Army controls the land," Saeed said. He added that rebels are also laying a siege to Aleppo's international airport known as Nairab and threatening to shoot down military or civilians planes using it.
In the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, opposition gunmen ambushed the head of military intelligence in the area and seriously wounded him. He later died of his wounds, the Observatory said.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Monday to restart negotiations on a draft international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global trade in conventional arms, a pact the powerful U.S. National Rifle Association has been lobbying hard against.
U.N. delegates and gun control activists have complained that talks collapsed in July largely because U.S. President Barack Obama feared attacks from Republican rival Mitt Romney before the November 6 election if his administration was seen as supporting the pact, a charge U.S. officials have denied.
The NRA, which has come under intense criticism for its reaction to the December 15 shooting massacre of 20 children and six educators at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, opposes the idea of an arms trade treaty and has pressured Obama to reject it.
But after Obama's re-election last month, his administration joined other members of a U.N. committee in supporting the resumption of negotiations on the treaty.
That move was set in stone on Monday when the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly voted to hold a final round of negotiations on March 18-28 in New York.
The foreign ministers of Argentina, Australia, Costa Rica, Finland, Japan, Kenya and the United Kingdom - the countries that drafted the resolution - issued a joint statement welcoming the decision to resume negotiations on the pact.
"This was a clear sign that the vast majority of U.N. member states support a strong, balanced and effective treaty, which would set the highest possible common global standards for the international transfer of conventional arms," they said.
There were 133 votes in favour, none against and 17 abstentions. A number of countries did not attend, which U.N. diplomats said was due to the Christmas Eve holiday.
The exact voting record was not immediately available, though diplomats said the United States voted 'yes,' as it did in the U.N. disarmament committee last month. Countries that abstained from last month's vote included Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, Belarus, Cuba and Iran.
Among the top six arms-exporting nations, Russia cast the only abstention in last month's vote. Britain, France and Germany joined China and the United States in the disarmament committee in support of the same resolution approved by the General Assembly on Monday.
NRA THREATENS "GREATEST FORCE OF OPPOSITION"
The main reason the arms trade talks are taking place at all is that the United States - the world's biggest arms trader, which accounts for more than 40 percent of global transfers in conventional arms - reversed U.S. policy on the issue after Obama was first elected and decided in 2009 to support a treaty.
Obama administration officials have tried to explain to U.S. opponents of the arms trade pact that the treaty under discussion would have no effect on gun sales and ownership inside the United States because it would apply only to exports.
But NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre told U.N. delegations in July that his group opposed the pact and there are no indications that
it has changed that position.
"Any treaty that includes civilian firearms ownership in its scope will be met with the NRA's greatest force of opposition," LaPierre said, according to the website of the NRA's lobbying wing, the Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA).
LaPierre's speech to the U.N. delegations in July was later supported by letters from a majority of U.S. senators and 130 congressional representatives, who told Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that they opposed the treaty, according to the NRA-ILA.
It is not clear whether the NRA would have the same level of support from U.S. legislators after the Newtown massacre.
U.S. officials say they want a treaty that contributes to international security by fighting illicit arms trafficking and proliferation but protects the sovereign right of states to conduct legitimate arms trade.
"We will not accept any treaty that infringes on the constitutional rights of our citizens to bear arms," a U.S. official told Reuters last month.
The United States, like all other U.N. member states, can effectively veto the treaty since the negotiations will be conducted on the basis of consensus. That means the treaty must receive unanimous support in order to be approved in March.
Arms control activists say it is far from clear that the Obama administration truly wants a strong treaty. Any treaty agreed in March would also need to be ratified by the parliaments of individual signatory nations before it could come into force.
(Reporting By Louis Charbonneau; editing by Christopher Wilson)
Bucket trucks go high-techHarry Clark - CleanMPG - Dec. 30, 2012
Cashmere comes from the soft undercoat of goats bred to produce the wool ![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 27-Dec-2012
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