On June 15th they welcomed their daughter North West into the world, and now Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are engaged to be married.
According to E!, the “Jesus Walks” rapper rented out AT&T Park in San Francisco, California last night (October 21) for Kim’s 33rd birthday, popping the question to his “Disaster Movie” dame in front of their friends and family members.
Prior to the big betrothal, Kanye was actually in Los Angeles for the Hollywood Film Awards where he presented the first trophy of the evening.
From there, West hopped on a private plane and jetted up to San Francisco where he met up with the “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” crew and dropped to one knee.
Of course, Kim said yes! Stay linked to the GossipCenter for further details on this long-awaited engagement!
NEW YORK (AP) — Marriage is coming after the baby carriage for Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
Kardashian's publicist, Ina Treciokas, confirmed Tuesday that the couple are engaged.
E! News first reported that West proposed to Kardashian Monday — her 33rd birthday — in front of family and friends at the AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.
Kardashian gave birth to the couple's first child, daughter North West, in June.
A photo posted on Instagram shows a screen at the stadium that reads "PLEEEASE MARRY MEEE!!!" — in typical West font — above a black-clad orchestra. Another shows Kardashian showing off a diamond ring with a smiling West behind her.
The Kardashian clan has a series of reality shows on E!, and, after initially saying it didn't have cameras at the stadium, the network said late Tuesday it did have cameras there to capture the moment.
Khloe Kardashian seemed to celebrate on Twitter when she wrote: "Tears of JOY!!!!!!! Wow!!!!!!" She also tweeted: "Wow!!!!! Am I dreaming??!?!" Kimye were quiet on Twitter.
Kardashian was previously married to NBA player Kris Humphries. Their divorce was finalized in June after they were married for 72 days in 2011. Her first marriage was to music producer Damon Thomas in 2000.
West is currently on a tour with Kendrick Lamar. "The Yeezus Tour" will visit the SAP Center in San Jose on Tuesday night. Earlier Monday, he attended the Hollywood Film Awards in Beverly Hills, presenting Steve McQueen with the Hollywood Breakout Director Award.
____
Follow Mesfin Fekadu at http://twitter.com/MusicMesfin
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, left, rehearses with Holocaust survivor George Horner at Symphony Hall Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 22, 2013, in Boston. The 90-year-old pianist will make his orchestral debut with Ma Tuesday night, where they will play music composed 70 years ago at the Nazi prison camp where Horner was imprisoned. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, left, rehearses with Holocaust survivor George Horner at Symphony Hall Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 22, 2013, in Boston. The 90-year-old pianist will make his orchestral debut with Ma Tuesday night, where they will play music composed 70 years ago at the Nazi prison camp where Horner was imprisoned. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, right, greets Holocaust survivor George Horner in a rehearsal room at Symphony Hall Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 22, 2013, in Boston. The 90-year-old pianist will make his orchestral debut with Ma Tuesday night, where they will play music composed 70 years ago at the Nazi prison camp where Horner was imprisoned. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, right, greets Holocaust survivor George Horner in a rehearsal room at Symphony Hall Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 22, 2013, in Boston. The 90-year-old pianist will make his orchestral debut with Ma Tuesday night, where they will play music composed 70 years ago at the Nazi prison camp where Horner was imprisoned. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, left, rehearses with Holocaust survivor George Horner on stage at Symphony Hall Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 22, 2013, in Boston. The 90-year-old pianist will make his orchestral debut with Ma Tuesday night, where they will play music composed 70 years ago at the Nazi prison camp where Horner was imprisoned. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, right, follows Holocaust survivor George Horner for a rehearsal at Symphony Hall Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 22, 2013, in Boston. The 90-year-old pianist will make his orchestral debut with Ma Tuesday night, where they will play music composed 70 years ago at the Nazi prison camp where Horner was imprisoned. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
BOSTON (AP) — A 90-year-old Holocaust survivor will make his orchestral debut with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma on Tuesday to benefit a foundation dedicated to preserving the work of artists and musicians killed by the Nazis.
Ma and George Horner, a retired doctor who lives near Philadelphia, embraced warmly in a small room at Boston's Symphony Hall on Tuesday afternoon before a brief rehearsal.
Ma thanked Horner for helping the Terezin Music Foundation, named for the town of Terezin, site of an unusual Jewish ghetto in what was then German-occupied Czechoslovakia. Even amid death and hard labor, Nazi soldiers there allowed prisoners to stage performances.
On Tuesday night, they will play music composed 70 years ago when Horner was incarcerated.
"It's an extraordinary link to the past," said concert organizer Mark Ludwig, who leads the foundation.
Horner played piano and accordion in the Terezin cabarets, including tunes written by fellow inmate Karel Svenk. On Tuesday, Horner will play two of Svenk's works solo — a march and a lullaby — and then team up with Ma for a third piece called "How Come the Black Man Sits in the Back of the Bus?"
Svenk did not survive the genocide. But his musical legacy has, due in part to a chance meeting of Ludwig, a scholar of Terezin composers, and Horner, who never forgot the songs that were written and played in captivity.
Still, Ludwig found it hard to ask Horner to perform pieces laden with such difficult memories.
"To ask somebody who ... played this in the camps, that's asking a lot," said Ludwig.
Yet Horner readily agreed to what he described as a "noble" mission. It didn't hurt that he would be sharing the stage with Ma — even if he thought Ludwig was joking at first.
"I told him, 'Do you want me to swallow that one?'" Horner recalled with a laugh. "I couldn't believe it because it's a fantastic thing for me."
Ma said before the performance that he hoped it will inspire people to a better future.
"I grew up with the words, 'never again,'" said Ma, who was born 10 years after the end of World War II revealed the scope of the Holocaust. "It is kind of inconceivable that there are people who say the Holocaust didn't exist. George Horner is a living contradiction of what those people are saying."
He said Horner was able to survive "because he had music, because he had friends, because the power of music could fill in the empty spaces."
"To me George Horner is a huge hero, and is a huge inspiration," Ma said. "He is a witness to a window, and to a slice of history, that we never want to see again, and yet we keep seeing versions of that all over the world. I hope we are inspired by that and we keep that memory forever."
The program features additional performances by Ma and the Hawthorne String Quartet. In a statement, Ma said he's glad the foundation is "giving voice through music to those whose voices have been tragically silenced."
Horner was 21 when he was freed by Allied soldiers in 1945 after serving time at Terezin, Auschwitz and Buchenwald. His parents and sister perished in the camps.
And though his back still bears the scars of a Nazi beating, he remains spry and seems much younger than his 90 years.
When Horner found out about the duet with Ma, Ludwig said, "He was so excited, to me he sounded like a teenager."
___
Matheson reported from Newtown Square, Pa. AP photographer Senne reported from Boston.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — It took months of tortured talks, two strikes and the deaths of two workers for San Francisco's transit rail workers and their employer to finally agree on a contract that got trains running again Tuesday.
The saga left commuters fuming and both sides bruised. A state lawmaker is considering introducing a bill that would ban public transit strikes, an idea seemingly anathema to a Democrat-controlled Legislature friendly to unions but perhaps a possibility because of the anger over the strike.
The tentative agreement between unions and Bay Area Rapid Transit came together quickly late Monday, just two days after a pair of transit workers were killed by a train operated by a BART employee being trained. The deaths shook both sides and helped get them back to a negotiating table they had deserted Friday.
The accident made it "more difficult for BART management to maintain a very hard line and not accept any kind of compromise," said John Logan, an invited observer to the bargaining sessions who is director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University.
Logan added that the unions "did not want this strike to go on and did not see it as in their interest," partly because the public seemed to be blaming workers rather than management for the disruption to their lives.
Commuters who had faced traffic jams, crammed buses and crowded ferries gave a collective sigh of relief as train service resumed, carrying passengers across the sprawling region.
Hayward resident Meshe Harris, who has no car, was among the thousands of commuters who closely followed the talks. She had a job interview Tuesday and needed service to resume so she could get there.
"I was hoping, thank God, that it was going to be running soon," she said.
The tentative deal, announced by BART and its two largest unions, requires approval from the rank and file and BART's board of directors. Both sides said they had made concessions.
"This deal is more than we wanted to pay," said BART general manager Grace Crunican, declining to elaborate.
A third union, representing about 200 workers including financial analysts and people who monitor trains from a command center, is still negotiating with BART.
"We seem to be moving toward a solution," said Melissa Miller, secretary of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees local 3993.
The BART dispute has prompted two area Democrats to weigh in against transit strikes. State Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, said he was looking into legislation to prevent future walkouts. And Orinda City Councilman Steve Glazer, a candidate for state Assembly and former adviser to Gov. Jerry Brown, is calling for a transit strike prohibition because such labor actions "cripple our economy, hurt workers getting to their jobs, limit access to schools and health care, and damage our environment."
Strikes at major public transit systems are rare, in part because some states have laws prohibiting them. Those laws aren't always effective, however. In 2005, for example, New York City transit workers staged a three-day walkout despite a New York law that forbids public employees from striking.
BART workers represented by its two largest unions, including more than 2,300 mechanics, custodians, station agents, train operators and clerical staff, average about $71,000 in base salary and $11,000 in overtime annually, the transit agency said. The workers currently pay $92 a month for health care and contribute nothing toward their pensions.
Negotiations began in April, but there was little progress and two strikes followed, the first in July.
After reaching agreement on pay and benefits, the talks stalled last week after BART demanded changes to workplace rules, including how schedules are made, when overtime is paid and a move from paper to electronic record keeping.
The breakthrough came after the worker deaths in Walnut Creek on Saturday.
"When that happened over the weekend, they realized this thing had to end," said Amalgamated Transit Union international president Larry Hanley, whose union represents BART train drivers and station agents.
Hanley said that during Monday's negotiations, "management backed off the vast majority of the work rules" and settled on minor changes allowing new technology.
He said that the final economic package — involving salaries, pensions and health care — was essentially the same as a framework both sides has ostensibly agreed to. Final details on those issues have not been released, but BART had offered a 12 percent pay raise over four years and a requirement that workers contribute 4 percent toward their pension and 9.5 percent toward medical benefits.
The deaths of the two workers who were checking tracks are being investigated by the National Transportation and Safety Board, which says the driver was an operator trainee and held other positions at BART.
Jim Southworth, the NTSB's lead investigator, said at a briefing Tuesday that under BART rules, the workers on the tracks were responsible for their own safety.
The approval they received to go onto the tracks required them to make sure they remained out of danger as they worked, he said. One of the two workers was to be a lookout to warn the other of an approaching train.
The two workers should have known "to expect the train in either direction at any time," Southworth said.
Meanwhile, with BART's labor dispute winding down, a local bus issue was heating up, and the governor said Tuesday he was seeking a cooling off period in the labor dispute between a major San Francisco Bay Area bus system and its drivers.
An Alameda County Superior Court judge planned to hear the request Wednesday morning. If the judge grants a cooling-off period, it would halt any strike activities for 60 days.
___
Pritchard reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Jason Dearen in San Francisco and Terrence Chea in Oakland contributed to this report.
The mysterious scarab beetles: 2 new species of the endangered ancient genus Gyronotus
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
22-Oct-2013
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Contact: Philippe Moretto naturafrique@gmail.com Pensoft Publishers
Famous as the sacred beetles of ancient Egypt the scarab beetle group in fact represents much greater diversity around the globe. Some of the most vulnerable representatives are contained in the flightless genus Gyronotus, which currently includes six known species. A recent study published in the open access journal Zookeys describes two new species with unusual distribution from southern Africa.
The two new species G. perissinottoi and G. schuelei both dwell in grasslands/savannas, while most of the other known species in the genus exhibit a preference for forest habitats. G. perissinottoi occurs in a small but biodiversity unique area in southern KwaZulu-Natal, in the beautiful Umthamvuna Nature Reserve. The second species, G. schuelei originates from western Swaziland and is currently known only from two specimens.
The representatives of the genus Gyronotus as well as several other genera of the tribe Canthonini, are regarded among the most endangered of the African Scarabaeinae because of their sensitivity to disturbance. Apart from G. glabrosus and the two newly described beetles, Gyronotus species are linked to coastal and low-lying forest habitats, which have undergone massive transformation during the past 50 years, through clearance, degradation and fragmentation.
"The genus Gyronotus is part of the tribe Canthonini, which has long been recognised as a relict of the ancient supercontinent Gondwanaland. Members of the genus are also wingless and particularly vulnerable to environmental disturbance. Thus, they are undoubtedly of substantial biodiversity and conservation value, with status ranging from vulnerable to critically endangered,"comment the authors of the study Dr. Moretto and Dr. Perissinotto.
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Original Source:
Moretto P, Perissinotto R (2013) Description and ecology of two new species of Gyronotus van Lansberge, 1874 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) from southern Africa. ZooKeys 344: 73. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.344.6101
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The mysterious scarab beetles: 2 new species of the endangered ancient genus Gyronotus
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
22-Oct-2013
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Contact: Philippe Moretto naturafrique@gmail.com Pensoft Publishers
Famous as the sacred beetles of ancient Egypt the scarab beetle group in fact represents much greater diversity around the globe. Some of the most vulnerable representatives are contained in the flightless genus Gyronotus, which currently includes six known species. A recent study published in the open access journal Zookeys describes two new species with unusual distribution from southern Africa.
The two new species G. perissinottoi and G. schuelei both dwell in grasslands/savannas, while most of the other known species in the genus exhibit a preference for forest habitats. G. perissinottoi occurs in a small but biodiversity unique area in southern KwaZulu-Natal, in the beautiful Umthamvuna Nature Reserve. The second species, G. schuelei originates from western Swaziland and is currently known only from two specimens.
The representatives of the genus Gyronotus as well as several other genera of the tribe Canthonini, are regarded among the most endangered of the African Scarabaeinae because of their sensitivity to disturbance. Apart from G. glabrosus and the two newly described beetles, Gyronotus species are linked to coastal and low-lying forest habitats, which have undergone massive transformation during the past 50 years, through clearance, degradation and fragmentation.
"The genus Gyronotus is part of the tribe Canthonini, which has long been recognised as a relict of the ancient supercontinent Gondwanaland. Members of the genus are also wingless and particularly vulnerable to environmental disturbance. Thus, they are undoubtedly of substantial biodiversity and conservation value, with status ranging from vulnerable to critically endangered,"comment the authors of the study Dr. Moretto and Dr. Perissinotto.
###
Original Source:
Moretto P, Perissinotto R (2013) Description and ecology of two new species of Gyronotus van Lansberge, 1874 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) from southern Africa. ZooKeys 344: 73. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.344.6101
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican served tea and cucumber sandwiches Tuesday as it launched its first cricket club, an initiative aimed at forging ties with teams of other faiths.
No, Pope Francis isn't taking up the sport long associated with manicured grounds and English nobility; the soccer-mad "slum pope" still prefers the lower-brow sport of his beloved San Lorenzo club.
But he and the Vatican have long championed sports as good for mind, body and soul, and the cricket club is the latest initiative of the Vatican's culture ministry to use sports to engage in dialogue with the contemporary world.
Australia's ambassador to the Holy See, John McCarthy, was the brainchild behind the initiative and said he hopes the St. Peter's Cricket Club will field a team to play the Church of England at Lord's sometime next fall.
He said the aim is to boost interfaith dialogue, given cricket's immense popularity in largely non-Catholic India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It would be a "very special occasion" if seminarians from Rome's pontifical universities might one day play students at Muslim or Hindu religious schools on the subcontinent, he said.
The initiative also is aimed at educating Italy, the Vatican and even Pope Francis that "there is some sport other than football!" McCarthy said before passing around a tray of cucumber tea sandwiches, a mainstay of cricket events.
The club is expected to count on some 250-300 students and priests at the Vatican and various pontifical universities around Rome where cricket is already being played informally; from these individual teams a Vatican one would be selected and fielded as early as the spring.
Rome's Capannelle Cricket Club is letting the Vatican use its pitch, and McCarthy said anonymous donors would cover equipment, organizational and other related costs.
Adam Chadwick, curator of collections at Lord's Cricket Ground in London, which prides itself as the home of the sport, welcomed the initiative and seemed open to a Vatican-Church of England match played on one of its pitches in the upscale St. Johns Wood section of the capital.
In a phone interview, Chadwick said the image of cricket — of men in white playing on country estates with ideas of chivalry and gentlemanly behavior dictating their play— date from the Victorian era of the late 19th century, but that cricket's origins are very different and far more popular.
"The first mentions that we found in this country are just an ordinary man (playing) when he would have been at church on Sunday — which is a bit ironic, actually," he said with a laugh.
Cricket's enormous appeal in places like India, once part of the British empire, is actually much more in line with the game's more popular origins, he said.
Indeed, in keeping with Pope Francis' aim for the church to reach out to the poorest, the Vatican made clear that its cricket club wasn't thinking of English high society but rather the sport's appeal with the masses.
"This represents the desire of the council to be in the peripheries, the outskirts of the world," said Monsignor Melchor Sanchez de Toca, who runs the sports department in the Vatican's culture ministry.
The Vatican already has its "Clericus Cup" soccer tournament, which pitches the Swiss Guards against seminarians from the North American College and other teams.
And just on Sunday in another sporting initiative, the culture ministry organized a "Race of Faith," laying down a 100-meter (yard) track along the main boulevard leading to St. Peter's Square to emphasize sports' positive spiritual and educational values.
___
Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield
No need to sit at home biting your nails come 1PM EDT/10AM PDT, because Apple's given us an nice little surprise in the form of a livestream for today's big iPad unveiling.
YPlan has only been around for less than a year, but the company is rapidly covering new ground.
After expanding from the UK into New York city last month, the social planning service is today launching an Android app.
YPlan works by aggregating cool events, parties, and activities happening within the next 24 hours, eternally answering the question “What are we going to do tonight?”
The fact that users can pay directly for any activity right within the app, never having to print a ticket or worry about fumbling for cash at the door, which gives the service an “Uber for nightlife” feel.
The company claims to have more than 300k downloads in the past 10 months, and is hoping to boost those figures with the launch of an Android version of the app. YPlan has thus far received $12 million in Series A led by General Catalyst.
So why’d it take so long to launch an Android app?
According to the company, finding good Android developers is difficult and YPlan kept the bar very high in the search. “Developing a quality Android app takes a lot of time so we’ve been working really hard on it over the summer, splitting effort between Android and expansion to NYC,” said Viktoras Jucikas, co-founder and CTO of YPlan.
Obviously, cross-platform availability is crucial to YPlan’s success as the company builds out it’s userbase. Eventually, co-founder Rytis Vitkauskas plans to integrate more social into the plan-oriented app, letting larger groups of friends rally together for certain activities.
For now, however, the company is focused on scaling in the two markets it’s available in.
New Yorkers and London residents interested in learning more about YPlan can visit the company website, or download the iOS or Android app to check out the experience.
Then Apple announced plans to hold its iPad announcement on October 22, and just like that, Microsoft’s tablet is once again playing second fiddle to Apple’s on-the-go maestro before it even gets out the door.
But that doesn’t mean the Surface 2 is a futile endeavor. Microsoft’s ARM-powered tablet blows the pants off the iPad...if you have demanding productivity needs.
Office on the go, forever
When PCWorld spoke to a cadre of first-gen Surface RT lovers, all of them—every single one—bought the tablet for productivity, not pleasure. In particular, they were drawn to the Surface’s mixture of Office Home & Student and extreme endurance, along with the machine’s USB port and MicroSD card slot—two relative rarities in the tablet world.
“I love [the Surface RT] for its niche,” said Andy Rathbone, the author of Surface for Dummies. "It’s the only portable device that can run Microsoft Word for ten hours between charges."
Martyn Williams
The Surface 2 stands ready with even more-powerful and longer-lasting hardware, as well as the clamored-for addition of Outlook RT 2013.
Windows RT 8.1 should also help, thanks to its enhanced Mail app and numerous new features that smooth over the Modern UI’s rough edges and make it easier to stay in Microsoft’s touch-friendly interface. Windows 8’s “Snap” multitasking features, PC-esque settings, dynamic Live Tiles, Internet Explorer 11, and semblance of a filing system were its big draws over iOS. Windows 8.1 builds upon each of those, and its deeper ties to SkyDrive forge a tighter bond between your tablet and primary computer than is possible with Apple’s ecosystem. (Microsoft is tossing in 200GB of free SkyDrive storage for two years with each Surface tablet.)
The revamped Touch and Type Covers are backlit, while a new Power Cover with a built-in 30W battery and a Surface car charger (complete with USB port!) keep the words flowing for longer than Microsoft’s tablet can do by its lonesome. An optional adapter wirelessly connects your keyboard to your tablet via Bluetooth to allow you to type from anywhere in the room—an incredibly niche need, but one that fits right into the Surface 2’s focus on productivity.
It’s another accessory, however, that hints at a future full of possibilities for the Surface: The Music Cover.
Of music notes and massive niches
Microsoft’s Remix Cover: Can you even call that a keyboard?
Rather than alphanumeric keys, the intriguing Music Cover comes packed with controls designed to help budding producers tune and tweak musical tracks with ease—with the help of a unique app that installs when you connect the cover.
While the idea of customized “blades” (as Microsoft calls these covers) is pretty much still in the womb, they hint at an almost platform-esque future for Surface, one with a strong focus on productivity niches bolstered by special Touch Covers like the Music Cover. Imagine, if you will, a easel-like blade designed for use with Fresh Paint or Photoshop, or a cover created for video editing?
During an “Ask me anything” session with the Surface team, one Redditor asked for a blade designed to work with the Xbox and Windows 8’s Smartglass app. Microsoft also tasked students from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, with dreaming up blade ideas and received all sorts of crazy suggestions, as seen in the video below, ranging from solar chargers to credit card readers.
It’s fascinating stuff—but stuff for far in the future, alas.
Still a specialized slate
The Surface 2 still follows in the footsteps of its failed predecessor despite its beefed-up internals and retooled software. The Windows RT operating system remains an albatross, Outlook RT 2013 be damned. And in an age of surging small-screen slates, the Surface’s 10.6-inch display stands out as particularly bulky.
But as far as all-day-plus Office machines go, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything more focused than Microsoft’s own tablet. The Surface 2 crystallizes the productivity tasks that shone in the original version, sharpening them into a machine that could excel in school or business scenarios.
And even if you pick one up for work, you’ll likely find the Surface capable of meeting most of your casual play needs, too. While there are still several glaring no-shows in the infant Windows Store, big-name apps like Facebook and Netflix (and Twitter, Hulu Plus, ESPN, and…) are there, and Web versions of most missing apps are only as far away as Internet Explorer 11.
Even so, none of that prevented the first Surface from failing miserably.
The iPad’s Retina display and fleshed-out ecosystem simply make it the better option for all but the most ardent Office lovers—and that’s before we even see what’s unveiled at today’s Apple event. Plenty of people use their iPad for work, too: Third-party keyboard accessories abound, and Apple is literally giving iWork away for free now. And yes, Microsoft plans to release Office for the iPad…someday. (Though if it’s anything like Office for the iPhone you’d be better off with iWork.)
If you absolutely, positively need the full-fledged version of Office in long-lasting form, the Surface 2 should be right up your alley. But for everybody else, the iPad is still the superior option.
Spatial, written language skills predict math competence
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
22-Oct-2013
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Contact: Sarah Mancoll smancoll@srcd.org 202-289-7905 Society for Research in Child Development
Early math skills are emerging as important to later academic achievement. As many countries seek to strengthen their workforces in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, understanding the early contributions to math skills becomes increasingly vital. New longitudinal research from Finland has found that children's early spatial skills and knowledge of written letters, rather than oral language skills, predict competence in this area.
The research also found that children's ability to count sequences of numbers serve as a bridge: Children with stronger early spatial skills and knowledge of written letters did better in counting sequences of numbers; such skill in counting was related to later math competence in general.
Published in the journal Child Development, the study was conducted by researchers at The Hong Kong Institute of Education, and the Niilo Mki Institute and the University of Jyvskyl, both in Finland.
"Our results provide strong evidence that children's early acquisition of written language, spatial, and number skills forms important foundations for the development of their competence in math in the elementary years," according to Xiao Zhang, assistant professor of psychology at The Hong Kong Institute of Education, who led the study. Spatial skills involve the ability to understand problems that relate to physical spaces, shapes, and forms.
"As a practical matter, programs that build young children's spatial and written language skills might help accelerate subsequent number-related knowledge and, in turn, the development of competence in math."
Researchers tested the linguistic and spatial skills of 1,880 Finnish children in kindergarten, gauging their awareness of phonetics, knowledge of letters and vocabulary, and understanding of spatial relations. Then they tested the children's math performance on paper-and-pencil tests from first to third grade. With a randomly selected group of about 375 children from the initial group, the researchers also tested how well the children could count numbers in forward and backward sequences when they were in first grade.
Children with better written language skills (those with more knowledge of written letters) not only had stronger math competence at the start of first grade, but advanced more rapidly in math through third grade. In contrast, children with strong oral language skills were not more likely to show strong math ability later.
Spatial skills also were found to predict children's development in math: Children with better spatial skills had stronger competence in math in first grade and later had more growth over time. And spatial and written language skills improved the development of math by enhancing children's knowledge of sequential counting.
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Spatial, written language skills predict math competence
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
22-Oct-2013
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Contact: Sarah Mancoll smancoll@srcd.org 202-289-7905 Society for Research in Child Development
Early math skills are emerging as important to later academic achievement. As many countries seek to strengthen their workforces in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields, understanding the early contributions to math skills becomes increasingly vital. New longitudinal research from Finland has found that children's early spatial skills and knowledge of written letters, rather than oral language skills, predict competence in this area.
The research also found that children's ability to count sequences of numbers serve as a bridge: Children with stronger early spatial skills and knowledge of written letters did better in counting sequences of numbers; such skill in counting was related to later math competence in general.
Published in the journal Child Development, the study was conducted by researchers at The Hong Kong Institute of Education, and the Niilo Mki Institute and the University of Jyvskyl, both in Finland.
"Our results provide strong evidence that children's early acquisition of written language, spatial, and number skills forms important foundations for the development of their competence in math in the elementary years," according to Xiao Zhang, assistant professor of psychology at The Hong Kong Institute of Education, who led the study. Spatial skills involve the ability to understand problems that relate to physical spaces, shapes, and forms.
"As a practical matter, programs that build young children's spatial and written language skills might help accelerate subsequent number-related knowledge and, in turn, the development of competence in math."
Researchers tested the linguistic and spatial skills of 1,880 Finnish children in kindergarten, gauging their awareness of phonetics, knowledge of letters and vocabulary, and understanding of spatial relations. Then they tested the children's math performance on paper-and-pencil tests from first to third grade. With a randomly selected group of about 375 children from the initial group, the researchers also tested how well the children could count numbers in forward and backward sequences when they were in first grade.
Children with better written language skills (those with more knowledge of written letters) not only had stronger math competence at the start of first grade, but advanced more rapidly in math through third grade. In contrast, children with strong oral language skills were not more likely to show strong math ability later.
Spatial skills also were found to predict children's development in math: Children with better spatial skills had stronger competence in math in first grade and later had more growth over time. And spatial and written language skills improved the development of math by enhancing children's knowledge of sequential counting.
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Karmel Allison, who is pregnant and reportedly has type 1 diabetes, stood behind the president as he spoke about problems with the rollout of the Affordable Care Act.
At one point during Obama's speech, Allison can be seen closing her eyes and looking a bit unstable. Suddenly, she begins wobbling.
A woman to Allison's right and a man behind her help stop her from falling backward, as the president turns around to help support her.
Obama says to Allison: "You're OK" and turns back to the audience: "This is what happens when I talk to long," he says, as she is escorted away.
LONDON (AP) — Britney Spears may take on a sexy pop star persona in the video for her latest single "Work B---- ," but at home she says she feels like a "crazy mom."
Speaking in London, the 31-year old singer says these days she juggles the demands of an international singing career with taking care of her two sons, Sean, 8, and 7-year-old Jayden.
"Once you've done a shoot ... you have to come in and do homework and fix dinner twice and it's a lot of work," she told The Associated Press in an Oct. 15 interview. "But I think as women we just manage it, we make it work."
Spears says she worked hard with her fitness trainer to get into top shape for her new video, sticking to two or three small meals each day. The American singer admitted, however, that she struggled to stave off food cravings in the weeks leading up to the video shoot, saying: "I love to eat my popcorn at night!"
And the first thing she ate afterward?
"Just chocolate, chocolate, chocolate," she said.
"Work B----" is the lead single from Spears' 8th studio album "Britney Jean" — the name her family calls her — and she says it's her most personal album to date. Produced with will.i.am, Spears co-wrote every track, including a song about her split with Jason Trawick in January.
"'I think it will make girls not feel alone in this situation," she explained. "When they're alone in their room and they broke up with their boyfriend, they have a song they can go to and listen to, just makes them feel better about themselves."
Not content with just a new single and a new album, the singer is also preparing for a Las Vegas residency at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. In a show titled "Britney: Piece of Me," Spears will perform 50 dates over two years.
The Grammy-winner says she has a vocal coach to strengthen her voice for the show. She described the process as "grueling" — but says she can't wait for the experience.
"I know I'll be nervous, but I'm going to be excited, too. It's going to be cool," she said.
Spears feels it's a good time for women in pop music right now, citing the success of Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Madonna and Taylor Swift as her inspiration.
"There's so many strong, powerful women in pop music culture today," she said.
"Britney Jean" is out Dec. 3 and "Britney: Piece of Me" debuts in Las Vegas on Dec. 27.
St. Louis Rams' Sam Bradford (8) is helped into the locker room after being injured in the second half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
St. Louis Rams' Sam Bradford (8) is helped into the locker room after being injured in the second half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
St. Louis Rams' Sam Bradford (8) is pushed out of bounds by Carolina Panthers' Mike Mitchell (21) in the second half of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013. Bradford was injured on the play. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford will miss the rest of the season because of a torn knee ligament.
The extent of the injury to his left knee was confirmed by the team Monday. Bradford underwent an MRI exam Sunday night after the team returned from a 30-15 loss at Carolina.
Coach Jeff Fisher was to provide details at an afternoon news conference.
Bradford tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the fourth quarter when he when he landed on his knee after being shoved out of bounds by safety Mike Mitchell. Fisher said after the game that Bradford was in "significant pain" on the sideline.
Teammates had feared the worst after Bradford was carted off the field and on crutches in the locker room.
Kellen Clemens replaced Bradford and is the only other quarterback on the roster. The Rams' next game is next Monday night at home against Seattle
Bradford threw for 255 yards and a score Sunday, with one interception and two sacks as the Rams dropped to 3-4. He has thrown a touchdown pass in 11 consecutive games.
Bradford, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft, has thrown for 1,687 yards with 14 touchdowns and four interceptions this season. St. Louis had won its previous two games, with Bradford throwing three TD passes in each.
Bradford missed six games with a high left ankle sprain in 2011. He had season-ending shoulder surgery in 2009 when he was at Oklahoma.
Clemens made three starts in 2011 but hadn't played this year until replacing Bradford against Carolina. He has made 12 career starts, seven of them with the New York Jets in 2007.
"It's never easy when you see a teammate go down," he said after the game. "When you see a person that you spend as much time with as I do with Sam and genuinely care about as a person. ... I have great respect for what he does on the field, but just as genuine concern for him as a person."
Added center Scott Wells: "Even if Sam wasn't hurt, we still have some heavy lifting to do. But this adds extra to it."
For first time, drug developed based on zebrafish studies passes Phase I clinical trial
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
21-Oct-2013
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Contact: Irene Sege irene.sege@childrens.harvard.edu 617-919-7379 Boston Children's Hospital
Safely improves engraftment of umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants
Boston, Mass., October 18, 2013 Zebrafish research achieved a significant milestone when the first drug developed through studies utilizing the tiny animal and then put into clinical trials passed a Phase 1 trial aimed at establishing its safety. The drug, discovered in the laboratory of Leonard Zon, MD, at Boston Children's Hospital, has already advanced to Phase II studies designed to determine its efficacy.
Results of the safety trial were reported recently in the journal Blood. At only six years after Zon's laboratory reported the discovery of the chemical from which the drug is derived, the Phase 1 data underscore the potential of zebrafish research to accelerate the journey from bench to bedside.
"The zebrafish is a very good system for evaluating potential drugs," Zon said. "When you discover a new treatment option and can see it go into patients, it's quite a remarkable feeling."
The drug, which is being developed by Fate Therapeutics under the name ProHema, is the result of the Zon laboratory's search for a way to improve the success of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplants using umbilical cord blood. ProHema is a chemical derivative of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) that, according to preclinical and clinical data, might improve engraftment of transplanted umbilical cord blood cells by helping donated cells home in on the bone marrow.
Although umbilical cords are an effective transplant source in patients for whom a suitable donor cannot be found, a single umbilical cord rarely contains enough HSCs for a transplant for an adult patient. The current method is to use two cord blood units per transplant, raising the risk that the immune cells that arise from the two cords may start to attack each other. In addition, umbilical cords are expensive and in limited supply.
This problem has led Zon, a co-author of the Blood study, and other researchers to search for molecules that could help expand cord blood stem cells or improve the efficiency of cord blood transplants and eliminate the need for cells from a second cord.
Zon's laboratory discovered PGE2's properties after screening 2,500 chemicals for their effects on blood stem cell production in zebrafish, a popular and cost-effective research model for stem cell, genetic and developmental research. Not only are zebrafish genes surprisingly similar to human genes, but they can be inexpensively housed at high densities and female zebrafish lay 300 eggs per week, making them a promising vehicle for quickly and cheaply discovering new drugs.
Zon and his colleagues reported their initial PGE2 findings in Nature in 2007.
"We think PGE2 acts as a kind of priming mechanism," Zon said. "It gets the cell set so that it will function better once it is introduced into the recipient's body." Subsequent preclinical studies showed that PGE2 can trigger a four-fold increase in efficiency of stem cell engraftment, compared to untreated controls, by helping stem cells home more effectively to the bone marrow.
The Phase I trial of ProHema, the drug derived from PGE2, was launched in 2009 at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Massachusetts General Hospital under the direction of DFCI's Corey Cutler, MD, MPH. It showed that treatment of donated umbilical cord blood stem cells with the drug before transplant was safe. In addition, treated cells could engraft and rebuild a patient's blood system more quickly than untreated ones.
"These are very promising results," Cutler said. "They suggest that by generating more effective stem cells, we might be able to lower the dose of stem cells needed for a successful transplant. And because this approach takes substantially less time than techniques that increase the number of stem cells prior to transplant, it can easily be performed by most stem cell-processing facilities."
Because the Food and Drug Administration has already approved PGE2 for other uses, researchers were able to move quickly into clinical trials. The Phase II study is underway at seven institutions nationwide.
###
The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the Pan-Mass Challenge and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Zon is a scientific founder of Fate Therapeutics and owns stock in the company.
About Boston Children's Hospital
Boston Children's Hospital is home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries have benefited both children and adults since 1869. More than 1,100 scientists, including seven members of the National Academy of Sciences, 13 members of the Institute of Medicine and 14 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise Boston Children's research community. Founded as a 20-bed hospital for children, Boston Children's today is a 395-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care grounded in the values of excellence in patient care and sensitivity to the complex needs and diversity of children and families. Boston Children's is also the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. For more information about research and clinical innovation at Boston Children's, visit: http://vectorblog.org.
About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute. It provides adult cancer care with Brigham and Women's Hospital as Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center and it provides pediatric care with Boston Children's Hospital as Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. Dana-Farber is the top ranked cancer center in New England, according to U.S. News & World Report, and one of the largest recipients among independent hospitals of National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health grant funding. Follow Dana-Farber on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/danafarbercancerinstitute and on Twitter: @danafarber.
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For first time, drug developed based on zebrafish studies passes Phase I clinical trial
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
21-Oct-2013
[
| E-mail
]
Share
Contact: Irene Sege irene.sege@childrens.harvard.edu 617-919-7379 Boston Children's Hospital
Safely improves engraftment of umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants
Boston, Mass., October 18, 2013 Zebrafish research achieved a significant milestone when the first drug developed through studies utilizing the tiny animal and then put into clinical trials passed a Phase 1 trial aimed at establishing its safety. The drug, discovered in the laboratory of Leonard Zon, MD, at Boston Children's Hospital, has already advanced to Phase II studies designed to determine its efficacy.
Results of the safety trial were reported recently in the journal Blood. At only six years after Zon's laboratory reported the discovery of the chemical from which the drug is derived, the Phase 1 data underscore the potential of zebrafish research to accelerate the journey from bench to bedside.
"The zebrafish is a very good system for evaluating potential drugs," Zon said. "When you discover a new treatment option and can see it go into patients, it's quite a remarkable feeling."
The drug, which is being developed by Fate Therapeutics under the name ProHema, is the result of the Zon laboratory's search for a way to improve the success of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplants using umbilical cord blood. ProHema is a chemical derivative of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) that, according to preclinical and clinical data, might improve engraftment of transplanted umbilical cord blood cells by helping donated cells home in on the bone marrow.
Although umbilical cords are an effective transplant source in patients for whom a suitable donor cannot be found, a single umbilical cord rarely contains enough HSCs for a transplant for an adult patient. The current method is to use two cord blood units per transplant, raising the risk that the immune cells that arise from the two cords may start to attack each other. In addition, umbilical cords are expensive and in limited supply.
This problem has led Zon, a co-author of the Blood study, and other researchers to search for molecules that could help expand cord blood stem cells or improve the efficiency of cord blood transplants and eliminate the need for cells from a second cord.
Zon's laboratory discovered PGE2's properties after screening 2,500 chemicals for their effects on blood stem cell production in zebrafish, a popular and cost-effective research model for stem cell, genetic and developmental research. Not only are zebrafish genes surprisingly similar to human genes, but they can be inexpensively housed at high densities and female zebrafish lay 300 eggs per week, making them a promising vehicle for quickly and cheaply discovering new drugs.
Zon and his colleagues reported their initial PGE2 findings in Nature in 2007.
"We think PGE2 acts as a kind of priming mechanism," Zon said. "It gets the cell set so that it will function better once it is introduced into the recipient's body." Subsequent preclinical studies showed that PGE2 can trigger a four-fold increase in efficiency of stem cell engraftment, compared to untreated controls, by helping stem cells home more effectively to the bone marrow.
The Phase I trial of ProHema, the drug derived from PGE2, was launched in 2009 at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Massachusetts General Hospital under the direction of DFCI's Corey Cutler, MD, MPH. It showed that treatment of donated umbilical cord blood stem cells with the drug before transplant was safe. In addition, treated cells could engraft and rebuild a patient's blood system more quickly than untreated ones.
"These are very promising results," Cutler said. "They suggest that by generating more effective stem cells, we might be able to lower the dose of stem cells needed for a successful transplant. And because this approach takes substantially less time than techniques that increase the number of stem cells prior to transplant, it can easily be performed by most stem cell-processing facilities."
Because the Food and Drug Administration has already approved PGE2 for other uses, researchers were able to move quickly into clinical trials. The Phase II study is underway at seven institutions nationwide.
###
The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the Pan-Mass Challenge and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Zon is a scientific founder of Fate Therapeutics and owns stock in the company.
About Boston Children's Hospital
Boston Children's Hospital is home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries have benefited both children and adults since 1869. More than 1,100 scientists, including seven members of the National Academy of Sciences, 13 members of the Institute of Medicine and 14 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise Boston Children's research community. Founded as a 20-bed hospital for children, Boston Children's today is a 395-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care grounded in the values of excellence in patient care and sensitivity to the complex needs and diversity of children and families. Boston Children's is also the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. For more information about research and clinical innovation at Boston Children's, visit: http://vectorblog.org.
About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute. It provides adult cancer care with Brigham and Women's Hospital as Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center and it provides pediatric care with Boston Children's Hospital as Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. Dana-Farber is the top ranked cancer center in New England, according to U.S. News & World Report, and one of the largest recipients among independent hospitals of National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health grant funding. Follow Dana-Farber on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/danafarbercancerinstitute and on Twitter: @danafarber.
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