Atlanta Sales Excellence Director - GSD Job - GA, 30301

Job Category: Sales
Location: Atlanta, GA, US
Job ID: 829395-107528
Division: Sales

The Sales Excellence Manager role is responsible for processes, systems, tools, business planning, management frameworks, initiatives and programs that will optimize sales and provide the discipline for increases in sales force productivity.

The Sales Excellence Manager role drives towards these results by providing:
Sales productivity expertise in Relationship Management, Opportunity Management, and Business Management.
Process readiness and coaching.
Systems and tools requirements.
Planning and Business management frameworks such as Rhythm of the Business (ROB), three-year planning, pipeline management and forecasting support, budgeting management, commitments and quotas.
Ensuring sales model implementation through segment strategy, customer segmentation and role taxonomy.
Development of initiatives for annuities, customer/partner experience, and Cost of Sale (CoS).

The Sales Excellence Manager role affects Microsoft at the EPG sales organization level within a specified region or subsidiary. The Sales Excellence Manager role focuses on processes, systems, tools, organizational issues, financial, and communication processes that affect effective operations within the entire organization.
The Sales Excellence teams are considered to be the change leaders, providing business management expertise and driving sales productivity. This team functions as the execution engine in the field, which means they touch all levels of people and groups throughout the business. This role has significant importance in how we drive the vision for successful change management, business strategy, and sales optimization.

The key decisions made by the Sales Excellence Manager role are:
Strategic annual and three-year planning decisions
Key metrics to drive plan achievement
Rhythm of the Business (ROB) frameworks, processes and metrics
Budget investments and resource management

The Sales Excellence Manager role also makes recommendations and decisions with worldwide EPG and field Sales Excellence leadership on vision, direction and plans to roll out efforts to increase sales productivity, drive sales optimization efforts and lead Rhythm of the Business (ROB). The Sales Excellence Manager role is a strategic leader to a community that needs guiding principles to implement and execute against fiscal year Sales Priorities. The Sales Excellence Manager role partners with its manager (the EPG Lead) to develop the priorities and set the strategy accordingly.

The Sales Excellence Manager role works with the following internal resources:
EPG Lead (the Sales Excellence Manager functions as the COO for the EPG Lead).
ATU, STU, PTU, IU Leads (for driving adoption of sales processes, systems and tools discipline).
Finance (for all processes and data related to budgeting, Cost of Sales (CoS), and forecasting).
Human Resources (for all interactions related to resource requirements, resource planning, and compensation management).
M&O (for determining fiscal year Sales Priorities and investment requirements).

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

1) Essential Experience - Excellent verbal and written communication skills with equally good listening, team leadership and excellence in execution skills. 10+ years of proven solution sales and sales management experience in Enterprise accounts and a track record of working with a wide range of business partners. Extensive experience leading sales teams who had to rely on a range of internal individuals - account managers, partner account managers, services, marketing - to achieve their goals. Preference will be given to candidates who can demonstrate knowledge of the business drivers within the lines of business of enterprise customer organizations.

2) Personal Attributes - Highly motivated leader with a mature and positive attitude, a passion for leading efforts for sales teams (both sales managers and sales professionals) and working with internal partners on driving the sales of Microsoft technologies.

4) Qualifications - Bachelor?s degree required, Master?s/MBA preferred), 10 or more years of related experience, management experience is required, experience with sales management being highly desirable.

Relocation is not available.

SMSG
SALES:EPG
MSUSJOB

Nearest Major Market: Atlanta
Job Segments: Sales Management, Sales, Manager, Field Sales, Business Manager, Management

Source: http://www.microsoft-careers.com/job/Atlanta-Sales-Excellence-Director-GSD-Job-GA-30301/2520411/

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Oh, the places you won't go! World's 25 least-visited countries

Using UN statistics, travel writer?Gunnar Garfors found that top contenders for the least-visited award are often dangerous or remote. But some are just plain boring.

By Ryan Lenora Brown,?Correspondent / March 29, 2013

Somali men look out across Mogadishu's fishing harbor in the early morning as fishermen land their catch and transport their fish to the market in the Xamar Weyne district of the Somali capital, March 16. Somalia is the second-least visited country in the world, according to a recent list compiled by travel writer Gunnar Garfors from UN statistics.

Courtesy of Stuart Price/AU-UN IST PHOTO/Reuters

Enlarge

For some travelers, getting off the beaten path is a point of pride, a way to see the parts of the world that don?t make it into glossy guidebooks.

Skip to next paragraph Ryan Lenora Brown

Correspondent

Ryan Brown edits the Africa Monitor blog and contributes to the national and international news desks of the Monitor. She is a former Fulbright fellow to South Africa and holds a degree in history from Duke University.?

Recent posts

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But how many of those same adventurous travelers would be willing to visit, say, Somalia?

About 500, it turns out.

At least, that?s how many tourists found their way to the wartorn east African nation last year. ?

That makes Somalia the second-least visited country in the world, after the tiny pacific island nation Nauru, according to a recent list compiled by travel writer Gunnar Garfors from UN statistics.?

Little Nauru ? 8.1 square miles in size, population 9,378 ? got just 200 visitors last year, and it?s pretty clear why.

?There is almost nothing to see there,? writes Mr. Garfors, ?as most of the island ? is a large open phosphate mine.??

Indeed, most of the world?s least visited countries seem to fall in one of two categories. There are the Naurus, where you?ll puzzle over what to do, and the Somalias, where it?s simply too dangerous to do much of anything at all. (As Somalia?s Wikitravel page aptly notes, ?the easiest method for staying safe in Somalia is not to go in the first place.?)?

Most of the ?nothing to do? countries are the crumbs that dust a map of the Pacific Ocean: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, and Tuvalu. The latter shares with the Maldives the dubious distinction of having "highest elevation points" that are the lowest on earth ? 15 feet above sea level. Visit while you can, as rising sea levels could make the island uninhabitable within a century.

As for the ?too dangerous? countries, the list reads like a global primer in political conflict. For instance, despite its pristine national parks full of wild gorillas and elephants, the perpetually ungovernable Central African Republic (#23) is an unpopular destination for tourists. And its stock will likely continue to plummet ? last week a rebel alliance seized the capital, Bangui, and the president fled to neighboring Cameroon. (For more on the tempestuous politics of the CAR, read about the rebel alliance that took power there Sunday)

Afghanistan (#10) also suffers from tourism-deflating instability, which keeps visitors away from its rugged peaks, ancient Buddhist monuments, and Islamic holy sites, including the 12th-century Minaret of Jam, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

?The Taliban have a message for foreign tourists who come to Afghanistan, especially if they are from any of the 50 countries that are part of the NATO-led coalition supporting the government: Big mistake,? writes The New York Times.

Other countries on the list, like Guinea Bissau (#14), Libya (#15), and East Timor (#18), have seen their reputations ? and infrastructure ? hobbled by recent wars or uprisings.

But not every country on the list is too dangerous or boring to visit. A few are simply effectively sealed off to the outside world.

All foreign visitors to North Korea (#16) are limited to a state-curated itinerary and must have an official government ?minder? by their side at all times. But for the few Western tourists who venture into the country, that?s part of the appeal. ?You will rarely get to see propaganda done more explicitly,? Garfors writes.

Except, perhaps, in Turkmenistan (#7), where visitors who brave the onerous Soviet-esque visa application process are rewarded with sites like a 50-ft. golden statue of former dictator Saparmurat Niyazov in the capital Ashgabat, which rotates throughout the course of the day to face the sun. But the country?s most indisputably impressive site is a massive flaming crater deep in the Karakum Desert. Measuring 230 feet across and almost 70 feet deep, the so-called ?Door to Hell? has been burning continuously since Soviet scientists lit it on fire in 1971. ?

Obscure? Yes. But that's part of the charm.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/NWsRTQMB3ZM/Oh-the-places-you-won-t-go!-World-s-25-least-visited-countries

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Oh, the places you won't go! World's 25 least-visited countries

Using UN statistics, travel writer?Gunnar Garfors found that top contenders for the least-visited award are often dangerous or remote. But some are just plain boring.

By Ryan Lenora Brown,?Correspondent / March 29, 2013

Somali men look out across Mogadishu's fishing harbor in the early morning as fishermen land their catch and transport their fish to the market in the Xamar Weyne district of the Somali capital, March 16. Somalia is the second-least visited country in the world, according to a recent list compiled by travel writer Gunnar Garfors from UN statistics.

Courtesy of Stuart Price/AU-UN IST PHOTO/Reuters

Enlarge

For some travelers, getting off the beaten path is a point of pride, a way to see the parts of the world that don?t make it into glossy guidebooks.

Skip to next paragraph Ryan Lenora Brown

Correspondent

Ryan Brown edits the Africa Monitor blog and contributes to the national and international news desks of the Monitor. She is a former Fulbright fellow to South Africa and holds a degree in history from Duke University.?

Recent posts

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Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
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Weekly Digital Edition

But how many of those same adventurous travelers would be willing to visit, say, Somalia?

About 500, it turns out.

At least, that?s how many tourists found their way to the wartorn east African nation last year. ?

That makes Somalia the second-least visited country in the world, after the tiny pacific island nation Nauru, according to a recent list compiled by travel writer Gunnar Garfors from UN statistics.?

Little Nauru ? 8.1 square miles in size, population 9,378 ? got just 200 visitors last year, and it?s pretty clear why.

?There is almost nothing to see there,? writes Mr. Garfors, ?as most of the island ? is a large open phosphate mine.??

Indeed, most of the world?s least visited countries seem to fall in one of two categories. There are the Naurus, where you?ll puzzle over what to do, and the Somalias, where it?s simply too dangerous to do much of anything at all. (As Somalia?s Wikitravel page aptly notes, ?the easiest method for staying safe in Somalia is not to go in the first place.?)?

Most of the ?nothing to do? countries are the crumbs that dust a map of the Pacific Ocean: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, and Tuvalu. The latter shares with the Maldives the dubious distinction of having "highest elevation points" that are the lowest on earth ? 15 feet above sea level. Visit while you can, as rising sea levels could make the island uninhabitable within a century.

As for the ?too dangerous? countries, the list reads like a global primer in political conflict. For instance, despite its pristine national parks full of wild gorillas and elephants, the perpetually ungovernable Central African Republic (#23) is an unpopular destination for tourists. And its stock will likely continue to plummet ? last week a rebel alliance seized the capital, Bangui, and the president fled to neighboring Cameroon. (For more on the tempestuous politics of the CAR, read about the rebel alliance that took power there Sunday)

Afghanistan (#10) also suffers from tourism-deflating instability, which keeps visitors away from its rugged peaks, ancient Buddhist monuments, and Islamic holy sites, including the 12th-century Minaret of Jam, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

?The Taliban have a message for foreign tourists who come to Afghanistan, especially if they are from any of the 50 countries that are part of the NATO-led coalition supporting the government: Big mistake,? writes The New York Times.

Other countries on the list, like Guinea Bissau (#14), Libya (#15), and East Timor (#18), have seen their reputations ? and infrastructure ? hobbled by recent wars or uprisings.

But not every country on the list is too dangerous or boring to visit. A few are simply effectively sealed off to the outside world.

All foreign visitors to North Korea (#16) are limited to a state-curated itinerary and must have an official government ?minder? by their side at all times. But for the few Western tourists who venture into the country, that?s part of the appeal. ?You will rarely get to see propaganda done more explicitly,? Garfors writes.

Except, perhaps, in Turkmenistan (#7), where visitors who brave the onerous Soviet-esque visa application process were, at least until 2010, rewarded with sites like a 50-ft. golden statue of former dictator Saparmurat Niyazov in the capital Ashgabat, which rotated throughout the course of the day to face the sun. But the country?s most indisputably impressive site is a massive flaming crater deep in the Karakum Desert. Measuring 230 feet across and almost 70 feet deep, the so-called ?Door to Hell? has been burning continuously since Soviet scientists lit it on fire in 1971. ?

Obscure? Yes. But that's part of the charm.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/NWsRTQMB3ZM/Oh-the-places-you-won-t-go!-World-s-25-least-visited-countries

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Finals Preview? Heat visit Spurs on Sunday

By the time the Miami Heat get on their plane to come home late Sunday night, they could have a stranglehold on the race to finish with the NBA's best record.

All they have to do is win at San Antonio. That, of course, is no easy task.

The Heat (57-15) take a two-game lead in the NBA standings over the Spurs (55-17) into their matchup on Sunday. A win would essentially provide Miami a four-game cushion with nine remaining, given that the Heat also would control any potential head-to-head tiebreaker with San Antonio.

If the Heat lose, the race for home-court advantage throughout the entirety of the playoffs could turn into a frantic, down-to-the-wire deal.

"It's always good to play the best, to play against the best," LeBron James said. "It'll be an opportunity for us. We just want to get better, man. The game Sunday doesn't define our season or how we go from there. We just want to continue to move forward and get better throughout the rest of the season."

Miami has won 28 of its last 29 games overall, getting back on the winning track at New Orleans on Friday, two days after Chicago snapped a 27-game Heat winning streak. But San Antonio has won 28 of its last 30 games at home, and facing the Spurs on the road is traditionally a painful expedition for many members of the Heat ? as it tends to be for everyone else in the NBA.

Dwyane Wade is 1-4 at San Antonio, sitting out three other Heat losses there during his career. Chris Bosh is 1-7. James is 3-7. Shane Battier ? a longtime player in the Western Conference ? has enjoyed eight wins from the visitors' side when facing the Spurs, and also been on the losing end 16 times there.

"It's obviously a very, very, very good team," Wade said. "Very tough place to play, so I think our mentality and how we approach the game is going to be important. You just try to go out there and compete, as we do every night, try to get a great road win. It's not going to be easy but that's kind of what we enjoy."

The only other meeting between the clubs this season was Nov. 29 in Miami, a strange game in that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich ? citing a desire to rest his best players at the end of a long road trip ? sent Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Danny Green home before the game.

With guys like Patty Mills, Nando De Colo and Matt Bonner filling out the starting lineup ? they've combined to make four other starts this season ? the Spurs almost beat the Heat anyway, leading by five with 2:13 left before getting outscored 12-2 in a wild Miami finish that gave the Heat a 105-100 win.

Ginobili played just under three minutes in Friday night's win over the Los Angeles Clippers because of a hamstring issue, and Popovich indicated he probably won't be ready to face the Heat.

"I don't think he can play," Popovich said.

The Spurs have won six of their last seven games. Of those six wins, only one came by double figures, an 11-point victory over Golden State. The average margin of the other five wins in that span, over Dallas, Cleveland, Utah, Denver and Clippers was 3.4 points, and the only loss was a one-pointer at Houston.

"It's great challenges, good preparation for us for the playoffs," Parker said. "Denver is a great team, Clippers a great team and now we've got Miami. They're the best in the league. They went on the unbelievable run and it's going to be another great game."

This game could have been one of the most-watched among regular-season games in years if Miami had not lost in Chicago on Wednesday. Had the Heat won there and won in New Orleans, as they did on Friday, they would have been going for their 30th straight win on this trip to San Antonio in what will be touted either way as a potential NBA Finals preview.

"I just want you to know the Heat are going to be just fine," said President Barack Obama, a noted Bulls fan during a stop in Miami on Friday. "They're going to be OK. They are playing basketball the right way."

The Heat streak is gone, but standings-wise, it's still a big deal.

"Very good team, obviously the defending champs," Duncan said. "I think they won 62 in a row or something like that. It'll be a great game. I know our crowd will be excited and we'll be excited to continue our homestand."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has said everyone on his roster should be considered day-to-day for the remainder of the regular season. This is when teams like to ensure that players get some rest wherever they can.

And the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference is already clinched, meaning all that's really left on the Heat to-do list before the opening round of the playoffs is finish atop the NBA's regular-season standings.

"The mindset will be, first and foremost, playing our game and making sure that we establish our identity," Spoelstra said. "That's the whole thing with us. When we do that and play the way we're capable, results take care of themselves.

"We don't want to get caught up in too much of the results. We have a big goal in mind. That's the No. 1 goal and that's the only goal we've talked about."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/finals-preview-heat-visit-spurs-sunday-151540281--spt.html

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2012 Chevrolet Camaro LT - Classified Ad

Description

Contact Seller

FUEL EFFICIENT 28 MPG Hwy/17 MPG City! CARFAX 1-Owner, Extra Clean, ONLY 7,101 Miles! iPod/MP3 Input, CD Player, Onboard Communications System, Satellite Radio, 1LT PREFERRED EQUIPMENT GROUP|Alloy Wheels, Overhead Airbag AND MORE!======BUY WITH CONFIDENCE: CARFAX 1-Owner ======KEY FEATURES INCLUDE: Satellite Radio, iPod/MP3 Input, CD Player, Onboard Communications System, Aluminum Wheels. Rear Spoiler, MP3 Player, Remote Trunk Release, Keyless Entry, Steering Wheel Controls. ======OPTION PACKAGES: 1LT PREFERRED EQUIPMENT GROUP includes Standard Equipment. Local Trade In. 1LT with Victory Red exterior and Black interior features a V6 Cylinder Engine with 323 HP at 6800 RPM*. ======EXPERTS ARE SAYING: Classic styling made modern, excellent chassis, brakes are up to the task of countering the V-8's 426 horsepower, and approachable prices. . Great Gas Mileage: 28 MPG Hwy. ======WHO WE ARE: Georgia's #1 Chevy Dealer! Rick Hendrick Chevrolet is a 'World Class' Sales and Service center supporting the greater Northeast Georgia area. We are North Georgia's newest General Motors dealer. Our dealership is a state of the art facility with an upscale sales department, large general service division, a Quick Lube Center, and adjacent collision center. As a member of the Hendrick Automotive Group, we belong to one of the largest and most successful dealer groups in the country. Pricing analysis performed on 2/16/2013. Horsepower calculations based on trim engine configuration. Fuel economy calculations based on original manufacturer data for trim engine configuration. Please confirm the accuracy of the included equipment by calling us prior to purchase.

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4-Wheel Disc Brakes, Am/Fm, Adjustable Steering Wheel, Air Conditioning, Anti-Lock Brakes, Anti-Theft System, Automatic Headlights, Bucket Seats, Cd (Single Disc), Cloth Seats, Cruise Control, Daytime Running Lights, Emergency Trunk Release, Floor Mats, Fog Lights, Front Airbags (Dual), Front Side Airbags (Dual), Front And Rear Side Airbags, Intermittent Wipers, Keyless Entry, Mp3, Pass-Through Rear Seat, Power Locks, Power Mirrors, Power Outlet, Power Seat (Dual), Power Steering, Power Windows, Premium Wheels, Rear Window Defroster, Remote Trunk Release, Satellite Radio, Spoiler, Steering Wheel Controls, Tire Pressure Monitoring System, Traction/Stability Control, Vanity Mirror/Light, Ipod Adapter

Source: http://www.classifiedads.com/cars-ad29502931.htm

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Risk of autism is not increased by 'too many vaccines too soon,' study shows

Mar. 29, 2013 ? Although scientific evidence suggests that vaccines do not cause autism, approximately one-third of parents continue to express concern that they do; nearly 1 in 10 parents refuse or delay vaccinations because they believe it is safer than following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) schedule. A primary concern is the number of vaccines administered, both on a single day and cumulatively over the first 2 years of life. In a new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers concluded that there is no association between receiving "too many vaccines too soon" and autism.

Dr. Frank DeStefano and colleagues from the CDC and Abt Associates, Inc. analyzed data from 256 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 752 children without ASD (born from 1994-1999) from 3 managed care organizations. They looked at each child's cumulative exposure to antigens, the substances in vaccines that cause the body's immune system to produce antibodies to fight disease, and the maximum number of antigens each child received in a single day of vaccination.

The researchers determined the total antigen numbers by adding the number of different antigens in all vaccines each child received in one day, as well as all vaccines each child received up to 2 years of age. The authors found that the total antigens from vaccines received by age 2 years, or the maximum number received on a single day, was the same between children with and without ASD. Furthermore, when comparing antigen numbers, no relationship was found when they evaluated the sub-categories of autistic disorder and ASD with regression.

Although the current routine childhood vaccine schedule contains more vaccines than the schedule in the late 1990s, the maximum number of antigens that a child could be exposed to by 2 years of age in 2013 is 315, compared with several thousand in the late 1990s. Because different types of vaccines contain varying amounts of antigens, this research acknowledged that merely counting the number of vaccines received does not adequately account for how different vaccines and vaccine combinations stimulate the immune system. For example, the older whole cell pertussis vaccine causes the production of about 3000 different antibodies, whereas the newer acellular pertussis vaccine causes the production of 6 or fewer different antibodies.

An infant's immune system is capable of responding to a large amount of immunologic stimuli and, from time of birth, infants are exposed to hundreds of viruses and countless antigens outside of vaccination. According to the authors, "The possibility that immunological stimulation from vaccines during the first 1 or 2 years of life could be related to the development of ASD is not well-supported by what is known about the neurobiology of ASDs." In 2004, a comprehensive review by the Institute of Medicine concluded that there is not a causal relationship between certain vaccine types and autism, and this study supports that conclusion.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Elsevier, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Frank DeStefano, Cristofer S. Price, and Eric S. Weintraub. Increasing exposure to antibody-stimulating proteins and polysaccharides in vaccines is not associated with risk of autism. The Journal of Pediatrics, 2013 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2013.02.001

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/WLfmupyDKeg/130329090310.htm

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Argentina challenges U.S. court with bond plan

By Nate Raymond and Hugh Bronstein

NEW YORK/BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina challenged a U.S. court over the weekend by proposing that "holdout" bond investors be repaid only about one sixth the money federal judges hearing the case say they are owed, setting the stage for a legal showdown in New York.

The terms offered by Argentina are the same as those accepted by bondholders who chose to participate in the country's 2010 sovereign bond restructuring. The holdouts rejected that restructuring and are holding out for full repayment.

Aside from the implications the case has for Argentina's finances, it could also have wide ramifications for the way future sovereign restructurings are carried around the world.

Argentina defaulted on $100 billion in sovereign debt in 2002 at the height of a financial crisis in Latin America's third largest economy. The bonds now under dispute were issued in New York, which is why the case is being heard in U.S. court.

Elliott Management affiliate NML Capital Ltd, one of the lead plaintiffs, has said that it will not accept 2010 terms They and other holdouts are sure to argue that Argentina's proposal does not respond to the court's request.

"The court said 'You owe the holdouts $1.3 billion. Tell us how you are going to pay that to them,'" said Josh Rosner, managing director at research firm Graham Fisher & Co in New York.

"Instead of answering how they will pay the full amount, Argentina responded with a plan for paying a much smaller amount," he said. "Argentina is flirting with technical default, which would take a serious toll its economy."

The specter of technical defaults comes from the fact that a U.S. District Court in New York has said that until the holdouts start getting paid, Argentina cannot make payments to holders of the restructured bonds.

Elliott stands currently to receive $720 million from Argentina following a New York judge's order in November, according to Argentina.

But the bonds NML could take had a market value of just $186.8 million before a major decision in the case last October favoring the holdouts, or $120.6 million as of March 1, the filing said. Argentina estimates NML paid about $48.7 million in 2008 for its stake in the bonds.

"The Republic is prepared to fulfill the terms of this proposal promptly upon Order by the Court by submitting a bill to Congress that ensures its timely implementation," Jonathan Blackman, Argentina's U.S. lawyer, wrote.

Around 92 percent of Argentina's defaulted bonds were restructured in 2005 and 2010, with bondholders receiving 25 cents to 29 cents on the dollar.

But holdouts led by NML Capital and Aurelius Capital Management have fought for years for full payment. Argentina calls these funds "vultures."

In October, the 2nd Circuit upheld a trial judge's ruling by finding Argentina had violated a so-called pari passu clause in its bond documents requiring it to treat creditors equally.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa in Manhattan subsequently ordered Argentina in November to pay the $1.33 billion owed to the bondholders into an escrow account by the time of its next interest payment to holders of the exchanged debt.

The 2nd Circuit heard an appeal of that order on February 27. Two days later, it directed Argentina to provide details of "the precise terms of any alternative payment formula and schedule to which it is prepared to commit."

BOND OPTIONS

In its 22-page submission late on Friday, Argentina said that under a so-called par bond option, the bondholders would receive new bonds due in 2038 with the same nominal face value of their current bonds. They would pay 2.5 percent to 5.25 percent a year, Argentina said.

Bondholders would also receive an immediate cash payment similar to what it provided under the 2010 debt swap, Argentina said. And they would receive derivative instruments that provide payments when the country's gross domestic product exceeds 3 percent a year.

The par option is restricted to small investors, unlike the discount option, the more applicable fit for big investors like NML and Aurelius.

Under the discount proposal, holdouts could receive new discount bonds due in 2033 that pay 8.28 percent annually. Argentina said the holdouts would also receive past due interest since 2003 in the form of bonds due in 2017 paying 8.75 percent a year, and GDP-linked derivative units.

Blackman, Argentina's lawyer, wrote that the proposal, unlike what he called the "100 cents on the dollar immediately" formula Griesa adopted, "is consistent with the pari passu clause, longstanding principles of equity, and the Republic's capacity to pay."

It was unclear on Saturday how the court might view Argentina's proposals. The same three-judge panel had said in October, though, that the holdouts "were completely within their rights" to reject prior debt swap offers.

Euginio Bruno, a lawyer and bond restructuring expert with the law firm Estudio Garrido Abogados in Buenos Aires, said the government's Friday proposal "was within expectations, considering the legal constraints on offering anything better than the terms of the 2010 restructuring."

Argentina has a "lock law" that keeps new governments from improving the terms of previous restructurings.

Earlier in the week, the holdouts scored a victory over Argentina when the 2nd Circuit denied a full court review of its October ruling on the equal treatment provision.

The United States had backed Argentina in seeking the review, contending the 2nd Circuit's decision ran "counter to longstanding U.S. efforts to promote orderly restructuring of sovereign debt.

Argentina and holders of its restructured bonds say granting the holdouts 100 cents on the dollar could complicate future sovereign restructurings around the world.

Argentine Vice President Amado Boudou repeated on Saturday that Argentina would continue repaying investors who participated in the restructuring no matter how the U.S. court case is resolved.

"One way or another, Argentina will pay," he said.

The case is NML Capital Ltd et al v. Republic of Argentina, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 12-105.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond; Additional reporting by Helen Popper, Alejandro Lifschitz and Guido Nejamkis in Buenos Aires; Editing by Todd Eastham, Will Dunham and Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/argentina-challenges-u-court-bond-plan-011959470--sector.html

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NEC looking to hawk mobile division to PC partner Lenovo, says Bloomberg

Though we don't get to see its smartphone wares too often stateside or in Europe, NEC has always said its mobile division was a big part of its business. Now it looks to be trying to fob that arm off to PC venture partner Lenovo, according to unnamed Bloomberg sources. The Japanese company is also said to be eying potential domestic buyers if that doesn't pan out, and Reuters recently reported that it's selling retail subsidiary NEC Mobiling to the tune of $850 million. The move is said to be in the works to bolster profitability after two straight years of smartphone operation losses and 10,000 layoffs, but as always, such unattributed material needs to be digested with beaucoup salt.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Lenovo

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Source: Reuters

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/29/nec-looking-to-hawk-mobile-division-to-lenovo/

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More trouble for Cohen's SAC Capital as Steinberg indicted in NY

By Nate Raymond and Matthew Goldstein

(Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Friday charged Michael Steinberg, a veteran portfolio manager at Steven A. Cohen's hedge fund, with insider trading in two technology stocks, the most senior SAC Capital Advisors' employee to be indicted in the government's long-running probe.

FBI agents arrested Steinberg at his Park Avenue home in New York City at around 6 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT). Steinberg, wearing a blue sweater, pleaded "not guilty" to charges of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities when he appeared at a late morning arraignment.

The five-count indictment charges Steinberg, 40, with using inside information to trade shares of computer maker Dell Inc and chipmaker Nvidia Corp in 2008 and 2009 that generated about $1.4 million in illegal profits for Cohen's $15 billion hedge fund.

In a related civil complaint against Steinberg, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said the information allowed Steinberg to generate $6.4 million in profits and avoided losses for the hedge fund.

Barry Berke, Steinberg's lawyer, said in a statement that his client had done "absolutely nothing wrong" and his "trading decisions were based on detailed analysis."

The charges come after a tumultuous six months for Cohen, one of the most successful hedge fund traders. It began with last November's arrest of former SAC portfolio manager Mathew Martoma in what prosecutors had described as the largest U.S. insider-trading case.

Martoma pleaded not guilty to charges of insider trading in Elan Corp and Wyeth that allegedly resulted in profits and avoided losses totaling $276 million.

SAC Capital agreed two weeks ago to pay a $616 million penalty to the SEC to settle allegations of improper trading by the firm arising out of the Martoma investigation and alleged improper trading in Dell and Nvidia. SAC neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing as part of that settlement.

But a federal judge on Thursday said he was reserving his decision on approving the deal.

Mounting concern over the insider trading probe prompted outside investors in SAC Capital to submit redemption notices last month to withdraw up to $1.68 billion from Cohen's firm. Several outside investors, including Blackstone Group, declined to comment on Steinberg's arrest.

Cohen, a multi-billionaire, has not been charged with any wrongdoing. A well-known art collector, he recently purchased Pablo Picasso's "Le Reve" from casino owner Stephen Wynn for $155 million and, according to The New York Times, bought a $60 million oceanfront home in East Hampton, N.Y.

$3 MILLION BOND

Steinberg is one of nine current or former employees of SAC Capital who have been charged or implicated with insider trading while working at Cohen's two-decade-old hedge fund.

His arrest had been widely expected after Jon Horvath, a former SAC analyst who reported to Steinberg, pleaded guilty last year to using illegally obtained information to trade in Dell. Horvath has been cooperating with the government and had implicated Steinberg.

Steinberg was suspended last autumn from his post at SAC Capital's Sigma Capital division and remains on paid leave.

SAC Capital spokesman Jonathan Gasthalter said: "Mike has conducted himself professionally and ethically during his long tenure at the firm. We believe him to be a man of integrity."

Prosecutors have introduced emails that they said indicated Steinberg had access to inside information about potential weakness in Dell's earnings, in advance of the personal computer maker's August 2008 results announcement.

Federal authorities contend the improper trading by Steinberg largely involved short positions and derivative trades. The trades involving shares of Dell occurred in August 2008, while the trading in Nvidia took place in May 2009.

The SEC complaint said some of the trading in Dell was done by a SAC portfolio called SAC Select. People familiar with SAC Select said it used computer-driven trading strategies to mimic the trades of some of SAC Capital's top portfolio managers.

The complaint against Steinberg made no reference to Cohen, unlike the criminal and civil cases filed by against Martoma, which was the first time authorities had alluded to him as the "owner" of the hedge fund.

Steinberg had been moving among several hotels in New York City in recent weeks, according to Reuters sources, as he wanted to avoid being arrested at his Upper East Side home where he lives with his wife and two children.

Following the arraignment before U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan in lower Manhattan on Friday morning, Steinberg was released after agreeing to post $3 million in bond, which was secured by $1 million in property.

During the proceeding, a federal prosecutor said no search warrant was served on the hedge fund in connection with the charges against Steinberg.

In announcing the $616 million settlement with SAC Capital, lawyers with the SEC made clear the deal did not preclude further charges against individuals or from other trading at SAC Capital that is still be investigated. As part of that settlement, SAC Capital agreed to pay $14 million to settle charges of improper trading in Dell.

On Thursday, a federal district judge reviewing the part of the settlement involving trading in shares of Elan and Wyeth, now a part of Pfizer, said he was reserving decision for now.

The cases in U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York are: United States v. Steinberg, No. 12-cr-121, and Securities and Exchange Commission v. Steinberg, No. 13-2082.

(Additional reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Katya Wachtel and Sruthi Ramakrishnan; Editing by Tiffany Wu, Maureen Bavdek and Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/former-sac-capital-portfolio-manager-steinberg-arrested-fbi-114324817--sector.html

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CDC: 24 E. coli illnesses linked to frozen foods

NEW YORK (AP) ? Health officials say at least 24 people have become sick from an outbreak of E. coli infections linked to frozen snack foods marketed to children.

No one has died, but eight people, mostly kids or teens, were hospitalized.

An investigation detected E. coli in an open package of Farm Rich brand frozen chicken quesadillas at an ill person's home.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported illnesses in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

The Buffalo, N.Y.-based Rich Products Corp. has recalled quesadillas, mozzarella bites and other frozen products made in November.

___

Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2013/O121-03-13/index.html

Company: http://www.farmrich.com/

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cdc-24-e-coli-illnesses-linked-frozen-foods-220930365--finance.html

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'Dangerous dog' concerns in Center Point after deputy shoots pit bull ...

CENTER POINT, Alabama -- Although a city ordinance bans pit bulls and other "dangerous dogs" inside city limits, recent incidents have raised concerns about the animals.

Mary Margaret Hampton on Thursday told city council members three pit bulls belonging to a neighbor entered her yard twice since January, killing her Siamese cat and a Chihuahua puppy.

"They tried to attack me," Hampton said. "They tore the gate off the porch and tried to get into my house."

On Wednesday, a Jefferson County deputy sheriff shot a pit bull that lunged at him in Center Point. The dog was one of three that chased a woman into her house, said Chief Deputy Randy Christian. Another of the dogs was captured.

After Hampton's cat was killed, the neighbor's dogs were quarantined and the owners were told they had a week to get rid of the animals or a citation would be issued, a deputy told city officials Thursday night. Despite the warning, the animals were later brought back.

Mayor Tom Henderson said that happens all too often.

"Write them a citation right then. They're illegal period," Henderson said.

Other city officials agreed.

"You have to issue the citation to get the court process started," said Council President Roger Barlow.

Council member Linda Kennemur, chairwoman of the public safety committee, said the issue would be a good topic of discussion for the next community watch meeting, being held Tuesday at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

The city Council in 2008 passed what it calls a "dangerous dog ordinance" that outlaws the keeping of pit bulls and any dogs "with a propensity, tendency or disposition to attack unprovoked" or any dog that is aggressive by nature.

Source: http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/03/dangerous_dog_concerns_in_cent.html

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Wheatcroft leads Houston, McIlroy sticks around

Rory McIlroy hits a shot out of a third-hole bunker during the first round of the Houston Open golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2013, in Humble, Texas. (AP Photo/Conroe Courier, Jason Fochtman)

Rory McIlroy hits a shot out of a third-hole bunker during the first round of the Houston Open golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2013, in Humble, Texas. (AP Photo/Conroe Courier, Jason Fochtman)

Steve Wheatcroft prepares to putt on the 15th hole during the first round of the Houston Open golf tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2013, in Humble, Texas.(AP Photo/Bob Levey)

Rory Mcllroy, of Northern Ireland, hits out of a bunker on the 13th hole during the second round of the Houston Open golf tournament, Friday, March 29, 2013 in Humble, Texas. (AP Photo/Jon Eilts)

HUMBLE, Texas (AP) ? A late birdie might just be enough to give Rory McIlroy two more rounds before the Masters.

Steve Wheatcroft, a Monday qualifier for the Houston Open, had another 67 to take the lead among early starters Friday at Redstone Golf Club.

Far down the leaderboard was McIlroy, struggling to make the cut for the first time this year against a full field. He two-putted from 85 feet away on the fringe on the par-5 eighth hole and made par on his final hole for a 2-under 70. That put him at 1-under 143, which appeared to be safe for playing on the weekend.

Wheatcroft was at 10-under 134 and had a three-shot lead. The PGA Tour hasn't had a Monday qualifier win a tournament since Arjun Atwal in August 2010.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-29-GLF-Houston-Open/id-950238aecbb04b428168aa25f0626a7d

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Tigers sign Verlander to record smashing deal

(Reuters) - The Detroit Tigers made Justin Verlander the highest paid pitcher in Major League Baseball, signing their ace right-hander to a record smashing five-year contract extension on Friday.

The Tigers did not announce terms of the deal but according to media reports, Verlander will remain under contract to Detroit through the 2019 season and could become MLB's first $200 million pitcher.

Verlander has two years remaining on his current five-year $79.5 million deal and combined with a new five-year $140 million extension that includes a club option for 2020 for another $22 million, he would become baseball's richest hurler.

He reportedly would make $28 million each season from 2015-2019.

The deal, which comes two days before the Major League season opens on Sunday, easily surpasses the seven-year, $175 million extension Felix Hernandez signed in February with the Seattle Mariners.

"Justin is one of the premier pitchers in baseball and we are thrilled to keep him in a Tigers uniform for many years to come," said Detroit president, chief executive and general manager Dave Dombrowski on the Tigers' website. "Justin has been a Tiger for his entire career and he is on pace to be one of the greatest pitchers in this illustrious franchise's history."

A five-time All-Star, Verlander has established himself as one of baseball's most dominant pitchers, claiming American League most valuable player and Cy Young Award honors in 2011.

Last season the 30-year-old right-hander went 17-8 with a 2.64 earned run average and 239 strikeouts in 33 starts in helping the Tigers to a World Series appearance against the San Francisco Giants.

His career record of 124-65 includes two no-hitters.

(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto, editing by Gene Cherry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tigers-sign-verlander-record-smashing-deal-195325985--mlb.html

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Sprint Epic 4G Touch will receive Android Jelly Bean update today (update)

Sprint's Galaxy S 4 recently took one step towards being ready for mass consumption, however the carrier hasn't forgotten the device's forefathers. We've received a memo from an anonymous tipster advising that the Epic 4G Touch is set to make the jump to Jelly Bean (Android 4.1, to be exact) starting sometime today. The new software bump will come directly from Samsung and will require a visit to an external website that has yet to go live. The memo also notes that in order to perform the update, you'll need access to a rig with Windows 7, Vista or XP -- in other words, OS X and Windows 8 users will have to visit a Sprint store to get their fix. For those fortunate enough to gain access in the coming hours, let us know how it's treating you in comments below.

Update: Waiting for official confirmation? Then just check Sprint's official log of updates for the Epic 4G Touch on its website, which now lists the GB27 version. It's scheduled to start today, and to answer the question of why it's only going out via PC download and not OTA, the log cites the (unspecified) size of the update.

[Thanks, anonymous]

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Sprint

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Source: Sprint

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/28/sprint-epic-4g-touch-jelly-bean-update/

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Senate won't be on Judd's resume (CNN)

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In conversation with Epic Games' Mark Rein: Unreal Engine 4 support for Oculus Rift (and everything else), and thoughts on next-gen

Epic Games isn't just offering up its ubiquitous current-gen game creation tool Unreal Engine 3 to Oculus Rift developers, but also its next-gen tool, Unreal Engine 4. Epic Games VP Mark Rein told Engadget as much during an interview at this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, repeatedly stating he's "super bullish" on the Rift, all the while rocking an Oculus pin on his exhibitor lanyard. "Oh, for sure," he said when we asked about UE4 support for the Rift. "We're working on that now." The Rift dev kit was demoed at CES 2013 running Unreal Engine 3's "Epic Citadel" demo, and Epic's offered support to the Oculus folks since early on, making the UE4 news not a huge surprise, but welcome nonetheless.

The next-gen game engine was being shown off at GDC 2013 with a flashy new demo (seen below the break), as well as a version of its "Elemental" demo running on a PlayStation 4 dev kit (shrouded behind a curtain, of course). Rein was visibly excited about that as well, unable to contain random vocal outbursts during the presentation. "It's a war out there, and we sell bullets and bandaids," he jokingly told us in an interview the following day. The quote comes from coworker and Epic VP of business development Jay Wilbur, and it's fitting -- Epic only makes a handful of games, and the company's real money comes from game engine licensees. In so many words, the more platforms that Unreal Engine variants can go, the better for Epic (as well as for engine licensees, of course). "It's a good place to be -- we try to support everything we can. We have to place some timed bets on things that we feel are gonna be the most important to licensees, and also to us where we're taking games. But because the engine is portable -- it's written in C++ -- a licensee can take and do whatever they want," he said.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Software, HD

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/vB8IrppZLhg/

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What attracts people to violent movies?

Mar. 28, 2013 ? Why are audiences attracted to bloodshed, gore and violence? A recent study from researchers at the University of Augsburg, Germany and the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that people are more likely to watch movies with gory scenes of violence if they felt there was meaning in confronting violent aspects of real life.

Anne Bartsch, University of Augsburg, Germany and Louise Mares, University of Wisconsin-Madison, will present their findings at the 63rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association. Their study examined whether these serious, contemplative, and truth-seeking motivations for exposure to violent portrayals are more than just an intellectual pleasure. They invited a large binational sample from Germany and the US (total of 482 participants), ranging in age from 18-82, and with varying levels of education. Participants viewed film trailers featuring different levels of gore and meaningfulness, and rated their likelihood of watching the full movie. They also indicated their perceptions of the film (how gory, meaningful, thought-provoking, suspenseful, etc.).

Earlier studies have suggested that audiences are not necessarily attracted to violence per se, but seem to be drawn to violent content because they anticipate other benefits, such as thrill and suspense.

These findings suggest that such hedonistic pleasures are only part of the story about why we willingly expose ourselves to scenes of bloodshed and aggression. Some types of violent portrayals seem to attract audiences because they promise to satisfy truth-seeking motivations by offering meaningful insights into some aspect of the human condition.

"Perhaps depictions of violence that are perceived as meaningful, moving and thought-provoking can foster empathy with victims, admiration for acts of courage and moral beauty in the face of violence, or self-reflection with regard to violent impulses," said Bartsch. "Examining the prevalence of such prosocial responses and the conditions under which they occur offers a theoretically intriguing and socially valuable direction for further work."

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/P0FeaSwr-TA/130328091750.htm

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Gene discovery may yield lettuce that will sprout in hot weather

Mar. 28, 2013 ? A team of researchers, led by a University of California, Davis, plant scientist, has identified a lettuce gene and related enzyme that put the brakes on germination during hot weather -- a discovery that could lead to lettuces that can sprout year-round, even at high temperatures.

The study also included researchers from Arcadia Biosciences and Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, India.

The finding is particularly important to the nearly $2 billion lettuce industries of California and Arizona, which together produce more than 90 percent of the nation's lettuce. The study results appear online in the journal The Plant Cell.

"Discovery of the genes will enable plant breeders to develop lettuce varieties that can better germinate and grow to maturity under high temperatures," said the study's lead author Kent Bradford, a professor of plant sciences and director of the UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center.

"And because this mechanism that inhibits hot-weather germination in lettuce seeds appears to be quite common in many plant species, we suspect that other crops also could be modified to improve their germination," he said. "This could be increasingly important as global temperatures are predicted to rise."

Most lettuce varieties flower in spring or early summer and then drop their seeds -- a trait that is likely linked to their origin in the Mediterranean region, which, like California, characteristically has dry summers. Scientists have observed for years that a built-in dormancy mechanism seems to prevent lettuce seeds from germinating under conditions that would be too hot and dry to sustain growth. While this naturally occurring inhibition works well in the wild, it is an obstacle to commercial lettuce production.

In the California and Arizona lettuce industries, lettuce seeds are planted somewhere every day of the year -- even in September in the Imperial Valley of California and near Yuma, Ariz., where fall temperatures frequently reach 110 degrees.

In order to jump-start seed germination for a winter crop in these hot climates, lettuce growers have turned to cooling the soil with sprinkler irrigation or priming the seeds to germinate by pre-soaking them at cool temperatures and re-drying them before planting -- methods that are expensive and not always successful.

In the new study, researchers turned to lettuce genetics to better understand the temperature-related mechanisms governing seed germination. They identified a region of chromosome six in a wild ancestor of commercial lettuce varieties that enables seeds to germinate in warm temperatures. When that chromosome region was crossed into cultivated lettuce varieties, those varieties gained the ability to germinate in warm temperatures.

Further genetic mapping studies zeroed in on a specific gene that governs production of a plant hormone called abscisic acid -- known to inhibit seed germination. The newly identified gene "turns on" in most lettuce seeds when the seed is exposed to moisture at warm temperatures, increasing production of abscisic acid. In the wild ancestor that the researchers were studying, however, this gene does not turn on at high temperatures. As a result, abscisic acid is not produced and the seeds can still germinate.

The researchers then demonstrated that they could either "silence" or mutate the germination-inhibiting gene in cultivated lettuce varieties, thus enabling those varieties to germinate and grow even in high temperatures.

Other researchers on the study were: Post-doctoral researcher Heqiang Huo and staff researcher Peetambar Dahal, both of the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences; Keshavulu Kunusoth of Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, India; and Claire McCallum of Arcadia Biosciences, which provided the lettuce lines with variants of the target gene to help confirm the study's findings.

Funding for the study was provided the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the National Science Foundation.

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Journal Reference:

1. H. Huo, P. Dahal, K. Kunusoth, C. M. McCallum, K. J. Bradford. Expression of 9-cis-EPOXYCAROTENOID DIOXYGENASE4 Is Essential for Thermoinhibition of Lettuce Seed Germination but Not for Seed Development or Stress Tolerance. The Plant Cell, 2013; DOI: 10.1105/tpc.112.108902

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/l_5Ao2sF1pE/130329125309.htm

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Growing plants on Mars

Mar. 28, 2013 ? Concrete plans for a one-way ticket to Mars have been forged. Food will have to be grown on location. Is this a distant future scenario? Not for Wieger Wamelink, ecologist at Alterra Wageningen UR, for whom the future will begin on 2 April. He will be researching whether or not it is possible to grow plants on the moon.

We have been to the moon several times. Next time, we may go back for a considerable period. And concrete plans for a one-way ticket to Mars have already been forged. Food will have to be grown on location. Is this a distant future scenario? Not for Wieger Wamelink, ecologist at Alterra Wageningen UR, for whom the future will begin on 2 April. He will be researching whether or not it is possible to grow plants on the moon.

Will plants survive in Martian soil or moon dust? This question was initially prompted by Dutch plans to establish a colony on Mars. As the plan does not include a return trip, the basic necessities would have to be satisfied on location. "Mars is still a long way off," says Wieger Wamelink, explaining his plans. "But the moon is closer, so it would be more realistic to establish a colony there. What's more, we already know the mineral composition of the soil on the moon, and of moon dust. So what I'm aiming to find out now is whether plants will grow in moon substrate, or whether certain essential elements are lacking. This has never been done before. We are gradually discovering more about Mars, which is why the planet has been included in this research."

Wamelink's research will compare the requirements of certain species of plants with the mineral composition of the soil on the moon and Mars. Alterra has a database that can analyse 25 abiotic preconditions per species and calculate whether a plant species will survive or not. The database also stores information about heavy metals and minerals, although as yet, there are no fixed preconditions for these elements. Using this data, he will be able to determine which plant species would theoretically be capable of growing in moon dust or Martian soil.

Wieger Wamelink: "We will then allow certain species of wild plants and agricultural crops to germinate in pots of artificial moon and Martian soil supplied by NASA. The growth of these plants will be compared with that of the same species in ordinary soil from the Earth. Preconditions relating to heavy metals and minerals will be derived from our findings. Our research is based on the premise that an atmosphere will be available to the colony, perhaps in domes or buildings. We are also assuming the presence of water, either from the moon or Mars or transported from Earth. The plants would produce oxygen and recycle carbon dioxide, ultimately creating a kind of ecosystem."

At a later stage, Wamelink also wants to look into the food safety of agricultural crops grown in human-made conditions on the moon in moon soil. The first trial crops will be planted in greenhouses on 2 April.

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Powerball winner's outstanding debt: child support

By Dave Warner

(Reuters) - The winner of one of the biggest Powerball jackpots of all time owes $29,000 in overdue child support payments, the Passaic County, New Jersey, sheriff's office said on Thursday.

Pedro Quezada, 44, a county resident who is married and the father of five children ages 5 to 23, was the sole winner of a $338 million jackpot on Saturday.

Because he chose the lump sum option, instead of annual payments over 30 years, he will actually receive $211 million, lottery officials said on Thursday. Officials said that is the third-largest lump sum payment in Powerball history.

The lottery will take out a total of 28 percent in federal and state taxes, which would leave Quezada, who until this week was the owner of a bodega in Passaic, New Jersey, with about $152 million.

His Apple Deli & Grocery now has a "for sale" sign on the door. Quezada told reporters on Tuesday that the business is now closed.

Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik said in a statement that his office is attempting to notify Quezada about the support payment. He said that generally the state's lottery division would pay the judgment out of the winnings.

"Like everyone else, until this warrant is satisfied, Mr. Quezada is subject to potential arrest," the statement said.

The child support issue dates back to 2009, according to local media reports.

Quezada could not be reached for comment.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/powerball-jackpot-winner-owes-29-000-child-support-163424715.html

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Americans back preparation for extreme weather and sea-level rise

Mar. 28, 2013 ? Images told the story: lower Manhattan in darkness, coastal communities washed away, cars floating in muck. Superstorm Sandy, a harbinger of future extreme weather intensified by climate change, caught the country off guard in October.

Unprepared for the flooding and high winds that ensued, the East Coast suffered more than $70 billion in property damage and more than 100 deaths.

Will Americans prepare and invest now to minimize the impact of disasters such as Sandy, or deal with storms and rising sea levels after they occur?

A new survey commissioned by the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and the Center for Ocean Solutions finds that an overwhelming majority of Americans want to prepare in order to minimize the damage likely to be caused by global warming-induced sea-level rise and storms.

A majority also wants people whose properties and businesses are located in hazard areas to foot the bill for this preparation, not the government. Eighty-two percent of the Americans surveyed said that people and organizations should prepare for the damage likely to be caused by sea-level rise and storms, rather than simply deal with the damage after it happens.

Among the most popular policy solutions identified in the survey are stronger building codes for new structures along the coast to minimize damage (favored by 62 percent) and preventing new buildings from being built near the coast (supported by 51 percent).

"People support preventive action," said survey director Jon Krosnick, a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and professor of communication, "and few people believe these preparations will harm the economy or eliminate jobs. In fact, more people believe that preparation efforts will help the economy and create jobs around the U.S., in their state and in their town than think these efforts will harm the economy and result in fewer jobs in those areas. But people want coastal homeowners and businesses that locate in high-risk areas to pay for these measures."

The challenges posed by rising sea levels and increasingly severe storms will only intensify as more Americans build along the coasts. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report released March 25 predicts that already crowded U.S. coastlines will become home to an additional 11 million people by 2020.

Survey questions were formulated to assess participants' beliefs about climate change and gather opinions about the impact of climate change, sea-level rise and storms on communities, the economy and jobs.

The survey also gauged public support for specific coastal adaptation strategies and how to pay for them. "People are least supportive of policies that try to hold back Mother Nature," Krosnick said. "They think it makes more sense to recognize risk and reduce exposure."

Among the survey's respondents, 48 percent favor sand dune restoration and 33 percent favor efforts to maintain beaches with sand replenishment, while 37 percent support relocating structures away from the coast and 33 percent support constructing sea walls.

Eighty-two percent of the survey's respondents believe that Earth's temperature has been rising over the last 100 years. However, even a majority of those who doubt the existence of climate change favor adaptation measures (60 percent).

"The question is, how does public support for preparation translate to action?" asked Meg Caldwell, executive director of the Center for Ocean Solutions. "Our impulse is to try to move quickly to put communities back together the way they were after devastation. But that impulse often leads to doubling down on high-risk investments, such as rebuilding in areas likely to experience severe impacts. To move toward long-term resiliency for coastal communities, we need to seize opportunities to apply new thinking, new standards and long-term solutions."

Krosnick presented the survey results this morning at a policy briefing hosted by the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The survey was conducted via the Internet with a nationally representative probability sample of 1,174 American adults, 18 and older, conducted by GfK Custom Research March 3-18, 2013. The survey was administrated in both English and Spanish. The survey has a margin of error of +/-4.9 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/vifyDohQlys/130329090624.htm

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