Muscle powers spearing mantis shrimp attacks

ScienceDaily (Nov. 22, 2012) ? A hungry mantis shrimp may be the last thing that a passing fish sees before it is snatched from the water by the predator. Maya deVries from the University of California, Berkeley, says 'Spearer mantis shrimps stay in their sandy burrows and they wait for a fast-moving prey item to come by, but then they come out of nowhere and grab the prey with their long skinny appendages.' However, little was know about how these vicious predators unleash their lightning-fast attacks.

According to deVries, the spearing shrimp are closely related to smasher mantis shrimps, which pulverise the shells of crustaceans and molluscs with a single explosive blow from their mighty claws. Having decided to find out how the crustaceans unleash their deadly assaults, deVries says, 'We thought that the spearers would be just as fast -- if not faster -- than the smashers because they have a smaller time window in which to capture their prey.' deVries and her colleagues publish their discovery that Lysiosquillina maculata spearer mantis shrimps power their mighty spears with muscle alone while smaller Alachosquilla vicina spearer mantis shrimps use a more conventional catapult mechanism in The Journal of Experimental Biology.

Working with her PhD advisor, Sheila Patek, deVries took a short trip along the corridor to Roy Caldwell's lab to film some of his L. maculata mantis shrimps. Coaxing the nocturnal lobster-sized crustaceans to assault frozen prawns, deVries recalls that the animals were reluctant to attack; 'They probably didn't like the bright lights', she says. However, when the duo analysed the speed of the strikes, they were surprised that the spearer's harpoon speed was much slower than that of their smashing cousin's. Explaining that smashers can unleash strikes at speeds ranging from 10 to 23m/s, the duo were taken aback that L. maculata could only muster 2 m/s.

Smasher mantis shrimp store catapult energy in skeletal springs that they unleash during a deadly assault; therefore deVries analysed the trajectories of several L. maculata claws in action, and realised that the hefty crustaceans were not using the same mechanism. 'The spear has all the same components [as the smashers]', explains deVries, but she adds that the shape of some of the structures are subtly different and the spring did not deform to store energy prior to an attack -- possibly because it is too stiff -- preventing L. maculata from firing a ballistic attack. 'If the L. maculata movement is similar to other ambush predators that have muscle-driven strikes, it is possible that these guys are creating strikes with muscle movement', says deVries.

Next, deVries and Patek tested the reactions of another, smaller mantis shrimp, Alachosquilla vicina, to find out whether all spearing mantis shrimps have opted for muscle-powered strikes. Elizabeth Murphy filmed the animals snapping up brine shrimp however, it was obvious that the diminutive crustaceans were using a spring-loaded catapult to spear their nimble prey. The team could clearly see energy-storing deformations in the spring structure before the mantis shrimp unfurled their deadly assaults at 6m/s.

But the team were still puzzled by L. maculata's sluggish performance. Maybe the lab-based animals had become too unfit to produce explosive attacks? Traveling to Australia to film L. maculata hunting in the wild, the team were relieved to see that the animals' reactions were well within the range of speeds that they had measured in the lab. Adult L. maculata use muscle-powered attacks all the time.

Having confirmed that it is possible for the large shrimp to produce lightening-fast strikes without using a spring mechanism, deVries says 'We're trying to get more L. maculata in the lab to look at the complete size range in one species to see how the strike scales and to find out if there is a size threshold above which you can't have a spring-loaded strike anymore.'

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by The Journal of Experimental Biology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS. The original article was written by Kathryn Knight.

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. deVries, M. S., Murphy, E. A. K. and Patek, S. N. Strike mechanics of an ambush predator: the spearing mantis shrimp. J. Exp. Biol, 215, 4374-4384; 2012 (in press)

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/Ntjz9YXkrGw/121122095431.htm

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Deadly La. oil rig fire claims second victim

(Reuters) - One of the men burned last week in an explosion and fire on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico died on Friday of his injuries, an official said, bringing the confirmed death toll from the accident to two.

Avelino Tajonera, 49, a welder from the Philippines working on the Black Elk Energy rig, died in a New Orleans hospital on Friday morning, according to a statement from the Philippine Ambassador to the United States. He died shortly after his wife and three children arrived from Manila.

In the wake of the November 16 accident, which killed one other worker and left another missing, U.S. regulators ordered Black Elk to take immediate steps to improve safety at its offshore platforms.

The explosion and fire occurred when workers were welding a pipe on the deck of West Delta Block 32 platform, which sits in 56 feet of water about 17 miles south of Grand Isle, Louisiana.

The accident evoked memories of the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 people and triggered the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

A spokeswoman for Black Elk did not immediately return an e-mail from Reuters requesting comment.

(Reporting by James B. Kelleher; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oil-rig-worker-dies-injuries-black-elk-explosion-212102920--finance.html

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 with LTE now available at Verizon, $500 sans contract

Been clamoring for a Samsung Galaxy 2 10.1 with LTE? While you may have known about Sprint's variant which launched 10 days ago, Verizon is now laying claim to the tablet as well. Big Red's model will cost you a cool $500 ($150 than its 7-inch sibling) with "month-to-month service" that'll run you between $30 for 4GB of data to $60 for 10GB. Details on the slate's internals are light, but you can expect it to be loaded with Android 4.0 and 8GB of flash storage (expandable to 64GB via microSD) -- whether this one has the beefed-up 1.5GHz dual-core CPU like Sprint's remains to be seen, but it is 50 dollars less. Verizon's listing the 10-incher as being ready to ship by the 26th, so hit up the source links below if it's up your alley.

Filed under: Tablets, Wireless, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/i3_PyzR0OWI/

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Ecuador supports raising taxes on bankers to subsidize the poor ...

Ecuador?s Congress on Tuesday approved a government bill that raises taxes on banks to raise about $ 164 million annually, which is used to finance a subsidy to the poor, said the Legislature.

The initiative of the government of Rafael Correa, a candidate for reelection, was endorsed with 79 votes (including several opponents), five against and 10 abstentions after the second and final floor debate, which started in the morning reported Bestgrowthstock.com.

The ?law of redistribution of revenue for social spending? is rejected by the Association of Private Banks (ABPE), which on Tuesday said in a statement to the stock market today that ?affect sector credit expansion, have negative effects on economic growth and the level of employment. ?

But the ruling Francisco Velasco, president of the commission of the Economic System, said during the discussion that even with reform, the bank ?remains an extraordinary business and taking profits guaranteed?.

The text provides a series of levies to fund an increase of 35 to 50 dollars, from January, the Human Development Bond (BDH), a subsidy that benefits created in 1998 to 1.9 million poor.

?Neither 35 nor resolved $ 50 a person?s life,? said Mar?a Paula Romo opposition.

The increase would cost about $ 300 million annually. Correa announced in response to an offer from the banker Guillermo Lasso, his main contender in the race for re-election, who said that reducing government advertising fund, which the president described as ?demagogic?.

So, enshrines a 3% tax on taxable income of financial institutions and a new rate of 0.25% per month on their assets abroad, may be 0.35% if offshore.

Also includes a VAT of 12% for financial services and eliminate a benefit that allows bankers deduct 10% of the income tax by reinvesting profits in productive loans.

It also seeks to cap the salaries of senior bankers, because according to the government, these amounts conceal profits, and increase access to information authorities bank customers.

?You can not fund a fixed cost to a variable income,? questioned the opposition Kl?ver Jimenez.

The profits of the 26 members of the ABPE rose 50.6% in 2011, reaching $ 393 million.

Correa, who leads the voting intentions widely, says that during his government will continue socializing the losses, not the gains, as according to him, occurred during the banking crisis of the late nineties, which led to the dollarization of the economy.

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Source: http://www.thestocktradinginvestment.com/2012/11/22/ecuador-supports-raising-taxes-on-bankers-to-subsidize-the-poor/

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Man charged in slayings of Brooklyn shopkeepers

AP

A 2001 photo of Salvatore Perrone provided by the Franconia Township Police Department.

By NBCNewYork.com and The Associated Press

NEW YORK -- A man suspected of killing three Brooklyn shopkeepers has been charged after he made statements implicating himself and after forensic investigators linked him to the murder scenes, authorities announced Wednesday.?

Salvatore Perrone, 63, was charged with three counts of murder Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.?

Responding to a tip call, authorities picked up Perrone in Bay Ridge Tuesday while looking to question a person they called "John Doe Duffel Bag," the?balding man with a mustache who was seen on surveillance video?near the scene of the latest slaying and who was linked to a video in an earlier incident.?

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Police had been investigating the series of deadly shootings?of Brooklyn business owners of Middle Eastern descent since the first one occurred in July.?

Law enforcement sources say Perrone made statements placing himself near the scene of the shooting at the?Valentino Fashion Inc.?in Bay Ridge on July 6.??Mohamed Gebeli, 65, an Egyptian immigrant and a Muslim, was found shot in the back of his shop. Detectives found .22-caliber gun shell casings at that crime scene and also at the scene where?Isaac Kadare, 59, also Egyptian but Jewish, was shot in the head in his Amazing 99 Cent Deal store Aug. 6.

The latest victim, 78-year-old?Rahmatollah Vahidipour, a Jewish man from Iran, was killed in his women's clothing boutique on Flatbush Avenue Friday. The same casings were found at that scene.?

"It's reasonable to assume he was going to continue doing this," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said?in a news conference Wednesday. "He went to other locations and asked questions that indicated he may have been planning to come back.

A law enforcement official said a Ruger rifle with a sawed-off stock and an improvised combination laser/light attached to its barrel was found early Wednesday in a duffel bag at Perrone's girlfriend's Brooklyn home. ?Also contained in the bag were 30 copper-coated hollow-point bullets, latex gloves, women's clothing, a 12-inch steak knife with a substance that may be blood, a fabric color chart and black plastic bags with a substance that may be blood on it, the source said.

Authorities say it is the same duffel bag seen in the surveillance video at the scene of two slayings. The weapon uses .22 ammunition consistent with ballistics found at each of the three crime scenes connected to the case, law enforcement sources said.

Authorities also found .22-caliber ammunition, three knives, one of which appeared to have blood on it, black gloves and women's pantyhose with the legs cut off in the duffel bag, a law enforcement official said. The blood on the recovered knife is being tested for DNA evidence.

Law enforcement sources say Perrone's girlfriend and ex-wife are cooperating with detectives. Sources say he is a fabric and garment salesman, and has several prior arrests, including for stalking and burglary, in Pennsylvania.?

A woman who lived across the street from Perrone's former home on Staten Island said the divorced father of one was a peculiar neighbor and that he used to sing opera loudly from his front yard at odd hours of the night.

"He was just that crazy neighbor," said Julia Marra, 21, who nevertheless viewed Perrone as harmless.

It appeared Perrone was trying to sell his home on the corner of Clove Road and Beverly Avenue on Staten Island. The structure was visibly in disrepair and in need of rehabilitation Wednesday. A phone number listed on the for sale sign in the yard connected to a voice mailbox belonging to Perrone.?

Detectives who specialize in hate crimes and FBI analysts who specialize in behavioral analysis joined the case this week, authorities said.

"The possibility of a bias motive here is something that can't be excluded," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Monday.

The bodies were all partially obscured by clothing or, in one case, a box. The shops all lacked surveillance cameras, and the owners were alone in the store. The locations of the shops are each about 4 miles apart, with addresses that contain the number eight. Money was taken from everyone but Vahidipour, who had $171 in his pocket.

Kelly said it's reasonable to think the shooter had canvassed the area to find locations where no cameras existed.?"Here you have three stores where the proprietor is there by himself, no cameras in any of these," he said. "You'd have to speculate that some sort of reconnaissance was going on before the murders took place."

NBCNewYork.com's Shimon Prokupecz, Jonathan Dienst and Chris Glorioso and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/21/15342776-man-charged-in-slayings-of-brooklyn-shopkeepers?lite

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Sample Social Media Policy - Work On the Internet

I. Goals

To provide guidelines for how supports communication goals in social media.

II. Policies

offers support of practice communication goals, as well as provides guidelines for staff engaging in online discourse and identifying themselves with YOUR PRACTICE>.

This policy is not intended for internet activities that do not associate or identify a staff member with , do not use ???s email addresses, do not discuss and are purely about personal matters.

III. Definitions

Content owners, for the purpose of this policy, are those assigned the responsibility of maintaining, monitoring, and moderating a social media platform. Official communications refer to those done in ???s name, (e.g. a ???s Facebook page).

A. Content Owner ??? Assigned by department as the individual responsible for monitoring and maintaining web content.

B. Moderator ??? Assigned by Content Owner and/or department as the individual for moderating comments and postings by internal and external users, including deleting comments and posting that do not meet the criteria set forth in this policy.

C. Social Media Platforms ??? Technology tools and online spaces for integrating and sharing user-generated content in order to engage followers in conversations and allow them to participate in content and community. Examples are Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

IV. Specific Information

A. Official Practice Web 2.0 Communications:

1. Because of the emerging nature of social media platforms these guidelines do not specify every current platform. Examples include but are not limited to the following:
a. You Tube
b. Facebook
c. Google+
d. Twitter
e. Pinterest
f. Blogs

2. Representation via online social media platforms can only be initiated and authorized through the efforts of the by the permission of the practice owner or their representative. sites or pages on You Tube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. unless they are developed or authorized by the ???s social media manager/practice owner. Any sites or pages existing without prior authorization will be subject to review when discovered and may be removed.

3. Content Owners are responsible for posting and using content and maintaining compliance with ???s policy and procedure on behavior, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and policies related to Conflict of Interest, Privacy, Security, Safety and Human Resources, and FERPA (Federal Education Records Protection Act).

4. Content Owners are responsible for monitoring and maintaining web content as follows:
a. Content is current and accurate.
b. Content Owners engage in communications that are acceptable in the workplace and respect copyrights and disclosures. Proprietary financial, intellectual property, patient care or similar sensitive or private content may not be revealed.
c. Content Owners are responsible for gaining the expressed consent of all involved parties for the right to distribution or publication of recordings, photos, images, video, text, slideshow presentations, artwork and advertisements whether those rights are purchased or obtained without compensation.
d. Content Owners are responsible for constantly monitoring postings and comments to social media sites, and for deleting postings that do not adhere to our policies.

B. Guidelines for Online Professional or Personal Activity:

Online social media allow faculty, staff, and students to engage in professional and personal conversations. These guidelines apply to staff who identify themselves with and/or use their email address in social media platforms such as professional society blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. for deliberate professional engagement or casual conversation. These guidelines apply to private and password protected social media platforms as well as to open social platforms.Follow the same policy and procedure behavior, HIPAA, Conflict of Interest Policy, Privacy and general civil behavior guidelines cited above including respecting copyrights and disclosures, and not revealing proprietary financial, intellectual property, patient care or similar sensitive or private content.

Respect the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy requirements.

1. If staff identify themselves as a member of the in any online forum and/or use their email address, they must make it clear that they are not speaking for , and what they say is representative of their individual personal views and opinions and not necessarily the views and opinions of .

2. Before posting photos anywhere, ask for their permission, and be sure to have them sign our consent form???then properly file said form. If the person is a minor, their parent or guardian must sign the consent form.

3. respects an employee???s right to participate in social media for personal reasons during non-work hours. All employees participating in social media and online commentary???even on their own personal accounts???are expected to use their professional judgment prior to posting anything online that is connected in any way to our dental practice or to our patients, and to adhere to all office confidentiality policies currently in place. Content posted on personal blogs, social networks, wikis and other online forums that is connected in any way to our practice or to our patients should comply with our organization???s confidentiality and employee ethics policies. Any work-related comments should also be respectful and relevant in a way that protects the practice???s brand and reputation and follows both the spirit and letter of the law.

4. Staff should be thoughtful about how they present themselves as a employee in online networks. By virtue of self identifying as part of in such a network,they connect themselves to, and reflect upon, . If you are ever in doubt about posting a comment or image, don???t! Protect our practice and its reputation, and our patients??? privacy. Consider all content carefully. If you have a question, talk to our practice manager or with .

5. Even though you maintain and use your own personal social media accounts, your online presence reflects upon and reputation. Your actions captured via images, posts or comments can be considered by some as a reflection on our practice, regardless of whether or not it occurs during work hours. If you make comments about work, or work-related topics, please post meaningful, respectful comments that positively promote your role as a employee and reflect positively on your co-workers and team members.

6. Remember that all content contributed on all platforms becomes immediately searchable and can be immediately shared. This content immediately leaves the contributing individual staff members??? control forever. Always be kind, honest, generous, and genuine. Respect copyright laws and reference or cite sources appropriately.

7. Conflict ??? If you disagree with another???s opinion, do not respond until you have visited with our practice manager or with . In every case, keep comments appropriate, respectful and polite. If you find yourself in a situation online that looks as if it???s becoming antagonistic, politely disengage???then discuss this with our practice manager or with before continuing the conversation. Never participate in social media when the topic being discussed might be considered a ???panic??? situation???or, if somebody is clearly difficult. If you have a question, talk to our practice manager or with .

8. If someone or some group offers to pay staff for participating in an on

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Source: http://www.workoninternet.com/business/home-business-small-business/miscellaneous/219965-article.html

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New York sues Credit Suisse over mortgage securities

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman brought a lawsuit on Tuesday accusing Credit Suisse Group AG of deceiving investors in mortgage-backed securities.

Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-largest bank, misrepresented the quality of loans underlying residential mortgage-backed securities it sponsored and underwrote in 2006 and 2007, leading to $11.2 billion in losses to investors, according to the lawsuit.

The Zurich-based bank was aware of problems with the loans it bought, the lawsuit said, but rewarded quantity over quality, to the dismay of some Credit Suisse staffers.

Credit Suisse encouraged loan originators "to continue delivering ... crap," the lawsuit said, quoting one bank trader.

The bank failed to adequately evaluate the loans and ignored defects its limited review did uncover, the lawsuit said. It also allegedly failed to perform due diligence it promised. The case was brought under a New York securities fraud statute known as the Martin Act.

Credit Suisse said it rejected the complaint and looked forward to presenting its defense in court. The complaint "recycles baseless claims from private lawsuits and uses an inaccurate and exaggerated number," the bank said in a statement, apparently referring to the $11.2 billion loss figure.

The bank announced a management shake-up on Tuesday.

The action is the latest out of a joint federal-state working group created by President Barack Obama to go after wrongdoing that led to the 2008 financial crisis.

It "marks another significant step in our efforts to hold financial institutions accountable for the misconduct that led to the worst financial crisis in nearly a century," Schneiderman said in a statement. He is co-chair of the group.

On Friday, Credit Suisse agreed to pay $120 million to settle U.S. civil charges that it misled investors in the sale of risky mortgage bonds prior to the crisis. JPMorgan Chase & Co , in a separate but similar case, agreed to pay $296.9 million. The banks settled without admitting wrongdoing.

Schneiderman also brought a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase last month over mortgage-backed securities packaged and sold by Bear Stearns & Co, which JPMorgan acquired during the financial crisis.

The working group's actions are viewed as a last shot for the government to hold banks and others responsible for misconduct in the run-up to the mortgage meltdown.

Credit Suisse, JPMorgan and other banks have already been sued by pension funds, insurers and others who claim they misrepresented the quality of mortgages underlying securities.

Schneiderman said on a telephone press conference Tuesday that the government lawsuits focus on systemic conduct, not individual transactions.

He also said his aim "to protect the market" made the lawsuit different than relief sought by private litigants.

The lawsuit seeks damages and restitution for investor losses, and to stop the conduct.

The case is People of the State of New York v. Credit Suisse Securities, 451802/2012, New York state Supreme Court, New York County.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Steve Orlofsky, Bernard Orr)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/york-sues-credit-suisse-over-mortgage-securities-192255082--finance.html

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