Android 4.3 leaks for Galaxy S4, rumored to launch in July
The next version of Google?s mobile operating system will reportedly arrive next month. SamMobile has obtained an early build of Android 4.3 for the Galaxy S4 Google Edition smartphone and posted a number of screenshots, giving us an early look at the upcoming update. The blog had previously suggested that Google would announce a new version of Android at its annual developers conference, however the event came and went with no such announcement. An earlier leak revealed that Android 4.3 would only be a minor update that keeps the Jelly Bean name. SamMobile?s sources claim Android 4.3 will arrive on Nexus and Google Edition devices in July. The website has also posted the early build for Galaxy S4 and Galaxy
PARIS (AP) ? Police have detained six people in the Paris region suspected of plotting terrorist attacks in France.
The Paris prosecutor's office said Tuesday that the six are being questioned by anti-terrorist investigators, and are believed to have been part of a radical Islamic terrorist cell.
Prosecutor's office spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre says the suspects were detained Monday and remained in custody Tuesday, she said. They can be held up to four days under France's anti-terrorism laws.
France has been on higher alert for potential attacks since French troops entered Mali earlier this year, to push out al-Qaida-linked extremists who had seized much of the West African country and have threatened France and Europe.
All Critics (70) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (62) | Rotten (8)
The film treats imagination-and talent-in certain hands as an almost mystical force.
Ozon and the script move a little too far afield and hold on a bit too long as the film approaches its end. Still, "In the House" has enough trippy truth to it to grab your interest and shake your mind.
It's fiction about life that becomes fiction that might be life - and the viewer happily dives in.
The expected punch line... never materializes, so I guess this must be a drama after all.
Savor In the House for its meta-exploration of adolescence, class resentment and suppressed desire, but don't expect much more.
The seductions of storytelling drive "In the House," a cleverly structured comic thriller rich with narrative trickery and macabre humor.
Provocative, playful, entertaining and audacious, In the House is a writer showing us the inner workings of writing, complete with its power to subvert, to imagine and to deceive
Occasionally too clever for its own good, the film may go one step too far, but Ozon manages the hybrid of genres beautifully and ultimately it is his superb cast that sells the nuances and the concept
A sly, stylish blend of melodrama and suspense that's also a cunning commentary on the seductiveness and danger inherent in storytelling itself.
Director/scriptwriter Francois Ozon knows his Hitchcock well. He employs him effectively, but the clutter is his own.
An almost perverse delight, an egghead thriller that slyly shell-games its truer purpose as an inquiry into the construction -- and deconstruction -- of fiction. Scratch deconstruction: Make that tear-the-house-down demolition.
It's partly real and partly a fable, full of events that might have happened or could never have happened, with intrigues that defy us to take them seriously.
In the House is a structurally solid thriller that is both inventive and absolutely seductive in nature.
Inviting photography and a relentless pace complement Claude's unfolding narrative, but the big thrills are in the deftly drawn characters...and the incisive satire...
A slick psychological thriller that veers into dark comedy the more absurd it gets, "In the House" demonstrates the dangers of addiction -- not to sex or drugs, but to story.
Captures why we do what we do, and the extent to which stories reflect both the writer and the reader.
It's amusing and unexpected, capturing the compulsive spirit of writing with wit and attention to mischief that keeps it unpredictable to the very end.
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To some Edward Snowden is a traitor. To others, Edward Snowden is a hero. To me, Edward Snowden just seems like a narcissistic creep who wants to be a star on the global stage. But rest assured that would never stop me from making the man a playlist that's perfect for long trips from Moscow to Ecuador in the company of Wikileaks lawyers. So as always, please spill the beans and add your own Songs For Snowden.
NOWHERE MAN - Paul Westerberg DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET? - The Beatles DON'T YOU RUN AWAY - Shuggie Otis TIME TO HIDE - Paul McCartney & The Wings I'D RUN AWAY - The Jayhawks LONG DISTANCE RUNNER - Buckingham Nicks RUNNING TO STAND STILL - U2 HIDE AWAY - Freddie King A LITTLE TRAVELING MUSIC, PLEASE - Barry Manilow SECRET AGENT MAN - Johnny Rivers HONESTY - Billy Joel SECRETS - Van Halen FOX ON THE RUN - The Sweet TRAITOR - The Sugarcubes RUN - Tin Machine NEVER KEEPING SECRETS - Babyface STORIES WE COULD TELL - John Sebastian NOWHERE TO HIDE - Eric Carmen DON'T RUN AND HIDE - The Everly Brothers HIDEAWAY - Todd Rundgren YOU CAN RUN (BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE) - Jerry Butler HIDE IN YOUR SHELL - Roger Hodgson ALWAYS ON THE RUN - Lenny Kravitz BORN TO RUN - Bruce Springsteen 50 WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER - Paul Simon RUNNING CHILD RUNNING WILD - The Temptations
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act cannot be enforced unless Congress comes up with an up-to-date formula for deciding which states and localities still need federal monitoring.
The justices said in 5-4 vote that the law Congress most recently renewed in 2006 relies on 40-year-old data that does not reflect racial progress and changes in U.S. society.
The court did not strike down the advance approval requirement of the law that has been used, mainly in the South, to open up polling places to minority voters in the nearly half century since it was first enacted in 1965. But the justices did say lawmakers must update the formula for determining which parts of the country must seek Washington's approval, in advance, for election changes.
Chief Justice John Roberts said for the conservative majority that Congress "may draft another formula based on current conditions."
That task eluded Congress in 2006 when lawmakers overwhelmingly renewed the advance approval requirement with no changes in which states and local jurisdictions were covered, and Congress did nothing in response to a high court ruling in a similar challenge in 2009 in which the justices raised many of the same concerns.
"The coverage formula that Congress reauthorized in 2006 ignores these developments, keeping the focus on decades-old data relevant to decades-old problems, rather than current data reflecting current needs," Roberts said.
The decision means that a host of state and local laws that have not received Justice Department approval or have not yet been submitted will be able to take effect. Prominent among those are voter identification laws in Alabama and Mississippi.
Going forward, the outcome alters the calculus of passing election-related legislation in the affected states and local jurisdictions. The threat of an objection from Washington has hung over election-related proposals for nearly a half century. At least until Congress acts, that deterrent now is gone.
That prospect has worried civil rights groups which especially worry that changes on the local level might not get the same scrutiny as the actions of state legislatures.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, joined by her three liberal colleagues, dissented from Tuesday's ruling.
Ginsburg said no one doubts that voting discrimination still exists. "But the court today terminates the remedy that proved to be best suited to block that discrimination," she said in a dissent that she read aloud in the packed courtroom.
Ginsburg said the law continues to be necessary to protect against what she called subtler, "second-generation" barriers to voting. She identified one such effort as the switch to at-large voting from a district-by-district approach in a city with a sizable black minority. The at-large system allows the majority to "control the election of each city council member, effectively eliminating the potency of the minority's votes," she said.
Justice Clarence Thomas was part of the majority, but wrote separately to say again that he would have struck down the advance approval requirement itself.
Civil rights lawyers condemned the ruling.
"The Supreme Court has effectively gutted one of the nation's most important and effective civil rights laws. Minority voters in places with a record of discrimination are now at greater risk of being disenfranchised than they have been in decades. Today's decision is a blow to democracy. Jurisdictions will be able to enact policies which prevent minorities from voting, and the only recourse these citizens will have will be expensive and time-consuming litigation," said Jon Greenbaum, chief counsel for the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The group represented a black resident of the Alabama County that challenged the law.
Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said, "This is like letting you keep your car, but taking away the keys."
The decision comes five months after President Barack Obama, the nation's first black chief executive, started his second term in the White House, re-elected by a diverse coalition of voters.
The high court is in the midst of a broad re-examination of the ongoing necessity of laws and programs aimed at giving racial minorities access to major areas of American life from which they once were systematically excluded. The justices issued a modest ruling Monday that preserved affirmative action in higher education and will take on cases dealing with anti-discrimination sections of a federal housing law and another affirmative action case from Michigan next term.
The court warned of problems with the voting rights law in a similar case heard in 2009. The justices averted a major constitutional ruling at that time, but Congress did nothing to address the issues the court raised. The law's opponents, sensing its vulnerability, filed several new lawsuits.
The latest decision came in a challenge to the advance approval, or preclearance, requirement, which was brought by Shelby County, Ala., a Birmingham suburb.
The lawsuit acknowledged that the measure's strong medicine was appropriate and necessary to counteract decades of state-sponsored discrimination in voting, despite the Fifteenth Amendment's guarantee of the vote for black Americans.
But it asked whether there was any end in sight for a provision that intrudes on states' rights to conduct elections, an issue the court's conservative justices also explored at the argument in February. It was considered an emergency response when first enacted in 1965.
The county noted that the 25-year extension approved in 2006 would keep some places under Washington's oversight until 2031 and seemed not to account for changes that include the elimination of racial disparity in voter registration and turnout or the existence of allegations of race-based discrimination in voting in areas of the country that are not subject to the provision.
The Obama administration and civil rights groups said there is a continuing need for it and pointed to the Justice Department's efforts to block voter ID laws in South Carolina and Texas last year, as well as a redistricting plan in Texas that a federal court found discriminated against the state's large and growing Hispanic population.
Advance approval was put into the law to give federal officials a potent tool to defeat persistent efforts to keep blacks from voting.
The provision was a huge success because it shifted the legal burden and required governments that were covered to demonstrate that their proposed changes would not discriminate. Congress periodically has renewed it over the years. The most recent extension was overwhelmingly approved by a Republican-led Congress and signed by President George W. Bush.
The requirement currently applies to the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. It also covers certain counties in California, Florida, New York, North Carolina and South Dakota, and some local jurisdictions in Michigan. Coverage has been triggered by past discrimination not only against blacks, but also against American Indians, Asian-Americans, Alaska Natives and Hispanics.
Towns in New Hampshire that had been covered by the law were freed from the advance approval requirement in March. Supporters of the provision pointed to the ability to bail out of the prior approval provision to argue that the law was flexible enough to accommodate change and that the court should leave the Voting Rights Act intact.
On Monday, the Justice Department announced an agreement that would allow Hanover County, Va., to bail out.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? Texas Republicans have passed new abortion restrictions expected to close almost every abortion clinic in the nation's second most populous state.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted for the bill while hundreds of protesters screamed from the gallery. Reporters and Democrats saw the voting begin after midnight, but Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said it began just before.
Texas' special legislative session ended at midnight, and Democrats spent most of the day filibustering the bill. Republicans cited rules to eventually force a vote to end the filibuster.
The bill bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and requires that all procedures take place in a surgical center.
Doctors who perform abortions would also need admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles. The surgical center requirement would shut down 37 of Texas' 42 abortion clinics.
Jani Bergdahl, left, joined by husband, Bob, the parents of captive U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, speaks at the "Bring Bowe Back" celebration held to honor Sgt. Bergdahl in Hailey, Idaho, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Hundreds of activists for missing service members gathered in a small Idaho town Saturday to hear the parents of the only known U.S. prisoner of war speak just days after his Taliban captors announced they want to exchange him for prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jani Bergdahl, left, joined by husband, Bob, the parents of captive U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, speaks at the "Bring Bowe Back" celebration held to honor Sgt. Bergdahl in Hailey, Idaho, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Hundreds of activists for missing service members gathered in a small Idaho town Saturday to hear the parents of the only known U.S. prisoner of war speak just days after his Taliban captors announced they want to exchange him for prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Bob Bergdahl, right, and wife, Jani, the parents of captive U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, hold in hands as they pray at the "Bring Bowe Back" celebration held to honor Sgt. Bergdahl in Hailey, Idaho, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Hundreds of activists for missing service members gathered in a small Idaho town Saturday to hear the parents of the only known U.S. prisoner of war speak just days after his Taliban captors announced they want to exchange him for prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Bob Bergdahl, father of captive U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, speaks at the "Bring Bowe Back" celebration held to honor Sgt. Bergdahl in Hailey, Idaho, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Hundreds of activists for missing service members gathered in a small Idaho town Saturday to hear the parents of the only known U.S. prisoner of war speak just days after his Taliban captors announced they want to exchange him for prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Two Vietnam War veterans, Bill Sharpness, left, and Bill Atkinson hold in hands as they sing "God Bless America" at the "Bring Bowe Back" celebration held to honor captive U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in Hailey, Idaho, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Hundreds of activists for missing service members gathered in a small Idaho town Saturday to hear the parents of the only known U.S. prisoner of war speak just days after his Taliban captors announced they want to exchange him for prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Bob Bergdahl, right, and wife, Jani, center, the parents of captive U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, are comforted by a supporter at the "Bring Bowe Back" celebration held to honor Sgt. Bergdahl in Hailey, Idaho, Saturday, June 22, 2013. Hundreds of activists for missing service members gathered in a small Idaho town Saturday to hear the parents of the only known U.S. prisoner of war speak just days after his Taliban captors announced they want to exchange him for prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
HAILEY, Idaho (AP) ? The tearful mother of the only known U.S. prisoner of war said Saturday she's feeling "very optimistic" about his eventual release after his Taliban captors offered last week to exchange him for prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's mother, Jani Bergdahl, spoke to about 2,000 people gathered in Hailey, his hometown, in a city park where he played as a toddler and little boy.
About 400 in the crowd arrived astride motorcycles, adorned in leather and patches commemorating America's military missing in action.
Bowe Bergdahl, 27, was taken prisoner in Afghanistan on June 30, 2009. First Jani Bergdahl, then his father, Bob Bergdahl, who accompanied the motorcycle procession on his son's 1978 dirt bike, spoke for a combined 15 minutes about rejuvenated hopes that their son's now-four-year ordeal will soon come to a joyful close.
"We are feeling very optimistic this week," his mother, before addressing her son directly. "Bowe, we love you, we support you, and are eagerly awaiting your return home. I love you my son, as I have, from the first moment I heard of you, the never-ending, unconditional love a mother has for her child."
Buses also brought POW-MIA activists to the event from as far as Elko, Nev., some 230 miles to the south.
Though yellow ribbons on Main Street trees and "Bring Bowe Home" placards in Hailey shop windows are a constant reminder of the 27-year-old Bergdahl's captivity, organizers of the event said the Taliban offer has lent an addition element of urgency ? and hope ? to Saturday's gathering.
Many in the crowd said they were Vietnam veterans; some of them supported the proposed prisoner exchange without reservation.
"Give them their guys and get our guy home," said David Blunt, of Elko, Nev., who said he served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam as a medic. "Bring our guy home. He's suffered enough."
Bergdahl is believed held somewhere in Pakistan, but the Taliban said they would free him in exchange for five of their most senior operatives at Guantanamo Bay, the American installation on the southeastern tip of Cuba that's housed suspected terrorists following the Sept. 11 attacks.
The militant group's exchange proposition came just days ahead of possible talks between a U.S. delegation and Taliban members.
Bergdahl's father, Bob Bergdahl, urged those gathered at Hailey's Hop Porter Park to remember everyone, regardless of nationality, who had suffered during the 12-year conflict in Afghanistan that began following the Sept. 11 attacks.
He described his son as "part of the peace process."
"I wish she was the only mother that was suffering in that way," Bob Bergdahl said of his wife. "Mothers all over the world are suffering because of this war, and I don't forget that for even one day."
He addressed his son's captors in Pashto, the Afghan language he's learned since Bowe Bergdahl went missing.
Bob Bergdahl, who has grown a beard and wore all black at Saturday's event, said that while he is physically in Idaho, he's living vicariously through his son, having set his cell phone to Afghan time, in a bid to share as much as he can his son's experience in exile.
Both mother and father talked of Bergdahl as an adventurer, a young man who once helped crew a sailboat through the Panama Canal, disembarked in San Francisco and then rode a bicycle south along the Pacific Ocean to meet family in Santa Barbara, Calif., 350 miles away.
He joined the military at 22 because "he honestly thought he could help the people of Afghanistan," Bob Bergdahl said.
On June 6, the family said it received its first letter from their son in his handwriting in four years, ferried through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The circumstances of his capture aren't completely clear, though U.S. officials on July 2, 2009, told The Associated Press a soldier had been taken after walking off his base following his duty shift. For some of the motorcycle riders who participated Saturday, those details are something to be sifted through later, after Bergdahl is safely in the arms of his family.
"He didn't go over there on his own," said Randy Danner, a former U.S. Air Force member from Mountain Home, who rode his motorbike to Hailey with a group called the Green Knights. "No matter the circumstances, for our men and women over there who have put themselves in harm's way, we have a duty to support them in any way we can."
Facebook says a bug in its system caused 6 million users' contact information to be inadvertently exposed.
The social media company said Friday that a bug led to users' contact information, such as email addresses or phone numbers, to be accessed by other users who either had some contact information about that person or some connection to them.
Facebook said in a blog post that the cause of the bug is "pretty technical" but that the problem is tied to its "Download Your Information" tool.
The company uses the information that users upload to better tailor the friend suggestions it issues. The bug caused some of this information to be inadvertently stored in association with a person's contact information as part of their Facebook account.
As a result, if someone downloaded an archive of their Facebook account through the "Download Your Information" tool, they may have been provided with additional addresses or telephone numbers for their contacts or people with whom they have some connection. Because the contact information was provided by other people on Facebook, it was not necessarily accurate.
Facebook said it has fixed the problem and is in the process of notifying affected users via email.
The affected accounts represent only a fraction of the over 1 billion users on the social media site.
Facebook, which is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., said that it has no evidence that the bug has been used maliciously and it has not received complaints.
A "supermoon" rises in Washington, D.C., on March 19, 2011.
Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
A "supermoon" rises in Washington, D.C., on March 19, 2011.
Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
The largest full moon of the year will grace the night sky Sunday as our nearest neighbor in space makes its closest approach.
The moon will reach its closest perigee of 2013, dominating the sky. For about a half-hour of the event, the moon will also turn full ? a confluence of events that produces a so-called supermoon. The full moon on Sunday will appear to be 14 percent to 30 percent brighter than it does when it's at the other end of its orbit, known as apogee. Here's an explainer from Space.com.
At closest approach, the moon will be 221,300 miles from Earth. A few days later, on July 6, it will be at its most distant apogee of the year at 252,583 miles.
Moonrise occurs at about 8:50 p.m. EDT and at about 8:29 p.m. PDT on the West Coast. You can check your own location here.
As Hoax Slayer, a Snopes-like website dedicated to "debunking email hoaxes and exposing Internet scams," notes:
"Some of the circulating messages tend to exaggerate how big the moon will actually appear. And, of course, it will not appear bright purple or blue as suggested by some circulating graphics. Nevertheless, June 23 should present a great opportunity to view and photograph the moon in all its splendor."
LiveScience also writes about the myth of the supermoon, which it says has been blamed for everything "from the sinking of the Titanic to Japan's earthquake and tsunami of 2011."
"But Earth science experts say linking geological events to the full moon is foolish. The gravitational changes created by a few tens of thousands of miles of difference in distance between the moon and Earth aren't enough to alter tectonic forces in any meaningful way. ...
"Nor have studies turned up evidence that the moon affects human health and behavior. A 1985 review of research published in the journal Psychological Bulletin found no convincing evidence that full moons spur mental hospital admission uptakes, psychiatric disturbances, homicides or other crimes. A 2010 study similarly found a lack of excess criminal lunacy on full-moon days."
June 21, 2013 ? Researchers in Berlin and Munich, Germany and Oxford, United Kingdom, have revealed that a protein well known for its role in Alzheimer's disease controls spindle development in muscle and leads to impaired movement in mice when the protein is absent or treated with inhibitors. The results, which are published in The EMBO Journal, suggest that drugs under development to target the beta-secretase-1 protein, which may be potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease, might produce unwanted side effects related to defective movement.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia found in older adults. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 18 million people worldwide have Alzheimer's disease. The number of people affected by the disease may increase to 34 million by 2025. Scientists know that the protein beta-secretase-1 or Bace1, a protease enzyme that breaks down proteins into smaller molecules, is involved in Alzheimer's disease. Bace1 cleaves the amyloid precursor protein and generates the damaging Abeta peptides that accumulate as plaques in the brain leading to disease. Now scientists have revealed in more detail how Bace1 works.
"Our results show that mice that lack Bace1 proteins or are treated with inhibitors of the enzyme have difficulties in coordination and walking and also show reduced muscle strength," remarked Carmen Birchmeier, one of the authors of the paper, Professor at the Max-Delbr?ck-Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin, Germany, and an EMBO Member. "In addition, we were able to show that the combined activities of Bace1 and another protein, neuregulin-1 or Nrg1, are needed to sustain the muscle spindles in mice and to maintain motor coordination."
Muscle spindles are sensory organs that are found throughout the muscles of vertebrates. They are able to detect how muscles stretch and convey the perception of body position to the brain. The researchers used genetic analyses, biochemical studies and interference with pharmacological inhibitors to investigate how Bace1 works in mice. "If the signal strength of a specific form of neuregulin-1 known as IgNrg1 is gradually reduced, increasingly severe defects in the formation and maturation of muscle spindles are observed in mice. Furthermore, it appears that Bace1 is required for full IgNrg1 activity. The graded loss of IgNrg1 activity results in the animals having increasing difficulties with movement and coordination," says Cyril Cheret, the first author of the work.
Drug developers are interested in stopping the Bace1 protein in its tracks because it represents a promising route to treat Alzheimer's disease. If the protein were inhibited, it would interfere with the generation of the smaller damaging proteins that accumulate in the brain as amyloid plaques and would therefore provide some level of protection from the effects of the disease. "Our data indicate that one unwanted side effect of the long-term inhibition of Bace1 might be the disruption of muscle spindle formation and impairment of movement. This finding is relevant to scientists looking for ways to develop drugs that target the Bace1 protein and should be considered," says Birchmeier. Several Bace1 inhibitors are currently being tested in phase II and phase III clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by European Molecular Biology Organization, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Cyril Cheret, Michael Willem, Florence R Fricker, Hagen Wende, Annika Wulf-Goldenberg, Sabina Tahirovic, Klaus-Armin Nave, Paul Saftig, Christian Haass, Alistair N Garratt, David L Bennett, Carmen Birchmeier. Bace1 and Neuregulin-1 cooperate to control formation and maintenance of muscle spindles. The EMBO Journal, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/emboj.2013.146
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Julianne Hough holds her pups, Lexi and Harley, close while promoting the Purina #PetsAtWork campaign on Thursday morning (June 20) in Burbank, Calif.
The 24-year-old actress joined forces with Purina to celebrate National Bring Your Pet To Work Day, which is tomorrow, Friday, June 21st.
?I?m really excited to be working with Purina as part of the Pets At Work movement,? Julianne shared in a statement. ?My dogs are my family and are with me all the time, even when I?m working. I encourage everyone to join me and bring their pets to work on June 21!?
10+ pics inside of Julianne Hough?
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FILE - In this Nov. 8, 2007 file photo, actor James Gandolfini poses during a photo shoot in New York. Gandolfini, whose portrayal of a brutal, emotionally delicate mob boss in HBO's "The Sopranos" helped create one of TV's greatest drama series and turned the mobster stereotype on its head, died Wednesday, June 19, 2013 in Italy. He was 51. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 8, 2007 file photo, actor James Gandolfini poses during a photo shoot in New York. Gandolfini, whose portrayal of a brutal, emotionally delicate mob boss in HBO's "The Sopranos" helped create one of TV's greatest drama series and turned the mobster stereotype on its head, died Wednesday, June 19, 2013 in Italy. He was 51. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin, File)
NEW YORK (AP) ? James Gandolfini would have hated all this fuss.
He was an actor who shrank from attention for anything but the roles he brought to life. No false modesty. He simply did his best to remain a private citizen behind his public characters. These included, of course, Tony Soprano, the fiendish, tormented mobster who the world came to know and revere as a towering dramatic achievement.
Now, out of the blue, this flood of tributes to Gandolfini upon his untimely death? This would likely have struck him as excessive and needless, upstaging for a moment his lifetime of work.
In a too-brief career that ended Wednesday at age 51 while he was vacationing in Rome, Gandolfini can be celebrated for performances on TV, on stage and in films that reached beyond the obvious triumph of "The Sopranos" and the unsought celebrity it brought him. Before, during and after "The Sopranos," he remained defiantly a character actor, by all indications spared a leading man's ego as he tackled roles that piqued his interest, not roles meant to guarantee the spotlight.
"I'm much more comfortable doing smaller things," he declared not long ago. And in the past year, his film appearances included supporting (or smaller) roles in Kathryn Bigelow's Osama bin Laden manhunt docudrama "Zero Dark Thirty," ''Sopranos" creator David Chase's '60s period drama "Not Fade Away," and Andrew Dominick's crime flick "Killing Them Softly."
It was all part of an acting career as unlikely to which TV has given rise.
How to account for the providential choice of Gandolfini to headline a high-profile HBO drama series playing an anguished mob boss and family man? Balding and beefy, he seemed the antithesis of an actor who could sustain viewers' interest, amusing them, horrifying them and compelling them to love him in a way they had never loved a TV hero before.
Gandolfini made the character monstrous yet sympathetic, a man with a murderously chilling gaze yet a mischievous smile. Thus did Tony Soprano become part of the culture, taking Gandolfini, reluctantly, with him.
By the end of the series' run, Gandolfini was suitably grateful for the role he had embodied for six seasons. But he had lent such authenticity to Tony that the character by then weighed heavily upon him. No actor stops identifying with the character he plays, no matter how repellant or villainous. An actor is required to be complicit with the man he portrays.
And yet, Gandolfini said he struggled to like Tony.
"Let's just say, it was a lot easier to like him in the beginning, than in the last few years," he told The Associated Press a few days before the series' finale in June 2007.
It was a remarkable admission by Gandolfini as he looked ahead, brightly, to new challenges.
"I don't even think I've proven myself, yet," he said. "I have yet to begin the fight, I think."
In that rare interview, Gandolfini, famously press-shy ever since "The Sopranos" blindsided him with stardom, was as gracious as he was uncomfortable discussing himself.
There was one too many questions delving into his acting process.
"Oh, please! Who gives a crap!" he scoffed (though he didn't say "crap"). Then he quickly apologized. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to be abrupt."
Despite his formidable presence in person as on film, there was no confusing him with Tony Soprano. He was his own man, down-to-earth, accommodating ? and no-nonsense when it counted. Once glimpsed by a reporter filming a scene on the set of the Soprano family's plush New Jersey home, he bobbled a line of dialogue, whereupon he let out a growl, not at anyone else but directed unsparingly at himself before the cameras rolled again.
On the other hand, he clearly knew the difference between what was serious as an actor ? and what was deadly serious.
Marshaling his unbidden clout as a star, Gandolfini produced (though only sparingly appeared in) a pair of documentaries for HBO focused on a cause he held dear: veterans affairs.
"Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq" (2007) profiled soldiers and Marines who had cheated death in war but continued to wage personal battles back at home. Four years later, "Wartorn: 1861-2010" charted victims of post-traumatic stress disorder from the U.S. invasion of Iraq all the way back to the Civil War.
"Do I think a documentary is going to change the world?" Gandolfini said about the latter film. "No, but I think there will be individuals who will learn things from it, so that's enough."
There were no grand pronouncements that day. No lofty goals voiced. No showboating by an actor who will never be forgotten as Tony Soprano, and then some, for the work he leaves behind.
___
EDITOR'S NOTE ? Frazier Moore is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. He can be reached at fmoore@ap.org and at http://www.twitter.com/tvfrazier
Exchange traded funds tracking bonds, the major stock market?indexes and gold tumbled while agricultural commodities jumped after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the Fed hopes to taper its economic stimulus program this fall and end it by mid 2014. At that point, the unemployment rate is seen dropping to 7%.
Bernanke's remarks Wednesday followed the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) vow of sticking with the status quo for now.
The FOMC indicated that the Fed would keep buying $85 billion a month in bonds and keep short-term interest rates near zero as long as the unemployment rate, 7.6%, stays above 6.5% and projected inflation stays below 2.5%.
SPDR S&P 500 (SPY), the largest ETF by assets, dropped 1.37% to 163.46. Sectors most sensitive to interest rates ? real estate (REZ) and utilities (XLU) ? sold off most, tumbling 3.09% and 2.29%, respectively.
IShares MSCI EAFE Index (EFA), tracking developed foreign markets, plunged 1.86% to 59.96.
IShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEM) crashed 3.15% to 38.58, an 11-month low.
IShares Barclays 7-10 Year Treasury (IEF)skidded 1.37% to 103.59, a 14-month low. Yields on benchmark 10-year bonds popped 13 basis points to 2.32% ? a 15-month high.
PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (UUP) surged 0.91%, snapping a four-week losing streak. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) fell 1.17% to 130.59 ? its lowest price in more than two years.
Pressure On Bonds
"The Fed is definitely going to slow its purchases of bonds," Brian Frank, manager of $18.4 million Frank Value , in New York City, said in an email. "Naturally, this will put pressure on the bond market, so the smart thing to do is front-run the Fed and sell before they do."
Equity investors see rising interest rates as "less juice for the economy, which is going to pressure corporate earnings," said Ethan Anderson, chief investment strategist of Rehmann Financial, with $1.5 billion in assets under management. "Higher interest rates are anti-inflationary, knocking down gold investors."
The Federal Reserve lifted its projections for economic growth and unemployment while lowering views on inflation. It expects 2013 gross domestic product growth of 2.3% to 2.6% vs. 2.3% to 2.8% in March. It sees 2014 GDP expansion of 3.0% to 3.5% vs. 2.9% to 3.4% in March.The market is too pessimistic about when the Fed will taper bond purchases and lift interest rates, according to Credit Suisse analysts. They see weak global growth ? especially in China ? weighing on the U.S. They expect developed market central banks will likely continue stimulating their economies by buying assets.
"GDP growth above 2.5% will be required to drive down the unemployment rate," Credit Suisse analysts wrote in a client note. "The 6.5% unemployment rate threshold will not be breached until mid-2015."
Paul Edelstein, U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight, headquartered in Englewood, Colo., believes the Fed is too optimistic, and doubts that the unemployment rate will fall below 7.5% this year.
"Bernanke stressed that this road map is entirely contingent on the Fed's forecasts being correct," Edelstein said in a statement. "So we question whether the Fed will end up tapering before 2014."
Takeaway: Traveling to other countries on business can get a little tricky. Here?s some hard-won advice from one globetrotting IT pro.
I have always had a passion for travel and I have been fortunate to be able to see a good bit of the world. Between business travel and personal travel, I have visited more than 60 countries. One thing I have learned through my travels is that some places can be very different from what you might be used to. These differences can sometimes make business travel challenging. This article lists 10 pointers to help make your international travels go more smoothly.
1: Make sure you have the proper voltage adapter
Lesson number one is that not all voltage adapters are created equal. If you are traveling to a country that uses a different type of outlet from what you have at home, it is crucial to get the correct type of voltage adapter.
There?s more to choosing a voltage adapter than just looking for the right type of plug. Some adapters are designed for high wattage devices, such as irons, and are not suitable for electronics. Others might be okay for electronics, but can?t be used for higher wattage accessories, such as blow dryers. Some voltage adapters are merely pass-through devices and can fry your electronics unless the device?s power supply is designed to accommodate the voltage in your locality.
2: Play nice with customs agents
Be nice to customs agents, even when you don?t think that they deserve it. Business travel by its very nature often receives extra scrutiny from customs. Mouthing off to customs officers can turn a little extra scrutiny into a lot of extra scrutiny.
Admittedly, sometimes it can be hard to bite your tongue. I was leaving Barcelona once and the customs officer who didn?t think I understood Spanish said something really nasty about me to another worker. My first instinct was to tell her what I thought of her little comment, but ultimately I pretended that I didn?t know what she had said and was soon sent on my way home.
3: Get some rest before you go
One of the best pieces of advice I can give to those traveling on business is to try to get some rest before you go (or sleep on the plane, if nothing else). Don?t expect to be able to rest when you arrive ? there is a good chance that you will be expected to jump right into your work upon arrival.
I once did a project in Southeast Asia. Between flight time and layovers, it took me about 30 hours to reach my destination. By the time I got there, I was sleep deprived and ready for a hot shower and a bed. However, my clients picked me up at the airport and we went straight to the office to get started. Ever since then, I have always tried to make sure I get rest whenever I have the opportunity.
4: Familiarize yourself with local customs
Things that are perfectly acceptable at home can be extremely offensive in other parts of the world. For example, I once made the mistake of giving someone the ?okay? sign, only to find out that it was considered a vulgarity in his country. This might be an extreme example, but each country has its own expectations for social behavior. For instance, in Korea you are expected to pay extra respect to the oldest person in the room. Likewise, in some countries it is considered rude to speak during a meal.? It?s a good idea to look into the local customs before traveling to an unfamiliar destination.
5: Research your Internet connectivity options ahead of time
In the United States, finding Internet connectivity is no big deal. You can get free wireless Internet access at just about any coffee shop, book store, or fast food restaurant.? However, that is not the case in some other parts of the world.
When I have worked in Europe, for example, I have found it to be a little bit more difficult to locate public Wi-Fi hot spots. Furthermore, most of the hot spots that I did find were not free.
6: Eat smart
Nothing can ruin your trip faster than an intestinal parasite. You don?t have to worry too much about the food quality in many parts of the world, but food safety can be a major consideration in certain locations. Here are a few guidelines:
Avoid raw fruits and vegetables unless they have a thick peel (like an orange) and you peel them yourself.
If the water quality is questionable, stick to bottled water for drinking and brushing your teeth. Don?t put ice in your drinks and be careful not to get any water in your mouth when you are showering.
Make sure meats are cooked thoroughly.
Stay away from anything containing uncooked milk or eggs.
7: Use technology to your advantage
Technology can make foreign travel a lot easier. For example, my Windows Phone has a feature called Bing Vision. You can aim the phone?s camera at a block of text and Bing will translate it into English.
Similarly, it is a good idea to load a currency conversion app onto your tablet or smart phone. That way, you?ll know how much you are spending.
8: Try to blend in
When you?re doing business in a foreign country, there will usually be times when you are by yourself. During these times, try to blend in with the locals to avoid calling attention to yourself and potentially making yourself a target for crime.? The best way to do this is to try to dress similarly to the locals and to avoid wearing anything that is distinctly American (or from whatever country you might be from).
9: Learn some key phrases
If you?re an English speaker traveling to a non-English speaking country, it can be helpful to learn a few phrases in the local language. My experience has been that it is possible to get by on English alone in many places if you absolutely have to. However, knowing a bit of the local language can make life a lot easier.
10: Ask ahead of time what it will cost to use your cell phone
Finally, if you plan to use your cell phone while abroad, find out how much it will cost to do so. When I took a recent trip to Aruba, someone told me that he gets free text messages in the United States, but that his cell provider charges 50 cents for every inbound message in Aruba. He kept receiving text messages from friends who didn?t know he was traveling, and he accumulated quite a phone bill.
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PHILADELPHIA ? Tuesday, June 4, 2013 ? PHL17, the home of the Mummers, is proud to announce that SugarHouse Casino has pledged a three-year sponsorship with the Philadelphia Mummers Parade. Wendy Hamilton, General Manager of the SugarHouse Casino and Division President of Mummers Clubs, announced the Casino?s continued momentous support of the city?s most famous New Year?s Day tradition, The Philadelphia Mummers Parade. In honor of this MUMentous occasion, Wendy was granted her very own pair of golden slippers presented by, none other than, a Mummer dressed in full New Year?s Day attire.
One of HTC's top execs, Chief Operating Officer Matthew Costello, will depart after three years on the job, according to a report from Bloomberg. He'll join recent departees like Asia CEO Lennard Hoornik and others in leaving the company, which has seen unprecedented turnover of late due to its falling fortunes. Ironically, the latest departure comes in the wake of very good news for HTC, which just reported $970 million in May revenue, nearly double what it took in last month and just shy of May 2012 figures. That can likely be chalked to sales of the One, which is now being churned out at full speed -- and soon in a stock Android version -- but whether the fortunes of HTC's star handset can halt the brain-drain remains to be seen.
June 3, 2013 ? It is obvious from the data of the KASCADE-Grande experiment at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) that the so-called "knee" of the cosmic rays, a bend in the energy spectrum at high energies, is located at different energies for light and heavy particles. As regards light particles, the scientists have now found that the energy spectrum flattens again beyond the knee and forms a type of "ankle." This structure indicates that cosmic radiation particles with energies beyond the knee are accelerated in galaxies other than the Milky Way.
KIT's KASCADE-Grande experiment has yielded the important result that a characteristic bend in the energy spectrum of high-energy cosmic rays, also called "knee," is located at different energies for light and heavy primary particles. The position of the knee appears to vary with the charge of atomic nuclei: KASCADE-Grande detected the "iron knee" at an energy that was 26 times higher than the knee in the spectrum of hydrogen nuclei. Latest findings of the KASCADE-Grande experiment reveal a flattening (also called "anti-knee" or "ankle") of the spectrum of light primary particles above an energy of 1017 electron volts. This structure indicates the existence of a new, now extragalactic component of cosmic rays. This important result in high-energy astrophysics was published recently by the scientists in the Physical Review D journal.
KASCADE-Grande was a measurement field for cosmic rays on the premises of KIT Campus North. The KASCADE experiment was extended by another 37 detector stations and measured particle showers produced by high-energy primary cosmic rays for more than a decade. "With KASCADE-Grande, we measured showers of secondary particles produced by primary particles of cosmic origin at energies of 1014 to 1018 electron volts," explains Dr. Andreas Haungs who coordinates the KASCADE-Grande project at KIT. 1018 electron volts: This exceeds the energy reached by the largest particle accelerators on Earth by several orders of magnitude. The worldwide known and acknowledged experiment was shut down last year. But current analysis of the full data set again yielded a scientific highlight.
The flux of cosmic rays, i.e. of primary particles that can probably be found anywhere in the universe, decreases strongly with increasing particle energy. Slightly above an energy of 1015 electron volts, the "slope" of energy decrease changes: This leads in a bend in the spectrum, the "knee" of cosmic radiation. KASCADE-Grande demonstrated that the knee occurs at different energies for light and heavy elements and that this difference is related to charge. But where does the knee come from and why does its cause depend on the charge of the cosmic particle? This might be explained by magnetic fields in the vicinity of cosmic accelerators. Towards higher energies, they work more effectively for particles of higher charge. Moreover, our galaxy possesses a magnetic halo that prevents most of the particles from leaving our Milky Way. It was concluded from the results of KASCADE-Grande that the primary particles of cosmic rays can be generated and stored in our Milky Way up to energies around 1017 electron volts only. Particles of higher energy have their origin outside of the Milky Way. The transition from galactic to extragalactic cosmic radiation is assumed to lie in the energy range slightly above 1018 electron volts, at the so-called "ankle" of the spectrum. According to the above theory relating to the formation of the knee, the transition to mainly extragalactic cosmic radiation is supposed to become visible in the energy spectrum of light primary particles first, as these are the first to leave their home galaxy.
The identification of an ankle-like structure in the light component at relatively low energies favors theories predicting an early contribution of extragalactic cosmic radiation. "Future results of other experiments studying the spectrum at highest energies will show whether the high-energy light primary particles measured by KASCADE-Grande really are atomic nuclei from another galaxy," says Sven Schoo, the KIT diploma student who analyzed the data. One of these experiments is the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina, in the setup and scientific evaluation of which KIT is also involved.
The KASCADE-Grande project is embedded in an international collaboration with scientists from the universities and research institutions in Lodz (Poland), Michoac?n (Mexico), Turin (Italy), Bucharest (Romania), Siegen and Wuppertal (Germany), Sao Paulo (Brazil), and Nijmegen (Netherlands). After the measurement phase, the experiment is presently being dismantled. The data taken, however, are still analyzed in detail to study several aspects of astroparticle physics.
ASUS is joining the big smartphone / tablet / don't call it a phablet fight, and its first salvo is the 6-inch FonePad Note. We don't have to tell you that it's big, and that it stretched the limits of our hands when we briefly played with it. The 1080p display is suitably crisp enough, although this early demo unit was unable to be steered any further than the lock screen. However, that screen should at least look familiar to anyone who's played with the first FonePad. There's also a built-in stylus to use with it, one that's almost half as long as the phone itself, and this can be holstered in the back -- making it awfully like the Galaxy Note in more than just name. It's also worth noting the dual front-facing speakers, although there was no chance to test audio quality. Catch our brief eyes-on video after the break.
IU researchers focus on a brain protein and an antibiotic to block cocaine cravingPublic release date: 3-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Liz Rosdeitcher rosdeitc@indiana.edu 812-855-4507 Indiana University
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A new study conducted by a team of Indiana University neuroscientists demonstrates that GLT1, a protein that clears glutamate from the brain, plays a critical role in the craving for cocaine that develops after only several days of cocaine use.
The study, appearing in The Journal of Neuroscience, showed that when rats taking large doses of cocaine are withdrawn from the drug, the production of GLT1 in the nucleus accumbens, a region of the brain implicated in motivation, begins to decrease. But if the rats receive ceftriaxone, an antibiotic used to treat meningitis, GLT1 production increases during the withdrawal period and decreases cocaine craving.
George Rebec, professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, said drug craving depends on the release of glutamate, a neurotransmitter involved in motivated behavior. Glutamate is released in response to the cues associated with drug taking, so when addicts are exposed to these cues, their drug craving increases even if they have been away from the drug for some time.
The same behavior can be modeled in rats. When rats, who self-administer cocaine by pressing a lever that delivers the cocaine into their bodies, are withdrawn from the drug for several weeks, their craving returns if they are exposed to the cues that accompanied drug delivery in the past; in this case, a tone and light. But if the rats are treated with ceftriaxone during withdrawal, they no longer seek cocaine when the cues are presented.
Ceftriaxone appears to block craving by reversing the decrease in GLT1 caused by repeated exposure to cocaine. In fact, ceftriaxone increases GLT1, which allows glutamate to be cleared quickly from the brain. The Rebec research group localized this effect to the nucleus accumbens by showing that if GLT1 was blocked in this brain region even after ceftriaxone treatment, the rats would relapse.
While an earlier paper of Rebec's group showed the effects of ceftriaxone on cocaine craving, the new paper was the first to localize the effects of ceftriaxone to the nucleus accumbens and was the first to show that ceftriaxone works after long withdrawal periods.
"The idea is that increasing GLT1 will prevent relapse. If we block GLT1, the ceftriaxone should not work," Rebec said. "We now have good evidence that ceftriaxone is acting on GLT1 and that the nucleus accumbens is the critical site."
Rebec said prior work on Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder, alerted him and his team to the way ceftriaxone acts on the expression of GLT1, a protein that removes glutamate from the brain. Glutamate removal is a problem in Huntington's disease, and Rebec's team found that ceftriaxone increases GLT1 and improves neurological signs of the disease in mouse models.
It now is important to determine why cocaine decreases GLT1 and to see whether other drugs of abuse have the same effect. Rebec and colleagues have shown that ceftriaxone also can decrease the craving for alcohol in rats selectively bred to prefer alcohol.
Drug cues are one factor that can trigger relapse. Future work also will examine whether ceftriaxone can block drug craving induced by stress or by re-exposure to the drug. If so, it would mean that GLT1 could become an important target in the search for treatments to prevent drug relapse. Now, Rebec said, there are a number of factors to study. "We don't yet know how long the effects of ceftriaxone last. Does an addict have to be on it for a month or will it lose its effectiveness? We don't yet know what will happen."
In the cocaine study, the rats self-administer cocaine for six hours a day for up to 11 days. Their behavior is much like that of a human addict.
"You might think that because they're in there, they just take more, but they don't just take more," Rebec said. "Like human addicts, they take the drug more and more rapidly and they want to get to it more and more quickly."
Withdrawal serves as an incubation period during which craving increases if it is activated by cues or other factors. "Something changes in the brain during that time to trigger the craving or make it more likely that you want the drug," Rebec said. "That's what ceftriaxone seems to be interfering with."
Ceftriaxone is now in clinical trials on people with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, which has many mechanisms in common with other neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's.
###
Rebec, Chancellor's Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, is the director of the Program in Neuroscience and of the Preclinical Pharmacology Laboratory. The Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences resides in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington.
Co-authors of "The Role of the Major Glutamate Transporter GLT1 in Nucleus Accumbens Core Versus Shell in Cue-Induced Cocaine-Seeking Behavior" are Kathryn D. Fischer and Alexander C.W. Houston. Fischer received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from IU and is now a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. Houston, a former undergraduate in the Rebec lab, is now a graduate student at MIT.
For further information or to speak with Rebec, contact Liz Rosdeitcher at 812-855-4507 or rosdeitc@indiana.edu. For additional assistance, contact Tracy James at 812-855-0084 or traljame@iu.edu.
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IU researchers focus on a brain protein and an antibiotic to block cocaine cravingPublic release date: 3-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Liz Rosdeitcher rosdeitc@indiana.edu 812-855-4507 Indiana University
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A new study conducted by a team of Indiana University neuroscientists demonstrates that GLT1, a protein that clears glutamate from the brain, plays a critical role in the craving for cocaine that develops after only several days of cocaine use.
The study, appearing in The Journal of Neuroscience, showed that when rats taking large doses of cocaine are withdrawn from the drug, the production of GLT1 in the nucleus accumbens, a region of the brain implicated in motivation, begins to decrease. But if the rats receive ceftriaxone, an antibiotic used to treat meningitis, GLT1 production increases during the withdrawal period and decreases cocaine craving.
George Rebec, professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, said drug craving depends on the release of glutamate, a neurotransmitter involved in motivated behavior. Glutamate is released in response to the cues associated with drug taking, so when addicts are exposed to these cues, their drug craving increases even if they have been away from the drug for some time.
The same behavior can be modeled in rats. When rats, who self-administer cocaine by pressing a lever that delivers the cocaine into their bodies, are withdrawn from the drug for several weeks, their craving returns if they are exposed to the cues that accompanied drug delivery in the past; in this case, a tone and light. But if the rats are treated with ceftriaxone during withdrawal, they no longer seek cocaine when the cues are presented.
Ceftriaxone appears to block craving by reversing the decrease in GLT1 caused by repeated exposure to cocaine. In fact, ceftriaxone increases GLT1, which allows glutamate to be cleared quickly from the brain. The Rebec research group localized this effect to the nucleus accumbens by showing that if GLT1 was blocked in this brain region even after ceftriaxone treatment, the rats would relapse.
While an earlier paper of Rebec's group showed the effects of ceftriaxone on cocaine craving, the new paper was the first to localize the effects of ceftriaxone to the nucleus accumbens and was the first to show that ceftriaxone works after long withdrawal periods.
"The idea is that increasing GLT1 will prevent relapse. If we block GLT1, the ceftriaxone should not work," Rebec said. "We now have good evidence that ceftriaxone is acting on GLT1 and that the nucleus accumbens is the critical site."
Rebec said prior work on Huntington's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder, alerted him and his team to the way ceftriaxone acts on the expression of GLT1, a protein that removes glutamate from the brain. Glutamate removal is a problem in Huntington's disease, and Rebec's team found that ceftriaxone increases GLT1 and improves neurological signs of the disease in mouse models.
It now is important to determine why cocaine decreases GLT1 and to see whether other drugs of abuse have the same effect. Rebec and colleagues have shown that ceftriaxone also can decrease the craving for alcohol in rats selectively bred to prefer alcohol.
Drug cues are one factor that can trigger relapse. Future work also will examine whether ceftriaxone can block drug craving induced by stress or by re-exposure to the drug. If so, it would mean that GLT1 could become an important target in the search for treatments to prevent drug relapse. Now, Rebec said, there are a number of factors to study. "We don't yet know how long the effects of ceftriaxone last. Does an addict have to be on it for a month or will it lose its effectiveness? We don't yet know what will happen."
In the cocaine study, the rats self-administer cocaine for six hours a day for up to 11 days. Their behavior is much like that of a human addict.
"You might think that because they're in there, they just take more, but they don't just take more," Rebec said. "Like human addicts, they take the drug more and more rapidly and they want to get to it more and more quickly."
Withdrawal serves as an incubation period during which craving increases if it is activated by cues or other factors. "Something changes in the brain during that time to trigger the craving or make it more likely that you want the drug," Rebec said. "That's what ceftriaxone seems to be interfering with."
Ceftriaxone is now in clinical trials on people with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, which has many mechanisms in common with other neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's.
###
Rebec, Chancellor's Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, is the director of the Program in Neuroscience and of the Preclinical Pharmacology Laboratory. The Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences resides in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington.
Co-authors of "The Role of the Major Glutamate Transporter GLT1 in Nucleus Accumbens Core Versus Shell in Cue-Induced Cocaine-Seeking Behavior" are Kathryn D. Fischer and Alexander C.W. Houston. Fischer received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from IU and is now a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. Houston, a former undergraduate in the Rebec lab, is now a graduate student at MIT.
For further information or to speak with Rebec, contact Liz Rosdeitcher at 812-855-4507 or rosdeitc@indiana.edu. For additional assistance, contact Tracy James at 812-855-0084 or traljame@iu.edu.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Public release date: 3-Jun-2013
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