Best Buy will sell its half of Best Buy Europe to Carphone Warehouse for $775 million

As Best Buy attempts a return to financial well-being, it's decided to sell the 50 percent share it still owns in Best Buy Europe to fellow joint venture partner Carphone Warehouse. The price is set at about 500 million GBP ($775 million, mostly in cash) and is expected to close by June. Best Buy paid $2.15 billion for its share of the business back in 2008 and the first branded store opened in 2010, but it was already looking for a way out by 2011. That's when it closed its UK stores and paid Carphone Warehouse $1.3 billion for its share in the US Best Buy Mobile business. reporting the joint venture as discontinued operations for its next fiscal year will cause Best Buy to take a $200 million charge, and it's tossing Carphone Warehouse another $45 million to satisfy outstanding obligations like closing the Global Connect JV the two started in 2011. There's no word on any moves for its business in Mexico, Canada and China, and CEO Hubert Joly says this sale "should not suggest any similar action" elsewhere.

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Obama to nominate Anthony Foxx as transportation secretary (reuters)

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Obesity may influence heart function through sex hormones

Apr. 27, 2013 ? New research suggests that changes in sex hormones as seen in obesity may have possible effects on the heart. The study by researchers from Belgium, presented at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Copenhagen, Denmark, suggests effects on heart function in healthy men with artificially raised estrogen levels and artificially lowered testosterone levels to mimic an obese state.

Estradiol, an estrogen, is primarily known as a female hormone but it also circulates at very low levels in men. Testosterone is converted to estradiol by the enzyme aromatase, the activity of which might be increased in obesity leading to raised estradiol and reduced testosterone.

To determine whether obesity might alter heart function via changes in sex hormones, Drs Maarten De Smet and colleagues at Ghent University in Belgium recruited 20 healthy men aged 20-40 and used an aromatase inhibitor and an estrogen patch to artificially alter the hormone levels to mimic sex hormone concentrations in obesity (high estradiol and low testosterone) vs contrast by an aromatase inhibitor (low estradiol, high testosterone). Prof Dr T De Backer, Cardiologist, assessed the heart function before and seven days after the intervention using ultrasonographic imaging with strain analysis, which measures the deformation of the heart between the resting and contracted states.

The men with obesity-related changes in sex hormones exhibited altered heart function. At baseline the global circumferential strain was -17.1% +/-3.9, which decreased significantly to -14% +/-2.5 (p=0.01). The contrasting group did not show any difference.

By artificially altering sex hormones in a small number of healthy men, Drs De Smet and colleagues have shown that an altered sex hormone profile as seen in obesity might be relevant for heart function. Adequately powered clinical trials with sufficient duration may establish the role of sex hormones in the heart function of obese men.

Maarten De Smet, Masters student in Medicine at Ghent University, Belgium, and first author said:

"Obesity is a major contributor to heart disease. By giving an aromatase inhibitor and estrogen to healthy men we mimicked the effect of sex hormones in obesity alone, in isolation from the rest of the obese metabolic state.

"In order to pump blood around the body the heart must fill with blood and then contract, pushing the blood out. We found that after increasing the estrogen levels and decreasing the testosterone levels in men for one week the deformation of the left heart chamber was significantly altered.

"Because the contributing factors to obesity, as well as the underlying biology, are so complicated it's a real challenge to tease apart one single aspect, so we think this study is of particular interest. As these results are from a small number of healthy men over one week, we hope to investigate sex hormone changes and the heart in the obese in the long term."

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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/top_news/top_health/~3/WqFSu6CkU-U/130428144857.htm

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Pope installed as bishop of Rome, appeals to lapsed faithful

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis was formally installed as bishop of Rome on Sunday and he urged lapsed Catholics not to be afraid to return to God.

Francis celebrated a Mass before thousands of people in the Rome Basilica of St. John in Lateran to formally take possession of the cathedral in his capacity as bishop of the Italian capital, his other major role along with the papacy.

Francis, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires, has indicated that he intends to embrace his role as Rome's bishop as well as leader of the 1.2-billion-member Catholic Church.

Since his election on March 13, he has referred to himself more often as "bishop" than "pope" and is expected to visit many of Rome's parishes, a practice he maintained in Buenos Aires.

In his homily in St. John's, whose adjoining palace was the residence of most popes until the 14th century, Francis urged Catholics who had strayed from their Church to have the courage to return.

"God's patience has to call forth in us the courage to return to him, however many mistakes and sins there may be in our life," he said, speaking in Italian.

Francis has inherited a Church weakened by sexual abuse of children by priests in many countries and allegations of corruption in the Vatican.

Many have said their faith was shaken by the scandals. Francis, who is expected to make new appointments to clean up the Vatican's often dysfunctional bureaucracy, urged Catholics to let God back into their lives.

"We hear many offers from the world around us; but let us take up God's offer instead: his is a caress of love. For God, we are not numbers, we are important, indeed we are the most important thing to him; even if we are sinners, we are what is closest to his heart," he said.

Thousands of people who could not get into the packed basilica gave Francis a rousing welcome outside as he rode around a large square in an open jeep.

They applauded as he unveiled a plaque re-naming part of the square after Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pope-installed-bishop-rome-appeals-lapsed-faithful-172143317.html

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EU's Ashton seeks consensus in Egypt on economy and reform

By Paul Taylor

CAIRO (Reuters) - The European Union's foreign policy chief met Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi on Sunday to encourage the country's feuding political leaders to seek a national consensus in tackling mounting economic and political problems.

"This is a critical time for Egypt's transition. The country is facing huge economic and political challenges," Catherine Ashton said in a statement before the talks.

Her visit comes as Egypt is in the midst of long-delayed negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on a $4.8 billion loan needed to cope with a growing economic crisis.

Foreign currency reserves have dwindled to less than three months' imports, the Egyptian pound has lost nearly 10 percent against the dollar this year and there are warnings of power cuts and fuel shortages this summer.

"More than ever, Europe - as a partner and neighbor - has to support Egypt in its move towards deep and inclusive democracy. I will work hard in Cairo to engage with all parties to help build confidence and find common ground on both political and economic issues," Ashton said.

She was due to meet six main opposition leaders later but EU diplomats said the prospect of a dialogue between the Muslim Brotherhood-led government and its liberal and leftist opponents had dimmed after recent political violence.

The opposition accuses Mursi of seeking to monopolize power and muzzle independent media and civil society using the public prosecutor, the security forces and a controversial draft law to regulate non-government organizations.

Mursi's supporters say the opposition is trying to undermine his legitimacy and encouraging violence by refusing dialogue, threatening to boycott forthcoming parliamentary elections and broadcasting hostile propaganda.

The United States, which gives Egypt about $1.5 billion in annual aid, directed its sharpest criticism so far at the Islamist-led authorities last week, citing a "disturbing trend of growing restrictions on freedom of expression".

The European Parliament, in a non-binding resolution, urged the EU in March "not to grant any budgetary support to the Egyptian authorities if no major progress is made regarding respect for human rights and freedoms, democratic governance and the rule of law".

EU officials have said that if Egypt reaches a deal with the IMF, it can expect an additional $500 million in financial support from the EU and a similar amount from the United States.

(Writing by Paul Taylor; editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eus-ashton-seeks-consensus-egypt-economy-reform-122524614--sector.html

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Suicide bomber kills 22 in Iraq election attack

BAQUBA, Iraq (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed 22 people and wounded 60 in a crowded election campaign tent in the Iraqi city of Baquba on Saturday, police and medics said.

A decade after the U.S.-led invasion, Iraq is still struggling with political instability and violence that in recent weeks has killed at least 10 candidates who had planned to run in forthcoming local elections.

The vote is due to be held across the country later in April, but has already been delayed in two Sunni Muslim-majority governorates due to security concerns.

The suicide bomber attacked a gathering for Sunni candidate Muthanna al-Jorani in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of the capital Baghdad. Jorani himself escaped unscathed.

Candidates in Iraq often put up tents during campaigning as a venue to meet potential voters and explain their policies.

"First a hand grenade targeted the tent next to the one I was in," a 23-year-old wounded in the attack told Reuters by telephone from hospital. "People were running in every direction and bits of chair were scattered all over the place.

"A few seconds later, an explosion took place in the same tent."

Most of the 10 candidates killed earlier belonged to the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a secular Shi'ite politician.

Sectarian and ethnic tensions have risen since the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in December 2011, inflamed by the conflict in neighboring Syria, where mainly Sunni rebels are trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Shi'ite Iran.

Tens of thousands of Sunnis have staged street protests in Anbar and other provinces against Iraq's Shi'ite-led government, which they accuse of marginalizing their minority sect.

Anbar, which borders Syria, was almost entirely controlled by al Qaeda at the peak of Iraq's insurgency and Sunni militants are again finding strongholds there, security experts say.

The United States has urged the government to reconsider its decision to suspend elections in Anbar and Niniveh governorates, saying it is vital that all Iraqis vote simultaneously.

"We are very concerned by the decision ... to postpone provincial elections in two provinces, Anbar and Nineveh, on the stated grounds of security," said a U.S. diplomat.

Attacks in Iraq are less common than during the Sunni-Shi'ite slaughter that reached a climax in 2006-07, but shootings and bombings still occur almost daily.

Iraq is home to a number of insurgent groups including the al Qaeda affiliate, Islamic State of Iraq, linked by the United States to the militant Nusra Front which is fighting in Syria.

(Additional reporting by Raheem Salman; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/attack-iraq-election-campaign-tent-kills-22-police-110740194.html

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The Times Of Israel Interviews Pam Lippitt For A Feature Article On ...

Israel, as a close ally of the US, cooperates with Washington on many defense projects. According to the terms of American military assistance to Israel, most of the aid money must be spent in the United States ? and, as a result, Israeli and American companies collaborate on dozens of projects each year.

Which means that, for Israel, Michigan is one of the most important US states, according to Pam Lippitt of the Michigan-Israel Business Bridge (MIBB). ?Sixty percent of all US government defense contracts touch, in one way or another, Michigan?s Macomb Country,? Lippitt told the Times of Israel. ?Many Israeli companies end up working with companies in Michigan, although there is potential for much more.?

Formed in 2007, MIBB is a private organization that is considered one of the most important business development groups in the state; Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has MIBB officials? phone numbers on speed dial, and he is planning to visit Israel in June, to promote business ties and to speak at the President?s Conference. ?We?re not funded by the state, but we are hoping that at some point the government will be able to financially support our work,? said Lippitt. ?Building better business ties with Israel, a hotbed of innovation in so many areas, is very high on the to-do list of officials in Michigan.?

Michigan?s economy has a bit of an undeserved bad reputation, due mostly to the bad news about the auto industry in the past few years, and, of course, the financial woes of bankrupt Detroit. But you have to look beyond the headlines for the real story, said Lippitt. ?Michigan?s economy is coming back very strongly. The automotive industry?s epicenter is still in the Detroit area, in spite of all the shakeups that industry has gone through.

Read more at the Times of Israel?Building a bridge between Israel and Michigan | The Times of Israel.

Source: http://jewinthed.com/2013/04/03/the-times-of-israel-interviews-pam-lippitt-for-a-feature-article-on-the-michigan-israel-business-bridge/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-times-of-israel-interviews-pam-lippitt-for-a-feature-article-on-the-michigan-israel-business-bridge

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Video: Switching to a power stroke enables a tiny but important marine crustacean to survive

Video: Switching to a power stroke enables a tiny but important marine crustacean to survive

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Olympic swimmers aren't the only ones who change their strokes to escape competitors. To escape from the jaws and claws of predators in cold, viscous water, marine copepods switch from a wave-like swimming stroke to big power strokes, a behavior that has now been revealed thanks to 3-D high-speed digital holography.

Copepods are tiny crustaceans found in nearly every aquatic environment on Earth. By some estimates, they are the most abundant animals on the planet.

Their change in stroke in cold water helps them escape a slew of predators, from larval fish to crabs, oysters and jellyfish.

"Copepods are key components of marine food webs eaten by just about everything," says Ed Buskey, study author and professor of marine science at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute. "The better question is 'what doesn't eat copepods?' "

Buskey says that understanding how the microscopic organisms might respond to changes in the environment is important for assessing the health of oceans now and in the future.

Environmental changes that affect copepods include changes in water temperature and viscosity associated with climate change, and increases in water viscosity related to pollution and coastal algal blooms.

Water viscosity, or "thickness," naturally increases as the temperature drops. For microscopic copepods, it becomes like swimming through honey. But does it make them more vulnerable to predators? How does a copepod cope?

To answer those questions, Buskey and co-author Brad Gemmell turned to high-speed digital 3-D holography techniques developed by mechanical engineer Jian Sheng at Texas Tech University. The technique uses a microscope outfitted with a laser and a high-speed digital camera to catch the rapid movements of the microscopic animals moving in and out of focus in a 3-D volume of liquid.

They studied copepod movement in water with varied temperatures and viscosities.

Copepod larvae swim using three pairs of appendages that act like three pairs of oars moving a boat. Unlike a rowboat, however, the copepods' "oars" do not move in complete synchrony.

In warmer, less viscous water conditions, the three pairs of appendages stroke in an overlapping, wave-like motion. For example, the first pair will start a stroke, and the second pair will begin the stroke before the first pair is complete, and so on.

In cold, thick water, however, the tiny copepods switch to one big power stroke at a time. For example, the first pair of appendages will complete one big downward stroke before the second pair begins. The third pair doesn't start until the second is complete. Watch a video of the power stroke.

This results in a copepod that takes one step back for every two steps forward.

"These little guys are not very efficient swimmers," said Buskey. "They slip backward with every recovery stroke. I guess it isn't easy swimming in 'honey.' "

Still, says Gemmell, a former graduate student of Buskey's who is now at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., "that power stroke adaptation helps the copepods overcome the negative effects of changing water temperature and viscosity to escape predators." In other words, without the power stroke, the copepods would be even easier prey in cold water.

Significantly, the researchers discovered that the power stroke is triggered only by colder temperature, not viscosity alone.

Gemmell said that's because the muscles that control the copepods' appendages are affected by temperature.

"So if you increase viscosity without changing the temperature ? the kind of situation you might find during an algal bloom or pollution event ? the copepod's escape ability declines," said Gemmell.

That's good for predators, of course, but could have larger effects on copepod populations and the marine food web, particularly as coastal algal blooms and pollution increase.

###

University of Texas at Austin: http://www.utexas.edu

Thanks to University of Texas at Austin for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127570/Video__Switching_to_a_power_stroke_enables_a_tiny_but_important_marine_crustacean_to_survive

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Airline to charge by weight of passenger, bags for flights

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa - A tiny Samoa airline is offering a new reason to drop extra weight before your next trip: Tickets sold not by the seat, but by kilogram.

Samoa Air planned on Wednesday to start pricing its first international flights based on the weight of its passengers and their bags. Depending on the flight, each kilogram (2.2 pounds) costs 93 cents to $1.06.

That means the average American man weighing 195 pounds with a 35 pound bag would pay $97 to go one-way between Apia, Samoa, and Pago Pago, American Samoa. Competitors typically charge $130 to $140 roundtrip for similar routes.

The weight-based pricing is not new to the airline, which launched in June. It has been using the pricing model since November, but in January the U.S. Department of Transportation approved its international route between American Samoa and Samoa.

The airline's chief executive, Chris Langton, said Tuesday that "planes are run by weight and not by seat, and travellers should be educated on this important issue. The plane can only carry a certain amount of weight and that weight needs to be paid. There is no other way."

Travellers in the region already are weighed before they fly because the planes used between the islands are small, said David Vaeafe, executive director of the American Samoa Visitors Bureau. Samoa Air's fleet includes two nine-seat planes for commercial routes and a three-seater for an air taxi service.

Langton said passengers who need more room will be given one row on the plane to ensure comfort.

The new pricing system would make Samoa Air the first to charge strictly by weight, a change that Vaeafe said is, "in many ways... a fair concept for passengers."

"For example, a 12- or 13-year-old passenger, who is small in size and weight, won't have to pay an adult fare, based on airline fares that anyone 12 years and older does pay the adult fare," he said.

Vaeafe said the pricing system has worked in Samoa but it's not clear whether it will be embraced by travellers in the U.S. territory.

Langton said the airline has received mixed responses from overseas travellers since it began promoting the pricing on its website and Facebook page.

Ana Faapouli, an American Samoa resident who frequently travels to Samoa, said the pricing scheme will likely be profitable for Samoa Air.

"Samoa Air is smart enough to find ways to benefit from this service as they will be competing against two other airlines," Faapouli said.

Pago Pago-based Inter Island Airways and Polynesian Airlines, which is owned by the Samoa government, also run flights between the country and American Samoa.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/samoa-airline-charge-only-weight-passenger-bags-international-004234794.html

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BillPin Acquires Obopay's BillMonk Bill-Splitting Service

After some years of languishing, BillMonk’s service and user base will be taken over by a young Singapore startup, BillPin, which provides a similar bill-splitting service. Just over six months old, BillPin pitches itself as a “Mint for groups” and offers a way for people to track how much money they owe each other. It has plenty of competitors in the bill-splitting space, including?Splitwise, Billsup, Spotme, Divvyit, Splitmybill.ie;?scooping up BillMonk’s user base might provide it a firm leg up in the fight for user acquisition. BillMonk was founded in 2005 and was acquired by Indian mobile money provider Obopay in 2007. It’s one of the older players in the space, and seems to have suffered from neglect for a few years. Some of its competitors have tried to capitalize on that. Splitwise launched a campaign to bring BillMonk users onboard last year. BillPin launched a similar service?in October last year. BillPin’s co-founder, Darius Cheung (whose previous startup, tenCube WaveSecure, was acquired by McAfee in 2010), acknowledged the older firm’s state of neglect.?”Not much improvement was added to BillMonk at all over the past seven years, and in fact BillMonk has suffered significant down time in the last six months or so,” he said. Of the migration service BillPin created, he said: “It was launched to catch BillMonk users who were frustrated with its downtime, but we didn’t know then we were going to inherit its entire user base.” Still, BillMonk continued to add users over its lifetime, and steadily at that, he said. As a result, bringing BillMonk’s user base onboard will give BillPin “easily 50 times” more users. He wouldn’t say how many that is, but according to reports, BillPin has a small base of 5,000 or so users. He made it clear that this move was an acquisition of the larger service’s user base, but none of BillMonk’s engineers will come over from Obopay. BillPin has five employees in Singapore and one in India. It’s bootstrapped so far, but Cheung is currently hoping to raise an angel round. Obopay started in 2005, and provides technology to corporate clients like Nokia and Societe Generale, and telcos like Warid Telecom in Uganda to allow them to offer their own branded mobile money-transfer services. It was started in Bangalore, and now has its headquarters in Redwood City, Calif. It has Bangalore and Mumbai offices.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/70B3UrF_2gg/

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You Can Theoretically Open Any Door With a Tiny Chainsaw In Your Pocket

If you don't mind having your pockets filled with novelty knick-knacks when you head out the door, you can adorably dress up your keys with these plastic covers that make them look like tiny chainsaws. More »

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