Poultry probiotic cuts its coat to beat bad bacteria

Public release date: 27-Mar-2013
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Contact: Andrew Chapple
andrew.chapple@ifr.ac.uk
44-016-032-51490
Norwich BioScience Institutes

A strain of probiotic bacteria that can fight harmful bacterial infections in poultry has the ability to change its coat, according to new findings from the Institute of Food Research.

The probiotic is currently being taken forward through farm-scale trials to evaluate how well it combats Clostridium perfringens a cause of necrotic enteritis in poultry and the second most common cause of food poisoning in the UK

The researchers at IFR, which is strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, had previously found that the probiotic Lactobacillus johnsonsii, when given to young chicks, prevents the colonisation of C. perfringens. Now, in research published in the journal PLOS ONE, they have found that the probiotic bacteria have the ability to alter their coat. They speculate that this could be one way in which the probiotic outcompete C. perfringens.

The researchers noticed when examining the bacteria that a small number of them appear smooth. They identified genes responsible for making a special coat, or slime capsule, which the bacteria surround themselves in. This protects the bacteria from stomach acids and bile salts, and helps them come together to form biofilms. It may also protect against drying out when outside the host. The natural appearance of smooth mutants could be a ploy used by the bacteria to introduce variation into its populations, making them able to take advantage of different environments.

By turning off one or more of the coat genes, they could see what effect this had on its ability to stick to gut tissues. "The next step is to understand the regulation of the genes involved in making the coat" said Dr Arjan Narbad, who led the studies. "We want to find out whether changing the coat affects the probiotic's fitness to colonise and inhabit the gut."

This in turn could prevent C. perfringens from colonising the gut. This competitive exclusion could be one reason why the probiotic strain prevents the growth of other harmful bacteria.

Understanding the role of the slime capsule coat will inform the commercial development of this strain as a preventative treatment for C. perfringens infection in poultry, especially in regard to how the probiotic is stored and produced. Through the technology transfer company Plant Bioscience Ltd, the strain has been patented and is now in large-scale farm trials to assess its efficacy. As these bacteria have previously been used in the food chain and are considered safe for human consumption, this probiotic strain could become new way of controlling C. perfringens.

As there is a growing pressure to reduce the use of antibiotics in farming, new products are needed to maintain animal welfare standards, reduce the huge costs of necrosis in poultry and help keep our food safe.

###

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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.

Public release date: 27-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Andrew Chapple
andrew.chapple@ifr.ac.uk
44-016-032-51490
Norwich BioScience Institutes

A strain of probiotic bacteria that can fight harmful bacterial infections in poultry has the ability to change its coat, according to new findings from the Institute of Food Research.

The probiotic is currently being taken forward through farm-scale trials to evaluate how well it combats Clostridium perfringens a cause of necrotic enteritis in poultry and the second most common cause of food poisoning in the UK

The researchers at IFR, which is strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, had previously found that the probiotic Lactobacillus johnsonsii, when given to young chicks, prevents the colonisation of C. perfringens. Now, in research published in the journal PLOS ONE, they have found that the probiotic bacteria have the ability to alter their coat. They speculate that this could be one way in which the probiotic outcompete C. perfringens.

The researchers noticed when examining the bacteria that a small number of them appear smooth. They identified genes responsible for making a special coat, or slime capsule, which the bacteria surround themselves in. This protects the bacteria from stomach acids and bile salts, and helps them come together to form biofilms. It may also protect against drying out when outside the host. The natural appearance of smooth mutants could be a ploy used by the bacteria to introduce variation into its populations, making them able to take advantage of different environments.

By turning off one or more of the coat genes, they could see what effect this had on its ability to stick to gut tissues. "The next step is to understand the regulation of the genes involved in making the coat" said Dr Arjan Narbad, who led the studies. "We want to find out whether changing the coat affects the probiotic's fitness to colonise and inhabit the gut."

This in turn could prevent C. perfringens from colonising the gut. This competitive exclusion could be one reason why the probiotic strain prevents the growth of other harmful bacteria.

Understanding the role of the slime capsule coat will inform the commercial development of this strain as a preventative treatment for C. perfringens infection in poultry, especially in regard to how the probiotic is stored and produced. Through the technology transfer company Plant Bioscience Ltd, the strain has been patented and is now in large-scale farm trials to assess its efficacy. As these bacteria have previously been used in the food chain and are considered safe for human consumption, this probiotic strain could become new way of controlling C. perfringens.

As there is a growing pressure to reduce the use of antibiotics in farming, new products are needed to maintain animal welfare standards, reduce the huge costs of necrosis in poultry and help keep our food safe.

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/nbi-ppc032513.php

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Hands-on with Katamari Damacy creator's crazy 16-button game controller (video)

You don't often see a video game specifically designed for a 16-button bespoke controller and for a special one-time party, but that's exactly what Keita Takahashi has done with Tenya Wanya Teens. If that name sounds familiar, it's because Takahashi is responsible for the enormously popular game franchise that is Katamari Damacy along with cult favorite Noby Noby Boy. Teens is his first foray as an independent creator under Uvula, a studio he formed with his wife Asuka Sakai, and is a result of a collaboration with event organizers Wild Rumpus and video game website Venus Patrol. As for the party in question, it's one that is being held concurrently with the 2013 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, which is where we saw the controllers and the game in action.

As you can see above, the controller looks a lot like a modified arcade stick. A hand-made effort by programmer George Buckenham, both boxes were built in about five days for around £200 ($302.50) each. According to Buckenham, the easiest part was assembling the electronics; it was the plywood housing that took him awhile to master. As for the game, Tenya Wanya Teens is a highly whimsical affair that is described as "a coming-of-age tale about love, hygiene, monsters and finding discarded erotic magazines in the woods." Tasks include peeing in the shower, punching monsters and taking on grizzly bears.

Gallery: Tenya Wanya Teens 16-button controller

Filed under: Gaming

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Source: Venus Patrol

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Lnc4ErzBgxQ/

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Deep freeze: Home sales to barely budge this spring

Diana Olick , CNBC.com ? ? ? 14 hrs.

The U.S. housing market will see no surge at the start of spring, as fewer buyers signed contracts to purchase existing homes in February. An industry index of so-called pending home sales fell 0.4 percent from January but is up 8.4 percent from February of 2012.

While the number of for-sale listings increased more than the seasonal norm, realtors still say a lack of supply is keeping many potential buyers from desired deals. Pending home sales are a one to two month forward indicator of closed sales.

"Only new home construction can genuinely help relieve the inventory shortage, and housing starts need to rise at least 50 percent from current levels," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors in a release. "Most local home builders are small businesses and simply don't have access to capital on Wall Street. Clearer regulatory rules, applied to construction loans for smaller community banks and credit unions, could bring many small-sized builders back into the market."

Sales of newly built homes fell nearly five percent in February, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Inventories did rise, but only slightly, as the nation's home builders struggle with labor and land shortages, as well as higher costs for materials.

Pending home sales fell 2.5 percent month-to-month in the Northeast, rose 0.4 percent in the Midwest, fell 0.3 percent in the South and rose 0.1 percent in the West, according to the Realtors.

"The volume of home sales appears to be leveling off with the constrained inventory conditions, and the leveling of the index means little change is likely in the pace of sales over the next couple months," Yun added.

A better sign for March, after two weeks of declines, mortgage applications to purchase a home jumped 7 percent during the past week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. This as interest rates fell slightly, due to concerns over the banking crisis in Cyprus.

"The rebound in mortgage applications is a small piece of a brighter housing outlook," says Bob Walters, chief economist for Quicken Loans. "Interest rates are still at record lows despite their upward trend, and consumers are taking advantage of record home affordability. Look for more buyers to enter the market this spring and a more robust housing recovery to occur."

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653351/s/2a0e46eb/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Ceconomywatch0Cdeep0Efreeze0Ehome0Esales0Ebarely0Ebudge0Espring0E2B910A4579/story01.htm

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Lindsay Lohan In Bed With Charlie Sheen For 'Anger Management' Cameo

Actress makes a guest appearance on the TV show before heading to rehab.
By Driadonna Roland

Lindsay Lohan
Photo: Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704337/lindsay-lohan-charlie-sheen-anger-management-cameo.jhtml

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T-Mobile LTE speed tests on Note II, HTC One and iPhone 5

Wondering whether T-Mobile's LTE network has the chops to live up to the "smokin'" adjectives we had thrown our way throughout the event? We certainly were, so we headed right to the suite of devices and got our hands-on all the phones we could. Speeds are quite good in general -- but interestingly things did start slowing down as more and more folks fired up Ookla's SpeedTest app, doing all they could to test T-Mo's nascent network. Join us after the break for our findings.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, HTC, T-Mobile

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/gaRjzFxS2og/

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Beaches fall below safety standards

26 March 2013 Last updated at 22:04 ET

The number of beaches failing to meet minimum standards for water quality has risen following last year's wet summer.

A total of 42 beaches failed to meet the minimum EU levels expected for bathing water in testing in 2012, a rise of 17 on 2011's figures.

Heavy rain and flooding is blamed for washing pollution from town and sewers down to the sea.

There was also a huge drop in the number of beaches recommended for bathing in the latest Good Beach Guide.

Continue reading the main story

Good Beach Guide: Top regions*

Location	Beaches	Recommended
Lincolnshire	9	100%
Swansea	10	90%
Kent	30	83%
Suffolk	6	83%
Norfolk	15	80%
Pembrokeshire	42	79%
Hampshire	13	77%
Anglesey	26	69%
Jersey	16	69%
East Sussex	17	65%

Only 403 of the 754 UK beaches assessed were awarded the top "recommended" award for their water quality in 2012, 113 fewer beaches than in the previous guide.

In 2012 a record number of beaches were given the top award.

Ear infections

The Marine Conservation Society, which publishes the Good Beach Guide, warned swimmers could fall ill from bathing in polluted water.

It said the rain and flooding led to an increase in bacteria and viruses in bathing water, coming from a variety of sources such as agricultural and urban run-off, storm waters, plumbing misconnections, septic tanks and dog waste.

The pollution can cause ear, nose and throat infections and even gastroenteritis.

The society said there was an urgent need for improved monitoring of overflow pipes which can discharge raw sewage into rivers and the sea from sewer networks when heavy rain overloads the system with water from street drains.

Continue reading the main story

Least recommended regions*

Location	Beaches	Recommended
Redcar and Cleveland	6	0%
Durham	6	0%
Cumbria	12	0%
Lancashire	14	0%
Dumfries & Galloway	7	0%
Isle of Man	19	11%
South Ayrshire	11	18%
Fife	16	25%
Conwy	11	27%
North Ayrshire	7	29%

* With more than five beaches

Action was also needed to reduce pollution from farms and urban areas, ahead of tougher EU rules on water quality coming in from 2015, it said.

Coastal pollution officer Rachel Wyatt said: "Action must be taken now. With stricter bathing water standards from 2015 and summers that appear to be getting wetter, the iconic image of people bathing off golden beaches could be at serious risk.

"There is no simple solution to sewage and animal waste reaching our seas. However if the water industry, communities and local authorities recognise that there is a problem and begin to work together to find answers that would be a significant start."

The MCS said there were some promising local partnerships working together to identify problems and start trying to fix them, but in too many places there was an "out of sight, out of mind mentality" over water pollution.

The South West saw a number of its previously recommended beaches fail last year, including Plymouth Hoe East and West, Shaldon and Exmouth in Devon, East Looe and Bude Summerleaze in Cornwall and Charmouth West in Dorset.

In the North West, just three beaches are recommended for excellent water quality in the new guide, with popular beaches at Blackpool North and South failing to meet even the basic mandatory standards.

But Blackpool central and nearby St Anne's and St Anne's North beaches improved their water quality to reach the mandatory standard last year.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21947492#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Do you have a career plan?

Great discussions are par for the course here on Lifehacker. Each day, we highlight a discussion that is particularly helpful or insightful, along with other great discussions and reader questions you may have missed. Check out these discussions and add your own thoughts to make them even more wonderful!

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To join or start great discussions on any topic, be sure to visit the Openthread forum. And today being Friday, don't forget to check out this week's Open Thread.

If you've got a cool project, inspiration, or just something fun to share, be sure to let us know in our Tips forum.

Happy Lifehacking, everybody!

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/r1vkgx4q_v4/do-you-have-a-career-plan

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Groundhog Phil a furry felon over false forecast

CINCINNATI (AP) ? A shadow of a different kind is hanging over Punxsutawney Phil.

Authorities in still-frigid Ohio have issued an "indictment" against the famed groundhog, who predicted an early spring when he didn't see his shadow after emerging from his lair in western Pennsylvania on Feb. 2.

Spring arrived Wednesday, and temperatures are still hovering in the 30s in the Buckeye state and much of the Northeast. While it's not the coldest spring on record, it's a good 5 degrees below normal, said Don Hughes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio.

So the heat is on against Phil, and the furry rodent has been charged with misrepresentation of spring, a felony "against the peace and dignity of the state of Ohio," wrote prosecutor Mike Gmoser in an official-looking indictment.

"Punxsutawney Phil did purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the people to believe that spring would come early," Gmoser declared.

So what's the penalty?

Death, Gmoser said, tongue firmly in cheek.

That's "very harsh," given the nature of the allegations, said Bill Deeley, president of the Punxsutawney club that organizes Groundhog Day.

The backlash to Phil's dead-wrong prognostication has not gone unnoticed in and around his hometown of Gobbler's Knob, Deeley said, and security precautions are in place.

"Right next to where Phil stays is the police station," he said. "They've been notified, and they said they will keep watching their monitors."

The chubby-cheeked animal also has his defenders. "Phree Phil!" declared one supporter on his Facebook page. "We're with you, Phil," wrote another.

As for spring, there's no relief in sight from the wintry conditions. A storm moving into the region Sunday could bring between 4 and 8 inches of snow, said meteorologist Hughes.

That might be particularly hard to swallow after last spring, when the U.S. saw the warmest March in recorded history.

While Gmoser's indictment made no mention of any co-conspirators in the false early spring prediction, the state's own groundhog forecaster, Buckeye Chuck, also failed to see his shadow when he emerged from his burrow.

___

Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pa.

Follow Amanda Lee Myers on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AmandaLeeAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/groundhog-phil-furry-felon-over-false-forecast-203651416.html

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Radical Islamists attack Malian city of Gao

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) ? Islamic extremists infiltrated and attacked the northern Malian city of Gao, the mayor and residents said late Saturday. It was the third major attack on the town since it was liberated by French forces in January.

The assault indicates that the radical Islamists remain entrenched and able to attack despite the thousands of French troops who have liberated most of northern Mali's towns from control by the extremists.

Reached by telephone, Gao Mayor Sadou Diallo said the Islamic fighters launched their attack inside the Quatrieme Quartier, or Fourth District, a neighborhood inside the city which is divided into a numbered grid. The mayor said Malian forces engaged the fighters and they retreated, but a second column of Islamists then attacked from across the Niger River. He said that by evening the situation appeared to be under control, though residents said they still heard shooting.

"There was heavy gunfire. The situation is under control now. The Islamists entered via Quatrieme Quartier, and the army went to meet them and was able to push them back," said Diallo. "There is another group that entered via the river, but they too were pushed back. It's under control," he repeated.

For nearly 10 months, Gao was occupied by the Movement for the Oneness of Jihad in West Africa, or MUJAO, one of three al-Qaida-linked groups which invaded northern Mali a year ago. MUJAO was among the most brutal, amputating the limbs of so many accused thieves that the public place where they meted out their version of justice became known as "Shariah Square." In January, the city along with much of the rest of northern Mali was liberated by French troops, who used Mirage and Rafalle jets to bombard rebel positions before launching a ground assault.

The euphoria following the city's liberation was short-lived, however. Gao was the first town to be attacked by a suicide bomber on Feb. 8, a style of attack that was previously unknown in Mali and which has now been repeated in several other northern cities. Also in February, the city was twice attacked by extremists, who again crossed the river from villages that have long practiced the Wahabi form of Islam, a far stricter interpretation of the religion than what is practiced in most of Mali. Extra French troops have been brought in to reinforce the city's defenses, but the frequency of the attacks has many worried that extremism has taken root in Gao's soil.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/radical-islamists-attack-malian-city-gao-000520705.html

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Survey: Low-wage workers gloomy about future

Chart shows AP-NORC poll on attitudes of low-wage workers

Chart shows AP-NORC poll on attitudes of low-wage workers

WASHINGTON (AP) ? America's lower-income workers have posted the biggest job gains since the deep 2007-09 recession ? but few are bragging.

As a workforce sector, those earning $35,000 or less annually are generally pessimistic about their finances and career prospects. Many see themselves as worse off now than during the recession, a two-part Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey of workers and employers shows.

The survey revealed that many people at the lowest rung in the workplace view their jobs as a dead end. Half were "not too" or "not at all" confident that their jobs would help them achieve long-term career goals. And only 41 percent of workers at the same place for more than a decade reported ever receiving a promotion.

Yet 44 percent of employers surveyed said it's hard to recruit people with appropriate skills or experiences to do lower-wage jobs, particularly in manufacturing (54 percent). While 88 percent of employers said they were investing in training and education for employee advancement, awareness and use of such programs among the lower-wage workers was only modest.

Although President Barack Obama made it a national goal to "equip our citizens with the skills and training" to compete for good jobs, the survey shows a U.S. workforce that has grown increasingly polarized, with workers and their bosses seeing many things differently.

Seventy-two percent of employers at big companies and 58 percent at small ones say there is a "great deal" or "some" opportunity for worker advancement. But, asked the same question, 67 percent of all low-wage workers said they saw "a little" or "no opportunity" at their jobs for advancement.

Through last month, the economy had recovered only about 5.7 million of the 8.7 million jobs shed in the deepest downturn since the Great Depression. Low-wage jobs are usually the first to come back following a recession. While the outlook clearly is improving, economic growth remains anemic and unemployment is a still-high 7.7 percent.

Ronald Moore, 48, of Lebanon, Ind., is among those who have seen their situation improve. He started his own home-inspection company three years ago after he couldn't find enough work as a truck driver. But "nobody was buying homes, so no one needed an inspection," he said. "It was pretty rough in the beginning." Now he operates a custom cabinet business, where business is starting to improve. Slowly.

To gauge the experiences and perspectives of lower-wage workers, the AP-NORC Center conducted two separate surveys. A sample of 1,606 workers earning $35,000 or less annually was surveyed last summer, while a companion poll of 1,487 employers of such workers was conducted from November through January.

Roughly 65 percent of the jobs the U.S. economy added since the recession officially ended in June 2009 have been lower-wage ones.

Despite those numerical gains, "lower-income households have been hit very hard and have not benefited as much from the recovery," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "Their real wages are going nowhere. And this is a group that has more debt, fewer assets, is less likely to own a home or stocks and with little capacity to absorb higher gasoline prices."

Economists also say low-wage workers were hit particularly hard by an increase in Social Security payroll taxes resulting from "fiscal cliff" negotiations late last year between Obama and Congress.

A degree of economic "self-righting" will happen as more middle-income and higher-income jobs come back and economic growth accelerates, said Robert Trumble, director of the Labor Studies Center at Virginia Commonwealth University. "But the situation we've been facing for the last half-dozen years or so has been tough. And the lower your income, the tougher it is."

"Some things are better. But there are still some things that are still hard," said Sarah Mueller, 33, of Palm Harbor, Fla., who found work as a Montessori teacher two years ago after working as a part-time and substitute teacher. "With student loans, people are still struggling ? I'm one of those people ? to pay back student loans that are astronomical," she said.

Seventy-four percent of lower-wage workers say it is "difficult" or "very difficult" for them and their families to get ahead financially. Half thought their financial situation was somewhat or much worse than in 2008.

Many worry a lot or some (71 percent) about being unable to pay their bills, unexpected medical expenses (70 percent), losing their job (54 percent) or keeping up with their mortgage or rent (53 percent).

Many reported stagnant (44 percent) or declining (20 percent) wages over the past five years.

Employers and workers tend to agree that employees themselves hold the bulk of the responsibility for helping workers to get ahead in their careers, but employers are more apt to place some of that responsibility on high schools and colleges.

Despite their many frustrations, 74 percent of low-income workers said they were very or somewhat satisfied with their jobs. Yet 90 percent of all workers said they were satisfied with their job, according to an AP-GfK poll conducted in September.

The surge in low-wage jobs seems to have escaped notice by employers, the survey suggests. Just 22 percent of them said their organization's lower-wage workforce grew over the last four years and only 34 percent expect it to increase in the coming four years.

Lower-wage workers are also pessimistic about the overall direction of the country, with 7 in 10 saying "wrong direction," above the 60 percent of all adults who said so in AP-GfK polling conducted at the same time.

"Lower-wage jobs are coming back first," said labor economist Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute, a labor-leaning think tank. "But it's all bleak and it's all due to lack of demand for work to be done. We're still not getting more than just what we need to hang on," Shierholz said. "These last few months have looked better, but we cannot yet claim robust recovery by any stretch."

Lena Hughes, 31, of Indianapolis, a certified hospital nursing assistant, would agree.

"Everybody is struggling financially. It's hard to get jobs still," she said. "I don't think it's getting any better."

The surveys were sponsored by the Joyce Foundation, the Hitachi Foundation and NORC at the University of Chicago. The Joyce Foundation works to improve workforce development and education systems to assist job seekers who may lack skills or credentials. The Hitachi Foundation aims to expand business practices that improve economic opportunities for less well-off workers while benefiting business.

The worker survey was conducted online using the GfK KnowledgePanel and by telephone by interviewers from NORC from Aug. 1 through Sept. 6, 2012. The employer survey was conducted online and by phone by NORC from Nov. 12, 2012, through Jan. 31, 2013. The margin of sampling error for the survey of workers was plus or minus 2.9 percentage points; for employers, it was 4.5 points.

___

Associated Press News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius and writer Stacey A. Anderson contributed to this report.

___

Follow Tom Raum on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tomraum

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-20-Low-Wage%20Workers%20Survey/id-ba5c0271741e44479c4103ca5b1c956e

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Saint Mary's beats Middle Tenn 67-54 in First Four

St. Mary's guard Matthew Dellavedova scores against Middle Tennessee in the first half of a first-round game of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Tuesday, March 19, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

St. Mary's guard Matthew Dellavedova scores against Middle Tennessee in the first half of a first-round game of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Tuesday, March 19, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

Middle Tennessee forward JT Sulton (30) is pressured by St. Mary's forward Mitchell Young in the first half of a first-round game of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Tuesday, March 19, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Skip Peterson)

Middle Tennessee coach Kermit Davis urges on his players in the first half of a first-round game of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament against St. Mary's, Tuesday, March 19, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

St. Mary's coach Randy Bennett talks to his bench in the first half of a first-round game of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament against Middle Tennessee, Tuesday, March 19, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Skip Peterson)

Middle Tennessee forward Neiko Hunter fouls St. Mary's guard Stephen Holt (14) during the first half of a first-round game of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Tuesday, March 19, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) ? Matthew Dellavedova scored 22 points on Tuesday night, and Saint Mary's got a good start on its second straight NCAA tournament appearance, beating Middle Tennessee 67-54 in the First Four.

The Gaels (28-6) make a quick trip to Auburn Hills, Mich., to play sixth-seeded Memphis on Thursday.

Saint Mary's is making back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances for the first time in its history. The Gaels reached the round of 16 in 2010 before losing to Baylor. Not so good last year, when they dropped their opening game to Purdue 72-69.

With four starters back and Dellavedova, the school's career scoring leader, handling the ball and making the biggest shots, the Gaels were too much for Middle Tennessee (28-6), which was making its first NCAA tournament appearance in 24 years.

Credit Dellavedova for making a difference, as he has all season. The point guard went 7 of 14 from the field, including 5 of 7 behind the arc, and had four assists and six rebounds.

Tweety Knight led Middle Tennessee with 16 points. The Blue Raiders went only 4 of 12 from behind the arc, hitting one fewer 3-pointer than Dellavedova.

With those four starters back, Saint Mary's is looking for one of its best finishes yet. The Gaels did pretty much what they wanted all season long, except for one thing: Beating rival Gonzaga. Saint Mary's lost only three times in its last 22 games, all three times to the Bulldogs.

Fortunately for the Gaels, they put a lot of space between themselves and the Zags this week. No. 1 Gonzaga snagged the top seed in the West Regional and is playing in Salt Lake City. The Gaels get to stay in the Midwest for a while.

Middle Tennessee counted it a breakthrough just to be playing in the First Four ? the Blue Raiders hadn't been there since 1989.

They won the Sun Belt's regular-season title and were expected to win the tournament and their league's automatic bid, but were upset in the semifinals, ending a 17-game winning streak. They had to sweat out a few days before finding out that the NCAA selection committee picked them over defending champion Kentucky and other basketball blue bloods for an at-large bid.

One main reason: Consistency, especially on the road. The Blue Raiders didn't lose two games in a row all season until their last two tournament games.

Dellavedova had made only one of his last 18 shots from behind the arc heading into the game, but found his mark early. He had a pair of 3s as well as a steal and a layup, helping Saint Mary's pull ahead 13-9. After his second 3-pointer fell, Middle Tennessee coach Kermit Davis called a timeout to get the Blue Raiders reset on defense.

Couldn't stop Dellavedova for long. He hit a floater in the lane, passed to Brad Waldow for a dunk, then drew a foul and made a pair of free throws during an 11-2 run that closed the first half and gave Saint Mary's a 29-20 lead.

The Blue Raiders repeatedly missed close-up shots and managed only two free throws in the final 6 minutes, shooting 32 percent from the field overall in the half.

Dellavedova showed he was comfortable in the big moments, pumping up teammates with a pat or fist bump and slicing into the lane and pulling the defense to him like a magnet. He was part of Australia's backcourt in the 2012 Olympics in London, and it showed.

Dellavedova hit a pair of long 3s for a 39-28 lead early in the second half. Middle Tennessee pushed the pace and got its first significant run of the game, a 7-0 spurt that cut it to 41-38 with 12:38 to go.

Dellavedova had a 2-minute break on the bench to rest, then came back and hit his fifth 3-pointer of the game, helping the Gaels pull ahead 54-42 with 6 minutes to go. Middle Tennessee never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.

___

Follow Joe Kay on Twitter: http://twitter.com/apjoekay

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-19-BKC-NCAA-Middle-Tennessee-Saint-Mary's/id-a6733c320230438381b9323303f6fb38

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FedEx profit falls on weak airfreight business

DALLAS (AP) ? FedEx says its third-quarter profit fell 31 percent as customers are opting for less-expensive ground shipping, hurting the company's airfreight business.

The company says it will cut capacity to and from Asia starting next month and might retire some of its older airplanes.

Its shares fell more than 3 percent in premarket trading.

FedEx Corp. said Wednesday that its net income fell to $361 million, or $1.13 per share, in the three months ended Feb. 28. That's down from $521 million, or $1.65 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding costs of voluntary buyouts for some U.S. employees, the company says it would have earned $1.23 per share. Analysts were looking for $1.38 per share.

The company's fiscal year ends in May. It expects adjusted earnings of between $6 and $6.20 per share for the year. That is below analysts' forecasts of $6.35 per share.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-20-Earns-FedEx/id-0c719ba368344e7aa6eb4289f9bba298

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Does 'Bible's' Satan look like President Obama?

By Randee Dawn, TODAY contributor

Casting the devil is a tricky thing; if you're not going with a caricature of a cloven-hooved man all in red with horns then you're going to have to watch what kind of face you put on the face of evil. History Channel's 10-part miniseries hit "The Bible," however, cast an actor (Mohamen Mehdi Ouazani) to play Satan that -- to some -- seems uncomfortably familiar.?

"Anyone else think the Devil in #TheBible Sunday on History Channel looks exactly like That Guy?" tweeted @GlennBeck on Saturday, the day before the show aired to the general public, and linked to a photo from the series Ouazani, hooded and in character. (Beck has taken a vow not to say the name of President Barack Obama in all of 2013, and so uses "that guy" instead.)

That helped lead the charge on Twitter and beyond, as others jumped on the bandwagon to agree -- or voice strong disagreement.

As of Monday morning, show creators Mark Burnett and Roma Downey had not addressed the comparisons on Twitter; actor Ouazani does not appear to have a Twitter account. History Channel has not yet responded to requests for a comment.

What do you think? Let us know on Facebook.

Related content:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/03/18/17357066-bibles-satan-casting-raises-eyebrows-ire-with-comparison-to-president-obama?lite

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Richfield Recreation Opens 2013 Adult Sports League Registration ...

If you've been thinking about getting a few friends together for a little fun in the sun combined with a little exercise, now is the time to do it.

Richfield Recreation recently opened registration for summer, spring and fall adult sports leagues. Men's and co-ed team options are available for spring/summer and fall softball, as well as kickball, baggo and inner tube water polo.

The registration form is attached to this article as a PDF. Registration deadlines vary for each league. For more information, visit richfieldrecreation.com or call 612-861-9385.

Follow Richfield Patch on??Twitter??| Like us on??Facebook??| Sign up for our daily??newsletter

Source: http://richfield.patch.com/articles/richfield-recreation-opens-2013-adult-sports-league-registration

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Light Flow updated with Gmail crash fix

Today we got a badass update to Gmail, giving users the much awaited feature of being able to reply, delete and archive right from the status bar notifications. Many ran out to the streets to rejoice. Others, particularly those with the LED control app Light Flow installed, were stuck inside trying to figure out why their notification bars were being bombarded with error messages.

Andrew Moore of Rage Consulting has told us that some Google insiders were nice enough to give him a heads up of this issue weeks in advance, which is why he was able to respond so quickly with an update. Light Flow v3.6.0 is now live in the Play Store, and has been confirmed to play nice with the new version of Gmail that was released earlier today.

While this update has fixed the problem for us, there are many different phones and software configurations out there. If anyone is still having problems after this update, or if you want to check in with a phone that is working, let us know in the forums.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/RBN7ExFKKU4/story01.htm

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'Oz' again tops box office with $42.2 million

FILE - This file film image provided by Disney Enterprises shows James Franco, as Oz, left, and the character Finley, voiced by Zach Braff, in a scene from "Oz the Great and Powerful." ?Oz the Great and Powerful? is living up to its name at the box office. Walt Disney's 3-D blockbuster has led all films for the second week in a row, taking in $42.2 million according to studio estimates Sunday, March 17, 2013. Sam Raimi's prequel to the L. Frank Baum classic "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" also took in $46.6 million overseas, leading to two-week worldwide total of $281.8 million. (AP Photo/Disney Enterprises, File)

FILE - This file film image provided by Disney Enterprises shows James Franco, as Oz, left, and the character Finley, voiced by Zach Braff, in a scene from "Oz the Great and Powerful." ?Oz the Great and Powerful? is living up to its name at the box office. Walt Disney's 3-D blockbuster has led all films for the second week in a row, taking in $42.2 million according to studio estimates Sunday, March 17, 2013. Sam Raimi's prequel to the L. Frank Baum classic "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" also took in $46.6 million overseas, leading to two-week worldwide total of $281.8 million. (AP Photo/Disney Enterprises, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? "Oz the Great and Powerful" is living up to its name at the box office.

Walt Disney's 3-D blockbuster led all films for the second week in a row, taking in $42.2 million according to studio estimates Sunday. Sam Raimi's prequel to the L. Frank Baum classic "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" also took in $46.6 million overseas, leading to a two-week worldwide total of $281.8 million.

In a winter of underperforming releases, that makes "Oz" easily the biggest hit of 2013 so far.

"Boy, did we need it," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "There have been a lot of box-office casualties this year. This is the shot in the arm that we needed, but we're still waiting for the marketplace to gain some sort of momentum."

The box office is down nearly 13 percent from last year.

Among the weekend's debuts, the Halle Berry thriller "The Call" far exceeded expectations with a $17.1 million opening for Sony and TriStar Pictures. The Steve Carell magician comedy "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone" fared worse, opening with a disappointing $10.3 million for Warner Bros.

The performances of the two new releases continued a theme of 2013: Movies targeting female audiences have had more success than male-driven films. "The Call," in which Berry plays a 911 operator, was deliberately marketed to women, who made up 61 percent of its audience, Sony said. "Burt Wonderstone," starring Carell and Jim Carrey as rival Las Vegas magicians, sought a young male comedy audience that didn't materialize.

Female turnout has driven most all of the box office hits of the year, including the Melissa McCarthy comedy "Identity Thief" and the vampire romance "Warm Bodies." Macho films like Arnold Schwarzenegger's "The Last Stand" and Sylvester Stallone's "Bullet to the Head" have fizzled.

"Studios should take note," says Dergarabedian. "There's a lot of female power going on at the box office."

Opening in just three theaters in New York and Los Angeles was another film starring James Franco, who plays the Wizard in "Oz the Great and Powerful." ''Spring Breakers," a dreamy trip of day-glo debauchery starring Franco, Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens, opened with a strong $90,000 per-theater average ahead of its wider release next weekend.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday:

1. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $42.2 million. ($46.6 million international.)

2. "The Call," $17.1 million.

3. "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," $10.3 million.

4. "Jack the Giant Slayer," $6.2 million. ($10 million international.)

5. "Identity Thief," $4.5 million. ($745,000 international.)

6. "Snitch," $3.5 million. ($130,000 international.)

7. "21 and Over," $2.6 million. ($1 million international.)

8. "Silver Linings Playbook," $2.6 million. ($3.7 million international.)

9. "Safe Haven," $2.5 million. ($1.2 million international.)

10. "Escape From Planet Earth," $2.3 million.

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $46.6 million.

2. "A Good Day to Die Hard," $20.4 million.

3. "Jack the Giant Slayer," $10.3 million

4. "Hansel and Gretal: Witch Hunters," $6.2 million.

5. "Warm Bodies," $4 million.

6. "Mama," $3.8 million.

7. "Silver Linings Playbook," $3.7 million.

8. "Les Miserables," $3.1 million.

9. "Django Unchained," $3 million.

(tie) "Jappeloup," $3 million."

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jake_coyle.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-17-Box%20Office/id-6d4a45df6d5a4b56842e1b60f62bc983

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Markets dive, ATMs emptied amid Cyprus bailout crisis

Katia Christodoulou / EPA

A woman unsuccessfully attempts to withdraw from a Cypriot bank ATM in Greece on Sunday.

By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News

LONDON ? Financial markets in Europe fell sharply in early trading Monday following the surprise announcement of a levy on bank accounts in Cyprus as part of a financial bailout.

London's FTSE 100, Frankfurt's DAX and Paris's CAC-40 were down 1.4, 1.6 and 2 percent respectively as of 4:30 a.m. ET as traders' screens showed a sea of red, CNBC reported.

Cypriots and foreign investors emptied ATMs following Saturday?s unexpected 10 billion euro ($13 billion) deal under which savers must surrender up to 10 percent of bank deposits. Banks in Cyprus were due to remain closed because of a public holiday Monday.

Adding to the uncertainty, Greek media reports on Monday suggested Russian energy giant Gazprom might offer Cyprus an alternative to the bailout.?

Russian citizens account for the majority of the billions of euros held in Cypriot banks by foreign depositors, and Moscow has already given the Mediterranean country a sovereign loan to ease its financial crisis.

Russia?s president Vladimir Putin criticized the bailout as ?unfair, unprofessional and dangerous,? Reuters said, citing a spokesman.

The Economist also criticized the deal, describing it as ?unfair, short-sighted and self-defeating.?

The parliament in Cyprus was due to vote Monday on the euro zone package, which was agreed by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund and appeared to contradict assurances that last year?s expensive bailout of Greece was a one-off.

The European market dive echoed earlier falls in Asia. The euro itself fell below $1.29 to its lowest level in three months, CNBC reported.

Markets in Italy and Spain ? countries regarded at the highest risk of further financial crisis ? saw some of the biggest share falls, particularly in the banking sector.

"It's a Cyprus shock,? Ken Hasegawa, a commodity sales manager at Newedge in Tokyo, told Reuters.

The bailout caused dismay in Cyprus. ?They shouldn?t touch the deposits. ?They?re just killing the people,? 58-year-old Miltiades Papamiltiades, an unemployed former construction worker, told the English-language ?Cyprus Mail news site. ?No-one will ever deposit money again into the banks on the island. It is the end of our economy,? he added.

Of the $90 billion deposits held in Cyprus banks, a little under half is held by non-residents, mostly Russian.

Alex Spilius, of the U.K.?s Daily Telegraph, reported that Cyprus in recent years had become, like off-shore haven Monaco, ?something of a sunny place for shady people.? He wrote:

?By 2011, the IMF reported that the assets of Cypriot banks were equivalent to 835 per cent of annual national income. Some of that was down to investment by foreign-owned banks, but most was Cypriot.

This imbalance might have been sustainable had the country?s two largest banks not made loans to the Greek government worth 160 per cent of Cypriot GDP. It has never been clear whether that risk was taken out of ethnic solidarity, or from a presumption that the Greeks knew what they were doing. But in any event, it was disastrous.?

Related:

Spain's economic crisis turns middle-class families into illegal squatters

'The country is on its knees': Ireland grapples with economic collapse

Greek tragedy: Economic crisis sparks brain drain

?

This story was originally published on Mon Mar 18, 2013 6:32 AM EDT

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/18/17355675-european-markets-dive-atms-emptied-amid-cyprus-bailout-crisis?lite

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No. 7 Kansas beats No. 11 K-State for Big 12 title

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? One by one, Kansas players headed to the top step of the ladder to cut down the nets, with Jeff Withey carefully nipping at a piece of nylon and then waving it to the roar of the fans.

There was no way the Jayhawks were going to share this celebration.

No way they were going to share this title.

Withey had 17 points and nine rebounds Saturday night, and the seventh-ranked Jayhawks used their trademark suffocating defense to beat No. 11 Kansas State 70-54 and win the their ninth Big 12 tournament championship ? not to mention the tiebreaker over their regular-season co-champs.

"I felt like this game had to be played," said the Jayhawks' Elijah Johnson, smiling. "I think we fed into it, and I think they did, too, and at the end of the day, it was a championship game, and I felt it had to be played for this to be decided."

There should be no argument any longer over the best in the Big 12.

The Jayhawks (29-5), who may have locked up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament with the victory, beat Kansas State for the third time this season. They've also won their last 11 meetings in conference tournaments, and 39 of the 42 games played since the inception of the Big 12.

"I think how this season played out this year, I think it means a lot," Kansas guard Travis Releford said. "And our fans, they have a lot of bragging rights now that this game is over."

Rodney McGruder scored 18 points despite a poor first half, and Angel Rodriguez had 10 for the Wildcats (27-7), who still have not won a conference tournament in more than 30 years.

"I just wanted this victory very badly," McGruder said quietly. "We worked so hard, worked so hard to get here, just to let it slip."

The interest in Round 3, the first meeting between the schools in a league tournament title game since 1980 ? back in the days of the old Big Eight ? resulted in a record crowd of 19,256.

The ticket was so hot that Eric and Faith DeVault, who were married Saturday morning in a suburban of Kansas City, were given a pair as a gift and turned out for the game still dressed in their tuxedo and wedding dress ? though Faith ditched her heels for a pair of flats.

They were treated to a first half that would've made Bill Snyder and Charlie Weis proud.

Two of the best defensive teams in the country, Kansas and Kansas State made more blocks and tackles than layups and jump shots over the first 20 minutes. Both teams committed nine turnovers, and the Wildcats had just three assists while going 6 of 27 from the field.

"It was a low-scoring game," Rodriguez said, "because both teams were playing good defense."

Kansas State actually struck first, pulling ahead 11-8 on a 3-pointer by Martavious Irving with 11:44 remaining in the half. But the Jayhawks buckled down on defense and the Wildcats didn't make another field goal until Rodriguez rattled in a deep 3 with 1:25 left on the clock.

Meanwhile, Johnson and Naadir Tharpe each hit 3-pointers during a 14-2 run by the Jayhawks, and a bucket by Kevin Young in the closing seconds made it 24-16 at the break.

It was Kansas State's lowest-scoring half this season, and the second-lowest by Kansas.

"Today was probably the poorest we played all week offensively in the first half," Kansas coach Bill Self said, "but we look up and we're still up eight because we defended so well."

McGruder, who scored 24 points in a quarterfinal win over Texas and 24 in the semifinals against Oklahoma State, had four points on 2-of-9 shooting in the first half, while Ben McLemore ? the Jayhawks' star freshman ? was scoreless after missing three 3-pointers.

The Wildcats finally got into a rhythm early in the second half, and a put-back off McGruder's miss by big Thomas Gipson got them to 28-25. But that's when Kansas once against clamped down on defense, and the result was another 12-3 to seize control.

Young started it with a bucket around the rim, Tharpe hit an open 3-pointer and then made a nice feed to Travis Releford for a dunk. A few minutes later, Tharpe hit another 3-pointer to give the Jayhawks a 43-31 and force an incensed Kansas State coach Bruce Weber to call timeout.

"In games like this, everybody's going to go on a run," Withey said. "They went on a run, and we just countered with another run. We knew we had to get stops."

They kept getting stops, too.

Kansas stretched its lead to 60-46 on a 3-pointer by Perry Ellis, who followed his career-high 23 points in a semifinal win over Iowa State with 12 more against the Wildcats, and 65-48 on a three-point play by Withey that essentially wrapped up the game.

The Wildcats never could get the lead under 10 the rest of the way as Kansas improved to 9-1 in Big 12 tournament title games. The Jayhawks also improved to 6-0 this season at Sprint Center, which just so happens to be a host site for the NCAA tournament next weekend.

Might the Jayhawks carry a No. 1 seed right back to Kansas City?

"I think we're deserving to be in the discussion," Self said. "I think we'll be for sure one of the five or six most highly ranked teams on the seed line."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/no-7-kansas-beats-no-11-k-state-001427809--spt.html

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