Going ALL IN with Coach Olson

SPOKANE, WA (February 8, 2013) ? If you are not familiar with the Spokane Shock or are new to the area don?t worry, because we are going to give you the chance to get to know a little bit about the Head Coach Andy Olson and his thoughts on the upcoming season.

Arena football has been a part of the city of Spokane since 2005 and Coach Olson has been part of the team in one way or another almost every year. After growing up on a farm in Chehalis, W.A., Olson attended Western Washington University in Bellingham where he posted four record setting seasons as a wide receiver. Following his colligate career, Olson played for the Georgia Force in 2007 and then signed with the Spokane Shock for the 2008 season. Olson was a wide receiver for the Shock and had great success. He was a major player in the Shock?s 2008 Conference Championship as well as the 2009 Arena Cup.

Olson?s high school football coach saw the coach in him before anyone else did. After a bad knee injury in his senior year, Olson gave an inspirational speech to his team at halftime that his coach said helped them win the game. Coach Olson said he has always wanted to coach in one way or another, but that he honestly never thought about Arena Football. In 2011 the Shock hired Olson as the Offensive Coordinator, which gave him an opportunity to get his feet wet and see what coaching Arena Football was like. After serving as Offensive Coordinator for one season Olson was given the opportunity to become Head Coach and gladly accepted.

?Coaching has come natural, I was always a pretty vocal player, kind of a loud guy, tried to be motivational. Coaching is not easy? but for me it was just kind of a natural transition,? Olson said.

Olson?s first season as Head Coach for the Shock was a pretty successful season ending with a 10-8 record, but the West Conference was very dominant having four teams with overall winning records and the Shock fell just shy of the playoffs. Olson is looking forward to this upcoming season with high hopes that the team will have more success and not only make it into the playoffs but ultimately win the championship. One thing that is really reassuring to Olson is how experienced the team is this year and how many veterans he has to work with.

?[I] love our team! We have 17 returners; number one in the league as far as guys coming back to their roster. Everybody just knows more, where as last year everyone was so young. We can really get rolling fast??. and put a lot of time into making sure that we have the guys that are going to take us to the championship. That?s what we are looking for this season,? Olson said.

Olson is feeling very comfortable about where the team is at roster wise this season and is excited for the guys that are returning. Guys like receiver Adron Tennell who set franchise records in receptions, receiving yards, touchdowns, and points last season. Terrance Sanders missed a number of games, but still recorded 7 interceptions and was named first-team AFL kick return and second-team defensive back.? Former Eastern Washington University Quarterback Erik Meyer is returning this season with high expectations leading a high powered offensive along with AFL vet Chris Pino to anchor the offensive line. These are guys who are all veterans are players that fans will recognize. Olson expressed that with these guys that are now signed to two year contracts he is really trying to look long term, and winning games.

Olson feels that there are some things that have to change this year within both the team and the coaching staff for the team to be successful. Some of the things that he talked about were the discipline and structure of the practices, as well as having as few penalties as possible in games.

?We just need to be a more disciplined football team and that starts with me. That?s my job, [and] I am going to take care of that. We are going to require a lot of work from these guys,? Olson said.

Olson also talked about some changes that he is going to be making to help the players be more prepared for the season, with hopes of having a lot of success. Most of the changes that are going to be made are in practices. He said that this year practices are going to be a lot more competitive, structured and efficient. Last year it was a lot of just off the hip stuff, and this year he is going to try to make it so guys are not just standing around while others are practicing.

One thing that the coaching staff has implemented this season that is completely new not only for the Shock, but in arena football is a conditioning test at the start of the season. Olson said that this is something that he feels is going to put a little bit of fear in the guys, because they know that in order to have a chance they have to pass the test. If the players don?t pass, they don?t practice and if they don?t practice, they don?t play. Olson described it as a warning for the players and a way to set a high standard that he hopes to carry throughout the whole season.

In the time that the Shock have been in Spokane, they have had a lot of successful seasons, but Coach Olson knows that those successes have not only come from the action of the players on the field but from the fans as well.

With a new mission statement this season the Shock coaches and organization want to express how important community is to them. The mission states ?To deliver to our fans a high quality entertainment experience while serving and representing the Inland Northwest on and off the field as a proud member of the Arena Football League.? In his interview, Olson expressed his desire for the team and the organization to be a good example and present a positive image to the community. He said that the Shock has an opportunity to be an influence to children of all ages and to present a positive image and be people that the children look up to. Olson made it very clear that it is very important to him that the community sees value in the team not just on the field but off as well, and that they are able to make a difference in peoples? lives.

?When you?re a kid, you look up to any guy, it doesn?t matter what his name is, and you think wow that guy must be awesome. It?s not just being there to talk to them, but it?s leading in example during the season, on the field, [and] off the field, constantly being someone that people want to be around, someone that they can model themselves after,? Olson said.

As the 2013 season approaches, there are a few things that the fans can look forward to that are going to be much different than the season in the past. Olson said that there is going to be a lot more fan appreciation this season, which is something that is very important to him. He expressed that he feels that is something that they did not do well enough last year and he is looking forward to changing. They are going to make sure that guys are interacting more with the fans before and after the games doing things like giving high five and signing autographs. Olson feels that these are the little things that fans think are irreplaceable and he wants to make them feel like they are a part of something and that they do make a difference.

For all the super fans out there it may be no surprise that last year the Spokane Arena was voted at the rowdiest arena and the 25 year history of Arena Football and this is something that Coach Olson absolutely loved.

?I love it!....I?ve been to pretty much every arena now, and there are some arenas that are pretty loud and pretty annoying but there?s nothing like Spokane?. There?s nothing like our fans, they?re nuts, they?re crazy, they?re consistently yelling?. It?s just one of those environments where they care; it?s not just a game. They don?t just come to watch and have fun, they?re physically and emotionally involved?. The fans take pride in doing everything they can to help the team win a game. And they absolutely do. They cause false starts, they cause players to make mistakes because they are constantly screaming in their ears?.. We couldn?t be happier, we love our fans, we would never trade them,? Olson said.

The motto for the season is ?ALL IN,? so Shock fans out there keep up the good work and as Coach Olson said, keep yelling, and continue to be excited about Shock football.?

SPOKANE SHOCK MISSION

The Spokane Shock strive to deliver to our fans a high quality entertainment experience while serving and representing the Inland Northwest on and off the field as a proud member of the Arena Football League.

ABOUT THE SPOKANE SHOCK

The Spokane Shock is a professional arena football team of the Arena Football League from Spokane, Washington, USA. They play their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The Shock played their first four seasons in the former af2, winning division titles in all four seasons and ArenaCups in 2006 and 2009 before joining the AFL and winning ArenaBowl XXIII in their first season. Tickets and Sponsorships are available for the 2013 Season. For more information visit our website at spokaneshock.com or call 509-242-7462. You can also follow the Shock on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Source: http://www.sportspagemagazine.com/content/fb/mp-fb/art-mp-fb/going-all-in-with-coach-olson.shtml?55744

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Va. Struggles With Health Insurance Requirement - Higher Education

by Associated Press

RICHMOND Va. ? State agencies are reducing part-time employees? hours until officials figure out how to comply with federal health insurance requirements regarding those who work more than 30 hours each week.

Gov. Bob McDonnell ordered agencies to cut back part-time employees to no more than 29 hours each week to avoid triggering a provision in the Affordable Care Act that requires health insurance coverage be provided to those who work more hours.

But officials are unsure how the law affects some employees, such as the more than 9,000 adjunct professors at community colleges. They also aren?t sure how reducing employees? hours will affect services.

?We?re trying to get a really good grasp of who we have, what are the jobs they?re doing, if they?re working more than 30 hours, is it necessary, why?? Secretary of Administration Lisa Hicks-Thomas, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/U2GlhZ).

State officials estimate that providing basic health benefits to part-time, hourly employees who work at least 30 hours a week would cost from $61 million to $110 million, if their families also are covered.

A recent survey showed agencies have nearly 7,400 wage employees who work more than 30 hours each week. Many of those?nearly 1,500?are working in the Virginia Community College System.

Department of Alcohol Beverage Control spokeswoman Rebecca V. Gettings says the agency will have to adjust weekly schedules to comply and continue adequately staffing state liquor stores. Part-time employees, including clerks and cashiers in the state?s liquor stores, account for almost two-thirds of the agency?s workforce.

Local governments are facing similar challenges for their employees and workers in state-supported local positions.

?We are trying to come up with alternative plans in each situation and try to find a way to get the hours under the threshold or otherwise find ways to cover the work,? said Chesterfield County Administrator James J.L. Stegmaier.

Those positions include workers at local community services boards, which provide critical services to disabled Virginians and those with behavioral health conditions.

?I don?t know how this is going to be resolved,? said Mary Ann Bergeron, executive director of the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards. ?This impacts especially those people who are working as care providers for (Medicaid) waiver services. I think they?re going to be hard hit.?

It remains unclear how the state directive affects employees who have another source of health insurance coverage, such as from a spouse or another job. Also unclear is how the potential expansion of Medicaid or the creation of a federally run health benefits exchange would affect the change.

Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.timesdispatch.com

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Source: http://diverseeducation.com/article/51257/

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Boy's postcard mailed in 1967 turns up in Oklahoma

PAULS VALLEY, Okla. (AP) ? It may have taken 46 years, but one boy's postcard has made it home to Mom.

Bert Jacobson sent the postcard to his mother in Pauls Valley, Okla., in January 1967, when he was 13 years old. The card, from the Old Country Store Museum in Hereford, Penn., arrived last Friday.

Jacobson tells Tulsa television station KOTV (http://is.gd/5MzAmX ) that he traveled to the East Coast with his father and cousins to buy concrete trucks and mixing equipment for the family business.

The postcard was sent with a 4-cent Abraham Lincoln stamp. The card reads: "Mom, Hi. We've been having a great time."

Jacobson's sister, Marilyn Hubbard, says their mother wasn't surprised that her son sent a card ? only that it took 46 years to arrive.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-02-12-Old%20Postcard-Oklahoma/id-63f558c7b70e4eea8436e38e04a95efb

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CALIFORNIA: Stoking The Next Big Financial Crash? ?The next financial market meltdown may already ?

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Source: pjmedia.com --- Tuesday, February 12, 2013
California: Stoking The Next Big Financial Crash? ?The next financial market meltdown may already be brewing: not in the housing market, this time, but in municipal bonds. Greedy bankers, opportunistic politicians and hobbled regulators are putting a time bomb in the muni market that could set off another devastating crash. . . . This is irresponsibility on steroids, but it represents a dream come true for crony capitalists and Wall Street I-bankers. Fat fees, enormous interest, and the taxpayers won?t even know what hit them when the whopping bills come due.? ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/instapundit/podcast/~3/qsssBbDw0Ok/

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Microsoft?s Next-Gen Xbox May Require You To Use A Kinect

The war for your living room rages on, and Microsoft has no intention of yielding any hard-fought ground to its gaming rivals. Rumors of a new Xbox have been flying around for months now, but Kotaku has put together the mother of all next-gen Xbox (a.k.a. Xbox 720, a.k.a. Durango) posts thanks to a secretive-but-chatty source known as SuperDaE -- if the moniker sounds familiar, he's the guy who tried selling what he claimed was a Durango developer rig on eBay a while back.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Op9HRGDaj50/

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VA adds 1,000 mental health professionals to staff

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Veterans Affairs Department said Monday it has added more than 1,000 mental health professionals and 200 support staff over the past eight months to meet the needs of returning veterans, but still has more to do to meet the requirements of an executive order issued by President Barack Obama.

The VA needs to add about 550 more doctors, nurses and counselors by June 30 to comply with the executive order.

The VA announced new hiring goals in the spring, just days before an inspector general's report found the department had greatly overstated how quickly it provided mental health care to veterans seeking help. Obama expanded on that goal in August as both presidential candidates were reaching out to veterans in the heat of an election campaign. He also directed the VA to increase the capacity of its telephone crisis line by 50 percent and to ensure that a mental health professional contact within 24 hours any veteran who identifies themselves as in crisis.

The House Veterans' Affairs Committee is holding a hearing Wednesday to examine what progress the VA has made in its hiring program and in other mental health initiatives.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said the VA would not be slowing down in its effort to increase staffing. The new hires include psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, and licensed counselors and therapists, although there was not an exact breakdown for each category.

"We still need to hire more mental health professionals to reach our goal, but each new hire means we can treat more veterans and provide greater access to our mental health services," Shinseki said.

The VA also said it was still working on hiring and training 800 veterans to work as "peer specialists" on the VA's mental health teams. Some veterans are more comfortable reaching out to peers who have shared their experiences in serving during wartime. The peer staff is expected to be completely hired by Dec. 31.

The number of veterans getting mental health treatment from the VA has risen from about 927,000 in 2006 to more than 1.3 million in 2012.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/va-adds-1-000-mental-212013681.html

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Maybe an iWatch will go with your iPhone

Suzanne Choney , NBC News ? ? ? 22 hrs.

Reports Sunday say Apple's working on a smart watch-like device that would run Apple's mobile operating system, iOS.

The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal each shared information from people who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Journal cited "people briefed on the effort" who said Apple has "discussed such a device with its major manufacturing partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. ... as part of explorations of potentially large product categories beyond the smartphone and tablet."

Apple, which did not comment to either publication, is notoriously secret about any of its ventures. (NBC News has contacted Apple, and will update this post if we hear back.)

The Times cited "people familiar with the company's explorations," who said the watch-like gadget would be made of curved glass. Corning's Willow Glass, the Times noted, could be what's used to make the watch.

The company's tough Gorilla Glass is used on the iPhone, as well as on other smartphones. As Corning notes about Willow Glass: It will "help enable thin, light and cost-efficient applications including today?s slim displays and the smart surfaces of the future. The thinness, strength and flexibility of the glass has the potential to enable displays to be 'wrapped' around a device or structure."

Certainly, there's been no shortage of smart watches entering the market in recent months. These 2.0 versions, like the $150 Pebble, launched via Kickstarter, can show incoming calls, emails, calendar alerts, Facebook messages, weather alerts, tweets and more.

Another watch, introduced at the recent Consumer Electronics Show, is the $129 COOKOO Connected Watch, which uses either an iOS or Android app to let you know when you have incoming calls, appointments or new Facebook messages.

This new generation is a long way from what Microsoft first introduced more than a decade ago with its SPOT watch, which never quite took off and has been discontinued.

If the wrist is the new human real estate for tech, the field may be getting crowded, and Apple may not be the only major player to get involved. Google recently was granted a patent for a watch with a transparent screen, hidden in a flip-up bezel.

Check out Technology, GadgetBox, DigitalLife and InGame on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/maybe-iwatch-will-go-your-iphone-1B8310116

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Spurs Rout Nets 111-86: Tony Parker Leads San Antonio Past Brooklyn (VIDEO)

NEW YORK -- Tony Parker had 29 points and 11 assists in another brilliant performance without his two sidekicks, and the San Antonio Spurs dominated the second half to beat the Brooklyn Nets 111-86 on Sunday night.

Two nights after a loss in Detroit ended their 11-game winning streak, the Spurs got back on track quickly behind Parker, who fell short of his third straight 30-point game only because he was so good he sat out the final minutes of the rout.

Danny Green added 14 points and Tiago Splitter had 13 for the Spurs, who were again without Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili because of injuries as they beat the Nets for the fifth straight time and 19th in the last 20 meetings.

Joe Johnson scored 19 points and Brook Lopez had 18 for the Nets, who lost for the sixth time in nine games. Deron Williams finished with 15 points.

Duncan missed his third straight game due to a sore left knee, while Ginobili was out for the fourth consecutive game with tightness in his left hamstring. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he would be cautious with the two stars, knowing he needs them later this season.

They're not missing them now ? thanks to Parker.

Parker had 10 points and four assists in the third quarter, when San Antonio outscored Brooklyn 30-14 to turn a six-point halftime deficit into an 81-71 advantage. He'd had 31 points and eight assists in both of the previous two games, and just missed a fourth 30-point game in his last six.

Getting into the lane with ease and knocking down consecutive jumpers at one point when he didn't, he was 5 of 6 from the floor in the quarter, making any Nets defender look completely overmatched.

The Spurs then put it away early in the fourth. Parker returned from a rest with San Antonio leading by 10 and helped the Spurs run off 10 straight points. Matt Bonner and Boris Diaw made consecutive 3-pointers, Parker added another basket, and Stephen Jackson drove for a layup that made it 95-75 and had the Nets hearing boos in their new home for one of the few times this season.

Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said his team was lacking the same enthusiasm and confidence it had when he first took over. They got off to a fast start Sunday, but another third quarter ruined all they had done well in the first half.

Lopez capped a 10-point first quarter with a jumper with 2.9 seconds left, and the Nets shot 64 percent in the period for a 35-25 lead. The Spurs tightened things up in the second, cutting it to 57-51 heading to halftime, then surged ahead behind Parker's mastery.

The Spurs improved to 2-1 on their nine-game rodeo road trip. The nine games ties a franchise high.

Notes: The Spurs beat the Nets 104-73 on New Year's Eve in Brooklyn's third game under Carlesimo, an assistant to Popovich in San Antonio from 2002-07. "We kicked his (butt)," Popovich joked before the game. "We just drilled him and we loved it." ... The Nets installed six large-scale photographs of the Black Fives, early 20th century African-American basketball teams, Sunday throughout Barclays Center's main concourse. General manager Billy King presented a commemorative plaque to descendants of the teams, who played from 1904-50, during a halftime ceremony.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/11/spurs-nets-111-86-tony-parker-brooklyn-highlights_n_2659778.html

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Auto Title Loans And Rent-To-Own Centers: What's Better?

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Source: http://joe-holbrook.blogspot.com/2013/02/auto-title-loans-and-rent-to-own.html

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Another Hypocritical Leftist Caught with His Hand in the Tax-Haven ...

So, the gist is that "liberals are hypocrites." Well! Startling revelation - akin, I'd warrant to a discovery that "water is wet."

IF the WH spokesman Schultz's statement is correct, all will be OK for Lew. Why? Because he lost money! Nothing liberals hate so much as a profit! No, as long was Lew wasn't SUCCESSFUL, then his hypocrisy, and that of the entire Obozo administration, and that of leftists in general, will be overlooked.

- Snark

Source: http://townhall.com/columnists/danieljmitchell/2013/02/10/another-hypocritical-leftist-caught-with-his-hand-in-the-taxhaven-cookie-jar-n1509117

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10 Things to Know about the big storm

Payloaders clear snow from the Long Island Expressway just west of exit 59 Ocean Ave where several cars and a truck are abandoned after a snow storm on Saturday, Feb. 9, 31, 2013, in Ronkonkoma , N.Y. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

Payloaders clear snow from the Long Island Expressway just west of exit 59 Ocean Ave where several cars and a truck are abandoned after a snow storm on Saturday, Feb. 9, 31, 2013, in Ronkonkoma , N.Y. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

A group of men help push a sports car up a snow-covered street in the Old Port section of Portland, Mane, during a snow storm, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. The storm is expected to dump up to two feet of snow on the region. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Riders wait in a bus stop where color-tinted windows collect snow during a storm, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, in Portland, Maine. The National Weather Service says a blizzard warning is issued Friday evening for the southern coast. The forecast calls for up to 2 feet of snow and winds gusting to 50 mph.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

1. MORE THAN 650,000 LOST POWER IN NEW ENGLAND

Even the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, Mass., had to shut down and turn to backup generators.

2. GUSTS HIT 82 MPH, BUT OUTAGES COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE

With leaves gone, damage to power lines from falling branches was less than it might have been.

3. AT LEAST SEVEN PEOPLE HAVE DIED

The deaths include three in Canada and an 11-year-old boy who died in Boston of carbon monoxide in a running car as his father tried to shovel it free.

4. MORE THAN 3 FEET OF SNOW FELL IN CONNECTICUT

Maine and Long Island recorded 30-plus inches, with Massachusetts and New Hampshire not far behind.

5. IT WAS ALL TOO MUCH FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers..." was canceled when New England delivery was halted.

6. AIR TRAVEL IS COMING BACK

Flights started landing at JFK Saturday morning, and Boston's Logan hopes to open partially by 11 p.m.

7. WHERE SNOWMOBILES BECAME RESCUE VEHICLES

Despite warnings and highway closings, hundreds of drivers were stranded on Long Island.

8. HOW SANDY VICTIMS WERE HIT AGAIN

Staten Islanders without power had only a tent shelter and tarps for protection.

9. NBA ROAD TRIPS WERE EXTENDED

The Knicks were stuck in Minnesota, the Spurs hunkered down in Detroit and the Brooklyn Nets took the train home from Washington.

10. YES, MICHAEL KORS WORE UGGS TO FASHION WEEK

"I came in looking like Pam Anderson," the designer joked after trading up for black leather boots in New York.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-09-10-Things-to-Know-Northeast-Snow/id-0d9cb0347731407eb67520c27f061d3b

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Wikipad Tablet Gets Back in the Game

It could have been game over for Wikipad after a flaw in the initial production run of its gaming tablet forced a launch delay late last year. The company used the extra time, however, to rethink the Wikipad, and this week it said the revised version will debut this spring. The new version will be smaller.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/28614603/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C77260A0Bhtml/story01.htm

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The Wham Spot | Real Estate Property Management

For owners of residential, commercial, or industrial properties, working with a property management company can be a great resource. Property management works the same as management in any other field by monitoring what needs to be accounted, monitored, and cared for with any type of real estate. They work to find quality residents who respect and care for the property and always pay promptly. A property manager acts as a mediator between the owner and the tenant easing the responsibility of busy owners. Selecting a respected property management company can make real estate ownership a breeze. We have the skills and know-how to make your ownership experience simple and painless. You can take comfort in the knowledge that we will always treat your real estate as if it were our own. Property Management Taylorsville

This entry was posted in Services. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://www.thewahmspot.com/real-estate-property-management/

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For stroke patients, mechanical clot removal delivers no advantage over standard care

Public release date: 8-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Karen Mallet
km463@georgetown.edu
Georgetown University Medical Center

WASHINGTON The first randomized controlled study to evaluate a procedure that removes blood clots in the brain from patients experiencing severe strokes finds it delivers no better outcomes than non-invasive standard medications. In addition, the study found imaging techniques were not helpful in identifying patients who potentially would benefit most from clot removal.

The study, led by a Georgetown University Medical Center researcher, was published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine and simultaneously presented at the International Stroke Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii.

"The hope was, and to some degree still is, that if you pull out the clot within a certain period of time and there is salvageable brain tissue, there will be better outcomes," said lead researcher Chelsea Kidwell, M.D., professor of neurology and director of the Stroke Center at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Currently, the only proven effective treatment for a stroke caused by a blood clot (ischemic) is tPA (tissue plasminogen activator). The treatment, administered in the hospital, must be given within the first few hours after stroke symptoms appear. For patients who don't meet the timeline for treatment or whose clots do not respond to tPA, an interventional procedure to remove the is another option.

The study, named MR RESCUE (Mechanical Retrieval and REcanalization of Stroke Clots Using Embolectomy), was conducted at 22 institutions in the U.S. The trial evaluated outcomes in 118 patients at an average age of 65.5 who had suffered a severe ischemic stroke in one of the large blood vessels carrying blood to the front of the brain (the most common location for this type of stroke).

By removing the clot within the first eight hours of having the stroke, researchers hypothesized that the procedure would restore blood flow to the affected area of the brain. Prior to conducting the procedure, the patients received an array of MRI or CT scans, including a blood flow study, to help identify those with viable brain tissue who presumably would benefit if the clot was removed and blood flow restored.

After imaging studies were processed using study-specific software to determine if substantial salvageable brain tissue was present, the patients were randomized to receive either standard medical treatment (aspirin or other medicine) or clot removal with a special device. Patients who received tPA were allowed to enroll in the study if the treatment failed. Tools used to remove the clot included the MERCI Retriever (a tiny corkscrew-like device) or the Penumbra System (an aspiration device).

Researchers found no greater overall benefit in patients who had their clot removed compared to standard medicines. More specifically:

• The level of disability 90 days after stroke was no different in patients who received medical care or clot removal.
• The rates of death (21 percent) and symptomatic brain bleeds (4 percent) were no different in the two treatment groups.
• Response to clot removal was no better in the 58 percent of patients with a favorable imaging pattern that suggested salvageable brain tissue.

Kidwell says these findings may not apply to the newer clot removal tools that can open vessels better and faster. "The safety data for these tools examined in this study are encouraging, which is important as we move forward to evaluate newer and possibly better devices," she said

###

Reza Jahan, M.D., associate professor of interventional neuroradiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, is co-principal investigator of the study. Other authors include: Jeffrey Gornbein, Dr.P.H.; Jeffry R. Alger, Ph.D.; Val Nenov, Ph.D.; Zahra Ajani, M.D.; Lei Feng, M.D., Ph.D.; Brett C. Meyer, M.D.; Scott Olson, M.D.; Lee H. Schwamm, M.D.; Albert J. Yoo, M.D.; Randolph S. Marshall, M.D., M.S.; Philip M. Meyers, M.D.; Dileep R. Yavagal, M.D.; Max Wintermark, M.D.; Judy Guzy, R.N.; Sidney Starkman, M.D.; and Jeffrey L. Saver, M.D.

Disclosures from all authors are reported in the full text of the NEJM article and on the abstract presented at the International Stroke Conference.

The research described was supported by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (grant number P50 NS044378). Concentric Medical, Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.) provided study catheters and devices from study start until August, 2007; thereafter, costs for all study catheters and devices have been covered by study funds or third party payors.

About Georgetown University Medical Center

Georgetown University Medical Center is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization (BGRO), which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical Translation and Science Award from the National Institutes of Health. In fiscal year 2010-11, GUMC accounted for 85 percent of the university's sponsored research funding.

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Public release date: 8-Feb-2013
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Contact: Karen Mallet
km463@georgetown.edu
Georgetown University Medical Center

WASHINGTON The first randomized controlled study to evaluate a procedure that removes blood clots in the brain from patients experiencing severe strokes finds it delivers no better outcomes than non-invasive standard medications. In addition, the study found imaging techniques were not helpful in identifying patients who potentially would benefit most from clot removal.

The study, led by a Georgetown University Medical Center researcher, was published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine and simultaneously presented at the International Stroke Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii.

"The hope was, and to some degree still is, that if you pull out the clot within a certain period of time and there is salvageable brain tissue, there will be better outcomes," said lead researcher Chelsea Kidwell, M.D., professor of neurology and director of the Stroke Center at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Currently, the only proven effective treatment for a stroke caused by a blood clot (ischemic) is tPA (tissue plasminogen activator). The treatment, administered in the hospital, must be given within the first few hours after stroke symptoms appear. For patients who don't meet the timeline for treatment or whose clots do not respond to tPA, an interventional procedure to remove the is another option.

The study, named MR RESCUE (Mechanical Retrieval and REcanalization of Stroke Clots Using Embolectomy), was conducted at 22 institutions in the U.S. The trial evaluated outcomes in 118 patients at an average age of 65.5 who had suffered a severe ischemic stroke in one of the large blood vessels carrying blood to the front of the brain (the most common location for this type of stroke).

By removing the clot within the first eight hours of having the stroke, researchers hypothesized that the procedure would restore blood flow to the affected area of the brain. Prior to conducting the procedure, the patients received an array of MRI or CT scans, including a blood flow study, to help identify those with viable brain tissue who presumably would benefit if the clot was removed and blood flow restored.

After imaging studies were processed using study-specific software to determine if substantial salvageable brain tissue was present, the patients were randomized to receive either standard medical treatment (aspirin or other medicine) or clot removal with a special device. Patients who received tPA were allowed to enroll in the study if the treatment failed. Tools used to remove the clot included the MERCI Retriever (a tiny corkscrew-like device) or the Penumbra System (an aspiration device).

Researchers found no greater overall benefit in patients who had their clot removed compared to standard medicines. More specifically:

• The level of disability 90 days after stroke was no different in patients who received medical care or clot removal.
• The rates of death (21 percent) and symptomatic brain bleeds (4 percent) were no different in the two treatment groups.
• Response to clot removal was no better in the 58 percent of patients with a favorable imaging pattern that suggested salvageable brain tissue.

Kidwell says these findings may not apply to the newer clot removal tools that can open vessels better and faster. "The safety data for these tools examined in this study are encouraging, which is important as we move forward to evaluate newer and possibly better devices," she said

###

Reza Jahan, M.D., associate professor of interventional neuroradiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, is co-principal investigator of the study. Other authors include: Jeffrey Gornbein, Dr.P.H.; Jeffry R. Alger, Ph.D.; Val Nenov, Ph.D.; Zahra Ajani, M.D.; Lei Feng, M.D., Ph.D.; Brett C. Meyer, M.D.; Scott Olson, M.D.; Lee H. Schwamm, M.D.; Albert J. Yoo, M.D.; Randolph S. Marshall, M.D., M.S.; Philip M. Meyers, M.D.; Dileep R. Yavagal, M.D.; Max Wintermark, M.D.; Judy Guzy, R.N.; Sidney Starkman, M.D.; and Jeffrey L. Saver, M.D.

Disclosures from all authors are reported in the full text of the NEJM article and on the abstract presented at the International Stroke Conference.

The research described was supported by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (grant number P50 NS044378). Concentric Medical, Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.) provided study catheters and devices from study start until August, 2007; thereafter, costs for all study catheters and devices have been covered by study funds or third party payors.

About Georgetown University Medical Center

Georgetown University Medical Center is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization (BGRO), which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical Translation and Science Award from the National Institutes of Health. In fiscal year 2010-11, GUMC accounted for 85 percent of the university's sponsored research funding.

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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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/gumc-fsp020813.php

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Wikipad Tablet Gets Back in the Game

It could have been game over for Wikipad after a flaw in the initial production run of its gaming tablet forced a launch delay late last year. The company used the extra time, however, to rethink the Wikipad, and this week it said the revised version will debut this spring. The new version will be smaller.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/28614603/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C77260A0Bhtml/story01.htm

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Ireland beats Poland

Associated Press Sports

updated 5:28 p.m. ET Feb. 6, 2013

DUBLIN (AP) -Ireland made amends for some disappointing recent home losses by beating Poland 2-0 in an international friendly on Wednesday, easing some of the pressure on veteran coach Giovanni Trapattoni.

Ciaran Clark put the Irish ahead in the 35th minute at Lansdowne Road and Wes Hoolahan sealed victory in the 76th, with both players grabbing their first international goals.

Ireland's last two matches in Dublin have ended in defeats - a 6-1 hammering by Germany in October and then a 1-0 loss to Greece in November.

"This will give us a massive lift ... and we can take confidence into the next games," said Clark, referring to crucial World Cup qualifiers against Sweden and Austria next month.

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

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US drops Hex opener to Honduras

PST: The United States lost 2-1 to Honduras in the first game of the final round of 2014 World Cup qualifying. It isn't time to panic yet, but the pressure is mounting.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/50723139/ns/sports-soccer/

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Scientists create 'building block' of quantum networks

Feb. 8, 2013 ? A proof-of-concept device that could pave the way for on-chip optical quantum networks has been created by a group of researchers from the US.

Presenting the device February 8, in the Institute of Physics and German Physical Society's New Journal of Physics, it has been described as the "building block of future quantum networks."

In an optical quantum network, information is carried between points by photons -- the basic unit of light. There is a huge potential for this type of network in the field of quantum computing and could enable computers that are millions of times faster at solving certain problems than what we are used to today.

This new device, which combines a single nitrogen-vacancy centre in diamond with an optical resonator and an optical waveguide, could potentially become the memory or the processing element of such a network.

A nitrogen-vacancy centre is a defect in the lattice structure of diamond where one of the carbon atoms is replaced by a nitrogen atom and the nearest neighbour carbon atom is missing. The nitrogen-vacancy centre has the property of photoluminescence, whereby a substance absorbs photons from a source and then subsequently emits photons.

The emitted photons are special in that they are correlated, or entangled, with the nitrogen-vacancy centre that they came from, which as the researchers state is crucial for future experiments that will look to examine this correlation. You cannot get these correlated photons from a normal light source.

In this device, the photons are produced from a nitrogen-vacancy centre within a diamond microring resonator. The nitrogen-vacancy centre is located inside the diamond resonator as it is more likely to emit photons than when it is located in the waveguide or just in plain diamond. Moreover, the photons emitted in the resonator are easier to couple into an on-chip waveguide.

The cotton bud-shaped waveguide sends the photons out into a desired direction through gratings at either end.

"One of the holy grails in quantum photonics is to develop networks where optical quantum emitters are interconnected via photons," said lead author of the study Andrei Faraon.

"In this work we take the first step and demonstrate that photons -- the information carriers -- from a single nitrogen-vacancy centre can be coupled to an optical resonator and then further coupled to a photonic waveguide. We hope that multiple devices of this kind will be interconnected in a photonic network on a chip."

The study, undertaken by researchers from the California Institute of Technology, Hewlett Packard Laboratories and University of Washington, tested the device by cooling it to temperatures below 10K and shining a green laser onto the nitrogen vacancy to evoke photoluminescence.

The entire device was etched in a diamond membrane that was around 300 nanometres thick.

"The whole idea of these devices is that they are able to be produced en masse. So far the procedure for mass fabrication is still at the proof-of-concept level, so there is still plenty of work to be done to make it reliable," continued Professor Faraon.

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Journal Reference:

1. Andrei Faraon, Charles Santori, Zhihong Huang, Kai-Mei C Fu, Victor M Acosta, David Fattal, Raymond G Beausoleil. Quantum photonic devices in single-crystal diamond. New Journal of Physics, 2013; 15 (2): 025010 DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/15/2/025010

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/-3OENMcbFGo/130207192116.htm

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HBT: The Yankees will be saved by Jeter

If you thought we were past the Golden Age of Derek Jeter?Deification, well, you just haven?t read Bob Raissman?s latest column in the Daily News. He has a suggestion as to how the Yankees can get past the latest A-Rod PED scandal:

The captain?s presence and persona are uplifting. They can cleanse any muck surrounding the organization. In order for fans to keep the faith, they need a reason to believe, a face they can trust. Jeter, the transcendent one, is that man.

If there is any doubt as to Raissman?s feelings here, note that in the previous paragraph he referred to Jeter as a ?savior.? I?m assuming his first draft had ?the? instead of ?a? and capitalized ?savior,? but it really doesn?t have to.?He also recommends that the Yankees start working on a contract extension for Jeter now, with ?face of the franchise? kickers. He suggests Jeter storylines should be pushed ?ad nauseum.?

That?s well and good, but you know what will solve all of the problems people are imagining spinning out of the A-Rod thing? The Yankees winning baseball games. That?s what almost every Yankees fan cares about, full stop. This drama being played out in the media is interesting to those of us in the media, and it?s interesting as part of a larger conversation about PEDs in baseball.

But your average Yankees fan doesn?t need a ?savior.? He or she wants to see the Yankees win a lot of baseball games.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/04/the-yankees-will-be-saved-by-derek-jeter-the-transcendent-one/related/

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Next-gen e-readers: Improved 'peacock' technology could lock in color for high-res displays

Feb. 5, 2013 ? Iridescence, or sheen that shifts color depending on your viewing angle, is pretty in peacock feathers. But it's been a nuisance for engineers trying to mimic the birds' unique color mechanism to make high-resolution, reflective, color display screens.

Now, researchers at the University of Michigan have found a way to lock in so-called structural color, which is made with texture rather than chemicals. A paper on the work is published online in the current edition of the Nature journal Scientific Reports.

In a peacock's mother-of-pearl tail, precisely arranged hairline grooves reflect light of certain wavelengths. That's why the resulting colors appear different depending on the movement of the animal or the observer. Imitating this system?minus the rainbow effect?has been a leading approach to developing next-generation reflective displays.

The new U-M research could lead to advanced color e-books and electronic paper, as well as other color reflective screens that don't need their own light to be readable. Reflective displays consume much less power than their backlit cousins in laptops, tablet computers, smartphones and TVs. The technology could also enable leaps in data storage and cryptography. Documents could be marked invisibly to prevent counterfeiting.

Led by Jay Guo, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, the researchers harnessed the ability of light to funnel into nanoscale metallic grooves and get trapped inside. With this approach, they found the reflected hues stay true regardless of the viewer's angle.

"That's the magic part of the work," Guo said. "Light is funneled into the nanocavity, whose width is much, much smaller than the wavelength of the light. And that's how we can achieve color with resolution beyond the diffraction limit. Also counterintuitive is that longer wavelength light gets trapped in narrower grooves."

The diffraction limit was long thought to be the smallest point you could focus a beam of light to. Others have broken the limit as well, but the U-M team did so with a simpler technique that also produces stable and relatively easy-to-make color, Guo said.

"Each individual groove?much smaller than the light wavelength?is sufficient to do this function. In a sense, only the green light can fit into the nanogroove of a certain size," Guo said.

The U-M team determined what size slit would catch what color light. Within the framework of the print industry standard cyan, magenta and yellow color model, the team found that at groove depths of 170 nanometers and spacing of 180 nanometers, a slit 40 nanometers wide can trap red light and reflect a cyan color. A slit 60 nanometers wide can trap green and make magenta. And one 90 nanometers wide traps blue and produces yellow. The visible spectrum spans from about 400 nanometers for violet to 700 nanometers for red.

"With this reflective color, you could view the display in sunlight. It's very similar to color print," Guo said.

To make color on white paper, (which is also a reflective surface), printers arrange pixels of cyan, magenta and yellow in such a way that they appear to our eyes as the colors of the spectrum. A display that utilized Guo's approach would work in a similar way.

To demonstrate their device, the researchers etched nanoscale grooves in a plate of glass with the technique commonly used to make integrated circuits, or computer chips. Then they coated the grooved glass plate with a thin layer of silver. When light?which is a combination of electric and magnetic field components?hits the grooved surface, its electric component creates what's called a polarization charge at the metal slit surface, boosting the local electric field near the slit. That electric field pulls a particular wavelength of light in.

Right now, the new device can make static pictures, and the researchers hope to develop a moving picture version in the near future.

The research is funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation. The paper is titled "Angle-Insensitive Structural Colours based on Metallic Nanocavities and Coloured Pixels beyond the Diffraction Limit."

Abstract: www.nature.com/srep/2013/130201/srep01194/full/srep01194.html

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/7VN0DKXvC8Y/130205123017.htm

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The most counterfeited products in America

Samuel Weigley , 24/7 Wall St. ? ? ? 1 hr.

The American economy loses $250 billion as a result of counterfeit products each year, according to a recent report. Despite the impact, only a fraction can be detected and confiscated by the government.

Approximately $1.26 billion worth of counterfeit goods originating overseas were seized by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 2012. Each seizure averaged $10,450 worth of counterfeit goods. The three most confiscated items in 2012 were handbags and wallets; watches and jewelry; and wearing apparel and accessories. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the most counterfeit items seized in 2012, based on their retail value.

24/7 Wall St.: States With The Most Homes In Foreclosure

The value and the number of seizures changes dramatically each year due to the products sold and the success of CBP operations. The value of handbags and wallets seized in 2012 rose 142 percent compared to the previous year. Therese Randazzo, the director of the Intellectual Property Policy and Programs Division for the CBP, explained that CBP officials may seize knockoffs of more expensive brands in one year than in another.

The value of product seizures also fluctuate as a result of different methods of smuggling counterfeits into the U.S., which ultimately impact what products get seized.

Only a decade ago, most counterfeit goods were shipped from overseas via large containers and then sold in the country. An increase in online shopping has changed that, Randazzo told 24/7 Wall St. Now, counterfeiters are selling these items through websites and shipping them directly to the consumer, making it that much harder to track and seize. To combat the new techniques, the CBP has begun targeting and shutting down websites that facilitate these transactions.

It is important that federal enforcement agencies account for the online shift in the counterfeiting market, Lev Kubiak, director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, said in a statement. ?Attacking criminal activity at every point along the international supply chain, to include websites, manufacturers, shippers and shipping routes, border entry points, distribution networks and payment methods, is critical to" CBP and Homeland Security Investigations enforcement efforts, he said.

More of these counterfeits originate from mainland China than any other country in the world. This is due in part to the fact that China is the largest manufacturer of so many products -- most of which are made cheaply. Adding to this, enforcement of intellectual property is also particularly weak in the country. Hong Kong, Singapore, India and Taiwan rounded out the top five countries of origination for counterfeits seized by CBP.

While it is an effective measure of government activity, the report fails to capture the full-scale of counterfeits in the U.S. This is because the CBP does not include seizures of items originating in the U.S., digital piracy, and counterfeits that are not seized. In the case of software piracy, for example, counterfeiting costs U.S. companies billions alone in lost revenue. However, because the CBP does not measure digital transmission, which represents the vast majority of software piracy, the scale of the theft is underrepresented.

24/7 Wall St.: The Best and Worst Run Cities in America

Based on information provided by the CBP, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the most counterfeited items seized by officials based upon the manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP). We also looked at the number of times the item was confiscated in both 2012 and 2011. We also looked at the top five countries of origination for all items seized to reflect how much of each item came from a particular country.

These are the most counterfeited products in America.

1. Handbags/Wallets

Value: $511.2 million

Pct. of total seizure value: 40 percent

Handbags and wallets were by far the most counterfeited item in terms of MSRP, with the total value of the seizures up 142.2 percent compared to 2011. The CBP credits a portion of the large growth in seizures to ?successful interagency-coordinated enforcement operations,? including Operation Market Day, which was primarily a sting operation coordinated in conjunction with U.S. Immigration and Customs. Of the approximately $511 million worth of handbags and wallets seized in 2012, more than $446 million worth originated in China.

2. Watches/Jewelry

Value: $187.0 million

Pct. of total seizure value: 15 percent

Roughly $187 million worth of watches and jewelry was seized in 2012, up from $173 million in 2011. The number of seizures of watches and jewelry by the CBP grew to 2,197 in 2012, up from 1,491 in 2011. The country most responsible for these counterfeit items was China, with $91.3 million in retail value seized by the federal government. In addition, 98 percent of counterfeit items smuggled from Singapore were watches and jewelry, with an estimated MSRP of $9.2 million. Randazzo noted that Singapore has a large jewelry industry, which naturally leads to many counterfeits originating from that country.

24/7 Wall St.: The Worst Product Flops of 2012

3. Wearing Apparel/Accessories

Value: $133.0 million

Pct. of total seizure value: 11 percent

Counterfeit clothing and accessories were the most seized items in 2012, comprising more than 7,800, or about 29 percent of all seizures. Randazzo said that knockoff jerseys of a team winning an event such as the Super Bowl frequently get seized by CBP. The number of clothing seizures in 2012 was down from the nearly 8,100 back in 2011, which then totaled $142.3 million in retail value. Of such seizures in 2012, more than $97 million originated from China.

4. Consumer Electronics/Parts

Value: $104.4 million

Pct. of total seizure value: 8 percent

Consumer electronics represented 8 percent of the total value of items seized in 2012 compared to 10 percent in the previous year. An estimated $71.5 million worth of consumer electronics originating in China were seized in 2012, comprising 8 percent of the total value of all items from the country. Of all counterfeit products originating from Hong Kong, consumer electronics were the most seized, comprising 1,943, or 23 percent, of all seized items from the country. Randazzo said that the seizure of knock-offs such as smartphones and tablets has risen exponentially in the last couple of years.

5. Footwear

Value: $103.4 million

Pct. of total seizure value: 8 percent

The value of only five seized products in the country exceeded $100 million in 2012, and shoes marks the first of the five. The federal government seized more than $103 million worth of footwear in 2012 in nearly 1,900 seizures. While most of the footwear that was seized used to be athletic shoes, Randazzo said that knock-offs of higher end, dress shoes are becoming more common. The vast majority of footwear seized in 2012 originated in China. In fact, 10 percent of the total value of goods seized from the country was footwear, higher than all but two other products.

Click here to read all 24/7 Wall St.?s List of The Most Counterfeited Products in America

?2013 24/7 Wall St.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/most-counterfeited-products-america-1B8240194

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Jamaica breaks ground on rare-earth project

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) ? Jamaican and Japanese officials on Monday launched a pilot project designed to investigate whether rare-earth elements can be commercially extracted from the island's bauxite waste.

Researchers with Japan's Nippon Light Metal Co. Ltd. believe they have found high concentrations of rare-earth elements in the island's red mud, a byproduct of bauxite refining into alumina, the basic material for manufacturing aluminum.

During the pilot project, researchers from the two countries will treat some 30 tons of dry red mud with acid to potentially extract some of the 17 rare-earth elements that are vital in manufacturing smartphones, plasma screens, wind turbines, satellites and numerous other high-tech products.

In Jamaica, where the economy is tough and the local currency is sliding, hopes are soaring that the pilot project at the Jamaica Bauxite Institute's headquarters could result in a commercial deal to extract rare-earth oxides from the red waste stored in containment ponds around mining grounds.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said that if the joint venture proves viable, it could be among the most "significant projects ever undertaken in Jamaica."

"This project represents the kind of industrial diversification that this country needs it if is to realize its economic potential and improve living standards for our people," Simpson Miller told Japanese dignitaries and Jamaican officials, scientists and businessmen.

Parris Lyew-Ayee, chairman of the Jamaica Bauxite Institute, said he believes that that since Jamaica's dry red mud deposits are stored in containment ponds he believes it will be simple and safe to harvest.

"There will be no mining operations and related pressures on the environment," said Lyew-Ayee, who described the long-discussed feasibility of extracting rare-earth elements from bauxite tailings as a sort of "holy grail" on the island, where treated red mud was formerly used to make bricks for building sites.

China is now the globe's main supplier of rare-earth elements. Worried by that dominance, manufacturers around the globe have been spurring searches for other sources that could be profitably mined.

Rare-earth elements aren't scarce, but few places exist with enough concentrations to be profitable. They are difficult to isolate in a purified form and require advanced technology to extract.

Paul Henderson, an honorary professor in the earth sciences department at University College London and who is not involved in the research in Jamaica, said the rock from which any bauxite is derived will ultimately determine its rare-earth contents. "Not all bauxites will have much in the way of rare earths," Henderson said in an email.

But Nippon Light Metal believes that the concentration of rare-earth elements in Jamaica's red mud is "significantly greater" than other international red mud sites and it hopes to eventually extract 1,500 metric tons of rare-earth elements per year, said Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell.

Nippon has agreed to invest $3 million in buildings and equipment for the pilot project while also being responsible for operating costs. Any rare-earth elements extracted during this phase will be jointly owned by Jamaica and the Japanese company. Negotiations for commercialization are expected to occur later.

Paulwell said in Parliament last month that rare-earth oxides were being traded at $3,500 per kilogram.

Speculating on the demand for rare-earth elements in the future "is a bit like looking into the tea leaves other than the fact that demand is sure to increase," Henderson said from Britain.

"By how much depends of course on the possible introduction of new technologies and range of other issues such as how much investment in green energies, especially wind turbines, changes," he said.

___

David McFadden on Twitter: http://twitter/com/dmcfadd

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-02-04-Jamaica-Rare%20Earth/id-177d29147628413b932c2b3a6596b2be

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