What to Do on Christmas When You Don't Celebrate It

What to Do on Christmas When You Don't Celebrate ItChristmas is the most wonderful time of the year for many people, but a large number of us don't celebrate the holiday, giving us nothing to do on December 25th. If you're without plans this year, here's how to make the most of your day off.

The Obvious Stuff

Chinese restaurants and movie theaters traditionally stay open on Christmas day for those of us who have nowhere else to go. In fact, my Christmas plans involve both because I enjoy them. While this guide will include ways to find other activities, you shouldn't necessarily rule out these classic non-Christmas activities. They're staples of the un-holiday for good reason.

Chinese Food

What to Do on Christmas When You Don't Celebrate ItFinding a Chinese restaurant that's open on Christmas doesn't take much work. Click here to search Yelp for options near you that are open. A few phone calls (or, in my case, one) should find you some good options. If you're in a larger city with a large cluster of Chinese restaurants (e.g. Chinatown), look in that area as well. Don't forget to make a reservation even if it's just dinner for you or a small party. Popular restaurants sometimes receive so much business on Christmas day that they can't accommodate everyone. Last year, when I visited a restaurant unprepared, they laughed at me and said there was no way I was getting in. When I finally found a place, it took over an hour to get a table. Perhaps you won't run into a problem, but it's always better to be prepared.

Movies

What to Do on Christmas When You Don't Celebrate ItFor your entertainment, movies are the traditional choice. Several come out on Christmas day because theaters attract both people who celebrate the holiday and those that don't. The Washington Times offers a list of ten great movies for Christmas if you're looking for suggestions. Since you can buy movie tickets online, it's easy to ensure you have a seat in advance. Just hit up Fandango, MovieTickets.com, or buy directly from your theater of choice in advance. Because theaters tend to be very busy on Christmas, you'll want to show up earlier than usual?at least 30 minutes?to ensure you get a decent seat. If you can buy your ticket from a theater with reserved seats, that's your best bet. Just purchase early or you may not have access to the best ones.

The Not-So-Obvious Stuff

Chinese restaurants and movie theaters aren't the only establishments open on Christmas. A number of other retail chains?and even some local stores?keep limited hours for the minority who do not celebrate the holiday.

Activities

What to Do on Christmas When You Don't Celebrate ItSeveral attractions remain open on Christmas day, especially in larger cities. As always, call ahead before making plans. Here are your options:

  • Pretend to Be a Tourist: Tourist attractions tend to stay open on Christmas, especially in larger cities. This includes places like Madame Tussaud's and Ripley's Believe It or Not as well as zipline and Segway tours. Find out what's local to your area and chances are they'll have special Christmas hours. Of course, many tourist attractions don't have to remain open for you to enjoy them. If you go check out a monument or historical landmark, they're around on Christmas and cost you nothing.
  • Visit a Park or Skating Rink: It may be cold outside (in some places), but if you bundle up you can enjoy a park or skating rink. Bring some friends and get a game of snow football together. Take a sled with you if your park has a big hill. When you get home, make some hot chocolate and enjoy being warm again.
  • Get a Room: If you've got some spare cash lying around and have nothing better to do, get a room at a hotel. Hotels can't exactly close on Christmas and offer plenty of amenities. As always, be sure to call ahead and find out if there are any Christmas day restrictions.
  • Use Christmas as a Catch-Up Day: Is everyone out of town? Have you been neglecting chores, work, your hobbies, generally hacking your life, or even working on a few DIY projects? While getting things done may not be anyone's first choice on their day off, Christmas or otherwise, you can spend at least part of your day knocking a few things off your to-do list and the rest of the time relaxing. That way you'll get a break and still feel accomplished.
  • Spend Time with Friends and Family at Home: Just because you don't celebrate Christmas, itself, doesn't mean you can't spend the day with family and/or friends. Play games, watch a movie, cook together, talk, or whatever else you'll all enjoy. You don't have to go out to have fun, so don't rule out staying in with people you care about.

These are just a handful of options. A few local activities and attractions, such as arcades, laser tag, spas, and sports clubs stay open on Christmas day. We couldn't possibly list them all here, but call a few places to find out if they're open. You might be surprised.

Restaurants

What to Do on Christmas When You Don't Celebrate ItSeveral restaurants remain open on Christmas day, so if you aren't a fan of Chinese food you can often count on national chains. Keep in mind that franchises often do not follow the same schedule, so while one Burger King may be open on Christmas, another may not. Be sure to call first and check. Here are your options this year:

If you don't want to go to a restaurant and prefer to eat at home, most grocery stores prepare Christmas dinners. Call your local store for more information if you'd like to simply have a dinner ready-to-go that you can eat at home.

Drug, Convenience, and Grocery Stores

What to Do on Christmas When You Don't Celebrate ItYou won't find much to celebrate at a store, but many chains traditionally stay open for a short time on Christmas day. Here are the options that we know of.

Drug Stores:

Grocery Stores:

  • Winn Dixie
  • Kroger (and some Kroger-owned stores, such as Ralph's)
  • Pathmark
  • Safeway (and Safeway-owned stores): Most locations will not be open on Christmas, but a Yelp search often reveals if a nearby location will. Several users discuss the possibilities, so check and see (or just call your local store).

Convenience/Other Stores:

Plan Ahead

Because so few places are open on Christmas day, you'll want to get a plan together in advance. This won't take more than 15-20 minutes in most cases, and can ensure you won't run into any unwanted disappointments during the day. Just follow these steps:

  1. Make a list of the places you want to go.
  2. Call nearby locations to confirm they'll be open, as not every chain follows corporate holiday hour recommendations. It's always a good idea to find out their exact hours for Christmas day, too.
  3. Make reservations at any restaurant(s) you plan to visit.
  4. Put together a basic timeline of the day, accounting for travel time, so you don't lose any reservations, miss a movie, or arrive after the store closes.

If you follow those steps you'll be ready to enjoy a very special non-Christmas, whether you're going solo or enjoying the day with others.

Photos by abdulsatarid (Shutterstock), Katarina Kirilova (Shutterstock), Paul Lowry, KB35, Pierce Martin, Elvert Barnes, and me.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/CYQJMTu7hpQ/what-to-do-on-christmas-when-you-dont-celebrate-it

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Video Marketing Online

Video marketing online has become one of the most prominent and successful ways to market products or services online. Let?s take a closer look at some video marketing tips and see if it?s something that could help you business to success online.

A wise entrepreneur knows that without any proper marketing, it is nearly unachievable to sell a product. A smart business person likewise recognizes that in order to succeed in this day and age, one has to take full benefit of technological advances in marketing.

Marketing plays an essential purpose in the whole success of a particular product. A product or service, irrespective how incredible, won?t sell if people are not conscious that this kind of item exists. With 1.9 billion Internet surfers recorded in 2012, there is no question that the Net has emerged as one of the most effective locations in marketing products and services. Marketing by means of the Internet can certainly deliver huge financial success to a business venture, especially if carried out with the support of online video marketing technology. However, what is video marketing and just how does it assist in marketing services and products?

Video marketing is an efficient marketing resource or approach in which businesses use marketing videos to make their services and products noticeable to customers. Due to the tremendous increase in Internet usage in the past couple of years, online video marketing now brings better presence and more dynamic advertising than almost all conventional marketing approaches.

While it?s true that a picture paints a thousand words, online videos can communicate what words can not easily clarify. Compared to photos or written articles, videos are remarkably powerful in illustrating complicated how-to techniques and instructions. In fact, the most well-written articles can nevertheless confuse a client. A well-made video, however, holds the power to catch the attention of a lot more people because they are usually friendlier and more convenient to use.

When people are asked the question ?What is video marketing??, YouTube almost automatically comes to mind. While it?s a proven fact that YouTube is the most famous video sharing site on the Web, video marketing is not exclusively limited to this particular web site. One can decide to go further than YouTube by putting together blogs and personalized websites. One terrific feature about online video marketing is it allows you to measure the level of viewers you have each day. If you post an ad video on YouTube you can see the number of views at the end of the day. This is contrary to placing ads in newspapers and magazines, where it?s very difficult to analyze how many people were able to view your offer.

Video Marketing and SEO

It?s no secret that you can get a video ranked very easily for extremely competitive keywords, but there are other available options you can use to market your video beyond that. Even though there are thousands of video sharing sites available today, it?s not really necessary to get your video ads out to each of them.

If you opt to upload your video on a particular website, blog, or any other video landing page, be sure to optimize them by using warm and friendly titles, descriptions, and keywords. These things can easily make your video a perfect choice on Google?s first few pages. According to Forrester Research, videos are 50 times more likely to obtain an organic first page ranking than traditional text pages and content.

Some reports have illustrated that people prefer to use their time checking out videos than read articles. What?s more, it has been reported by some statistics that your website bounce rate will decline with video clips on it. Depending on the quality of the video and the quantity of time it plays, video can really hold a visitor on your website that much longer.

What is Video Marketing short and sweet

There are numerous web marketing possibilities in utilizing videos. Video marketing tells a story in motion and makes it possible for consumers from all over the world to check your products or services. A simple Flip camcorder is all it requires to create a terrific ad, regardless of whether you?re a non-technical online marketer who just started out with a business.

Video marketing online is an art form in itself and requires some learning to learn to do it correctly.

Click HERE to learn how?FREE 24 Min. Video Reveals How a Bluesman Guitarist, and a Downsized Corporate Salesman Hacked YouTube? Found Their Mojo? and Discovered the 7 No-Cost Secrets to suck in over 14,000 Leads in just 8 Months for FREE that require ZERO technical ability and NO special equipment.

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DrivingSales.com is a car dealer social network for sharing dealership best practices.

5 Stats You Need to Know About Online Video Marketing [Infographic]

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Today?s infographic comes courtesy of Brainshark, Inc., the cloud-based solution for creating, sharing and tracking online and mobile video presentations, and an Eloqua partner. You can thank Brendan Cournoyer, ?

Online Video Marketing

Online Video Marketing | www.optivid.com Tel (866) 533-5885 Online video marketing is becoming more popular as businesses around the country realize how important this medium is to them when it comes to finding new prospects and educating existing cu?

4 Principles of Marketing Strategy

Click here www.briantracy.com to receive FREE gifts, newsletters and promotions! A short clip from my Total Business Mastery seminar about the 4 Principles of Marketing Strategy. This video will answer your questions about your marketing mix includin?

Source: http://karilappi.com/video-marketing-online-how-videos-can-help-your-online-marketing/

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Armed guards, locked doors: Schools seek security

A long-dormant national conversation about guns has reignited: some are calling for an assault weapons ban while other feel guns themselves aren't the root of the problem. So far the shootings have sparked several gun buy-back programs and even an anti-gun video organized by big-city mayors ? but the NRA says it's the entertainment industry that is partly to blame. NBC's John Yang reports.

By Elizabeth Chuck and M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

The National Rifle Association?s call to put armed guards in every public school in America has further intensified the debate over how to protect our nation?s children in class, with some districts saying they?re preparing to take just that action and other educators cautioning that doing so sends the wrong message about education.

And short of giving teachers and officers their own guns, administrators across the country are desperate to find a way to keep their pupils safe. Locked vestibules with buzzers, emergency preparedness drills, stronger glass and surveillance cameras are among measures being considered after the massacre last week at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Even before the?NRA?s Wayne LaPierre said Friday that armed police should be placed in schools, guards with guns were posted at all 14 schools in Butler, Pa.

Watch NBC Nightly News this evening for more on school security?

This Sunday on Meet the Press: NRA Chief Wayne LaPierre

The district of 7,500 pupils about 40 miles northeast of Pittsburgh had already gone to court to get a judge's approval to have at least one armed retired state trooper in every school. They were in place as classes resumed Monday after the mass shootings Dec. 14 in Newtown, Conn.

"We plan to have that on a daily basis from now on," Superintendent Michael Strutt told NBC station WPXI of Pittsburgh. By the time the next school year begins, every guard in the school system will be armed, he said.


The sense of urgency is undeniable, with a few districts willing to fight fire with fire, as in Butler. Schools in Marlboro, N.J., for example, will have armed officers in place by January, Mayor John Hornik told NBC News on Friday.

After a week of calls for tighter gun restrictions, the National Rifle Association called for putting more armed security officers in the nation's schools and expressed concerns about violence portrayed in video games, movies and music. NBC's Pete Williams reports.

State Sen. Joe Scarnati, a Republican representing northern Pennsylvania, said there was only one important question: "What do we do to protect our kids?"

"If it requires to put armed individuals in our schools to protect our kids, then we need to do that," Scarnati told NBC station WJAC of Johnstown.

But that idea doesn't sit well with other educators, like Tony Scott, superintendent of schools in Bellaire, Ohio, where a local firearms association said it would provide free shooting training to teachers after the Connecticut shootings.

"I just don't believe our teachers signed up for this," Scott told NBC station WTOV of Steubenville, Ohio. "I know I didn't sign up for it."

Ronald Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Center, a joint project of the U.S. Education and Justice departments, said there's no centralized database tabulating how many school systems have an official armed presence on campus, but he estimated it at 25 percent. He called the NRA proposal "unfeasible."

"We have to ask ourselves what kind of climate we want to create in our schools. Do we want our school campus to look like the Old West with people having sidearms attached to their hip, or do we want education to happen in a positive way?" Stephens told NBC News. "That's the hard part of this."

Michael Smerconish, author Steve Siebold and David Corn of Mother Jones debate the NRA's idea that more guns and armed teachers would curb gun violence.

Some administrators are looking elsewhere for solutions.?After years of unlocked front doors and casual conversations about someday increasing security in the small school district of New Hartford, Conn., Superintendent Philip O'Reilly isn't wasting another minute.

Fearing a repeat of the tragedy in nearby Newtown, O'Reilly is planning to modify the district's school buildings so they each have a small, locked vestibule between the main entrance and the building's interior, which will hold visitors for screening.

O'Reilly wouldn't give the cost of these new entryways, but he said the money must be found.

Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com

"Cost is no longer the priority. Keeping kids safe is the priority," he said.

In some cases, parents are leading the charge.

"I've had superintendents and headmasters who have been fighting for a year or two trying to do this, and the parents have been fighting them hand and fist because they didn't understand, and now the parents are coming to the school officials saying, 'Why aren't you?'" said Michael Dorn, executive director of Safe Havens International, a nonprofit group based in Georgia that helps schools improve their crisis preparedness.

Michael Dorn of Safe Havens International relays tips on how schools and parents can keep kids safe.

Security experts recommend that school districts start with a security assessment. Because changing entryways or installing security cameras can be expensive, these experts said school systems need to figure out exactly what their biggest shortcomings are before plowing ahead.

"The number one request [schools have been asking for since Newtown] is to conduct a security assessment. We look at everything, from your written practices to the physical security devices and emergency plans," said Paul Timm, president of Illinois-based, school security consulting firm RETA Security.

He said his recommendations usually fall in two main areas.

"There are two categories that protect people better than anything else: access control, which includes a locked vestibule, running a closed campus, visitor management procedures; and communications.

Do we have public address systems, do we have telephones that are outfitted with emergency dialing instructions, do we have two-way radios?" Timm said. "Those two areas, more than cameras, more than metal detectors, more than burglar alarm systems, protect people."

Locked vestibules can literally stop an intruder in his or her tracks. As administrators have become more concerned about security, many schools have restricted access to just one main entry point in the hope of doing that, Timm said.

Another solution for safety-proofing schools: bullet-resistant glass. Timm recently helped a school in Hastings, Minn., replace all the tempered glass in the building with laminated glass after a student brought a gun to school, and the total cost was about $3,500.

But such a low dollar figure for security fixes is rare.

"A large percentage of our schools are not designed well for any of these things. Sometimes, something simple can be $5 million," Dorn said.

Federal funds for school safety ? the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) project ? were eliminated in March 2011. Now the money must come from local taxpayers.

"There's not much in the budget for security at all. I want to say that before Columbine, not many schools had a line item for security in their budget," Timm said.

One security measure that doesn't come with a hefty price tag is running drills with teachers, students and administrators for various scenarios.

"It prepares us to make life-and-death situations more quickly," Dorn said. "They have an opportunity do something like lock a door, move kids out of a classroom, and [if] for various reasons don't take that action, our casualty rate doubles or triples. The human brain works faster than my laptop to make those life-and-death decisions, but only if you've had the exposure to prepare you."

Andrew Mach of NBC News contributed to this report.

The manufacturer of a children's backpack designed to stop bullets says sales have skyrocketed in the wake of the Newtown massacre. But are some parents overreacting? KPRC's Courtney Zavala reports.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/20/16042916-armed-guards-locked-entryways-cameras-schools-seek-security-after-sandy-hook?lite

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Two toddlers die in Chicago apartment fire

By Michelle Relerford and Alexandra Clark, NBC Chicago

Two toddlers who died in a fire early Saturday morning were left alone with two other young boys when the blaze broke out inside their Chicago apartment on the South Side, police said.

Family and friends gathered Saturday evening for a vigil to honor 2-year-old Jariah and 3-year-old Jarvis. The children were alone with a 7-year-old and a 4-year-old when the fire ignited.

Neighbor Tiffany Williams recounted what the boys who escaped told her: "They said they heard the baby crying, beating on the door but they couldn't go back to get her cause they were choking on the smoke."

Read more at NBC Chicago

Authorities believe a hot plate used for heat sparked the flames, but the cause remains under investigation. When the fire started, a relative helped the two older boys to safety, but Jariah and Jarvis stayed trapped inside the apartment.


A resident who called 911 just before 3:30 a.m. told authorities that young children were trapped inside the burning home in the 6400 block of South Paulina Street in the West Englewood area, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said. When firefighters arrived, the fire had blown out a window and open air was feeding the flames.?

?Everybody concentrated and made a frantic search to find them,? Langford said.

But ?extensive? fire made it difficult for firefighters to reach the rear bedroom where the fire started, and where the children were located.

Witnesses said the children's mother was frantic.

"She was going crazy, no one could control her," Williams said.

Firefighters used a saw to cut the bars off a basement window in an attempt to reach the children, but they were unable to rescue the toddlers in time. They later found the children's bodies in the three-bedroom apartment on the first floor of the two-story gray stone building.

Fire investigators continue to sort out what caused the fire. They are also talking with the mother, who police said left the four children home alone.

"They said their mother was getting dressed told them to go in their room and go to sleep," said Williams. "They said they were left there alone and they'd been there by themselves for a long time."

The two surviving children were taken into the custody of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

Crews have not found any working smoke detectors in the home, Langford said. The Chicago Fire Department canvassed the neighborhood on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m., to pass out smoke alarms and share fire safety information.

?

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/22/16095857-two-toddlers-die-in-chicago-apartment-fire-no-adults-were-home?lite

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Improving and Making Your Home Look Better ? Salt Lake County ...

Having a property is more than just a great investment. Taking good care of it makes your life more easy and you can even find comfort when you are at home. It?s a place wherein you can relax and unwind after a busy work or a tiring outdoor activity. Nowadays, home improvement is a way of putting some value and adding a beauty in it. There are different ways on how to make your home look better and making it different from any other properties out there. A good plan is very important to have a good start.

Let me share to you some ways on how to do the make over and improve the look of your property.

Make your home spacious and use important furniture for a simple yet beautiful look. If your house has lots of furniture and clutters are all around then it is time to free some spaces. Choose only important furniture to be placed inside your home. Unimportant accessories and other appliances should be kept in storage room when not in need. This case, you can save time and energy because you will not clean all those stuff and less maintenance. So before you put anything in your house, think only those important things that you need and live simple.

Repair certain damaged facilities and other fixtures. It is always a good move when you are examining the flaws of your house. A regular inspection can help you figure out parts of the house that needs to be repaired. Ask a professional on how to fix these things and you will see the difference of having good facilities at home.

Do some repainting of your house. Put some new coat of paint to your home for a better appeal. Apply some neutral colors to your walls and ceiling and pleasant colors to others areas of your home. Remember that adding some new colors to your home means that you are giving value to your property. With a little bit of research on the net, you can choose the right color combination for your home?s great look.

Add some green living things in your house. Place some plants in the corners of your home to maintain the freshness and clean air. This will give a pleasant smell of nature as it brings fresher look and healthier surrounding.

?Search for properties in here.

Tags: homes

Source: http://saltlake.countyutahrealestate.com/2012/12/improving-and-making-your-home-look-better/

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LOCUS-T Announces an Affordable PPC Services Package that Brings Quality Traffic to their Clients? Website

LOCUS-T has introduced the affordable PPC service packages that brings more than 500 potential customers to their client' websites.

(PRWEB) December 21, 2012

LOCUS-T Announces the launch of affordable PPC service package one week ago during their company event. LOCUS-T believes that when a company wants to have a greater amount of traffic for their website, it should be promoted to its full potential. When a website implements an effective internet marketing campaign, it will reap many dividends. LOCUS-T is able to help clients due to its highly renowned Google AdWords service.

As being the ISO 9001 Quality Management System certified, LOCUS-T were actually the first ever home-grown marketing company in Malaysia to be a Google AdWords Certified Partner and Yahoo! Search Marketing (SEA) Authorized Reseller. In order to carry out effective AdWords Services, there are many different marketing approaches which LOCUS-T can complete.

Website Development is one such service which can be provided by LOCUS-T. When a company chooses a PPC Service for its website, it will gain a very high ROI. If a website does not currently have the potential to take advantage of a PPC Service, LOCUS-T can make this happen because it can be developed. PPC Plus is one of many AdWords Services which LOCUS-T is able to deliver. A very good PPC Rate in Malaysia is achieved through placing advertisements in relevant areas so that a greater number of suitable web users view it. This particular PPC Service has great potential for websites to not just have significant traffic levels but to increase its own client list because only suitable web users will see advertisements.

"LOCUS-T has extensive experience of creating SEO-rich content for many clients and we have a proven track record of helping websites around the world courtesy of the Google AdWords services", said Deric Wong. "If a website does not currently have a commanding online presence and adverts are not situated in relevant locations, LOCUS-T can help", added Deric Wong during the company event. With competitively priced Google AdWords services which can suit any budget, LOCUS-T guarantee every client that their hard work will reap many dividends.

So, why not get in touch with LOCUS-T today to find out more information about how Google AdWords can help a business? Ultimate satisfaction is guaranteed even if LOCUS-T is responsible for an extensive PPC Service.

About LOCUS-T ONLINE SDN BHD

LOCUS-T was the first ever company in Malaysia to be a Google AdWords Certified Partner and Yahoo! Search Marketing (SEA) Authorized Reseller. Able to improve a website?s online presence through PPC Services, traffic levels can increase substantially when LOCUS-T is chosen.

Contact


Company Name: LOCUS-T ONLINE SDN BHD


Contact Person: Deric Wong


Telephone Number: +603-71182173


E-mail Address: sales(dot)my(at)locus-t(dot)com


Website Address: http://www.locus-t.com

Deric Wong
LOCUS-T ONLINE SDN BHD
603-71182173
Email Information

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/locus-t-announces-affordable-ppc-services-package-brings-081244449.html

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Targeted therapy proves effective against brain tumors in preclinical studies

Dec. 21, 2012 ? Researchers from Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) have published findings from a preclinical study assessing the effectiveness of a small-molecule inhibitor, CFAK-Y15, in treating some brain cancers. The paper, published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, demonstrates for the first time that inhibiting the protein focal adhesion kinase (FAK) with CFAK-Y15 is an effective approach to controlling growth of glioblastoma tumors, especially in combination with the standard chemotherapy agent temozolomide (Temodar).

FAK is overexpressed, or produced in excessive amounts, in tumor cells, and has been shown to play a key role in survival of cancer cells. In this study, a team led by Vita M. Golubovskaya, PhD, an Associate Professor of Oncology in the Department of Surgical Oncology, found that animal models treated with CFAK-Y15 demonstrated significantly prolonged survival compared to the control group. CFAK-Y15 provides FAK kinase-specific inhibition by upstream targeting of autophosphorylation sites on the FAK protein. It belongs to a class of 'two for one' compounds that also inhibit the oncoprotein Src by inhibiting its autophosphorylation.

"We found that CFAK-Y15 significantly decreased the viability of the glioblastoma cells, and in many cases appeared to cause tumor shrinkage -- especially when CFAK-Y15 was given in combination with temozolomide," noted Dr. Golubovskaya, the paper's first author. "These compounds target FAK signaling, which is critical for cancer cell and cancer stem cell survival, especially in invasive and metastatic cancers."

"We're eager to see this research move to the clinical phase because of the great need for more effective treatments for glioblastoma," noted senior author William G. Cance, MD, FACS, Surgeon-in-Chief and Chair of the Department of Surgical Oncology. "The potential impact is great because glioblastomas are such an aggressive tumor, and because we know they produce FAK in especially high quantities."

The authors also included researchers from the University of California at San Diego and faculty from the Department of Pathology at RPCI. CFAK-Y15 is being developed by CureFAKtor Pharmaceuticals LLC. Drs. Cance and Golubovskaya, both of whom also serve on the management team of CureFAKtor, were part of the team that first identified CFAK-Y15, in research published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry in 2008.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Roswell Park Cancer Institute, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. V. Golubovskaya, G. Huang, B. Ho, M. Yemma, C. D. Morrison, J. Lee, B. Eliceiri, W. G. Cance. Pharmacological blockade of FAK autophosphorylation decreases human glioblastoma tumor growth and synergizes with temozolomide. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, 2012; DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-12-0701

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/17DYWmhiS9w/121221123323.htm

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Apple seeds OS X v10.8.3 beta to developers

Apple has released a new developer beta for OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.3 to registered Mac Dev Center members. The new build was identified as 12D43. Apple has stated the new software contains no known issues and is advising developers to focus on AirPlay, AirPort, Game Center, graphics drivers, and Safari.

Developers can visit Apple?s Mac Dev Center?to download the OS X 10.8.3 beta.

Source: http://www.technologytell.com/apple/109711/apple-seeds-os-x-v10-8-3-beta-to-developers-2/

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Miss Washington shows military support at holiday event

Mandy Schendel, who was officially crowned Miss Washington 2012 in July, has spent the better part of her life serving others.

At 11, she started her own nonprofit organization, focused toward helping children and teens discover leadership potential within themselves through volunteer projects with their local communities.

In high school, she said, she involved herself in ?everything under the sun.?

So one might assume Schendel would fit in well among military men and women, who live a life of voluntary service to country.

The pageant beauty, who leaves for Las Vegas Jan. 2 to vie for the coveted Miss America title, paid her first visit to a military installation Dec. 15 when she stopped off at the Hillside Youth Center for its annual Holiday Fest event.

Though she only spent a few short hours meeting with service members and their families, it was a stint the 22-year-old considered her ?ideal holiday.?

?Sincerely, it?s just an honor,? said Schendel, sitting, all smiles, at a table stacked high with wrapped gifts for children, a box of photos intended for autographs laid out before her. ?I walk beside military men and women all the time, and I am always so compelled to just thank them.

?I have a huge love for the military, for what all the men and women do.?

She explained that, for an outsider, it?s typically harder to gain access to an installation, especially one the size and capacity of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. But where stories of military life and the understanding of what it takes to serve are concerned, she?s not much of an outsider at all.

?I come from a long line of military family,? she said. ?My mom was an Army brat growing up, so all of her stories from her childhood come from being on a military base.?

Her grandfather retired from the Army, and her father served for five years.

?The dynamic with my dad and my grandpa was that they were very structured, both having been in the military,? she said.

Schendel frequently travels to schools across the state, working to inspire youth as part of her pageant platform, ?Do something: enriching youth, cultivating leaders.?

The goal of her platform, she explained, is to help young individuals grow through volunteer work, most of which stems from a particular passion of theirs. Some, she said, just need some sort of outlet.

?Maybe they?re passionate about music, and they don?t think that they can really do much with it,? she said. ?Well, maybe we?re able to put together a team and let them lead that team to go and sing at an elderly home.?

?The goal is kind of this bettering of society as a whole,? added Schendel, who also described that she was often a target for bullying in high school after making strict decisions to avoid drugs, alcohol and sexual activity. ?The more we have an ability to help others, I think we eliminate so many of the issues we have in society today.?

But most of the young girls who went up to see Schendel weren?t exactly thinking of a subject that complex. For them, the role model they saw in a happy, smiling woman in a tiara was enough.

Sydney Flores and her younger sister visit with Mandy Schendel, Miss Washington 2012

Sydney Flores (far right), 8, and her younger sister visit Dec. 15 with Mandy Schendel, Miss Washington 2012, at the annual Holiday Fest event offered by the Hillside Youth Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. It was the first trip onto a military installation for the 22-year-old pageant beauty, who explained that it was an honor to bring a little dose of cheer to service members and their Families. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christopher M. Gaylord

?I really like her,? said 8-year-old Sydney Flores shortly after taking a photo with Schendel. ?She?s very interesting and very pretty. She always smiled.?

?Girls like to see somebody beautiful, because they want to be like that,? said her mother, Isabell Flores, an Army spouse who brought Sydney and her other two daughters to the event.

?They thought she was a princess, with the crown,? she said, adding that her girls were delighted to have a photo taken with Schendel. ?I think that was a really good thing to see themselves in a picture with someone they?d probably like to be.?

Flores? husband is currently deployed to Afghanistan, where he?ll remain through the holiday season. It?s the first of her husband?s combat tours she?s experienced.

But Holiday Fest allowed a time to relax a bit ? to ditch her stress.

?The kids enjoy it, and they?re having a good time,? she said. ?If they?re having a good time, I?m having a good time, too.?

The event offered numerous craft booths, a station where children could make their own wooden ornaments, a rock climbing wall, a dance booth, a holiday backdrop for family photos and a game that had children kicking or throwing a football through an inflatable goal post to win a prize.

But this year marked the first time a distinguished visitor has ever come to Holiday Fest, said Emmy Niemczyk, the facility director for the youth center, which its frequenters refer to more intimately as the ?Teen Zone.?

It?s also the first Holiday Fest she and her staff have held at their new location on Lewis-Main, which opened for business Sept. 10.

The old center, Niemczyk said, comprised little more than a computer lab and a gym. The new one, however, boasts seven activity rooms ? to include separate homework, computer, art, music and videogame rooms ? and a gym two to three times larger than the previous one.

?This is the first time that we?ve had this nice, new and big environment for us to do this event in,? she said, manning a table where she handed out a gift to each child who showed up. ?It?s just nice to see the kids and the parents come out and to put a smile on their faces.?

Meanwhile, next to her, Schendel did her best to bring her own smiles to the faces of some of her younger fans.

?Thank you, sweetheart. Nice to meet you!? she said to a young boy asking for her autograph.

?So cute,? she laughed as he walked away.

?To be here, and to be able to just be around these families that work so hard and give ? it is a tremendous thing, and there?s no other word than it?s just an honor to be here,? she said.

?I?m just fortunate that it worked out today, and hopefully there will be more opportunities in the future.?

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 20th, 2012 at 9:00 am and is filed under Military. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Magnetism Confirmed to Control the Flow of Heat

A validation of a long-predicted quantum effect points the way to tiny, highly efficient heat engines or information carried by heat exchanges instead of electrical ones


magnetic field Electricity can run between two superconductors even through electrically insulating barriers (yellow). Now researchers have found that a magnetic field (curved arrows) can switch the amount of heat that flows from a hot side (red) to a cold one (blue). Image: Nature magazine

The strange world of quantum mechanics just got a little stranger with the discovery that a magnetic field can control the flow of heat from one body to another. First predicted nearly 50 years ago, the effect might some day form the basis of a new generation of electronic devices that use heat rather than charge as the information carrier.

The research stems from the work of physicist Brian Josephson, who in 1962 predicted that electrons could 'tunnel' between two superconductors separated by a thin layer of insulator ? a process forbidden in classical physics. The Josephson junction was subsequently built and used to make superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), which are now sold commercially as ultra-sensitive magnetometers.

In the latest work, Francesco Giazotto and Mar?a Jos? Mart?nez-P?rez at the NEST nanoscience institute in Pisa, Italy, measured the devices? thermal behavior ? that is, how the electrons inside them transfer heat. The duo heated one end of a SQUID several micrometers long and monitored the temperature of an electrode connected to it. A SQUID consists of two y-shaped pieces of superconductor joined together to form a loop, but with two thin pieces of insulating material sandwiched in between (see figure); as the researchers varied the magnetic field passing through the loop, the amount of heat flowing through the device also changed. The effect was in line with a theory put forward by Kazumi Maki and Allan Griffin in 1965.

The device worked by partly reversing the heat transfer, so that some would flow from the colder body to the warmer one. ?This is completely unintuitive,? says Giazotto. ?People are used to thinking of heat as disorder, so how can you impose quantum order on it? Amazingly, a device with Josephson junctions can do that.?

Legal violation
This apparent violation of the second law of thermodynamics ? which states that heat will always flow from a hotter to a colder body ? is, in fact, perfectly legal, says Giazotto, because only part of the total heat flow is subject to the phase variation. When you also take into account the heat transferred by single electrons, as occurs inside normal metals, the net flow is still from the hot to the cold end.

Like its electrical counterpart, this variation in the heat flow can be explained in terms of the superconductors? 'phase' ? the position of the peaks and troughs of the wavefunction that describes the superconducting electron pairs in the SQUID?s loop. The greatest heat flow occurs when the peaks inside one half of the loop line up with peaks in the other half, whereas the flow is at a minimum when peaks meet troughs. The magnetic field shifts those phases relative to each other, thus modifying the heat flow.

Teun Klapwijk of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands describes Giazotto and Mart?nez-P?rez's research as ?cute? but ?not very surprising?. He also doubts that it will have significant practical applications. ?The only possible area would be solid-state refrigeration, which would replace cryogenic liquids,? he says.

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