Saturday, April 6, 2013

Google Launches Drive App Data Folders, Lets Developers Safely Store Configuration Files And Other Data

8371218391_9b6af76a2d_zIf you’re a developer building web or mobile apps that use Google Drive for storing information, you’ve probably found that users really can’t be trusted not to delete or move that data. Once the user does that, the app experience won’t be so great and the data that the app needs to run isn’t there to use. Today, Google has introduced “app data folders” which are protected and can’t be seen by users within their Drive account. Other apps can’t see the files either, so there is now an added layer of security to fight off bad actors who build apps to swipe information or do other damage. The Google Drive team suggests that these app data folders are used for configuration files, app state data or files that shouldn’t be modified in any way. Even though users can’t see the data, they can see how much space it is taking up on their devices and clear the data at any time. Here’s what you’ll see as a user in your manage apps panel: Additionally, “custom properties” can be added to Drive files that will allow developers to create searchable fields that are either app-specific or are to be shared with other apps. More information about the Drive SDK can be found on StackOverflow, a site oddly not owned or operated by Google. [Photo credit: Flickr]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/KvbykiZ615w/

virginia tech emancipation proclamation april 16 tornadoes mitch hedberg secret service scandal shea weber

Carnival Cruises pays paltry 0.6% in US taxes ? let it rescue its own ships (Americablog)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/296804619?client_source=feed&format=rss

What Time Do Polls Open Krysten Ritter v for vendetta Voting Locations atlanta falcons voting hours election results

What will Facebook Home do to the Android launchers market?

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/techcrunch/posts/234009990072453

april fools day pranks ohio state vs kansas daniel von bargen 8 bit google maps kids choice awards 2012 micah true blood diamond

Conrad Murray: Leave Me Out of MJ Lawsuit ... OR ELSE!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/conrad-murray-leave-me-out-of-mj-lawsuit-or-else/

Heather Clem Con Edison LaGuardia Airport weather radar the weather channel national grid LIPA

Friday, April 5, 2013

Conn. governor set to sign gun control law

Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, who represents Newtown, Conn., right, and Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, shake hands after the passage of a gun-control bill in the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. The bill passed the Senate and goes onto the Conn. Houses for approval. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, who represents Newtown, Conn., right, and Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, shake hands after the passage of a gun-control bill in the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. The bill passed the Senate and goes onto the Conn. Houses for approval. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Paul Regish of East Hartford, Conn., holds signs as gun rights advocates enter the legislative office building at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A Capitol security officer enters a revolving door at the legislative office building, with a sign warning not to bring weapons on to the grounds at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Gun rights advocates fill the hallways of the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Paul Regish of East Hartford, Conn., holds signs as he stands with other gun rights advocates outside the legislative office building at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Wednesday, April 3, 2013. Hundreds of gun rights advocates are gathering at the statehouse in Hartford ahead of a vote in the General Assembly on proposed gun-control legislation. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

(AP) ? Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was expected to sign a wide-ranging bill that includes sweeping new restrictions on weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines, a response to last year's deadly school shooting in Newtown.

Following a total of more than 13 hours of respectful and at times somber debate, the House of Representatives and the Senate voted in favor of the 139-page bill crafted by leaders from both major parties in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.

The bill passed 26-10 in the Senate and 105-44 in the House. Both were bipartisan votes.

Malloy's office said he would sign the legislation at noon Thursday during a ceremony at the state Capitol.

"I pray today's bill ? the most far-reaching gun safety legislation in the country ? will prevent other families from ever experiencing the dreadful loss that the 26 Sandy Hook families have felt," said House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, referring to the families of the 20 first graders and six educators killed Dec. 14 inside Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The December massacre, which reignited a national debate on gun control, set the stage for changes in the state that may have been impossible elsewhere: The governor, who personally informed parents that their children had been killed that day, championed the cause, and legislative leaders, keenly aware of the attention on the state, struck a bipartisan agreement they want to serve as a national model.

The legislation adds more than 100 firearms to the state's assault weapons ban and creates what officials have called the nation's first dangerous weapon offender registry as well as eligibility rules for buying ammunition. Some parts of the bill would take effect immediately after Malloy's signature, including background checks for all firearms sales.

Connecticut will join states including California, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts in having the country's strongest gun control laws, said Brian Malte, director of mobilization for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington.

"This would put Connecticut right at the top or near the top of the states with the strongest gun laws," Malte said.

Colorado and New York also passed new gun control requirements in the wake of the Newtown shooting, in which a 20-year-old gunman used a military-style semi-automatic rifle.

Compared with Connecticut's legislation, which, for example, bans the sale or purchase of ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds, New York restricted magazines to seven bullets and gave owners of higher-capacity magazines a year to sell them elsewhere. Colorado banned ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.

"There are pieces that are stronger in other states, but, in totality, this will be the strongest gun legislation passed in the United States," Betty Gallo, a lobbyist for Connecticut Against Gun Violence, said of the Connecticut bill.

But some lawmakers said they felt the legislation did not do enough to address mental health issues.

Rep. Mitch Bolinsky, a freshman Republican lawmaker from Newtown, acknowledged the legislation "is not perfect" and he hoped would be "a beginning in addressing critical mental health needs."

Rep. Douglas McCrory, D-Hartford, said he felt the bill "doesn't speak to the issue of gun violence that has permeated our cities," adding how families in his district who've lost children to gun violence have not received the same level of attention from state politicians as the Newtown families.

Many legislators spoke of balancing the rights of gun owners with addressing the horror of the Sandy Hook shooting. They've received thousands of emails and phone calls urging them to vote for or against the bill, with veteran Sen. Joan Hartley, a Democrat, saying she's never seen a more polarizing issue at the state Capitol.

But Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, whose district includes Newtown, said he felt he was representing the interests of the Sandy Hook victims as he cast his vote.

"I stand here as their voice, as their elected representative," he said, reciting the names of the 26 victims at the school.

Lawmakers appeared to still be stunned by the enormity of the massacre.

"When a child is sent to school, their parents expect them to be safe. The Sandy Hook shooting rampage was a parent's, a school system's, a community's and the nation's worst nightmare," said Republican state Sen. Toni Boucher of Wilton.

Gun rights advocates who greatly outnumbered gun control supporters in demonstrations held earlier in the day at the Capitol railed against the proposals as misguided and unconstitutional, occasionally chanting "No! No! No!" and "Read the bill!"

"We want them to write laws that are sensible," said Ron Pariseau, of Pomfret, who was angry he'll be made a felon if he doesn't register his weapons that will no longer be sold in Connecticut. "What they're proposing will not stop anything."

By the time the Senate voted around 6:30 p.m., many of the gun rights advocates had gone home, leaving behind proponents of the bill who applauded when the tally in the Senate was read. The halls were mostly empty by the time the House voted at 2:26 a.m. on Thurdsay.

House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, who helped craft the bill, said he realizes the gun owners are unhappy with the bill, but he stressed that no one will lose their legally owned guns or magazines under the legislation.

"We did our job. We did it together," he said. "We did the best we could and I think we did a good thing."

In the legislature, where Democrats control both houses, leaders waited to unveil gun legislation until they struck a bipartisan deal that they say shows how the parties can work together elsewhere. They touted the package as a comprehensive response to Newtown that also addresses mental health and school security measures, including the creation of a new council to establish school safety standards and the expansion of circumstances when someone's mental history disqualifies him or her from obtaining a gun permit or other gun credentials.

But momentum on federal legislation has stalled in Congress, and President Barack Obama has planned a trip to Connecticut on Monday to step up pressure to pass a bill.

A silent majority in favor of stronger gun control has emerged following the Newtown massacre, Gallo said.

Among the gun control advocates were Dan and Lauren Garrett, of Hamden, wearing green shirts in honor of the Sandy Hook victims. The Garretts traveled to Hartford with their 10-month-old son, Robert, to watch the bill's passage. They said they hope lawmakers will build on the proposal.

"It's just the beginning of this bill. In six months from now, it's going to get stronger and stronger," Dan Garrett said. "I think they're watching us all over the country."

___

Associated Press writers Stephen Kalin and Michael Melia in Hartford and John Christoffersen in New Haven contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-04-Gun%20Control-Conn/id-c477ce9653134c46b68fc14fcd3cf335

mediterranean diet chase kim kardashian pregnant papa johns dominos dominos Perez Hilton

Exhaled breath carries a molecular 'breathprint' unique to each individual

Apr. 3, 2013 ? Stable, specific 'breathprints' unique to an individual exist and may have applications as diagnostic tools in personalized medicine. Bodily fluids contain lots of information about the health status of a person. Medical doctors routinely have blood and urine analysed in order to obtain hints for infectious and metabolic diseases, to diagnose cancer and organ failure, and to check the dose of medication, based on compounds present in these body fluids.

Researchers at ETH Zurich and at the University Hospital Zurich now propose to extend such analyses to breath, and in particular to take advantage of modern high-resolution analytical methods that can provide real-time information on the chemical composition of exhaled breath.

Unbiased Chemical Analysis of Breath

The scientists developed an instrument-based version of a principle that has been known for a long time in traditional Chinese medicine: TCM doctors draw conclusions about the health state of a patient based on the smell of the exhaled breath. It is also known that trained dogs and rats can distinguish the smell of the breath of people suffering from certain variants of cancer. In these cases the entire smell of the patient's exhaled breath is gauged, which can give rise to bias. The scientists, led by Renato Zenobi, professor at the Laboratory for Organic Chemistry, aim at eliminating this bias and identifying the chemical compounds in breath. Like this, doctors should be able to use specific compounds, which are present in breath at minute concentrations, for medical diagnosis.

Using mass spectrometry, these goals can be reached, as shown in a recent study where the ETH researchers analysed the exhaled breath of eleven volunteers. They found that the chemical "fingerprint" of exhaled breath, largely based on volatile and semi-volatile metabolites, shows an individual core pattern. Each volunteer was found to have his/her own characteristic "breathprint."

Stable Pattern

Using regular measurements extending over 11 days, the researchers could furthermore show that this metabolic "breathprint" stays constant. "We did find some small variations during the day, but overall the individual pattern stays sufficiently constant to be useful for medical purposes," says Pablo Martinez-Lozano Sinues, senior scientist in Zenobi's research group. If the measurements would show too large variations, they would not be useful for medical diagnosis.

To carry out these measurements, Zenobi and his colleagues modified commercial mass spectrometers, for example by adding a breath sampling inlet line that delivers exhaled breath from a mouth piece directly into the ion source of the instrument. Mass spectra showing peaks of roughly 100 compounds in breath can be easily and rapidly obtained in this fashion. The researchers were able to identify acetone, a product of the sugar metabolism. Most of the other signals present in the "breathprints" have not been assigned yet, which is something the scientists have on their to-do-list.

Chemical fingerprints of diseases

The next step the ETH chemists plan to take is not only to elucidate the personal breathprints of individuals, but to recognize characteristic patterns of diseases with the same technology. For this endeavour, they are collaborating with medical doctors at the Division of Pulmonology of the University Hospital Zurich. "If we find a consistent pattern in patients with a given lung disease, we can develop a diagnostic tool," explains Sinues. They believe that their chances are highest to find characteristic biomarkers in the exhaled breath of patients with lung diseases, which is why they focus on these disorders. In the future, they hope to extend their methodology to other groups of diseases.

Although the potential usefulness of analysing breath for medical diagnosis has been known, it is rarely done in academic medicine. "This might be due to the fact that existing methods for breath analysis are either rather slow, or are limited to a small number of compounds that they can detect," says Sinues.

Compared to analysis of blood or urine, a significant advantage of the approach the ETH researchers have taken is that the breath fingerprint is available within seconds after delivering the breath sample. Analysing urine or blood in a specialized laboratory usually takes a lot longer. Another advantage is that exhaling into the ion source of a mass spectrometer is completely non-invasive, i.e., there is no need to poke the patient with a needle (when a blood sample is taken). "Our goal is to develop breath analysis to the point where it becomes competitive with the established analysis of blood and urine," says Malcolm Kohler, professor at the University Hospital Zurich, and one of the co-authors of the study. Regular survey of breath could, for example, be used to obtain an early warning for healthy persons with a known risk for a certain disease. It is also imaginable to monitor the progress or the side effects of an on-going medical therapy.

For this method to be accepted in the clinic, the instrumentation has to be improved. The highly sensitive and accurate mass spectrometers that are currently used for these analyses are large and expensive. Zenobi: "Small, portable mass spectrometers already exist; if their performance can be improved, they will eventually find their way into clinics and doctor's offices."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by ETH Zurich, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Martinez-Lozano Sinues P, Kohler M, Zenobi R. Human Breath Analysis May Support the Existence of Individual Metabolic Phenotypes. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8(4): e59909 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059909

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/top_news/top_health/~3/5MoT-aJz4wQ/130403200254.htm

elizabeth berkley lenny dykstra jenelle evans jenelle evans mlb 12 the show sabu franchise tag

North Korea still far from backing up nuke threats

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? North Korea's vow to restart its mothballed nuclear facilities raises fears about assembly lines churning out fuel for a fearsome arsenal of nuclear missiles. But it may actually be a sign that Pyongyang needs a lot more bomb fuel to back up its nuclear threats.

Despite the bluster, it could be years before North Korea completes the laborious process of creating more weaponized fuel. Its announcement, experts say, is also likely an effort to boost fears meant to keep its leadership safe while trying to extract concessions from the U.S. and its allies.

North Korea has declared itself a nuclear power and threatened to expand its atomic arsenal after its third nuclear test in February sparked the recent rise in hostility on the Korean Peninsula. But that arsenal is estimated to be only a handful of crude devices.

To assemble a cache of weapons that would make it a true nuclear power, and to back up its threats, North Korean scientists need more bomb fuel ? both for the weapons they hope to build and for the repeated tests required to perfect those weapons.

"Despite its recent threats, North Korea does not yet have much of a nuclear arsenal because it lacks fissile materials and has limited nuclear testing experience," Siegfried Hecker, a nuclear scientist who has been regularly granted unusual access to the North's nuclear facilities, said this week in answers posted to the website of Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation.

North Korea nuclear capabilities are something of a mystery.

What is known is that it possesses the ability to produce both fuels that can be used to make nuclear bombs ? plutonium and uranium.

This causes serious long-term worries following North Korea's announcement Tuesday that it is "readjusting and restarting" all facilities at its main Nyongbyon nuclear complex, including a plutonium reactor shut down six years ago as part of now-failed nuclear negotiations, and a uranium enrichment plant.

It may also be a sign of frustration from Pyongyang that weeks of posturing and threats haven't driven U.S. and South Korean negotiators back to nuclear disarmament-for-aid talks.

"What they really want is a safety blanket and a blackmail tool," Ralph Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum CSIS think tank in Hawaii, said in an email.

The announcement "is primarily political, designed to signal strength and intimidate. It should not necessarily be seen as a revelation about North Korea's capabilities and true intent," Greg Thielmann, a senior fellow at the Arms Control Association in Washington, said in an email.

A reactor at the main Nyongbyon nuclear complex could eventually make, in one year, enough plutonium to power one bomb. It was shuttered as part of international disarmament talks in 2007, its cooling tower blown up in a dramatic show of commitment to a now-scrapped nuclear deal. North Korea shocked many when in 2010 it unveiled an industrial-scale uranium enrichment facility, which gives it an alternative route to create bombs.

Estimates on restarting the vital facilities at the plutonium reactor vary from three months to a year, depending on the expert.

North Korea has already begun construction at the reactor and it could be back in operation sooner than expected, according to a U.S. research institute that analyzed recent commercial satellite imagery of Nyongbyon. Rebuilding the cooling tower would take six months, but a March 27 photo shows building work may have started for an alternative cooling system that could take just weeks, the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies said Wednesday.

But even if the reactor is now up and running, Cossa estimates it would be two to three years before scientists could obtain more plutonium for bombs.

There are other challenges to restarting the reactor.

North Korean scientists need to clean, check for any leaks, test components and replace ones that no longer work, according to No Hee-cheon, a nuclear expert at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon, South Korea.

"Nuclear material can be very corrosive. Cleaning the chemical equipment for reprocessing plutonium can be an overwhelming task," No said.

North Korea isn't thought to have nuclear-armed missiles that can hit the United States and is extremely unlikely to launch a direct attack on Seoul or its U.S. ally, knowing that military retaliation would threaten the leadership's survival.

Experts estimate it has enough plutonium for between four to eight crude plutonium-based weapons. But North Korea has yet to show that it has mastered the technology needed to shrink down warheads so they can be placed on missiles, although Pyongyang has bragged ? as recently as Thursday ? that it has "smaller, lighter" nuclear weapons ready to strike the U.S.

To back up that boast, however, Pyongyang needs more tests, which would deplete its limited supply of nuclear fuel. This motivation may partially explain the vow to restart Nyongbyon.

Two other larger plutonium reactors had construction halted because of a past nuclear disarmament deal; Hecker said the North Koreans claim both are unsalvageable. North Korea is also thought to be making progress on building a small experimental light-water reactor.

The North also suggested this week that it was boosting uranium enrichment efforts.

North Korea's uranium program worries Washington because the centrifuges that enrich the fuel into bomb-grade material are much easier to conceal than bulky plutonium reactors, which produce large amounts of heat that can easily be seen by satellites. A crude uranium bomb is also easier to produce than one made with plutonium, and North Korea has large natural uranium deposits.

Hecker was shown 2,000 uranium centrifuges at Nyongbyon in 2010, but it's not clear whether the centrifuges have been reconfigured to make highly enriched uranium. It's also unknown what fuel North Korea used in its Feb. 12 test, its third since 2006; a confirmed uranium-based nuclear test would show that North Korea has centrifuges producing highly enriched uranium.

North Korea built its secret uranium program at its main nuclear facility without the knowledge of the U.S. intelligence community, Bruce Klingner, a former U.S. intelligence officer and now an analyst at The Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, said in an email. "As such, we do not know how many covert uranium enrichment sites North Korea has nor how many uranium weapons they can produce per year."

Still, scientists can't make a uranium bomb overnight.

Even if the North's 2,000 centrifuges were configured properly and spinning 24 hours a day, every day for a year, they could only make one or two uranium bombs, said Kune Y. Suh, a nuclear expert at Seoul National University.

The North's plan to restart the plutonium reactor looked to some like an admission that Pyongyang hasn't made much progress in its uranium enrichment program.

"Why else would it go to the trouble of a time-consuming and expensive restart to plutonium production at a known and vulnerable facility?" Thielmann asked.

___

Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim and Sam Kim contributed to this report.

___

Follow Foster Klug on Twitter at twitter.com/APKlug

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/north-korea-still-far-backing-nuke-threats-101223597.html

norad 12/21/12 winter solstice Jabari Parker 2012 australia Brothers Grimm