In addition to its new touch screen units designed with Windows 8 in mind, Toshiba has also unveiled at IFA today four new systems of varying sizes and features optimized for Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system. All systems will include Toshiba Desktop Assist, which provides the familiar control panel and shortcuts seen in Windows 7, as well as Toshiba Central, which is Toshiba's proprietary assistance software that's arranged in a tiled-style layout similar to that of the new Windows platform.
Toshiba Satellite P845t
Designed to be Toshiba's mainstream Windows 8 system, the Satellite P845t is a souped-up, Windows 8-ready version of the Satellite P845. The first thing you'll notice about the P845t is its absence of a bezel, as it sports an edge-to-edge 14-inch display. Notwithstanding its good looks, the primary ingredient in the display is its capacitive touch capability, which in turn makes navigating the tiled interface of Windows 8 a more fluid experience. An etched aluminum chassis in a champagne silver finish complements its slim-form-factor to result in an overall refined aesthetic. In addition to being kitted out with three USB 3.0 ports, the P845t is also equipped with an HDMI port as well as Intel's Wireless Display technology. On the inside, it packs a third-generation Intel Core i5 processor, 6GB DDR3 RAM, and a 750GB HDD.
Toshiba Satellite U845W with Windows 8
With the exception of its inclusion of Windows 8, the latest iteration of the Toshiba Satellite U845W is essentially a dead ringer for its predecessor. Like its earlier incarnation, the new U845W's 3.5-pound chassis is 21mm thick and is constructed out of aluminum with a soft-touch rubber material running along the cover. But most attention once again centers on its 14.4-inch diagonal display with an ultra-wide 21:9 aspect ratio and a maximum resolution of 1,792 by 768. While it's not equipped with a touch screen like the P845t, the U845W's larger screen provides more screen real estate for navigating through Windows 8's horizontal layout. Moreover, its ClickPad features Windows 8 gesture support. The U845W can be configured with either a third-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processor. Users can opt for a 500GB HDD with a 32GB SSD cache or a 256GB SSD. Regardless of which configuration users choose, the U845W features three USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, and a memory card slot. Like all other systems in Toshiba's new lineup, there's Desktop Assist and Toshiba Central included to ostensibly makes the user experience easier. Pricing for the new U845W is expected to be on par with that of the current model.
Toshiba Satellite U945
The Toshiba Satellite U945, meanwhile, is set to replace the Satellite U845. Sporting an all-plastic construction that weighs less than four pounds and measures .78 inch in thickness, it occupies the affordable-ultrabook niche in Toshiba's new lineup, with an as-of-yet undetermined price slated to cost roughly fifty dollars less than comparable systems. The U945 sports a 14-inch LED display, and can be configured with a third-generation Intel Core i3 or i5 processor. It comes with a 500GB HDD with 32GB SSD, and features dual USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port, and a full-size HDMI port.
Toshiba Satellite S955
Rounding out the new lineup is the Toshiba Satellite S955, an all-purpose desktop replacement. With its 15.6-inch display, the S955 sports the largest screen of the group. While it's also the bulkiest system in the lineup, the five-pound S955 nonetheless sports a thin profile that measures just under an inch in thickness. As an added aesthetic flourish, its brushed aluminum chassis comes in an Ice Blue finish. Typical of its class, the S955 comes equipped with a full-size keyboard, numeric pad, and a built-in DVD drive. Under the hood, it can be configured with either an AMD A8 or third-generation Intel Core i5 processor, up to 8GB RAM, and a hard drive capacity of up to 750GB. The S955 also sports dual USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port, and an HDMI port.
All systems are set to launch in conjunction with Windows 8 on October 26, but may be displayed in retail stores as early as October 12.
For a closer look at these new systems, check out the slideshow below.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? Mitt Romney launched a full-speed fall campaign for the White House on Thursday with a prime-time speech to a unified Republican convention and a nation divided politically as it struggles in a weak economy.
Though Romney has been pursuing the presidency for the better part of a decade, his acceptance speech was an important chance to introduce himself and forge a connection with millions of Americans who feel they need to know him better.
"We believe in America, even though the last four years have been full of difficulties and disappointments, doubt and despair," the former Massachusetts governor wrote supporters in an online fundraising appeal a few hours before he spoke.
Romney's speech was the traditional convention finale, and thousands of red, white and blue balloons nestled in netting high above the floor, ready to be released on cue once the Republican candidate completed his remarks.
But more than the hoopla, the evening marked one of a very few opportunities any presidential challenger is granted to appeal to millions of voters in a single night.
The two-month campaign to come includes other big moments ? principally a series of one-on-one debates with Democrat Obama ? in a race for the White House that has been close for months. In excess of $500 million has been spent on campaign television commercials so far, almost all of it in the battleground states of Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, New Hampshire, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado and Nevada.
Romney holds a fundraising advantage over Obama, and his high command hopes to expand the electoral map soon if post-convention polls in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and perhaps elsewhere indicate it's worth the investment.
Romney's aides scripted a Thursday night program that included a video tribute to Ronald Reagan, the two-term president revered still by conservatives. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush also had his moment on the podium, and Newt and Callista Gingrich shared one of their own.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was tapped to introduce Romney.
Romney aides said the convention's final night was designed to fill out a portrait of the GOP nominee as a successful businessman, last-minute savior for a troubled 2002 Olympics and a man of family and faith. A portion of the convention podium was rebuilt overnight so he would appear surrounded by delegates rather than speaking from a distance, an attempt to soften his image as a stiff and distant candidate.
But these aides did not say whether he would offer any new information on what has so far been a short-on-details pledge to reduce federal deficits and create 12 million jobs in a country where unemployment stands at 8.3 percent.
Romney has called for extension of tax cuts due to expire at all income levels at the end of the year, and has proposed an additional 20 percent cut in tax rates across the board. But he has yet to sketch out the retrenchment in tax breaks that he promises to prevent deficits from rising.
Nor has he been forthcoming about the trillions in spending cuts that would be needed to redeem his pledge of major deficit reduction, or about his promise to rein in Medicare or other government benefit programs before they go broke.
His vice presidential running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, has called for remaking Medicare into a program in which the government would send seniors checks to be used to purchase health care insurance.
Under the current approach, beneficiaries pay premiums to the government, which then pays a part of all of their medical bills, and Democrats say the GOP alternative would expose seniors to ever-rising out-of-pocket costs.
Romney said in his fundraising email, as he often does in his speeches, "We believe in America, even though President Barack Obama's failed policies have left us with record high unemployment, lower take-home pay and the weakest economy since the great Depression."
Obama's surrogates missed no opportunity to criticize Romney, the convention proceedings or Ryan's own acceptance speech.
"He lied about Medicare. He lied about the Recovery Act," Obama's campaign manager, Jim Messina, emailed Democratic donors in a plea for cash.
"He lied about the deficit and debt. He even dishonestly attacked Barack Obama for the closing of a GM plant in his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin ? a plant that closed in December 2008 under George W. Bush."
For Romney, 65 and the first Mormon to become a major party presidential nominee, the evening sealed a triumph more than five years in the making. He ran unsuccessfully for the nomination in 2008 after a single term as a moderate Republican governor of a liberal Democratic state.
This year, as then, he was assailed as a convert to conservatism, and a questionable one at that, as Gingrich, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and other rivals battled him for the nomination. With a superior organization and an outside group that spent millions criticizing his foes, Romney eventually emerged as the nominee in early spring.
His selection of Ryan, a young lawmaker admired by fellow conservatives for his understanding of the federal budget, reinforced Romney's appeal to the right.
The economy alone makes the race a close one, and polling makes clear that Romney enters the fall campaign with strengths and weaknesses.
In the most recent Associated Press-GfK poll, conducted Aug. 16-20, some 48 percent of registered voters said Romney would do a better job handling the economy, while 44 percent chose Obama. The Republican was also favored narrowly on job creation and held a 10-point advantage on the issue of reducing federal budget deficits.
Yet by 51-36, registered voters said Obama better understands the problems of people like them, that the president is a stronger leader and also a more honest and trustworthy candidate.
Polls also show Romney trails Obama among female voters and Hispanics, and the convention was scripted from beginning to end to try and cut into the GOP ticket's disadvantages in those areas.
The first night of the GOP convention drew an estimated 22.3 million TV viewers, the vast majority over 55. The Nielsen ratings company said that figure was down from the 23.1 million who watched the first full night of the 2008 convention, which nominated John McCain. Nielsen said just 1.5 million of those who watched Tuesday's convention session were in the 18-34 age group.
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Associated Press writers Kasie Hunt, Steve Peoples, Philip Elliott, Beth Fouhy, Thomas Beaumont and Julie Mazziotta in Tampa and Jennifer Agiesta in Washington contributed to this story.
More than 15 million people in America now suffer from diabetes, but the good news is that if you have a member of the family who is diabetic, they really need very little special treatment when it comes to cooking family meals. Cooking for a diabetic should be the way you cook for the rest of the family: healthy, low-fat and low-sugar meals.
Apart from taking any necessary medication to control blood sugar levels, the single most important factor is diet. A balanced, healthy diet is key to maintaining good health.
There is a lot of information and support available for diabetics, so always consult with your doctor or dietician before making any changes. Associations such as the American Diabetic Association offer support, information and meal planning lists, so don´t be afraid to seek outside help.
Here are some general guidelines on cooking for a diabetic family member.
Invest in a good cookery book for diabetics. These will have many reduced sugar recipes. Some companies that manufacture artificial sweeteners and sugar replacements also offer recipe sheets suitable for diabetics.
Reduce the amount of fried food that you eat. This healthy choice will benefit everyone in the family, but is especially important for diabetics.
Increase the amount of non-starchy vegetables in your diet, such as carrots, broccoli, green beans or spinach. If you don?t like the taste of them served alone, incorporate them into other dishes, such as soups and omelettes.
Swap processed versions of food for their whole grain equivalents. Try switching to brown rice, whole wheat pasta and seed bread.
Try to eat fish more often. Aim for at least 2 portions a week.
Avoid sweetened drinks and soft drinks. Change to low calorie diet drinks, or even better just drink water!
Check out websites for information and advice about cooking for diabetics. One of the best is the American Diabetic Association at www.diabetes.org.
Watch the amount of carbohydrate rich foods that you eat, and monitor the portion size. Learn how to interpret the nutritional information on packets and tins. For example, sugar may be listed as ?fructose?, a natural fruit sugar. Be sure that you know exactly what is in the foods you buy.
All stores these days have a wide range of products made especially for diabetics, sometimes a whole aisle. The variety and selection of products you can safely eat will amaze you!
If in doubt, check with your doctor which brands and foods you can safely incorporate into a diet.
When eating out, don´t be afraid to mention that a member of the party is diabetic, and ask for specific ingredients in a meal if you are not sure whether it is suitable.
Diabetes is a condition that needs careful management, but that doesn?t mean sacrificing tasty food. The healthy principles of diabetic cooking will benefit the whole family, so why not use this as an opportunity to improve the diet of every member of the household?
Crock pots are a great way to prepare easy meals for busy people. Lisa from A-Crock-Cook.com has loads of easy crock pot recipes that are very nutritious. But the best thing is that the recipes can be easily altered to suit your own dietary needs. Try some crock pot chicken recipes today for a new dimension to your meals.
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Universities to Lead Energy Department-Funded CSP Projects
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The Energy Department announced on August 28 new investments totaling $10 million for two university-led projects to advance innovative concentrating solar power (CSP) system technologies. The five-year projects are under the Department's SunShot Initiative, a collaborative national effort to make solar energy cost competitive with other forms of energy by the end of the decade.
CSP technologies use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers that collect solar energy and convert it to heat that can be used to produce electricity. Heat transfer fluids are a key component of CSP systems that transfer heat from a receiver to the point where the heat is needed to drive a turbine. The investments will improve heat transfer fluids to increase efficiency and lower costs for CSP systems.
Two university teams were selected to develop new heat transfer fluids. The University of California?Los Angeles will lead a team with researchers from Yale University and the University of California?Berkeley to investigate liquid metals as potential heat transfer fluids with the ability to withstand higher temperatures. And the University of Arizona, the second awardee, is teaming with researchers from Arizona State University and Georgia Tech to develop and demonstrate new, molten salt-based fluids as possible alternatives to traditional heat transfer fluids.
The projects will focus on making dramatic improvements to fluids that gather thermal energy from the sun and transport it to the power block, where the energy is used to drive a turbine that generates electricity. Today's state-of the-art heat transfer fluids are capable of operating at temperatures up to about 1,050 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures in excess of 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit are needed to reach efficiencies greater than 50%, which allow CSP plants to capture more energy from solar power. The selected projects are working to develop heat transfer fluids that can operate at temperatures up to 2,350 degrees Fahrenheit, while simultaneously maintaining high levels of performance. See the Energy Department press release. ?
Energy Department Announces University Appliance-Design Winners
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The Energy Department on August 23 announced that a University of Maryland team has won the Department's first Max Tech and Beyond Appliance Design Competition. The student challenge, which involved nine teams, aims to inspire students to pursue energy efficiency improvements in home and commercial appliances, helping to develop innovative ultra-efficient products.
The University of Maryland team chose to simplify the design of a standard wall-mounted air conditioner by separating the systems that remove humidity and provide cooling. After the students tested a fully functional prototype, they found that the design reduced energy use by 30% compared with typical wall-mounted air conditioners already on the market. Because the current largest consumer of electricity in most homes nationwide is the air conditioning system, this innovative design has the potential to substantially decrease residential energy use and save consumers money.
The runner-up team from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, developed a prototype of a natural gas-fired combination water heater and clothes dryer that can use the waste heat from the clothes dryer to heat water for the next washing load. The team demonstrated that with this approach, they could get a 10% dryer efficiency improvement compared to the best comparable products on the market.
The nine faculty-led student design teams were competitively selected and funded with up to $20,000 by the Energy Department to design, build, and test their prototypes during the 2011-2012 academic year. A panel of Energy Department experts along with those from the Department's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory judged each team's prototype based on its demonstrated ability to reduce energy use by 10% or more compared to best on-market products, or based on the prototype's ability to reduce production costs compared with typical high efficiency products already on the market by 20% or more. See the Energy Department Progress Alert and the Max Tech website. ?
EPA Awards $9 Million to 13 Universities for Climate Change Impacts Research
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The EPA announced on August 22 that it awarded $9 million in grants to fund 13 universities for technologies that can help predict and prepare for the impacts of extreme weather triggered by climate change may have on air and water quality.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was awarded $749,931 to examine the ability of models to represent the presence of extreme air pollution and the weather conditions. The project at MIT, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will use advanced statistical techniques to identify the drivers and occurrence of historical and future extreme air quality events in the United States from observations and models. The project combines the work of statisticians and atmospheric scientists. The other 13 grants were awarded to researchers at Columbia University, Cornell University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, Mississippi State University, Ohio State University, Oregon State University, University of South Florida (two grants), Public Policy Institute of California, University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Washington. See the EPA press release and the list of projects. ?
New York Offers $107 Million for Large Solar Power Projects
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New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on August 9 announced that $107 million is available for a major solar power incentive program that will increase the amount of electricity generated by photovoltaic (PV) systems throughout New York. The NY-Sun Competitive PV Program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, seeks proposals for PV systems greater than 50 kilowatts to be installed at larger commercial and industrial customer sites.
The newly established NY-Sun Competitive PV Program will make $36.4 million available in 2012 and $70.5 million in 2013. This phase of the program is available through the end of 2013 for PV projects in New York City and upstate New York at eligible customer sites. This is an expansion of a two-year-old program that previously focused on large PV systems for the commercial, industrial, and municipal sectors exclusively in New York City, Westchester County, and the lower Hudson Valley. All projects will require co-funding to best leverage state resources with funding capped at $3 million per project. See the New York press release and the NY-Sun Competitive PV Program initiative website. The governor also signed a series of bills on August 17 as part of the NY-Sun initiative that will make solar energy more affordable for homeowners and businesses. The new laws include statewide tax credits for the lease of solar equipment and power purchase agreements, statewide sales tax exemptions for commercial solar equipment, and an extension of the real property tax abatement in New York City for solar installations. See the New York press release. ?
National Solar Tour Kicks Off in September
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The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) National Solar Tour officially takes place on October 6, but several events kick off as early as mid-September, and some offer weeklong action. Now in its seventeenth year, the annual showcase allows participants the opportunity to see innovative green homes and buildings that use solar energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainable technologies. ASES estimates that more than 165,000 participants will visit some 5,500 buildings in 3,200 communities across the United States.
Kicking off the nationwide series of tours, the Michiana Solar Tour is scheduled to take place on September 15 at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana. The following day, the BRING Home & Garden Tour bus will take ticketholders to a variety of sustainable sites in Eugene, Oregon. Most tours will take place on or around October 6, but there are events scheduled through October 27. See the ASES National Solar Tour website and the list of tours.?
John Travolta’s alleged former gay lover Doug Gotterba is opening up in detail about the passionate six-year-relationship he claims they had. Buckle your seat belts.
Gotterba, 62, claims the Hollywood icon's sexual appetite is "insatiable," that he wanted to make a sex tape, and he cavorted with multiple lovers at once.
Dudes, of course.
Doug Gotterba tells the National Enquirer that he met Travolta in February 1981 when the actor interviewed him for a pilot job and they soon became lovers.
“We flew into Monterey, Calif., and went up to the Highlands resort in Carmel," he says. “We had a wonderful dinner with a fantastic bottle of merlot."
"I got the sense I was being courted. As we walked from the restaurant back to the room, John suddenly said, ‘Hey, would you like a massage?’
“I’d already prepared myself for something like that, so I said, ‘Sure, why not? I went back to his room, showered and came out wearing only a towel."
"John said, ‘Okay, like down here on the bed.’ He gave me a massage – and it turned into something else! John was gentle, but very passionate."
"The next day, he told me with a big smile, ‘I really enjoyed last night.’ And I told him, ‘So did I!” From that moment, Doug says, they were a couple.
Many more liaisons followed, but they drifted apart, and last time Gotterba saw Travolta was in 1992. By then he was married to Kelly Preston.
“They’d just gotten back from the Church of Scientology’s Celebrity Center in Hollywood when I arrived and John asked me to go with him for a walk,” Gotterba says.
“We were making small talk when suddenly, I blurted out, ‘So, John, tell me. Now that you’re married, do you still prefer men – or women?’"
"He looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Well, Doug, I still prefer men!' I said, ‘okay.’ And that’s the last time we saw each other.”
Good to know, Doug Gotterba. Good to know.
Robert Randolph also alleges he was in a relationship with Travolta, while two masseurs and one cruise ship employee have accused him of sexual assault.
None of this proves John Travolta is gay, and it obviously doesn't make him any less great as an actor or person if he is, but it certainly makes you wonder.
Whatever your goal, fitness is crucial to your success. However, many people are unsure of the best way to get started with fitness. The following advice will help anyone become more fit.
Practice proper deep breathing techniques when you are going for a run. Your body requires ample oxygen during workouts, so take breaths that are deep enough to make your stomach rise whenever you inhale. As an added bonus, your lung capacity will increase over time.
TIP! Increasing and maintaining flexibility is critical to boosting your fitness levels. It is essential that you have a good amount of stretching in your workout so that your muscles stay loose.
To really get in shape, you need to be sure to work your abdominal muscles regularly. A good goal is to work your core at least a few times a week.
When you are lifting and doing reps, you should count down instead of up. This keeps you motivated as you are more easily able to visualize the end.
If you have an injury, continue to exercise the non-injured areas of your body. According to researchers, arms are interrelated to each other, so when one is damaged, you can continue working the other and increasing the arm strength of both. The main cause of this phenomena is the connection of muscle fibers.
TIP! Make sure you are properly balancing workouts because the front and back. You are setting yourself up for back pain if you only focus on your abs or your back muscles.
If you are having difficulty staying on track when it comes to exercising, ask a friend to help you. Friends can keep you motivated when you exercise and that will help you reach your fitness goals. Having a workout partner helps fuel our competitiveness. Because of this, you will probably push harder through your workouts. As a result, you?ll achieve your goals even faster.
Pay your trainer ahead of time. If you do so, you increase the chances of you going through with all the sessions you planned as compared to paying for them individually. The reason is that you are already out of pocket for the price of the session. Thus, you are more likely to attend the sessions in order to extract the value from the money you?ve invested.
The quickest way to get physically fit is to work out on a daily basis. This helps to ensure that all your hard work is not being wasted. It also means that you will get in a workout routine. Be sure that you?re saving a few days a week for exercise that is more light so you?re not overloading your body.
TIP! Get some equipment to help you work out. This is a lifelong investment that will continue to repay you in profit as long as you continue to utilize it as much as possible.
When working out your abs do not only do crunches. A university study found that even if you do a quarter million crunches, you?ll only burn a pound of fat. Crunches should be only a small part of your abs routine. For best results, incorporate different abdominal exercises into your routine.
A nutritional plan is a necessary accompaniment to any fitness program. Eating the right foods gives your body essential nutrients to have the energy to complete a good exercise routine.
A lot of folks consider whole grain staples to be mainly breakfast choices. However, there are many whole grains that can be eaten any time of the day, such as quinoa, barley or brown rice. You can use these in stir-fries, soups, and tons of other things. These ingredients make it far easier to consume plenty of whole grains.
Give a TV workout a try if you want to avoid falling into a rut. Put a fitness channel on and follow along as there always seems to be something on TV related to fitness these days. By learning new exercise routines, you will stay excited about your exercise routine. If you don?t have access to a TV network that airs fitness shows, try searching for videos and exercise routines online.
If you heed the advice in this piece, you should feel ready to get your fitness regimen started. If you stick with your routine and stay motivated, you?re sure to make progress. You?ll soon see changes for the better that will help you lead a happier, healthier life.
What is something that you do not like about yourself? Now is a great time to improve your outlook, and your body is a good place to start. In order to firm up and build yourself some muscles, check out the tips below. Building your muscles can provide many health benefits, and you do not have to get really bulky. You will be raising your self-esteem, improving your joints and overall strength, and your lungs will even get stronger if you add some light or medium cardio work to your exercise routine. If you are looking to build muscle mass and are an adult, then you may want to consider taking a creatine supplement. Creatine will give you more energy and help you build more mass. It?s been an important supplement for a long time for weight training. If you are still a teenager and not done growing, then you need to avoid taking supplements. Don?t rely on supplements alone. Some supplements are key when it comes to building muscle, as it?s difficult to get those nutrients any other way. However, they are not intended as a substitute for good nutrition. Just as the name says, they are designed to supplement a good diet. The best tennisarm building programs try to include a very low number of supplements.
Your caloric intake needs to be high enough to support your muscle building regimen. There are several online calculators that help to determine caloric need when building muscle. Use these calculators, and alter your diet to get plenty of carbs, protein, and other vital nutrients to help build your muscles.
Create a training regimen that is tailored to your specific goals. It gets boring to do the same exercises daily, but it can help you see how you are progressing. As you keep progressing, additional exercises can be added or you could change an exercise if you become bored.
Balance is required to build muscle. If you do not work on it, you will never grow big and strong. However, you must not overdo it either. Working out too much can lead to stretched out skin or permanent marks. After using these tips to improve your muscle strength and fitness level, you will see an increase in self-esteem. The way you look, how healthy you become and how great you feel about yourself will be awesome. Do not delay. Start today to build the body you want and improve your life for good.
URMC researchers connect new genetic signature to leukemiaPublic release date: 28-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Leslie Orr Leslie_Orr@urmc.rochester.edu University of Rochester Medical Center
University of Rochester Medical Center scientists believe they are the first to identify genes that underlie the growth of primitive leukemia stem cells, and then to use the new genetic signature to identify currently available drugs that selectively target the rogue cells.
Although it is too early to attach significance to the drug candidates, two possible matches popped up: A drug in development for breast cancer (not approved by the Food and Drug Administration), and another experimental agent that, coincidentally, had been identified earlier by a URMC laboratory as an agent that targets leukemia cells.
The research not only provides a better understanding of the basic biology of leukemia it uncovered genes not previously known to be associated with the disease -- but demonstrates a powerful strategy for drug discovery, said senior investigator Craig T. Jordan, Ph.D., the Philip and Marilyn Wehrheim professor of Medicine at URMC and the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center.
First author John Ashton, PhD, led the study, which was published this month in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
"Our work is both basic and translational, and is an example of a terrific collaboration," Jordan said. "We were able to use the latest technology to expand very strong basic laboratory concepts and conduct an intriguing analysis that may yield new insights for treatments of leukemia."
Jordan studies leukemia stem cells, which, unlike normal cells, renew uncontrollably and are believed to be the first cells at the root of malignancy. He collaborated with Hartmut (Hucky) Land, Ph.D. and Helene McMurray, Ph.D., investigators in the Biomedical Genetics Dept at URMC, who study the principle that cancer evolves from a unique, interactive network of genes that are governed by a distinct set of rules.
In 2008 Land's laboratory published a paper in Nature reporting on a pool of approximately 100 genes that cooperate to promote colon cancer. The Land laboratory coined the term CRG for "cooperation response genes," to emphasize the special synergy controlling this pool of genes. Land is the Robert and Dorothy Markin Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Genetics at URMC, and co-director of the Wilmot Cancer Center.
The identification of CRGs broadened the view of cancer, Jordan said. Historically, scientists would study the intricacies of one or two individual pathways in a vast network of alterations. With the advent of CRGs, however, researchers now have a better picture of the sub-populations of genes that dole out instructions to primitive cancer cells, like controls on a circuit board. Depending on whether CRGs are turned off or on, patterns change and cancer either progresses or stops, Land's research showed.
Leukemia is notoriously resistant to treatment, and thus it makes a good target for new therapies. Most relapses occur because modern therapies are not designed to attack at the biologically distinct stem-cell level and thus, residual cancer circulates in the bloodstream.
Using mouse models and human leukemia specimens, Jordan's team found approximately 70 CRGs that played a role in growth and survival of both primitive leukemia cells and more mature leukemia cells. Knocking out expression of the CRGs in mice reduced leukemia growth.
With the newly identified CRG signature for leukemia, researchers then employed the Broad Institute's Connectivity Map, a sophisticated genomics tool open to the public since 2007. CMAP catalogs hundreds of known drug compounds and allows researchers to search for drugs that mimic the genomic disease signatures.
Jordan's group wondered if any drugs in the database could suppress or reverse the function of the CRGs that control leukemia growth. They identified the best candidates, and those were tested further in the lab.
"No one else has used the targeting of CRGs as criteria to look for drugs that might treat cancer," Jordan said. "By using the CRG approach, we found drug compounds that might never have been selected, based on their documented mechanism of action."
Although the Connectivity Map database does not contain every available drug in the world, Jordan noted that it is periodically updated and meanwhile, his lab is conducting parallel studies to validate the latest findings. (In related research, Jordan also discovered a plant-based compound that destroyed leukemia stem cells in lab experiments; that drug is now undergoing a Phase 1 clinical trial.)
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Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health, New York State Stem Cell Foundation, Department of Defense, and a UR Hematology/Oncology training grant.
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URMC researchers connect new genetic signature to leukemiaPublic release date: 28-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Leslie Orr Leslie_Orr@urmc.rochester.edu University of Rochester Medical Center
University of Rochester Medical Center scientists believe they are the first to identify genes that underlie the growth of primitive leukemia stem cells, and then to use the new genetic signature to identify currently available drugs that selectively target the rogue cells.
Although it is too early to attach significance to the drug candidates, two possible matches popped up: A drug in development for breast cancer (not approved by the Food and Drug Administration), and another experimental agent that, coincidentally, had been identified earlier by a URMC laboratory as an agent that targets leukemia cells.
The research not only provides a better understanding of the basic biology of leukemia it uncovered genes not previously known to be associated with the disease -- but demonstrates a powerful strategy for drug discovery, said senior investigator Craig T. Jordan, Ph.D., the Philip and Marilyn Wehrheim professor of Medicine at URMC and the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center.
First author John Ashton, PhD, led the study, which was published this month in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
"Our work is both basic and translational, and is an example of a terrific collaboration," Jordan said. "We were able to use the latest technology to expand very strong basic laboratory concepts and conduct an intriguing analysis that may yield new insights for treatments of leukemia."
Jordan studies leukemia stem cells, which, unlike normal cells, renew uncontrollably and are believed to be the first cells at the root of malignancy. He collaborated with Hartmut (Hucky) Land, Ph.D. and Helene McMurray, Ph.D., investigators in the Biomedical Genetics Dept at URMC, who study the principle that cancer evolves from a unique, interactive network of genes that are governed by a distinct set of rules.
In 2008 Land's laboratory published a paper in Nature reporting on a pool of approximately 100 genes that cooperate to promote colon cancer. The Land laboratory coined the term CRG for "cooperation response genes," to emphasize the special synergy controlling this pool of genes. Land is the Robert and Dorothy Markin Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Genetics at URMC, and co-director of the Wilmot Cancer Center.
The identification of CRGs broadened the view of cancer, Jordan said. Historically, scientists would study the intricacies of one or two individual pathways in a vast network of alterations. With the advent of CRGs, however, researchers now have a better picture of the sub-populations of genes that dole out instructions to primitive cancer cells, like controls on a circuit board. Depending on whether CRGs are turned off or on, patterns change and cancer either progresses or stops, Land's research showed.
Leukemia is notoriously resistant to treatment, and thus it makes a good target for new therapies. Most relapses occur because modern therapies are not designed to attack at the biologically distinct stem-cell level and thus, residual cancer circulates in the bloodstream.
Using mouse models and human leukemia specimens, Jordan's team found approximately 70 CRGs that played a role in growth and survival of both primitive leukemia cells and more mature leukemia cells. Knocking out expression of the CRGs in mice reduced leukemia growth.
With the newly identified CRG signature for leukemia, researchers then employed the Broad Institute's Connectivity Map, a sophisticated genomics tool open to the public since 2007. CMAP catalogs hundreds of known drug compounds and allows researchers to search for drugs that mimic the genomic disease signatures.
Jordan's group wondered if any drugs in the database could suppress or reverse the function of the CRGs that control leukemia growth. They identified the best candidates, and those were tested further in the lab.
"No one else has used the targeting of CRGs as criteria to look for drugs that might treat cancer," Jordan said. "By using the CRG approach, we found drug compounds that might never have been selected, based on their documented mechanism of action."
Although the Connectivity Map database does not contain every available drug in the world, Jordan noted that it is periodically updated and meanwhile, his lab is conducting parallel studies to validate the latest findings. (In related research, Jordan also discovered a plant-based compound that destroyed leukemia stem cells in lab experiments; that drug is now undergoing a Phase 1 clinical trial.)
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Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health, New York State Stem Cell Foundation, Department of Defense, and a UR Hematology/Oncology training grant.
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) ? West Virginia lawmakers should expect to dive into the recent wide-ranging audit of the state's public schools during their upcoming session, but it's not yet clear which recommendations from the 151-page report might make the legislative agenda.
A loan-forgiveness program for teachers in hard-to-fill subject areas or underserved parts of the state was among the proposals discussed during a series of public forums held this summer. Vision Shared, the public-private economic development effort, hosted the eight forums around the state with the help of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
"Most everyone would agree that would be a benefit to improving those school environments and attracting and attaining quality educators," Vision Shared President and Chief Executive Rebecca Randolph said of the loan forgiveness recommendation.
The forums focused on what happens in the classroom as well as on the teachers and administrators in individual schools. Randolph estimated that turnout averaged 45 people, and included parents, business and community leaders, and lawmakers. Vision Shared expects to present a final report this fall on what the forums yielded.
The state Board of Education and Superintendent Jorea Marple, meanwhile, have begun acting on several audit recommendations, spokeswoman Liza Cordeiro said. The department is looking at software to plan bus routes for all 55 counties, for instance, after the audit report linked computer-aided routing to lower transportation costs but found that all but nine counties map their bus routes manually.
The Cedar Lakes Conference Center hosted hundreds of students this summer for science and Spanish immersion camps, Cordeiro said, after the audit questioned whether the Jackson County facility might get more use if assigned to a different state agency. Cordeiro said the department has also revised purchasing policies and regrouped offices around goals instead of funding sources in the audit's wake.
Conducted by the consulting firms Public Works LLC and MGT, the audit concluded that West Virginia has perhaps the most tightly regulated education system in the country. It describes public schools rigidly controlled by state law and overseen by a department heavy with bureaucracy and largely insulated from voters or other public officials. The audit's report, issued in early January, listed more than 100 recommendations to improve lagging student performance while saving an estimated $70 million annually.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin commissioned the audit, and he included two of its proposals in his agenda for the legislative session that began shortly after the report's release. One gives more flexibility to McDowell County to act on audit findings, as part of a five-year program aimed at rescuing its struggling schools and ailing communities. The other created a statewide program for evaluating both teachers and principals more regularly than previous policy allowed. Cordeiro said the gradually unfolding program will reach 136 schools to varying degrees during the just-begun academic year.
Tomblin awaits the Vision Shared report and a response to the audit from the Board of Education, which recently began an outside review of its findings, said Hallie Mason, the governor's public policy director. Mason said Tomblin also expects groups representing teachers, administrators and school workers to weigh in as well.
"The governor took the report very seriously," Mason said. "We have no intention to have this collect dust on a shelf."
But the governor's office is up for election this year. Legislators can also expect action on the audit if Republican nominee Bill Maloney prevails in November. The Morgantown drilling consultant and business owner narrowly lost to Tomblin in last year's special election to complete an unexpired term. Maloney faults Tomblin, who was previously a longtime legislator and Senate president, for the state's mixed-to-poor showing in national rankings for student achievement.
"The recent education audit raised some valid concerns about how we educate our children," Maloney said in a statement. "We should begin to implement the audit, reform our education system, and ensure that the savings are used in the classroom to better educate our students. "
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Lawrence Messina covers the statehouse for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://twitter.com/lmessina
By David Hricik, Mercer University School of Law. (Note ? this is an update of the essay posted last week on the Patent Ethics site.)
I forget when I first thought about this, but it's been a while. With all the discussion of Prometheus (sadly, the case, not the film, which was great), I figured this was a good time to raise it. At minimum, there's a litigable question here, and assumptions that a patent issued on non-patentable subject matter is invalid need examination. I'd love to be wrong about this, but I don't think I am.
Some History.
I have not scorched the earth, but from what I can tell no court has squarely addressed the question of whether the Patent Act allows a court to deny enforcement (on any ground) of a patent granted on subject matter that is not within Section 101. Instead, what the cases showed me was that law developed in the context of challenges to the USPTO's denial of a patent have been used to invalidate issued patents ? without analyzing the statutory authority to do so.
Let's take a look at what most people assume is the law and see if we can get there: does the Patent Act allow a court to invalidate a patent that does not claim patentable subject matter?
Section 282
The starting point is 35 USC 282. It provides in pertinent part:
The following shall be defenses in any action involving the validity or infringement of a patent and shall be pleaded:
(1) Noninfringement, absence of liability for infringement, or unenforceability,
(2) Invalidity of the patent or any claim in suit on any ground specified in part II of this title as a condition for patentability,
(3) Invalidity of the patent or any claim in suit for failure to comply with any requirement of sections 112 or 251 of this title,
(4) Any other fact or act made a defense by this title.
Federico's commentary, often relied on to indicate Congressional intent, doesn't help at all, but here it is:
The defenses which may be raised in an action involving the validity or infringement of a patent are specified in general terms, by the second paragraph of section 282, in five numbered items. Item 1 specifies "Noninfringement, absence of liability for infringement, or unenforceability" (the last word was added by amendment in the Senate for greater clarity); this would include the defenses such as that the patented invention has not been made, used or sold by the defendant; license; and equitable defenses such as laches, estoppel and unclean hands. The second item specifies "Invalidity of the patent or any claim in suit on any ground specified in Part II of this title as a condition for patentability"; this would include most of the usual defenses such as lack of novelty, prior publication, prior public use, lack of invention. The third item specifies "Invalidity of the patent or any claim in suit for failure to comply with any requirement of section 112 or 251 of this title"; the first section mentioned would include the defense of insufficient disclosure, and the second sentence mentioned would include reissue defenses. The fourth item merely specifies "Any other fact or act made a defense by this title." All the defenses usually listed in textbooks on patent law may be placed in one or another of the enumerated categories, except a few which are no longer applicable in view of changes in the new statute.
Section 101.
Section 101 is relied upon as the basis for invalidating patents. It states: "Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title."
While clearly granting power to the USPTO to issue patents on "new and useful" processes, it obviously also limits the USPTO's power to do so.
The question here is not patentability, but validity. Simply, suppose the USPTO makes a mistake, and issues a patent on non-patentable subject matter. Is this a defense to infringement?
In my view, the answer is "no."
Analysis.
Let's start with the two specific subsections, because they make us focus on the text and show some very deliberate choices by Congress that easily could have gone the other way had Congress intended 101 to be a defense.
The second subsection of 282 is probably the most important: "Invalidity of the patent or any claim in suit on any ground specified in part II of this title as a condition for patentability."
Section 102 and 103 are "conditions of patentability." They say so in their titles, and they are substantive legal conditions (technically, I'd call them "conditions of unpatentability" given the burdens of proof, but this works). The fact that 101 is not a condition of patentability is to me is very important: Congress chose in 282(2) to specify that only those things denominated as "conditions of patentability" are bases for invalidity. It then chose to label 102 and 103 as conditions, but not 101. Those are deliberate choices. In my view, a patent issued on non-patentable subject matter is not "invalid" under the second provision.
Subsection 3 of Section 282 is easy to apply to this question, but it is important because it also adds to the evidence that 101 is not a defense. Patentable subject matter is in 101, not 251 or 112. So that part's easy: 282(3) doesn't list 101.
But the important point, again, is that Congress deliberately thought about what should be invalidity defenses, and what should not, and left out 101 not just as a "condition of patentability," but also in this specific paragraph, where it "caught" some strays. It left out 101. That says a lot.
Two down, two to go.
Now we're left with arguing that, although it thought about what should be invalidity defenses in two different places, nonetheless we should imply that Congress meant to include it in some amorphous language in the other two subsections. We're fighting uphill.
Let's go to the first catch-all type subsection: "Noninfringement, absence of liability for infringement, or unenforceability." Logically, I can't make patentable subject matter fit, at all. Before explaining why, let's be clear on the consequences of saying that Section 101 is within this section: it would be that the patent is valid but there would be no infringement.
"Unenforceability" is the easy one. The cases and legislative history I've read show this was designed to capture equitable doctrines like patent misuse and, arguably, inequitable conduct (long diversionary story there). We'd be straining to put 101 there.
Federico's statements that the defendant hadn't made the product, or had a license to do so, show that "infringement" means what we think it means. A licensed patent is valid, but "not infringed." A patent that the defendant never violated is valid, but not infringed. So, I can't make "noninfringement" logically work or work without giving words a very unnatural meaning.
Now the only arguable catch-all, subsection 4: "Any other fact or act made a defense by this title." Here we are, trying to read it into the catch-all that, even Federico says, "merely" specifies things in the statute that are made defenses. But, section 101 is not made a defense by this title. Instead, it specifically points to other requirements and conditions. Again, if this were easy and clear, Congress would have put in 101 "it shall be a defense to patent infringement that?" or put 101 in Section 282.
So, tell me why I am wrong.
Let me get rid of some easy ones: no court I've found has ever addressed this issue. I think it's pretty simple, but there you go. Second, don't conflate patentability with infringement defenses. There are lots of things that can affect patentability that aren't in 282. Third, 282 is exclusive: if you want so suggest that it's not, you (a) have to say "Congress enacted a specific statute laying out defenses, but it's just a guide" which is not in my view defensible; and (b) it says "shall be defenses," not "may include" or some-such. Third, this is a relatively new "defense." I can't say I've scorched the earth, but in looking at CAFC cases it has only been raised a few times.
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The e-commerce giant isn't specifying?exactly?what will happen at the event, but smart money says that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will likely use the occasion to unveil a new Kindle Fire tablet (or three). After all, the timing lines up: Amazon unveiled the original Kindle Fire back in September of 2011, and like Apple, Amazon will likely to stick to a once-a-year refresh cycle, in order to keep interest in the device high.?
So what will the new Kindle Fires look like? Well, over at PC World, Ed Oswald has a bunch of requests.?Among them: Open the thing up!?
"It may be a desire to control the experience, or an admission that the current Kindle just can?t handle it, but Amazon has the Android app experience locked down," Oswald writes. "Many apps don't run on the Fire. With these new Fires, Amazon needs to open up the experience and give users a better selection of apps to run on the device."?
Of course, it's possible that Amazon won't just take the wraps off a single Kindle Fire. Back in July, rumors started percolating about a possible five new Kindle Fire tablets, including one device with a 10-inch screen, which would presumably compete directly with the Apple iPad.?
Perform at property moms make up an important portion of home-based business enterprise owners and operate at residence freelance specialists. While you?ll find loads of perks that include operating at home, the appeal for mothers is frequently that they?ll be able to spend a lot more time with their children. Keeping that in thoughts, here is often a list of ten home-based business enterprise or freelance job concepts which will permit for a flexible schedule that may be worked about household time.
Freelance Writing Operate at property moms can discover many possibilities for freelance writers, both on-line and off. Due to the fact writing can commonly be done at any time, it could be ideal for operate at residence moms who may possibly only have time to operate throughout occasions exactly where their kids are in school or napping. A good resource for moms interested in obtaining freelance writing clients is www.WritersMarket.com.
Blogging Comparable to other writing fields, blogging may be completed at practically any time of day. Most weblog networks that hire freelancers have posting needs on a day-to-day, weekly, or monthly schedule, however the time of day that you just post is completely adaptable to your personal schedule.
eBay Beginning an eBay small business is really a fantastic solution for operate at residence moms, mainly because most solutions will sell on a 24-hour basis online devoid of too much supervision. To create an eBay organization much more excellent, drop shipping would remove the necessity of storing and managing inventory and creating typical post office runs whenever you would rather spend time together with your loved ones.
Youngster Care Perform at dwelling moms would be ideal for the youngster care field. If there?s a want inside your community, some solutions could be setting up a home-based day care center or perhaps an just after school system for older children. Based on where you live, you may have to have special certifications or licenses, but you?d have the added perk of having other youngsters around for your personal to play with and socialize with.
Graphic or Internet Style Most style operate might be run as an online-only business, which means you wouldnt normally have to run out to a client?s place for meetings. As long as you often answer your e mail all through the day, you could concentrate your actual design perform in the course of quiet times when the kids are otherwise occupied, or perhaps manage the design function during the evenings.
Tutoring or Lessons Possessing students come for your household for tutoring sessions with their schoolwork, or perhaps music lessons, is often simply adapted to fit your family?s typical schedule, including your child?s nap time, or on weekends when a person else might be about to appear just after your youngsters.
Arts and Crafts For those who have any artistic capacity, an arts or crafts-related business might be ideal for an operate at property mom. You could style jewelry, paint, make candles, or simply about any craft you could think of. There is certainly definite prospective as you?ll be able to perform on your craft during quiet times or within the evenings, and sell your crafts or art at shows on the weekends. Or, you could sell your goods anytime with a web based shop that may operate for you personally 24-7.
e-Consulting Similarly to how you may do style operate just about entirely online, you are able to do exactly the same for numerous forms of consulting in case you have the right training. For instance, you?ll be able to seek advice from on Internet content, do marketing and advertising or Seo consulting for website owners, or adapt any type of expertise into your incredibly own e-consulting firm. Research Men and women and companies in just about just about every field have a will need for a person to conduct investigation for them. You?ll be able to do something from genealogy analysis to market place investigation by conducting surveys right from the Net.
Selling Information and facts Details is still a hot commodity, and these days just about anybody can set up a website. For those who produce a fundamental site, you can sell something from ebooks to podcasts to databases of market contacts or job listings. The possibilities are endless.
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The work-at-home bookkeeper or telemarketer is not a new concept. Once upon a time, these professionals would go into their respective offices once or twice a week to acquire necessary documents, call lists, and reports so they could be productive for the rest of their work weeks. Today, things have changed a little, and freelance professionals are far more common. This is true primarily because of the advance in technology.
Computers The obvious first piece of technology that has made freelancing easier is the computer. With your desk top or laptop at home along with the right software, you can type pages of prose and documentation, with spell check and grammar check keeping an eye on your work and pointing out errors. Spreadsheet software allows you to complete complex bookkeeping activities, track information, and calculate progress. What used to be done with typewriters and adding machines can now be done more quickly and more efficiently.
The Internet As excited as we were to get our first computers, it was nothing like the onset of the internet. The World Wide Web now connects our computers to other computers around the world. Thanks to the internet, you no longer need to go to the office to turn in your work or pick up reports. They can be emailed to you in mere seconds. The internet also provides a wealth of information on millions of topics, so you can use your computer to research topics without leaving the comfort of your own home.
Cell Phones If you are a freelance professional, you probably enjoy some the freedoms that being a freelancer affords. Working from home means you can go to lunch with a group of friends or move your operations to an area coffee shop if you so wish. Thanks to cellphones, you can do this even if you are waiting for a call. When you carry a cell phone, you can be available for potential clients, as well as being available for family and friends.
Specialized Software Of course, if you want to be a successful freelance professional, you will have to purchase the software required for your specific area of expertise. Bookkeepers and accountants will need to purchase accounting software, like QuickBooks, while telemarketers will need a database program to track their calls and their successes. Accounting freelancers might draw in more potential clients if they have software that pulls accounting information from the client?s books and sends the completed work back to the clients.
Other Technological Tools Once you get started, you will realize what you need to succeed. Some of these items include a fax machine, for sending a receiving documents, a scanner for downloading reports to be sent via email, and a video conferencing software if you find that you must attend or host meetings between distance groups. All of these things and more have arisen in this age of technology, and as each new gadget hits the shelves, it makes the concept of working from your home office on a freelance basis easier and easier.
FILE - In this Aug. 18, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gets into his car to attend a fundraising event on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012 in Nantucket, Mass. The unprecedented success of Romney to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in the costliest presidential race ever can be traced in part to a secretive data-mining project that sifts through Americans? personal information _ including their purchasing history and church attendance _ to identify new and likely, wealthy donors, The Associated Press has learned. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
FILE - In this Aug. 18, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gets into his car to attend a fundraising event on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012 in Nantucket, Mass. The unprecedented success of Romney to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in the costliest presidential race ever can be traced in part to a secretive data-mining project that sifts through Americans? personal information _ including their purchasing history and church attendance _ to identify new and likely, wealthy donors, The Associated Press has learned. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney walks into a fundraising event on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012 in Minnetonka Beach, Minn. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Mitt Romney's success in raising hundreds of millions of dollars in the costliest presidential race ever can be traced in part to a secretive data-mining project that sifts through Americans' personal information ? including their purchasing history and church attendance ? to identify new and likely, wealthy donors, The Associated Press has learned.
For the data-mining project, the Republican candidate has quietly employed since at least June a little-known but successful analytics firm that previously performed marketing work for a colleague tied to Bain & Co., the management-consulting firm that Romney once led.
The head of Buxton Co. of Fort Worth, Texas, chief executive Tom Buxton, confirmed to the AP his company's efforts to help Romney identify rich and previously untapped Republican donors across the country. The Romney campaign declined to discuss on the record its work with Buxton or the project's overall success.
The project shows that the same strategies corporations use to influence the way we shop and think are now being used to influence presidential elections. The same personal information that we give away, often unwittingly when we swipe our credit cards or log into Facebook, is now being collected by the people who might one day occupy the White House.
There are no records of payments to Buxton from Romney's campaign, the Republican National Committee or a joint fundraising committee. Under federal law, companies cannot use corporate money or resources, such as proprietary data analysis, for in-kind contributions to campaigns.
The effort by Romney appears to be the first example of a political campaign using such extensive data analysis. President Barack Obama's re-election campaign has long been known as data-savvy, but Romney's project appears to take a page from the Fortune 500 business world and dig deeper into available consumer data.
Buxton said he's working for the Romney campaign because he wants "to be on the winning team."
He once worked with a former Romney business partner to provide insights, for example, about where Petco should open a new pet-supply store to maximize profits. In addition to Buxton, the data-mining project was described to the AP by a Romney fundraiser who spoke on condition of anonymity because the fundraiser did not want to face repercussions for describing internal campaign processes.
Businesses use those kinds of analytics firms to answer key questions for clients, such as where to build a retail store or where to mail pamphlets touting a new product. The analysis doesn't directly bring in campaign contributions, but it generates the equivalent of sales leads for Romney's campaign.
The project relies upon a sophisticated analysis by powerful computers of thousands of commercially available, expensive databases that are lawfully bought and sold behind the scenes by corporations, including details about credit accounts, families and children, voter registrations, charitable contributions, property tax records and survey responses. It combines marketing data with what is known in this specialized industry as psychographic information about Americans.
An early test analyzed details of more than 2 million households near San Francisco and elsewhere on the West Coast and identified thousands of people who would be comfortably able and inclined to give Romney at least $2,500 or more.
An AP analysis this week determined that Romney's campaign has made impressive inroads into even traditionally Democratic neighborhoods, collecting more than $350,000 this summer around San Francisco in contributions that averaged $400 each. High-dollar donors have been essential to Romney's election effort, unlike Obama, who relies on more contributors giving smaller amounts.
Romney and the GOP have out-fundraised Obama's re-election effort for the past three months.
The fate of the presidency may depend on who raises more money in the campaign, whose cost for the first time is approaching $2 billion. That figure includes hundreds of millions of dollars spent by "super" political committees that accept unlimited and in some cases effectively anonymous contributions from millionaires, companies, labor groups and others to pay for television campaign advertisements across the nation.
Buxton confirmed that the data-mining project began with the help of Dick Boyce, Romney's former Bain & Co. colleague, after Romney joined fundraising forces with the Republican National Committee. Buxton expressed such confidence in his business and analysis methods that, in nearly two decades of running his firm, he told AP he has always been able to answer essential questions for customers.
"I can look at data of any kind and say, 'I want to know who that $100 donor could be,'" Buxton said. "We look at data of any kind."
Obama's campaign employs its own form of data analysis to lure potential supporters, via Facebook and Twitter, to fine-tune messages for supporters and potential donors. The Obama campaign declined to comment on its internal fundraising practices, although Buxton said it doesn't work with Obama's campaign.
Romney's campaign has also been secretive about how it raises its money, and most fundraising events have been closed to the press. Unlike Obama, Romney's campaign has declined to publicly identify the names of major fundraisers, known as bundlers, who have helped amass much of its money. Details of this project have not been made public until now, as payments to Buxton aren't reflected in federal campaign expense reports.
Buxton is not listed as a vendor in any of the campaign's reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission, although some campaigns do not report expenses until the vendor sends them a bill.
When AP initially asked Buxton about its work for Romney, it declined to acknowledge that it helped raise money for the RNC, even as its own website displayed a prominent log-in page for "2012 presidential donor prospecting." That web address contained the letters "RNC" ? a common abbreviation for the Republican National Committee. After the AP's continued questioning, the company replaced the "RNC" letters in the web address with a generic "campaign" the next day.
This is not Buxton's first foray into politics: In 2006, the company produced 1,000 names for a Connecticut campaign to meet a write-in ballot requirement, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram then reported, and 900 of them signed up.
Few in Washington campaign circles recognized the work of Buxton, although it lists thousands of other clients in the public and private sector, including hospitals and local governments.
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Associated Press news researcher Judith Ausuebel in New York contributed to this report.
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Contact the Washington investigative team at DCInvestigations(at)ap.org.
Follow Jack Gillum on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jackgillum
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