Italian president at center of storm as deadlock continues

By James Mackenzie

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's 87-year-old President Giorgio Napolitano will face the greatest test of his career during his final weeks in office as he tries to end the standoff preventing a new government being formed more than a month after elections.

Following widespread reports he may resign to open the way for a new vote, Napolitano pledged to remain in office at the Quirinale palace until his term ends on May 15, averting the immediate threat of further turmoil.

He named 10 "wise men" including European Affairs Minister Enzo Moavero and senior politicians from the main center-left and center-right blocs to propose a series of urgent measures that could be backed by all parties.

Details will be announced on Tuesday but are expected to include cutting the cost of the bloated political system and replacing the widely criticized electoral law to avoid a repeat of the deadlock in future elections.

"It would be a disaster to go back to an election without have reformed the electoral law," Valerio Onida, former head of the Constitutional court who is part of the advisory group, told La Repubblica newspaper.

With financial markets already concerned about instability in the euro zone's third-largest economy, the prospect of Napolitano leaving raised alarm and moves to escape the impasse received a cautious welcome from commentators on Sunday.

"It was the right decision, it will avoid sending a dangerous signal to the markets and will show Italian institutions are solid and functioning," Enrico Letta, deputy head of the center-left Democratic Party told Reuters.

However, there were few illusions that summoning the "wise men", in line with a long tradition in Italian politics, offered more than a slim hope of overcoming the deep divisions that have prevented the parties from coming to an agreement.

"Political history shows, alas, that whenever someone wants not to decide something, what happens? They set up a nice commission," Daniela Santanche, a member of parliament close to former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, told La Stampa.

She said there was no alternative to Berlusconi's demand to share power in a coalition with the center-left formation led by Pier Luigi Bersani, which has repeatedly said it cannot deal with the scandal-plagued billionaire.

"Otherwise we go to elections, which we're sure of winning. There won't be any strange third ways," she said.

INSTABILITY

Napolitano, member of a student anti-fascist group during World War Two and a former communist, won wide respect in Italy and Europe for his handling of the 2011 political and financial market crisis which brought down the last Berlusconi government.

Newspapers reported on Sunday that European Central Bank President Mario Draghi called Napolitano to express concern his resignation would leave Italy without leadership at a time of mounting tension in financial markets.

However, Napolitano has acknowledged he has only limited power to force the parties to find a way out of political situation he said was "frozen between irreconcilable positions".

The three main blocs in parliament - Bersani's center-left, Berlusconi's center-right alliance and Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement - have all clung to demands that have prevented any government being formed.

Bersani, who won control of the lower house but fell short of the Senate majority that would allow him to govern, rules out a "grand coalition" with Berlusconi while Grillo refuses a pact with parties he blames for Italy's social and economic crisis.

Berlusconi and Grillo have both said they would not back a repeat of the kind of technocrat government led by Prime Minister Mario Monti, who will remain in office until a new government arrives.

The deeply divided parliament, along with regional representatives, will soon face the task of electing Napolitano's successor, who will have to oversee the birth of a new government or guide Italy into new elections.

Berlusconi, facing a verdict in his trial on charges of paying for sex with a minor as well as a decision on his appeal against a four-year sentence for tax fraud, has demanded the next president come from his side. He has already threatened to take protests to the streets if he does not get his way.

(Reporting By James Mackenzie; Editing by Sophie Hares)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italian-president-center-storm-deadlock-continues-152016472.html

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Obama Calls Florida the 'Center of Basketball'

Obama in Miami

MIAMI - President Obama traveled to Florida to promote investment in infrastructure today, but it was clear he's got basketball on his mind.

As he opened his speech before a Miami crowd at a port site, the president ribbed the audience by boasting that his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls, snapped the Miami Heat's winning streak on Wednesday.

"Now before we get started, I've got to get into a sticky subject. I know you guys aren't happy with my Chicago Bulls. But I just want you to know the Heat are going to be just fine," the president said. "They're going to be ok. They are playing basketball the right way."

On Wednesday, the Bulls ended the Heat's 27-game winning streak with a 101-97 victory over the Miami team. The Heat's run became the second longest streak in NBA history and fell six wins short of the record 33 wins set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

The president also praised the Florida college basketball teams who have advanced in the March Madness tournament.

"The [Miami] Hurricanes - they had a great season? They deserve a big round of applause," Obama said. "Tonight, you've got Florida and Florida Gulf Coast going at it. One of them will go to the Elite 8."

"Let's face it, Florida is the center of basketball right now," he said.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-calls-florida-center-basketball-192607344--abc-news-politics.html

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Common gene variants explain 42% of antidepressant response

Mar. 28, 2013 ? Antidepressants are commonly prescribed for the treatment of depression, but many individuals do not experience symptom relief from treatment. The National Institute of Mental Health's STAR*D study, the largest and longest study ever conducted to evaluate depression treatment, found that only approximately one-third of patients responded within their initial medication trial and approximately one-third of patients did not have an adequate clinical response after being treated with several different medications. Thus, identifying predictors of antidepressant response could help to guide the treatment of this disorder.

A new study published in Biological Psychiatry now shares progress in identifying genomic predictors of antidepressant response.

Many previous studies have searched for genetic markers that may predict antidepressant response, but have done so despite not knowing the contribution of genetic factors. Dr. Katherine Tansey of Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London and colleagues resolved to answer that question.

"Our study quantified, for the first time, how much is response to antidepressant medication influenced by an individual's genetic make-up," said Tansey.

To perform this work, the researchers estimated the magnitude of the influence of common genetic variants on antidepressant response using a sample of 2,799 antidepressant-treated subjects with major depressive disorder and genome-wide genotyping data.

They found that genetic variants explain 42% of individual differences, and therefore, significantly influence antidepressant response.

"While we know that there are no genetic markers with strong effect, this means that there are many genetic markers involved. While each specific genetic marker may have a small effect, they may add up to make a meaningful prediction," Tansey added.

"We have a very long way to go to identify genetic markers that can usefully guide the treatment of depression. There are two critical challenges to this process," said Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. "First, we need to have genomic markers that strongly predict response or non-response to available treatments. Second, markers for non-response to available treatments also need to predict response to an alternative treatment. Both of these conditions need to be present for markers of non-response to guide personalized treatments of depression."

"Although the Tansey et al. study represents progress, it is clear that we face enormous challenges with regards to both objectives," he added. "For example, it does not yet appear that having a less favorable genomic profile is a sufficiently strong negative predictor of response to justify withholding antidepressant treatment. Similarly, there is lack of clarity as to how to optimally treat patients who might have less favorable genomic profile.."

Additional research is certainly required, but scientists hope that one day, results such as these can lead to personalized treatment for depression.

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Journal Reference:

1. Katherine E. Tansey, Michel Guipponi, Xiaolan Hu, Enrico Domenici, Glyn Lewis, Alain Malafosse, Jens R. Wendland, Cathryn M. Lewis, Peter McGuffin, Rudolf Uher. Contribution of Common Genetic Variants to Antidepressant Response. Biological Psychiatry, 2013; 73 (7): 679 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.10.030

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/mind_brain/depression/~3/z5l4WA6eDzU/130328091730.htm

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Lawmakers invite divisive Indian Hindu nationalist to visit

By Ross Colvin

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A visiting U.S. congressional delegation on Thursday invited the chief minister of India's Gujarat state, Narendra Modi, to the United States, despite the fact that Washington has denied him a visa since 2005 because of deadly religious riots.

The invitation was a symbolic victory for Modi, a popular but divisive Hindu nationalist leader who is widely seen as harboring ambitions to become prime minister in 2014 and has been trying to win greater international acceptance.

However, the offer from Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives is not likely to influence whether he eventually receives a visa from the State Department, which said such invitations have "no bearing" on their decisions.

Modi is accused by critics of not doing enough to stop - or of even quietly encouraging - riots in 2002 in which at least 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, were killed. He has denied the accusations but they have cast a shadow over his political ambitions and for years he was shunned by the West.

Indian media saw Thursday's visit by Representatives Aaron Schock, Cathy McMorris-Rodgers and Cynthia Lummis as a public relations coup for Modi, who has been trying to cultivate an image of a statesman. He quickly tweeted that the congressional delegation had lauded his leadership abilities.

It was the highest level U.S. delegation to meet Modi since the riots, an official in Modi's office said. The United States has maintained links with his administration at a consular level. U.S. companies such as Ford Motor Co. have major operations in Gujarat.

Schock, an Illinois congressman, told a news conference that American business leaders had encouraged him to visit Gujarat "because unlike other places in India our foreign investment is welcome".

"My colleagues and I were thoroughly impressed with our meeting with Modi and I will tell you that he is a very dynamic person and he has a pretty impressive track record here in the state of Gujarat.

"We extended an invitation to the chief minister to come to the United States and share with our colleagues some of what he's done here in the state."

McMorris-Rodgers, who is from Washington state and is the fourth-ranking Republican leader in the House of Representatives, said U.S. lawmakers would work with the Obama administration to ease the travel curbs on Modi.

The issue of human rights was not discussed during the 90-minute meeting, an official in Modi's office said.

There was no immediate comment from the State Department but Robert Blake, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, said in February that the United States was not reconsidering its policy towards Modi.

"Visa decisions for all individuals are grounded in U.S. law and made by the Department of State on a case-by-case basis," said a U.S. State Department spokeswoman. "An invitation from a U.S. lawmaker has no bearing on any decision regarding potential visas."

"This case is no different. There has been no change to our visa policy. Our longstanding policy with regard to the Chief Minister is that he is welcome to apply for a visa and await a review like any other applicant," she added. "I am not going to speculate about what the outcome might be."

The lawmakers' trip came week after a British foreign minister met Modi in Gujarat, the most high-profile visit by a British official since the country ended its boycott of Modi in October. Modi has also been invited to a session of the European Parliament, his website said.

Diplomats in New Delhi say that given Modi's rising star, it is important for foreign governments to get to know him better.

(Additional reporting by Annie Banerji, Matthias Williams and Satarupa Bhattacharjya in New Delhi and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawmakers-invite-divisive-indian-hindu-nationalist-visit-195416307.html

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NJ boy, 4, found with dead mom was living on sugar

UNION, N.J. (AP) ? A naked, malnourished 4-year-old boy found inside an apartment with the body of his mother, dead for days, had resorted to eating from a bag of sugar and weighed only 26 pounds, well below normal, police said Wednesday as adoption offers poured in from around the world.

The boy's first request after being examined, police said, was a grilled cheese sandwich and a juice.

His mother, identified Wednesday as Kiana Workman, 38, of New York City's Brooklyn borough, was discovered dead Tuesday on the floor of her bedroom after maintenance workers at the apartment complex in northern New Jersey reported a foul odor. Because the chain lock was on, police said, the toddler couldn't get out.

Officer Joseph Sauer said the boy was naked but coherent and not crying when he kicked in the door and his partner lifted the youngster up by the arms and pulled him out of the overheated apartment.

"The only way to describe the little boy was it was like a scene from World War II, from a concentration camp, he was that skinny. I mean, you could see all his bones," Sauer told The Associated Press.

The apartment in this city 15 miles west of New York belongs to Workman's mother, who is recuperating from surgery at a nursing center, said police, who could not track down any other relatives.

The boy, now in state custody, remained in a hospital where he was being treated for malnourishment and dehydration, police said.

"Physically, he's fine. Whether there are any mental problems later on ... I'm not a child expert," Police Director Daniel Zieser said.

The boy was not strong enough to open the refrigerator and was unable to open a can of soup. Police said he told them he had been eating from a bag of sugar.

The boy could not say how long his mother had been dead.

Police said he put lotion on his mother, leaving behind handprints, in an attempt to help her.

Officer Sylvia Dimenna, who traveled in the ambulance with the boy and stayed with him at the hospital, said he was very bright and articulate but tired.

"He said he missed his mommy," she said.

Police initially estimated she had been dead five days before the discovery was made, but Zieser said Wednesday it may have been two to three. Nobody had talked to her for about a week.

The boy weighed 26 pounds, but at the age of 4? should have weighed 40 pounds or more, Zieser said.

"It's possible he was improperly cared for before the mother's death; we just don't know yet," Zieser said.

Autopsy results that would help them better determine the time of death were pending. Police said they did not suspect foul play.

Police said they were getting calls from around the world from people offering to adopt the child or donate money or toys.

"It's overwhelming," Zieser said.

"I just hope everything works out for the child," the police director said. "We're just going to take it one step at a time and do the best that we can for the child."

Police said they were trying to find someone in the family capable of taking care of the boy, including a brother of Workman believed to live out West. But he said it would be up to the state's child welfare agency to determine where the child is placed.

Zieser described the apartment complex as a well-maintained property with few problems.

But he said everyone there "basically stays to themselves."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nj-boy-4-found-dead-mom-living-sugar-212828288.html

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Where Sheryl Sandberg gets it wrong

Facebook chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, offers sound career advice to women with her 'lean in' initiative. But must the answer to gender inequity always be to make women more like men? Sometimes women also need to push back and speak out ? for the good of men, too.

By Amy E. Black / March 27, 2013

Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, speaks during an interview in New York March 12. Op-ed contributor Amy E. Black writes: 'The best way to close [the] ?ambition gap? is not to encourage women to ?man up? and over-estimate their contributions, but to encourage everyone...to tell the truth.'

Adrees Latif/Reuters

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Sheryl Sandberg?s ?Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead? has vaulted to the top of bestseller lists and spurred conversations in cubicles, around dinner tables, and across social media. The Facebook chief operating officer?s book, and the foundation that will be funded by book sales, challenge young women to ?lean in? to their ambitions instead of ?pulling back? by selling themselves short and not achieving their full professional potential.

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Ms. Sandberg acknowledges that external barriers hinder women in the workplace, but focuses most of her attention on internal barriers. She urges women to have greater confidence, perform at high levels, and challenge themselves with a singular focus on achievement.

Sandberg offers some sound advice, and young women (and men) determined to climb the workplace ladder should pay attention. But leaning in is not always sensible.

Workplace disparities between women and men persist, and Sandberg identifies several. But many of the external barriers women face require far more than a pep talk or consciousness-raising to overcome. At times, women should indeed lean in and forge full-steam ahead in their workplaces, but at other times they need to push back and speak out.

Some of her solutions hark back to the early years of second-wave feminism and its more problematic assumptions. Must the answer to gender inequity always be to make women more like men? Why can?t men and women learn from one another?

For example, Sandberg quotes studies that show women play down their capabilities. When asked to estimate their grade-point averages or other objectively measurable goals, women guess too low and men guess too high. When asked the secret to their success, women are more likely to attribute it to the assistance of others, whereas men tend to claim they did it all on their own.

The best way to close this ?ambition gap? is not to encourage women to ?man up? and over-estimate their contributions, but to encourage everyone ? men and women ? to tell the truth.

And the truth is: None of us fully owns our success. The recipe for individual achievements is a complex mix of work ethic, natural strengths and talents, personal background, access to networks, and the hard work of others.

As Sandberg notes, the dominant corporate culture rewards those who claim all the credit and ignores those who helped. Instead of leaning in and perpetuating the problem, women ? and men ? should be pushing back against the norm of self-promotion, demanding and rewarding honesty, and speaking out on behalf of those whose essential contributions are too often overlooked and underappreciated.

Leaning in at organizations that still play by men?s rules doesn?t empower women; it trivializes their contributions. Men and women often bring different perspectives to the workplace, and both are valuable. When women enter politics, for example, the agenda expands and lawmakers pay more attention to issues that were previously overlooked.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/fd9bTPyXIhA/Where-Sheryl-Sandberg-gets-it-wrong

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Google awards $1,000 for critical fix to Chrome

Marshall Honorof , TechNewsDaily ? ? ? 8 hrs.

Google has updated its Chrome Web browser to version number 26, patching two serious security flaws and a number of smaller ones.

For hackers, Chrome is one of the toughest Web browsers to crack, but that doesn't mean that it's perfect. Consequently, Google offers a $1,000 reward to whomever can point out major security flaws.

One Finnish code expert earned his share recently by pointing out a huge vulnerability in Chrome's audio systems, one of the two serious flaws patched by Tuesday's update.

Google will not divulge exactly how the security flaw worked until it has finished distributing patches to the majority of Chrome users. The issue involved the "use-after-free" functionality of Chrome's Web audio player.

Use-after-free refers to how a program allocates digital memory after finishing its task. For example, playing a song in Chrome requires a certain amount of system resources.

After the song's completion, those resources have to migrate elsewhere in the browser. By taking advantage of this newly freed memory, a hacker could introduce any number of malicious bits of code.

Atte Kettunen, the code expert who found the flaw, is a security expert based in Finland, and will receive $1,000 for his contribution to keeping Chrome safe.

Google offers the same prize to anyone who can find a major flaw in its popular, lightweight browser, although Kettunen was the only one who earned the honor this time around.

Google gave other vulnerabilities lower priority, or used its internal employees to find them (the $1,000 reward only applies to outsiders). The only other high-priority fix involves a potential data leakage between multiple tabs, while less likely candidates included oddities in Chrome's dev tools and its HTML processing. [See also: 5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Google Chrome]

Chrome updates automatically for Windows users; Mac and Linux users have to update manually.

If you want the update right now, it's quite simple to acquire. Select "About Google Chrome" in the program's main menu, and it will automatically search for, download and apply the update for version 26.

Remember: If you find a security flaw in the new version, don't keep it to yourself. There could be $1,000 in it for you.

Follow Marshall Honorof @marshallhonorof. Follow us @TechNewsDaily, Facebook or Google+.

Copyright 2013 TechNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2a12244a/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Ctechnolog0Cgoogle0Eawards0E10E0A0A0A0Ecritical0Efix0Echrome0E2B9118594/story01.htm

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Giant robot jellyfish reporting for recon duty, sir (video)

As if there weren't enough real jellyfish around to trigger our thalassophobia, researchers at Virginia Tech have created Cryo -- an eight-armed autonomous robot that mimics jelly movement with the help of a flexible silicone hat. The man-sized jellybot altogether dwarfs previous efforts, hence the upgrade from small tank to swimming pool for mock field tests. And unlike the passively propelled bots we've seen recently, Cryo runs on batteries, with the researchers hoping to better replicate the energy-efficient nature of jelly movement to eventually increase Cryo's charge cycle to months instead of hours. That's also the reason these robotic jellyfish are getting bigger -- because the larger they are, the further they can go. Potential uses include ocean monitoring and perhaps clearing oil spills, but the US Navy, which is funding the work, sees an opportunity to recruit jellies for underwater surveillance -- a job the researchers say is suited to their natural-looking disguise. But, before the tables are turned, you can spy on Cryo for yourself in the video below.

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Source: Virginia Tech (Vimeo)

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Pesticide combination affects bees' ability to learn

Mar. 27, 2013 ? Two new studies have highlighted a negative impact on bees' ability to learn following exposure to a combination of pesticides commonly used in agriculture. The researchers found that the pesticides, used in the research at levels shown to occur in the wild, could interfere with the learning circuits in the bee's brain. They also found that bees exposed to combined pesticides were slower to learn or completely forgot important associations between floral scent and food rewards.

In the study published today (27 March 2013) in Nature Communications, the University of Dundee's Dr Christopher Connolly and his team investigated the impact on bees' brains of two common pesticides: pesticides used on crops called neonicotinoid pesticides, and another type of pesticide, coumaphos, that is used in honeybee hives to kill the Varroa mite, a parasitic mite that attacks the honey bee.

The intact bees' brains were exposed to pesticides in the lab at levels predicted to occur following exposure in the wild and brain activity was recorded. They found that both types of pesticide target the same area of the bee brain involved in learning, causing a loss of function. If both pesticides were used in combination, the effect was greater.

The study is the first to show that these pesticides have a direct impact on pollinator brain physiology. It was prompted by the work of collaborators Dr Geraldine Wright and Dr Sally Williamson at Newcastle University who found that combinations of these same pesticides affected learning and memory in bees. Their studies established that when bees had been exposed to combinations of these pesticides for 4 days, as many as 30% of honeybees failed to learn or performed poorly in memory tests. Again, the experiments mimicked levels that could be seen in the wild, this time by feeding a sugar solution mixed with appropriate levels of pesticides.

Dr Geraldine Wright said: "Pollinators perform sophisticated behaviours while foraging that require them to learn and remember floral traits associated with food. Disruption in this important function has profound implications for honeybee colony survival, because bees that cannot learn will not be able to find food."

Together the researchers expressed concerns about the use of pesticides that target the same area of the brain of insects and the potential risk of toxicity to non-target insects. Moreover, they said that exposure to different combinations of pesticides that act at this site may increase this risk.

Dr Christopher Connolly said: "Much discussion of the risks posed by the neonicotinoid insecticides has raised important questions of their suitability for use in our environment. However, little consideration has been given to the miticidal pesticides introduced directly into honeybee hives to protect the bees from the Varroa mite. We find that both have negative impact on honeybee brain function.

"Together, these studies highlight potential dangers to pollinators of continued exposure to pesticides that target the insect nervous system and the importance of identifying combinations of pesticides that could profoundly impact pollinator survival."

This research is part of the Insect Pollinators Initiative, joint-funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Defra, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Scottish Government and the Wellcome Trust under the auspices of the Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) partnership.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

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Journal References:

1. Mary J. Palmer, Christopher Moffat, Nastja Saranzewa, Jenni Harvey, Geraldine A. Wright, Christopher N. Connolly. Cholinergic pesticides cause mushroom body neuronal inactivation in honeybees. Nature Communications, 2013; 4: 1634 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2648
2. S. M. Williamson, G. A. Wright. Exposure to multiple cholinergic pesticides impairs olfactory learning and memory in honeybees. Journal of Experimental Biology, 2013; DOI: 10.1242/jeb.083931

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_science/~3/UKb6bYahUk4/130327133347.htm

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How does innovation take hold in a community? Math modeling can provide clues

Mar. 27, 2013 ? Mathematical models can be used to study the spread of technological innovations among individuals connected to each other by a network of peer-to-peer influences, such as in a physical community or neighborhood. One such model was introduced in a paper published yesterday in the SIAM Journal on Applied Dynamical Systems.

Authors N. J. McCullen, A. M. Rucklidge, C. S. E. Bale, T. J. Foxon, and W. F. Gale focus on one main application: The adoption of energy-efficient technologies in a population, and consequently, a means to control energy consumption. By using a network model for adoption of energy technologies and behaviors, the model helps evaluate the potential for using networks in a physical community to shape energy policy.

The decision or motivation to adopt an energy-efficient technology is based on several factors, such as individual preferences, adoption by the individual's social circle, and current societal trends. Since innovation is often not directly visible to peers in a network, social interaction -- which communicates the benefits of an innovation -- plays an important role. Even though the properties of interpersonal networks are not accurately known and tend to change, mathematical models can provide insights into how certain triggers can affect a population's likelihood of embracing new technologies. The influence of social networks on behavior is well recognized in the literature outside of the energy policy domain: network intervention can be seen to accelerate behavior change.

"Our model builds on previous threshold diffusion models by incorporating sociologically realistic factors, yet remains simple enough for mathematical insights to be developed," says author Alastair Rucklidge. "For some classes of networks, we are able to quantify what strength of social network influence is necessary for a technology to be adopted across the network."

The model consists of a system of individuals (or households) who are represented as nodes in a network. The interactions that link these individuals -- represented by the edges of the network -- can determine probability or strength of social connections. In the paper, all influences are taken to be symmetric and of equal weight. Each node is assigned a current state, indicating whether or not the individual has adopted the innovation. The model equations describe the evolution of these states over time.

Households or individuals are modeled as decision makers connected by the network, for whom the uptake of technologies is influenced by two factors: the perceived usefulness (or utility) of the innovation to the individual, including subjective judgments, as well as barriers to adoption, such as cost. The total perceived utility is derived from a combination of personal and social benefits. Personal benefit is the perceived intrinsic benefit for the individual from the product. Social benefit depends on both the influence from an individual's peer group and influence from society, which could be triggered by the need to fit in. The individual adopts the innovation when the total perceived utility outweighs the barriers to adoption.

When the effect of each individual node is analyzed along with its influence over the entire network, the expected level of adoption is seen to depend on the number of initial adopters and the structure and properties of the network. Two factors in particular emerge as important to successful spread of the innovation: The number of connections of nodes with their neighbors, and the presence of a high degree of common connections in the network.

This study makes it possible to assess the variables that can increase the chances for success of an innovation in the real world. From a marketing standpoint, strategies could be designed to enhance the perceived utility of a product or item to consumers by modifying one or more of these factors. By varying different parameters, a government could help figure out the effect of different intervention strategies to expedite uptake of energy-efficient products, thus helping shape energy policy.

"We can use this model to explore interventions that a local authority could take to increase adoption of energy-efficiency technologies in the domestic sector, for example by running recommend-a-friend schemes, or giving money-off vouchers," author Catherine Bale explains. "The model enables us to assess the likely success of various schemes that harness both the householders' trust in local authorities and peer influence in the adoption process. At a time when local authorities are extremely resource-constrained, tools to identify the interventions that will provide the biggest impact in terms of reducing household energy bills and carbon emissions could be of immense value to cities, councils and communities."

One of the motivations behind the study -- modeling the effect of social networks in the adoption of energy technologies -- was to help reduce energy consumption by cities, which utilize over two-thirds of the world's energy, releasing more than 70% of global CO₂ emissions. Local authorities can indirectly influence the provision and use of energy in urban areas, and hence help residents and businesses reduce energy demand through the services they deliver. "Decision-making tools are needed to support local authorities in achieving their potential contribution to national and international energy and climate change targets," says author William Gale.

Higher quantities of social data can help in making more accurate observations through such models. As author Nick McCullen notes,"To further refine these types of models, and make the results reliable enough to be used to guide the decisions of policy-makers, we need high quality data. Particularly, data on the social interactions between individuals communicating about energy innovations is needed, as well as the balance of factors affecting their decision to adopt."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

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Journal Reference:

1. N. J. McCullen, A. M. Rucklidge, C. S. E. Bale, T. J. Foxon, W. F. Gale. Multiparameter Models of Innovation Diffusion on Complex Networks. SIAM Journal on Applied Dynamical Systems, 2013; 12 (1): 515 DOI: 10.1137/120885371

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/hugYw5OyB2M/130327163559.htm

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'Oz' again tops box office with $42.2 million

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. "The Call," $17.1 million.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5. "Warm Bodies," $4 million.

6. "Mama," $3.8 million.

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

8. "Les Miserables," $3.1 million.

9. "Django Unchained," $3 million.

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

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Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

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

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

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-17-Box%20Office/id-6d4a45df6d5a4b56842e1b60f62bc983

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2 inmates escape from Quebec jail in helicopter

Police vehicles block a road just outside the town of Chertsey, Quebec, Sunday, March 17, 2013, during a search for escaped prisoners. A dramatic daylight jailbreak involving two Quebec inmates climbing a rope into a hovering helicopter swiftly escalated into a large police operation Sunday night in which at least one escapee was tracked down hours after he fled. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

Police vehicles block a road just outside the town of Chertsey, Quebec, Sunday, March 17, 2013, during a search for escaped prisoners. A dramatic daylight jailbreak involving two Quebec inmates climbing a rope into a hovering helicopter swiftly escalated into a large police operation Sunday night in which at least one escapee was tracked down hours after he fled. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

Police vehicles block a road just outside the town of Chertsey, Quebec, Sunday, March 17, 2013, during a search for escaped prisoners. A dramatic daylight jailbreak involving two Quebec inmates climbing a rope into a hovering helicopter swiftly escalated into a large police operation Sunday night in which at least one escapee was tracked down hours after he fled. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

SAINT-JEROME, Quebec (AP) ? Two Quebec inmates climbed up a rope into a hovering helicopter to make a daring daylight escape Sunday from a jail northwest of Montreal, authorities said.

Quebec provincial police said later that they had arrested three people about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the Saint-Jerome jail from which the inmates escaped. One of those arrested was 36-year-old inmate Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau.

Authorities late Sunday located the second inmate and said a security perimeter had been set up around the area where 33-year-old Danny Provencal was found.

Quebec provincial police Sgt. Benoit Richard said authorities were in contact with Provencal and have him surrounded at a compound near where the three others were arrested.

"We're still in negotiations and that's still going on," Richard said. "He's in a compound and we are in contact with him and we are trying to find a peaceful resolution."

Earlier on Sunday, police received a call from the staff at the Saint-Jerome jail, reporting the escape around 2:20 p.m., Richard said.

The jail's warden told police that Hudon-Barbeau and Provencal had grabbed a rope dropped from the helicopter to make their getaway, Richard said.

Quebec provincial police tracked down the helicopter used in the escape on Sunday afternoon to Mont-Tremblant, about 53 miles (85 kilometers) away from the jail but only the chopper's pilot was still at the scene. He was taken to a local hospital and was treated for shock, Richard said. He called the pilot "an important witness" in the case.

According to a provincial police, Hudon-Barbeau was arrested in November on two firearm related charges and associating with people who have a criminal record. The arrest came as part of an investigation of a double murder in Quebec.

A Montreal radio station, 98.5 FM, said it received a call Sunday from a man claiming to be Hudon-Barbeau, who said he was "ready to die" as he tried to evade police.

"The way they're treating me in there, it's unreal," the man told the radio station. "They won't let me be. They put me back in prison for nothing."

Authorities did not immediately respond to the claims made in the radio station interview.

Yves Galarneau, the correctional services manager who oversees the Saint-Jerome jail, said he'd never seen anything like the dramatic escape in more than three decades on the job.

Galarneau said there are no security measures in place at the jail to prevent a helicopter from swooping down from above.

"As far as I know, it's a first in Quebec," he told reporters at the scene. "It's exceptional."

Although the tactic may have been a first for Quebec, using a chopper to break out of jail has a long and colorful history, and not just in the movies.

A New York businessman, Joel David Kaplan, used a chopper to escape from a Mexican jail in 1971, and went on to write a book about it. Pascal Payet, a French prisoner, used a helicopter to escape on three occasions, only to be caught by authorities every time.

The jail at the center of Sunday's escapade in Quebec is a provincial detention center with a maximum-security wing.

Saint-Jerome jail, located about 37 miles (60 kilometers) northwest of Montreal, experienced a mini-riot by about a dozen prisoners a little over a month ago. In that incident, police were called in to secure the outside of the jail, which holds about 480 inmates, and jail staff used pepper spray to disperse the mob.

_________

Associated Press writer Benjamin Shingler in Montreal contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-18-CN-Canada-Prison-Escape/id-ba212468479c4f58a090ed147184c19b

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More Galaxy S4 rumors emerge: May have a creepy ?Smart screen?

We?re just over a week away from the big unveiling of the Galaxy S IV by Samsung, and the rumors continue to come?swarming in. As of this morning several more astonishing rumors have made their way to the public including not only?new hardware details,?but?also?some new features for the phone.

• Specs: According to TechCrunch, the latest hardware details for the Galaxy S4 suggest a 1.8GHZ Quad-Core processor, as well as a 5-inch display with 1920?1080 pixel full HD resolution, and impressive 440ppi (pixels per inch), besting Apple?s Retina display on the iPhone.
• Plastic:?CNET?s latest look on the?GS4 suggests?it will stick with its plastic bevel design, rather opt for a metallic bezel that is seen on other phones like the iPhone 5. Samsung?s Executive VP of Mobile, Y.H. Lee, defends the decision over the need for a more durable and reliable handset.
• Smart screen: The? GS4 will, according to both TechCrunch and BGR, also feature some exciting new ?Smart Screen? features designed to allow you to better use the handset. The smart screen allows the GS4 to know when your head is looking toward or away from the screen, allowing it to turn on or off, as well as rotate. The technology likely uses the front-facing camera to accomplish the task, meaning your GS4 will be constantly watching you ? for better or worse.

These are the latest rumors of likely many more to come in the mere days ahead before Samsung?s big unveiling in New York. Check back with us for a complete roundup of all the rumors made on the Galaxy S4 so far.

Source: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/galaxy-s-iv-rumors-smartscreen-hardware/

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