Auto dealership groups post larger adjusted profit

(Reuters) - U.S. auto dealership groups Sonic Automotive Inc and Asbury Automotive Group Inc posted higher third-quarter adjusted earnings as vehicle sales rose and costs stayed about flat.

Sonic, the third-largest U.S. dealership group, reported a smaller-than-expected profit. Sonic reported adjusted earnings of 40 cents per share, compared with the 42 cents per share predicted by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Meanwhile, Asbury, the No. 7 dealer, beat estimates with a 72-cent-per-share profit, excluding one-time items, while analysts on average expected a profit of 64 cents.

Both companies took actions during the quarter to revamp their capital structure. Sonic bought back debt, which led to a pretax charge of about $18.5 million or 19 cents per share, while Asbury repurchased $6 million of its common stock.

Sonic said the move simplified its capital structure and delayed its earliest debt maturity to 2018.

Asbury CEO Craig Monaghan said in a telephone interview that the company plans to spend $25 million to $30 million per year over the next three years to repurchase shares, which he said was like a dividend to shareholders.

He said Asbury has come back from near-death during the U.S. auto industry downturn in 2009 to a point where "our balance sheet is stronger than it's ever been."

"We are a very different company than we were just three years ago," Monaghan said.

Sonic shares were up 2.9 percent at $18.70 and Asbury shares were up 1.5 percent at $30.49 at midday Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

LOWER COSTS

Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker said that Asbury's performance on its selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses was a major reason the company beat estimates.

Asbury revamped itself dramatically after the financial crisis by cutting labor and other costs and saved millions by moving its headquarters to suburban Atlanta from New York.

Asbury's third-quarter SG&A expenses as a percentage of gross profit fell to 72.3 percent from 77.1 percent a year ago. Sonic's SG&A expenses during the quarter were 77.6 percent of gross profit, down from 77.9 percent a year ago.

Both companies were helped by higher U.S. auto sales this year, which are up 14.5 percent through September. Sonic's new vehicle retail sales were 19.5 percent higher and Asbury saw a 14 percent jump.

Sonic said net income during the third quarter fell to $10 million, or 21 cents per share, from $21.3 million or 34 cents per share a year before. Sonic revenue rose 11.7 percent to nearly $2.2 billion.

Excluding one-time items, Sonic reported adjusted earnings of $21.3 million, or 40 cents per share, up from $19.4 million or 34 cents per share a year earlier.

Asbury, based in suburban Atlanta, reported net income for the quarter of $20.7 million, or 66 cents per diluted share, compared with $12.3 million, or 38 cents per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue was up 14 percent to $1.2 billion.

ASBURY ADDING DEALERS

About half of Sonic's new vehicle revenue comes from luxury nameplates including BMW , Daimler AG's Mercedes and General Motors Co's Cadillac brand.

Asbury's is more reliant on mainstream brands. Honda Motor Co accounted for 26 percent of new vehicle sales in the first nine months, followed by Nissan Motor Co and Toyota Motor Co , each at 18 percent.

Asbury is looking to expand, Monaghan said. The company plans to buy dealerships that have combined revenue of between $400 million and $600 million in the next three years, he said.

Asbury currently has 77 auto stores representing 97 franchises.

Asbury will concentrate on acquiring dealers that are already in its primary Southeast U.S. area, but also may expand beyond its current U.S. footprint, Monaghan said.

Monaghan also said that Asbury wants to buy more of the land on which its dealers are located in the next three years, to 75 percent from the current 60 percent.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman and Bernie Woodall in Detroit; editing by Matthew Lewis)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/auto-dealership-groups-post-larger-adjusted-profit-161247768--finance.html

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Strategist: Romney?s Florida Latino outreach may be all he needs [VIDEO]

Video package by Gillian Roberts

Mitt Romney?s campaign says it expects to receive 38 percent of the Latino vote ? a number that past Republican records indicate the Republican nominee is unlikely to meet. But some strategists are saying that the former Massachusetts governor may not need that level of support nationally if he can win a majority of votes from Hispanic Floridians.

?I don?t think he?s going to get that, and I don?t know that he?s going to need to,? Republican strategist Ana Navarro said. ?He can win with much less than the 38 percent.?

In Florida, Romney leads President Barack Obama 49 percent to 46 percent among Latino voters. The state?s Hispanic community is diverse, with Navarro listing Colombians, Venezuelans and Puerto Ricans among the subgroups that have joined the reliably Republican Cuban Hispanic demographic as influential in this election.

?Candidates today have to do a lot more micro-targeting with Hispanic groups,? Navarro said. ?With what we see today, I would say that President Obama is just off enough with enough groups where the lead he enjoyed with John McCain has gone away.?

Navarro was speaking at a briefing hosted by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials at the National Press Club Tuesday morning. The briefing focused on both Latino politicians and the Latino vote in the 2012 presidential race.

Obama leads Romney 70 percent to 25 percent among Latino likely voters nationally, according to an NBC/WSJ/Telemundo poll released before Monday night?s presidential debate. This is an improvement for Obama over his 67 percent to 31 percent lead among Latinos in the 2008 election against Sen. John McCain.

Romney, however, seems to have flipped the script in Florida. Obama led McCain 57 percent to 42 percent among Hispanics in the Sunshine State in 2008. It was the first time a majority of Latino voters in Florida voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since at least 1988, when exit polls were first conducted in the state.

Democratic strategist Maria Cardona thinks Obama could regain an edge among Latino voters in Florida because of the increasing youthfulness of the Hispanic population there.

?A lot of the Cubans there are a lot younger, so the [Cuban dictator] Fidel [Catro] issue is not the only issue,? Cardona said. ?The race today is absolutely incredibly tight. In Florida, specifically, if President Obama can focus on the Hispanic vote successfully, I think he can take Florida.?

Outside of Florida, Cardona said the Latino vote would deliver electoral results for Obama, particularly in southwest states such as Nevada and New Mexico.

?President Obama today enjoys a lead in the battleground states due to the Latino vote,? Cardona said.

In the eight battleground states where Obama leads according to the Real Clear Politics polling average, only one of them, Nevada, has a more than 6 percent Latino population.

Real Clear Politics has Romney leading Obama among all voters nationally by less than one percentage point.

With the electoral implications of the Latino vote unclear, Navarro had a suggestion for how Latino voters could make their voices heard: ?Some of those are going to have to bite the bullet and move to Ohio and New Hampshire,? she said to laughter.

Navarro also blamed Romney?s deficit among Latinos on Republican outreach efforts not peaking until after the Republican National Convention.

?The lesson learned here is that Hispanic outreach and efforts have to be long term, continuous and strenuous,? Navarro said.

National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Executive Director Arturo Vargas articulated the No. 1 reason both Republicans and Democrats need to stay focused on Latino outreach, saying, ?Every 30 seconds, a Latino turns 18.?

Follow David and follow Gillian on Twitter

Source: http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/23/strategist-romneys-florida-latino-outreach-may-be-all-he-needs/

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Augusta's Darrell & Co. to expand salon services in new Washington Road location

A west Augusta salon is expanding services and moving to a larger location later this month.

Darrell & Co. will move from its Hudson Trace home for more than six years to 3241 Washington Road, next door to Tuesday Morning, manager Michael Hartley said.

?We think it is going to be a wonderful location and an awesome move,? he said. The new salon will open its doors Oct. 30.

Hartley said salon owner Darrell Dennis has been a stylist for 35 years. The salon will be adding a massage therapist certified in reflexology and hopes to add manicure and pedicure services in the near future, he said.

Source: http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/business/2012-10-23/augustas-darrell-co-expand-salon-services-new-washington-road-location

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AP Exclusive: France sends drones for Mali crisis

PARIS (AP) ? France is moving surveillance drones to west Africa and holding secretive talks with U.S. officials in Paris on Monday, as France seeks to steer international military action to help Mali's feeble government win back the northern part of the country from al-Qaida-linked rebels, The Associated Press has learned.

France and the United Nations insist any invasion of Mali's north must be led by African troops. But France, which has six hostages in Mali and is said to have citizens who have joined al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, is playing an increasing role behind the scenes.

Many in the West fear that northeast Mali and the arid Sahel region could become the new Afghanistan, a no-man's-land where Islamists can train, impose shariah law and plot terror attacks.

"This is actually a major threat ? to French interests in the region, and to France itself," said Francois Heisbourg, an expert at the Foundation for Strategic Research, a partially state-funded think tank in Paris. "This is like Afghanistan 1996. This is like when Bin Laden found a place that was larger than France in which he could organize training camps, in which he could provide stable preparations for organizing far-flung terror attacks."

France has been turning more attention to the Sahel just as it is accelerating its pullout of combat troops from Afghanistan ahead of other NATO allies.

A French defense official said Monday that France plans to move two surveillance drones to western Africa from Afghanistan by year-end, though he did not provide details.

Top-level American and French military leaders and diplomats, including U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs Johnnie Carson, began two days of talks in Paris on Monday on intelligence-gathering and security in Mali and the rest of the Sahel region, officials from both sides told the AP.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk publicly about the activities.

The Paris meetings follow a U.N. Security Council resolution that gives Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about a month to help Malian authorities devise a plan to regain control of the north. And on Friday, African leaders met in Bamako, Mali's capital, to prepare a plan for a military intervention in the north ? seized under the cover of a coup d'etat there six months ago.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-exclusive-france-sends-drones-mali-crisis-163338139.html

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Ham Radio Classes Being Offered

Dale Hummel (KL2BO), Contributing Writer

When a storm, forest fire, flood, or earthquake happens do you ever wish you could do something to help? When you see events on the TV, or read about natural disasters in the paper do you wish you could do something? Would you like to give something back to your community?

Amateur, (Ham) radio is a great way to do your part in either a disaster or community service.

Today?s ham radio is not the hobby of your uncle or grandfather who may have sat in his little room or in that corner of that basement with his headphones on and sent Morse code. Today?s radio includes Internet radio linking project, (IRLP), echo link, digital communications, voice, moon bounce, satellite reflection, and even Space Station communication.

Worldwide communication is a very common thing. The ham radio of today is very exciting and new advances in the hobby means the sky is limit. Go to http://youtu.be/varHL752Odk see more on ham radio.

The common misconception is that citizen?s band, (CB) and ham radio is the same thing. The only common link between the two groups is that both groups talk on a radio, but that?s about where the similarities end. Anyone can buy and use a CB radio and, unfortunately, some of the people who use these high frequency devices do not have the training to use them properly.

Many of those who use CBs speak poorly, cuss and operate their equipment illegally. Ham radio goes beyond just training and mature conversation. With ham radio, training is required to obtain a license that is mandatory by the Federal Communications Commission, (FCC). This kind of training and licensing puts hams on a higher level of operation and mature communication.

LBCC is hosting classes for FCC ham radio licensing. Starting on October 23 the K7LBC Ham Radio Club will be co-sponsoring ham radio licensing classes with the Linn County Amateur Radio Emergency Services group. The classes will be held in room RCH 116 at 7 to 9 pm for 8 weeks. The cost will be $15 for the test at the end of the class and $30 for the text book. The classes are open to any age. The books are also available from the Amateur Radio Relay League at www.arrl.org/shop/Ham-Radio-License-Manual-Revised-2nd-Edition/?page=1.

The classes are subject to cancellation as a result of lack of participation. The classes are taught by experienced licensed operators in the area and are completely unpaid volunteers. $15 is for the processing of the testing and licensing, and $30 is the price of the text. To attend the class please contact Roger Emery at 541-924-9262

For more on ham radio, go to http://youtu.be/WnynwMAw03k , and http://youtu.be/5Z9136_Nhh4 to see what you can accomplish and how much fun you can have as an amateur radio operator.

Commuter Staff (625 Posts)

The Commuter is a weekly student-run newspaper for LBCC, financed by student fees and advertising. Opinions expressed in the Commuter do not necessarily reflect those of the LBCC administration, faculty, and associated students of LBCC. Editorials, columns, letters, and cartoons reflect the opinions of the authors. Learn more about the Commuter?s staff of contributing writers here.

Source: http://lbcommuter.com/2012/10/22/ham-radio-classes-being-offered/

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Nanofibrillar cellulose film to ease performing medical tests

Public release date: 23-Oct-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Hannes Orelma
hannes.orelma@aalto.fi
358-503-441-074
Aalto University

Researchers at Aalto University in Finland have succeeded in developing a durable and affordable nanofibrillar cellulose film platform to support medical testing. New environmentally friendly, reliable nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC) platforms are more diverse than plastic films. New film can be made, for instance, hydrophobic, hydrophilic and the electric charge can be changed. This will enhance the possibility of conducting thousands of different medical tests at home or in physicians' receptions instead of waiting for results from laboratories.

A platform is coated with the new film in the factory. The film is injected with substances that will react to the tested substance. At the place of testing, blood, water or another test material will be applied on to the film. The antibody injected onto the film will absorb the sample, depending on whether it contains substances causing allergic reactions, or bacteria, for example. Then the test result is visualised with the help of colour changing chemistry, for example.

Thanks to the new film, various tests can be conducted faster without compromising reliability. It will now be easier to detect microbes that cause illnesses in the physician's reception, or to monitor allergens at home. In addition to medical diagnostics, the film can be utilised to study water purity, for example, says doctoral candidate Hannes Orelma at Aalto University.

Previous attempts to produce a nanofibrillar cellulose platform have failed when the porous plate absorbed part of the sample. Now researchers have developed a method of producing a water proof nanofibrillar cellulose gel that will not absorb samples. They have also made great efforts to ensure sufficient film durability.

###

Aalto University, Finland is a new multidisciplinary science and art community in the fields of science, economics, and art and design. The University is founded on Finnish strengths, and its goal is to develop as a unique entity to become one of the world's top universities. Aalto University's cornerstones are its strengths in education and research. At the new University, there are 20,000 basic degree and graduate students as well as a staff of 5,000 of which 350 are professors.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 23-Oct-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Hannes Orelma
hannes.orelma@aalto.fi
358-503-441-074
Aalto University

Researchers at Aalto University in Finland have succeeded in developing a durable and affordable nanofibrillar cellulose film platform to support medical testing. New environmentally friendly, reliable nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC) platforms are more diverse than plastic films. New film can be made, for instance, hydrophobic, hydrophilic and the electric charge can be changed. This will enhance the possibility of conducting thousands of different medical tests at home or in physicians' receptions instead of waiting for results from laboratories.

A platform is coated with the new film in the factory. The film is injected with substances that will react to the tested substance. At the place of testing, blood, water or another test material will be applied on to the film. The antibody injected onto the film will absorb the sample, depending on whether it contains substances causing allergic reactions, or bacteria, for example. Then the test result is visualised with the help of colour changing chemistry, for example.

Thanks to the new film, various tests can be conducted faster without compromising reliability. It will now be easier to detect microbes that cause illnesses in the physician's reception, or to monitor allergens at home. In addition to medical diagnostics, the film can be utilised to study water purity, for example, says doctoral candidate Hannes Orelma at Aalto University.

Previous attempts to produce a nanofibrillar cellulose platform have failed when the porous plate absorbed part of the sample. Now researchers have developed a method of producing a water proof nanofibrillar cellulose gel that will not absorb samples. They have also made great efforts to ensure sufficient film durability.

###

Aalto University, Finland is a new multidisciplinary science and art community in the fields of science, economics, and art and design. The University is founded on Finnish strengths, and its goal is to develop as a unique entity to become one of the world's top universities. Aalto University's cornerstones are its strengths in education and research. At the new University, there are 20,000 basic degree and graduate students as well as a staff of 5,000 of which 350 are professors.

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-10/au-ncf102312.php

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Two Months 'Til Doomsday? Mayan Apocalypse Set for Dec. 21

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Legal Theory Blog: O'Rourke on Overdelegation in Criminal Procedure

Anthony O'Rourke (SUNY-Buffalo Law School) has posted Structural Overdelegation in Criminal Procedure (Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

In function, if not in form, criminal procedure is a type of delegation. It requires courts to select constitutional objectives, and to decide how much discretionary authority to allocate to law enforcement officials in order to implement those objectives. By recognizing this process for what it is, this Article identifies a previously unseen phenomenon that inheres in the structure of criminal procedure decision-making.

Criminal procedure?s decision-making structure, this Article argues, pressures the Supreme Court to delegate more discretionary authority to law enforcement officials than the Court?s constitutional objectives can justify. By definition, this systematic ?overdelegation? does not result from the Supreme Court?s hostility to protecting criminal procedure rights. Instead, it arises from a set of institutional pressures that, in combination, differentiate criminal procedure from other forms of constitutional decision-making.

By identifying the problem of structural overdelegation, this Article clears away much of the confusion that complicates normative debates about the Supreme Court?s criminal procedure decisions. Why does the Supreme Court so frequently grant discretionary authority to law enforcement institutions that other observers find untrustworthy? How can one tell whether the Court has granted ?too much? discretion to law enforcement officials, and what does that phrase even mean? By turning attention to criminal procedure?s structure, this Article offers a framework for answering these questions, and for deepening our understanding of criminal procedure decision-making.

Interesting & recommended.

Source: http://lsolum.typepad.com/legaltheory/2012/10/orourke-on-overdelegation-in-criminal-procedure.html

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Ancestry.com to be acquired by Permira-led group for $1.6 billion

(Reuters) - Genealogy website operator Ancestry.com agreed to be acquired for $1.6 billion by a group led by Europe-based private equity firm Permira Advisors LLC, four months after it put itself up for sale following the cancellation of a TV show based on its research.

The company, whose website helps users trace their family roots, will be taken private at $32 per share, a 10 percent premium to the stock's Friday closing price of $29.18.

Shares of the company rose to $31.49 in early trading on the Nasdaq on Monday. They have risen 17 percent since June 5 when the company said it was looking for a buyer.

Being owned by private equity and having a much smaller base of owners puts Ancestry.com in a better position to achieve long-term growth, BMO Capital Markets U.S. analyst Edward Williams said. "The reality of their business model is it allows for excess volatility in shares," Williams said.

The company, which sponsored the U.S. version of the popular British series "Who Do You Think You Are?", suffered a blow in May when NBC decided not to renew the show for a fourth season.

The show, built around tracing celebrities' family histories through Ancestry.com's databases, was a major driver of new subscriber additions for the website. Ancestry.com, which went public in 2009, has about 2 million paid subscribers.

The Provo, Utah-based company had hired Frank Quattrone's Qatalyst Partners in June to find a buyer.

Ancestry.com received offers in August from three private equity firms, including Permira, but none of the bidders met the company's price expectations at the time.

Sources had told Reuters earlier this month that Permira had emerged as the front-runner to buy the company.

INSIDER SUPPORT

The Permira-led buyout group includes the private equity firm's co-investors, members of Ancestry.com's management, including Chief Executive Tim Sullivan and Chief Financial Officer Howard Hochhauser, and Spectrum Equity, which is the largest shareholder in the company with a 30 percent stake.

Spectrum will exchange $100 million worth Ancestry.com shares for shares of the buying group -- Global Generations International Inc and Global Generations Merger Sub -- the company said in a filing.

Sullivan and Hochhauser will also exchange or roll over a "substantial majority" of their stakes for equity securities in the buying group.

Sullivan held a 5.2 percent stake, according to an April 11 regulatory filing.

Spectrum Equity declined to comment on the deal.

Barclays, Credit Suisse Securities, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and RBC Capital Markets have agreed to provide financing of up to $1.02 billion for the deal, Ancestry.com said.

The company will have to pay a termination fee of $37.8 million if it accepts another offer. If the buying group terminates the agreement, it will have to pay Ancestry.com $75.6 million.

The deal is Europe-based Permira's fourth in the United States in 12 months. It previously acquired technology-based student assessment firm Renaissance Learning, automated material handling solutions provider Intelligrated, and software maker Genesys.

(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore and Simon Meads in London; Additional reporting by Siddharth Cavale; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Ted Kerr)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ancestry-com-acquired-permira-led-group-1-6-114538954--sector.html

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The 90s strike back! Marvel VS Capcom Origins Review | Video ...

Ever since the console release of Capcom?s Street Fighter 4 in 2009 2d fighters are enjoying a good degree of popularity once again. Trying to ride the success of Marvel VS Capcom 3 and the Marvel Avengers movie, Capcom releases on PSN and XBLA a new collection called Marvel VS Capcom Origins, cointaining two 90s two dimensions fighters: Marvel Super Heroes and the first Marvel VS Capcom.
Do these two games still hold their own after all these years or will Capcom?s collection only attract nostalgics? Let?s find out.

Nostalgia calling

To be completely honest, I can?t really understand why these two games have been choosen for the collection.
The Marvel VS Capcom franchise main feature is the tag team mechanic, where each player chooses 2 or more fighters, can swap them anytime during battle and even unleash some devasting combination attacks; Marvel Super Heroes features the standard 1 vs 1 formula without any tag team option
It?s not like it?s a bad game, but I think including X Men VS Street Fighter or Marvel Super Heroes VS Street Fighter too would have been more appropriate, since they are the first steps of the VS franchise and, nostalgia wise, it would have been a better choice altogether.
And nostalgia definitely is one of the main selling points of this collection and Capcom didn?t even try to hide it!
The Games are identical to their 90s counterparts in every possible way: graphics wise, sound wise and gameplay wise these two games are a trip back in the 90s, when these big detailed sprites dominated arcade cabinets.
To improve the nostalgic feeling of the collection, Capcom added 2 video options, one to simulate old CRT televisions and another to slight distort the image, simulating an old arcade cabinet screen.
These options will probably be fun for a couple minutes and most players will revert to the regular video option after some time.
Gameplay wise, how do the two fighters hold up? Quite frankly, they?re still very fun, despite their shortcomings.

Avengers, Assemble!

As I mentioned before Marvel Super Heroes, the second Capcom fighter featuring Marvel comics heroes, sports a traditonal 1 versus 1 gameplay, where players can unleash special attacks through the usual 2d fighters stick motions and even more devastating attacks called Infinity Combo after charging a special meter bar placed at the bottom of the screen. The fighters roster is quite diverse and feautures many fans? favourites like Captain America, Spiderman, Iron Man, Wolverine, Wolverine and Cyclops and a few villains like Blackheart, Shuma Gorath and Doctor DoomGameplay is enriched by the presence of special gems called Infinity Gems which grant some bonuses for a short amount of time during the fight.Graphics and sound wise we get what we could expect from a 90s 2d fighting game: sprites and backgrounds are nicely detailed and animated and the soundtrack manages to do its job, although some of the tracks sound a bit repetitive.

When two different worlds collide

Marvel VS Capcom: Clash Of The Super Heroes, released in 1998, is a turning point of the franchise: with this game Capcom started to expand the roster way beyond the Street Fighters characters including characters from other Capcom games like Darkstalker, Megaman, Strider and Captain Command. The Marvel roster gets expanded too with the inclusion of Spiderman?s nemesis Venom and a mix of characters already present in Marvel Super Heroes and XMen Vs Street Fighters.
Gameplay wise Capcom refined the tag team formula: players will choose two characters to use in combat and will be able to switch them at will during play. Nice additions are the Duo Team Attacks which allow the player to use both characters at the same time for a brief time with unlimited super moves usage and the Assist Characters which can be summoned for a limited amount of time to assist the player. These characters aren?t normaly usable so it feels like each time is composed by 3 characters, a prelude to the future evolution of the series.
Graphics wise we?re not too far from the other game in the collection except for a bit more details in both characters and backgrounds. The same can be said about soundtrack: it does its job well but there?s hardly anything memorable.

Now it?s time to take them on!

The only modern touch in the collection is, obviuosly, the online multiplayer mode. The online infrastructure is really well done: I experienced very little lag playing with people all over Europe and even when playing with someone far I didn?t experience too many problems.
The main issue with playing online comes from some unbalancing problems of the games: people playing online will try to win at any cost, so you?ll probably costantly fight the powered up versions of Hulk, Iron Man and Venom.
Not being technical fighters, the charm of these games lies in the easy to pick up and play nature and the unbalanced roster but with competitive play this may become an issue.
Final Verdict

I used to play these games when they were released and I had fun playing them again, probably as much as I did back then thanks to online play; nostalgia has probably a lot to do with this.
Players who never played these games in the past are probably better off looking elsewhere since some others 2d fighters are more refinite with more modern and compelling mechanics. Nostalgics like myself are probably going to really enjoying themselves, remembering those times where reading ? Insert Coins? on the arcade cabinets screens made them full of excitement!

The game is available on both PSN (12,99 euros) and XBox Live Arcade (1200 Microsoft points)

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Article from Gamersyndrome.com

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5. Capcom profits tank 90%

Source: http://gamersyndrome.com/2012/video-games/the-90s-strike-back-marvel-vs-capcom-origins-review/

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John Farrell Trade: Red Sox Acquire Manager From Blue Jays

BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox are hoping that two big trades will help them get back to the playoffs after missing out three years in a row.

The first was a genuine blockbuster that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Nick Punto and Josh Beckett to the Los Angeles Dodgers and freed up more than $250 million in future salaries. The second was the deal that brought John Farrell back to Fenway Park on Sunday.

The Red Sox hired Farrell to be their new manager after pursuing him for more than a year, agreeing to trade infielder Mike Aviles to the Blue Jays to pry their former pitching coach out of the manager's chair in Toronto.

"I'm extremely excited to be returning to the Red Sox and to Boston," Farrell said in a statement released by the Red Sox. "I love this organization. It's a great franchise in a special city and region, with great fans, and we want nothing more than to reward their faith in us."

Farrell had been the Toronto manager the past two seasons, posting a 154-170 record with two fourth-place finishes. He had one year remaining on his contract with the Blue Jays, allowing them to demand compensation from Boston.

It's the second time the Red Sox have pursued Farrell for their managerial job, closing the deal this time by working out a rare but not unprecedented trade for an active manager. Boston will give up Aviles, who hit .250 with 13 homers and 60 RBIs last season, and get right-hander David Carpenter in return.

It is the seventh time in major league history that one team has traded for a manager while he was under contract to another, the Red Sox said. Last year, the Miami Marlins obtained Ozzie Guillen from the Chicago White Sox in a deal that also included three players.

Farrell received a three-year deal in Boston, which also interviewed San Diego Padres special assistant Brad Ausmus, New York Yankees bench coach Tony Pena, Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Tim Wallach and Baltimore Orioles third base coach DeMarlo Hale.

"We met some outstanding managerial candidates in this process," Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said in the statement. "John Farrell brings a unique blend of managerial experience, leadership and presence, pitching expertise, front office experience, and an established track record with many members of our uniformed staff and members of our front office. He will hit the ground running."

The pitching coach in Boston for four years, Farrell was the heir apparent to Terry Francona before going to Toronto two seasons ago when it seemed like Francona would be sticking around long-term. When Francona was let go after an unprecedented collapse in September 2011, the Red Sox tried to pry Farrell loose from the Blue Jays.

But Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos asked for a top player in return for Farrell, who had been there only one season and gone 81-81.

So the Red Sox turned to Bobby Valentine to bring discipline to a clubhouse in which players drank beer and ate fried chicken in the clubhouse during games. But the former New York Mets and Japanese Leagues manager alienated so many players that the team was forced to bail out on the season, trading three highly paid but underperforming players for a chance at a fresh start in 2013.

Valentine was fired after finishing in last place with a 69-93 record ? four games behind Toronto and the team's worst record since 1965. General manager Ben Cherington was back in the market for a manager, and this time he didn't need a hard-line disciplinarian.

"The team is in a different point than it was last year when we hired Bobby," Cherington said after firing Valentine. "The roster was fairly mature and we felt, mistakenly in retrospect, but we felt at the time, that we had a chance to win and the team was ready to win. We're now at a different point."

Farrell, 50, had a promising pitching career with the Cleveland Indians before an injury kept him out for the entire 1991 and `92 seasons. He returned to pitch sparingly in four more seasons, finishing his career with a 36-46 record and a 4.56 ERA.

He coached at Oklahoma State, where he pitched in college, from 1997-2001 and then spent five years in the Indians' front office before Francona, a former Cleveland teammate, brought him to Boston as pitching coach. Under Farrell's guidance from 2007-10, Red Sox pitchers held opponents to an AL-low .254 batting average and led the league with in 4,771 strikeouts.

Farrell is familiar with Red Sox management from his time in Boston and has worked with many of the club's pitchers ? including starters Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, who were All-Stars under his tutelage.

"His broad set of experiences, and exceptional leadership skills, make him the ideal person to lead our team," Cherington said in the news release. "I have known him in various capacities throughout my career, and I hold him in the highest regard as a baseball man and as a person."

Aviles, 31, is a career .277 hitter who played 136 games for the Red Sox in 2012, mostly at shortstop.

Carpenter, 27, is 1-5 with one save and a 5.70 ERA over 67 career relief appearances with the Astros and Blue Jays. He appeared in 33 games in 2012, 30 with the Astros before being sent to the Blue Jays in a 10-player trade on July 20; he also made 23 minor-league appearances last season.

Originally a catcher, Carpenter converted to pitching in 2008.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/21/john-farrell-trade-red-sox-blue-jays_n_1998036.html

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Zito, Giants beat Cards, close NLCS deficit to 3-2

ST. LOUIS (AP) ? The San Francisco Giants waited quite a while for this kind of performance from Barry Zito.

The soft-tossing lefty was at his best Friday night, pitching San Francisco back into the NL championship series with a 5-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals that narrowed its deficit to 3-2.

"This is definitely it for me," Zito said. "Coming here, especially doing it in a Giants uniform. A lot of people were saying stuff about A's days. And for me, the most important thing is doing everything for San Francisco right now."

The Giants' win in Game 5 sent the series to San Francisco. Game 6 will begin Sunday in the twilight at AT&T Park, with Ryan Vogelsong pitching against the Cardinals' Chris Carpenter.

Zito looked like the same guy who won the 2002 AL Cy Young award with the Athletics. He retired 11 batters in a row in one stretch while scattering six hits with six strikeouts in 7 2-3 innings.

Giants catcher Buster Posey twice tapped Zito on the chest when he was pulled in the eighth. It was Zito's first postseason win since 2006, shortly before he left the A's and signed a $126 million, seven-year contract with San Francisco.

Zito was left off the postseason roster when the Giants won the 2010 World Series because he had pitched so ineffectively. He started Game 4 of the division series against the Reds earlier in this year's playoffs and lasted only 2 2-3 innings.

"I couldn't be happier for him," manager Bruce Bochy said. "He had it all going. HE put on quite a show."

The defending champion Cardinals might have thrown away a chance to clinch a second straight World Series trip. Pitcher Lance Lynn's toss on a possible forceout deflected off the second-base bag, paving the way for the Giants' four-run fourth.

"I don't mind him being aggressive if he's got the play," manager Mike Matheny said. "(Shortstop Pete) Kozma was in the right place, he just made a low throw.

"And to do it over again, I'm sure he'd like to take the easy out at first base," he said.

Pablo Sandoval homered for the second straight night and Zito made an extremely rare offensive contribution with a perfectly executed bunt for an RBI single.

Giants defenders made several nice plays behind Zito, including a juggling catch in right by Hunter Pence and a spectacular sliding stop by second baseman Marco Scutaro to rob pinch hitter Shane Robinson on consecutive at-bats.

Once again this postseason, the Giants benefited from a big error.

Needing three straight wins at Cincinnati to avoid elimination in the division series, San Francisco began its comeback on a bobble by third baseman Scott Rolen in the 10th inning that gave the Giants the go-ahead run in Game 3.

The Giants improved to 4-2 on the road this postseason and have won Zito's last 13 starts, with the last setback on Aug. 2. They're averaging more than six runs a game during the streak, although the lefty didn't need much help in this one.

Lynn, an 18-game winner his first year in the rotation, failed to make it out of the fourth for the second time in the series.

The Cardinals are seeking consecutive pennants for the first time since 1967-68, and trying to advance for the second year in a row as a wild-card entry. One more win would set up a rematch of the 2006 World Series against the Tigers, which the Cardinals took in five games.

Lynn struck out five of the first 10 batters, sailing through the first three innings with no balls hit out of the infield. His undoing was a wild throw off the second-base bag attempting to get a forceout on a comebacker that paved the way for San Francisco's four-run fourth.

The Giants had runners on first and second with one out when Lynn gloved a tapper by Pence, wheeled and waited a bit while Kozma hustled to second. But Lynn threw a low dart off the bag with the ball bounding into shallow right field and Marco Scutaro scoring without a play from second.

Eighth-place hitter Brandon Crawford singled up the middle with the bases loaded on a full count with two outs as Lynn just missed with a kick save for two more runs. Zito, who has just 30 career hits in 310 at-bats in the regular season with no extra-base hits and nine RBIs, laid down a perfect bunt for a fourth run.

Lynn has allowed four runs both of his NLCS starts, although all four were unearned in Game 5.

Zito's only trouble came in the second when Yadier Molina and David Freese, both swinging on the first pitch, opened the inning with a single and double. Lynn, a career .056 hitter including the postseason, hit into a bases-loaded double play to end the threat.

Lynn was 3 for 50 with 1 RBI, 10 sacrifices and 36 strikeouts during the regular season, going hitless his last 42 at-bats.

NOTES: Standing room attendance for Game 5 was 47,075, a franchise best for league championship play, topping the previous best in Game 4 by 13. ... Actor Matthew Morrison sang the national anthem. ... Longtime Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon bounced a ceremonial first pitch from in front of the mound to Lou Brock, teammates on the last St. Louis team to go to consecutive World Series in 1967 and '68. ... Carlos Beltran has 10 career stolen bases in the postseason. ... Matt Carpenter, who subbed for Beltran in Games 3 and 4, is a career .529 hitter (9 for 17) against the Giants counting the postseason, with a homer and four RBIs. ... Cardinals rookie RHP Trevor Rosenthal struck out four in two scoreless innings. He has fanned 11 in 6 2-3 scoreless innings in the postseason while allowing just one hit.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/zito-giants-beat-cards-close-nlcs-deficit-3-032053003--mlb.html

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Source: http://www.zsgod.com/2012/10/the-watches-jewelry-enterprise-team-recorded-natural-income/

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Video: That?s not the quarterback you were looking for

Diet soda may be doing these 7 bad things to your body

What's the single biggest source of calories for Americans? White bread? Big Macs? Actually, try soda. The average American drinks about two cans of the stuff daily. Diet soda may have no calories, but it can come with its own set of side effects.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/49469480#49469480

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TODAY Show Video: 5 Spooky Halloween Trips ... - Travel + Leisure

10.19.12

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Captain Fairfield Inn, Kennebunkport, ME

This classic 9-room inn a block from the Kennebunk River is hosting a pumpkin carving contest this Halloween. Pick up a pumpkin at nearby Patten?s Berry Farm and take it to the pumpkin carving station. The pumpkins will be displayed on Halloween night, when a panel of judges will select the winner. The prize is a free night?s stay to be used anytime between October 2012 and the end of April 2013. Doubles from $159/night. www.captainfairfield.com

Related: World?s Most Mysterious Buildings

The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, CO

The inspiration for Steven King?s The Shining, this hotel has an on-staff paranormal investigator who will take you on a five-hour ghost hunt?if you?re brave enough. There is a range of other ghost and history tours available, and the hotel puts on a Murder Mystery Dinner on Friday, October 26, and a Shining Ball on Saturday, October 27 ($89 per person). Doubles from $169/night. www.stanleyhotel.com

Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Orlando, FL

Book this package for a 3-night stay at Loews Royal Pacific Resort (on-site at Universal Studios Orlando), a 2-day ticket to both Universal Orlando theme parks, early park admission to Universal?s Islands of Adventure, and one night admission to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal, where you can experience mazes and haunted houses featuring ?The Walking Dead: Dead Inside? based on AMC?s series and ?Welcome to Silent Hill? based on the video games and film franchise. From $609/adult ($203/night per adult). www.loewshotels.com and www.halloweenhorrornights.com

Virginia Hotel, Cape May, NJ

A restored 1879 landmark building just a half a block from the beach, the Virginia Hotel has cottages as well as rooms in the main house. Its Creepy Cape May package includes continental breakfast, two drinks at the on-site Ebbit Room, special Fat Witch treats, and a Ghosts of Cape May Trolley Tour through the town?s Victorian streets with a guide who will relate the paranormal findings of ghost writer Craig McManus along the way. Doubles from $140/night. www.virginiahotel.com

The Orlando on Third, Los Angeles

A recently renovated 95-guestroom boutique hotel near Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, The Orlando offers a ?Holly-ween? package. It provides Bloody Brunch for two at the on-site restaurant, The Churchill, a personal fitting at costume store Trashy Lingerie, two tickets to the ?Dia De Los Muertos Festival? at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on October 27 for anyone who books for Halloween night, and late-night transportation to and from the West Hollywood Halloween Festival. From $289/night. www.theorlando.com

More From Travel + Leisure:

World?s Most Haunted Forests

America?s Coolest Ghost Towns

Funny Signs From Around the World

World?s Strangest Beaches

Source: http://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-blog/carry-on/2012/10/19/5-spooky-halloween-trips

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Lyndsey Matthews is an assistant digital editor at Travel + Leisure. Follow her on Twitter @matthewslyndsey

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Source: http://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-blog/carry-on/2012/10/19/guess-where-avenue

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Och-Ziff Calls Top Of "REO-To-Rental", And Distressed Housing ...

The primary, if not only, reason there has been a brief spike in subsidized demand for housing in recent months, has been the GSE/FHFA endorsed REO-To-Rental plan, and associated securitization conduits, in which large asset managers have been encouraged to take advantage of government funded, risk-free financing (and entirely bypassing banks who have given up on loan origination due to legacy liability issues which have every bank tied up in litigation from now until Feddom come - just see today's Bank of America results) and purchase foreclosed properties in bulk, with the intention of converting them into rental properties. Needless to say, the subsidization of this wholesale purchasing of foreclosures, coupled with the ongoing "foreclosure stuffing" pursued by the big banks (as a reminder days to foreclose in California just hit a record 1,072 per RealtyTrac as banks simply refuse to clear housing inventory faster knowing full well withheld inventory is an additional clearing price subsidy) is the main reason why the punditry has been confused into believing there is a housing rebound. That this "rebound" is merely a subsidized demand pull phenomenon a la the "cash for clunkers" auto sales program is patently clear to most. Nonetheless what little confusion is left, is finally coming to an end, thanks to none other than one of the first entrants in the REO-To-Rental space, $31 billion hedge fund Och Ziff, which a year after entering the program with hopes of quick riches, is now looking to cash out.

As Reuters reports, "Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC, the $31 billion hedge fund led by Daniel Och, recently told its investment partner, 643 Capital Management, that it wants to exit from the foreclosed homes business, said several people familiar with the matter." Why is Daniel Och calling it a day: "the New York-based hedge fund is looking to sell now because the returns it is generating from rental income are less than expected and it is looking to take advantage of a recent rebound in home prices in northern California." And so yet another myth unravels. Look for all the other piggybackers and late entrants to follow promptly in Och-Ziff's steps as the primary driver of distressed housing demand goes as easily as it came.

Reuters explains how REO-to-Rental is coming to an end:

The hedge fund is looking to make a profit on a portfolio of about 300 foreclosed homes in northern California that were acquired at distressed prices, said the sources, who did not want to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

?

Though the total value of the portfolio is not known, its business model involved buying homes at an average price of about $100,000 apiece. In addition, Och-Ziff and its partner needed to spend tens of thousands of dollars on each home for potential renovations before renting them out.

?

The decision by Och-Ziff to exit the market after just a year is notable since the hedge fund was one of the first institutional investors to see the large supply of foreclosed homes in the United States as a new asset class that could generate consistent income if operated as rental properties.

What is effectively happening is that once again the large institutions, in this case those who are unburdened by legacy liabilities, i.e., hedge funds (it should be rather distressing that instead of banks serving the roles of landlords, this time around it is it is big hedge funds who are offering homes for rent) who have access to ZIRP are attempting to arb out the retail borrowing spread. The problem however is that while those who have access to Fed funding are expecting large, consistent ROEs, the other side of the equation is missing, and as rental prices increase fewer and fewer Americans can take advantage of the hedge funds' "generosity." This is what happens as the middle class collapse continues and as America's society sees its nominal (not to mention real) income continue to decline as hourly earnings collapse (as we pointed out last week).

And since the Fed has both broken and massively distorted the business cycle (recall: JP Morgan Finds Obama, And US Central Planning, Has Broken The Economic "Virtuous Cycle"), an investor can make an asset allocation decision in a far shorter length of time. In this case it took Och Ziff just one year to go from start to finish, and now to cash out as it sells to other, less sophisticated investors who have yet to discover the lack of IRR associated with the REO-to-Rental program.

Och-Ziff's move could indicate that institutional investors may have to dial back their expectations, especially with regards to rental income.

?

"It's not surprising that some investors may have overestimated rental returns," said Rick Sharga, executive vice president with Carrington Mortgage Holdings, a division of Carrington Capital, which has been buying and renting foreclosed homes since 2007. "If you are an investor getting into this cold you were probably making assumptions based on models rather than experience."

?

Gregor Watson, founder of 643 Capital Management, which is Och-Ziff's partner, said he is not marketing the portfolio of homes but declined to comment further. An Och-Ziff representative declined to comment.

Och Ziff is the first to wave goodbye...

Over the past year, other high-profile Wall Street names, such as Blackstone Group, Oaktree Capital Management, Colony Capital and TCW, have all committed money to investing in foreclosed homes. Oaktree has invested in a fund managed by Carrington.

?

Wall Street analysts estimate that this year alone, private equity firms, hedge funds and other investment firms have raised between $6 billion and $8 billion to acquire single-family homes at either foreclosure auctions or from banks. So far, private equity giant Blackstone has emerged as one of the biggest buyers, spending more than $1 billion to gobble up foreclosed homes.

?

Sharga said it was not surprising that an early market entrant like Och-Ziff would look to get out and take advantage of the recent appreciation in home values. He said other early financial investors also may change direction and decide to cash in sooner rather than later.

?

"This is a normal winnowing-out process," Sharga said. "We will see other early entrants depart."

... but it won't be the last. Expect all other subsidized "buyers" in the space to proceed to dump their properties en masse shortly. The problem is that once the greater fool is no longer clearly defined at the poker table, and the get rich quick scam has been exposed, the offerless market quickly goes back to being bidless. Which is precisely what will be the catalyst for the 4th leg down of the dead cat bouncing housing market, and the end of the illusion that this time it's different and Bernanke has actually done something right.

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Source: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-17/och-ziff-calls-top-reo-rental-exit-landlord-business

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Judge expected to rule in Bible verse banner suit

File - In this Sept. 19, 2012 file photo, Kountze High School cheerleaders and other children work on a large sign in Kountze, Texas. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced Wednesday that he is intervening in a lawsuit that cheerleaders filed against the school district. The district told the cheerleaders to stop using Bible verses at football games after the Freedom From Religion Foundation complained. (AP Photo/The Beaumont Enterprise, Dave Ryan, File)

File - In this Sept. 19, 2012 file photo, Kountze High School cheerleaders and other children work on a large sign in Kountze, Texas. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced Wednesday that he is intervening in a lawsuit that cheerleaders filed against the school district. The district told the cheerleaders to stop using Bible verses at football games after the Freedom From Religion Foundation complained. (AP Photo/The Beaumont Enterprise, Dave Ryan, File)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? A Texas judge is expected to rule Thursday whether a group of cheerleaders should be allowed to continue quoting biblical scripture on banners at high school football games.

District officials barred the Kountze High School cheerleaders from displaying banners with religious messages such as, "If God is for us, who can be against us," after the Freedom From Religion Foundation complained. The advocacy group says the messages violated the First Amendment clause barring the government ? or a publicly funded school district, in this case ? from establishing or endorsing a religion.

The Kountze High School cheerleaders sued, arguing that the ban violates their free speech rights, and state District Judge Steve Thomas issued an injunction allowing them to display the banners until he could issue a ruling, which he was expected to do at a hearing later Thursday.

State Attorney General Greg Abbott filed court papers to intervene in the lawsuit, backing the cheerleaders' position that the district's ban violated their free speech rights. The Texas Education Code also states that schools must respect the rights of students to express their religious beliefs.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, which is dedicated to the separation of church and state, also intervened saying in the context of a football game it was unclear who was responsible for the messages, the school or the cheerleaders.

"The speech in question is government speech or, at a minimum, school-sponsored speech," the group said in court papers. "If the majority of the cheerleaders were atheists, would a court support their 'right' to hold up a banner insulting Christianity or all believers? The district has every right to simply prohibit all run-through and on-field banners."

Republican Gov. Rick Perry also has spoken out in favor of the cheerleaders.

"Anyone who is expressing their faith should be celebrated, from my perspective, in this day and age of instant gratification, this me-first culture that we see all too often," Perry said Wednesday. "We're a nation built on the concept of free expression of ideas. We're also a culture built on the concept that the original law is God's law, outlined in the Ten Commandments."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-10-18-Texas%20Cheerleaders-Scripture/id-a163ddf3588c4c43ae35a52c07bddf35

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'Normal' form of mad cow disease may actually make you smarter ...

There's a fine line between genius and madness. Now scientists studying the pathogen responsible for mad cow disease have proven this old adage to be as poignant as ever. They have discovered that the same protein that causes the devastating neurological disease may improve brain function when in its "normal" form, according to MedicalXpress.

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By learning how to manipulate this protein, scientists may one day be able to use it to make us smarter. A cure for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's could also be in the offing.

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Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that infects cattle. It is highly infectious and can be spread to other species, including humans, through ingestion of infected tissue. In humans it is more commonly referred to as Creutzfeldt?Jakob disease. When the disease was first identified, researchers were puzzled about how it was transmitted since it was not linked to any known viruses, parasites, or bacterial or fungal infections. This led to the profound discovery of a new form of pathogen: the prion.

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Prions are proteins that have become "misfolded," according to the prevailing Prion Hypothesis. In the case of diseases like mad cow disease, they spread by inducing healthy proteins in the brain to convert into the disease-associated form. Since their discovery, prions have been heavily studied, but less research has been performed on the "normally folded" forms of the proteins which exist in healthy brains. This made scientists at the University of Leeds curious.

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In a study recently published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers found that "normal" prion proteins play a major role in the absorption of zinc in the brain, a function crucial to our ability to learn and to the well-being of our memory. For instance, it is well known that high levels of zinc between neurons are linked to diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

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"Zinc is thought to aid signaling in the brain as it's released into the space between brain cells. However, when there's too much zinc between the brain cells it can become toxic," explained lead researcher, Dr. Nicole Watts. "High levels of zinc in this area between the brain cells are known to be a factor in neurodegenerative diseases, so regulating the amount of absorption by the cells is crucial."

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In other words, when prion proteins are folded properly, they appear to help brain function by cleaning up excess zinc. Theoretically, the more efficiently these proteins do their job, the better our memory and other cognitive faculties should operate. It could therefore be possible to one day manipulate these "smart cow" proteins to ?improve our cognitive capacities.

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"By studying both their roles in the body, we hope to uncover exactly how prion and zinc affect memory and learning. This could help us better understand how to maintain healthy brain cells and limit the effects of aging on the brain," explained Nigel Hooper from the University of Leeds.

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Source: http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/normal-form-of-mad-cow-disease-may-actually-make-you-smarter

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