Cocaine vaccine passes key testing hurdle

May 10, 2013 ? Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have successfully tested their novel anti-cocaine vaccine in primates, bringing them closer to launching human clinical trials.

Their study, published online by the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, used a radiological technique to demonstrate that the anti-cocaine vaccine prevented the drug from reaching the brain and producing a dopamine-induced high.

"The vaccine eats up the cocaine in the blood like a little Pac-man before it can reach the brain," says the study's lead investigator, Dr. Ronald G. Crystal, chairman of the Department of Genetic Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College.

"We believe this strategy is a win-win for those individuals, among the estimated 1.4 million cocaine users in the United States, who are committed to breaking their addiction to the drug," he says. "Even if a person who receives the anti-cocaine vaccine falls off the wagon, cocaine will have no effect."

Dr. Crystal says he expects to begin human testing of the anti-cocaine vaccine within a year.

Cocaine, a tiny molecule drug, works to produce feelings of pleasure because it blocks the recycling of dopamine -- the so-called "pleasure" neurotransmitter -- in two areas of the brain, the putamen in the forebrain and the caudate nucleus in the brain's center. When dopamine accumulates at the nerve endings, "you get this massive flooding of dopamine and that is the feel good part of the cocaine high," says Dr. Crystal.

The novel vaccine Dr. Crystal and his colleagues developed combines bits of the common cold virus with a particle that mimics the structure of cocaine. When the vaccine is injected into an animal, its body "sees" the cold virus and mounts an immune response against both the virus and the cocaine impersonator that is hooked to it. "The immune system learns to see cocaine as an intruder," says Dr. Crystal. "Once immune cells are educated to regard cocaine as the enemy, it produces antibodies, from that moment on, against cocaine the moment the drug enters the body."

In their first study in animals, the researchers injected billions of their viral concoction into laboratory mice, and found a strong immune response was generated against the vaccine. Also, when the scientists extracted the antibodies produced by the mice and put them in test tubes, it gobbled up cocaine. They also saw that mice that received both the vaccine and cocaine were much less hyperactive than untreated mice given cocaine.

Booster Shots to Dampen the Cocaine High

In this study, the researchers sought to precisely define how effective the anti-cocaine vaccine is in non-human primates, who are closer in biology to humans than mice.

They developed a tool to measure how much cocaine attached to the dopamine transporter, which picks up dopamine in the synapse between neurons and brings it out to be recycled. If cocaine is in the brain, it binds on to the transporter, effectively blocking the transporter from ferrying dopamine out of the synapse, keeping the neurotransmitter active to produce a drug high.

In the study, the researchers attached a short-lived isotope tracer to the dopamine transporter. The activity of the tracer could be seen using positron emission tomography (PET). The tool measured how much of the tracer attached to the dopamine receptor in the presence or absence of cocaine.

The PET studies showed no difference in the binding of the tracer to the dopamine transporter in vaccinated compared to unvaccinated animals if these two groups were not given cocaine. But when cocaine was given to the primates, there was a significant drop in activity of the tracer in non-vaccinated animals. That meant that without the vaccine, cocaine displaced the tracer in binding to the dopamine receptor. Previous research had shown in humans that at least 47 percent of the dopamine transporter had to be occupied by cocaine in order to produce a drug high. The researchers found, in vaccinated primates, that cocaine occupancy of the dopamine receptor was reduced to levels of less than 20 percent.

"This is a direct demonstration in a large animal, using nuclear medicine technology, that we can reduce the amount of cocaine that reaches the brain sufficiently so that it is below the threshold by which you get the high," says Dr. Crystal.

When the vaccine is studied in humans, the non-toxic dopamine transporter tracer can be used to help study its effectiveness as well, he adds.

The researchers do not know how often the vaccine needs to be administered in humans to maintain its anti-cocaine effect. One vaccine lasted 13 weeks in mice and seven weeks in non-human primates.

"An anti-cocaine vaccination will require booster shots in humans, but we don't know yet how often these booster shots will be needed," says Dr. Crystal. "I believe that for those people who desperately want to break their addiction, a series of vaccinations will help."

Co-authors of the study include Dr. Anat Maoz, Dr. Martin J. Hicks, Dr. Shankar Vallabhajosula, Michael Synan, Dr. Paresh J. Kothari, Dr. Jonathan P. Dyke, Dr. Douglas J. Ballon, Dr. Stephen M. Kaminsky, Dr. Bishnu P. De and Dr. Jonathan B. Rosenberg from Weill Cornell Medical College; Dr. Diana Martinez from Columbia University; and Dr. George F. Koob and Dr. Kim D. Janda from The Scripps Research Institute.

The study was funded by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/xf7o6yg0ou0/130510150141.htm

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AP Exclusive: Air Force sidelines 17 ICBM officers

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Air Force stripped an unprecedented 17 officers of their authority to control ? and, if necessary, launch ? nuclear missiles after a string of unpublicized failings, including a remarkably dim review of their unit's launch skills. The group's deputy commander said it is suffering "rot" within its ranks.

"We are, in fact, in a crisis right now," the commander, Lt. Col. Jay Folds, wrote in an internal email obtained by The Associated Press and confirmed by the Air Force.

The tip-off to trouble was a March inspection of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., which earned the equivalent of a "D'' grade when tested on its mastery of Minuteman III missile launch operations. In other areas, the officers tested much better, but the group's overall fitness was deemed so tenuous that senior officers at Minot decided, after probing further, that an immediate crackdown was called for.

The Air Force publicly called the inspection a "success."

But in April it quietly removed 17 officers at Minot from the highly sensitive duty of standing 24-hour watch over the Air Force's most powerful nuclear missiles, the intercontinental ballistic missiles that can strike targets across the globe. Inside each underground launch control capsule, two officers stand "alert" at all times, ready to launch an ICBM upon presidential order.

"You will be a bench warmer for at least 60 days," Folds wrote.

The 17 cases mark the Air Force's most extensive sidelining ever of launch crew members, according to Lt. Col. Angie Blair, a spokeswoman for Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees the missile units as well as nuclear-capable bombers. The wing has 150 officers assigned to missile launch control duty.

The trouble at Minot is the latest in a series of setbacks for the Air Force's nuclear mission, highlighted by a 2008 Pentagon advisory group report that found a "dramatic and unacceptable decline" in the Air Force's commitment to the mission, which has its origins in a Cold War standoff with the former Soviet Union.

In 2008, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates sacked the top civilian and military leaders of the Air Force after a series of blunders, including a bomber's mistaken flight across the country armed with nuclear-tipped missiles. Since then the Air Force has taken numerous steps designed to improve its nuclear performance.

The email obtained by the AP describes a culture of indifference, with at least one intentional violation of missile safety rules and an apparent unwillingness among some to challenge or report those who violate rules.

In response to AP inquiries, the Air Force said the lapses never put the security of the nuclear force at risk. It said the officers who lost their certification to operate ICBMs are now getting more training with the expectation that they will return to normal duty within about two months. The missiles remain on their normal war footing, officials said.

Although sidelining 17 launch officers at once is unprecedented, the Air Force said stripping officers of their authority to control nuclear missiles happens to "a small number" of officers every year for a variety of reasons.

In addition to the 17, possible disciplinary action is pending against one other officer at Minot who investigators found had purposefully broken a missile safety rule in an unspecified act that could have compromised the secret codes that enable the launching of missiles, which stand on high alert in underground silos in the nation's midsection. Officials said there was no compromise of missile safety or security.

Folds is deputy commander of the 91st Operations Group, whose three squadrons are responsible for manning the wing's 15 Minuteman III launch control centers.

Advising his troops on April 12 that they had "fallen," Folds wrote that drastic corrective action was required because "we didn't wake up" after an underwhelming inspection in March that he said amounted to a failure, even though the unit's overall performance technically was rated "satisfactory." That is two notches below the highest rating.

"And now we're discovering such rot in the crew force that your behavior while on alert is accepting of" weapons safety rule violations, possible code compromises and other failings, "all in the name of not inconveniencing yourselves," Folds wrote.

Folds also complained about unwarranted questioning of orders from superior officers by launch crews and failure to address superiors with the proper respect.

"We are breaking you down, and we will build from the ground up," Folds added. He later wrote, "It takes real leaders to lead through a crisis and we are, in fact, in a crisis right now."

He told his subordinates, "You must continue to turn over the rocks and find the rot."

When the AP inquired about the Folds email, the Air Force arranged a telephone interview with one of Folds' superiors, Col. Robert Vercher, commander of the 91st Missile Wing. The wing is one of three that operate the nation's fleet of 450 Minuteman III missiles; the two others are at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., and F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.

"We are frustrated anytime we're performing less than we expect of ourselves," Vercher said, adding that he and other senior officers are implementing an aggressive and innovative plan to restore a record of high performance among launch control officers.

"There was a problem," Vercher said. "And we will fix it."

Vercher said Folds was expressing frustration.

"That is a very passionate leader embarrassed by a performance below our expectation," Vercher said, adding that Folds was disappointed by the inspection, which was by the inspector general of the Air Force Global Strike Command.

Vercher said Folds was telling his officers, in effect, "Quite frankly, you guys should all be embarrassed that in an area that's important, you passed but you were rated as very close to not passing, and that's not acceptable."

The inspection area to which Vercher referred was proficiency at operating the missile launch simulator and responses to written questions about procedures. Their performance was rated "marginal," which Vercher said is the equivalent of a "D'' grade. The inspector's office told the AP that "marginal" is a passing rating, "but attention is needed from leadership to address issues before they become unsatisfactory."

"Nobody is comfortable with that," Vercher said.

The launch simulator is used in testing for inspection because, for obvious reasons, they can't perform an actual missile launch.

Exposure of shortcomings within Vercher's unit recalls an earlier series of stunning mistakes by other elements of the nuclear force, including the August 2007 incident in which an Air Force B-52 bomber flew from Minot to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., without the crew realizing it was armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. One outcome of the incident was the creation of Global Strike Command in January 2009 as a way of improving management of the nuclear enterprise.

Bruce Blair, who served as an Air Force ICBM launch control officer in the 1970s and is now a research scholar at Princeton University, said the Folds email points to a broader problem within the nuclear weapons force.

"The nuclear air force is suffering from a deep malaise caused by the declining relevance of their mission since the Cold War's end over 20 years ago," Blair said in an interview. "Minuteman launch crews have long been marginalized and demoralized by the fact that the Air Force's culture and fast-track careers revolve around flying planes, not sitting in underground bunkers baby-sitting nuclear-armed missiles."

Blair is co-founder of Global Zero, an international group that advocates the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons.

___

Follow Robert Burns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robertburnsAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-05-08-Nuclear%20Missteps/id-410ea7e55ff64ddba3b6e6af9ba2459d

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Margaret Groening Dies; Real-Life Marge Simpson Inspiration Was 94

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/05/margaret-groening-real-life-marge-simpson-inspiration-dies-at-94/

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Reality TV's new stars: Small businesses - TwinCities.com

Click photo to enlarge

In this Wednesday, April 3, 2013, photo, cameraman Mark Matusiak shoots a scene between Chumlee, second from left, Corey Harrison, and customer Gene McCauliff of Las Vegas, for the reality tv series Pawn Stars, Wednesday, April 3, 2013, in Las Vegas. Pawn sales at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop bring in about $20 million a year, up from the $4 million a year it made before the show aired.Turning small business owners into stars has become a winning formula for television producers, but the businesses featured in the shows are cashing in, too. Sales explode after just a few episodes have aired, transforming nearly unknown small businesses into household names.

NEW YORK?There's no business like small business.

Mix the high stakes of running a small business with a dash of family drama and throw in a camera crew and you get hit reality television shows such as "Pawn Stars," "Welcome to Sweetie Pie's" and "Duck Dynasty."

Turning small business owners into stars has become a winning formula for television producers, but some businesses featured in them are cashing in, too. Sales explode after just a few episodes air, transforming these nearly unknown small businesses into household names. In addition to earning a salary from starring in the shows, some small business owners are benefiting financially from opening gift shops that sell souvenirs or getting involved in other ventures

In this Wednesday, April 3, 2013, photo, customers wait in a line that stretches down the block to enter the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, in Las Vegas. Pawn sales at the shop, which is featured in the television reality show Pawn Stars, bring in about $20 million a year, up from the $4 million a year it made before the show aired. Turning small business owners into stars has become a winning formula for television producers, but the businesses featured in the shows are cashing in, too. Sales explode after just a few episodes have aired, transforming nearly unknown small businesses into household names. ((AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) )

that spawn from their new-found fame.

Sales at Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas are five times higher than they were before "Pawn Stars" first aired in 2009. More people are pouring into the St. Louis restaurant featured in "Welcome to Sweetie Pie's" to eat its jumbo-sized fried chicken wings and six-cheese macaroni and cheese. And Duck Commander, seen in "Duck Dynasty," is having trouble controlling the crowds in front of its headquarters in the small city of West Monroe, La.

"Sometimes it's hard getting from the truck to the front door," says Willie Robertson, who owns Duck Commander with his father and stars in the A&E series with his extended family.

It's a big change for a company that sells duck calls

out of a part-brick, part-cinder block warehouse on a dry, dead-end country road. Duck hunters use the whistles, which mimic duck sounds, to attract their prey.

Since "Duck Dynasty" began airing in March 2012, Robertson finds at least 70 people waiting in front of the warehouse every morning asking for autographs and photos. Neighbors have complained about the mobs and the police have been called.

Despite the trouble, the show has been good for the family business. Sales of the company's duck calls, which range from $20 to $175, have skyrocketed. In 2011, the company sold 60,000 duck calls. In 2012, the year the show began airing, the company sold 300,000. "We saw a big difference as the Nielsen ratings went up," says Robertson.

Their income from doing the show may be going up along with the ratings. "Duck Dynasty" is the most watched documentary-style reality series on TV right now, according to Nielsen, which provides information and insight into what consumers watch and buy. April's one-hour season three finale was watched by 9.6 million people, making it the most watched program in A&E's 29-year history. The Hollywood Reporter reported that the cast of the show is demanding a raise to $200,000 an

In this Wednesday, April 3, 2013, photo, cameraman Joe Murgia, right, shoots a close-up of Michael Jordan memorabilia which was brought in to the Gold & Silver Pawn shop for an episode of the reality tv series Pawn Stars, in Las Vegas. Pawn sales at the shop, which is featured in the television reality show Pawn Stars, bring in about $20 million a year, up from the $4 million a year it made before the show aired. Turning small business owners into stars has become a winning formula for television producers, but the businesses featured in the shows are cashing in, too. Sales explode after just a few episodes have aired, transforming nearly unknown small businesses into household names. ((AP Photo/Julie Jacobson))

episode to do a fourth season. Both the network and Robertson had no comment on the report.

Cameras follow Robertson and his family as they make duck calls, hunt or go camping. One episode showed Robertson trying to prove to his dad, brother and uncle that he could spend a night in a tent during a camping trip. (Robertson ends up bringing a big recreational vehicle and is ridiculed for it. "Once you bring something with wheels that's enclosed, you're no longer camping. You're parking," says Robertson's brother, Jace Robertson, in the episode.)

Duck Commander hired five more people to keep up with rising sales. Every duck call has to be put together by hand. "It's like a musical instrument," says Robertson. "Each one needs to

In this Wednesday, April 3, 2013, photo, visitors to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop take a closer look at various college and professional sports championship rings on display, in Las Vegas. Pawn sales at the shop, which is featured in the television reality show Pawn Stars, bring in about $20 million a year, up from the $4 million a year it made before the show aired.Turning small business owners into stars has become a winning formula for television producers, but the businesses featured in the shows are cashing in, too. Sales explode after just a few episodes have aired, transforming nearly unknown small businesses into household names. ((AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) )

be blown into it to make sure it works."

To stop the crowds from disrupting business, and to make extra cash, Robertson opened a gift shop inside the Duck Commander warehouse. "It keeps the people out of my lobby," says Robertson. The shop sells duck calls, Duck Commander T-shirts and bobblehead dolls that look like Robertson, his dad, uncle and brother, complete with their long beards.

Rick Harrison, the star of "Pawn Stars," opened a gift shop, too. He sells mugs, T-shirts, bobbleheads and refrigerator magnets, in the back of his Las Vegas pawn store.

Harrison says the souvenirs bring in about $5 million in revenue a year. The pawn business brings in about $20 million a year, up from the $4 million before "Pawn Stars" aired.

The show, which follows people as try to sell or pawn items ranging from gold coins to classic cars, also stars Harrison's son, his father and an employee named Austin "Chumlee" Russell.

People have been lining up outside the pawn shop since the reality show began airing on History in 2009. The store installed misters above the line to keep fans cool under the hot, Las Vegas sun.

Fame has disadvantages. Harrison says he wears a hat and sunglasses to disguise himself, even on visits to IHOP for pancakes with his kids. During an overseas vacation, he was swarmed by fans at the Tower of London

"It amazes me," says Harrison. "I'm just a fat middle-aged bald guy, but people still want to meet me."

Harrison is cashing in on his celebrity. He was hired as a spokesman for Procter & Gamble Inc.'s Swiffer cleaning wipes and he wrote a book, called "License to Pawn," about his life and business. (Harrison declined to say how much he made on those deals.) He also rents out a 1,300-square-foot area in the back of the pawn shop's building for private parties. The fee can range anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000, depending on the number of people invited and whether Harrison or one of the shows stars to drops by.

Despite his fame, and busy 40-week-a-year filming schedule, Harrison says that his pawn business comes first.

"I do realize that television shows end," he says, even though the show is coming back for a new season May 30. "I want to make sure I have a business when people are saying, 'Hey, do you remember that show about four fat guys in a pawn shop'"

A show may end, but it's not quickly forgotten. Hair stylist Elgin Charles, whose salon was featured on VH1's "Beverly Hills Fabulous," says he is still benefiting from the show even though it hasn't been on the air for nearly two years.

Fans of the show still stop into Elgin Charles Beverly Hills to get their hair done, some from as far away as Australia and Nigeria. "The phone didn't stop ringing for eight months after the show aired," says Charles, who has owned the salon for 15 years.

Charles was recently cornered by fans at a Dallas nightclub trying to get a picture of him on their smartphones. "I can't even walk the streets of New York without being approached," he says. (Charles is hard to miss. He often wears shiny, dark, straight shoulder-length hair.) He has been paid to make appearances at hair shows and conventions. "Many doors have opened," says Charles.

"The whole reason I did it was to make Elgin Charles Beverly Hills a household name," says Charles. He's says he's putting his name on a school, called the Elgin Charles Universal Beauty College, which is expected to open this summer in downtown Los Angeles.

Reality TV has been good to Duff Goldman, too. Food Network's "Ace of Cakes" filmed Goldman and his employees at Charm City Cakes bakery as they made lavish cakes. (In one episode, they made a cake for a "Harry Potter" movie premiere party that looked like Hogwarts Castle, the boy wizard's school.) "Ace of Cakes" ended in 2011, but Goldman and his bakery are still in high demand.

His name is on a line of cake mixes, kits and pans sold at Michaels, the arts and crafts store. His face is on cartons of Blue Bunny ice cream that have pieces of cakes mixed in. He teamed up with Godiva, the chocolate maker, to create limited edition cake truffles. In January, Goldman designed a nine-tiered cake for President Barack Obama's inauguration.

Last year he opened a bakery in Los Angeles, called Charm City Cakes West. He says he is "strongly" considering a return to reality TV.

The publicity is hard to give up. The shows are essentially a free weekly national commercial for a small business. "There's no better way to increase exposure," says Jai Manselle, the founder of Manselle Media, a brand development and public relations company that has clients in the entertainment industry.

Manselle says that entrepreneurs considering reality TV should make sure the show will portray the business in a positive light. "If the show makes you look unprofessional, that may not be good," he says. Manselle turned down an offer to turn his marketing business into a reality show last year because it didn't feel right, but he is still open to the idea.

"If it's not going to benefit the brand, don't do it," says Manselle. "The whole reason you're doing this is to make money."

Lynnae Schneller is hoping her family-run pickle business gets the green light. Schneller was approached by a production company to film a five-minute pilot that is being pitched to networks.

"I've never had a desire to be on reality TV, but from a business standpoint I can't turn it down," says Schneller, who started Lynnae's Gourmet Pickles in Tacoma, Wash. in 2011. "We could never afford that kind of exposure."

But reality-TV fame has a price. Charles says that he had to close his salon for two months while filming "Beverly Hills Fabulous." He only had Sundays and one other weekday to style hair for clients. "They came in like a storm and took over," says Charles. The producers set up storyboards that mapped out the episodes. "I didn't have much control," he says.

Editing can create misconceptions about the business. "Ace of Cakes" never showed the bakers washing their hands. Many viewers assumed that they didn't. Goldman still gets emails and letters from viewers saying that they should be washing their hands. They did, it just never made it on the screen. "A show about people washing their hands would be a boring show," Goldman says.

Another downside: Being bossed around. "I'm 47 and I've never worked for anybody in my life," says Harrison of "Pawn Stars." "Now you have somebody else telling you what to do." Producers tell him what time to come to work and he has to make appearances to promote the show. He has to take direction while filming. "They'll say, 'Rick, raise your voice you're not talking loud enough,' and it's a 27-year-old director telling me these things," says Harrison.

Not every small business makes good TV. Producers say they are most interested in family-run companies. "That's the Holy Grail," says Darryl Silver, the owner of The Idea Factory, the production company pitching Schneller's pickle-business reality show. They do well because viewers are able to relate to the characters.

That's true for the stars of "Welcome to Sweetie Pie's." Owner Robbie Montgomery says fans come to her restaurants featured in the show and liken her to their own grandmothers.

The show, which airs on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, follows Montgomery as she and her son run two restaurants in St. Louis and struggle to open a third. Montgomery has been filmed scolding her nephew when he shows up late for work. In another episode, she pushes her grandson to get better grades in school.

The show has brought more people to her restaurants. "There was a line around the block after the third or fourth episode," says Montgomery. Sales have jumped 70 percent at the restaurants, which serve Southern dishes such as pork steak smothered in gravy and candied yams. It debuted in 2011. A fourth season began filming in March.

Montgomery began selling $20 T-shirts in the restaurants after the show started. The shirts feature Montgomery's quotes from the show.

One of the quotes could serve as advice for small businesses wanting to get into reality TV.

"If it don't make money," the shirt reads, "it don't make sense."

?????

ONLINE:

"Ace of Cakes" http://www.foodnetwork.com/ace-of-cakes/index.html

"Beverly Hills Fabulous" http://www.vh1.com/shows/beverly?hills?fabulous/series.jhtml

"Duck Dynasty" http://www.aetv.com/duck-dynasty/

"Pawn Stars" http://www.history.com/shows/pawn-stars

"Welcome to Sweetie Pie's" http://www.oprah.com/own-sweetie-pies/Welcome-to-Sweetie-Pies

?????

Follow Joseph Pisani at http://twitter.com/josephpisani

Source: http://www.twincities.com/entertainment/ci_23196822/reality-tvs-new-stars-small-businesses

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At Least Antarctica's Last Sunset for Three Months Is a Stunner

Snapped from Concordia Research Station in Antarctica, this is a photo of the last sunset the base will see for the next three months of permanent darkness.

Concordia is one of three permanent research bases in Antarctica, from which crew members study glaciology, seismology, and astronomy. It's just about the coldest spot in the world?temperatures barely rise over negative 13 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, and they can drop down to negative 112 in the winter, which begins in July and lasts until September. Concordia is also one of the most remote places in the world, 600 miles from the nearest humans at Russia's Vostok base.

The crew just began what might seem like the longest night of their lives. For the next three months, the team at Concordia will work under artificial light, when they'll finally be greeted by a more refreshing sunset than any of us has ever seen. [ESA]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/at-least-antarcticas-last-sunset-for-three-months-is-a-493717379

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Tips for Health, Fitness, and Weight Loss with Jogging | Verified Trader

Requiring no special equipment, jogging is one of the simplest exercise you can do and can be done almost anywhere. This form of exercise is the most effective calorie burner and has the most health benefits. Using the following tips will help you as you begin a jogging routine or they can be used to help you get more out of your current routine.

Running with a group or a friend is a great way to keep you motivated and also provides accountability. It?s okay if you prefer to run alone, but having a partner can be very motivational. You are more likely to give it your all when you run with someone else. While talking can become a distraction if you?re not careful, it is fun to have someone to talk to. It might be better to focus on jogging and talk after you?re done. One way to keep running interesting is to run with a partner or group. If you want to start jogging and you haven?t exercised for a long time, it?s a good idea to consult your doctor first. This is critical for those with health problems or who are overweight. While almost everyone could benefit from jogging, your doctor will have specific advice for you based on your medical history. Your doctor will most likely encourage you to try jogging since it can accommodate all fitness levels. You should still talk to your doctor first in case there are special precautions that you need to take.

To get the most out of jogging in the long run, it?s essential to stay healthy and avoid injuries. There are certain injuries that can be caused by jogging even though it is great for your health.

To help you avoid injuries, you need to listen to your body and watch for any warning signs. You want to push yourself but not past the point of over exhaustion. If you are just starting out with jogging, start off slowly and gradually increase your speed and distance. If you feel any sharp pains, stop running, and if the pain doesn?t go away, see your doctor. You can end up doing more harm than good if you push yourself too hard which is why you need to pay attention to how you feel while jogging.

There are many benefits of running, and you can start this activity at almost any age. We?re all human, and sometimes you won?t feel like running ? but do it anyway, and you?ll usually find that once you start, you?ll be glad you did. Be sure to follow proper procedures so your muscles and bones stay healthy and strong.
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Source: http://verifiedtraders.org/tips-for-health-fitness-and-weight-loss-with-jogging/

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Why Isn't Gatsby in the Public Domain?

When The Great Gatsby rolls out to theaters across the country this weekend, it will bring to the screen a story familiar to millions from a literary classic that's often dubbed the proverbial "Great American Novel." Here?s what many folks don?t know: even though the book was published nearly 90 years ago and is a long-established part of our shared cultural heritage, it has not yet entered the public domain.

Yes, even though F. Scott Fitzgerald died 73 years ago (and is therefore unlikely to be incentivized to produce more work), The Great Gatsby is still restricted by copyright.

F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald

In fact, it won't be truly free to the American public until January 1, 2021 ? and even then only if copyright terms aren't extended again. Thanks to the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, no published US works will enter the public domain until 2019.¹ Some countries have slightly saner copyright terms, but the U.S. Trade Rep is working diligently to use international agreements like the TPP to ratchet up terms around the world.

Still worse, a tragic 2012 Supreme Court decision declared that even once in the public domain, works can be yanked back out by Congressional action. Between excessively long copyright terms and the uncertainty of public domain status, creating new works that depend on the commons has become difficult and dangerous.

We feel the pernicious practical effects of lengthy copyright terms every day. For example, a study last year of books on Amazon showed that books published after the critical public domain cut-off date of 1923 are available at a dramatically lower rate than books from even an entire century before. The result is a "missing 20th century" in the history of books.

Nor is the problem confined to books. Another study by an MIT economist examined an archive of baseball magazines that included some issues in the public domain and some still burdened by copyright. By contrast, images from the public domain issues can be digitized and redistributed, and so their availability has greatly improved the quality?and thus increased the readership and editing engagement?of Wikipedia articles on baseball players from that era.

You may or may not care about particular baseball players from the 1960s, but the situation repeats itself over and over again across different fields. In the name of preserving profits for a handful of rightsholders, our cultural history is left to decay in legally imposed obscurity.

A diminished public domain doesn't just rob us of past works, but of the future works that could rely on an expanded public domain. Rightsholders have the power to veto derivative works simply by refusing to license the works. And if the rightsholder can't be tracked down or confirmed ? a real possibility when we?re talking about works that are nearly a hundred years old ? the difficulty of getting a license can halt production altogether.

Ironically, this hurts the same studios that pushed the Copyright Term Extension Act in the first place. Adapting well-known works is a powerful way to reach an audience familiar with the characters and story, and a strong public domain provides fertile grounds for new works. For example, Disney?s early films mined the public domain freely, leading to classic versions of well-known fairy tales, but its lobbying for expanded copyright restrictions has deprived others ? and the public ? of the same possibilities.

Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann himself took advantage of the public domain with his 1996 film Romeo + Juliet. The movie was, of course, a heavily modernized and modified version of Shakespeare's classic play?exactly the kind of thing that a rightsholder might veto for "artistic integrity," if there were a Shakespeare "estate" that were as good at lobbying as Disney and the MPAA.

But it was also a critical and popular success, racking up nearly $150 million at the box office, and the world of film would be a poorer place without it. It should be obvious to Hollywood the value of the public domain as a critical component of a thriving creative culture?both in artistic terms and economic ones. Bloating the copyright term may have seemed like a fine way to protect that year's profits, but ultimately it comes at a great cost to both Hollywood and the public interest.

Republished from the EFF under Creative Commons

¹ That is, no published works will enter the public domain through copyright expiration. However, works by the U.S. federal government, for example, are never subject to copyright restrictions, and the authors of some private works like the animated film "Sita Sings the Blues" have waived all copyright obligations.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/why-isnt-gatsby-in-the-public-domain-496215292

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