“CNN Money Summit: Meet the panelists - CNN” plus 4 more |
- CNN Money Summit: Meet the panelists - CNN
- Best Western’s ‘Countdown to Savings’ runs all week - Los Angeles Times Blogs
- Nanoparticle gel heals injured brain and bone - MSNBC
- Italy’s ex-cons get 2nd chance as tourist guides - MSNBC
- I have nothing to prove against Inter - Ibrahimovic - ESPN.com
| CNN Money Summit: Meet the panelists - CNN Posted: 14 Sep 2009 10:15 AM PDT (CNN) -- Join Anderson Cooper, Ali Velshi and the CNN Money Team for the next "CNN Money Summit: Money & Main St." on Thursday, September 17 at 11 p.m. ET on CNN and Friday, September 18 at noon ET on CNN.com Live with Facebook Connect. Here are the panelists featured on the show:  Walter Updegrave, Senior Editor, Money  Christine Romans, CNN Correspondent and Co-Host of "Your $$$$$"  Donna Rosato, Senior Writer, Money  Leigh Gallagher, Senior Editor, Fortune  Stephen Leeb, Economist, Leeb Capital Management  Ryan Mack, President, Optimum Capital Management  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Best Western’s ‘Countdown to Savings’ runs all week - Los Angeles Times Blogs Posted: 14 Sep 2009 10:22 AM PDT Every day this week Best Western is putting thematic destinations on sale. But write yourself a note because you only have so much time to save. The "Countdown to Savings" Internet-only rates are posted on the chain's website (look for the happy clock man) at 9 a.m. PDT and travelers have until 1 p.m. PDT to book their deals. You won't know which Best Western hotels will be on sale until the next day. But we've got the skinny on what themes will be running all week. Monday - Places to see fall colors Tuesday - NFL stadium cities Wednesday - Must-see "Bucket List" cities picked by Best Western Facebook fans Thursday - A mysterious grab bag Friday - Roadside attractions Dealhunters: Today I found four hotels in the Mammoth Lakes and Sierra area on sale. When I checked dates in early November, prices started at $87 per night for the Yosemite Gateway Inn. Contact: Best Western – Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger [Photo: Best Western in Durango, CO: Credit: Courtesy of Best Western]  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Nanoparticle gel heals injured brain and bone - MSNBC Posted: 14 Sep 2009 10:15 AM PDT Scrambled brains and broken bones can both be healed with a new nanoparticle-infused hydrogel. Developed by scientists from Clemson University, the gel creates new blood vessels and later encourages the body's own stem cells to replace dead bone or brain cells. Twelve weeks after a devastating brain injury some test rats had recovered almost all of their original muscle and sensory functions. "The goal of this project is to encourage the neurological regeneration of damaged tissue," said Ning Zhang, a Clemson University scientist developing the hydrogel. "The functions controlled by the damaged regions will be lost permanently if not restored." Zhang used a controlled cortical impactor, basically a small, pneumatic spear with a conch-shaped tip, to strike the rat's forehead, destroying most of the brain's cortex and some of the striatum. These are areas responsible for memory, learning, sensory information and muscle movements, among other functions. For a human, that amount of brain damage would be roughly equivalent to being in a bad car crash. Fluid quickly filled area around the head wound. The Clemson scientists drained the fluid and replaced it with a liquid cocktail of three different neural growth factors, each one encased in a different biodegradable nanoparticle. Zhang wouldn't comment on the exact makeup of the nanoparticles, other than to say they can be produced from natural or synthetic materials, and they can be tuned to diograde depending on the needs of the scientists. The body's temperature turns the liquid into a gelatin scaffold, spurring the creation of new blood vessels to feed the recovering organ. Over the next three to four weeks the nanoparticles broke apart, releasing their contents. The first growth factors find neural stem cells and prep them for travel. The second growth factor helps the stem cells travel to the injury site. The third and final growth factor turns the stem cells into new neurons and glial cells. Twelve weeks after the injury the rats had regained almost all their original sensory and motor functions. Memory and learning also improved significantly when compared with traumatized but untreated rats. A modified version of the hydrogel can heal devastating wounds to bone and cartilage as well. Using rabbits instead of mice, Zhang and her colleagues removed three centimeters, or almost half, of a rabbit's femur bone. They then injected hydrogel, modified with drugs to encourage bone growth instead of brain growth, into the wound. "Normally the bone would never heal" from that wound that severe," said Zhang. "But in our studies the bone healed in a couple of weeks." Whether it's mushy brains, broken bones or torn cartilidge, the nanoparticle-infused gel will only heal animal wounds for now. Five years of additional animal testing will be required before any human trials can begin, says Zhang. If animal trials go well, and if human clinical trials go well, then the hydrogel could be used to treat humans with brain, bone, or other tissue damage. Related stories
Matthew Tate, a doctor at the University of California San Francisco, agrees that years will likely pass before hyrogels like the one developed by Zhang is routinely used for brain injuries, but he is excited by the progress her group has made. "Engineering a hydrogel to do what you want, and of which this is a good example, is a good advancement towards manipulating cells in the host brain for therapies that can help patients," said Tate. "I think we are getting pretty close to translating this research into actual human patients."  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Italy’s ex-cons get 2nd chance as tourist guides - MSNBC Posted: 14 Sep 2009 10:08 AM PDT NAPLES, Italy - Luigi "Giggino" Nocerino once stalked tourists through the tight alleys of this southern Italian city, snatching bags and valuables to fuel his drug addiction. Now he looks after his former prey, escorting them through bad neighborhoods and giving tips on how to avoid muggings and where to eat the best pizza. Nocerino is one of 70 former convicts, including muggers, drug traffickers and con artists, hired by authorities to guide tourists through the art-rich but crime-plagued city and use their inside knowledge of the local underworld to keep visitors safe. Officials say the six-month experiment that began in May is succeeding in reducing petty crime and preventing the ex-cons from falling back into old habits or joining the ranks of the Camorra, the powerful mob syndicate that runs global drug rings out of Naples. "I used to hunt for tourists. How things have changed," Nocerino marvels, recalling how he spent more than 10 of his 43 years serving prison terms for drug-related offenses. Nocerino and his fellow guides roam tourist-filled areas, like the historic center of Naples or its port, wearing bright yellow vests identifying them, in somewhat mangled English, as "Operator for the Urban Tourist Assistance." Some speak basic English and Spanish but most use Italians' expressive hand gestures to get the message across. They walk around in groups accompanied by a supervisor, usually a private security guard, who knows them and reports on their performance. Their job can include pointing the way to a monument, helping tourists negotiate a cab fare or walking them to a specific pizzeria or a pastry shop. The service is free and tips are not encouraged. Giovanni Aspride, a 53-year-old former counterfeiter, said he and his colleagues usually wait for tourists to approach them, though they may come forward if somebody seems desperately lost or to tell a visitor to remove a gold watch or tuck a wallet in a safer pocket. Though their criminal record does not have to be revealed, the guides are not shy about discussing it if it comes up in conversation. On a busy shopping street on Tuesday, Aspride pointed an American couple just off a cruise ship toward baroque churches in the area, then checked that they weren't wearing any jewelry that could attract unwanted attention. "You OK," he told them in broken English. The tourists were unfazed when told Aspride had served time. "It's a great way to reintegrate them into society," said Brooke Cervine March, 37, of Santa Fe, New Mexico. "Everybody deserves a second chance." Her husband, Scott Cervine, said a fellow cruise passenger bought an MP3 player from a street vendor, only to find out later that he'd been conned. Aspride smiled as he recognized the trademark "pacco" — the package trick. Unscrupulous street vendors will display a high-tech gizmo, then place it in a box, which at the last moment is switched with one that's empty or contains a heavy object. The guides must call police if they see anything suspicious, but officials say that in some cases they have taken matters into their own hands, chasing off muggers or returning lost property to tourists. When the government of the Campania region, which has Naples as its capital, started the project the idea caused uproar. Applicants went through interviews and were chosen based on any previous working experience and language skills. Serious offenders including murderers, rapists and mobsters were ruled out. Still, critics complained the ex-cons could be a danger to tourists and tarnish the image of a city already reputed as unsafe. "We were accused of putting the wolves in charge of the sheep," said Corrado Gabriele, the regional official in charge of labor issues. "I think convicts should not be marked for life and, once they have served their sentence, we have a duty to help them." The project has had its rough moments: one of the ex-cons was arrested on the job — but that was after the slow-paced Italian courts sentenced him for a crime committed more than a decade ago. None of the convicts has committed any crime since the project started and the initial distrust has largely dissipated, said Alessandro Maria Vecchioni, head of an education agency that runs the scheme. He proudly showed letters of thanks from tourists helped by the guides and citizens' petitions to increase their numbers and hours. For now the guides work 20 hours a week for a monthly salary of ⁈725), paid by the Campania region with European Union funds. "By escorting tourists to restaurants and shops in areas previously unsafe for visitors they help revive the area's economy, and then the locals are the first to turn against petty criminals," Vecchioni said. Though it's too early to draw conclusions, Vecchioni said initial figures show crimes like muggings are down 85 percent in some of the areas covered by the guides. "They bring customers and some extra safety," said Salvatore Eder, who runs a food store in downtown Naples. "There should be more of them."  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| I have nothing to prove against Inter - Ibrahimovic - ESPN.com Posted: 14 Sep 2009 10:08 AM PDT By Iain Rogers BARCELONA, Sept 14 - Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not let the fans' reaction distract him from the task of scoring goals when Barcelona travel to his former club Inter Milan on Wednesday. The Champions League Group F clash at the San Siro has an extra edge after the European champions signed Ibrahimovic and defender Maxwell from Inter and striker Samuel Eto'o went the other way. Ibrahimovic told a news conference on Monday he was relishing the challenge of returning to his former club even if he was not quite back to full fitness after a hand injury and was still getting to know his new colleagues. "I'll do everything to score (on Wednesday) because I play for Barca now," the Sweden striker said. "I don't know what to expect from the fans but I will go there and do my best and hope we win," he added. "People know my quality and I know my quality and for me it's an obligation to win every match I play." Ibrahimovic was a match winner for Barca in La Liga on Saturday, scoring one goal and setting up Lionel Messi for another in a 2-0 win at Getafe. He said he was feeling much better physically after the hand injury disrupted his pre-season training and he was glad to have played the full 90 minutes. "Where I am (physically) I don't know but I am improving and working hard," he said. "I also need to get to know my new team mates better to best use my chances. "It's normal to have to adapt and it's something that only comes in time. It's important for me to play games and get my rhythm. The more games I play then the more you will see the real Zlatan." Ibrahimovic said Inter had a much stronger squad this year. "I would say they are among the favourites to win even the Champions League. I am sure that the Champions will come for Inter one day." (Editing by Ed Osmond; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com) This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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