Where do German-speaking authors write? ? Europa SF ? The ...

Where do German-speaking authors write?

Austrian SF-author Michael Marcus Thurner, who has published not only as a member of the ?Perry Rhodan?-team but also outside this universe, has started a documentation on his blog based on similar efforts in the anglophone scene. The idea is to ask professional writers of SF and Fantasy to show their place of work ? the area where their creativity enables them to produce the novels they publish. As Thurner himself confesses, he has been quite surprised by the response ? especially the tidiness of many of the offices of his colleagues, who are either very orderly people or have cleaned up before taking the picture. Among those documented are Thurner?s ?Perry Rhodan?-colleagues but also writers not connected to the series, including grandmasters of German-speaking SF like Herbert W. Franke or bestselling authors like Kai Meyer. The pictures featuring authors from Germany, Austria and Switzerland can be seen?here.

Source: http://scifiportal.eu/where-do-german-speaking-authors-write/

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Android 4.1.1 Jellybean autocorrect does not work, please help!

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Android 4.1.1 Jellybean autocorrect does not work, please help!

---

I have Predictive Text and Spell Correct turned on, but it still will not autocorrect my words. All it does is display a list of words it thought I meant to type above the keyboard. ICS did this exceptionally well, why don't JellyBean do it at all?

I really don't want to have to flash ICS back onto my S3, but if there is no workaround or patch for this in the near future, I will be forced to.

I am very disappointed in the new OS upgrade, for more reasons than just this, but this is the most serious and prevalent issue. I would really appreciate any and all help you guys can provide.

Thanks,
Dan

?

Source: http://androidforums.com/android-lounge/669632-android-4-1-1-jellybean-autocorrect-does-not-work-please-help.html

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Galaxy Note 2 LTE N7105 Receives Android 4.1.2 XXDLL4 Jelly Bean [Manually Install and Root]

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Source: www.ibtimes.com --- Sunday, December 30, 2012
Android 4.1.2 XXDLL4 Jelly Bean firmware released for LTE version of Samsung Galaxy Note 2 N7105. ...

Source: http://www.ibtimes.comhttp:0//www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/419246/20121230/galaxy-note2-lte-n7105-xxdll4-jellybean-install.htm

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Texas Tech rallies to beat Minnesota 34-31

Texas Tech players celebrate with the championship trophy after winning the Meineke Car Care Bowl NCAA college football game against Minnesota, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, in Houston. Texas Tech defeated Minnesota 34-31. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

Texas Tech players celebrate with the championship trophy after winning the Meineke Car Care Bowl NCAA college football game against Minnesota, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, in Houston. Texas Tech defeated Minnesota 34-31. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

Texas Tech's D.J. Johnson (12) intercepts a pass intended for Minnesota's Derrick Engel (18) during the fourth quarter of the Meineke Car Care Bowl NCAA college football game, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, in Houston. Texas Tech defeated Minnesota 34-31. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

Texas Tech quarterback Seth Doege holds the championship trophy after winning the Meineke Car Care Bowl NCAA college football game against Minnesota, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, in Houston. Texas Tech defeated Minnesota 34-31. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

Texas Tech's Eric Ward, left, outruns Minnesota's Jeremy Baltazar, right, for a touchdown during the fourth quarter of the Meineke Car Care Bowl NCAA college football game, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, in Houston. Texas Tech defeated Minnesota 34-31. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

Minnesota coach Jerry Kill reacts to a double penalty during the second quarter against Texas Tech in the Meineke Car Care Bowl NCAA college football game, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, in Houston. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

HOUSTON (AP) ? Texas Tech has had a difficult month since coach Tommy Tuberville left abruptly for the job at Cincinnati.

The struggles continued on Friday night, and the Red Raiders trailed Minnesota by a touchdown with just more than a minute left in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

That was when seniors D.J. Johnson and Seth Doege came through with big plays to help Texas Tech to a 34-31 win.

After Doege connected with Eric Ward on a 35-yard scoring play to pull the Red Raiders even at 31 with just more than a minute remaining, Johnson returned an interception 39 yards and Ryan Bustin made a 28-yard field goal as time expired to give the Red Raiders the win.

"We've overcome a lot of adversity," Johnson said. "To end my last play like that is a blessing."

Michael Carter intercepted two of Doege's passes in the fourth quarter before the tying score, but Minnesota couldn't convert either of the turnovers into points.

"Things weren't always going our way ... but we kept fighting and put ourselves in a position to win the game," Doege said.

The Red Raiders (8-5) got their third straight bowl victory to end their trying season on a high note.

Texas Tech has hired Kliff Kingsbury to replace Tuberville, but interim coach Chris Thomsen led the team against Minnesota (6-7). Kingsbury was at the game, watching from a suite.

Doege threw for 271 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score in front of a crowd that included 1977 Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell and former Tech coach Spike Dykes.

"More than anything I credit those players," Thomsen said of Johnson and Doege. "They really held it together ... to get to make those plays after they struggled. They kept their poise and confidence and continued to stay in there and battle."

Philip Nelson threw for 138 yards and two scores for the Gophers, who were in a bowl game for the first time since 2009.

"I think our kids played hard tonight; they played their guts out, and I appreciate that," Minnesota coach Jerry Kill said. "We just couldn't make a play at a critical time."

The Red Raiders returned to a bowl after having their 18-season bowl streak snapped last year.

A 1-yard touchdown pass from Nelson to Drew Goodger gave Minnesota a 31-24 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Texas Tech led 24-17 at halftime, but couldn't do anything offensively in the second half until the last couple of minutes. It was an ugly game for the Red Raiders, who had 13 penalties for 135 yards and lost the tight end Jace Amaro when he was ejected for throwing a punch.

Jakeem Grant ran for what was initially ruled a touchdown for Tech late in the third quarter. Amaro threw a punch at Derrick Wells in the end zone on the play and was ejected.

After the penalty, the play was reviewed and overturned. Doege threw an incomplete pass before Tech made a 32-yard field goal. But the Red Raiders had a false start penalty on the play and had to kick again and this time the Gophers blocked it.

Nelson threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Devin Crawford-Tufts, who was left uncovered in the end zone, to tie it 24-all early in the third quarter.

Donnell Kirkwood scored on a 3-yard run to leave Minnesota up 17-14 early in the second quarter.

Texas Tech had a first-and-goal at the Minnesota 2 after a pass-interference call on the Gophers. But Texas Tech had to settle for a field goal after a rush for a 3-yard loss and two penalties.

Minnesota's next drive started out well before turning ugly. The Gophers had made two first downs before MarQueis Gray was sacked for a loss of 7 yards. Kirkwood ran for 17 yards on the next play, but Minnesota received two 15-yard penalties on the play, one for a personal foul on lineman Zac Epping, to make it second-and-42. Epping received a second personal foul penalty on the next play to bring up third-and-49.

"We just made some errors that I wish we hadn't made," Kill said.

Christian Eldred shanked the punt, giving Texas Tech the ball at the Minnesota 42.

The Red Raiders capitalized on their great field position when Doege spun away from a defender in the backfield and leaped over another Gopher near the goal line on a 4-yard touchdown run. Tech converted a fourth-and-6 play on that drive, and led 24-17 at halftime.

Minnesota's Rodrick Williams Jr. scored on a 2-yard run to give the Gophers a 10-7 lead in the first quarter.

Doege lost his helmet on a 5-yard scramble on Tech's next drive and had to go out for one play. He was replaced by Michael Brewer, who found Derreck Edwards for a 13-yard touchdown pass to give the Red Raiders a 14-10 lead.

Minnesota's Troy Stoudermire returned the opening kickoff 26 yards to break the NCAA record for career kickoff return yards. He finished the game with 111 yards to push his total to 3,615.

The Gophers ended that drive with a 41-yard field goal to make it 3-0.

Texas Tech's Grant returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to put Texas Tech up 7-3.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-12-29-Meineke%20Bowl%20Folo/id-96e6811353314b4e83dc513484de1a5b

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Over 17 million tablets and phones opened on Christmas

5 hrs.

Devin Coldewey , NBC News

Christmas day this year saw record numbers of devices coming online ? over 17 million of them, according to app analytics company Flurry. And that's not counting the ones that stayed offline.

Flurry identifies new devices as "activated" when?one of thousands of tracked apps is launched, and the company claims that this amounts to about 90 percent of all devices ? note that this is different from "activating" your new phone on a wireless carrier.

With so many tablets and smartphones on the market right now, perhaps it's not surprising that numbers should be so high. The iPad Mini, Nexus 10?and Kindle Fire all combine the latest hardware with a gift-friendly price.

By Flurry's measure, 17.4 million iOS and Android devices were activated Christmas day worldwide ? more than any other day in history by a good margin.?December saw about 4 million devices activated every day, which is about twice what December 2011 had, and Christmas day last year had only 6.8 million activations.

Flurry didn't provide a breakdown of how many of those millions were Android and how many were iOS ? and with competition fiercer than ever, it's difficult to speculate (although based on recent reports, it's likely that iOS has a solid?lead).

A second study by Mixpanel found that more than half of Internet traffic on Christmas was from mobile devices (much more than the week before), so clearly those millions of gifted tablets and phones were being put to use. Mixpanel put the traffic breakdown as 44 percent Android and 54 percent iOS, but that's of all the devices Mixpanel?saw, not just the ones opened on Christmas.

More complete numbers (including best-selling devices) will likely be released by retailers and manufacturers in the next few weeks ? perhaps at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBCNews Digital. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/over-17-million-tablets-phones-unboxed-christmas-analysts-1C7753892

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Asian stocks up ahead of U.S. fiscal cliff talks

BANGKOK (AP) ? Asian stock markets rose Friday, hours before President Barack Obama and key lawmakers were to meet at the White House to try to hammer out an 11th-hour budget compromise to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.

Lawmakers have until Monday night to reach a deal before hundreds of billions of dollars in automatic tax increases and deep cuts to government spending kick in. Such a drastic reshuffling of money could throw the U.S. into another recession, economists have warned.

However, failure to avoid the fiscal cliff doesn't necessarily mean tax increases and spending cuts would become permanent, since the new Congress could pass legislation canceling them retroactively after it begins its work next year.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index marched higher, hitting its highest level since March 20, 2011. The Tokyo benchmark rose 1 percent to 10,428.36. Export shares posted big gains as the country's currency continued to recoil against the dollar. Mazda Motor Corp. jumped 4.2 percent and Isuzu Motors Ltd. surged 4.3 percent. Nintendo Co. advanced 3.4 percent.

Investors have been cheering newly named Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his calls for more public works spending to reinvigorate the economy. He also wants the Bank of Japan to raise its inflation target from 1 to 2 percent to drag the country out of two decades of deflation, or steadily declining prices that have deadened economic activity.

But Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong, said he was skeptical that the new government's roadmap would prove effective in the long run.

"He will increase the deficit, print more money and try to spend out of the recession. If you print or borrow money, you give the economy a sense of false hope," he said. "It's like taking opium. You feel good but eventually you have to come down."

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose less than 0.1 percent to 22,637.91, while South Korea's Kospi added 0.6 percent to 1,999. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5 percent to 4,671.30.

"The fiscal cliff seems to have lost its negative influence on global markets," said Lun. "Even if it falls into the fiscal cliff, you will only reduce the deficit by about $100 billion. In Chinese terms, it's like trying to douse a fire with a cup of water. They should do what Europe has done and try to impose austerity."

Markets got some lift from optimistic data out of the U.S. on Thursday and a statement from the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, who said in an interview that the worst of the debt crisis in the 17 European Union countries that use the euro appears to be over.

In the U.S., the average number of people seeking unemployment benefits over the past month fell to the lowest level since March 2008, a sign that the job market is healing.

Worries over U.S. budget negotiations sent Wall Street slightly lower on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.1 percent to 13,096.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.1 percent to 1,418.10, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 0.1 percent to 2,985.91.

Benchmark oil for February delivery rose 41 cents to $91.28 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 11 cents to finish at $90.87 per barrel.

In currencies, the euro fell slightly to $1.3239 from $1.3240 late Thursday in New York. The dollar gained to 86.45 yen from 86.02 yen.

___

Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-stocks-ahead-us-fiscal-cliff-talks-035809449--finance.html

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Sonos Playbar appears at the FCC with WiFi, finally

Sonos is the de facto choice for multi-room audio, but even some of its biggest proponents will grumble about the lack of built-in WiFi -- going wireless in any way has meant tacking a Bridge on to the cost of an already expensive system. An FCC filing for an upcoming device, the Playbar, hints that common sense might have the upper hand. While there's few details of the audio system itself, there's explicit mentions of dual-band 802.11n WiFi inside. Just what that WiFi does is another matter. Sonos prefers using its proprietary network to cut back on lag and interference, so the Playbar's additional wireless may extend functionality rather than simplify our lives. With approval out of the way, there's a better chance we'll know the full story in the near future.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Comments

Source: FCC

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/iPjMoNQ9oxA/

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Samsung says it will ship half a billion phones in 2013

Samsung expects to sell 510 million phones in 2013, the company announced on Wednesday. Samsung says most of those devices will be smart phones, cementing the company's status as the world's biggest phone manufacturer.

By Jeff Ward-Bailey,?Contributor / December 26, 2012

Samsung says it expects to ship 510 million phones, most of which will be smart phones, in 2013. Here, a passerby takes a picture of an Apple Store in Sydney, Australia with a Samsung Galaxy phone.

Tim Wimborne/Reuters/File

Enlarge

Samsung may be the biggest phone maker in the world, but it's not resting on its laurels: the Korean company announced on Wednesday that it expects to ship 510 million handsets in 2013, three-quarters of which will be smart phones.

Skip to next paragraph Jeff Ward-Bailey

Writer

Jeff began writing for the Monitor's Horizons blog in 2011, covering product news and rumors, innovations from companies like Apple and Google, and developments in tech policy.

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Samsung shipped 420 million handsets in 2012, which means that if its 2013 estimate is correct it'll be a 20 percent jump for the company. The Korea Times reports that 390 million of its 2013 sales are expected to be smart phones, and that Samsung is counting on pulling away from its biggest smart-phone rival, Apple.

That estimate may be a little bit rosy: market research firm Gartner previously predicted that Samsung would sell between 250 and 300 smart phones in 2013. But no matter how you slice it, Samsung's sales have been rising sharply. The company sold 0.6 million smart phones in 2009, 23.9 million in 2010, and 97.4 million in 2011.

What's on the menu for Samsung in 2013? The company will continue to develop its popular line of Galaxy smart phones and tablets, which are rivals to Apple's iPhone and iPad. It also plans to release a line of Windows Phone 8 handsets to compete with offerings from Nokia and HTC. As fast 4G LTE networks grow, Samsung will also double down on LTE-compatible devices to meet demand, Samsung executive Kim Hyun-joon said, quoted in The Korea Times.

To produce all this hardware, Samsung will have to expand its manufacturing base. The company expects to build just 40 million devices at its Korean factory; the lion's share will come from Samsung factories in Vietnam, China, and India. The company plans to spend $2.2 billion over the next several years to expand its Vietnamese factories.

Samsung is also planning to produce devices running Tizen, an operating system it developed together with Intel. Tizen is designed to run on smart phones, tablets, TVs, computers, and even GPS units to give users a consistent experience across devices. The first Tizen devices haven't been released yet, but Samsung's 2013 phones and tablets may be among the earliest.

Samsung has had a busy year, not least because of its public legal battles with rival Apple. The latter won a $1 billion injunction against Samsung earlier in 2012, but the judgement hasn't done much to dent Samsung's momentum -- especially since Apple has been largely unsuccessful in barring Samsung smart phones from being sold. Samsung's bullish predictions for 2013 suggest that the company isn't too worried about future legal roadblocks, either.

For more tech news, follow Jeff on?Twitter:?@jeffwardbailey.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/GSrHjeqB1h8/Samsung-says-it-will-ship-half-a-billion-phones-in-2013

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Cold Weather? Hot Coffee at Ghostlight ! | Dayton Most Metro

Fig Vanilla Black Pepper Latte

Where can you warm up with this cold weather?? May we suggest a Latte with the ladies?? How about a Mocha with the Mayor? Ghostlight Coffee on 1201 Wayne Ave is just the place for a Food Adventure that will heat up your winter months.? Opened in 2011 by owner Shane Anderson, it is a ?must drink? on our list of locally owned spots.? This coffee house already has a cult following, and deservedly so.? Great beverages are the cornerstone of Ghostlight Coffee.? The storefront of glass windows in the dining room, overlooks a bustling Wayne Avenue.?? the walls are adorned with local art, and music usually fills the air.? The place has a warmth to it, and we are not just talking about the coffee.?? The Big Ragu and Superfry find the inviting atmosphere very appealing.?? Another attraction is that the menu has a variety of choices to please almost anyone.

Ghostlight uses the ?pour over? method to prepare many of their brews.? It is a manual method of making coffee, and a secret to great taste.? The hot water is poured just enough to wet all of the coffee grinds and seeps through a filter into a cup.? The hot water is poured slowly, starting in the middle and moving toward the outside in circles.? Free entertainment with each order!? The ?Baristas? (coffee making staff), know what they are doing and the benefit from their expertise is in each flavorful cup.

Big Ragu, Ghostlight Owner Shane Anderson, and Superfry

Being a coffee connoisseur and frequent customer at Ghostlight,? Superfry has a couple of recommendations to beat the cold.? The Fig Vanilla Black Pepper Latte is Superfry?s favorite.?? Black pepper in a latte?? trust us, it works.? The fig and vanilla flavor makes it one of the better and more unusual lattes that we have tasted.? Every sip is incredible, and at the end you taste the black pepper.? It is one of those drinks that makes you wonder, in a good way.? Superfry also suggests the Balsalmic Walnut Latte.? Again, with this coffee, Ghostlight creates yet another unique, creamy latte, with a nutty finish.? The Big Ragu goes for simple pleasures at Ghostlight like the hot chocolate, or a cappuccino.? The hot chocolate is creamy and rich, and the same goes for the cappuccino.? Other menu offerings include Chai Teas, Espresso, French Press Coffees, and Rishi Organic Teas.

The menu also includes many locally made pastries.? Depending on the week, the selection will vary with seasonal choices or standard favorites.? One of our favorite snacks available are the packaged toffees from Sweet Nothings, a local Dayton confectioner.?? Their Sea Salt Toffees are so good and addicting that they should be illegal.

Sweet Nothings Sea Salt Toffee

Ghostlight is not only coffee and snack central.?? There are many other activities going on in this vivacious venue.?? Events include live music, poetry, story slams, and the venue is available for scheduling special private parties.?? Ghostlight Coffee is such an eclectic spot with a local flair.? It is a great place to bring friends, or go solo.? The friendly staff and patrons make it a joy to meet and see people from all walks of life, who are enjoying a good cup of coffee.? If you love what life in Dayton has to offer, than Ghostlight Coffee is a wonderful place to ?get your drink on.?

For more of SUPERFRY and THE BIG RAGU ? ?like? their Facebook Page HERE .

Ghostlight Hours are 7am-7pm Monday thru Friday and 8:30a-7p Saturday & Sunday.? Check the Ghostlight Facebook Page for ?After Hour? Events.

Source: http://mostmetro.com/dayton-dining/cold-weather-hot-coffee-at-ghostlight.html

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What a call to courage sounds like: Woody Guthrie?s ?Union Maid? (Americablog)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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Dog Insurance | The Benefits Of Pet Health Insurance | Puppy Dog

What is pet health insurance?

Pet insurance is medical insurance that?s designed specifically for dogs or cats. Generally, it works like other types of medical insurance, with premiums and deductibles. Some plans also have co-pays and cap limits on how much can be paid out annually. Coverage can be tailored for diverse types of dogs and cats, depending on their age (puppies, kittens or senior pets) and whether they live indoors or outdoors. Some policies cover all types of veterinary care, including checkups, immunizations, and flea control. Others, cover only accidents and illnesses, requiring x-rays, medications, surgeries, hospitalization, MRI/CAT scans, chemotherapy, and more.

Why should I consider pet health insurance?

As veterinary fees keep increasing, dog insurance or cat insurance can reduce the financial danger of caring for your canine, especially if a greater problem or illness occurs. You can avoid costly out-of-pocket medical expenses and perhaps having to euthanize your pet. It?s also very affordable. Although plans differ in expense and magnitude of coverage, they generally run about $25 per month or less. Obtain coverage for a broad variety of accidents (burns, cuts, bone fractures, car accidents) and illnesses such as hip dysplasia, diabetes, and cancer.

What are the benefits of pet health insurance?

Dog insurance policies from independent providers are often more affordable than veterinarian investment programs, which charge high-interest rates. Frequently cat insurance coverage will reimburse for preventative and emergency care, including shots, spaying, dental cleaning, lab tests, X-rays, surgery, and hospitalization. Most pet insurance companies insure for the life of your pet, and promote natural pet health.

How pet health insurance works?

Policyholders usually settle their vet bill and then file claims for reimbursement. Most pet insurance coverage provides for accidents and sudden illness, but somtimes wellness care, such as tick and flea control and heartworm immunizations may not be covered. Most plans have coverage maximums for particular procedures, typically between $1,500 and $4,000 per incident. Though pets of any age usually can be covered, insurance premiums are often adjusted and can be more for senior pets.

Having pet health insurance opens quite a few more treatment options for quality pet care. Discover the benefits of health insurance for dogs, puppies, cats, kittens and senior pets today!

Leave a Reply

Source: http://dog.petsgo.org/dog-insurance-the-benefits-of-pet-health-insurance/

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Genetic defect causing fragile X-related disorders more common than thought

Friday, December 21, 2012

A single genetic defect on the X chromosome that can result in a wide array of conditions ? from learning and emotional difficulties to primary ovarian insufficiency in women and tremors in middle-aged men ? occurs at a much greater frequency than previously thought, research led by the UC Davis MIND Institute has found.

The research is based on the first large-scale, multi-center newborn screening effort for the defect in the United States, conducted in a group of more than 14,200 male and female infants at three research university medical centers piloting a new infant screening test developed at UC Davis.

The study, "FMR1 CGG Allele Size and Prevalence Ascertained Through Newborn Screening in the United States," was led by Flora Tassone, professor-in-residence in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, and was conducted using blood spots obtained from infant heel pricks as part of the normal newborn genetic screening process. It is published online today in the journal Genome Medicine.

The investigators examined the prevalence of expanded alleles of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene. Defects in FMR1 cause conditions as diverse as fragile X syndrome ? the leading cause of intellectual disability and the leading known single-gene cause of autism ? and a Parkinson's disease-like condition called fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome, or FXTAS. The term "fragile X" is used because of the altered appearance of the X chromosome among sufferers from the conditions.

"This study demonstrates that there is a higher frequency of mutations of the FMR1 gene across racial and ethnic groups than previously believed," said Randi Hagerman, medical director of the UC Davis MIND Institute and one of the world's leading experts on fragile X-related conditions. "It also demonstrates that newborn screening for fragile X mutations is technically feasible in a large-scale setting using the blood spot technique developed by Dr. Tassone."

The degree of disability from defects in FMR1 depends upon the number of repetitions of the sequence of the proteins cytosine-guanine-guanine (CGG) in the promoter region of the gene. The range of repeats in normal individuals is between six and 40. CGG repeats greater than 200 cause what is called the full mutation and fragile X syndrome. Fewer repeats ? in the range of 55 to 200 ? result in a variation called a premutation.

The current study found the estimated prevalence of the premutation to be 1 in 200 females, a finding somewhat greater than earlier estimates. However, it estimates the prevalence among males to be 1 in 400 ? double what had previously been reported. The researchers said that the sample size in the current study was not great enough to estimate the true prevalence of the full fragile X mutation, currently estimated at between 1 in 2,500 and 1 in 8,000 females and 1 in 5,000 males.

While most people with the premutation appear normal, some individuals can have mild difficulties in childhood, such as such as learning problems or emotional difficulties including social anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), said Hagerman, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics. Individuals with the premutation also can suffer from FXTAS, which causes debilitating tremors, balance problems and dementia primarily in older men, and premature ovarian insufficiency in women.

Tassone, a researcher affiliated with the MIND Institute, is one of the world's leading experts on screening and identification of the FMR1 mutation. Her polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based test used in the current study was described in January 2008 in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

"This study shows that newborn screening for the FMR1 mutation is technically possible on a large scale," Tassone said. "However, the screening will identify far more carrier and gray-zone infants than those with a full fragile X mutation. As we now know that there may be clinical involvement with these individuals, such as FXTAS, we need to better understand the impact of identifying these mutations on families before widespread newborn screening can be instituted."

Hagerman said that the study is important because early intervention can be helpful for children with these mutations who experience developmental problems. In addition, a baby who is positive for the mutation will have other family members who also carry mutations. Genetic counseling is essential for the family members, in addition to treatment for the medical or psychiatric problems associated with the premutation or full mutation, she said.

###

University of California - Davis Health System: http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu

Thanks to University of California - Davis Health System for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126067/Genetic_defect_causing_fragile_X_related_disorders_more_common_than_thought

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Mental Health Association of Erie County Calls on New York State to Reconsider Its Ill-Timed Decision to Eliminate Funding for a Program Serving At-Risk Youth

BUFFALO, NY--(Marketwire - Dec 21, 2012) - The Mental Health Association of Erie County (MHA) is Calling on New York State to Reconsider Its Ill-Timed Decision to Eliminate Funding for Its Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Program. MHA Officials Learned of the Funding Cut on Friday, Dec. 14, Just Hours After a Gunman Opened Fire Inside a Connecticut Elementary School.

"At a time when people are calling for increased funding and a renewed focus on mental health needs, the state is cutting all funding for this program, and that's just wrong," said Ken Houseknecht, executive director for the MHA. "CASA is a life-saving program for at-risk and troubled children. We were notified of this decision on the same day 20 children and six adults were murdered. Is anybody else struck by the terrible irony of this?"

CASA is a program provided locally by the MHA for children up to age 21 in various situations within the family court system. Through two staff members and more than 40 professionally trained volunteers, the association acts as advocates for children who have been removed from their homes and placed in foster care due to abuse and neglect.

In Erie County, more than 160 children are currently being assisted through the program, and officials say they are only scratching the surface of the need. There are nearly 1,000 children in foster care in the county right now, and each year 1,500-2,000 abuse and neglect petitions are filed.

"If we don't replace the $60,000 in state funding by April 1, 2013, on top of all the other funds we need to generate, the CASA program goes away," Houseknecht said. "It's time to take off the gloves and fight for the kids this program helps."

Erie County was one of dozens of CASA Programs statewide, three of which are affiliated with MHA chapters in New York State, who learned they are losing funding provided through the Office of Court Administration, which is currently dealing with a $1.2 million budget shortfall. The CASA funding cut totals approximately $800,000 statewide.

"We are reaching out to elected officials, foundations, corporate and private donors, civic and church groups, and other supporters to fight to restore or replace the lost funding to keep this vital program alive," Houseknecht said.

For more than 50 years, the Mental Health Association of Erie County, Inc. has promoted mental health and wellness in our community and supported individuals and families who are challenged by mental illness.

The Mental Health Association of Erie County, Inc. provides numerous programs and services for children, adults and families throughout Erie County. For more information visit www.eriemha.org, follow MHA on Twitter @MHAofErieCo or like MHA on Facebook.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mental-health-association-erie-county-130000703.html

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To outsmart malarial drug resistance, research team develops new whole-plant strategy

To outsmart malarial drug resistance, research team develops new whole-plant strategy

Friday, December 21, 2012

Malaria brings misery and death to millions in the developing world each year, and fighting it keeps medical researchers up at night because the mosquito-borne parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which causes the deadliest form of the disease, has developed resistance to every drug thrown at it. Resistance has cut short the useful life of nearly every therapy tried so far, experts say.

But now molecular parasitologist Stephen Rich at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has led a research team who report a promising new low-cost combined therapy with a much higher chance of outwitting P. falciparum than current modes. He and plant biochemist Pamela Weathers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), with research physician Doug Golenbock at the UMass Medical School, also in Worcester, have designed an approach for treating malaria based on a new use of Artemisia annua, a plant employed for thousands of years in Asia to treat fever.

Findings appear in the current issue of the journal PLOS ONE.

"The emergence of resistant parasites has repeatedly curtailed the lifespan of each drug that is developed and deployed," says UMass Amherst graduate student and lead author Mostafa Elfawal. Rich, an expert in the malaria parasite and how it evolves, adds, "We no sooner get the upper hand than the parasite mutates to become drug resistant again. This cycle of resistance to anti-malarial drugs is one of the great health problems facing the world today. We're hoping that our approach may provide an inexpensive, locally grown and processed option for fighting malaria in the developing world."

Currently the most effective malaria treatment uses purified extracts from the Artemisia plant as part of an Artemisin Combined Therapy (ACT) regime with other drugs such as doxycycline and/or chloroquine, a prescription far too costly for wide use in the developing world. Also, because Artemisia yields low levels of pure artemisinin, there is a persistent worldwide shortage, they add.

The teams's thesis, first proposed by Weathers of WPI, is that locally grown and dried leaves of the whole plant, rich in hundreds of phytochemicals not contained in the purified drug, might be effective against disease at the same time limiting post-production steps, perhaps substantially reducing treatment cost. She says, "Whole-plant Artemisia has hundreds of compounds, some of them not even known yet. These may outsmart the parasites by delivering a more complex drug than the purified form."

Rich adds, "The plant may be its own complex combination therapy. Because of the combination of parasite-killing substances normally present in the plant (artemisinin and flavonoids), a synergism among these constituent compounds might render whole plant consumption as a form of artemisinin-based combination therapy, or what we're calling a 'pACT,' for plant Artemisinin Combination Therapy."

Rich's group conducted experiments in rodents to explore whether feeding them the whole plant was effective. They found that animals treated with low-dose whole-plant Artemisia showed significantly lower parasite loads than those treated with much higher doses of the purified artemisin drug or placebo.

Further, in their most recent experiments in a rodent malaria model, Elfawal and colleagues confirmed Weathers' earlier results showing that animals fed dry, whole-plant Artemisia had about 40 times more of the effective compound in their bloodstream than mice fed a corresponding amount of the purified drug. This is eight times the minimum concentration required to kill P. falciparum. In dose-response experiments, treatment with whole-plant Artemisia was just as effective at reducing parasitemia as the purified form for the first 72 hours, and faster reduction of symptoms thereafter compared to other groups.

These results, if they translate to humans with further research, could solve two problems with the current drug strategy, Rich says. First, parasites may be less able to evolve resistance to the whole plant because the makeup is far more complex. Second, it could drastically reduce the high cost associated with malaria treatment by allowing for low cost, locally sustainable production of whole plant therapy.

"It's a local agriculture solution to a global health problem," says Rich. Preliminary findings from dose-response experiments suggest that whole plant therapy would require a far smaller dose of dried plant than the corresponding amount of purified artemisin, perhaps as much as a five-fold increased potency for the whole plant.

###

University of Massachusetts at Amherst: http://www.umass.edu

Thanks to University of Massachusetts at Amherst for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126064/To_outsmart_malarial_drug_resistance__research__team_develops_new_whole_plant_strategy

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Top Ten Book Promotion Activities | Writing and Publishing News

Would you like to know my 10 top book promotion recommendations? Here they are:

1: Start Promoting Your Book even Before it?s a Book
Build promotion into your book by involving other people, writing about popular issues, adding elements to attract more readers, etc.

Talk about your book everywhere you go and start building your huge mailing list.

2: Public Speaking
At local civic organizations
Through your affiliations (church, club, etc.)
At appropriate conferences

3: Build a Useful/Meaningful Website
Showcase you book
Install a buy button/merchant account
Offer resources related to your book topic

4: Connect With Your Audience
Use your massive mail/email list
Launch a newsletter
Start blogging regularly
Be guest blogger

5: Get Book Reviews
Solicit reviews in appropriate publications, at blogsites, at review sites and at your Amazon page.

6: Do Book Signings/Demonstrations/Performances
Arrange for signings at bookstores and other venues?be creative
Give demonstrations related to the theme/genre of your book
Perform?do poetry readings, act out a chapter in novel, etc.

7: Promote Through Social Media
Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, etc.

8: Write Articles and Submit Stories
Magazines, newsletters, websites

9: Hook-Up
Join related organizations and participate
Subscribe to numerous newsletters and read them.

10: Spy on Other Authors
Find out how they are promoting their books?
Where are they speaking?
Where are their articles appearing?

For details for pursuing each of these activities and more, be sure to order your copy of Promote Your Book today. It?s available at Amazon.com as well as most any other online and downtown bookstore. It?s also on Kindle, Nook, etc. To help you get over the fear or aversion to public speaking, read Talk Up Your Book. Or order both books here: http://www.matilijapress.com Both books by Patricia Fry

This entry was posted on Friday, December 21st, 2012 at 5:02 am and is filed under Book Promotion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog/?p=2443

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Facebook tests $1 fee for stranger to message your inbox

14 hrs.

Devin Coldewey , NBC News

A pair of updates to Facebook's messaging feature is sure to ignite controversy over the holidays. While the improved filtering Facebook has?implemented will be welcomed, an experiment allowing strangers to pay $1 to give their message high priority will likely cause serious unrest.

The updates are part of continuing efforts to expand and monetize Facebook messaging, which means change from a just being a?way for friends on the social network to chat to a more universal and easy communication platform. To that end, Facebook has to allow and control for the possibility of strangers contacting users.

In some cases, as Facebook wrote Thursday, this could easily be something a user might want: A message from someone you met on a night out or at a conference, but whose contact details you failed to get, for instance. On the other hand, it could also be a fake account or an ex, whom nobody would want to hear from.

Facebook has updated filtering to have just two major settings: "Moderate" and "Strict." Moderate will allow more messages from friends of friends, groups, and people who might be otherwise related. "Strict"?will strain out all but close contacts.

Messages from people you aren't closely?connected to usually end up in the "Other" folder. But Thursday's update would allow the sender to spend a dollar to have it appear in the regular inbox.

Facebook's?justification is that while that person, say, who's a missed connection from the bar will be happy to spend a buck to say hello, bad actors like bots and spammers won't find such a cost worthwhile?? they'd have to spend thousands to get it to enough people.

Put that way, it sounds reasonable enough?? but the update inarguably allows strangers to spend money for priority access to your inbox. On a basic level, users may find this undesirable, even though they can always delete messages or mark them as spam, as before.

Facebook describes this as an "experiment," and is currently playing with how it works. For instance, only one message per week could be promoted into any user's?Inbox, which would prevent celebrities from being inundated. And brands and pages would be prohibited from using the feature, which prevents its being used just for advertising.

You can read Facebook's announcement of the feature at its blog post?here, and the new?filtering options should be appearing for users soon.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/facebook-tests-1-fee-stranger-message-your-inbox-1C7660211

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Video: Chinese complain of widespread corruption

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50262013/

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90 Days to Job Success Course starts for graduates in Jan 2013 ...

To help graduates succeed in a competitive labour market Brunel Business School and the award winning Placement and Career Centre have developed a short, intensive 90 day programme starting on 7th January 2013. With opportunities to structure and improve job search strategies, graduates will get hands-on support from careers consultants from the Placement and Careers Service.

Brunel Business School alumni can register for this bespoke, exclusive and completely free Personal & Professional Development course now and start the countdown to success on 7th January 2013. This course is a part of Business Life on-going development phase and will help graduates get closer to the job they want from the comfort of their own home!

Get closer to the job you want ? in only 90 days!

?At the end of this course, graduates will:

Personalised assistance at time that suits you!

As this is a distance learning course graduates can complete the programme when and where convenient to them. Delivery is carried out remotely via a series of webinars ?and email and Skype 1-2-1 sessions with careers consultants.

Apply today and start your 90 Days to Job Success on 7^th January!

To apply please complete the online application form. Alternatively, for further information, please contact business.life@brunel.ac.uk

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Source: http://brunelbusinessschool.wordpress.com/2012/12/21/90-days-to-job-success-course-starts-for-graduates-in-jan-2013/

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Dallas Air Conditioning and Heating Service | Home Improvement ...

20 Dec

Author: admin ?/ ?Category: General

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Dallas Air Conditioning?that quality focused on the repair air conditioner and heater has noticed by our customers as the provider of heater and air conditioner that was voted as ?Super Service Award? winner in 2011. It has no wonder along as our professional and excellent service above of all. We also put full attention on detail and dedicate our work just for the satisfaction of our customers. As the?first class heat and air, you can rely in your trust on our company. We provide our services for all models, specification, and make which we know all the knowledge about your home?s air conditioner and heater system. For your more information, we provide 24 hours technician, we open every day from early morning to the morning again, and also we give free estimate on equipment along as our financing options. We guarantee the good and effective service by keeping the best brand of spare part and tools and spare parts for all the types, that has been included the guarantee to replace the units that cannot be used again.

Dallas Air Conditioning repair?is admitted by our customers as the main forward of technician whom they get full satisfaction on our work. Our expert technician and professional customer service that have a lot of experiences for years in heating and air conditioning industry. If you want to get our best service, just hold on your ring to make schedule appointment with First Class Air and Heat to check and feel the different commitment in our excellent service ever.

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Source: http://www.moovest.com/dallas-air-conditioning-and-heating-service/

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Video: Brokaw on how Newtown changes nation

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Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50245541/

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Bar Discipline: Two South Florida attorneys disciplined

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By&nbspReview staffAll Articles

Daily Business Review

December 19, 2012

Heather Joy Sykes of Pembroke Pines and Juan Antonio Sanchez of Miami have been disciplined by the Florida Supreme Court.

This article requires premium access to Daily Business Review. Please sign in or subscribe to read the full text.

Source: http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/PubArticleDBR.jsp?id=1202581959779&rss=rss_dbr

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Microsoft ?Surprised? with Google Killing Key Gmail Feature

Google?s decision to end support for Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) has shocked pretty much everyone, but Microsoft clearly sees this as an opportunity to bring more users to its very own Outlook.com.

The Mountain View-based search giant has announced that adding new devices for the Exchange Active Sync protocol would no longer be allowed after January 30 for a number of services, including Contacts, Calendar and the utterly-popular email service Gmail.

Microsoft, however, recommends everyone to make the switch to Outlook.com, explaining that it already provides a bunch of tools to make the transition easier.

?So if you want a better email, especially on your phone or tablet, it's time to join the millions who have already made the choice to upgrade to Outlook.com,? the company said in a blog post.

But this isn?t Microsoft?s first attempt to bring Gmail users to Outlook.com.

A survey conducted by a third-party company hired by Microsoft last month revealed that 4 out of 5 Gmail users are ready to dump Google?s very own email service and switch to Outlook.com.

It appears that most Gmail users like the keyboard shortcuts available in Outlook.com, as well as the quick access to search operations and conversation threading.

?We asked the Gmail users to sign-up for Outlook.com addresses, forward email from Gmail to Outlook.com, and try Outlook.com's best features. The Gmail users loved it,? Microsoft explained.

?We found that about a third of Outlook.com users are active Gmail users trying Outlook.com for the first time. To date, over 25 million of you are already actively using the new Outlook.com.?

At this point, Microsoft?s Outlook.com has more than 25 million active users, but given the fact that Google has decided to retire EAS from Gmail, the overall number of people who switch to Microsoft?s email service is very likely to grow.

Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-Surprised-with-Google-Killing-Key-Gmail-Feature-315485.shtml

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Google Music gets iTunes-like 'match,' but free

2 hrs.

Devin Coldewey , NBC News

Google has updated its music storage and streaming service with a handy new song-matching?feature pioneered by Amazon and Apple?? but unlike those companies' services, Google's is free.

Apple launched its "iTunes Match" service just over a year ago, which for $25 a year would scan your music library and offer to replace your own music files (wherever they came from) with Apple's own. Amazon began offering a similar service in July, for the same price but with a limited free option.

Google's service, which launched as Google Music last year and was?later?renamed Google Play Music, let you upload your songs to the cloud but lacked the matching feature?? until Tuesday.

Users can now let the service scan their library and assemble an online version of it using Google's own version of the?tracks. No need to upload gigabytes of MP3s; Google just verifies the artist and album and makes it available for you to stream to any supported devices (or through the Web app) in 320?kbps quality?? that's higher than the 256 kbps Amazon and Apple offer.

Best of all, the feature is totally free, and if you're already using the service, you don't need to do anything: Google is?already looking through the tracks you've uploaded and making high-quality versions available.

So if you're not paying, who is? Apparently, Google: All Things D reports that Google is cutting checks up front to music makers instead of giving them a piece of whatever they charge users.

One caveat: The high-quality versions of the songs can't be downloaded for local use?? only streamed online. So if you had visions of replacing your old 1999-era,?96?kbps CD rips with shiny new tracks freshly formed by Google, you're in for a disappointment.

The feature was announced in this Google+ post.?You can use the service by logging into or creating a Google account and going to the?Music app.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/google-music-gets-itunes-match-function-free-1C7662757

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PFT: Skins up, Giants down in playoff hunt

Reuters

With six different games matching up teams with winning records, yesterday was hyped by the NFL as ?Statement Sunday.? And while it didn?t deliver a lot of particularly competitive games, it certainly did deliver a lot of statements: Statements about the strengths of the Falcons, Packers, Broncos, Texans, Cowboys and 49ers, and statements about the weaknesses of the Giants, Bears, Ravens, Colts, Steelers and Patriots.

But the thing about statements made in the NFL in December is that they often don?t hold up in January. And I?m not so sure that the teams that made statements on Sunday are going to be the teams that continue to make statements in the playoffs. So let me go through a few of the statements that were made on Sunday, and explain which ones are true and which ones are false.

1. The Falcons are the best team in the NFC. FALSE: Yes, the Falcons can make the statement that they?re the best team in the conference, both on the strength of their 34-0 win over the Giants and on their status as the team with the best record in the NFC. But the Falcons don?t play that well consistently ? let?s not forget that a week earlier, they lost by 10 to a bad Carolina team. I?d pick either the Packers or the 49ers to win at Atlanta in January.

2. The Giants are in danger. TRUE: The flip side of the Falcons? blowout over the Giants is that it really did expose some serious problems with the Giants, namely that Eli Manning has been painfully inconsistent, and that injuries in the secondary have done major damage to the defense. Early in the season it looked like the NFC East would belong to the Giants, but now it?s a three-team race, and the Redskins and Cowboys actually appear to be in better shape. The good news for the Giants is that they?ll make the playoffs if they win their final two. The bad news is that the way they played on Sunday, I don?t have a lot of confidence that they?ll win their final two.

3. The Bears are in free fall and will miss the playoffs. FALSE: It?s easy to see why Bears fans are panicking, having lost five of their last six games. But Chicago?s schedule is about to get a lot easier, with trips to Arizona and Detroit. I see the Bears winning both games, finishing 10-6, and sneaking into the playoffs.

4. The road to the Super Bowl in the AFC goes through Houston. TRUE: After the Texans? disastrous loss in New England on Monday night, it would have been easy to disregard the Texans as legitimate title contenders. But the Texans clinched the AFC South with Sunday?s win over the Colts, and they?re now a win away from clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. I think they?ll get that win against the Vikings on Sunday and ensure that if they rematch the Patriots, it will be in Houston.

5. The Broncos are the best team Peyton Manning has ever played on. TRUE: Does it sound premature to say that this year?s Broncos are better than Manning?s Super Bowl-winning 2006 team in Indianapolis? Maybe. But that team ? like many of Manning?s teams in Indianapolis ? had major holes on both defense and special teams that the Manning-led offense had to overcome. This Broncos team is winning every bit as much because of its defense as because of the Manning-led offense. If we could stuff these 2012 Broncos into a DeLorean and send them back in time to play any of Manning?s Indianapolis playoff teams, I?d pick these Broncos to win.

6. The Steelers blew it in overtime in Dallas and blew their postseason hopes. FALSE: The Steelers? final two games are both at home, against the Bengals and the Browns, and if they win both they?re in the playoffs. I think Pittsburgh is going to do it.

7. New England?s Super Bowl hopes were dealt a big blow on Sunday night. FALSE: The Patriots? loss to the 49ers probably means they?ll have to host a wild card team in the first playoff weekend, then win a couple of road games after that to get to the Super Bowl. But you know what? As much as I like the Broncos and Texans, I like the Patriots? chances of winning at Denver and at Houston in back-to-back weeks. New England is still a formidable Super Bowl contender.

That?s where I stand on the statements NFL teams made on Sunday. And now here are my statements about the rest of Sunday?s action:

Adrian Peterson is making Eric Dickerson nervous. After his 212-yard effort on Sunday, Peterson needs to total 293 yards over the final two games of the season to break Dickerson?s NFL record of 2,105 rushing yards in a season. Gaining 293 yards in two weeks isn?t easy, but it?s certainly doable for Peterson, considering that he has 366 in the last two games. In the last eight games, Peterson has rushed for 1,313 yards, a stunning yardage total that no NFL player has ever matched over an eight-game stretch of a season.

Calvin Johnson is making Jerry Rice nervous. After his 121-yard effort on Sunday, Johnson needs to total 181 yards over the final two games of the season to break Rice?s NFL record of 1,848 receiving yards in a season. Johnson tied an NFL record with his seventh consecutive 100-yard game on Sunday, so totaling 181 yards over the next two games shouldn?t be a problem. Johnson also became the first player in NFL history to gain 1,600 receiving yards in back-to-back seasons. Unfortunately for Johnson (and unlike Peterson), he?s threatening an NFL record while playing meaningless games for a bad team.

What?s JaMarcus Russell up to these days? I ask because the Raiders chose Russell first overall in the 2007 NFL draft, leaving Johnson available for the Lions to draft second overall, and Peterson available for the Vikings to draft seventh overall. Sorry to have to bring that one up, Raiders fans.

Trent Richardson?s first touchdown run was a thing of beauty. If you love good, old-fashioned, hard-nosed football, it doesn?t get much better than Richardson taking a handoff up the middle at the six-yard line, plunging into the middle and getting stacked up just as he crossed the line of scrimmage, and then simply refusing to go down as he drove forward, churning his legs and getting help from his entire offensive line while the entire Redskins? defensive line was trying to stop him, and finally falling forward through that massive rugby scrum and into the end zone. As a rookie Richardson hasn?t been the big-play runner the Browns were hoping they?d get when they traded up to take him with the third overall pick in the draft, but he might be the toughest runner to tackle in the league.

Randall Cobb is better than you realize. Cobb had an unreal leaping catch along the sideline in the second quarter in Chicago, picking up 31 yards on third-and-six and somehow getting both feet down in bounds despite taking a hard hit just as he was grabbing the ball. Cobb has been an excellent player for the Packers since arriving last season as a second-round draft pick, but I don?t know if most fans realize just how excellent. Cobb has 2,241 combined rushing, receiving and return yards this season, and 3,857 all-purpose yards so far in his NFL career. That?s an incredible career total for a guy who?s only 22 years old.

The Seahawks are stunning. After beating the Cardinals 58-0 last week, the Seahawks beat the Bills 50-17 this week. The last NFL team to score 50 or more points in back-to-back weeks was the 1950 New York Giants, who beat the Chicago Cardinals 51-21 and then beat the Baltimore Colts 55-20 a week later. (A note of caution for Seahawks fans: Those 1950 Giants were held to just three points in a postseason loss that year.)

I guess Cam Cameron wasn?t the only problem with the Ravens? offense. The Ravens fired Cameron as their offensive coordinator last week. So how did the offense in Baltimore do in the first game without him? Badly: The Ravens had six three-and-outs, the most of any team in the NFL all season, as they lost 34-17. On Statement Sunday, the Ravens made a statement that they?re not contenders in the AFC, and Cameron made a major statement in his absence: Don?t blame me.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/17/redskins-and-vikings-up-bears-and-giants-down-in-nfl-playoff-race/related/

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