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Gerard Depardieu's latest drama: a Russian passport (+video)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has given a Russian passport to the famous French movie star in what some see as part of an escalating war of words between Russia and the West.

By Fred Weir,?Correspondent / January 3, 2013

In this December 2010 file photo, then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (r.) and French actor Gerard Depardieu (l.) attend the Russian Museum, in St. Petersburg. Depardieu, the French actor who has been sparring with his native country over taxes, has been granted Russian citizenship. A brief announcement on the Kremlin website said President Putin signed the citizenship grant on Thursday, Jan. 3.

Alexei Nikolsky/RIA Novosti/AP/File

Enlarge

Vladimir Putin flourished his pen Thursday morning and signed what must be the oddest decree of his long years in power: an order granting a Russian passport to French actor and tax exile Gerard Depardieu.

Skip to next paragraph Fred Weir

Correspondent

Fred Weir has been the Monitor's Moscow correspondent, covering Russia and the former Soviet Union, since 1998.?

Come to Chechnya

Depardieu is no stranger to Russia. He has appeared in several ad campaigns and filmed the 2011 movie Rasputin in St. Petersburg. He is also rumored to be close to Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, and was guest of honor at the pro-Kremlin leader's birthday party in Grozny last October.

Mr. Kadyrov has said that he would happily invite Depardieu to come and live permanently in Chechnya if he wanted to. "If the country's leadership decides in favor of granting Depardieu Russian citizenship, we will be glad to create deserved conditions for the great cultural figure in our republic," Kadyrov said last week.

Russia's blogosphere erupted in derision and sarcastic comment Thursday, with some people writing painfully of their own troubles with Russia's notoriously bureaucratic passport department.

One man posted on Facebook his own tale of trying for years to repatriate his own Russian-born elderly mother from next-door Belarus, but he has so far failed to move Russian authorities because her Belarussian documents show a slightly different spelling of her name than appears on her Russian birth certificate.

Part of spat with West?

Sergei Strokan, a foreign affairs columnist with the liberal Moscow daily Kommersant, says the granting of citizenship to Depardieu should be seen in context with the escalating war of words between Russia and the West. Last month President Barack Obama signed the Magnitsky Act, which aims to punish corrupt Russian officials, and Moscow responded by enacting the Dima Yakovlev Act, whose main feature is a ban on US citizens adopting Russian orphans.

"Russia is very much on the defensive right now. The vindictive nature of Russia's adoption ban has shocked not only the US, but also many in Europe and here in Russia as well," Mr. Strokan says.

"We seem to be entering into a cold war-like battle of images, in which Russia is trying to show that it offers a better life, has higher ideals, and is more friendly to humanity than the West.... ?So this may be seen as a calculated PR move, an effort to demonstrate that we understand and care for the beloved French actor more than his own homeland does," he adds.

"I can't imagine that Depardieu would actually want to live here and experience the life of Russians, though. Let's see how it goes the first time he attempts to travel with that new Russian passport."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/L3hxjsTnanc/Gerard-Depardieu-s-latest-drama-a-Russian-passport-video

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China services growth adds to economic revival hopes

BEIJING (Reuters) - Growth in China's increasingly important services sector accelerated in December at its fastest pace in four months, adding to signs of a modest year-end revival in the world's second-largest economy.

China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector rose to 56.1 in December from 55.6 in November, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday.

Two PMIs on the manufacturing sector earlier this week also suggested China's economic growth was picking up late in 2012, although signs persist it depends primarily on state-led investment.

Data so far suggests only a muted revival in economic growth, rather than a return to the double-digit pace seen in China over the past three decades, Hong Kong-based economist Dariusz Kowalczyk said.

"Absolute levels of both December manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs remain relatively low by historical standards and consistent with only modest rebound in economic activity," Kowalczyk, Credit Agricole's senior economist for Asia except Japan, said.

He said economic growth picked up in the fourth quarter of 2012 after sliding for seven straight quarters, but in sharp contrast to China's previous, more pronounced bull runs, it could fade after the first quarter of 2013.

The greatest driver in the pick up in the non-manufacturing sector in December was a jump in construction services to 61.9 from 61.3 in November. Industries including transport slumped, the NBS said in an accompanying statement.

A reading above 50 indicates growth is accelerating, while one below 50 indicates it is slowing.

The strength in construction services is consistent with other indicators, including rising land prices, that point to a revival in China's property markets, which support about 40 other industries. Signs of a pick up come despite central government protestations that it will not relax credit and purchasing curbs that have stifled the sector in the past two years.

The transport slowdown is also consistent with weak demand for China's exports in the face of euro area and Japan recessions and an uncertain fiscal outlook in the United States.

SERVICES GROW IN IMPORTANCE

The official manufacturing PMI survey in December matched November's seven-month high of 50.6, the NBS said on Tuesday, while a complementary survey with a greater focus on the private sector reached 51.5, its highest since May 2011.

China's fast-growing services industry has so far weathered the global slowdown much better than the factory sector, with the PMI consistently signaling healthy expansion and hitting a 10-month high of 58.0 in March.

That's partly due to a maturing economy as well as a historic shift in the last decade leading a majority of Chinese to live and work in cities rather than the countryside.

China's services sector generated 43 percent of China's GDP in 2010 and by 2011 provided nearly 36 percent of new jobs, exceeding the agricultural sector for the first time.

Beijing has acknowledged that greater consumer activity is needed to reduce the economy's reliance on the exports sector and investment-led growth.

"Expanding domestic demand will be a major stimulus for China's economic growth, and the greatest potential will come from the service sector," Xia Nong, deputy director-general of the Department of Industry under the National Development and Reform Commission, said on Friday, according to the China Daily.

Xia pledged to open the services sector to more foreign competition as well as encouraging Chinese service firms to go overseas.

Foreign investment into the service sector of $47.57 billion in the first 11 months of 2012 surpassed that directed to the manufacturing industry, which slumped by 7.1 percent, the China Daily said over the weekend, citing Ministry of Commerce data.

The growing services sector has taken up some of the slack from the property sector, which has struggled with investment and purchasing restrictions as well as a credit crunch.

Overseas company investment into China's urban transportation surged 24-fold in the first 11 months from a year ago, followed by a 12-fold rise in telecommunications and other information services, and a sevenfold increase in pipeline transportation industries, at sevenfold, the China Daily said, again citing Ministry of Commerce figures.

The sector, formerly the bastion of smaller private businesses, is now important enough to have its own five-year plan, issued in September.

(Editing by Neil Fullick)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-december-official-services-pmi-rises-56-1-012418834--business.html

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Previous studies on toxic effects of BPA couldn't be reproduced

Jan. 2, 2013 ? Following a three-year study using more than 2,800 mice, a University of Missouri researcher was not able to replicate a series of previous studies by another research group investigating the controversial chemical BPA. The MU study is not claiming that BPA is safe, but that the previous series of studies are not reproducible. The MU study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also investigated an estrogenic compound found in plants, genistein, in the same three-year study.

"Our findings don't say anything about the positive or negative effects of BPA or genistein," said Cheryl Rosenfeld, associate professor of biomedical sciences in MU's Bond Life Science Center. "Rather, our series of experiments did not detect the same findings as reported by another group on the potential developmental effects of BPA and genistein when exposure of young occurs in the womb."

Creating reliable data on the effects of the chemicals on mice is important to human health since people are frequently exposed to BPA and genistein and humans share similar biological functions with mice. BPA is a chemical used in certain plastic bottles and may be found in the lining of some canned goods and receipt paper. Genistein occurs naturally in soy beans and is sold as a dietary supplement. Research by Fredrick VomSaal, professor of biological science at MU, and others suggests the chemicals may have other adverse effects on many animals, including humans.

Researcher who conducted the original series of experiments claimed that exposure to BPA and genestein resulted in yellow coat color, or agouti, offspring that were more susceptible to obesity and type 2 diabetes compared to their brown coat color, healthy siblings. However, Rosenfeld and her team did not obtain the same results when repeating the study over a three-year period.

After failing to repeat the original experiments findings with similar numbers of animals, Rosenfeld's group extended the studies to include animal numbers that surpassed the prior studies to verify that their findings were not a fluke and to provide sufficient number of animals to ensure that significant differences would be detected if they existed. However, even these additional numbers of animals and extended experiments failed to reproduce the earlier findings. However, the current studies demonstrate that a maternal diet enriched in estrogenic compounds leads to a greater number of offspring that express an agouti gene compared to those that do not, even though equal ratios should have been born.

"This finding suggests that certain uterine environments may favor animals with a 'thrifty genotype' meaning that the agouti gene of mice may help them survive in unfavorable uterine environments over those mice devoid of this gene, Yet, the downside of this expression of the agouti during early development is that the animals may be at risk for later metabolic disorders, such as obesity and diabetes" Rosenfeld said. "In this aspect, humans also have an agouti gene that encodes for the agouti signaling protein (ASIP) that is expressed in fat tissue and pancreas, and there is some correlation that obese individuals exhibit greater expression of this gene compared to leaner individuals. Therefore, the agouti gene may have evolved to permit humans the ability to survive famine, but its enhanced expression may also potentiate metabolic diseases under bountiful food conditions."

While the research casts doubt on the previous study, Rosenfeld said that by understanding the genetic profile of the mice in the first series of studies, scientists could learn more about the correlation between certain genes and obesity. This could eventually influence prevention and treatment programs for patients with diabetes and other obesity-related diseases in humans.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Missouri-Columbia.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

C. S. Rosenfeld, P. T. Sieli, D. A. Warzak, M. R. Ellersieck, K. A. Pennington, R. M. Roberts. Maternal exposure to bisphenol A and genistein has minimal effect on Avy/a offspring coat color but favors birth of agouti over nonagouti mice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1220230110

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/k-5G1PlmGbM/130102140526.htm

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বুধবার, ২ জানুয়ারি, ২০১৩

Future Astronauts May Be Exposed to Alzheimer's Risk ... - Health.com

stars Future Astronauts May Be Exposed to Alzheimers Risk Factor

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 2 (HealthDay News) ? As NASA sets the stage for increasingly ambitious trips into space, new research highlights a potential hazard for astronauts on long-range missions: Alzheimer?s disease.

According to a new animal study published in the Dec. 31 issue of PLoS ONE, the kind of cosmic radiation exposure faced by those on board flights heading toward the far-flung reaches of the galaxy has the potential to speed up the onset of the neurological disease.

?Galactic cosmic radiation poses a significant threat to future astronauts,? senior study author Dr. M. Kerry O?Banion, a professor in the University of Rochester Medical Center?s department of neurobiology and anatomy, said in a URMC news release.

?The possibility that radiation exposure in space may give rise to health problems such as cancer has long been recognized,? he added. ?However, this study shows for the first time that exposure to radiation levels equivalent to a mission to Mars could produce cognitive [mental] problems and speed up changes in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer?s disease.?

The authors point out that here on Earth the planet?s magnetic field offers protection from space radiation. Once in deep space, however, all bets are off, with travelers exposed to a never-ending bath of low-level radioactive particles.

For the most, the bombardment is at a low enough level that short-term space travel is not overly concerning, the researchers say

The picture changes, however, when contemplating longer-term trips, such as one to Mars currently planned for 2035 and predicted to take about three years round-trip.

O?Banion, URMC graduate student Jonathan Cherry, the study?s first author, and colleagues analyzed the impact on from exposure to high-mass, high-charged iron particles, which move incredibly fast and are able to go right through most solid objects.

Mice exposed to doses deemed comparable to what astronauts would have to field during a trip to Mars were much more likely to fare poorly on a series of mental acuity tests than unexposed mice.

The brains of exposed mice displayed telltale evidence of Alzheimer?s onset in the form of vascular alterations, as well as an uptick in the accumulation of a protein plaque called beta amyloid.

?These findings clearly suggest that exposure to radiation in space has the potential to accelerate the development of Alzheimer?s disease,? O?Banion said. ?This is yet another factor that NASA, which is clearly concerned about the health risks to its astronauts, will need to take into account as it plans future missions.?

More information

For more on Alzheimer?s, visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Source: http://news.health.com/2013/01/02/future-astronauts-may-be-exposed-to-alzheimers-risk-factor/

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Cary News | The Joy of Photography at Bond Park

Published: Jan 01, 2013 06:02 PM
Modified: Jan 01, 2013 06:03 PM

CARY - Michael Weitzman spent his career as a manager and financial counselor with Goldman Sachs. After retirement, he focused on a more creative outlet ? photography.Weitzman?s ?The Joy of Photography? is on exhibit at the Bond Park Community Center through Feb. 28. Twenty-nine images showcase Weitzman?s love of landscapes, flowers and nature. Weitzman, 70, has shown his work in the Triangle and upstate New York. He has spent the winter months in Cary for the past 15 years and lives near Saratoga Springs, N.Y., the rest of the year. He said Duke University Hospital bought six of his images in June for patient rooms in a cancer treatment center. ?Photography has been a lifelong interest, and in recent years it?s been a passion,? Weitzman said. He has captured images during vacations to Italy, France, Brazil, Alaska and more. ?With a camera, the vacation is totally different ? so much better,? Weitzman said. Sometimes he finds inspiration closer to home. As a member of the Cary Photographic Artists group, Weitzman said he has gone on field trips to photograph a butterfly museum in Durham and old cars near Clayton.The Bond Park Community Center is located at 150 Metro Park Drive, Cary. The center is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays; and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.

Source: http://www.carynews.com/2013/01/01/69013/the-joy-of-photography-at-bond.html

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Table Hopping giveaway: Dinner for 2 at Mazzone series launch ...

Today?s Table Hopping giveaway is a pair of seats ($190 value) at the first Mazzone Premiere Chefs Dinner Series event, being held starting at 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10, at Angelo?s 677 Prime in Albany. (The restaurant, normally closed on Sundays, will be open exclusively for the dinner.) For the series, which will rotate every other month among Mazzone Hospitality restaurants, head chefs or pastry chefs from Mazzone properties will be on hand to each conceive and prepare a different course. There will also be a choice from three beverage pairings for each course (cocktail, beer, wine), chosen by the bar manager of each restaurant. See the food and drink menus after the jump.

The Feb. 10 dinner costs $95 per person, plus tax and tip, for six courses with beverage pairings. Call 427-7463 for reservations. Angelo?s 677 Prime is located at the eponymous address on Broadway in downtown Albany, at the foot of Clinton Avenue.

The winner will be chosen at random from comments posted below that answer the question in the next paragraph. Comments that don?t answer the question will be deleted. One comment submitted per person. Multiple answers from same person/email address disqualifies all from that person. Contest closes at noon Thursday (1/3).

Question: Wine-pairing dinners are common, and beer dinners are becoming so, but cocktails designed to go with each course don?t show up locally very often. Looking through the menu below, for what courses would you choose the cocktail option?

Mazzone Premiere Chefs Dinner Series
Feb. 10
Angelo?s 677 Prime, Albany

1^st Course: Courtney Withey/Aperitivo Bistro
Pan Seared Scallops
Cauliflower and Roasted Grapes, Crispy Marcona Almond, Fresh Bacon
Drink Pairing Options:

Aperitivo Eldertini: Pristine vodka, St. Germain, moscato d?asti and fresh lemon
Wine: Jean-Michel Gaunoux Mersault
Beer: Blue Moon

2^nd Course: Brady Duhame/Prime Bar + Grill
Crispy Pigs Ear Salad
Curly Endive, Deviled Egg, Picked Cippolini Onions, Shaved Radish, Parsley Leaves, Chick Peas & Warm Pancetta Dressing
Drink Pairing Options:

Prime Bar + Grill Negroni: Bombay sapphire, Campari and sweet vermouth with a fresh orange twist
Wine: Gustav Gruner Veltliner
Beer: Hennepin Gold Ale

3^rd Course: Frank Tardio/Angelo?s Tavolo
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Roasted Fennel, Crisp Prosciutto, Goat Cheese Bechemela
Drink Pairing Options:

Tavolo Winter Mansion Cosmo: Stoli orange, white cranberry juice and fresh lime
Wine: Domaine Joseph Cattin Gewurtztraminer
Beer: Harpoon UFO

4^th Course: Jason Saunders/Prime at Saratoga National
Duck Roulade
Sweet Sausage and Rapini Stuffed Duck, Yellow Lentils, Bing Cherry Demi, Candied Pistachios
Drink Pairing Options:

Prime Cranberry Cherry Mohito: Cherry rum, muddled mint and fresh cranberries with cranberry juice and a splash of lemon
Wine: Cristom Pinot Noir
Beer: Brooklyn Lager

5^th Course: Ken Kehn/677
Braised American Kobe Short Ribs
Creamy Wild Mushroom and Ricotta Polenta, Parsley, Apple and Red Onion Salad, Apple Balsamic, Root Vegetable Brunois, Potato ?Croutons?, Duck Fat Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Sweet Pepper Braising Jus
Drink Pairing Options:

The Newark: Laird?s bonded straight apple brandy, sweet vermouth, fernet branca, maraschino liquer
Wine: Mont Olivet Petit Mont, Chateauneuf-du-pape
Beer: Anchor Steam Porter

6^th Course: Vivian Brammer/ Prime at Saratoga National
Blood Orange Cheesecake
Light Ricotta Cheesecake, Blood Orange Glaze, Cardamom Spiced Caramel
After-dinner cordial

Source: http://blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping/35192/table-hopping-giveaway-mazzone-dinner-series-for-2/

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NY lawmakers: House GOP scraps vote on Sandy aid

WASHINGTON (AP) ? New York-area lawmakers in both parties erupted in anger after learning the House Republican leadership decided to allow the current term of Congress to end without holding a vote on aid for victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said late Tuesday he was told by the office of Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia that Speaker John Boehner of Ohio had decided to abandon a vote this session.

Cantor, who sets the House schedule, did not immediately comment. House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland told reporters that just before Tuesday evening's vote on "fiscal cliff" legislation, Cantor told him that he was "99.9 percent confident that this bill would be on the floor, and that's what he wanted."

A spokesman for Boehner, Michael Steel, said, "The speaker is committed to getting this bill passed this month."

In remarks on the House floor, King called the decision "absolutely inexcusable, absolutely indefensible. We cannot just walk away from our responsibilities."

The Senate approved a $60.4 billion measure Friday to help with recovery from the October storm that devastated parts of New York, New Jersey and nearby states. The House Appropriations Committee has drafted a smaller, $27 billion measure, and a vote had been expected before Congress' term ends Thursday at noon.

More than $2 billion in federal funds has been spent so far on relief efforts for 11 states and the District of Columbia struck by the storm, one of the worst ever to hit the Northeast. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund still has about $4.3 billion, enough to pay for recovery efforts into early spring, according to officials. The unspent FEMA money can only be used for emergency services, said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J.

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are receiving federal aid.

Sandy was blamed for at least 120 deaths and battered coastline areas from North Carolina to Maine. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were the hardest hit states and suffered high winds, flooding and storm surges. The storm damaged or destroyed more than 72,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey. In New York, 305,000 housing units were damaged or destroyed and more than 265,000 businesses were affected.

"This is an absolute disgrace and the speaker should hang his head in shame," said Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.

"I'm here tonight saying to myself for the first time that I'm not proud of the decision my team has made," said Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y. "It is the wrong decision, and I' m going to be respectful and ask that the speaker reconsider his decision. Because it's not about politics, it's about human lives."

"I truly feel betrayed this evening," said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.

"We need to be there for all those in need now after Hurricane Sandy," said Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.

The House Democratic leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, said she didn't know whether a decision has been made and added: "We cannot leave here doing nothing. That would be a disgrace."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ny-lawmakers-house-gop-scraps-vote-sandy-aid-081925176--politics.html

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