Daily Archives: March 4, 2017

You can now buy THREE private islands with sandy beaches for less than the price of a house in Britain – The Sun

Posted: March 4, 2017 at 3:39 pm

The retreat, in the United States, costs just 140,000

OWNING your own private island may seem like a dream reserved for the rich and famous, but it could be more affordable than you think.

These THREE islands, in the United States, cost less than a small house in Britain making them a reasonable investment, even if you dont have a billionaire salary to match that of Richard Branson.

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The patches of land cover 108 acres and can be found in the Potomac River, near Washington and they cost just over 140,000.

Its not cheap but given that the average property in the UK now costs 232,000, and in London the average punter forks out 580,000 its not bad either.

The island even boastssandy beaches which are said to be perfect for camping, boating, fishing and enjoying the wildlife.

machomes.com

Bird fans can chill with ducks, blue heron and Canadian geese in among the willow and sycamore trees.

The islands are now up for sale with Mackintosh Realtors.

Current owner Peter Mertz, 57, who bought the plot of land back in 1987, told the Washington Post:Night time there in the summer is very interesting.

Youre in the middle of a big river and the sounds of wildlife engulf you from all sides, especially the sound of rushing water.

Theres nothing quite like owning your own island. There are only a handful of privately owned islands in the entire Potomac River.

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You can now buy THREE private islands with sandy beaches for less than the price of a house in Britain - The Sun

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Nobody at the NFL Combine is winning the island for their 40 time, sorry – SB Nation

Posted: at 3:39 pm

On-field workouts start Friday morning at the NFL Combine. Offensive linemen are up for the 40 first. Then, its the running backs, a group where were more likely to see a legitimate contender for beating Chris Johnsons record in the 40 and winning a private island from Adidas.

But heres the thing, nobodys winning that island.

If you read the fine print, Adidas can choose to swap out the island prize with a million dollars. Its a good bet thats what will happen.

Theres also the stipulation that a player has to wear Adidas cleats while running the 40. John Ross, who clocked in with an unofficial 4.22 time, was wearing Nikes:

John Ross runs a 4.22 unofficially. But no Adidas Island for Ross; he's wearing Nike shoes.

And maybe its for the better. Island living could be an expensive proposition by the time you figure in the costs of getting electricity, sewage, transportation, etc.

If a player can beat Johnsons record of 4.24 seconds, they can probably count on a spot in the draft and a professional contract which they can then use to buy their own island, probably a better one even. You can peruse the market for private islands here. A million bucks would actually go a long way toward a nice little starter island, one you could develop and sell when youre ready to move up to a bigger island with a walkout basement.

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Nobody at the NFL Combine is winning the island for their 40 time, sorry - SB Nation

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Doctor Launches Vision Quest To Help Astronauts’ Eyeballs – NPR

Posted: at 3:37 pm

NASA astronaut Michael Barratt watches a water bubble float by on board the Discovery in 2011. NASA hide caption

NASA astronaut Michael Barratt watches a water bubble float by on board the Discovery in 2011.

Spending time in space changes people: Not just their outlook on life, but also their eyesight.

For years, a North Texas doctor has been trying to find out what is causing this vision change among astronauts. His latest research provides some clues and connects astronauts on the International Space Station, cancer patients on a roller coaster plane flight, and high-tech sleeping sacks.

After spending six months on the International Space Station, Michael Barratt had a strange request when he finally stepped foot on Earth.

He wanted a spinal tap.

Barratt isn't a masochist, he's a NASA astronaut. While flying hundreds of miles above Earth in 2009, he noticed his vision was changing. He was struggling to read manuals and checklists.

An image of astronaut Michael Barratt's right eye shows some of the changes in shape after long-duration space flight. Courtesy of NASA hide caption

An image of astronaut Michael Barratt's right eye shows some of the changes in shape after long-duration space flight.

"I spent a lot of time on the Russian segment as well. When you're reading in Russian in small print in a dark place, and your visual acuity starts to tank, you notice it!" Barratt says.

Barratt is also a very curious physician, which brings us to his request for a spinal tap to check the pressure in his brain. He knew he wasn't the first astronaut whose vision had changed while in space, and he hoped sticking a needle into his back might provide a clue to his vision loss. The leading theory at the time was that microgravity raises pressure in the head and reshapes the eyeballs, which could be problematic for long-term space travel to places like Mars.

"This is a medical issue that affects a large percentage of people who fly in space," Barratt says. "So the stakes are extremely high."

Scientists know that when people go into space, the fluid normally below their hearts goes into their heads. But is it creating enough pressure to damage the eyes? Does it flatten them and affect the optic nerve? Or is there something else at play?

Dr. Benjamin Levine is on a mission to find out. He's a professor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine. Instead of sticking needles in astronauts' backs, though, Levine decided to stick needles inside the brains of specific people who stay on Earth.

Trent Barton, a volunteer for the study looking at pressure inside the brain during space flights. Courtesy of David Ham hide caption

Trent Barton, a volunteer for the study looking at pressure inside the brain during space flights.

He found eight healthy cancer survivors who still had ports in their heads, once used to deliver chemotherapy. Those ports would allow him to directly measure their intracranial pressure.

Then, he convinced them to get on a plane for a sort of extreme roller coaster ride to simulate the zero gravity found on the ISS.

You know that feeling of weightlessness when you drop on a roller coaster? Well, these folks did that, except they plunged 8,000 feet in 30 seconds, dozens of times, all in the name of science.

Trent Barton, a lymphoma survivor from Dallas, went on the wild trip above the Texas-Mexico border.

"I enjoyed each and every rotation we did," Barton says.

Dr. Justin Lawley, instructor in internal medicine at University of Texas Southwestern, floating in zero gravity. Courtesy of David Ham hide caption

Dr. Justin Lawley, instructor in internal medicine at University of Texas Southwestern, floating in zero gravity.

During the flight, a needle in the port in his head monitored the pressure in the fluid surrounding his brain.

Turns out, Levine says, space flight doesn't cause pressure to be much higher than it is when you or I are standing up. But, it is a little higher. He published the results in The Journal of Physiology.

But, unlike us earthlings, astronauts never get to rest their brains in lower pressure. When they're standing up in zero gravity, the fluid stays in their heads and won't go to their feet. So, researchers like Levine are now trying to find a way to give these astronaut brains a rest. So we now think this mild but persistent pressure may be the thing that's stimulating remodeling the eye and causing the visual impairment," Levine says.

"We've been working with UnderArmour, the garment company, to come up with a soft, but comfortable almost like a sleeping sack or pair of trousers, that you can put on at night, hook up to a vacuum cleaner, suck the blood and fluid into the feet and unload the heart and the brain while your sleeping," he says.

Astronaut Dr. Mike Barratt says he'd be willing to try the sleeping sack, but he also wants to do more tests on the ISS to better understand intracranial pressure before we send astronauts deeper into space.

As for Barratt's eyesight, six years after his flight?

"It's my right eye that has apparently been permanently remodeled," Barratt says. "Other than that, I'm totally normal."

In other words, he's still the same curious doctor, he just sees things a bit differently now that he's back on Earth.

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Doctor Launches Vision Quest To Help Astronauts' Eyeballs - NPR

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LGBT Ascension Party moves to Asbury Park this August – Out In Jersey

Posted: at 3:32 pm

The Ascension LGBT Party, which has been located on Fire Island Pines in Long Island and more recently inMykonos Greece is coming to the Asbury Park beach and New Jersey this August.

Organizers say attendees come from around the world. This year in Asbury Park the party organizers say there will be 14 deejays spinning at 11 different locations between August 4-6, 2017 in the city. The main location will be the primary hotel host Asbury Hotel on Kingsley Avenue. The Asbury Hotel is justa short two blocks from the famous beach and Boardwalk. The Saturday Celebration party will take place at the renovated Asbury Lanes, which is adjacent to the hotel, according to Ascension organizers.

The fest was staged at Mykonos Greece for the past two years, Organizers are glad to bring it back to the states. We are thrilled to bring Ascension back to the states this year, said Eric von Kuersteiner. He launched the Ascension Party back in 2006 in Long Island. Ascension is going to bring thousands of visitors from all over the tri-state area as well as the world to Asbury [Park]. It will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase the local businesses to thousands of new visitors.

Ascension is an LGBT charity event and the organizers say that 100 percent of proceeds raised this year will be donated to Asbury Park and other local LGBTcharities.

For more information visit http://www.ascensionparty.com.

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LGBT Ascension Party moves to Asbury Park this August - Out In Jersey

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Nanotech’s Possible Hazards Investigated – Controlled Environments Magazine

Posted: at 3:29 pm

Silently helping our clothes resist stains, allowing spray-on sunscreen to more easily protect our skin and enhancing paints, coatings and plastics. Nanoparticles have even made their way into our food, including powdered sugar on pastries, chewing gum and other products.

Dr. Christa Watson Wright, assistant professor of environmental health in the Georgia State School of Public Health, researches the potential health impacts of nanoparticles, which can also be found in such everyday items as cosmetics, the toner in photocopiers and artificial turf.

Nanoparticles cant be seen with the eye or even with a microscope. For a sense of perspective, consider the diameter of a strand of human hair. That cross section of hair is the size of 100,000 nanometers. (A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.)

Wright is among a pioneering group of scientists raising concerns about these super tiny particles. While many nanomaterials start out as substances that are considered safe at normal size, there has been very little testing into how safe these particles are when they are made so small they can travel easily from the lungs into other parts of the body, even slipping into cells and potentially causing damage to DNA.

The impact could be greater for populations that are already vulnerable, such as people with inherited disorders, especially with long-term exposure.

In one study, Wright found that certain metal-based engineered nanoparticles, widely used in cosmetics and sunscreens such as zinc oxide, could cause DNA damage in human cells.

People who work in the recycling and waste disposal industries may also face an increased risk due to exposure to nanomaterials.

In a recent study, Wright found that high-temperature incineration, a common disposal method for thermoplastics that contain nanoparticles, can result in a nanofiller effect where higher toxicity was observed in the particles released during burning of nano-enabled plastics than particles emitted from burned regular materials (plastics containing no nanomaterials).

About 20,000 metric tons of nanocomposite materials (such as vinyl siding) are sent to U.S. recycling facilities, landfills or disposed of through incineration each year.

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Best Supplements For Your Brain: 4 Nootropics That Work …

Posted: at 3:27 pm

What a fun-looking word: nootropics. It refers to any type of compound or food that has the ability to improve your mental abilities, including your memory, ability to focus, motivation, or even mood. While the general category most definitely includes smart drugs, neuro-enhancing supplements fit the bill as well. Daily, neuroscientists are acquiring a more nuanced understanding of the brain, the result being many new pharmaceutical drugs which target exact regions of the brain are in the works. The very same knowledge, though, might reveal how particular supplements might do an equally good job of improving brain function over the long haul.

Why go for prescription-strength when you can get the same by shopping the vitamin aisle?

In that spirit, heres a list of dietary supplements you could investigate for their potential use as a nootropic. Remember: Do your research and ask a doctors advice before popping any pill, natural or not. More importantly, not all dietary supplements are created equal, with some brands including additives you may not want (or are allergic to), so its important to vet any unfamiliar manufacturers.

Creatine, DHA, passionflower, and L-theanine are 4 dietary supplements that offer nootropic effects, including improving memory and decreasing anxiety. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Creatine is an old favorite among gym rats, who use it to enhance their sports performance, but over the past decade or so, the supplements neuro-enhancing abilities have been demonstrated as well. In one placebo-controlled study, researchers tested the hypothesis that 5 grams a day for a six-week period would enhance intelligence test scores while also improving memory. They enlisted the help of 45 young adult, vegetarian subjects and found the supplement had a significant positive effect on both working memory and intelligence, particularly with regard to tasks that require speed of processing. Though they tested vegetarians, the researchers would expect to see a beneficial effect of creatine supplementation on brain performance in most omnivores apart from those who consume very high amounts of meat.

Theanine (or more commonly L-theanine) is found in green tea and mushrooms and also sold as a dietary supplement in the United States. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration has granted it GRAS status (generally recognized as safe). According to various scientific studies, theanine has been found to affect the levels of some neurotransmitters, to prevent beta-amyloid-induced brain dysfunction, and to protect against stroke. L-theanine is even said to improve sleep quality in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In terms of potential nootropic uses, several small studies indicate a combination of L-theanine and caffeine can improve cognitive performance, particular in the areas of focus and alertness. Apparently, though, the effects may not be long-lasting.

Passionflower is derived from the above ground parts of the plant. Primarily, people take it for its anti-anxiety effects, which have been proven in smaller scientific studies though not yet confirmed in large scale studies. Some other people use it to treat insomnia as well as neuralgia and withdrawal symptoms while coming off opiates or benzodiazepines. In patients undergoing surgery as well as those about to be treated by a dentist, passionflower has been effectively used to reduce apprehension.

DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish and seaweed, can improve your memory while protecting against certain psychiatric disorders. Various surveys of people with major depression indicate they have depleted levels of omega-3 fatty acids and one large study found depressive symptoms were significantly higher among infrequent fish consumers. However, no study has ever proven omega-3 fatty acid supplementation effective in relieving major, moderate, or even mild depression. That said, some data suggest it is a safe preventive measure and may reduce the risk of progression of certain psychiatric disorders. While one review of scientific studies found that DHA supplements significantly improves cognitive development in infants though does not improve cognitive performance in children, adults, or the elderly another review shows it can protect against mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and the risk and progression of Alzheimer's disease in the elderly.

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Today Edap Tms SA (EDAP) Given $6.50 Average Target Price by Analysts – DailyQuint

Posted: at 3:24 pm

Shares of Edap Tms S.A. (NASDAQ:EDAP) have been assigned an average broker rating score of 1.00 (Strong Buy) from the one analysts that cover the company, Zacks Investment Research reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a strong buy recommendation.

Brokerages have set a 1 year consensus target price of $6.50 for the company and are expecting that the company will post $0.01 earnings per share for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Zacks has also given Edap Tms an industry rank of 157 out of 265 based on the ratings given to its competitors.

Separately, Zacks Investment Research raised Edap Tms from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $3.25 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 11th.

Edap Tms (NASDAQ:EDAP) traded down 0.6923% on Tuesday, hitting $3.2275. The stock had a trading volume of 6,412 shares. The company has a market cap of $92.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.0890 and a beta of 1.29. Edap Tms has a 52-week low of $2.43 and a 52-week high of $4.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $3.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.04.

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Edap Tms stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Edap Tms S.A. (NASDAQ:EDAP) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 193,655 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.67% of Edap Tms worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 9.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Edap Tms Company Profile

EDAP TMS SA (EDAP) is a holding company engaged in developing and marketing the Ablatherm and Focal One devices. The Company operates two divisions: High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) and Urology Devices and Services (UDS) (including lithotripsy activities). The Company is developing HIFU technology for the treatment of certain other types of tumors.

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Today Edap Tms SA (EDAP) Given $6.50 Average Target Price by Analysts - DailyQuint

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A report released today by RBC Capital Markets about Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) ups the target price to $135.00 – Breaking Finance News

Posted: at 3:24 pm

In a report released on 03/03/2017 RBC Capital Markets bumped up the target of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) from $129.00 to $135.00 indicating a possible upside of 0.04%.

Previously on 1/25/2017, Canaccord reported about Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) increased the target price from $127.00 to $137.00. At the time, this indicated a possible upside of 0.13%.

Yesterday Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) traded -0.20% lower at $130.24. Stryker Corporations 50-day average is $124.46 and its two hundred day average is $117.54. With the last stock price up 11.27% relative to the two hundred day average, compared with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index which has increased 0.05% over the same period. Trade Volume was down over the average, with 940,446 shares of SYK changing hands under the typical 1,320,280

With a total market value of $0, Stryker Corporation has price-earnings ratio of 30.07 with a one year low of $98.00 and a one year high of $131.36 .

A total of 24 analysts have released a research note on SYK. Nine analysts rating the company a strong buy, eight analysts rating the company a buy, nine analysts rating the company a hold, two analysts rating the company a underperform, and finally 1 firm rating the stock a sell with a consensus target price of $116.50.

Stryker Corporation is a medical technology company. The Company offers a range of medical technologies, including orthopedic, medical and surgical, and neurotechnology and spine products. The Company's segments include Orthopaedics; MedSurg; Neurotechnology and Spine, and Corporate and Other. The Orthopaedics segment includes reconstructive (hip and knee) and trauma implant systems and other related products. The MedSurg segment includes surgical equipment and surgical navigation systems; endoscopic and communications systems; patient handling, emergency medical equipment, intensive care disposable products; reprocessed and remanufactured medical devices, and other related products. The Neurotechnology and Spine segment includes neurovascular products, spinal implant systems and other related products. The Company's products include implants, which are used in joint replacement and trauma surgeries, and other products that are used in a range of medical specialties.

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A report released today by RBC Capital Markets about Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) ups the target price to $135.00 - Breaking Finance News

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Religion key to humans’ social evolution, scientist says – The Durango Herald

Posted: at 3:20 pm

BOSTON In humans mysterious journey to become intelligent, socializing creatures like no other in the animal world, one innovation played an essential role: religion.

Thats the theory that a preeminent evolutionary scientist is setting out to prove.

You need something quite literally to stop everybody from killing everybody else out of just crossness, said Robin Dunbar. Somehow, its clear that religions, all these doctrinal religions, create the sense that were all one family.

Dunbar, an evolutionary psychology professor at Oxford University, gained some measure of fame more than 20 years ago for his research on the size of animals social networks. Each species of primate, he found, can manage to keep up a social bond with a certain number of other members of its own species. That number goes up as primates brain size increases, from monkeys to apes.

Humans, Dunbar found, are capable of maintaining significantly more social ties than the size of our brains alone could explain. He proved that each human is surprisingly consistent in the number of social ties we can maintain: about five with intimate friends, 50 with good friends, 150 with friends and 1,500 with people we could recognize by name. That discovery came to be known as Dunbars number.

And then Dunbar turned to figuring out why Dunbars number is so high. Did humor help us manage it? Exercise? Storytelling? That riddle has been Dunbars quest for years and religion is the latest hypothesis hes testing in his ongoing attempt to find the answer.

Most of these things were looking at, you get in religion in one form or another, he said.

In the case of Dunbar and his colleagues, they already published research demonstrating that two other particularly human behaviors increased peoples capacity for social bonding. In the lab, they showed that first, laughter, and second, singing, left research subjects more capable of forming connections with other people than they were before.

Religion is the remaining key to explaining humans remarkable social networks, Dunbar thinks. These three things are very good at triggering endorphins, making us feel bonded, he said last week at the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences annual meeting, where he presented his teams research on laughter and singing and introduced the forthcoming research on religion.

Religion includes numerous elements of Dunbars earlier studies on endorphin-producing activities. Lots of singing, to start. Repetitive motion triggers endorphins, he said, noting that traditions from Catholicism to Islam to Buddhism to Hinduism make use of prayer beads.

Plus, researchers have shown that doing these activities in synchronized fashion with other people drastically magnifies the endorphin-producing effect: Picture the coordinated bowing that is central to Muslim, Jewish and Catholic worship.

And Dunbars most recent published research demonstrated the effectiveness of emotional storytelling in bonding groups of strangers who hear the story together again, a fixture of religious worship.

What you get from dance and singing on its own is a sense of belonging. It happens very quickly. What happens, I suspect, is that it can trigger very easily trance states, Dunbar said. He theorizes that these spiritual experiences matter much more than dance and song alone. Once youve triggered that, youre in, I think, a different ballgame. It ramps up massively. Thats whats triggered. Theres something there.

Dunbars team will start research on religion in April, and he expects it will take three years. To begin, he wants to map a sort of evolutionary tree of religion, using statistical modeling to try to show when religious traditions evolved and how they morphed into each other.

Of course, religious people themselves might find Dunbars theory odd most dont think of religion existing to serve an evolutionary purpose, but of their faiths simply being true.

But Smith thinks one can easily have faith in both Gods truth and religions role in human development. From the religious point of view, you can say this ... God created humans as a very particular type of creature, with very particular brains and biology, just so that they would develop into the type of humans who would know God and believe in God, Smith said. Theyre not in conflict at all.

He added: A lot of people assume, falsely, that science and religion are zero-sum games: that if science explains something, then religion must not be true ... If you were God and wanted to set up the world in a certain way, wouldnt you create humans with bigger brains and the ability to imagine?

One more research finding on the place of God in our brains remember Dunbars number, the five intimate friends and 50 good friends and 150 friends each person can hold onto? Dunbar says that if a person feels he or she has a close relationship with a spiritual figure, like God or the Virgin Mary, then that spiritual personage actually fills up one of those numbered spots, just like a human relationship would. One of your closest friends, scientifically speaking, might be God.

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Religion key to humans' social evolution, scientist says - The Durango Herald

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Evolution of a Process: Change in defensive philosophy – Tuscaloosa News (subscription)

Posted: at 3:20 pm

By Aaron Suttles Sports Writer

Editors note: This is the third in a series. For more on this series, go to http://www.tidesports.com

For a stretch of time, no defense was as large and fierce as the University of Alabamas. Not coincidentally, it was the most feared defense in the country during that period, too.

Terrence Cody came to Alabama weighing more than 400 pounds, and big-bodied players flying around became the norm, although none were as large as Mount Cody. At its frightening height in the Nick Saban era, the Alabama defense regularly had linebackers weigh more than 260 pounds.

It was a time of league and national dominance for Crimson Tide defenders, who threw that weight around.

Then along came Kevin Sumlin and Johnny Manziel into Tuscaloosa in 2012 and things began to change. Offenses got faster and used the entire width of the field. They made defenses uncomfortable and flat-out exhausted with their pace.

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