Scientists reportedly discover gate to hell

Digital reconstruction of "Pluto's Gate" (Francesco D'Andria)

It sounds like something out of a horror movie. But Italian scientists say that the ?Gate to Hell? is the real deal?poisonous vapors and all.

The announcement of the finding of the ruins of Pluto?s Gate (Plutonium in Latin) at an archeology conference in Turkey last month, was recently reported by Discovery News. Francesco D'Andria, professor of classic archaeology at the University of Salento in Lecce, Italy, who has been excavating the ancient Greco-Roman World Heritage Site of Hierapolis for years, led the research team.

D?Andria told Discovery News he used ancient mythology as his guide to locate the legendary portal to the underworld. ?We found the Plutonium by reconstructing the route of a thermal spring. Indeed, Pamukkale' springs, which produce the famous white travertine terraces originate from this cave.?

Scribes like Cicero and the Greek geographer Strabo mentioned the gate to hell as located at the ancient site in Turkey, noted Discovery, but nobody had been able to find it until now.

?Pluto?s Gate? has been documented in the Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, which noted in its description of ancient Hierapolis, ?Adjoining the temple on the SE is the Plutoneion, which constituted the city's chief claim to fame. It was described by Strabo as an orifice in a ridge of the hillside, in front of which was a fenced enclosure filled with thick mist immediately fatal to any who entered.?

Strabo (64 B.C.- 24 B.C.) wrote, ?This space is full of a vapor so misty and dense that one can scarcely see the ground. Any animal that passes inside meets instant death. I threw in sparrows and they immediately breathed their last and fell.?

The portal to the underworld seems just as bad for your health today. The professor said, ?We could see the cave's lethal properties during the excavation. Several birds died as they tried to get close to the warm opening, instantly killed by the carbon dioxide fumes.?

According to Discovery News, the fumes emanated from a cave below the site, which includes ionic columns with inscriptions to Pluto and Kore, gods of the underworld. Also discovered: the remains of a temple, and a pool and stairs placed above the cave. D'Andria is now working on a digital rendering of the site.

Amazingly, this isn?t the first entry to the underworld in the world. In the Karakum Desert, reports the Daily Mail,?a fiery pit that?s been lit up for over 40 years has inspired visitors to Derweze in Turkmenistan?and on the Web. Geologists drilling in the area came across a natural gas cavern. Hoping to burn off the gas, they set it on fire. The flames continued to burn, leading locals to dub the site the ?door to hell.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/scientists-reportedly-discover-gate-hell-203918901.html

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Research deciphers HIV attack plan: How AIDS virus grooms its assault team

Apr. 1, 2013 ? A new study by Los Alamos National Laboratory and University of Pennsylvania scientists defines previously unknown properties of transmitted HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS. The viruses that successfully pass from a chronically infected person to a new individual are both remarkably resistant to a powerful initial human immune-response mechanism, and they are blanketed in a greater amount of envelope protein that helps them access and enter host cells.

These findings will help inform vaccine design and interpretation of vaccine trials, and provide new insights into the basic biology of viral/host dynamics of infection.

During the course of each AIDS infection, the HIV-1 virus evolves within the infected person to escape the host's natural immune response and adapt to the local environment within the infected individual. Because HIV evolves so rapidly and so extensively, each person acquires and harbors a complex, very diverse set of viruses that develops over the years of their infection. Yet when HIV is transmitted to a new person from their partner, typically only a single virus from the diverse set in the partner is transmitted to establish the new infection.

The key discoveries here are the specific features that distinguish those specific viruses which successfully move to the new host, compared with the myriad forms in the viral population present in a chronically infected individual.

"The viruses that make it through transmission barriers to infect a new person are particularly infectious and resilient," said Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Bette Korber. "Through this study we now better understand the biology that defines that resilience."

The team set out to determine whether the viruses that were successfully transmitted to a new patient might share distinct biological properties relative to those typically isolated from people with long-term, chronic infection. To do this, the group at U Penn cloned a set of intact viruses from acute infection, and a set of viruses from chronically infected people, and characterized them by measuring quantities that might be related to the virus's ability to successfully establish a new infection. They discovered several clear correlations. For example, transmitted viruses were both more infectious and contained more protective "envelope" per virus; envelope is the protein the virus uses to enter host cells.

The team identified an additional interesting property that could be a general characteristic of new viral infections: the transmitted HIV was capable of replicating and growing well in the presence of alpha interferon. Alpha interferon production is part of our innate human immune response to a new infection. As soon as a new viral infection is initiated in our bodies, local immune cells at the site of infection start secreting molecules called cytokines that have general antiviral activity and can inhibit the production of the newly infected virus. Alpha interferon is one of these potent cytokines.

In the early days of an HIV infection, this innate immune response increases to an intense level, called a "cytokine storm," which gradually recedes during infection. For a newly transmitted HIV to successfully establish infection, it must grow and expand in the new host while facing this cytokine storm. Although typical chronic viruses are sensitive to and inhibited by alpha interferon, transmitted HIV-1 viruses grew well in the presence of interferon.

Los Alamos scientists Elena Giorgi, James Theiler and Bette Korber were part of the analysis team working closely with investigators at the University of Pennsylvania, Nick Parrish and Beatrice Hahn. The paper, "Phenotypic properties of transmitted founder HIV-1" is in this week's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. N. F. Parrish, F. Gao, H. Li, E. E. Giorgi, H. J. Barbian, E. H. Parrish, L. Zajic, S. S. Iyer, J. M. Decker, A. Kumar, B. Hora, A. Berg, F. Cai, J. Hopper, T. N. Denny, H. Ding, C. Ochsenbauer, J. C. Kappes, R. P. Galimidi, A. P. West, P. J. Bjorkman, C. B. Wilen, R. W. Doms, M. O'Brien, N. Bhardwaj, P. Borrow, B. F. Haynes, M. Muldoon, J. P. Theiler, B. Korber, G. M. Shaw, B. H. Hahn. Phenotypic properties of transmitted founder HIV-1. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1304288110

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/~3/N3tNW197Jd4/130401132056.htm

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Don't hoard excess business earnings - Business Management Daily

The TV show ?Hoarders? doesn?t portray the obsessions of business owners. But you might trigger tax problems if you can?t help stockpiling too much cash in the company?s cupboards.

Strategy: Do your best to avoid the ?accumulated earnings tax.? This little-publicized penalty tax will be tacked onto your regular corporate income tax bill if you don?t stay within the prescribed tax law limits.

However, the outlook isn?t as bleak as before. Until Congress passed the new American Tax??payer Relief Act (ATRA), the tax rate for the accumulated earnings tax was poised to practically triple in 2013 to 39.6%. But ATRA permanently installs a much-lower 20% rate.

Here?s the whole story: The accumulated earnings tax is intended to discourage excessive accumulations of funds within a company. It applies to ?accumulated taxable income,? which is defined as the company?s taxable income (with certain adjustments) minus the dividends-paid deduction and an accumulated tax credit. The minimum tax credit for this purpose is $250,000; $150,000 for personal service corporations.

Thus, if you can keep the cash in your company?s coffers below the $250,000/$150,000 mark for the year, you?re in the clear.

Otherwise, your corporation will be liable for the accumulated earnings tax. Previously, the tax rate was 15% in 2012, based on the preferential tax treatment for qualified dividends. However, because dividends were scheduled to be taxed at ordinary income rates in 2013, the applicable tax rate for the accumulated earnings tax would have been 39.6%. Since ATRA established a maximum 20% federal income rate on qualified dividends for 2013 and beyond, the accumulated earning tax rate is also now 20%.? ?

What?s more, if you exceed the minimum credit amount, there?s a fallback position: No penalty is imposed on amounts accumulated for a ?reasonable business need.? To qualify under this safe harbor rule, you must show that you have a definite plan in place for using the money in the applicable tax year (see box below).

5 steps to nail it down

Other factors may come into play. For instance, if you own a business in a volatile industry, you might have a better argument for accumulating cash than other businesses. Take these five steps to strengthen your case for accumulating more cash.

1. Adopt a consistent dividend-paying ?policy.
2. Obtain expert opinions to support anticipated replacement costs.
3. Do the same for accumulations to safeguard against business hazards.
4. Move expansion plans into the blueprint stage as soon as possible.
5. Keep detailed records of valid business reasons for accumulating earnings in the corporate minutes. This is the best proof your company can have for justifying any excess amounts.

Tip: If it?s a close call, pay enough dividends to stay below the $250,000/$150,000 mark.

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Insert Coin: LineCam is a high-flying cable car system for your camera

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.

Father and son team Nick and Larry Braun want to build a portable zip line system for cameras. Problem is, predictably, design and manufacturing cost a lot of money. So, the two have turned to Kickstarter and are asking for a little help in getting their LineCam project off the ground. The duo are actually building two different models: the simple, gravity-powered Glide and the motorized Flow. Both are wheeled carts that attach to a cable and have mounts for various cameras, including standard tripod mounts for shuttling DSLRs through the air. The Glide is capable of using smaller gauge line and has a simpler rigging assembly, which helps keep cost and weight down. The remote controlled Flow, on the other hand, requires a much more robust setup.

The Flow is definitely the more interesting of the two products. Rather than simply riding the cable under the the influence of physics, it features an RF remote with speed control and the ability to run in reverse. And the 10,900mAh battery is charged in part by a regenerative breaking system packed into the shuttle. Having all this machined aluminum made here in the US isn't cheap however. The Glide platform alone (that includes none of the rigging or cabling) will require a pledge of $510. The Flow? A jaw dropping $4,535. And if you want all the necessary equipment to film your exploits from the air you'll have to offer support totally $5,600. Still, if you're serious about your photography and video, it might not seem like that absurd a price. Heck, the GoPro guys seem to like it. Check out the video pitch for the LineCam after the break.

Filed under: Peripherals

Comments

Via: GizMag

Source: Kickstarter

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/GBP6CjVXxkc/

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Athletes, stars join Obama for Easter Egg Roll

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama walk from the White House with their daughters Sasha Obama, second from left, and Malia Obama, right, on their way through Lafayette Park to St. John's Episcopal Church for Easter services, Sunday, March 31, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama walk from the White House with their daughters Sasha Obama, second from left, and Malia Obama, right, on their way through Lafayette Park to St. John's Episcopal Church for Easter services, Sunday, March 31, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Easter Bunny, dozens of professional athletes and thousands of children will be hippity-hopping across the White House's South Lawn as President Barack Obama and his family lead the annual Easter Egg Roll.

One highlight of this year's event is the "Eggtivity Zone," in which athletes and coaches will help teach kids how to play sports. Among the stars scheduled to attend are Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, gymnast John Orozco and Washington Wizards point guard John Wall.

Two of the younger celebrities in Monday's lineup are Oscar-nominated actress Quvenzhane (kweh-VEHN'-zhah-nay) Wallis, star of "Beasts of the Southern Wild," and Robbie Novak, who plays "Kid President" in a series of popular YouTube videos. Elmo, Abby and other "Sesame Street" Muppets will also be performing.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-01-Obama-Easter%20Egg%20Roll/id-b99a9a84af3a479b8506b0e906cb85af

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Sudan's Bashir orders release of all political prisoners

By Khalid Abdelaziz

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Monday ordered the release of all political prisoners, a move cautiously welcomed by the opposition in the tightly-controlled African country.

The announcement comes after Sudan and South Sudan agreed in March to end hostilities and resume cross-border oil flows after coming close to war a year ago. Khartoum had accused its southern neighbor of supporting rebels trying to topple Bashir.

"I announce today my decision to release all political prisoners," Bashir told parliament. "I also renew a commitment to create a climate to hold a national dialogue with the other political forces."

Bashir, in power since 1989, did not say when and how many prisoners would be released.

Rights groups have accused the government of holding an unspecified number of dissidents since the security services cracked down hard on small protests against austerity measures unveiled by Bashir last year.

In February, a U.N. human rights expert said Sudan was holding opposition figures and other detainees without trial and denying them urgent medical care.

Sudan's weak and fractured opposition tried to bring "Arab Spring" protests to Khartoum, but failed to mobilize mass support.

Kamal Omar, spokesman for the National Consensus Forces grouping of the main opposition parties, said Bashir's comments were a step in the right direction, but said more was needed.

"This is a positive move but it needs to be accompanied by action on the ground," Omar said. "We need a climate that will allow political dialogue, freedom of expression and press freedom."

Bashir's comments come after Vice President Ali Osman Taha last week invited rebel groups to help prepare a new constitution following the secession of the south in July 2011.

Khartoum has accused Juba of backing rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-North) which took up arms in two border states around the time of South Sudan's independence.

After the split, the two fell out over the position of their border, the status of disputed land, the division of national debt and how much the landlocked South should pay to export its oil through Sudan, and other issues.

Rebels of the SPLM-North sided with the south during the civil war with Khartoum that led up to South Sudan's independence. But they were left inside Sudan after the partition.

(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Ulf Laessing in Cairo; Editing by Jon Hemming)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sudans-bashir-orders-release-political-prisoners-001950894.html

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Assistant Manager / Executive (Corporate Planning ... - Eco-Business

You will support the Head of Corporate Planning and Risk Management in implementing enterprise risk management and workplace safety programme across the organisation. This will include the identification and monitoring of corporate and operational risks and their corresponding control/ mitigation plans, including risks related to workplace safety. You will also play a key role in building up the risk management and workplace safety culture in the organisation. Other duties include the management of corporate planning cycle and corporate performance (i.e., key performance indicator and statistics) tracking and reporting.

In the course of work, you will need to interact with all departments in NEA and thus have the opportunity to showcase your initiative, project management and people skills. There will also be opportunities for involvement in projects related to enterprise risk management and corporate planning.

Requirements:

• Good degree in engineering or business administration with 2 or more years of relevant working experience preferably in Enterprise Risk Management/Workplace Safety/Corporate Planning/Performance Management in the public sector or in management consulting
• Strong analytical skills and an inquisitive mind
• Excellent communication and project management skills

Source: http://www.eco-business.com/jobs/assistant-manager-executive-corporate-planning-and-risk-management/

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