With New Ad Units, Vibrant Media Comes To Smartphones And Tablets

Vibrant Media, which powers in-text ads and other contextual ad products, is going cross-platform today with the launch of a number of new units. Some of those ad units are entirely new to Vibrant's lineup, while others take the company's desktop ads and optimize them for touch interactions. CEO Cella Irvine told me that there's growing interest from ad agencies in campaigns that span desktops, smartphones, and tablets, and also in mobile-specific campaigns. Some of Vibrant's existing ad units already worked on mobile, she said, but they weren't really designed for non-desktop devices. The goal with today's launch is to make sure "the experience is native to the device."

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/39OWsU1c4ec/

acm awards the killing global payments eli young band wrestlemania country music awards 2012 wrestlemania 28 results

What drives activity on Pinterest?

Apr. 23, 2013 ? Researchers at Georgia Tech and the University of Minnesota have released a new study that uses statistical data to help understand the motivations behind Pinterest activity, the roles gender plays among users and the factors that distinguish Pinterest from other popular social networking sites.

Led by Assistant Professor Eric Gilbert of Georgia Tech's School of Interactive Computing, working in collaboration with Professor Loren Terveen from the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering, the study reveals findings that could have implications for both academia and industry:

1. Female users have more re-pins, regardless of geographical location

2. Men typically have more followers on Pinterest than women

3. Four verbs set Pinterest apart from Twitter: "use," "look," "want" and "need"

"Those four verbs uniquely describe Pinterest and are particularly interesting," said Gilbert, who runs the Comp.Social Lab at Georgia Tech. "Words encapsulate the intent of people, revealing the motivations behind their actions. You can use the word 'this' after all of these verbs, reflecting the 'things' at the core of Pinterest. Many press articles have focused on Pinterest's commercial potential, and here we see verbs illustrating that consumption truly lies at the heart of the site."

Pinterest, which reached 10 million users faster than any other social network, revolves around the metaphor of a pin board: users "pin" photos they find on the web and organize them into topical collections. Pinterest users can follow one another and also re-pin, like and comment on other pins. After examining more than 200,000 pins, Gilbert and his team were able to compile the first statistical overview of the site.

"We wanted to take a closer look at Pinterest because of its differences compared to other social media, including its focus on pictures and products and the large proportion of women users," said Terveen, a co-author of the study. "These findings are an important early snapshot of Pinterest that help us begin to understand people's activity on this site."

Understanding the motivations behind activity on Pinterest is key, not only for researchers but also for business wishing to utilize the site for marketing purposes. A recent market survey showed that a higher proportion of Pinterest users click through to e-commerce sites -- and when they go there, they spend significantly more money than people who come from sites like Facebook or Twitter.

"There are several social networking sites that marketers and advertisers can take advantage of these days," said Gilbert. "After conducting this research, if I had to choose where to put my money and marketing, Pinterest would probably be my first choice."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Georgia Institute of Technology.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Eric Gilbert, Saeideh Bakhshi, Shuo Chang, Loren Terveen. ?I Need to Try This!?: A Statistical Overview of Pinterest. Sociology of Education, 2013

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/living_well/~3/qBhD0J55Poc/130423135722.htm

bernard hopkins nfl draft grades devils la riots rachel maddow gia utah jazz

Virus kills melanoma in animal model, spares normal cells

Apr. 23, 2013 ? Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine have demonstrated that vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is highly competent at finding, infecting, and killing human melanoma cells, both in vitro and in animal models, while having little propensity to infect non-cancerous cells.

"If it works as well in humans, this could confer a substantial benefit on patients afflicted with this deadly disease," says Anthony van den Pol, a researcher on the study. The research was published online ahead of print in the Journal of Virology.

Most normal cells resist virus infection by activating antiviral processes that protect nearby cells. "The working hypothesis was that since many cancer cells show a deficient ability to withstand virus infection, maybe a fast-acting virus such as VSV would be able to infect and kill cancer cells before the virus was eliminated by the immune system," says van den Pol. And indeed, the virus was able to selectively infect multiple deadly human melanomas that had been implanted in a mouse model, yet showed little infectivity towards normal mouse cells, he says.

Many different mechanisms are involved in innate immunity, the type of immunity that combats viral infection. van den Pol plans to investigate which specific mechanisms are malfunctioning in cancer cells, knowledge that would be hugely beneficial both in understanding how cancer affects immunity, and in enhancing a virus' ability to target cancer cells, he says.

Melanoma is the most deadly skin cancer. Most melanomas are incurable once they have metastasized into the body. The incidence of melanoma has tripled over the last three decades, and it accounts for approximately 75 percent of skin cancer-related deaths.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Society for Microbiology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. G. Wollmann, J. N. Davis, M. W. Bosenberg, A. N. van den Pol. Vesicular stomatitis virus variants selectively infect and kill human melanoma but not normal melanocytes.. Journal of Virology, 2013; DOI: 10.1128/JVI.03311-12

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/top_news/~3/yhAVzJA_rr0/130423135710.htm

Gus Malzahn hyperemesis gravidarum BCS Bowls palestine powerball winner powerball winner Zig Ziglar

Growing Up Geek: Steve Dent

Welcome to Growing Up Geek, a feature where we take a look back at our youth, and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. This week, we have our very own Steve Dent!

If you make a bad career choice when you're young, don't worry -- I'm living proof that everything can still work out. Maybe I should've known I wouldn't be a great civil engineer when I pursued it after high school. My predilection for daydreaming wasn't suited to such a rigorous field, and resulted in early childhood trauma like the infamous "spacing out in class during a fire drill" episode -- which was not great considering that the school I went to at the time actually did burn down a year or two later (luckily while empty). In fact, as a child living in Vanderhoof, BC, Canada, I was happiest with a book, or Spider-Man comic, and being plopped in front of the TV, and it was a good thing that video games still hadn't arrived. When Pong ushered in that era, I became dangerously obsessed, even though we had a bum Atari machine that only worked for a few minutes before the ball would weirdly pass through the paddle.

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/cv_Gla5W69s/

lindsay lohan saturday night live snl lindsay lohan valley fever project x the lorax lorax fisker karma

Scientists cage dead zebras in Africa to understand the spread of anthrax

Apr. 22, 2013 ? Scavengers might not play as key a role in spreading anthrax through wildlife populations as previously assumed, according to findings from a small study conducted in Etosha National Park in northern Namibia.

Wildlife managers currently spend large amounts of money and time to control anthrax outbreaks by preventing scavengers from feeding on infected carcasses.

The effort might be ill spent, according to results published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology by an international consortium of researchers led by Steven Bellan, an ecologist at The University of Texas at Austin.

Carrion produced by anthrax deaths feeds many scavengers, including jackals, hyena, vultures, marabou storks and occasionally even lions. These scavengers have evolved to be able to digest infected carrion without contracting the infection. Herbivorous animals more vulnerable to anthrax include zebra, springboks, elephants and wildebeest.

It has been thought that scavengers change the environment in which the anthrax bacteria are living by opening herbivores' carcasses, enabling more production of spores -- the infectious life stage of the anthrax bacteria.

"The hypothesis is that when a carcass is intact, the anthrax bacteria are forced into a kind of death match with putrefying bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract," said Bellan, a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of biologist Lauren Ancel Meyers. "But when the body is opened to the air, either by a scavenger or the hemorrhaging from all bodily orifices that occurs at death, the anthrax bacteria can escape that competition and more successfully produce spores."

According to this hypothesis, the scavenging also allows the carcasses' bodily fluids to leak into the soil, leading to more spores contaminating the soil. Combined, this might increase the likelihood of spread to vulnerable herbivores as they move and eat among the grasses.

In order to test the hypothesis, the researchers found seven zebra and one wildebeest that had just died in the wild from anthrax infection. All of the carcasses were left where they fell, but four were protected from scavengers by electrified cage exclosures. The other four were left completely open to the elements.

"The goal was to allow the carcasses to exist in as natural a state as possible, while preventing scavenging," Bellan said.

Samples were then taken at regular intervals to see whether there was greater anthrax spore production in the scavenged carcasses and in the nearby soil.

The researchers found that anthrax sporulation and contamination happened to a similar degree at both the scavenged and unscavenged carcasses.

"It appears that the anthrax bacteria can survive for some time in the carcass even though it may be competing with other bacteria," said Bellan. "It also appears that fluids can escape from the carcass into the soil via mechanisms other than scavenging or through hemorrhages occurring at the time of death. It looks like bloating caused by gases produced during putrefaction and maggot feeding activity are capable of independently rupturing carcass skin."

Bellan cautions that the experiment was a limited one, conducted on a small number of samples. But he said it does suggest a need for some re-evaluation of practices aimed at keeping scavengers away from anthrax carcasses.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Texas at Austin.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. S. E. Bellan, P. C. B. Turnbull, W. Beyer, W. M. Getz. Effects of experimental exclusion of scavengers from anthrax-infected herbivore carcasses on Bacillus anthracis sporulation, survival and distribution. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2013; DOI: 10.1128/AEM.00181-13

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/1UQFQ38fKCw/130422154927.htm

doug hutchison larry brown thomas kinkade pat summit brewers matt cain adastra

Meteor shower webcast: Watch outside or onscreen

Tonight's meteor shower can be viewed outside, if you have little light pollution and clear skies. City folk and those with cloudy skies can watch NASA's livestream of the meteor shower.

By Tariq Malik,?Space.com / April 22, 2013

This sky map shows where to look in the eastern night sky for the 2013 Lyrid meteor shower. Vega (center) is one of the brightest stars in the sky, and Cygnus the Swan (lower left) contains enough bright stars to be easily spotted.

Starry Night Software / Space.com

Enlarge

The annual Lyrid meteor shower may have peaked overnight on Sunday and Monday, but if you missed the celestial fireworks show don't fret. NASA's got you covered.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Scientists at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Ala., will broadcast live images of the Lyrid meteor shower tonight and early Tuesday (April 22 and 23) for stargazers stuck with bad weather or light-polluted night skies. ?

The NASA broadcast will begin at 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 April 23) and run throughout the evening. You can watch the Lyrid meteor shower webcast on SPACE.com courtesy of NASA's MSFC feed.

"If you'd like to catch a last look at 2013 Lyrid meteor shower, this is your chance!" MSFC officials said in an announcement today. "Although a bright moon may interfere with viewing, you should still be able to see Lyrid meteors at an anticipated rate of 10-20 meteors per hour."

This year, the Lyrid meteor display runs from April 16 through April 26, though it peaked overnight on April 21 and 22. Because the moon is bright in the evening sky, the best time to look for the Lyrids is in the wee morning hours before dawn, after the moon has set but before the sun rises.

The Lyrid meteor shower occurs each year in mid-April when the Earth passes through a dusty lane of debris left over from Comet Thatcher, which is also known as C/1861 G1 Thatcher. The comet orbits the sun once every 415 years. The Lyrids are created when the comet's dust streaks through Earth's atmosphere at speeds of up to 110,000 mph (177,027 kph). ?

The Lyrids get their name because they appear to radiate out of the constellation Lyra. Humans have been observing the "shooting stars" display for more than 2,600 years, NASA scientists have said.

Editor's note:?If you snap a great photo Lyrid meteor shower that?you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, send photos, comments and your name and location to managing editor Tariq Malik at?spacephotos@space.com.

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him?@tariqjmalik?and?Google+.?Follow us?@Spacedotcom,?Facebook?and?Google+. Original article on?SPACE.com.

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/LISY9xYW2rk/Meteor-shower-webcast-Watch-outside-or-onscreen

syracuse ohio state girl with the dragon tattoo ohio state basketball collateral dick cheney heart umf

Study finds scientific basis for 'chemo brain' in breast cancer patients

Home ?
News ?
Research News ?
Study Finds Scientific Basis for ?Chemo Brain? in Breast Cancer Patients




By Janice Wood Associate News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on April 19, 2013

While breast cancer patients often report difficulties with memory, concentration and other cognitive functions following treatment, there?s been a debate in the medical community as to whether this mental fogginess is psychosomatic or a symptom of changes in brain function.

Now, a new study has shown a correlation between poorer performance on neuropsychological tests and memory complaints in post-treatment, early-stage breast cancer patients, particularly those who have undergone chemotherapy and radiation.

?The study is one of the first to show that such patient-reported cognitive difficulties ? often referred to as ?chemo brain? in those who have had chemotherapy ? can be associated with neuropsychological test performance,? said Dr. Patricia Ganz, director of cancer prevention and control research at the University of California-Los Angeles?s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Ganz and her colleagues looked at 189 breast cancer patients who enrolled in the study about a month after completing their initial breast cancer treatments and before beginning endocrine hormone-replacement therapy. Two-thirds had breast-conserving surgery, more than half had received chemotherapy, and three-quarters had undergone radiation therapy. Average age of the women was 52.

Because cognitive complaints following cancer treatment have often been associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms, the researchers excluded women with serious depressive symptoms. They also took into account the cancer treatments used and whether menopause and hormonal changes could be influencing the cognitive complaints. A group of healthy women of about the same age was used as a control group.

The researchers gave a self-reporting questionnaire to the women and found that those with breast cancer reported more severe complaints than normal ? 23.3 percent had higher complaints about their memory, and 19 percent reported higher complaints about higher-level cognition, such as problem-solving and reasoning.

The researchers noted that the breast cancer patients who reported more severe memory and higher-level cognition problems were more likely to have undergone both chemotherapy and radiation.

The UCLA researchers found that even when patients reported subtle changes in their memory and thinking, neuropsychological testing showed detectable differences.

For instance, they discovered that poorer performance on the neuropsychological test was associated with higher levels of cognitive complaints and with combined radiation and chemotherapy treatment, as well as with symptoms related to depression.

?In the past, many researchers said that we can?t rely on patients? self-reported complaints or that they are just depressed, because previous studies could not find this association between neuropsychological testing and cognitive complaints,? Ganz said. ?In this study, we were able to look at specific components of the cognitive complaints and found they were associated with relevant neuropsychological function test abnormalities.?

The findings are part of an ongoing study that seeks to examine the extent to which hormone therapy contributes to memory and thinking problems in breast cancer survivors, she said. This latest study provided a pre-hormone therapy assessment, which was able to separate the effects of initial treatments on these cognitive problems, she said. Earlier post-treatment studies of breast cancer patients were difficult to interpret, as they included women already taking hormone therapy, she noted.

?As we provide additional reports on the follow-up testing in these women, we will track their recovery from treatment, as well as determine whether hormone therapy contributes to worsening complaints over time,? Ganz said.

The study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Source: University of California-Los Angeles

Breast cancer patient photo available from Shutterstock

APA Reference
Wood, J. (2013). Study Finds Scientific Basis for ?Chemo Brain? in Breast Cancer Patients. Psych Central. Retrieved on April 20, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/04/20/study-finds-scientific-basis-for-chemo-brain-in-breast-cancer-patients/53922.html

?

Source: http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/04/20/study-finds-scientific-basis-for-chemo-brain-in-breast-cancer-patients/53922.html

ncaa bracket 2012 kyle orton kyle orton 2012 ncaa bracket john carlson greg smith catamount