Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
the band colton dixon jenny mccarthy houston weather dwyane wade magic mike trailer the night they drove old dixie down
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Babies acquire binocular vision by looking around, study says
Does depth perception develop in humans as a result of nature or nurture?
It's a question scientists have wondered about. And a new study comes to a surprising conclusion: Babies acquire binocular vision as a result of viewing the world around them, not merely thanks to genetic programming.
"My guess was that it was going to be something in between nature and nurture," said study leader Ilona Kovacs, a psychologist at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary. Instead, it appeared that nurture ? the environmental stimulation a baby received ? was the key.
The finding, reported this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, extends scientists' knowledge about just how much the visual system in the brain relies on what we see and when we see it. It may also lead to new tests for visual dysfunction early in life.
Vision is a widely used model for studying brain development. One of its advantages is that, unlike sound, visual input does not reach an infant in the womb. That allows scientists to be sure that a newborn's visual system is unadulterated.
Binocularity is a particularly attractive characteristic of the visual system to study because, in normal babies, it comes on suddenly a dependable three to four months after birth. This gives scientists a clear milestone to observe.
A growing body of research has shown that early life experiences play a crucial role in the development of normal brain function. In the visual system in particular, a "critical period" takes place during infancy in which the part of the brain that processes what we see becomes highly plastic. During that time, infants are particularly vulnerable to developing visual deficits, like "lazy eye," if their vision is disrupted by congenital cataracts or an eye injury. If problems are not fixed during the critical period, they often remain for life.
Because early life is so important for brain development, studying babies is key. The trick for scientists, however, is coming up with a way to test their ideas. Normal infants all develop on about the same timeline, making it difficult to compare two different groups.
Kovacs and her colleagues got around this problem by comparing the brain activity of two groups of healthy babies: Some were born prematurely and others were born at full term. This allowed the scientists to explore whether development of binocular vision depended on the amount of time the babies were out of the womb, or on the amount of time they had been developing since conception. The nature side of the equation was presumed to be about the same for both groups.
During the experiment, 30 newborn babies viewed a screen with a pattern of dots that changed in a way that only people with binocular vision could detect. To tell whether they noticed the change, the scientists measured the babies' brain activity with electrodes that were connected to their heads. The babies were tested about once a month until their binocular vision kicked in.
The study design may have been clever, but it was also difficult to carry out. Finding healthy preterm infants is a tough proposition, so the study took more than six years.
But when the data were in, the results were clear: Postnatal age determined when binocular vision arrived, with both groups of babies developing it about four months after birth.
And when the researchers showed the babies a flashing checkerboard ? a widely used test of basic vision function ? the responses of the two groups diverged. That suggests the role of visual experience is specific to complex visual functions, like binocular vision.
Kovacs' results may have clinical applications as well. She believes her test could be used as a screening tool for early life vision disturbances that cause a failure of depth perception, like severe amblyopia, raising the possibility that such problems could be fixed if detected early enough.
Takao Hensch, an expert in the biology of early brain development at Harvard Medical School who was not involved in the study, said the research provides a rare glimpse into how early experiences can change our brains for life.
"It's an unusual opportunity to observe in humans what might happen during these critical developmental milestones," he said. "And since you know the first photons are hitting the visual system at birth, it's a very clever, very clean experiment where you can look at the effects of experience starting from nothing."
jon.bardin@latimes.com
secret service fenway park coachella philadelphia flyers 4/20 student loan forgiveness ufc 145 weigh ins
Friday, June 22, 2012
Hire swimming pool contractors and get best construction services at ...
In order to avail utmost relaxation and peace of mind swimming is the best exercise. You can design or construct remarkable pools to maximize your swimming experience as well as enhance the outdoor areas of home. Send Feedback to John Mike
Request Reprint |
Print |
About Author |
Report Problem |
Tweet This
More Details about http://www.lagunapoolandspa.com/ here.
Moreover, you do not have to put efforts and waste time or money to search such contractors. With availability of internet it has become quick and convenient for you to explore leading pool builders at comfort of home. Therefore, searching through online is the best and convenient way. We at, Laguna Pool & Spa is one of the leading swimming pool contractors Las Vegas and nearby areas. We have more than 20 years of experience to provide well-equipped and innovative outdoor pools at unbeatable prices. Entire pool construction project is fabricated with assistance of professionally trained and highly skilled staff according to the current needs and requirements of clients.
We give you assurance and peace of mind by providing desired pool construction project and installation services. Our experts have enough experience and extensive skills in pool construction. Moreover, you can design attractive and implacable outdoor kitchens las Vegas that can exactly match with your specific needs. Our professional staff is adequately trained to complete the project flawlessly as well as use advance and tested technology to offer utmost satisfaction and highest quality of work.
Our Las Vegas landscape construction services are quite popular among people. Our designs and construction professionals apply their vast knowledge and training to install incredible landscape and custom features within less time. Therefore, you can get pools of different designs and styles that reflect your luxurious taste and lifestyle. You can browse our website www.lagunapoolandspa.com to compile more information about our services.
About the Submitter
For more information about the lagunapoolandspa.com please visit us -http://www.lagunapoolandspa.com/
Contact us -:
Phone: (702) 656 - 3608
Visit our Showroom at
7780 Duneville Street
Las Vegas, NV 89139
Contact:John Mike
johnmike1289@gmail.com
More Details about http://www.lagunapoolandspa.com/ here.
Related Articles
Keywords: las vegas pool and spa design,las vegas pool and spa designs,las vegas pool builders
This article has been viewed 17 time(s).
Does this press release infringe on your copyright?
It is a violation of our terms and conditions for writers to submit material which they did not write and claim it as their own. If this article infringes on your copyrights, you MUST either call us at 706-866-2295 or send proof of infringement along with the offending article's title, URL, and writer name to
IdeaMarketers.com
Attn: Marnie Pehrson - Copyright Concern
514 Old Hickory Ln
Ringgold GA 30736 USA
If you email us or use our problem submission form, we CANNOT guarantee we'll receive your notice!
john mccain game changer selection sunday corned beef recipe time change daylight savings rpi
Health Highlights: June 21, 2012
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Seizure Leads to U.S. Commerce Secretary's Resignation
A seizure suffered earlier this month has led U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson to resign from the Obama administration.
Bryson, 68, was found unconscious after he was involved in a series of traffic crashes in the Los Angeles earlier this month. A breathalyzer test did not detect any alcohol, the Associated Press reported.
In his resignation letter, Bryson said his decision was a "consequence of a recent seizure and a medical leave of absence."
He also wrote: ""I have concluded that the seizure I suffered on June 9th could be a distraction from my performance as secretary, and that our country would be better served by a change in leadership," the AP reported.
-----
Traffic Noise Increases Heart Attack Risk: Study
People who live near roads with high levels of traffic noise are at increased risk for a heart attack, according to a new study.
Researchers followed more than 50,000 people in Denmark, ages 50 to 64, for 10 years and found that for every 10 decibel rise in traffic noise near a person's home, there was a 12 percent increased risk of a first heart attack, ABC News reported.
The study was published Wednesday in the journal PLoS One.
Previous research has found some association between traffic noise and heart health but study lead author Dr. Mette Sorensen said she was surprised to find such a direct link between traffic noise levels and heart attack risk, ABC News reported.
"Previously, there seemed to be no effect up to around 60 decibels," she said. "But I see increases at around 40 decibels up to the highest level, around 82 decibels. It doesn't seem to be a level where there are no effects."
-----
Group Challenges Merck's Marketing of Children's Allergy Medicine
Drug maker Merck is using animated characters from the movie "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" to improperly market over-the-counter allergy medicine to children, public health advocates charge in a complaint filed Wednesday with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
The Public Health Advocacy Institute and 10 other groups say the marketing strategy for Children's Claritin is dangerous and deceptive. They point to the inclusion of Madagascar movie stickers in some boxes of the allergy medicine, activity books that parents can download for their children, and Merck's enlistment of a group of mothers who blog to hold Claritin-themed Madagascar viewing parties for their children and friends, The New York Times reported.
The complainants also noted that the same animated characters are used to promote other children's products such as candy and gummy snacks. This could lead children to confuse the grape-flavored Claritin tablets and syrup for candy, they warn.
Merck is reviewing the issue, spokeswoman Kelley Dougherty told The Times. But she added: "We advertised in appropriate venues to reach those parents of children who may benefit from the use of Claritin, and not to the children themselves."
The FTC will review the complaint, an official said.
-----
Fat-Free Salad Dressings Reduce Nutrient Intake: Study
Putting a fat-free dressing on your salad may actually reduce the amount of nutrients your body absorbs from the vegetables and fruits in your salad, a new study suggests.
Purdue University researchers found that some fat in dressings is essential to absorb compounds such as lycopene and beta-carotene, which have been linked with a reduced risk of illnesses such as heart disease and cancer, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The study was published online Wednesday in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.
"If you want to utilize more from your fruits and vegetables, you have to pair them correctly with fat-based dressings," lead author Mario Ferruzzi, an associate professor of food science, said in a news release, The Times reported. "If you have a salad with a fat-free dressing, there is a reduction in calories, but you lose some of the benefits of the vegetables."
-----
New Dengue Fever Test Approved by FDA
A new test for dengue fever that was developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The test can identify all four types of dengue virus types and will help diagnose dengue within the first seven days after symptoms of the illness appear, when is when most people are likely to see a doctor, the CDC said.
This is the first FDA-approved test that detects evidence of the virus itself and the test can be performed using equipment and supplies that many public health laboratories already use to diagnose influenza. Test kits will be available for distribution in early July.
Dengue viruses are transmitted by mosquitoes. Thousands of U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands develop dengue every year, and dengue is a leading cause of fever in American travelers returning from Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America.
Severe dengue infections can lead to hemorrhage, shock and death. There are no vaccines to prevent dengue or medicines specifically approved to treat the disease, but early medical care can greatly reduce the risk of death, the CDC said.
-----
miss wisconsin law abiding citizen golden globes 2012 miss america lana del rey saturday night live focus on the family packers vs giants
The Future Of Microsoft Is Sunny With A Chance Of Thunderstorms
The past few years haven't been kind to Microsoft. (There's no need to walk down memory lane. We all know what's happened.) But somehow that's all changed in the past few days. Surface and Windows Phone 8, along with Windows 8 and Xbox prove there's still some fight left in the old dog. It's a bit premature to say that the company is back and that the decades long string of mediocrity coming out of Redmond is over but the company is clearly focused and we haven't seen that Microsoft in a long, long time.westminster dog show 2012 words with friends words with friends phlebotomy survivor dog show best in show
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Chile and the temptations of petro-populism
If Venezuela and Chile agree on one thing, it's the merits of keeping citizens happy with access to cheap gas and parking, writes a guest blogger.
? A version of this post ran on the author's blog. The views expressed are the author's own.
Skip to next paragraphRecent posts
' +
google_ads[0].line2 + '
' +
google_ads[0].line3 + '
It would be hard to find two countries more opposite within South America than Chile and Venezuela. Excessively rigid rules vs. no rules. Homages to a right-wing dictator vs. homages to a left-wing dictator. Majority white European vs. a rainbow of mestizaje. Wheat, wine, apples, softwoods and salmon vs. oil, rum, mangoes, chemicals, and red snapper.
But there?s one thing everyone can agree on: we want cheap gas, cheap parking, and unlimited road space for our death monsters.
In Chile, yesterday, the government announced new rules for shopping mall parking prices. First half hour free, always round time periods down, post prices. Wait, I get the second parts, as it?s important to know what you?re going to pay, but really? The government is going to force the malls to offer the first half hour free?
You can make the logical arguments if you like: that now, pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders will be forced to subsidize motorists? parking. That reduced prices will give the malls an incentive to build only the required minimum number of parking spaces, rather than the number they believe to be necessary. That once the government starts controlling prices for one thing, where does it stop?
Or you can go with the appeal to an extreme case. Coincidentally, Gustavo at Caracas Chronicles wrote today about what happens when parking prices are controlled too hard, for too long.
Meanwhile, Chilean motorists have also demanded the government ?do something? about high fuel prices. The government responded with a remarkably well programmed and useless website. The state is now spending its scarce pesos tracking gasoline prices across the country and posting them online weekly. Yes, the government tracks every gas station in the country and helps motorists find the cheaper fuel.
If you go click around over there, you?ll see that the variance from the median in fuel prices is almost never more than 10 percent in any given region. Which is amazing. Almost every region of Chile includes a reasonable-sized city, often with a port, and then an interior that is often rugged, rural, and remote. That fuel prices vary so little ? in the Bio Bio region, for example, diesel today ranges from 580 to 648 pesos per liter ? shows that there is already intense competition. In fact, the prices are so similar that it?s rarely worthwhile to drive out of the way in the quest for cheaper fuel. The time and fuel cost of the extra distance is hard to justify for at most 68 cents (about US $0.14) a liter.
Meanwhile, this is a country where the market failures are omnipresent. Medicine is a good example. A friend yesterday went and got prices for the same contact lenses at her optometrist and at a glasses shop next door. One offered six months of lenses for 130,000 pesos, the other for 290,000. Similar price ranges exist for every aspect of medicine, from drugs to operations to doctors? visits. And there is nowhere to look up the prices. Point being, if the government wants to support the free market, why start with gas stations?
It?s not because motorists are especially organized. They don?t have marches or Critical Mass drives. It?s because politicians drive. And there is a huge gap between the perception of driving ? open road, freedom, acceleration, efficiency ? and the reality of gridlocked streets, being trapped in a box, constantly braking, spending all your money. Rather than following the market signals and getting out of the damn car, politicians who normally carry the mantle of free-market neolibs turn to the state to support their habit. It?s the same thing you see everywhere. Capitalism for thee, socialism for mee.
? Steven Bodzin is the Santiago, Chile correspondent for the Monitor. He also blogs at Setty's Notebook.
The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of Latin America bloggers. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here.
joe oliver joba chamberlain new york mega millions jetblue jetblue michelle malkin october baby
Pentagon review recommends combat pay changes
WASHINGTON (AP) ? A Pentagon review recommends ridding the combat pay system of inequities that have allowed officers thousands of miles from battle to get better benefits proportionally than troops on the front lines in Afghanistan.
The recommendations in a review released Thursday are likely to anger service members. But the director of the review said they're aimed at paying more to troops who are in the gravest danger and giving the best tax benefits to those who are paid the least.
Troops who are not near the fight can sometimes get more in combat pay and tax benefits than those who are getting shot at on the front lines, said Thomas Bush, who directed the review. He said the main goal was to make combat pay more equitable.
The report doesn't recommend any specific rates of combat pay or say that certain troops should get less. But, Bush said, "we suggest there be some meaningful distinction" between troops who are getting shot at and those who are simply deployed to one of many countries designated as combat zones.
Under the military's current system, there are two types of combat pay. One, called "hostile fire pay," gives troops $225 a month if they are in an area where they could be exposed to enemy fire.
The second, called "imminent danger pay," gives up to $225 per month to those who are in a combat zone, and it is pro-rated at $7.50 a day, based on how long they are there.
Bush said the report recommends that hostile fire pay be more than the danger pay and that there be levels of imminent danger pay based on where service members are. Currently they can get the danger pay for being in more than two dozen places, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines and Jordan ? as well as in Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia.
"We want to target compensation to people who are at the greatest risk," Bush said.
In December 2009, President Barack Obama directed the department to examine four specific areas: combat pay, benefits and pay for the National Guard and Reserve, compensation for wounded service members and their survivors and pay incentives for key defense jobs, such as drone operators, special operations forces, linguists and mental health professionals.
Under the current system, service members up to the top level senior enlisted rank do not pay taxes on their pay when they are in a war zone. Higher level officers would not pay taxes on the portion of their salary equal to the top senior enlisted members' amount.
When they go to a combat zone, the taxes are no longer taken out of their pay, giving them an automatic raise for their deployment time.
The proposed change would make the combat pay a refundable tax credit that service members would file for at the end of the tax year.
But Bush said that because of the federal tax code, the benefits for higher level officers clearly outweigh the tax benefits for low-ranking troops, because much of their pay would already be at a very low tax rate.
The panel was struck by that disparity, Bush said, adding that a senior officer could get as much as a $15,000 tax benefit, while an Army private might get a $1,000 tax benefit.
And yet, the private serving at a combat outpost in Kandahar or Khost in Afghanistan has a much higher chance of getting killed or injured than a senior officer serving in a headquarters unit or in Bahrain.
Congress members have been loath to do anything that appears to cut combat pay and have often tried to increase pay raises for the military. Bush acknowledged that it's not clear how open they would be to the changes recommended by the report, but he said he hoped lawmakers would be open to making the system more equal.
___
Online:
Military compensation review:
http://militarypay.defense.gov/REPORTS/QRMC/11th_QRMC_Main_Report_(290pp)_Linked.pdf
carson daly heejun han donovan mcnabb donovan mcnabb lottery ticket megga millions what is autism
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)