SCRAPBOOKING AND CHRISTMAS ? A MATCH MADE IN

By Administrator on Dec 24, 2012 in Home and Family

Handmade cards are always extra special ? so why not show off your scrapbooking skills this Christmas with some beautiful and unique creations for friends and family?

Giving a handmade card is a wonderful way of expressing your personal thoughts and demonstrating to people how much they mean to you.? Card making is rewarding in more ways than one?you can save money too.

And you don?t have to be a scrapbooking expert either when it comes to card making.? ??There are thousands and thousands of websites with a huge range of ideas and illustrations for paper crafts and Christmas ideas, from the craft supplies stores to scrapbooking blogs ? and many of these also have really easy-to-follow tutorials demonstrating how to make cards etc.

Many of the craft store websites and scrapbooking blogs will also have templates for card-making to get you started.

For those who already do scrapbooking, making Christmas cards is a wonderful way of using up all those bits and pieces that you?ve accumulated during the year.? Don?t just think about patterned paper?you can use just about anything for card making and crafting?.lace, ribbon, felt, magazine cuttings, cotton wool, ice cream sticks, fabric scraps, stencils, glitter, marker pens, aluminium foil?the only limit is your imagination.

But don?t forget to match your card to an envelope before you get creative!

Card making can also be a fun way of entertaining kids after all the hullabaloo of Christmas is over?they can make their own ?thank you? cards from your craft supply box in appreciation of their gifts

So, with Christmas around the corner, don?t cut corners when it comes to spreading festive cheer and goodwill?jump online to the craft supply websites and start making your own personalised cards for friends and family to treasure.

Source: http://www.mylife-coach.net/6625/scrapbooking-and-christmas-a-match-made-in-heaven/

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Beijing - China Requires Internet Users To Register Names ...

Beijing - China?s government tightened Internet controls Friday with approval of a law that requires users to register their names after a flood of online complaints about official abuses rattled Communist Party leaders.

Authorities say the law will strengthen protections for personal information. But it also is likely to curtail the Internet?s status as a forum to complain about the government or publicize corruption.

?Their intention is very clear: It is to take back that bit of space for public opinion, that freedom of speech hundreds of millions of Chinese Internet users have strived for,? said Murong Xuecun, a prominent Chinese writer.

The rules approved by China?s national legislature highlight the chronic tension between the ruling Communist Party?s desire to reap technology?s benefits and its insistence on controlling information.

Beijing encourages Web use for business and education but tries to block material deemed subversive or obscene. It has steadily stepped up censorship, especially after social media played a role in protests that brought down governments in Egypt and Tunisia.

The latest measure requires users to provide their real names and other identifying information when they register with access providers or post information publicly.

?This is needed for the healthy development of the Internet,? said Li Fei, deputy director of the legislature?s Legal Work Committee, at a news conference.

Li rejected complaints that the public will be deprived of a forum that has been used to expose misconduct.

?The country?s constitution protects citizens? rights in supervising and criticizing the state and government officials? behavior,? Li said.

The measure comes amid reports that Beijing might be disrupting use of software that allows Web surfers to see sites abroad that are blocked by its extensive filters.

At the same time, regulators have proposed rules that would bar foreign companies from distributing books, news, music and other material online in China.

The government has given no indication how it will deal with the technical challenge of registering the more than 500 million Chinese who use the Internet.

Microblog operators, two of which say they have more than 300 million users each, were ordered last year to confirm the identities of users but acknowledge they have yet to complete that task.

The main ruling party newspaper, People?s Daily, has called weeks for tighter Internet controls, saying rumors spread online have harmed the public.

The secretive ruling party is uneasy about the public?s eagerness to discuss politics and sensitive issues online despite threats of punishment.

In March, authorities scrambled to squelch online rumors about a possible coup amid a political crisis that led to the downfall of a prominent party figure, Bo Xilai, ahead of the party?s fall leadership transition. A dozen websites were closed and six people detained.

This week, 70 prominent Chinese scholars and lawyers circulated an online petition this week appealing for free speech, independent courts and for the ruling party to encourage private enterprise.

Communist leaders who see the Internet as a promising source of economic growth were slow to enforce the same level of control they impose on movies, books and other media, apparently for fear of hurting e-commerce and other fledgling online businesses.

Until recently, Web surfers could post anonymous comments online or on microblogs.

That gave ordinary Chinese a unique opportunity to express themselves to a public audience in a society where newspapers, television and other media all are state-controlled. Some of the most popular microbloggers have millions of readers.

It also made the Internet a clearinghouse for accusations of official misconduct.

A local party official in China?s southwest was fired in November after scenes from a videotape of him having sex with a young woman spread quickly on websites.

Web surfers can circumvent filters by using virtual private networks ? encryption software that is used by companies for financial data and other sensitive information. But VPN users say disruptions began in 2011 and are increasing, suggesting regulators are trying to block encrypted traffic.

?

Source: http://www.vosizneias.com/120380/2012/12/28/beijing-china-requires-internet-users-to-register-names/

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Kashoo

First things first. Online accounting service Kashoo was named after some noodling-around with the phrase, "making your nut." After considering various varieties of nuts, the founders settled on Kashoo because of the first syllable in "cashew."

Kashoo is available as an app for the iPad, the only site the group we looked at in late 2012?to have accomplished this feat. And they had it ready 18 months ago. Not even QuickBooks Online is a member of that exclusive club.

All that aside, the application itself is a pleasure to use, thanks to a well-designed interface and intuitive navigational conventions. It's fairly young (about three years old), so it doesn't have the generous stable of add-ons that its competitors do. As of today, it only integrates with a Canadian payroll system, and it lacks the time- and item-tracking and some other features that QuickBooks online offers.

But it has the critical audit trail ("Change Log") that only QuickBooks Online offers in this group. It's a strong competitor in terms of its core functions: managing income and expenses downloaded from financial institutions; paying bills and invoicing customers; and staying on top of cash flow with reports and graphs. Kashoo is true double-entry accounting, which will make your financial person happy, and it's a global solution, supporting over 100 currencies.

A Different Starting Point
Kashoo starts you out on a slightly different home page than its competitors'. All of the sites reviewed here have a kind of "dashboard," a page that you'd look at first thing in the morning to get a sense of where you stand financially. These generally display charts and tables that provide data like account balances and income year-to-date. Some of them also remind you of tasks that must be done soon, like past due invoices and bills that must be paid, and they often contain links to record and transaction screens.

Kashoo's dashboard presents the standard account totals, net income and taxes and remittances, and links to pages containing more data, as well as a vertical pane containing links to other areas of the site. But it also lets you get to work immediately; the bulk of the screen is devoted to transaction forms for both income and expenses (invoices, bills, etc.). Each has its own dedicated page, but the dashboard's layout just lets you jump right in and get started. That approach is neither better nor worse than the others'?just a little different.

The main income and expense pages are more thorough than those on the dashboard, and their forms and related data are comparable to QuickBooks Online's. The transaction forms are at the top of each page, and a table displaying the most recent transactions is below that. Mini-reports appear in the vertical pane on the right. On the income screen, for example, you'd see your net income, aged receivables, receivables and income by customer and income by account. Links take you to more all-inclusive screens. The other sites reviewed here don't offer a similar configuration, and I think it's a helpful approach.

You can import customer and vendor records in CSV, vCard or Excel format, and there's a multi-step process for migrating from QuickBooks that's well-documented. Kashoo provides ample fields for the contact records that will eventually be used in transactions. Item-tracking is comparable to Less Accounting's; neither keeps a running tally of inventory levels like QuickBooks Online does, though.

Loading the Data
Personal finance manager Mint, owned by Intuit, was the first financial site to make a big splash with downloaded financial transactions. Desktop personal finance managers like Quicken and the now-defunct Microsoft Money had offered online banking since the mid-90s, but Mint was a website that made downloaded data the central focus of the application. Millions of paper checkbook registers began gathering dust because consumers could now have their checks and deposits and credit card charges just appear within Mint. At a glance, people could see what they were spending and taking in. This meant no more duplicate data entry, greatly-improved accuracy and lots of time saved.

Kashoo and its competitors reviewed here also focus on downloaded transactions; each can pull them down from thousands of financial institutions, so it's unlikely that your bank wouldn't be on their lists. The process works the same on Kashoo as it does on competing sites. You just click the Accounts tab on any page and enter the name of your financial institution (or start typing and select it from the list). You'll need to enter the same user ID and password that you use to log into the bank's site itself. After a short wait, your most recent transactions appear (you can also download statements in OFX, QFX and QBO format), which you can refresh anytime.

You enter invoices and expenses the same way you do on competing websites by making selections from drop-down lists to fill in the blanks on the forms. But Kashoo veers off from what is fairly standard on other online accounting sites. For example, you'd expect to see a label called something like, "Product" or "Item" on the field whose drop-down list held products and services. Instead, on the invoice it says, "Income Account," and then there's a field for a more specific description. And you can't assign a class or category or tag to use as a filter in later reporting, as other applications allow.

International Appeal
Kashoo allows unlimited collaborators for no additional charge, unlike QuickBooks Online. So it makes sense that a small business might invite its accountant in to check its work occasionally and get ready for taxes. Accounting professionals would find a lot about this site appealing, like the fact that it's true double-entry accounting and it includes what it calls a "change log," which is a continuous record of every activity that anyone does on the site. In fact, a few of the features seem more appropriate for a financial advisor than a non-accountant in a small business, like the Adjustment page, where you have to understand debits and credits to enter data.

Kashoo does have global appeal; it provides updated exchange information for multiple currencies and allows sales tax localization. But its Canadian-only payroll is one of only two add-ons at this point, the other being FreshBooks?which does add a great deal to the sales side of your financial management. Its iPad-optimized app, though, is a big feather in the company's cap.

I'd recommend the site for small businesses whose needs don't include payroll or time billing or extensibility. For now, though, QuickBooks Online fills in the gaps that Kashoo leaves open, and is a better overall solution.

More Accounting and Tax Software Reviews:
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??? QuickBooks Online Plus
??? Wave Accounting
??? FreshBooks
??? Xero
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/aLiDBe_0WLc/0,2817,2413659,00.asp

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Video: Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., delivers weekly GOP address (cbsnews)

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Video: Boehner caught in middle of fiscal cliff negotiations

Why do some men get grouchier as they age?

Some call it ?grumpy old man complex.? Other experts label it: ?irritable male syndrome,? a spike in the outward crankiness of guys of a certain age. As more baby boomers hit 60? be ready for more grouchy outbursts, like a Donald Trump rant set to explode.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/hardball/50307185/

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Pending home sales hit 2-1/2 year high

15 hrs.

Reuters

Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes rose in November to their highest level in 2-1/2 years, an industry group said on Friday, further evidence of a strengthening housing market recovery.?

The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, increased 1.7 percent to 106.4 - the highest level since April 2010 when the home-buyer tax credit expired.?

Economists polled by Reuters had expected signed contracts, which become sales after a month or two, to rise 1.0 percent after a revised 5.0 percent increase in October. It was the third straight month of gains.?

"Home sales are recovering now based solely on fundamental demand and favorable affordability conditions," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.?

Pending home sales were up 9.8 percent in the 12 months through November.?

The housing market has turned the corner after a dramatic collapse, which dragged the economy through its worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.?

Home sales and prices are rising, encouraging builders to undertake new construction projects.?

Home resale contracts were up in three of the country's four regions. They were unchanged in the South.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/pending-home-sales-hit-2-1-2-year-high-1C7752997

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Strange behavior: New study exposes living cells to synthetic protein

Dec. 27, 2012 ? One approach to understanding components in living organisms is to attempt to create them artificially, using principles of chemistry, engineering and genetics. A suite of powerful techniques -- collectively referred to as synthetic biology -- have been used to produce self-replicating molecules, artificial pathways in living systems and organisms bearing synthetic genomes.

In a new twist, John Chaput, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and colleagues at the Department of Pharmacology, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ have fabricated an artificial protein in the laboratory and examined the surprising ways living cells respond to it.

"If you take a protein that was created in a test tube and put it inside a cell, does it still function," Chaput asks. "Does the cell recognize it? Does the cell just chew it up and spit it out?" This unexplored area represents a new domain for synthetic biology and may ultimately lead to the development of novel therapeutic agents.

The research results, reported in the advanced online edition of the journal ACS Chemical Biology, describe a peculiar set of adaptations exhibited by Escherichia coli bacterial cells exposed to a synthetic protein, dubbed DX. Inside the cell, DX proteins bind with molecules of ATP, the energy source required by all biological entities.

"ATP is the energy currency of life," Chaput says. The phosphodiester bonds of ATP contain the energy necessary to drive reactions in living systems, giving up their stored energy when these bonds are chemically cleaved. The depletion of available intracellular ATP by DX binding disrupts normal metabolic activity in the cells, preventing them from dividing, (though they continue to grow).

After exposure to DX, the normally spherical E. coli bacteria develop into elongated filaments. Within the filamentous bacteria, dense intracellular lipid structures act to partition the cell at regular intervals along its length. These unusual structures, which the authors call endoliposomes, are an unprecedented phenomenon in such cells.

"Somewhere along the line of this filamentation, other processes begin to happen that we haven't fully understood at the genetic level, but we can see the results phenotypically," Chaput says. "These dense lipid structures are forming at very regular regions along the filamented cell and it looks like it could be a defense mechanism, allowing the cell to compartmentalize itself." This peculiar adaptation has never been observed in bacterial cells and appears unique for a single-celled organism.

Producing a synthetic protein like DX, which can mimic the elaborate folding characteristics of naturally occurring proteins and bind with a key metabolite like ATP is no easy task. As Chaput explains, a clever strategy known as mRNA display was used to produce, fine-tune and amplify synthetic proteins capable of binding ATP with high affinity and specificity, much as a naturally occurring ATP-binding protein would.

First, large libraries of random sequence peptides are formed from the four nucleic acids making up DNA, with each strand measuring around 80 nucleotides in length. These sequences are then transcribed into RNA with the help of an enzyme -- RNA polymerase. If a natural ribosome is then introduced, it attaches to the strand and reads the random sequence RNA as though it was a naturally-occurring RNA, generating a synthetic protein as it migrates along the strand. In this way, synthetic proteins based on random RNA sequences can be generated.

Exposing the batch of synthetic proteins to the target molecule and extracting those that bind can then select for ATP-binding proteins. But as Chaput explains, there's a problem: "The big question is how do you recover that genetic information? You can't reverse transcribe a protein back into DNA. You can't PCR amplify a protein. So we have to do all these molecular biology tricks."

The main trick involves an earlier step in the process. A molecular linker is chemically attached to the RNA templates, such that each RNA strand forms a bond with its newly translated protein. The mRNA-protein hybrids are exposed to selection targets (like ATP) over consecutive rounds of increasing stringency. After each round of selection, those library members that remain bound to the target are reverse-transcribed into cDNA (using their conveniently attached RNA messages), and then PCR amplified.

In the current study, E. coli cells exposed to DX transitioned into a filamentous form, which can occur naturally when such cells are subject to conditions of stress. The cells display low metabolic activity and limited cell division, presumably owing to their ATP-starved condition.

The study also examined the ability of E. coli to recover following DX exposure. The cells were found to enter a quiescent state known as viable but non-culturable (VBNC), meaning that they survived ATP sequestration and returned to their non-filamentous state after 48 hours, but lost their reproductive capacity. Further, this condition was difficult to reverse and seems to involve a fundamental reprogramming of the cell.

In an additional response to DX, the filamentous cells form previously undocumented structures, which the authors refer to as endoliposomes. These dense lipid concentrations, spanning the full width of the filamented E. coli, segment the cells into distinct compartments, giving the cells a stringbean-like appearance under the microscope.

The authors speculate that this adaptation may be an effort to maintain homeostasis in regions of the filamentous cell, which have essentially been walled off from the intrusion of ATP-depleting DX. They liken endoliposomes to the series of water-tight compartments found in submarines which are used to isolate damaged sections of the ship and speculate that DX-exposed cells are partitioning their genetic information into regions where it can be safely quarantined. Such self-compartmentalization is known to occur in some eukaryotic cells, but has not been previously observed in prokaryotes like E. coli.

The research indicates that there is still a great deal to learn about bacterial behavior and the repertoire of responses available when such cells encounter novel situations, such as an unfamiliar, synthetic protein. The study also notes that many infectious agents rely on a dormant state, (similar to the VBNC condition observed in the DX-exposed E. coli), to elude detection by antibiotics. A better understanding of the mechanisms driving this behavior could provide a new approach to targeting such pathogens.

The relative safety of E. coli as a model organism for study may provide a fruitful tool for more in-depth investigation of VBNC states in pathogenic organisms. Further, given ATP's central importance for living organisms, its suppression may provide another avenue for combating disease. One example would be an engineered bacteriophage capable of delivering DX genes to pathogenic organisms.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Arizona State University. The original article was written by Richard Harth.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Shaleen B. Korch, Joshua M. Stomel, Megan A. Le?n, Matt A. Hamada, Christine R. Stevenson, Brent W. Simpson, Sunil K. Gujulla, John C. Chaput. ATP Sequestration by a Synthetic ATP-Binding Protein Leads to Novel Phenotypic Changes inEscherichia coli. ACS Chemical Biology, 2012; : 121203123002005 DOI: 10.1021/cb3004786

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/~3/HOgFMtBFq6s/121227143001.htm

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Hair Care for Women: Hair Loss and Renewal in ... - Health Me Up

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The psychological impact of hair loss on women is believed to be even more profound than that suffered by males. Trials suggest that women confront their alopecia indirectly by attempting to shroud the problem, using altered styling methods and cuts, whereas men usually respond combatively by treating the source of the problem. Women`s tendency to use ineffective coping mechanisms intensifies the impact of hair loss by producing unsatisfying results.

Alopecia`s consequences on self-esteem alone make the condition treatment worthy and there are effective, safe therapeutic options. The world of cosmetic remedies is often dotted with unsafe medications, ineffective treatments and false promises. Alopecia`s treatment options, therefore, need to be navigated with care, but there is plenty of hope to be found in contemporary medicine.

Androgonetic alopecia is the most common reason for hair loss and is typified by its thinning pattern over the center of the scalp. It is hereditary, with the genes of both parents playing a role. Female pattern hair loss usually happens late in life, but it can sometimes begin during adolescence. Shrinking follicles eventually stop growing, which results in thinning, followed by baldness. Biopsies and blood tests are performed to accurately diagnose the condition. While some women use Finasteride as a treatment, this option is only FDA approved for male pattern baldness because of the risks it presents to unborn children. Nevertheless, studies have been conducted demonstrating the drug`s efficiency in treating female pattern baldness.?

Minoxodil remains the only effective and safe way to stimulate hair growth and slow down balding in women. This topical cream usually demands between four and 12 months of treatment. Randomized, controlled trials have demonstrated Minoxidil`s moderate efficacy for female patients. Certain contraceptive tablets containing estradiol and cyproterone are also frequently prescribed to block the effects of male hormones and, in so doing, reverse female pattern baldness.

Hair loss needs to be treated according to its cause and hypothyroidism is sometimes the culprit. Those with thyroid problems will have coexisting conditions such as:

• Weight changes,?
• depression,?
• reduced concentration and?
• fatigue.

?

A simple blood test is done to diagnose hypothyroidism and if a positive result is found, hormone treatments are used to stabilize levels. Treating this oft-overlooked condition softens the hair to prevent breakage. Patients with this disorder generally suffer from brittle hair and total baldness is rare.

Iron deficiency anemia is a common complaint that can induce alopecia. A lack of oxygen-rich red blood cells is responsible for hair loss, but the condition is easily treated with iron supplements and dietary changes. An increase in iron-rich superfoods such as clams, tofu and soybeans is effective when combined with foods that enhance absorption. Broccoli, strawberries and white wine are rich in the heme iron that improves the body`s absorption of non-heme, iron-rich foods.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome is a common hair loss trigger, which has the opposite effect on the growth of facial hair. Elevated testosterone and DHEAS levels expose the problem and treatment is hormonal. When estrogen and progesterone levels are off kilter due to menopause or PCOS, oral contraceptives that have low androgen indices are used to treat the root of the problem. Topical ketoconazole is used off-label to curb testosterone production. Shampoos containing the drug are most effective at 2% prescription strength.

Those with alopecia areata suffer hair loss when their immune systems assault their hair follicles. This autoimmune disorder causes patchy bald spots, which are best treated with Minoxidil, corticosteroids and lifestyle changes that combat stress. Diagnostic tests need to be done to rule out other potential causes and measure iron stores.

External factors such as compulsive hair pulling and damaging hair treatments can also impact on hair loss. Over-dying, cornrows and chemical treatments can make the hair brittle enough to break. Your pharmacy offers information about holistic and medical treatments for a range of hair loss triggers.?

*Image courtesy: ? Thinkstock photos/ Getty Images?

*Text courtesy Healthcounter?

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Weird Science 2012: Sex, drugs and doomsday

Videos from the University of California at San Francisco show how researchers studied the alcohol consumption habits of lovelorn fruit flies in one of 2012's weirdest experiments.

By Alan Boyle

Sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll and the Apocalypse: 2012 had it all. But only 10 stories about the past year's strangest scientific research can make it into our Weird Science hall of fame???so we're going to need your help.

---

Past winners of the Weird Science Awards include glow-in-the-dark kittens and puppies, a 2,700-year-old marijuana stash, meth-crazy fruit flies, reattached rabbit penises and the corpse-dissolving machine. The Maya apocalypse came in for honorable mention last year?and the year before, but this could be an even bigger year for end-of-the-world weirdness.

There are lots of other contenders from 2012, however. It's hard to beat the story about the sex-starved flies who drowned their sorrows in alcohol while researchers watched. That covers sex and drugs. It also can make you feel sorry for the scientists who had to watch all that fly-sized heartbreak. (They might want to compare notes with the researchers who studied why alcohol makes people feel good.)

The sixth annual Weird Science Award competition follows the precedent we've set in past years: We offer up 30 nominees from the past year, and it's up to you to pick the top 10. We've included one of the studies that won an?Ig Nobel award. honoring for "research that makes people laugh ? and then think." That's a fine criterion for the Weirdies as well. Or you can go with research that makes you laugh ? and then makes you wonder, "What on earth were they thinking?"

Write-in votes and second-guessing are encouraged; you can register them in your comments. If a write-in vote gets enough support from commenters, the research in question will be added to the ballot.

The 10 nominees that get the most votes as of noon ET Jan. 2 will be the 2013 winners of the Weirdy Awards. Later that day, we'll discuss this year's crop of weird science with Ig Nobel creator Marc Abrahams on "Virtually Speaking Science," a talk show that plays out on the Web and in the Second Life virtual world. Tune in at 9 p.m. ET Jan. 2.

Johan Ordonez / AFP - Getty Images

Maya shamans take part in a ceremony on Dec. 21, celebrating the end of the calendar cycle known as Baktun 13 - and the end of the hype over a 2012 doomsday. Click on the image to watch a video about the phenomenon.

Here are the nominees, in chronological order. May the oddest science stories be ever in your favor!

Source: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/26/16169611-from-sex-starved-flies-to-murderous-chimps-vote-for-the-weirdest-science?lite

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Early Childhood Obesity Rates Might Be Slowing Nation-Wide

About one in three children in the U.S. are now overweight, and since the 1980s the number of children who are obese has more than tripled. But a new study of 26.7 million young children from low-income families shows that in this group of kids, the tidal wave of obesity might finally be receding.

Being obese as a child not only increases the risk of early-life health problems, such as joint problems, pre-diabetes and social stigmatization, but it also dramatically increases the likelihood of being obese later in life, which can lead to chronic diseases, including cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Children as young as 2 years of age can be obese--and even extremely obese. Early childhood obesity rates, which bring higher health care costs throughout a kid's life, have been especially high among lower-income families. "This is the first national study to show that the prevalence of obesity and extreme obesity among young U.S. children may have begun to decline," the researchers noted in a brief report published online December 25 in JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association. (Reports earlier this year suggested that childhood obesity rates were dropping in several U.S. cities.) The study examined rates of obesity (body mass index calculated by age and gender to be in the 95th percentile or higher--for example, a BMI above 20 for a 2-year-old male--compared with reference growth charts) and extreme obesity (BMI of more than 120 percent above that of the 95th percentile of the reference populations) in children ages 2 to 4 in 30 states and the District of Columbia. The researchers, led by Liping Pan, of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, combed through 12 years of data (1998 to 2010) from the Pediatric Nutritional Surveillance System, which includes information on roughly half of all children on the U.S. who are eligible for federal health care and nutrition assistance. A subtle but important shift in early childhood obesity rates in this low-income population seems to have begun in 2003. Obesity rates increased from 13.05 percent in 1998 to 15.21 percent in 2003. Soon, however, obesity rates began decreasing, reaching 14.94 percent by 2010. Extreme obesity followed a similar pattern, increasing from 1.75 percent to 2.22 percent from 1998 to 2003, but declining to 2.07 percent by 2010. Although these changes might seem small, the number of children involved makes for huge health implications. For example, each drop of just one tenth of a percentage point represents some 26,700 children in the study population alone who are no longer obese or extremely obese. And if these trends are occurring in the rest of the population, the long-term health and cost implications are massive. Public health agencies and the Obama Administration have made battling childhood obesity a priority, although these findings suggest that early childhood obesity rates, at least, were already beginning to decline nearly a decade ago. Some popular prevention strategies include encouraging healthier eating (by reducing intake of highly processed and high-sugar foods and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption) and increased physical activity (both at school and at home). The newly revealed trends "indicate modest recent progress of obesity prevention among young children," the authors noted. "These finding may have important health implications because of the lifelong health risks of obesity and extreme obesity in early childhood." Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
? 2012 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/early-childhood-obesity-rates-might-slowing-nation-wide-215900133.html

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Get The Word Out With These Online Marketing Ideas - Maynas Eric

If promoting your business is something you want to do, then online marketing opportunities are available and effective. It?s an effective method of communicating with your visitors. This can be done using many different methods. Here you will find good tips about Web marketing and how it can work for you.

This can be a rare exception to the rule of not mixing personal life with business. If you think of your enterprise as a profitable hobby, there is significantly less pressure. You should include your spouse in this activity, too.

Make a subscription service to sell the products you have on your site. If they purchase printer ink, allow them to receive a certain percentage off each order if they commit to buying a cartridge every three months.

TIP! Your website tags should accurately project the primary purpose of your site. A big thing that influences the way people see your website is the tagline at the top of the browser window.

Whether you?re writing content for your website or for messages delivered via email, use plenty of headlines. Try to make your headlines catchy so they catch a potential customers attention and draw them to your site to make a sale. It even works to use graphics of your products instead of actual headlines. Graphics add a more animated and less outdated element than a simple headline.

You should figure out whom you are trying to reach, and what content you need to produce to attract them to your site. When you know your target audience, you can have an easier time gearing content specifically to drawing them in.

A product-demonstration video is a stellar idea. This will give your customers a good idea of how your products work. Show all the benefits of the product and other features that may not be advertised. You can post the video on sites such as Facebook or YouTube, as well as on your own website.

TIP! Do you know what other people are saying about your services or products? If the product stinks, no amount of online marketing can save it. Be sure that your product is a distinguishable one that stands out over that of your competitors.

If you do not change your site often, you may want to refresh the content by adding a blog. Search engine spiders are more likely to index websites that have new content that is relevant to the website. A blog makes it easy to keep your site updated with fresh content.

Even if you are not aware of it, you already have what you need to be a successful internet marketing businessperson. Expensive tools of the trade that promise you can get rich quick are not what will prove important. Instead, rely on good, old-fashioned, hard work and imagination. Just work diligently and choose your marketing strategies carefully.

Reaching out to your customers is a way to personalize their experience, and show them you are paying attention. Invite customers to give you feedback once they have had some time to evaluate your product.

TIP! To be successful with Internet marketing, you need to have a nice website. Try different fonts and color schemes before deciding on what works best.

Video marketing can be a very effective advertising technique. Create videos of yourself demonstrating your products and share them on sites such as YouTube. Name your video something clever, and make it unique.

Help your Internet marketing be successful by adding a video with viral potential that is marked with powerful tags. Be sure to include a link that goes back to your website in the video description. This can help improve your daily traffic in an effort to boost sales.

Even if you hit a few bumps in the road when it comes to affiliate marketing, you must persevere. Don?t give up too easily, you may be on the precipice of success. Make sure that all your priorities are set before you are going to launch a website that sells your products. Launching your website will take a lot of hard work and will probably include bumps along the way. The hard work will pay off after awhile.

TIP! Alter the links in your emails if you regularly use this method to communicate with your customers. After time, links that are always in the same position in your emails will be ignored.

Put your keywords into internal links within your site. The longer people stay on your website, the more likely they are to buy something, so make sure interesting, older content is easy to find. Internal linking helps people stay on your page for longer periods of time and can provide you with greater chances of ranking higher during search engine results.

Associate your business with a charity. Pick a charity that is in the interest arena of your customers, and dedicate a portion of sales to it. Not only will your charity provide you with a free advertisement, it will also enhance your public image. You could support multiple charities; this way your customers can pick their favorite.

Think about methods you want to use to advertise your webpage. A good way to advertise your page is to give something away, tell people about it in blogs, or put ads out at businesses. You can attract people to your site in many ways. The most important thing here is that you?re attempting to be creative and unique.

TIP! Find other businesses that would be interested in your products, and offer them promotional discounts of product or service bundles. Linking to several markets will increase the amount of sales you have.

When you are just beginning in Online marketing be realistic about the amount of money you will make. If you realize this is something you are good at you might consider it as a career, but initially try thinking of it as something fun rather than a money making endeavor.

Think about your customers when making your site and promoting it. Would they find it simple? Is it engaging to read? Are orders easy to place? You?re going to invest plenty of time and effort in drawing people to your site; it would be a shame if they turned away at the last minute because they find it confusing or boring.

As was already stated, Affiliate marketing allows you to stay in communication with your target market. Once you understand the basic methods that are available, you can develop a specific marketing plan that is sure to meet your needs. This advice will help you to expand your business to a higher level.

TIP! If it seems like a hassle to offer many different payment options, just remember that every one you set up is going to increase your number of sales. While just having credit card payment might seem like enough, it couldn?t hurt to also give people other forms of payment such as PayPal and their bank accounts.

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Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/get-the-word-out-with-these-online-marketing-ideas

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Top Ten Excuses For Gaming During Family Gatherings - Features ...

The holiday season is always bittersweet. On one hand, most of us have a string of days off from work or school. On the other hand, we're expected to spend that time with our families instead of playing video games. Fear not! Here's a list of ten ways you can sneak away from the relatives and get in some gaming.

Excuse #10: "I'm just testing to make sure it works."
What could possibly be worse than opening a shiny new game on Christmas morning only to find out that it's broken? No one would want their child/sibling/parent/whoever to suffer such disappointment. Before you wrap that exciting new game up, explain to the powers that be that you should really pop it into your console and play the first couple of hours just to make sure it works.

Excuse #9: A Visit From Santa
If you're a gaming parent, Christmas Eve can be the perfect time to get in some digital entertainment after the children go to bed ? as long as you plan ahead. Keep a string of bells beside you as you play; if a sleepy little intruder does barge in on your late night gaming marathon, just give them a jingle, open your eyes real wide, and ask, "Is that Santa?" They'll spend the rest of the night staring at the chimney while you play into the early morning hours. God bless the gullibility of children.

Excuse #8: "I don't want to be rude..."
Most people would consider it rude to play video games when the relatives are over ??but isn't refraining from playing them even ruder?

This mind-blowing excuse turns the etiquette argument on its head. Consider the facts: a loved one went out of their way to buy you a video game that they know you'll love ? wouldn't it be inconsiderate to simply set it aside in the pile of other opened presents and pretend it doesn't even exist until everyone goes home? You always have to immediately try on the ugly sweater your aunt buys you in order to spare her feelings; the same rule should apply for games.

Excuse #7: "Think of the children!"
Here's another classic excuse that hinges on playing the part of the selfless relative. The rambunctious nature of little children often means that they get a free pass to do as they please at family gatherings ? as long as they're not torturing the dog or breaking stuff, no one really cares. Secretly ask your nieces/nephews/younger siblings/random neighborhood kids if they want to play video games ? if they say yes, you're pretty much obligated to play with them. Remember, you're not secluding yourself from the other adults to selfishly play video games; you're being the considerate guardian who's entertaining the children.

Excuse #6: An Answer For Everything
Smartphones have been a boon for stealth gaming; no one can see what you're doing on your private screen, and there's a wealth of valid excuses for why your eyes might be glued to your mobile device. Use that to your advantage during family gatherings by volunteering to answer any questions your relatives may or may not have by "looking it up on your phone."

Who invented tinsel?? How long should you cook yams? What the hell are yams? After playing a game for five minutes, reply to your waiting family member that the answer is yes. If it's not a yes or no question, just say the results are inconclusive. If someone questions why your phone is making video game noises while you're supposedly looking up answers, just say it's a state-of-the-art device like the handheld computer Al had in Quantum Leap.

Coming Up Next: Five more incredibly stupid ideas...

Source: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/12/24/top-ten-excuses-for-gaming-during-family-gatherings.aspx

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Army teams going to Africa as terror threat grows

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A U.S. Army brigade will begin sending small teams into as many as 35 African nations early next year, part of an intensifying Pentagon effort to train countries to battle extremists and give the U.S. a ready and trained force to dispatch to Africa if crises requiring the U.S. military emerge.

The teams will be limited to training and equipping efforts, and will not be permitted to conduct military operations without specific, additional approvals from the secretary of defense.

The sharper focus on Africa by the U.S. comes against a backdrop of widespread insurgent violence across North Africa, and as the African Union and other nations discuss military intervention in northern Mali.

The terror threat from al-Qaida linked groups in Africa has been growing steadily, particularly with the rise of the extremist Islamist sect Boko Haram in Nigeria. Officials also believe that the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, which killed the ambassador and three other Americans, may have been carried out by those who had ties to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

This first-of-its-kind brigade assignment ? involving teams from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division ? will target countries such as Libya, Sudan, Algeria and Niger, where al-Qaida-linked groups have been active. It also will assist nations like Kenya and Uganda that have been battling al-Shabab militants on the front lines in Somalia.

Gen. Carter Ham, the top U.S. commander in Africa, noted that the brigade has a small drone capability that could be useful in Africa. But he also acknowledged that he would need special permission to tap it for that kind of mission.

"If they want them for (military) operations, the brigade is our first sourcing solution because they're prepared," said Gen. David Rodriguez, the head of U.S. Army Forces Command. "But that has to go back to the secretary of defense to get an execute order."

Already the U.S. military has plans for nearly 100 different exercises, training programs and other activities across the widely diverse continent. But the new program faces significant cultural and language challenges, as well as nagging questions about how many of the lower-level enlisted members of the brigade, based in Fort Riley, Kan., will participate, since the teams would largely be made up of more senior enlisted troops and officers. A full brigade numbers about 3,500, but the teams could range from just a few people to a company of about 200. In rare cases for certain exercises, it could be a battalion, which would number about 800.

To bridge the cultural gaps with the African militaries, the Army is reaching out across the services, the embassies and a network of professional organizations to find troops and experts that are from some of the African countries. The experts can be used during training, and the troops can both advise or travel with the teams as they begin the program.

"In a very short time frame we can only teach basic phrases," said Col. Matthew McKenna, commander of the 162nd Infantry Brigade that will begin training the Fort Riley soldiers in March for their African deployment. "We focus on culture and the cultural impact ? how it impacts the African countries' military and their operations."

Thomas Dempsey, a professor with the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, said the biggest challenge will be the level of cultural, language and historical diversity across the far-flung continent.

"How do you train for that in a way that would be applicable wherever they go?" said Dempsey, a retired Army colonel. He said he's not sure using a combat brigade is the right answer, but added, "I'm not sure what the answer is. The security challenges differ so dramatically that, to be honest, I really don't think it's feasible to have a continental training package."

The Pentagon's effort in Africa, including the creation of U.S. Africa Command in 2007, has been carefully calibrated, largely due to broad misgivings across the continent that it could spawn American bases or create the perception of an undue U.S. military influence there. As a result, the command has been based in Stuttgart, Germany, rather than on the African continent.

At the same time, many African nations are eager for U.S. training or support, as they work to build their militaries, battle pirates along the coast and shut down drug trafficking, kidnapping and other insurgent activities.

McKenna acknowledged the challenge, but said the military has to tap its conventional fighting forces for this task because there aren't enough special operations forces to meet the global training needs. He said there will be as many as a dozen different training segments between February and September, each designed to provide tailored instruction for the particular teams.

The mission for the 2nd Brigade ? known as the "Dagger Brigade" ? will begin in the spring and will pave the way for Army brigades to be assigned next to U.S. Pacific Command and then to U.S. European Command over the next year. The brigade is receiving its regular combat training first, and then will move on to the more specific instruction needed for the deployments, such as language skills, cultural information and other data about the African nations.

Dagger Brigade commander Col. Jeff Broadwater said the language and culture training will be different than what most soldiers have had in recent years, since they have focused on Pashtun and Farsi, languages used mostly in Afghanistan and Iran. He said he expects the soldiers to learn French, Swahili, Arabic or other languages, as well as the local cultures.

"What's really exciting is we get to focus on a different part of the world and maintain our core combat skills," Broadwater said, adding that the soldiers know what to expect. "You see those threats (in Africa) in the news all the time."

The brigade will be carved up into different teams designed to meet the specific needs of each African nation. As the year goes on, the teams will travel from Fort Riley to those nations ? all while trying to avoid any appearance of a large U.S. military footprint.

"The challenge we have is to always understand the system in their country," said Rodriguez, who has been nominated to be the next head of Africa Command. "We're not there to show them our system, we're there to make their system work. Here is what their army looks like, and here is what we need to prepare them to do."

Rodriguez said the nearly 100 assignments so far requested by Ham will be carried out with "a very small footprint to get the high payoff."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/army-teams-going-africa-terror-threat-grows-082214765.html

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Can you invest in Middle East peace?

There are ways to invest in the economies of Israel and the Palestinian territories, separately ? and women's progress in the Middle East, indirectly. But investing in the Middle East is not for the faint of heart.

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald,?Correspondent / December 24, 2012

Palestinian carpenters carve wooden statues of the Virgin Mary and Jesus in a workshop, ahead of Christmas in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Friday. Investors can buy stocks or help microfinance Palestinian entrepreneurs ? or buy Israeli bonds or stocks or shares of an Israeli mutual fund.

Ammar Awad/Reuters

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As winds of change sweep the Middle East, brave investors are exploring how capital might help encourage reforms.

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They're discovering a landscape dotted with unique risks and niche opportunities: ways to invest in Israel, the Palestinian territories, and even in the hiring and promoting of women (although not specifically focused on that area of the world). The questions for individual investors: What's my vision for progress in the Middle East? Do I have the wherewithal and risk tolerance to invest?

"The Middle East is really hard to work in, and has all sorts of risks," says Jim Pickup of the Middle East Investment Initiative, a nonprofit in Washington that aims to boost business financing in the Palestinian territories. "To get a social return as well as a risk-adjusted return has been a real challenge."

Some agendas are easier to support through investing than others. Pro-Israel holdings are the most accessible to Westerners. Bonds to pay for Israeli infrastructure projects, such as expanded ports, are available with a few clicks at israelbonds.com. Also, there's Timothy Israel Common Values Fund, a year-old mutual fund weighted toward Israel's strongest sectors, such as technology and health care, as well as real estate.

Investors in the fund "bless ... the only real ally we [Americans] have in the Middle East," the fund says. But it's not for the faint of heart. Israel-focused funds "tend to be risky [since] Israel is inextricably tied to geopolitics in the region," says David Kathman, a Morningstar analyst. By mid-December, the fund was up 8 percent versus its benchmark (up 13.7 percent) and its category (up 18.7 percent).

Providing direct investment for Palestinians is harder since their economy is less developed than Israel's. Institutional investors have put money into private equity funds and venture capital projects, which require more cash than ordinary investors usually have. But opportunities exist.

Microfinance through FATEN (Palestine for Credit & Development) offers an avenue for Americans to support small businesses in the West Bank and Gaza, according to John Wimberly, co-moderator of Presbyterians for Middle East Peace, a grass-roots group working to advance regional peace by supporting the Palestinian economy. This year, the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA) joined other denominations in committing assets to that effort. FATEN is accessible through its partner, Kiva, where investors earn 8.3 percent by bankrolling Palestinian entrepreneurs.

Another option: The Palestine Exchange (PEX) in Nablus is accessible to individuals online at www.pex.ps or through brokers who are PEX members. PEX attracts more than $31 million in US investment, including $8.6 million from retail investors. One option for socially conscious investors: Buy big banks, such as the Bank of Palestine, whose lending helps juice the entire economy. But Mr. Pickup notes a possible downside: Banks have ties to the Palestinian Authority, a turnoff to some.

For those keen to promote women's status in Middle Eastern countries, options tend to center on encouraging what's already working. The Pax World Global Women's Equality Fund has 3.5 percent of its holdings in the Middle East, specifically Israel and Turkey. This shows how empowering women to be workplace leaders ? in the Middle East and elsewhere ? is good for the bottom line, says Julie Gorte, a senior vice president at Pax World.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/oyaTHADKiCw/Can-you-invest-in-Middle-East-peace

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Liver mitochondria improve, increase after chronic alcohol feeding in mice

Dec. 20, 2012 ? Scientists at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have found evidence that liver mitochondria in mice adapt to become better metabolizers of alcohol and increase in number after chronic exposure, which may raise the potential for free radical damage associated with aging and cancer over time.

The liver is a vital organ, playing a major role in metabolism and detoxification in the body. Overconsumption of alcohol has long been tied to liver diseases such as fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis, but how the substance damages the organ is not fully understood. USC research published in the Dec. 7, 2012, issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, suggests that mitochondria play an important role in the liver's response to the metabolic stress caused by alcohol intake. If scientists observe the same results in human mitochondria, it could help pinpoint targets for therapy.

"The liver has to adapt quickly to various toxins and drugs to meet the demands we place on the body," said Derick Han, Ph.D., assistant professor of research medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and first author of the study. "We've found that mitochondrial plasticity -- the mitochondria's ability to change -- is probably central to the liver's response to alcohol intake. This gives us a better understanding of how the liver works and how it adapts to stress."

Mitochondria are cellular organelles that generate most of the cell's energy; they have been implicated in certain neurological disorders and have been tied to aging. The metabolism of oxygen by the mitochondria normally generates reactive oxygen species, or free radicals, which in excess can be highly damaging to cells.

"In the short term, it looks like mitochondria adapt to metabolize alcohol better, but as they increase in number and use more oxygen to help metabolize that alcohol, it could be harmful to the body," Han said.

Han and his team of scientists fed alcohol to mice over four weeks, isolated the liver mitochondria and measured levels of respiration and changes in the mitochondrial structure. They found significant increases in oxygen consumption by mice fed the alcohol in comparison to control mitochondria as early as one week after feeding. Changes were greater and more extensive with higher alcohol intake.

USC co-authors include Maria Ybanez, Heather Johnson, Jeniece McDonald, Lusine Mesropyan, Harsh Sancheti, Lily Dara and Enrique Cadenas. The study's senior investigators include Hidekazu Tsukamoto, director of the Southern California Research Center for Alcoholic Liver and Pancreatic Diseases (ALPD) and Cirrhosis, and Neil Kaplowitz, director of the USC Research Center for Liver Diseases. The study was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (grants AA016911, AA14428, and AA011999).

A team led by Kaplowitz is set to launch a four-year clinical trial in 2013 to study two potential new treatments for alcoholic hepatitis. Han hopes to collect data from that trial to further examine mitochondrial function in human livers exposed to alcohol.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Southern California - Health Sciences. The original article was written by Alison Trinidad.

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. D. Han, M. D. Ybanez, H. S. Johnson, J. N. McDonald, L. Mesropyan, H. Sancheti, G. Martin, A. Martin, A. M. Lim, L. Dara, E. Cadenas, H. Tsukamoto, N. Kaplowitz. Dynamic Adaptation of Liver Mitochondria to Chronic Alcohol Feeding in Mice: Biogenesis, Remodeling, and Functional Alterations. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2012; 287 (50): 42165 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M112.377374

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/most_popular/~3/YAC30c5QFVE/121221114112.htm

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Egyptians vote on Islamist-backed constitution

CAIRO (AP) ? Egyptians voted on Saturday in the second and final phase of a referendum on an Islamist-backed constitution that has polarized the nation, with little indication that the result of the vote will end the political crisis in which the country is mired.

For some supporters, a 'yes' vote was a chance to restore some normalcy after nearly two years of tumultuous transitional politics following Egypt's 2011 revolution, or to make society and laws more Islamic. Opponents saw their 'no' vote as a way to preserve the country's secular traditions and prevent President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood group from getting a lock on power.

Hours before polls closed, Morsi's vice president, Mahmoud Mekki, announced his resignation. The move was in part expected since the new charter would eliminate the vice presidency post. But Mekki hinted that the hurried departure could be linked to Morsi's policies.

"I have realized a while ago that the nature of politics don't suit my professional background as a judge," his resignation letter, read on state TV, said. He said he had first submitted his resignation last month but events forced him to stay on.

The resignation underlines the costs Morsi is paying in the bruising constitutional fight, the country's worst turmoil since the fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak nearly two years ago. Morsi will likely win the victory of the charter's passage. But he has been abandoned by many of the figures he brought into his administration to give it a more broad-based image, leaving him even more reliant on the Brotherhood and ultraconservative Salafis.

Over the past month, seven of Morsi's 17 top advisers and the one Christian among his top four aides resigned. Like Mekki, they said they had never been consulted in advance on any of the president's moves, including Nov. 22 decrees placing him above any oversight and granting himself near absolute powers.

Saturday's vote is taking place in 17 of Egypt's 27 provinces with about 25 million eligible voters. The first phase on Dec. 15 produced a "yes" majority of about 56 percent with a turnout of some 32 percent, according to preliminary results.

Preliminary results for the second round are expected late Saturday or early Sunday. The charter is expected to pass, but a low turnout or relatively low "yes" vote could undermine perceptions of its legitimacy.

For some, the vote was effectively a referendum on Morsi himself, who opponents accuse of turning the government into a monopoly for the Muslim Brotherhood.

In the village of Ikhsas in the Giza countryside south of Cairo, buses ferried women voters to the polling centers in an effort villagers said was by the Muslim Brotherhood.

An elderly man who voted "no" screamed in the polling station that the charter is "a Brotherhood constitution."

"We want a constitution in the interest of Egypt. We want a constitution that serves everyone, not just the Brotherhood. They can't keep fooling the people," 68-year-old Ali Hassan, wearing traditional robes, said.

But the draw of stability that many hope will come from having a constitution was strong. Though few fault-lines in Egypt are black and white, there appeared to be an economic split in voting, with many of the middle and upper classes rejecting the charter and the poor voting "yes."

In Ikhsas, Hassan Kamel, a 49-year-old day worker, said "We the poor will pay the price" of a no vote.

He dismissed the opposition leadership as elite and out of touch. "Show me an office for any of those parties that say no here in Ikhsas or south of Cairo. They are not connecting with people."

As was the case in last week's vote, opposition and rights activists reported numerous irregularities: polling stations opening later than scheduled, Islamists outside stations trying to influence voters to say "yes," and independent monitors denied access.

For the past four weeks, both the opposition and the Islamists have brought giant crowds out into the streets in rallies ? first over Morsi's grab of new powers, though they were since revoked, and then over the charter itself, which was finalized by a Constituent Assembly made up almost entirely of Islamists amid a boycott by liberal and Christian members.

The rallies and protests repeatedly turned in to clashes, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 1,000. The most recent came on the eve of Saturday's voting, when Islamists and Morsi opponents battled each other for hours with stones in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

The promise of stability even drew one Christian woman in Fayoum, south of Cairo, to vote "yes" ? a break with most Christians nationwide who oppose the draft. Hanaa Zaki said she wanted an end to Egypt's deepening economic woes.

"I have a son who didn't get paid for the past six months. We have been in this crisis for so long and we are fed up," said Zaki, waiting in line along with bearded Muslim men and Muslim women wearing headscarves in Fayoum, a province that is home to both a large Christian community and a strong Islamist movement.

In the neighboring village of Sheikh Fadl, a car fitted with loudspeakers toured the area with a man shouting, "Yes, yes to the constitution!" In the city of Fayoum, a man could be seen painting over posters urging people to vote "no."

In Giza's upscale Mohandiseen neighborhood, a group of 12 women speaking to each other in a mix of French, Arabic and English said they all intended to vote "no."

"My friends are Muslim and are voting 'no.' It's not about Christian versus Muslim, but it is Muslim Brotherhood versus everyone else," said one of them, Shahira Sadeq, a Christian physician.

Kamla el-Tantawi, 65, voted with her daughter and grand-daughter. "I voted 'no' against what I'm seeing," she said, gesturing to a woman standing close by wearing the full-face veil known as niqab, a hallmark of ultraconservative Muslim women.

"I lose sleep thinking about my grandchildren and their future. They never saw the beautiful Egypt we did," she said, harkening back to a time decades ago when few women even wore headscarves covering their hair, much less the black niqab that blankets the entire body and leaves only the eyes visible.

In the neighboring, poorer district of Imbaba, Zeinab Khalil ? a mother of three who wears the niqab ? was backing the charter.

"Morsi, God willing, will be better than those who came before him," she said. "A 'yes' vote moves the country forward. We want things to calm down, more jobs and better education."

The voices reflected the multiple concerns that have been shaking Egypt for weeks. For some, the dispute has been about Shariah and greater religion in public life ? whether to bring it about or block it. In many areas, clerics have been preaching in favor of the charter in their sermon.

But the dispute has also been about political power.

An opposition made up of liberals, leftists, secular Egyptians and a swath of the public angered over Morsi's 5-month-old rule fear that Islamists are creating a new Mubarak-style autocracy.

Morsi's allies say the opposition is trying to use the streets to overturn their victories at the ballot box over the past two years. They also accuse the opposition of carrying out a conspiracy by former members of Mubarak's regime to regain power.

Many voters were under no illusions the turmoil would end.

"I don't trust the Brotherhood anymore and I don't trust the opposition either. We are forgotten, the most miserable and the first to suffer," said Azouz Ayesh, sitting with his neighbors as their cattle grazed in a nearby field in the Fayoum countryside.

He said a yes would bring stability and a no would mean no stability. But, he added, "I will vote against this constitution."

In Ikhsas village, Marianna Abdel-Messieh, a Christian, was the only woman not wearing a head scarf in the women's line outside a polling center. She was voting "no," but expected that whatever the result, Egypt would see more rule by Shariah.

"So, whether this constitution passes or not, there will be trouble," she said. "God have mercy on us."

___

Michael reported from Fayoum. Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report from Giza.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egyptians-vote-islamist-backed-constitution-061522606.html

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