YOU ARE LOOKING AN RARE FORD MUSTANG GLX POWER CONVERTIBLE TOP, V6 AUTOMATIC WITH STRONG RELIABLE ENGINE WITH LOW MILEAGE ON THE DASH. FUN TO DRIVE AROUND TOWN AND ON HIGHWAY. GREAT GAS MILEAGE, NEW DASH BOARD, NO ANY TEAR ON THE FRONT AND BACK SEAT. BUT A LITTLE TWO OR THREE SMALL HOLE ON THE BACK SEAT THAT YOU HAVE TO LOOK CLOSE TO NOTICE IT. A LOT OF WORKS HAD BEEN DONE TO THE CAR TO BRING IT BACK TO A DRIVING STRONG CONDITION. THIS WILL BE GREAT A CAR FOR YOUNG KIDS OR SOMEONE WHO NEED NICE ...
AFAIK, Verizon has the highest quality network, and if you prefer to go pre-paid, PagePlus is a more economical option, running off of Verizon's network.
What's more, is that Verizon Pre3 is a "world phone", meaning that you could take it to AT&T from Verizon and back, without any issue.
The only thing i don't know is how well the GPS performs on Verizon, because on VZW Pre2, its abysmal.
To compare networks, VZW has the best maintained infrastructure, "unlimited" data is capped at 5GB and then you get the overage charges. AT&T is the second best, the best of GSM networks, T-Mobile is more for prepaid, and if you go over the data cap, you get knocked down to 2G. Sprint, you already know, provides dog-slow but truly unlimited 3G, but that's irrelevant here, since they won't take Verizon's CDMA phones...
Facebook received between 9,000 and 10,000 requests for user data from various U.S. government entities in 2012's second half, involving 18,000 to 19,000 of its users' accounts, the world's largest social network said Friday.
Microsoft Corp said that in the same period it received between 6,000 and 7,000 criminal and national security warrants, subpoenas and orders affecting between 31,000 and 32,000 consumer accounts from local, state and federal U.S. governmental entities.
The companies said they released the information after reaching agreements about disclosures with U.S. national security authorities.
Several Internet companies have struck an agreement with the U.S. government to release limited information about the number of surveillance requests they receive, two sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.
The agreements underscore the pressure imposed on the U.S. government and Internet companies after news leaked last week of a controversial National Security Agency program involving surveillance of foreigners. The disclosure of that program triggered concern about the scope and extent of the information-gathering exercise.
Other Internet companies are expected to release numbers of government requests without breaking out how many originate from the National Security Agency, the sources said.
Google, Facebook and Microsoft have publicly urged the U.S. government to allow them to reveal the number and scope of the surveillance requests they receive, including confidential requests made under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Google declined to comment.
Ted Ullyot, Facebook general counsel, wrote on the site's blog late Friday:
Since this story was first reported, we?ve been in discussions with U.S. national security authorities urging them to allow more transparency and flexibility around national security-related orders we are required to comply with. We?re pleased that as a result of our discussions, we can now include in a transparency report all U.S. national security-related requests (including FISA as well as National Security Letters) ? which until now no company has been permitted to do. As of today, the government will only authorize us to communicate about these numbers in aggregate, and as a range. This is progress, but we?re continuing to push for even more transparency, so that our users around the world can understand how infrequently we are asked to provide user data on national security grounds.
Ullyot wrote that for the six months ending Dec. 31, 2012, the "total number of user-data requests Facebook received from any and all government entities in the U.S. (including local, state, and federal, and including criminal and national security-related requests) ? was between 9,000 and 10,000."
Those requests, he said, "run the gamut ? from things like a local sheriff trying to find a missing child, to a federal marshal tracking a fugitive, to a police department investigating an assault, to a national security official investigating a terrorist threat. The total number of Facebook user accounts for which data was requested pursuant to the entirety of those" 9,000 to 10,000 requests was "between 18,000 and 19,000 accounts."
With more than 1 billion users worldwide, "This means that a tiny fraction of one percent of our user accounts were the subject of any kind of U.S. state, local, or federal U.S. government request (including criminal and national security-related requests) in the past six months," he wrote.
In a blog post on a company website, Microsoft said its agreement with the FBI and the Department of Justice allowed it to report FISA orders and directives, "but only if aggregated with law enforcement requests from all other U.S. local, state and federal law enforcement agencies; only for the six-month period of July 1, 2012 thru December 31, 2012; only if the totals are presented in bands of 1,000; and all Microsoft consumer services had to be reported together."
The post, by vice president and deputy general counsel John Frank, concluded: "Transparency alone may not be enough to restore public confidence, but it?s a great place to start."
FILE- This Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 file photo shows the baking area at the Avalon City Wholesale Ovens in Detroit. The government reports on wholesale prices for May on Friday, June 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
FILE- This Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 file photo shows the baking area at the Avalon City Wholesale Ovens in Detroit. The government reports on wholesale prices for May on Friday, June 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? A rise in food and gas costs drove a measure of wholesale prices up sharply in May. But outside those volatile categories, inflation was mild.
The Labor Department said Friday that the producer price index rose 0.5 percent in May from April. Gas prices rose 1.5 percent last month, and food costs increased 0.6 percent.
The increase last month followed a 0.7 percent decline in April and a 0.6 percent drop in March, both of which were driven by steep declines in gas prices.
Core prices, which exclude the food and energy, rose just 0.1 percent in May. That matches the April increase.
The index measures price changes before they reach the consumer.
"There really is not much inflationary pressure in the economy," Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a note to clients.
Aside from sharp swings in gas prices, consumer and wholesale inflation has increased very slowly in the past year. Both the overall and core indexes have risen just 1.7 percent in the 12 months ending in May. That's below the Federal Reserve's 2 percent inflation target, allowing the Fed more latitude to pursue its aggressive policies to spur greater economic growth.
The combination of modest economic growth and high unemployment has kept wages from rising quickly. That's made it harder for retailers and other firms to raise prices.
Most of the May increase in food costs stemmed from a 41.6 percent jump in the cost of eggs, the biggest on record. The jump reflected soaring demand in the U.S. and overseas. The Memorial Day and Mother's Day holidays, popular occasions for brunch, spurred more demand in the U.S., a department spokesman said. And Mexico imported more U.S. eggs in response to a bird flu epidemic.
Nearly two-thirds of the 0.1 percent increase in core prices occurred because of a 0.4 percent rise in the wholesale cost of pickup trucks. The housing recovery has created more business for landscapers and contractors, who have bought more trucks.
The Fed has said it plans to keep the short-term interest rate it controls at a record low near zero until the unemployment rate falls below 6.5 percent, provided inflation remains under control. The unemployment rate ticked up in May to 7.6 percent.
The Fed is also purchasing $85 billion a month in bonds to keep longer-term interest rates down. That's intended to encourage more borrowing and spending, which drives economic growth. The Fed says it will continue to buy bonds until the job market improves substantially.
Employers are adding jobs at a steady pace and consumers are spending more, despite an increase in Social Security taxes at the beginning of the year. That's fueled intense speculation that the Fed may soon start reducing the pace of its monthly bond purchases.
Many economists expect they will do so by the end of the year, particularly if hiring stays healthy. But tame inflation means they face less pressure to taper their purchases. If prices were rising more quickly, the Fed could be forced to end its bond-buying program and raise interest rates.
The Fed's next policymaking meeting will take place next week, June 18-19.
June 13, 2013 ? According to VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the lighting systems of the future could be multi-purpose devices not dissimilar to smart phones. In the future, lighting will not just allow us to see but could also be used to survey surroundings, transmit information, reflect moods and make our lives more comfortable. Smart lighting could also save as much as 80 per cent of energy compared to traditional lighting solutions. As more applications become available, the smart lighting industry will also be revolutionised. In addition to lighting, businesses could soon begin to offer their customers smart applications and comprehensive service concepts.
The smart lighting industry is undergoing a major transition. Different kinds of smart lighting solutions are expected to become increasingly popular in homes, public buildings and offices.
In the future, smart lighting technology will enable the direction, power and colour of lighting to be adjusted automatically according to whether a room is being used for watching television or eating dinner and according to where people are in the room. Lights positioned near windows will change colour according to outdoor temperature. Wall-mounted light switches will detect when a person enters the room. New smart features for light fittings will be available to download from the internet. In office buildings, smart lighting technology will help shift-workers to adapt to changes in their circadian rhythm.
"Smart lighting systems are becoming increasingly popular in both new builds and renovation projects. Technologically speaking, the next major step will be to integrate better sensors and new functions into lighting systems, which will allow the occupants of a room to adjust lighting with increasing accuracy and flexibility according to their movements and activities," explains VTT's Principal Scientist Janne Aikio.
The first-generation smart lighting systems that are currently available on the market are mostly designed for commercial use, and they include features such as integrability with building automation systems. In ten years' time, user-friendly and affordable lighting systems could become everyday consumer goods. More and more wireless lighting systems that can be controlled via devices such as a mobile telephone are becoming available.
Smart lighting to revolutionise business models
Maturing technology and growing demand are revolutionising the lighting industry. In addition to lighting, businesses could soon begin to offer their customers smart applications and comprehensive service concepts.
Integrated information technology and electronics are becoming more and more common in products, which can now "talk" to each other and share information. The Internet of Things is transforming not just the daily lives of consumers but also many business sectors.
"Forecasts suggest that smart lighting will become one of the key trends in the context of the Internet of Things. It is important that we identify new applications for this technology now and begin to build new business around them. The smart lighting market also has room and opportunities for SMEs," says VTT's Research Professor Heikki Ailisto.
Demand for smart lighting is expected to boom over the next ten years. The market volume is estimated to be as much as EUR 7.7 billion in 2020, when the similar figure in 2011 was EUR 1.8 billion.
Smart lighting also has substantial energy-saving potential. When the required amount of light can be regulated more accurately using energy-efficient LEDs, as much as 80 per cent of the energy required for lighting could be saved. Lighting currently accounts for approximately one fifth of the world's electricity consumption.
Mosquito behavior may be immune response, not parasite manipulationPublic release date: 22-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: A'ndrea Elyse Messer aem1@psu.edu 814-865-9481 Penn State
Malaria-carrying mosquitos appear to be manipulated by the parasites they carry, but this manipulation may simply be part of the mosquitos' immune response, according to Penn State entomologists.
"Normally, after a female mosquito ingests a blood meal, she matures her eggs and does not take another one until the meal is digested," said Lauren J. Cator, postdoctoral fellow in entomology and a member of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Penn State. "If infected, however, mosquitos will wait to eat until the parasites developing within the gut mature and migrate to the salivary glands."
It was thought that fasting until malaria could be transmitted was beneficial to the malaria parasite because if the female mosquito was not feeding, she was not being swatted. The return of hunger seemed to correlate with the migration of parasites to the salivary glands. The hungrier the mosquitos are, the more they feed and the more chances to find new hosts.
Cator and colleagues who included Justin George, postdoctoral fellow; Simon Blanford, research associate; Courtney C. Murdock, postdoctoral fellow; Thomas C. Baker, professor of entomology; Andrew F. Read, professor of biology and entomology and alumni professor in biological sciences; and Matthew B. Thomas, professor of entomology, used a mouse model and showed that indeed female mosquitos behaved in this way.
It was unclear if the malaria parasite caused the mosquitos' response or if something else was in play. The researchers also looked at how the infected mosquitos searched for meals and how they responded to the smell of humans. Although the mosquitos used were biting mice, they also look to humans for a meal.
George ran the experiments testing the mosquito's sense of smell during various stages of parasite maturity and found that the mosquitos responded to human smell much more readily once the parasites were ready to transfer to their hosts. The same was found of the meal-seeking behavior of the mosquitos.
The researchers dissected the insects to determine the exact stage of the parasite in each mosquito they tested and what they found surprised them. They published their results in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B today (May 22).
"There were mosquitos that took an infected blood meal, but didn't get infected or fought off the infection," said Cator. "These mosquitos behaved in the same way as the infected mosquitos."
The researchers then injected mosquitos with killed E. coli to see the response. While the degree of fasting and food seeking was smaller, the noninfected, E. coli-challenged mosquitos behaved in the same way. They fasted for about the same time and then went searching for a meal. Their responses to human smell and meal searching behavior also mirrored that of malaria-infected mosquitos.
"Recently, a group from the Netherlands published in PLOS and while they were only looking at the mature parasites in the salivary glands, they found the same response to human odor," said Cator. "This supports that the response is a generalized response to a challenge rather than a manipulation by the malaria parasite and that our findings are probably relevant for human malaria transmission."
###
The National Institutes of Health supported this work.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Mosquito behavior may be immune response, not parasite manipulationPublic release date: 22-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: A'ndrea Elyse Messer aem1@psu.edu 814-865-9481 Penn State
Malaria-carrying mosquitos appear to be manipulated by the parasites they carry, but this manipulation may simply be part of the mosquitos' immune response, according to Penn State entomologists.
"Normally, after a female mosquito ingests a blood meal, she matures her eggs and does not take another one until the meal is digested," said Lauren J. Cator, postdoctoral fellow in entomology and a member of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Penn State. "If infected, however, mosquitos will wait to eat until the parasites developing within the gut mature and migrate to the salivary glands."
It was thought that fasting until malaria could be transmitted was beneficial to the malaria parasite because if the female mosquito was not feeding, she was not being swatted. The return of hunger seemed to correlate with the migration of parasites to the salivary glands. The hungrier the mosquitos are, the more they feed and the more chances to find new hosts.
Cator and colleagues who included Justin George, postdoctoral fellow; Simon Blanford, research associate; Courtney C. Murdock, postdoctoral fellow; Thomas C. Baker, professor of entomology; Andrew F. Read, professor of biology and entomology and alumni professor in biological sciences; and Matthew B. Thomas, professor of entomology, used a mouse model and showed that indeed female mosquitos behaved in this way.
It was unclear if the malaria parasite caused the mosquitos' response or if something else was in play. The researchers also looked at how the infected mosquitos searched for meals and how they responded to the smell of humans. Although the mosquitos used were biting mice, they also look to humans for a meal.
George ran the experiments testing the mosquito's sense of smell during various stages of parasite maturity and found that the mosquitos responded to human smell much more readily once the parasites were ready to transfer to their hosts. The same was found of the meal-seeking behavior of the mosquitos.
The researchers dissected the insects to determine the exact stage of the parasite in each mosquito they tested and what they found surprised them. They published their results in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B today (May 22).
"There were mosquitos that took an infected blood meal, but didn't get infected or fought off the infection," said Cator. "These mosquitos behaved in the same way as the infected mosquitos."
The researchers then injected mosquitos with killed E. coli to see the response. While the degree of fasting and food seeking was smaller, the noninfected, E. coli-challenged mosquitos behaved in the same way. They fasted for about the same time and then went searching for a meal. Their responses to human smell and meal searching behavior also mirrored that of malaria-infected mosquitos.
"Recently, a group from the Netherlands published in PLOS and while they were only looking at the mature parasites in the salivary glands, they found the same response to human odor," said Cator. "This supports that the response is a generalized response to a challenge rather than a manipulation by the malaria parasite and that our findings are probably relevant for human malaria transmission."
###
The National Institutes of Health supported this work.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Public release date: 22-May-2013
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