Microsoft has released the Windows Phone 8 SDK for the Build developer conference, now taking place on the Redmond campus. The SDK is described as an environment “for building apps and games for Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 7.5.” That’s pretty obvious but why 7.5? That’s the odd thing here. It has a stand-alone Visual Studio Express 2012 edition. It can also work as an add-on to Visual Studio?Express 2012 edition for Windows Phone or works as an add-in to Visual Studio 2012 Professional, Premium or Ultimate editions. Microsoft says the SDK also includes emulators and additional tools for profiling and testing a Windows Phone app under real-world conditions. Here are the system requirements from the site: Supported operating systems:?Windows 8, Windows 8 P Windows 8 64-bit (x64) client versions Hardware: 4 GB of free hard disk space 4 GB RAM 64-bit (x64) CPU Windows Phone 8 Emulator: Windows 8 Pro edition or greater Requires a processor that supports Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) RedMonk analyst Donnie Berkholz, here at Build said this to me about the SDK: Windows Phone 8 now provides an end-user experience on par with iOS and Android. The public release of the developer SDK finally makes it possible to nail a critical component of mobile adoption, the broader app ecosystem. Unfortunately the SDK wasn?t released in advance of Windows Phone 8 so developers could have apps available at the release, which will hurt both developers and Microsoft because of the importance first impressions have to consumers. Given Microsoft?s near-legendary tenacity and its clear understanding of the importance of mobile devices, I expect they?ll continue pursuing this until they get it right — if not for Windows Phone 8, for the next release.
Ukrainians cast their ballots at a polling station in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012. Voters in Ukraine are choosing a new parliament Sunday. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Ukrainians cast their ballots at a polling station in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012. Voters in Ukraine are choosing a new parliament Sunday. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A woman goes to market in the village of Bobryk, some 60 km (37 miles) north of Kiev Ukraine, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012. Ukraine is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on Oct. 28. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
An Orthodox priest blesses his ballot paper at a polling station in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012. Voters in Ukraine are choosing a new parliament Sunday. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Orthodox priests receive their ballot papers at a polling station in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012. Voters in Ukraine are choosing a new parliament. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
An Orthodox priest leaves a voting booth at a polling station in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012. Voters in Ukraine are choosing a new parliament Sunday. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) ? Ukrainians voted in an election on Sunday that was expected to maintain President Viktor Yanukovych's parliamentary majority, despite his rollback on democracy during nearly three years in power.
Yanukovych's Party of Regions appeared to be capitalizing on the three issues: the jailing of the charismatic opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister; a divided opposition camp; and Ukrainians' overall disillusionment with politics.
The West is paying close attention to the conduct of the vote in the strategic ex-Soviet state, which lies between Russia and the European Union and is responsible for transporting energy supplies to many EU countries.
A strong showing by the Party of Regions would cement Yanukovych's grip on power and likely turn Ukraine further away from the West.
Ukraine's relations with the West have soured over the jailing of Tymoshenko, which prompted the European Union to shelve a long-awaited partnership deal with Kiev. If the West turns a cold shoulder to Ukraine, Moscow is likely to court Kiev to create a greater economic and political alliance.
The pro-Western opposition groups hope to gain enough parliament seats to weaken Yanukovych's power and undo the damage they say he has done: the jailing of Tymoshenko and her top allies, the concentration of power in the hands of the president, the snubbing of the Ukrainian language in favor of Russian, the waning press freedoms, a deteriorating business climate, and growing corruption.
Dmitry Kovalenko, a 50-year-old entrepreneur in Kiev, said he voted for Tymoshenko's Fatherland party in hope of ending Yanukovych's monopoly on power.
"I am against repression," Kovalenko said after casting his ballot at a polling station in central Kiev. "It's easy to win when your opponents are in jail."
But the opposition has been weakened with the jailing of Tymoshenko, the 51-year-old heroine of the 2004 Orange Revolution which threw out Yanukovych's fraud-tainted victory in a presidential vote.
Tymoshenko's party is running neck-to-neck with another pro-Western group, the Udar (Punch) opposition party led by world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko.
Klitschko's party has gained popularity in recent months, capitalizing on voter disappointment with both Yanukovych's rule and Tymoshenko's years in power that were marked by constant bickering in the Orange camp.
"We've tasted both the orange and the blue, and life hasn't changed for the better," said Zhanna Holovko, a 43-year-old high school teacher in Kiev, referring to the campaign colors of the Orange revolution team and Yanukovych's party. "I am voting for a third force that I can trust," Holovko said after casting a ballot for Klitschko's group.
The opposition's failure to form a strong alliance has played into the hands of Yanukovych.
While Tymoshenko's and Klitschko's parties are expected to make a strong showing in elections by party lists, half of the 450 seats in the Verkhovna Rada parliament will be allocated to the winners of individual races, in which Yanukovych loyalists are expected to take the lead. Yanukovych has centered his party's campaign on bringing stability after years of infighting in the Orange camp and relative economic recovery after the global financial crisis, which hit Ukraine severely.
"Stability, stability, stability is what Ukraine needs," said Olexiy Nalivaichenko, 35, a civil servant in Kiev, who voted for Yanukovych's party. "We want to feel confident and secure about tomorrow."
Also expected to win seats in parliament is the Communist party, which will side with Yanukovych's supporters. Another party that could pass the 5 percent threshold needed for seats is the nationalist Svoboda (Freedom), a staunch government critic infamous for xenophobic and anti-Semitic statements.
The election tainted by Tymoshenko's jailing on charges of abuse of office has also been compromised by the creation of fake opposition parties, campaigns by politically unskilled celebrities, and the use of state resources and greater access to television by Yanukvoych's party.
At one polling station in Kiev, voters complained that a clone politician with the same last name as Fatherland's candidate was intended to split the opposition vote.
"This doesn't look good," said Yevhen Yefimov, 43, a Kiev computer specialist, who was nearly fooled into voting for the fake politician rather than a Tymoshenko candidate. "They are trying to trick people into making a mistake ... to steal Fatherland votes."
You can find an incredible amount of information concerning Internet marketing. Some of the information may be just a reminder to you, and some of it may be brand new techniques you have yet to try. No matter what your knowledge is, studying up on Internet marketing will help your business. This article was written to help you succeed with that!
If you desire to achieve success in internet marketing, it is vital that you don?t copy others. Search engine filters are getting more efficient at locating content that is obviously copied. Even though you could potentially benefit in the short run, this will end up costing you later down the road. Figure out how to be creative.
Design an all-inclusive website with an emphasis on fresh, relevant content. You want to focus on giving new information to your customers in a short time period to ensure that they are fully aware about what have purchased. There is not need to repeat descriptions of your products, or fill up your page with useless data that nobody will probably read.
Use ?guaranteed? in your ads and content to help boost your internet marketing strategy. Even if they know that your guarantee hinges on how trustworthy you are, hearing the word helps people feel more at ease about giving you their business. Most people work hard to make their money, and knowing you guarantee your products increases their comfort level when it comes to spending that money.
One effective internet marketing move is to provide even more discounts when spending a certain amount. For instance, you could offer ten percent discounts on orders over 200 dollars. People will be even more likely to buy more of your products.
Try offering different versions of your site to people all over the world. Create as many possible versions of your website as you can, offering a variety of different languages. With a more global approach, you will get a lot of traffic and a lot more customers. If customers can properly understand your site because the content is in their own language, it increases the chance that they will purchase items from you.
Offer auto-ship programs to your customers when they buy a consumable product. You can give them the option of automatically receiving a set amount of product every week or month at a deeply discounted per item rate.
Discover the proper use of HTML tags. These tags are used to indicate key content on the page and makes it appear bold. Search engine spiders take notice of what your HTML tags emphasize. Make sure to put emphasis on the important keywords you use.
Staying a step ahead of your competition is the only way to succeed online. By having an idea of what they are selling or offering, you can improve your business and reach a higher level of success. This becomes key when it comes to Internet marketing.
Good advertising is the key to growing your business fast. It is always worth your time and money to invest in advertising. It will help you generate business with customers you may not get any other way.
Section off the website and have a central page which can link you customers to all of your product offerings. It?s important to remember to keep consistent structure to each section as well as a main page that sums up what readers can find on your website.
You should always take time to investigate the strategies of your competitors. Browse sites selling products similar to your own, and make note of what they are doing right and wrong. Capitalizing on the weakness of your competition by promoting your own ability compared to the lack of theirs will help distinguish you in the eyes of would be customers.
Because of the internet, it is easy to conduct business in an anonymous fashion. This is especially important for small business owners who need to use relationship building and personal selling to retain customers.
Seek partnerships with fellow online merchants so that you can put together joint offerings that you can sell at competitive prices. This allows you to link together multiple markets, so that you increase your sales numbers. One common situation is internet booking agents, who have prearranged discounts for individuals who book their accommodations and transportation in a single transaction. This idea is perfect for any company that has linked products that complement each other, but are not seen as competitors.
Look into testing the emails that you send out to see what your customers think and how they respond. Look into A/B testing. In one of your campaigns, change something in the email. Try different methods like switching up the call to action and see what gets you the most results. Try sending each version to equal number of random customers and see which has the best success. If one variation outperforms the other, adopt it as your standard.
In order to generate sales you need real-time leads. Real-time leads are more valuable than other types of leads because if they are searching for products in your niche, they are likely in a buying mood. With a real-time lead, you get a potential customer?s information the moment they inquire about your products.
Create an informative website with a glossary of common terms. People searching for those terms will be drawn to your site. This will help everyone from customers to competitors alike. Anyone who searches for the terms you define will be directed to your site, providing you with exposure and a reputation as an authority.
Gaining the trust of a customer is crucial, but keeping that trust is even more important; once you get a customer, you want them to keep coming back. Only include factual information in your promotional materials. Reviews, results and endorsements can go a very long way in convincing reluctant customers to try your product.
Hopefully, you have a new idea or have remembered something you want to use in your internet marketing plan from this article. Apply what fits your circumstances. Continue to sharpen your marketing skills!
Brian Kennedy, director of the Toledo Museum of Art, poses in front of a portrait of French Impressionist Edouard Manet, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012, in Toledo, Ohio. An exhibition of Manet's works opened this month and runs through the end of the year before moving onto the Royal Academy of Arts in London. (AP Photo/John Seewer)?
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) ? Long before smartphones turned so many of us into amateur photographers and revolutionized how we depict each other through social media, there were the works of French Impressionist Edouard Manet.
Known for portraits of friends and celebrities of his era, the painter often called "the first modern artist" came of age during the mid-1800s when photography first became available to the public. He even kept his own collection of photos of the subjects he painted.
Manet's portraits and how they were influenced by photography are the focus of "Manet: Portraying Life" at the Toledo Museum of Art, the only U.S. museum to host the exhibition before it moves to The Royal Academy of Arts in London next winter.
The show that opened this month and runs through the end of the year features 40 paintings from public and private collections, including some of his best-known works. Instead of assembling a retrospective of Manet's works, the two museums chose portraits that would open the discussion of what impact photography had on Manet's paintings.
"We're not suggesting an exact reliance on photography, but this was a new medium in the era that he's painting and it was very important," said co-curator Lawrence Nichols.
It is the first time a Manet (1832-1883) exhibit has looked solely at his portraits, said Nichols, the museum's curator of European and American painting and sculpture before 1900. The museum's own collection includes Manet's portrait of a childhood friend who wrote extensively about the artist.
The works include straight forward portraits of men in top hats and women in flowing dresses. There are others that illustrate the change in around his home in Paris, revealing social unrest and the Industrial Revolution.
Sprinkled throughout the exhibition are photos of his subjects ? some are original and others are digitized from an album Manet kept ? to give insight into how he interpreted the people he painted. In one photo, the tie and beard of a man bears a noticeable similarity to one of his paintings.
"He had images in his life beyond the paintings he made," Nichols said.
About half of Manet's entire works, which rank among the greatest of the Impressionist movement, were portraits or scenes from everyday life.
Some of the portraits in the show evoke the photos that we see today on social networking sites like Facebook ? they're small and straightforward yet reveal something personal about each subject.
And they reveal how we record and connect with each other.
The proliferation of images now is similar to what was happening during Manet's time when the camera made portraits ubiquitous, he said.
These are ideas that the century-and-a-half old paintings can convey to a modern audience, Nichols said. "This is very much about 2012 and what it means to conceive of yourself, to be perceived by someone else," he said.
Manet's portraits are spread throughout eight galleries into the museum. The exhibit neatly flows into another show featuring nearly 100 mostly black and white photographs of Hollywood legends from the 1920s to the 1960s.
Outside the hall, there are 700 Facebook-like images of community members, museum volunteers and staff.
"These threads together make it very contemporary," said Toledo Museum Director Brian Kennedy. "The prints and photos take us back literally through time to Manet. It covers all the various ways people use various media to represent each other."?
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It is important that you will catch the potential customer?s attention with your outstanding website so this customer will be doing their business with you when the need arises.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence efforts in Libya have suffered a significant setback due to the abandonment and exposure of a facility in Benghazi, Libya identified by a newspaper as a "CIA base" following a congressional hearing this week, according to U.S. government sources.
The intelligence post, located 1.2 miles (2 km) from the U.S. mission that was targeted by militants in a September 11 attack, was evacuated of Americans after the assault that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Three other Americans died in the attacks on U.S.-occupied buildings, including two who were hit in a mortar blast at the secret compound.
The publication of satellite photos showing the site's location and layout have made it difficult, if not impossible, for intelligence agencies to reoccupy the site, according to government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The post had been a base for, among other things, collecting information on the proliferation of weaponry looted from Libyan government arsenals, including surface-to-air missiles, the sources said. Its security features, including some fortifications, sensors and cameras, were more advanced than those at rented villa where Stevens died, they said.
The sources said intelligence agencies will find other ways to collect information in Libya in the aftermath of last year's toppling of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi.
"Benghazi played a critical role in the emergence of the new Libya and will continue to do so. It makes sense that we would return there to continue to build relationships," one U.S. official said.
Public discussion of the top-secret location began with a contentious Wednesday hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which was investigating whether security lapses put Americans at risk.
The State Department displayed a satellite photograph showing two locations - the rented villa that served as a special diplomatic mission and the compound that officials had cryptically described as an "annex" or "safe house" for diplomatic personnel.
Both compounds were attacked by militants believed to be tied to al Qaeda. After the diplomatic complex was overrun, U.S. and Libyan personnel rushed by car to the second site, where they fought off two more waves of assaults, officials said.
Charlene Lamb, a top official in the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, told lawmakers that the secret compound took "as many as three direct hits."
Two U.S. security officials, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, were killed there in what U.S. officials described as an unlucky mortar strike. As many as 37 people eventually escaped to Benghazi's airport.
When the satellite photo was displayed, a senior committee Republican, Representative Jason Chaffetz, complained that the discussion was drifting into "classified issues that deal with sources and methods," and the photo was removed from public display. No one at the hearing used the term "CIA base" to describe the facility.
'BONEHEADED QUESTIONING'
The next morning, Dana Milbank, a Washington Post columnist, wrote that the committee's "boneheaded questioning" of State Department witnesses left little doubt that the compound in the pictures was a "CIA base."
The Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank with ties to the Obama White House, followed up with a blog post accusing Republicans of revealing the "Location Of Secret CIA Base."
On Friday, Representative Dutch Ruppersberger, top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, accused Republicans of mishandling secret information.
Spokespeople for the State Department and White House had no comment. The CIA also had no comment.
Oversight committee spokesman Frederick Hill said committee Democrats made matters worse by asking questions about the satellite photos. "Even after Republicans objected, Democrats continued to ask questions that led State officials to put even more sensitive information about who worked there into the public realm," Hill said.
The dispute over who was responsible for identifying the base is the latest case in which intelligence agencies - particularly the CIA - have been dragged into a political fray over the Benghazi attack.
The Obama administration's handling of the Benghazi attacks has become fodder for criticism from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan ahead of the November 6 election.
Intelligence officials are not happy at being drawn into the political battle. Paul Pillar, one of the CIA's former most senior analysts, said the agency is sure to be dismayed at how its sensitive work has been dragged into the debate.
"They're trying to do the best they can with fragmentary and incomplete information. No doubt they are very unhappy that this issue is now being exploited for political purposes," Pillar said.
Breakthrough could help sufferers of fatal lung diseasePublic release date: 14-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Amy Pullan, Media Relations Officer a.l.pullan@sheffield.ac.uk 01-142-229-859 University of Sheffield
Pioneering research conducted by the University of Sheffield is paving the way for new treatments which could benefit patients suffering from the fatal lung disease pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
For the first time scientists have found an antibody treatment that not only stops PAH getting worse, but also reverses the condition in mice and rats. The research was funded by the British Heart Foundation and the Medical Research Council (MRC) and is published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
PAH high pressure in the blood vessels supplying the lungs is a devastating condition that affects almost 2,200 adults in England and Wales. It is caused by changes in the cells lining the arteries that take blood from the heart to the lungs (a process called vascular remodelling).
Vascular remodelling causes the walls of the vessels to become stiff and thickened making it harder for blood to flow through them, which in turn causes an elevation in blood pressure. This increased pressure places significant strain on the right side of the heart, which can lead to fatal heart failure if left untreated. PAH often affects young people, and more commonly women.
Current treatments for PAH target the constriction of the arteries, but fail to fully reverse the underlying vascular remodelling. The researchers demonstrated that a protein called TRAIL (tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) worsened the progression of PAH in animal models, but blocking TRAIL with an antibody improved the disease.
Dr Allan Lawrie, a MRC Career Development Fellow from the University of Sheffield's Department of Cardiovascular Science, who led the study, said: "This research opens up a new insight into the mechanisms of PAH and suggests that TRAIL is critical to this process. If we can interrupt this process by blocking the TRAIL pathway, we have the potential to stop the disease in its tracks and even reverse the damage already done."
Since the discovery of TRAIL and its network of receptors, the majority of attention has focused on the clinical potential of manipulating this pathway in cancer therapy. However new research suggests that TRAIL plays broader roles in regulating immune processes, with this latest study suggesting it is critical to PAH.
"These data, from animal models, provide validation and we are now actively pursuing a route to develop human antibodies as a potential new treatment for PAH, though this is likely to be several years from the clinic," said Dr Lawrie.
Dr Shannon Amoils, Research Advisor at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), which co-funded the study, said:
"We urgently need to find new treatments for people with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a condition which can have a devastating effect on people's quality of life and is often fatal. This study shows that a protein called TRAIL plays a role in the disease by driving the overproduction of cells lining the lungs' blood vessels. This overproduction of cells is one of the factors leading to high blood pressure in the lungs.
"Importantly, the researchers show that in rodents, blocking TRAIL using an antibody dampens down this high cell turnover and reduces the disease severity. There is still a long way to go, but the hope is that the TRAIL antibody might be developed into a new treatment for patients in the future."
###
The research was conducted in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, the University of East Anglia, Sheffield Pulmonary Vascular Disease Unit and the National Institute for Health Research Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit.
Notes for Editors
Medical Research Council
For almost 100 years the Medical Research Council has improved the health of people in the UK and around the world by supporting the highest quality science. The MRC invests in world-class scientists. It has produced 29 Nobel Prize winners and sustains a flourishing environment for internationally recognised research. The MRC focuses on making an impact and provides the financial muscle and scientific expertise behind medical breakthroughs, including one of the first antibiotics penicillin, the structure of DNA and the lethal link between smoking and cancer. Today MRC funded scientists tackle research into the major health challenges of the 21st century. www.mrc.ac.uk
The University of Sheffield
With nearly 25,000 students from 125 countries, the University of Sheffield is one of the UK's leading and largest universities. A member of the Russell Group, it has a reputation for world-class teaching and research excellence across a wide range of disciplines.
The University of Sheffield has been named University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards for its exceptional performance in research, teaching, access and business performance. In addition, the University has won four Queen's Anniversary Prizes (1998, 2000, 2002, 2007). These prestigious awards recognise outstanding contributions by universities and colleges to the United Kingdom's intellectual, economic, cultural and social life. Sheffield also boasts five Nobel Prize winners among former staff and students and many of its alumni have gone on to hold positions of great responsibility and influence around the world.
The University's research partners and clients include Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Unilever, Boots, AstraZeneca, GSK, ICI, Slazenger, and many more household names, as well as UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations.
The University has well-established partnerships with a number of universities and major corporations, both in the UK and abroad. Its partnership with Leeds and York Universities in the White Rose Consortium has a combined research power greater than that of either Oxford or Cambridge.
For further information, please visit www.sheffield.ac.uk
The British Heart Foundation
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is the nation's heart charity, dedicated to saving lives through pioneering research, patient care, campaigning for change and by providing vital information. But we urgently need help. We rely on donations of time and money to continue our life-saving work. Because together we can beat heart disease.
For more information visit: www.bhf.org.uk/pressoffice.
For further information please contact: Amy Pullan, Media Relations Officer, on 0114 222 9859 or email a.l.pullan@sheffield.ac.uk
To read other news releases about the University of Sheffield, visit: http://www.shef.ac.uk/news
NR 4096/ends
[ | 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.
Breakthrough could help sufferers of fatal lung diseasePublic release date: 14-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Amy Pullan, Media Relations Officer a.l.pullan@sheffield.ac.uk 01-142-229-859 University of Sheffield
Pioneering research conducted by the University of Sheffield is paving the way for new treatments which could benefit patients suffering from the fatal lung disease pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
For the first time scientists have found an antibody treatment that not only stops PAH getting worse, but also reverses the condition in mice and rats. The research was funded by the British Heart Foundation and the Medical Research Council (MRC) and is published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
PAH high pressure in the blood vessels supplying the lungs is a devastating condition that affects almost 2,200 adults in England and Wales. It is caused by changes in the cells lining the arteries that take blood from the heart to the lungs (a process called vascular remodelling).
Vascular remodelling causes the walls of the vessels to become stiff and thickened making it harder for blood to flow through them, which in turn causes an elevation in blood pressure. This increased pressure places significant strain on the right side of the heart, which can lead to fatal heart failure if left untreated. PAH often affects young people, and more commonly women.
Current treatments for PAH target the constriction of the arteries, but fail to fully reverse the underlying vascular remodelling. The researchers demonstrated that a protein called TRAIL (tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) worsened the progression of PAH in animal models, but blocking TRAIL with an antibody improved the disease.
Dr Allan Lawrie, a MRC Career Development Fellow from the University of Sheffield's Department of Cardiovascular Science, who led the study, said: "This research opens up a new insight into the mechanisms of PAH and suggests that TRAIL is critical to this process. If we can interrupt this process by blocking the TRAIL pathway, we have the potential to stop the disease in its tracks and even reverse the damage already done."
Since the discovery of TRAIL and its network of receptors, the majority of attention has focused on the clinical potential of manipulating this pathway in cancer therapy. However new research suggests that TRAIL plays broader roles in regulating immune processes, with this latest study suggesting it is critical to PAH.
"These data, from animal models, provide validation and we are now actively pursuing a route to develop human antibodies as a potential new treatment for PAH, though this is likely to be several years from the clinic," said Dr Lawrie.
Dr Shannon Amoils, Research Advisor at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), which co-funded the study, said:
"We urgently need to find new treatments for people with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a condition which can have a devastating effect on people's quality of life and is often fatal. This study shows that a protein called TRAIL plays a role in the disease by driving the overproduction of cells lining the lungs' blood vessels. This overproduction of cells is one of the factors leading to high blood pressure in the lungs.
"Importantly, the researchers show that in rodents, blocking TRAIL using an antibody dampens down this high cell turnover and reduces the disease severity. There is still a long way to go, but the hope is that the TRAIL antibody might be developed into a new treatment for patients in the future."
###
The research was conducted in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, the University of East Anglia, Sheffield Pulmonary Vascular Disease Unit and the National Institute for Health Research Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit.
Notes for Editors
Medical Research Council
For almost 100 years the Medical Research Council has improved the health of people in the UK and around the world by supporting the highest quality science. The MRC invests in world-class scientists. It has produced 29 Nobel Prize winners and sustains a flourishing environment for internationally recognised research. The MRC focuses on making an impact and provides the financial muscle and scientific expertise behind medical breakthroughs, including one of the first antibiotics penicillin, the structure of DNA and the lethal link between smoking and cancer. Today MRC funded scientists tackle research into the major health challenges of the 21st century. www.mrc.ac.uk
The University of Sheffield
With nearly 25,000 students from 125 countries, the University of Sheffield is one of the UK's leading and largest universities. A member of the Russell Group, it has a reputation for world-class teaching and research excellence across a wide range of disciplines.
The University of Sheffield has been named University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards for its exceptional performance in research, teaching, access and business performance. In addition, the University has won four Queen's Anniversary Prizes (1998, 2000, 2002, 2007). These prestigious awards recognise outstanding contributions by universities and colleges to the United Kingdom's intellectual, economic, cultural and social life. Sheffield also boasts five Nobel Prize winners among former staff and students and many of its alumni have gone on to hold positions of great responsibility and influence around the world.
The University's research partners and clients include Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Unilever, Boots, AstraZeneca, GSK, ICI, Slazenger, and many more household names, as well as UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations.
The University has well-established partnerships with a number of universities and major corporations, both in the UK and abroad. Its partnership with Leeds and York Universities in the White Rose Consortium has a combined research power greater than that of either Oxford or Cambridge.
For further information, please visit www.sheffield.ac.uk
The British Heart Foundation
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is the nation's heart charity, dedicated to saving lives through pioneering research, patient care, campaigning for change and by providing vital information. But we urgently need help. We rely on donations of time and money to continue our life-saving work. Because together we can beat heart disease.
For more information visit: www.bhf.org.uk/pressoffice.
For further information please contact: Amy Pullan, Media Relations Officer, on 0114 222 9859 or email a.l.pullan@sheffield.ac.uk
To read other news releases about the University of Sheffield, visit: http://www.shef.ac.uk/news
NR 4096/ends
[ | 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.
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AP) ? Sixty-five years after becoming the first human to fly faster than the speed of sound, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager is still making noise.
The 89-year-old Yeager, who was featured in the movie "The Right Stuff," flew in the back seat Sunday of an F-15 Eagle as it broke the sound barrier at more than 30,000 feet above California's Mojave Desert ? the same area where he first achieved the feat in 1947 while flying an experimental rocket plane.
The F-15 carrying Yeager took off from Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas and broke the sound barrier at 10:24 a.m. Sunday, exactly 65 years to the minute the then-Air Force test pilot made history.
It also happened on the same day that daredevil skydiver Felix Baumgartner shattered the sound barrier after making the highest jump ever from a balloon 128,100 feet above the Earth.
Baumgartner hit Mach 1.24, or 833.9 mph, according to preliminary data, and became the first man to reach supersonic speed without traveling in a jet or a spacecraft. He landed safely in the New Mexico desert after a descent of just more than nine minutes.
Yeager told reporters after his flight that he was unaware of the skydiver's feat.
Asked by a young girl if he was scared during Sunday's flight, Yeager joked, "Yeah, I was scared to death." But the legendary pilot said he continues to fly all the time and it was just another flight to him.
Yeager flew the F-15 as it took off and landed, said Airman Timothy Young, a Nellis spokesman. The plane was piloted by Capt. David Vincent of the 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis.
"It was a great honor to have him fly out of Nellis," Young said. "We pride ourselves on training fighter pilots and to have someone of his caliber here is such an honor."
? A New Flava of Bittorrent Copyright Lawsuit | Home
By Saper Law | October 13, 2012
Franchising can be a great way for a small business to expand quickly while sharing some of the risks and capital investments. Franchises, however, are subject to a confusing array of government regulations and requirements. Even if you don?t think of yourself as a franchisor, if you?re licensing your trademarks to a third party, there?s a chance you might fall within these franchise and business opportunity laws.
Saper Law Offices has drafted the following FAQ to help you determine if your business is licensing illegal franchises, and, if so, how to comply with the relevant government regulations. If you have any questions, just call us: 312.527.4100
Who regulates franchises?
The federal government regulates franchises through the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In addition, about 20 states have either a franchise law or a business opportunity law that will affect franchises offered within those states.
What is a franchise?
What constitutes a franchise varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Generally, though, a franchise relationship arises where a party: (1) pays a fee; (2) is granted a trademark license; and (3) is subject to a certain amount of control in its business operations.
How much control is necessary to turn a ?licensee? into a ?franchisee??
Figuring out whether a fee is paid or a trademark license is granted is usually pretty clear-cut. The third element is the tricky one, and it varies by jurisdiction.
One of three standards is usually used: (1) the FTC looks at whether a significant degree of control is exerted or a significant degree of assistance is offered; (2) certain states, including Illinois, look at whether a marketing plan is prescribed; (3) a few other states look at whether there is a ?community of interest? between the parties.
Listed below are some questions to help you determine whether your trademark license is actually a franchise. If you find yourself answering ?yes? to a significant number of the questions below, then you probably need to comply with franchise law regulations.
Do you exert a significant degree of control over or provide a significant degree of assistance to your licensees? (FTC rule)
Do your licensees rely on your superior business expertise to reduce the risks of their enterprise and to increase their probability of success?
Do you approve the site of your licensees operations?
Do you exercise control over (or offer assistance with) site design or appearance?
Do you specify a specific area of operation for your licensees?
Does you exercise control over licensees? hours of operation?
Does you exercise control over licensees? sales techniques?
Does you exercise control over licensees? accounting practices?
Does you exercise control over licensees? personnel policies?
Are licensees required to participate in your promotional campaigns?
Do you place restrictions on what customers can be served by licensees?
Do you prescribe a ?Marketing plan? for licensees? (rule in CA, IL, NY, MI, WI, etc.)
Do you specify the prices charged by licensees?
Do you prescribe special pricing schemes or discount plans?
Do you mandate any sales quotas?
Do you mandate the use of particular sales or display equipment or merchandising devices?
Do you teach licensees specific sales techniques or mandate their use?
Do you prescribe certain advertising or promotional materials?
Do licensees cooperate in your advertising efforts?
Do you provide licensees with formal operations or management training?
Do you provide licensees with operational guidelines or assistance? Managerial guidelines or assistance? Technical guidelines or assistance? Financial guidelines or assistance?
Do you exercise control over any of the following: lighting? employee uniforms? hiring?
Must licensees purchase goods from a certain source?
Must licensees follow an operating plan, standard procedure, or training manual? If they don?t, can you do anything about it?
Is there a community of interest between the parties? (rule in HI, MN, and SD)
Do licensees derive a significant amount of their gross proceeds or profits from your goods or services?
Are licensees required to make significant investments (in equipment, facilities, training, etc.) that would be useless if you terminated their license?
Are licensees required to purchase a certain amount of goods from a particular source?
Must licensees submit sales reports?
Attorneys at Saper Law can help you answer these questions and assist you with drafting either a trademark licensing agreement or assist you with the myriad of disclosure documents required to register a Franchise.? Call us today: 312.527.4100
Topics: Advertising Law, Small Business, Trademarks | Comments Off
After forming Friday night, Tropical Storm Rafael was dumping rain across the Less Antilles in the eastern Caribbean on Saturday.
Up to 5 inches of rain was expected, with a few spots potentially at 10 inches, making for flood and mudslide conditions, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Rafael, the 17th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, will pass near or over the Virgin Islands Saturday night and eventually accelerate northward.
It was about 165 miles south-southeast of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, at 8 a.m. ET.
"Key forecast questions include exactly what effects will occur in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands this weekend, then how close it'll come to Bermuda next week and how strong it'll be at that time," weather.com reported.
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands will "most likely ... get brushed by some wind and rain."
Rafael will then pass near Bermuda on Tuesday.
The U.S. coastline is not in Rafael's expected path.
On Friday, Tropical Storm Patty weakened into a depression without doing any damage during its short life.
Richard Engel heads to a land that time forgot. Raja Ampat, the four main islands off the West Papuan mainland in Indonesia surrounded by 1,500 smaller islands, spans 10 million acres of land and sea that explode with brilliant green forests and vibrant blue waters.
Richard Engel heads to a land that time forgot. Raja Ampat, the four main islands off the West Papuan mainland in Indonesia surrounded by 1,500 smaller islands, spans 10 million acres of land and sea that explode with brilliant green forests and vibrant blue waters.
ATLANTA (AP) - The Atlanta Braves have extended general manager Fran Wren's contract through 2014 and promoted two other officials.
President John Schuerholz announced the moves Friday, a week after the Braves were eliminated from the playoffs.
Wren took over from Schuerholz as the Braves' GM after the 2007 season. During his five-year tenure, Atlanta has made two playoff appearances but has yet to win in the postseason.
This season, the Braves were eliminated by the St. Louis Cardinals in the wild-card game.
Assistant general manager Bruce Manno has been promoted to vice president and will remain in charge of player development. Director of pro scouting John Coppolella has been elevated to assistant general manager.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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The Office of Fair Trade (OFT) has written to 62 of the top UK online retailers after it found evidence of non-compliance during a review of potential breaches of the Distance Selling Regulations (DSRs).
A sweep of 156 websites by the OFT found that 33 percent of online retailers imposed unreasonable restrictions on customers? rights to a refund, where most often they require the product must be in its original packaging or in the original condition. This, according?to the DSRs, doesn?t allow consumers to reasonably inspect or assess the purchased goods.?
Some 60 percent also only provided a web contact form, rather than an email contact address, as is required by the E-Commerce Regulations. Two percent provided no electronic contact details at all.
Unexpected charges were also added to customer purchases upon checkout at 24 percent of the websites reviewed.
?The OFT recognises that most businesses want to play fair with their customers and to comply with the law,? said Cavendish Elithorn, senior director of the Goods and Consumer Group at OFT.
?We encourage all online retailers to check their websites so customers can be confident their rights are being respected when they shop online.?
Some publications have reported that the OFT is requiring that the retailers make the changes to their websites before Christmas, however a spokesman for OFT Computerworld UK confirmed that this is incorrect and they will in fact be given twelve months.
However, if changes aren?t made within this timeframe, retailers could face legal action. Initially the OFT will try to negotiate a new timeframe for the retailer to comply, but if this is ignored, then it could go to civil court.
If a requirement to change issued by the civil court is disregarded by a retailer, only then would prison sentences or fines be considered.
To support compliance with the regulations the OFT has created a web-based guidance tool for businesses, the Distance Selling Hub, which includes tips to resolve the key issues identified in the sweep.
Top tips for retailers include being clear and open about cancellation rights and also providing a full refund, plus a refund of delivery charges when things go wrong.
Many retailers, including the likes of John Lewis, have seen a massive surge in their online sales in recent years and have been investing heavily in multi-channel platforms to support the growth.?
JACKSONVILLE?U.S. Attorney Robert E. O?Neill announces that a federal jury today found Kessler Holzendorf (43, Jacksonville) guilty of conspiracy, multiple counts of mail fraud, and multiple counts of wire fraud in connection with his involvement in a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme. Holzendorf faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each of the 31 counts. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 28, 2013. Holzendorf was indicted on April 13, 2011.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Holzendorf was one of the masterminds behind a complex scheme to defraud a number of mortgage lenders on loans for high-end properties in the Jacksonville area, including a number of homes in the Bartram Springs subdivision.
The scheme involved Holzendorf and others recruiting real estate professionals as investors who, with Holzenorf?s assistance, submitted false loan applications and inflated purchase prices for the sales. The loan applications included inflated sales prices, some false claims that investors were occupying the properties as their personal residences, and other false claims regarding the investors? employment status and income levels. For each of the properties, lenders were tricked into believing that home improvements, usually noted as swimming pools, were being made to the properties. In fact, no improvements were ever made. Funds (ranging from $50,000 to $250,000) for these improvements were paid through title companies for sham invoices payable to a sham company (Home Improvements and Repair by Design), which was controlled by Holzendorf. Following the closing, Holzendorf, who usually kept a fee, would return the funds to the buyers. As a result of the scheme, the lenders were tricked into providing substantial sums of money to the buyers at closing.
The scheme also included a real estate agent and a mortgage company affiliated with Holzendorf. Evidence introduced at trial showed that Holzendorf and other conspirators obtained real estate commissions of more than $339,000, mortgage broker compensation of more than $189,000, and illegal kickbacks to buyers of more than $1.1 million.
In commenting on the verdict, United States Attorney O?Neill noted, ?Our office remains committed to prosecuting those involved in these types of fraudulent crimes. Mortgage fraud continues to be a priority of the Department of Justice and our district.?
FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Jacksonville Field Office Michael Steinbach commented, ?The FBI is committed to vigorously pursuing the perpetrators of mortgage fraud at every level, and these investigations remain one of our top national priorities.?
FDLE Special Agent in Charge of the Jacksonville Region, Dominick Pape, stated, ?The partnership of all the agencies associated to this case has led to an outstanding result. This outcome should send a message to potential violators that mortgage fraud will not be tolerated in Northeast Florida.?
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mark Devereaux and Mac Heavener.
A rock on Mars being studied by NASA's Curiosity rover is unlike any Martian stone ever seen, and is surprisingly similar to an unusual, but well-known, kind of rock on Earth.
This type of rock is the first of its kind encountered on Mars and is helping broaden scientists' understanding of how igneous rocks form, scientists said Thursday. The rock, named "Jake Matijevic" in honor of a Curiosity mission team member who died in August, is a 16-inch-tall (40-centimeter-tall) pyramid-shape specimen that Curiosity encountered at its landing spot in Mars' Gale Crater.
Curiosity, the centerpiece of the $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory Mission, touched down on the Red Planet Aug. 5 to learn whether Mars ever had the conditions necessary to support life.
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The Jake rock is being used as a calibration target for Curiosity to try out its suite of 10 science instruments on. "It was the first good-sized rock that we found along the way," Roger Wiens, principal investigator for Curiosity's ChemCam instrument at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, said Thursday during a press conference. [Amazing Mars Rover Curiosity Views (Latest Photos)]
Not like other rocks
In late September Curiosity used ChemCam and its Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) to probe Jake's chemical composition. What they found was surprising.
"The spectrum that we're seeing was not what I expected," said APXS principal investigator Ralf Gellert of Canada's University of Guelph. "It seems to be a new type of rock that we've discovered on Mars" that wasn't seen by NASA's previous Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
Jake appears to have higher concentrations of elements such as sodium, aluminum and potassium, and lower concentrations of magnesium, iron and nickel, than other igneous rocks studied on Mars.
While previously unknown on Mars, this type of chemical composition is seen in a rare but well-studied class of rocks on Earth. On Earth, such specimens are found on oceanic islands such as Hawaii and in other places. They are thought to form when interior rocks melt to form magma, which then rises toward the surface. As it rises, it cools, and parts of the material crystalize, preferentially selecting some elements while leaving a remainder of liquid magma that is enriched with the left-behind chemicals.
However, the researchers said it's too soon to know whether the Jake rock formed this same way.
"This is based on one rock and one has to be careful not to extrapolate," said Edward Stolper, provost of Caltech and co-investigator on Curiosity's science team. "You have to wait and see if we find others and if relationships among them give us clues into the processes."
Ultimately, this rock is deepening scientists' understanding of the types of geology present on Mars, and could reveal new formation processes for known types of rocks.
"There is a richness in the igneous story that's not surprising," Stolper told Space.com. "The more you look, the more you find different things happened."
Mysterious shiny object
Curiosity is about 65 days into its mission, and still testing out all of its equipment.
The rover used its scoop tool to dig up Martian dirt for the first time earlier this week, and scientists saw a strange shiny object in photos of the scooped material. The find put a temporary halt on scooping activities while mission managers investigated the object.
Scientists have since concluded that it is most likely a bit of plastic from the rover itself or its descent stage that came loose and eventually fell onto the ground.
"The main thing here is, we scoured the rover and it's completely inconsequential to the rover's function," said Chris Roumeliotis, lead turret rover planner for Curiosity at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, Calif., where Curiosity's mission control is based. "It's likely from EDL [entry, descent and landing], and there is absolutely no issue."
Mission team members will continue investigating the debris, but they think it might be a piece of resistive heating material from the rover's exterior that was attached with adhesive, which might have come unstuck.
You can follow Space.com assistant managing editor Clara Moskowitz on Twitter@ClaraMoskowitz.Follow Space.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+.
? 2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.
If you have been taking into account the substance of stress management in your life, you are likely to benefit from this caring handbook. Stress management is a procedure that allows you the opportunity to gather how to effectively control the emotions that you experience on a day after day basis. When you are practicing stress management, you will draw together how to control your emotions so that broadcast won?t think of you as an over-reactor, but you will furthermore be able to control your mind to stay apparent. With a clear mind-set one task can be concluded and on time. Below I will list more tips for you.
When raising a stress management regime, it is valuable to stomach back and take a skilled look by how you react to particular situations in your life. You must take annotation of how you react emotionally to these things, as well as how you react physically. There are many things that you must be on the look made known pro. If you discover that you are inexorably depressed, are experiencing a all-purpose lack of hope, having suicidal tendencies, or physical complications such as breathing complications and akin issues, you should fit up an appointment with a doctor as soon as attainable.
It ?s not single in this area selection you develop ways to soubriquet the stress, but it furthermore will deposit you on a path. For that you need to fit and pursue goals that are meaningful. However, with goals, you could discover that you will became frustrated or upset as they aren?t met. That?s sanction, you will be able to fit extra goals and be thriving.
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On Sept, 27, 2012, representatives of xG Technology and its parent company, MB Technology Holdings, LLC, met with FCC staff members in Washington, DC. The purpose was to describe and show xG?s latest developments in cognitive radio technology, particularly how its rapid deployment and interference avoidance and mitigation capabilities could meet public safety and homeland security goals in emergency and mission-critical situations.
To showcase xG?s cognitive radio technology in action, the meeting included a live demonstration of a self-contained, single-cell xG vehicle that had been outfitted as a mobile communications system with an antenna mast and integrated satellite uplink equipment. The demonstration used commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) tablets and smartphones to transmit and receive voice (including push-to-talk services), text and broadband data applications over the xMax cognitive radio system to and from various locations, while both stationary and on the move.
xG also incorporated a 25 by 25 foot inflatable tactical shelter at the demo with full presentation and seating facilities to simulate an emergency command center.
The entire demonstration was successfully conducted despite substantial interference present in the shared unlicensed 900MHz band of the metro DC area. This underscored the fact that xMax clearly supports FCC initiatives for spectrum sharing, as well as being able to seamlessly integrate with commercial cellular services.
The meeting and demo resulted from a Request for Information (RFI) sent out by the FCC on ?Deployable Aerial Communications Architecture? (DACA). The FCC was looking for new solutions that would enable first responders to rapidly deploy a wireless communications system in a disaster zone.
Most of the respondents to the FCC?s request claimed it would only be doable using commercial frequencies. By contrast, xG responded by saying that the xMax cognitive radio system could use existing unlicensed frequencies and not interfere with commercial or public safety networks.
The xMax cognitive radio network solution is very well suited to addressing the particular requirements of public safety networks. Its spectrum-agile properties allow operation in frequencies that are unused and available at any moment in time. Leveraging its ability to operate in unlicensed spectrum, xMax delivers a robust, rapidly deployable, cost-effective, carrier-class emergency network communications system ? when and where it is needed. The Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) and Interference Mitigation technology xG developed and is deploying enables the xMax system to deliver a ?licensed spectrum experience using unlicensed spectrum.?
Images from the event can be seen at this link: xG Technology FCC Cognitive Radio Demo Images (Facebook) xG's official response to the FCC can be viewed at this link: xG Response to FCC DACA Notice of Inquiry
Daniel Carpini Marketing Director xG Technology, Inc.
This entry was posted on Friday, October 12th, 2012 at 3:04 pm and is filed under Cognitive Radio, Public Safety, Spectrum, Spectrum Sharing, Tactical Wireless Network, Unlicensed Spectrum. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Microsoft has released the Windows Phone 8 SDK for the Build developer conference, now taking place on the Redmond campus. The SDK is described as an environment “for building apps and games for Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 7.5.” That’s pretty obvious but why 7.5? That’s the odd thing here. It has a stand-alone Visual Studio Express 2012 edition. It can also work as an add-on to Visual Studio?Express 2012 edition for Windows Phone or works as an add-in to Visual Studio 2012 Professional, Premium or Ultimate editions. Microsoft says the SDK also includes emulators and additional tools for profiling and testing a Windows Phone app under real-world conditions. Here are the system requirements from the site: Supported operating systems:?Windows 8, Windows 8 P Windows 8 64-bit (x64) client versions Hardware: 4 GB of free hard disk space 4 GB RAM 64-bit (x64) CPU Windows Phone 8 Emulator: Windows 8 Pro edition or greater Requires a processor that supports Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) RedMonk analyst Donnie Berkholz, here at Build said this to me about the SDK: Windows Phone 8 now provides an end-user experience on par with iOS and Android. The public release of the developer SDK finally makes it possible to nail a critical component of mobile adoption, the broader app ecosystem. Unfortunately the SDK wasn?t released in advance of Windows Phone 8 so developers could have apps available at the release, which will hurt both developers and Microsoft because of the importance first impressions have to consumers. Given Microsoft?s near-legendary tenacity and its clear understanding of the importance of mobile devices, I expect they?ll continue pursuing this until they get it right — if not for Windows Phone 8, for the next release.
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Public release date: 14-Oct-2012
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To showcase xG?s cognitive radio technology in action, the meeting included a live demonstration of a self-contained, single-cell xG vehicle that had been outfitted as a mobile communications system with an antenna mast and integrated satellite uplink equipment. The demonstration used commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) tablets and smartphones to transmit and receive voice (including push-to-talk services), text and broadband data applications over the xMax cognitive radio system to and from various locations, while both stationary and on the move.