Santorum wins Louisiana, trails badly in delegates

With all Louisiana precincts reporting, Santorum captured 49 percent of the vote to 27 percent for Romney. Newt Gingrich, was far back at 16 percent, followed by Ron Paul with 6 percent.

Although the victory gives Santorum bragging rights and 10 more delegates, it does not change the overall dynamics of the race. The former Pennsylvania senator still dramatically lags behind Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, in the battle for delegates to the party’s August nominating convention in Tampa, Florida.

The Saturday vote in Louisiana gave Romney five delegates and five will be designated as uncommitted.

With the state-by-state primary and caucus contests more than half complete, Santorum has won just 27 percent of the delegates. Romney has been accumulating delegates at a 54-percent clip. Most of the remaining states award delegates proportionally based on primary results, making it even more difficult for Santorum to close the gap.

The odds would seem to rule out nomination of Santorum. But as he savored his victory in Louisiana, the ultraconservative vowed to remain in the battle. Santorum was campaigning in Wisconsin, which holds its primary on April 3.

“Even though a lot of folks are saying this race is over, the people in Louisiana said,All RUBBER MATS is comprised of all types of mats, ‘No, it’s not.This page contains information about molds,’ They still want to see someone who they can trust, someone who’s not running an Etch a Sketch campaign, but one who has their principals written on their heart,What is a real time Location system ? not on an erasable tablet,” Santorum said Sunday on CBS television’s “Face the Nation.” “And I think that’s what helped us deliver the win in Louisiana, and I think we’re going to do very well up here in Wisconsin, too.”

Santorum was referring to a comment last week by a top Romney campaign adviser implying that once nominated “everything changes” for Romney “like an Etch a Sketch,” referring to a mechanical drawing toy that just needs shaking for the image to vanish. The comment implied that Romney would be able to move his positions more to the center of the political specturm in the general election campaign.

The remark fueled long-standing criticism that Romney, who has held more moderate views in the past on sensitive issues such as abortion and gay rights, molds his principles to fit political goals and lacks conservative convictions.

But the Republican establishment is increasingly coalescing around Romney’s candidacy out of concern that an extended nomination fight could hurt the party’s chances against President Barack Obama. The Democratic incumbent faces no serious primary challenge and his re-election campaign already is well under way.

An influential Republican senator said on Sunday that the nominating race was all but finished.

“I think the primary is over. Romney will be the nominee,” South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham told CNN. “The fat lady hasn’t sung yet. But she’s warming up.”

Romney has churned through the nomination contest with a huge financial and organizational advantage, further dimming the likelihood that Santorum will pull off the nearly impossible task. His campaign staff rubbed that in after Santorum’s Saturday victory.

“Rick Santorum is like a football team celebrating a field goal (a 3-point score) when they are losing by seven touchdowns (42 points) with less than a minute left in the game,” said Romney spokesman Ryan Williams, who was at Santorum’s sparsely attended victory party in Green Bay, Wisconsin. That state holds its primary on April 3.

Romney remains far ahead with 568 delegates to Santorum’s 273,InLocality specializes in indoor Tracking Technologies. according to an Associated Press tally. Newt Gingrich follows with 135 and Ron Paul has 50.

Romney is just short of half the 1,144 delegates it will take to clinch the nomination ahead of the convention this summer in Tampa, Florida, while Santorum is shy of accumulating a quarter of the needed delegates. His organizational disadvantage will show again in the District of Columbia primary, also on April 3, where Santorum failed to get on the ballot.Distributes and manufactures RUBBER SHEET,

A loft with room for inspiration

Leafing through a 1960s shelter magazine recently, Linnea Gits landed on a piece about shibumi, a Japanese aesthetic. She tacked a list of its seven qualities to the chunky cork mood board inside the River West loft she shares with partner Peter Dunham, as a distillation of the values they have always lived and designed by: simplicity, implicitness, modesty, silence, naturalness, everydayness and imperfection.

Those principles influence every object — custom furniture, tabletop accessories, limited-edition prints — that the couple create for their almost 2-year-old design company Uusi. That sensibility also permeates the 2,500-square-foot live/work space that they gutted and rebuilt starting in 1996, in an industrial building once occupied by a furniture company.

A woodworker and furniture-maker, Dunham executed most of the rehab, with artful unconventionality. There is no living room, formal or otherwise. "One of these days we will get a sofa," Gits said with a laugh. The master bedroom occupies a sliver of the 2,500 square feet of second-floor space they lease,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, which affords a sprawling art studio and corner office. Dunham's wood shop stretches across 5,000 square feet in the basement.

Nonetheless, the interior feels warm and inviting in its cross between commercial and personal, spare and collected.

"Spaces are so emotional," said Gits, who focuses on graphic art, design and illustration. "They are sanctuaries, but they need enough tension to be inspirational."

"They also need to be functional," Dunham said, seated at the dark wood dining/conference table he built and topped with white laminate, both for appealing contrast and a neutral background for product photography.

Uusi — pronounced OO-see — means "new" in Finnish. But much of the freshness here comes from the couple's vintage objects. An edited selection of Springerle cookie molds dating to the 1800s (which they have baked with) and Japanese Kokeshi dolls adorn floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Another holds Danish craftsman Kay Bojesen's bulbous wood animals, some of which Gits' mother gave to her as a child. They informed a series of decorative wood animal figures Uusi produced for Design Within Reach stores.

"As a child, I never wanted to play with the (Bojesen figurines), but I liked looking at them and imagining what world they were from," Gits said.Full-service custom manufacturer of precision plastic injection mould, "It's those things that are so crazy-weird that feed you and stick with you longer.InLocality specializes in indoor Tracking Technologies."

"They start something," Dunham said.

Painted Benjamin Moore Atrium white,They become pathological or Piles when swollen or inflamed. original plaster walls adjoin new drywall where rooms were reconfigured. The floors are plywood transformed with custom finishes. Dunham stained the kitchen ones white, suggesting marble when sunshine floods through two skylights.

Above the kitchen sink is a wooden, wall-mounted knife block, an Uusi best-seller (and one purchased by Alinea chef Grant Achatz). "It's an example of something that looks so simple to make," Dunham said, but isn't.

Dunham and Gits remodeled the kitchen three years ago, replacing cabinetry above the counter with a long shelf for easy access to dinnerware and Dunham's vintage Belgian beer glasses.What is a third party payment gateway ? They kept the Tappan stove, inherited from Dunham's grandmother.

The shelf, and the lower cabinetry, bears a thick veneer of cypress, from staves Dunham salvaged from water towers across Chicago. The rings of the wood repeat along the shelf and lower cabinetry like the eddies of a pond across which a stone has skipped.

"This wood is anywhere from 300 to a thousand years old," Dunham said. "It's like some kind of fossil gem. You cut into these pieces, and you never know what you're going to see."

He has re-purposed cypress and redwood staves for commercial and personal purposes. Most recently, he shaped a paper-thin flitch into a lampshade that bathes his desk in warm, coppery light if he is working in the wee hours, as the couple are wont and able to do.

They do sleep, Gits assured. A full-size bed covered in a Missoni spread accommodates Gits (who is 5 feet 10 inches tall), Dunham and occasionally their two cats.

"Four years ago we were replacing our mattress, and I was so freaked by how big they had gotten, with 5 miles of pillow top. We just wanted a firm mattress. The store had purposely put this one on a Soviet-era bed," Gits said, smiling. "We're going to sound really Spartan! We're not unsensual people."

Don't let slugs take over your garden

As you get ready to get out and plant flower beds, and you might begin to see the early blossoms from the bulbs planted late last season, you might also start to notice garden pests. There are many garden pests I could discuss such as aphids, cucumber beetles, pill bugs and more, but for this article I will focus on the slimy mollusks of the pest world: slugs.

Slugs can be quite frustrating for gardeners because they shred leaves and sometimes defoliate entire plants. They eat by rasping with their mouth which scrapes the leaves. They lay eggs in the cracks of the soil.Welcome to the online guide for do-it-yourself Ceramic tile. The baby slugs then travel through the soil and damage or destroy root crops, juvenile plants and germinating seeds.An Air purifier is a device which removes contaminants from the air.

These sluggish invaders are very different from the insects or larvae we typically see in the garden. Slugs are mollusks,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, so they have a very different body shape and composition than most of the other garden pests you typically see. Slugs can reach up to four inches in length, exhibit nocturnal behavior and prefer wet areas to thrive. Areas most common for slugs include gardens, basements,InLocality specializes in indoor Tracking Technologies. greenhouses and even flower pots. In order to battle slugs effectively you may need to take a creative approach, instead of just using a general pesticide.

First, it's important to understand that these gastropods depend on moist, humid environments to survive. They feed on molds, decaying organic matter, and of course, many of our garden flowers and veggies. If your garden bed area has specific pockets that retain moisture, then those areas are most susceptible to housing these slimy garden pests. Keeping mulch, which harbors slugs, away from the base of your plants will aide in keeping your plants safe.

A simple solution for dealing with slugs is to put down a newspaper or wooden plank over those humid or damp areas in the evening. In the morning you'll find that slugs have made their way to the underside of the material-you can then simply pick it up and dispose of the whole thing. You can choose to throw them directly in the trash can or into a bucket of soapy water.TBC help you confidently buy mosaic from factories in China. You can also attract slugs by placing halved fruit rinds such as grapefruit, lemon, lime, and melons-scooped out and place upside-down throughout the damp areas in your garden. Leave them overnight, in the morning turn them over to find a congregation of slugs housed in the underside of the rinds. Dunk the rinds in soapy water to remove the slugs, then toss the rinds in your compost pile, or reuse them again as you did initially to trap more slugs. Another low-cost, environmentally-friendly option is beer. Slugs are naturally attracted to beer. Bury a small bowl, pie tin, or tin can filled with beer in the yard near garden beds so that the opening is at ground level. This will act as a trap where slugs will fall in and drown. The same trap can be baited with a mixture of sugar-water and yeast.

Gene Therapy Shows Promise for Treating Beta-Thalassemia

Scientists have developed a gene therapy strategy that could feasibly treat both β-thalassemia and sickle cell disease. The technology is based on delivery of a lentiviral vector carrying both the human β-globin gene and an ankyrin insulator to improve gene transcripton and translation, and boost levels of β-globin production. The Weill Cornell Medical College-led team that reports on the development has in parallel devised a simple assay to predict how well individual patients are likely to respond to the treatment.

Stefano Rivella,Welcome to the online guide for do-it-yourself Ceramic tile. Ph.D., and colleagues report on their achievement in PLoS One in a paper titled “Therapeutic Hemoglobin Levels after Gene Transfer in β-Thalassemia Mice and in Hematopoietic Cells of β-Thalassemia and Sickle Cells Disease Patients.”

β-thalassemia is caused by mutations in the β-globin gene which lead to either reduced β-globin synthesis (β+), or a complete lack of β-globin (β0). Sickle-cell disease (SCD), on the other hand, is caused by a mutation in the β chain that leads to synthesis of an aberrant form of hemoglobin, Hb S. The only definitive cure for either disease is allogeneic bone marrow cell transplantation, a procedure that, even if a suitable donor can be found, can cause rejection reactions in the recipient.

Building on the success of prior gene therapy studies in mice, and the first evaluation of gene therapy in β-thalassemia patient, the Weill Cornell-led researchers developed a new lentiviral vector, designated AnkT9W, which carries both the human β-globin gene and the erythroid-specific ankyrin 5’ hypersensitive (HS) barrier insulator.

Initial studies showed that mouse erythroleukemia (MEL) cells transduced with AnkT9W exhibited far greater hemoglobin synthesis than cells transduced with a T9W vector that didn’t include the ankyrin insulator. This enhanced hemoglobin synthesis was associated with increased levels of β-globin mRNA and translation. Importantly, the ankyrin element was stably integrated in the MEL cells.

The researchers moved on to test their vector in a mouse model of thalassemia intermedia, which is the less severe form of the disease.An Air purifier is a device which removes contaminants from the air. Bone marrow cells from affected mice were transduced with AnkT9W and then reintroduced back into the animals. Encouragingly, therapy led to markedly increased levels of hemoglobin and red cell counts, together with what the authors call remarkable correction of the red blood cell morphology, and correction of liver and spleen morphology.

To demonstrate whether expression of chimeric hemoglobin could be sustained over the long term, the team then took bone marrow cells from the treated animals and transplanted them into a separate cohort of thalassemic mice, and then repeated the process to establish tertiary chimeras. Even in these animals expression of chimeric hemoglobin was comparable to that of the initial treated animals, “confirming that a sustained correction of the phenotype can be achieved utilizing AnkT9W.”

Given that the data so far indicated that AnkT9W enabled MEL cells to express the transgenic β-globin gene and led to efficient long-term correction of thalassemic phenotype in mice, the team tested the vector in an ex vivo-expanded population of peripheral blood-derived human erythroid progenitor cells (ErPCs). Transduced cells from patients with β+ thalassemia (i.e., that already produce some Hb A) started to produce levels of total Hb A (in other words transgenic Hb A plus endogenous Hb A) that were equivalent to those in healthy cells. Even totally Hb A-deficient β0 cells were capable of producing levels of transgenic Hb A comparable to about 55% of normal, after transduction with AnkT9W.

Overall, it was evident that β0/0 cells required higher amounts of vector to reach therapeutic levels of Hb, whereas Β0/+ and β+/+ cells already expressed some endogenous HbA and reached curative levels at lower vector copy numbers (VCNs). Blood tests prior to therapy could therefore provide an indication of how much vector they will need to achieve curative levels of Hb, the team writes.Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, “We believe that analysis of erythroid progenitors transduced with different amounts of lentiviral vectors could be useful for testing the potential of each lentiviral construct prior to bone marrow transplantation.”

Results in CD34+ cells from SCD patients were similarly encouraging. These cells normally produce no Hb A, but instead produce a mutant Hb S. However, after transduction with AnkT9W,InLocality specializes in indoor Tracking Technologies. the cells reduced their production of both fetal hemoglobin and Hb S, and instead started producing transgenic Hb A.

"This study represents a fresh departure from previously published work in the field of gene therapy,” Dr. Rivella claims. “The gene therapy technique has the potential to cure many patients, especially if we prescreen them to predict their response using just a few of their cells..xcel Mould is a Custom Mold Making,.This approach would provide vital information to select the best candidates for these clinical trials, before patients undergo myeloablation and bone marrow transplant.”

Flight of the Night Hawks

Exactly what the fish think it is, no one’s sure. I’ve heard a dozen theories from a dozen anglers: a big shrimp; a sideways-swimming crab; a bottom-hugging mullet; an eel.

For fun I’ll throw in my own two cents: a snook. Those long, contrasting fibers extending beyond the skirt? The ones that make these popular jigs lure look like a fish with a long, dark, lateral line?

That big snook prey on little snook is a fact well-documented by a three-year research effort overseen by Florida’s foremost snook experts. From 2006 to 2009, biologists electro-fished four Southeast Florida rivers, all famous for linesider populations: The South and North Forks of the St. Lucie; the Loxahatchee; and the Sebastian. Temporarily stunned fish were subject to a gentle stomach-pump procedure, then returned to the watershed with a dart tag.

Of individual prey items, mullet made up the greatest proportion of snook diet by weight. By number, swimming crabs were the most common. But all kinds of weird stuff showed up: armored catfish, sleeper gobies, freshwater prawns, left-eyed flounder. Many of these critters are demersal by nature, living close to or even in the bottom—a point to which I’ll return in a moment. And, of course, snook bellies contained snook.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) scientists worked in daylight hours, and noted—with minor irritation—that much of the stomach contents were difficult to recognize, in late stages of digestion. They were cognizant of another well-established fact: Snook foraging activity peaks between dusk and dawn.

These fish feed predominantly in the dark, on a variety of prey,Here's a complete list of oil painting supplies for the beginning oil painter. including line-striped Centropomus of roughly the size and profile of a 1 -ounce nylon hair jig.

I surmise Lt. Col. Clayton Williams would’ve found these reports mildly interesting, but not surprising. He may have also found it amusing that, 50 years later, fishermen are still trying to figure out the “magic” in his lure design.

Williams, who passed away in 2001, is widely credited as the inventor of what came to be referred to locally as the redtail hawk jig style, though he pointed out in a 1999 Ft. Pierce Tribune interview that he didn’t name it as such.

His widow, Lanell,Distributes and manufactures RUBBER SHEET, told me recently Williams regarded the characteristic tail, or runner, mostly as an attractor. “He would’ve thought redtail hawk was a silly name,” she said, smiling. “He had a very creative mind; if he needed something, he’d make it,All RUBBER MATS is comprised of all types of mats, and if it worked, well. . . other people would notice!”

Williams developed the pattern while fishing on the south jetty of Fort Pierce Inlet in 1960. A native of north Georgia, and a decorated WWII and Korean War veteran, Williams was resourceful and systematic. Most of snook bites would occur right on the bottom on a strong tide; to reach those fish consistently, Williams built his own mold to pour bullet-shaped leadheads weighing 1 ounces—heavier than what was available in those days.InLocality specializes in indoor Tracking Technologies. One of his two sons, David Williams,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, remembers bins of deer tails arriving at their home in Fort Pierce from parts unknown, and later, reams of nylon. Lanell said jig-making was an ongoing passion. “We’d be on vacation, and there he’d be, tying up jigs,” she recalled.

Lure companies—beginning with Nickelure in the 1970s—took notice, and today jigs similar to Williams’ original design are built by a half-dozen makers, under different names and in wide color and size variations. Frank Neff, of Jensen Beach, acquired a trademark for the name in 2006, and sells his Red Tail Hawk Lures in 72 different varieties of color and weight. But many other designs produce fish.

Religious practices are not all ethical

In September 2011, a two-week-old baby boy unnecessarily died. The cause of death: Disseminated Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1, complicating ritual circumcision with oral suction. The Orthodox Jewish circumcision process called “metzitzah b’peh” is otherwise known as “oral suction,” or the suctioning of blood from the circumcision wound directly by mouth.

Unfortunately, last year isn’t the first time that this particular rabbi, Yitzchok Fischer, caused the death of a child. The same thing happened in 2004, and that same year three other babies were determined to have contracted herpes from Fischer. While Herpes Simplex Virus 1 is usually harmless in adults and manifests itself only as uncomfortable cold sores, because of the virus’ association with the nervous system, it poses significant health threats to newborns and can result in brain damage, and sometimes, death.

The practice of circumcision is condoned in the Bible and believed by several religious denominations to be one of the most important rituals performed during an individual’s lifetime. But outside of a religious context, oral-penile contact from an adult man to a child is considered pedophilia and is punishable by law.

Because the contact in question occurred within a religious context, Fischer has not been held accountable for the death of the baby boys.

Jerry Schmetterer, the spokesman for Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes, told The Jewish Week that, “Our Crimes Against Children Bureau is looking into this situation. I would not assume what any possible charges would be.”

I can think of a few possible charges, Mr. Hynes. How about two counts of criminal homicide? Several counts of child molestation? Tortious transmission of an STD by intentional neglect? The behavior of this priest is abominable to any right-minded person, but according to The Jewish Week, the city only filed a legal complaint against Fischer to compel him to stop engaging in the practice after the death of the first baby. Clearly,All RUBBER MATS is comprised of all types of mats, he did not comply, but instead of being legally prosecuted, the matter was ultimately referred by the city to a “beit din” — a religious tribunal — for review.

In his book “God is Not Great,” Christopher Hitchens writes about circumcision in connection to religion: “Full excision … is now exposed for what it is — a mutilation of a powerless infant … And who can bear to read the medical textbooks and histories which calmly record the number of boy babies who died from infection after their eighth day … The record of syphilitic and other infection, from rotting rabbinical teeth or other rabbinical indiscretions … is simply dreadful.”

The alteration of an individual’s body without informed consent is dreadful. It is interesting to note that in third-world countries the circumcision,Distributes and manufactures RUBBER SHEET, or genital mutilation of young females, is viewed as an abhorrent attack on human rights and informed consent.What is the top Hemorrhoids treatment? In the U.S.The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services,, before 2006, more than half the population of young males were being circumcised.

Fortunately, the practice of circumcision has plummeted in popularity in the last few years. A study by the Control for Disease Center in 2010 found that from 2006 to 2009,InLocality specializes in indoor Tracking Technologies. the rate of circumcision dropped from 56 percent to 32.4 percent. There are groups called “intactivists,” who promote legislation that prohibits the practice of circumcision altogether.

Some modern proponents of male circumcision claim that the removal of the foreskin reduces an infant’s chances of incurring urinary tract infections and aids in preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases later in life. However, according to Kidshealth.org, less than one percent of non-circumcised males will contract a UTI, making this concern negligible.

Helping One Big Client, but Wanting to Spread Out

The Four Horsemen — Chris Dahlberg, H. Eric Mayse, Jim Preziosi and Eric Treadaway — met while working at McFarlane Toys, a maker of action figures. Wanting to create their own line, the four men left McFarlane in 1999 to start their own company.

But creating a toy line, getting it to market and making it profitable can take years. To be successful, action figures generally need a story supported by movies, TV shows or comic books. Rather than focus on creating content, Mr. Preziosi said, the men decided to build their reputations as designers.

At the time, Mattel was looking for an outside team with a distinctive design sense. The Four Horsemen pitched the idea of bringing back the Mattel characters He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, which had been highly successful in the 1980s. Mattel liked the idea and offered the team a contract. “There was a financial guarantee,” for a year, Mr. Treadaway said. “It allowed each of us a salary.”

From their new workshop in Bloomingdale,InLocality specializes in indoor Tracking Technologies. N.J., the team began designing the toys, then sending the molds to Mattel, which handled manufacturing and sales. The workload was modest in the beginning, about 20 toys a year, Mr. Treadaway said. But as their relationship with Mattel grew and their contract was extended, the Four Horsemen picked up other assignments.Welcome to the online guide for do-it-yourself Ceramic tile.

The Mattel work kept them busy, but their intent had been to design their own toys. And yet, without content or a story line, it would be hard for Four Horsemen to establish its own product line.MDC Mould specialized of Injection moulds, Still focused on Mattel, they tried their first independent effort in 2004, a line they called Magma Corps. They produced 1,000 figures, selling them for $20 apiece to collectors at comic conventions and on the company’s e-commerce Web site. But interest was slow to build, and they were able to sell only a few hundred figures.

For their second effort, they posted sketches of a fantasy line called 7th Kingdom on their Web site and let fans decide which figures and accessories would be made. The first figure produced was given a limited run of 1,000 and sold for $20 apiece. Mr. Treadaway said the plan was to keep the price as low as possible. “As long as we were breaking even on it, we’re pretty happy about it,” he said. “It’s an investment.”

When the second 7th Kingdom figure was ready for production, it was offered for presale over the Internet, and all 1,000 sold out in a few days. But production hit a snag. To manufacture their lines, they had used their industry connections to find small factories in China that could produce the toys quickly and cheaply, a plan that backfired when one of the factories closed before production had finished.

“We paid for production, and it was half-done,” Mr. Mayse said.

The company lost money, but its contacts in China were able to retrieve some molds used in production, and the Horsemen sent the molds to another factory to finish the run. “The fans were great,” Mr. Mayse said. “They stood by for a year and a half,Can't afford a third party merchant account right now? waiting patiently for their figures.”

The Horsemen were eager to produce more,A Injection Molding Moulding company, and teamed up with online retailers to sell limited-edition variations of the 7th Kingdom figure to help reduce production costs. When the figures were offered to fans, they quickly sold out.

The team tried the same concept with two more characters from the 7th Kingdom line and had the same success. The company’s annual revenue surpassed $500,000, and the men believed they were ready to expand. They had already hired two workers to help with molding and painting, and in 2009, they moved into a larger studio and hired a third employee.

They have also sought to focus on creating content to support their toy lines. In 2008, the men met with a production company, 4Kids Entertainment, about creating an animated television series, a process the four found daunting. They came close to signing a deal, but the financial crisis hit, and the deal fell apart.