Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano holds up the trophy Pinstripe Bowl trophy after his team defeated Iowa State 27-13 in an NCAA college football game on Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, at Yankee Stadium in New York. ( AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano holds up the trophy Pinstripe Bowl trophy after his team defeated Iowa State 27-13 in an NCAA college football game on Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, at Yankee Stadium in New York. ( AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Rutgers running back Jawan Jamison (23) holds up the player of the game trophy after his team defeated Iowa State 27-13 in the Pinstripe Bowl NCAA college football game onFriday, Dec. 30, 2011, at Yankee Stadium in New York. ( AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Rutgers running back Jawan Jamison (23) walks on the field after the Pinstripe Bowl NCAA college football game against Iowa State, Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, at Yankee Stadium in New York. Rutgers won 27-13 and Jamison was the game's MVP. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Rutgers running back Jawan Jamison (23) runs with the ball as Iowa State defensive back Darian Cotton (23) defends in the first quarter of the Pinstripe Bowl NCAA college football game on Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, at Yankee Stadium in New York. Jamison was the game's MVP as Rutgers took a 27-13 victory. ( AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Iowa State running back Jeff Woody (32) scores on a touchdown run in the fourth quarter of the Pinstripe Bowl NCAA college football game against Rutgers, Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, at Yankee Stadium in New York. Rutgers won 27-13. ( AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Rutgers coach Greg Schiano was handed the big glass trophy his Scarlet Knights earned by beating Iowa State in the Pinstripe Bowl and had just one thing to say.
"Eric! Eric!" Schiano shouted into the microphone as he stood at midfield at Yankee Stadium and pointed toward the press box. "This one's for you."
Eric LeGrand, bound to a wheelchair more than a year after being paralyzed making a tackle during a game, is still very much a part of Rutgers football.
The former defensive end was shown on the huge video scoreboard while Schiano spoke, busting out a wide grin.
"My heart kind of jumped because I wasn't expecting it," LeGrand told the AP in a phone interview.
He then went to the locker room and celebrated a 27-13 victory with his former teammates. He said he even did a little shoulder dancing.
"That's our brother before and after the injury, and that's how we're going to treat him forever," Rutgers linebacker Khaseem Greene said. "Just having his presence around, it's amazing. He makes the locker room glow."
On the field, it was a couple of redshirt freshmen who lit it up for the Scarlet Knights. Brandon Coleman hauled in an 86-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter after Iowa State had trimmed the lead to 20-13, and Jawan Jamison ran for 131 yards and two scores on 27 carries.
"That's what we love to do. That's who we want to be," Schiano said of a running game that struggled much of the season, but seems to be in good hands going forward.
The Scarlet Knights (9-4) ran their bowl winning streak to five and improved to 2-0 this season at Yankee Stadium, where they beat Army last month. Rutgers, which played in one bowl game before 2005, is 5-1 in the postseason under Schiano.
The Cyclones (6-7) finished the season on a three-game losing streak, their last win coming on Nov. 18 in Ames, Iowa, when they pulled off the biggest upset of the season against Oklahoma State.
That night Jared Barnett threw for 376 yards. In this game, Steele Jantz, who started the first six games, relieved Barnett in the second quarter and helped pull the Cyclones within 20-13 in the fourth on Jeff Woody's 20-yard touchdown run with 10:00 left.
"We were not executing in a manner that I felt was going to lead us to a win, and from what we've seen in December's practices, made the switch," Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said about the quarterbacks.
After an exchange of punts left Rutgers deep in its own end, Chas Dodd went deep to Coleman. The 6-foot-6 Coleman went over 5-7 cornerback Jeremy Reeves, then outran the corner to the end zone to make it 27-13 with 5:47 left.
It was Coleman's only catch, but it turned out to be the play of the game.
"I didn't go out there trying to make a play. I just went out there trying to do my job," Coleman said. "The number was called but I was still calm, cool and collected."
Rutgers grabbed a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter when Jamison powered through a tackler and scored on fourth-and-goal from the 1. On the next possession, Iowa State couldn't handle one of Rutgers' many blitzes, and Greene and Wayne Warren swarmed and stripped Barnett. Scott Vallone scooped up the fumble and returned it 12 yards to the Iowa State 4. The Cyclones managed to hold Rutgers to San San Te's 21-yard field goal.
Jantz replaced Barnett on the next Iowa State series.
The Cyclones' defense didn't hold up as well on Rutgers' next possession. The Scarlet Knights marched 66 yards, 49 on the ground, and Jamison juked his way into the end zone from 12 yards out to make 17-6.
Justin Francis finished Rutgers' strong second half by blocking Zach Guyer's 44-yard field goal attempt with 57 seconds left.
Iowa State jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, with Guyer kicking field goals of 40 and 46 yards on the Cyclones' first two possessions. Inaccurate throws by Barnett were key to stalling each drive.
The redshirt freshman was 2 for 7 before giving way to Jantz, who was 15 for 31 for 197 yards and ran for 36 yards.
"Most of it falls on the offense not executing and not what they did," Jantz said. "Not to take away anything from them because they have a great defense, but then again it ultimately comes back to me because I run the offense."
The Scarlet Knights missed the postseason last year for the first time since 2004, but rebounded this season to challenge for the Big East title behind a defense that came in ranked 14th in the nation.
Greene led the charge Friday with 13 tackles, three for losses, before being carted off in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. The junior was on crutches after the game and said he thinks he'll be OK in the long run.
LeGrand insists he'll be OK in the long run, too, and that he will walk again. His positive vibes have been an inspiration to the Scarlet Knights.
When they received a bowl bid to a site about 45 miles away from their campus in Piscataway, N.J., it made it even easier for LeGrand to be part of the team again. He stayed with his mother in the team hotel and attended all the bowl activities around the Big Apple.
"To have him in the locker room right now with all his buddies, that's special," Schiano said. "That's his senior class."
After Schiano made his short postgame speech, the fans in Yankee Stadium chanted "Eric! Eric!"
"Honestly, this was picture perfect," LeGrand said. "The only thing that would have made it better is if it could have run out there with them."
Michael Len Plumadore was held without bond after his arrest Monday night in the death of Aliahna Lemmon, 9.
By M. Alex Johnson, msnbc.com
Updated at 7:57 p.m. ET: Michael Len Plumadore, the man accused of killing and dismembering 9-year-old Aliahna Lemmon at his home in Fort Wayne, Ind., has been on the run for 11 years for battery of a Florida law enforcement officer.
Florida Department of Correction records show that Plumadore, now 39, fled the state after he was sentenced to a year in prison in May 2000. Details of the incident in Miami Beach weren't immediately available.
Updated at 6:45 p.m. ET: The Associated Press, quoting one of the 15 sex offenders living at Northway Woods, reported that Aliahna Lemmon's mother had recently moved to the trailer park to take care of her father, James E. Lemmon, a convicted sex offender who had emphysema.
James Lemmon died Dec. 3 at age 66, Oberlin-Turnbull Funeral Home of Hamilton said. State prison records show that he was convicted March 6, 2006, of child molestation.
The official cause of Aliahna's death was pending completion of an autopsy Wednesday, but a preliminary coroner's report concluded that "the manner of death was homicide."
Original post: The Indiana trailer park that was home to 9-year-old Aliahna Lemmon ? whose dismembered body was found this week ? is also home to an extraordinary number of registered sex offenders, police and court records show.
An affidavit filed Tuesday by Allen County sheriff's investigators said Michael Len Plumadore, 39, of the Northway Woods trailer park in Fort Wayne, confessed to having killed and dismembered Aliahna on Friday. Her head, hands and feet were found in a freezer in Plumadore's home; the rest of her body was scattered elsewhere in the area.
Plumadore was held without bail Tuesday pending formal charges.
Plumadore lives in the same trailer park as Aliahna ? who a relative said was partly blind and deaf ? and her two younger sisters, and he often baby-sat for them. The girls had been staying with Plumadore for about a week because their mother was ill.
The affidavit doesn't say why Plumadore would have wanted to kill Aliahna. He isn't on the county's sex offender registry ? court records show only convictions for trespassing, assault and auto theft in Florida and North Carolina.
Northway Woods is one of an increasing number of isolated locations around the country that have become havens for registered sex offenders, who in most states must not live within a certain distance of places where children congregate, such as schools and churches.
The Allen County sheriff's registry shows that 15 sex offenders live at Northway Woods, a small mobile home park with 54 lots, only about 25 of which are occupied. Among them are men with multiple felony convictions for sexual abuse of a minor and child molestation.
In other words, three-fifths of the occupied units house a registered sex offender. That's an extraordinary concentration in Indiana, which has only 137 registered sex offenders per 100,000 population ? the third-lowest ratio among all 50 states, according to data compiled by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Sex offender registry map from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children(.pdf)
Seven other registered offenders live within 2 miles of the trailer park, the registry shows ? meaning nearly 5 percent of all of the county's 537 registered sex offenders live within a short walk of one another.
"You see it on TV all the time in other states, in other places, but this is in our own backyard," said Kathleen McKee, who lives in the Northway Woods park. "It's in our own home, and it's scary."
"I feel for the family, because I have three children myself ? two daughters and a son," McKee told NBC station WISE of Fort Wayne. "I can't imagine what that family is feeling, especially around Christmas time."
Before he was arrested, Plumadore gave a brief interview Monday morning to WISE. The station hasn't aired the interview, but it reported that Plumadore said he was going in to take a polygraph test and that he, too, was eager to find Aliahna.
WISE constructed and aired this timeline of the hours leading up to Plumadore's arrest:
TOKYO (Reuters) ? Japan and India are in the final stages of deciding on a dollar swap agreement and expect to reach agreement during Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's visit to India this week, Japan's finance minister said on Tuesday.
An earlier $3 billion arrangement came into force in 2008 but expired in June. The Nikkei business newspaper reported on Sunday that the new one would be set at $10 billion.
Further financial cooperation as well as Japanese support for infrastructure in India will be a key focus at talks between the leaders of the two countries, Finance Minister Jun Azumi told a news conference.
Azumi also said he expects Japan's exports will pick up early next year if the European economy stabilizes and currency levels reflect Japan's economic fundamentals.
(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
Neuralstem's NSI-189 trial in major depressive disorder receives FDA approval to advance to Phase IbPublic release date: 27-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Deanne Eagle deanneeagle@gmail.com 917-837-5866 Neuralstem, Inc.
First neuroregenerative drug tested in depression
ROCKVILLE, Maryland, December, 27, 2011 Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: CUR) announced that it has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to advance to Phase Ib in its ongoing clinical trial to test its novel neuroregenerative compound, NSI-189, for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Phase Ib will test the safety and tolerability of the drug in depressed patients. NSI-189 is a proprietary new chemical entity discovered by Neuralstem that stimulates new neuron growth in the hippocampus, an area of the brain that is believed to be involved in MDD as well as other diseases and conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"We are pleased to be approved to begin testing NSI-189 in patients who suffer from depression," said Karl Johe, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer and Chairman of Neuralstem's Board of Directors. "Loss of hippocampal volume is a known characteristic in depressed patients. NSI-189 stimulates neurogenesis and increases hippocampal volume in healthy adult mice, at the same time reversing behavioral symptoms in mouse depression models, so it could address depression at the source."
"It is exciting to see a new class of drugs that potentially offers a novel and different approach to this disease moving into patients," said Maurizio Fava, MD, Slater Family Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Fava, one of the world's leading researchers in MDD, helped design the Neuralstem trial.
About NSI-189
Neuralstem's technology enabled the creation of neural stem cell lines from many areas of the human CNS, including the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a part of the brain involved in memory and the generation of new neurons. It is also implicated in several major neurological and psychiatric diseases. From its hippocampal neural stem cell lines, Neuralstem has created virtually unlimited amounts of mature human neurons and glia in laboratory dishes. These can be used to mimic the natural brain environment in order to test drug effects.
Neuralstem has been engaged in its own drug discovery program with these human hippocampal stem cell lines since 2000. In 2009, Neuralstem was granted U.S. patents on four first-in-class chemical entities that boost the generation of new neurons. NSI-189, the first of these to be in a clinical trial, significantly stimulates the generation of new hippocampal neurons (neurogenesis) in vitro and in animal models, above and beyond the neural stem cells' innate differentiation.
NSI-189 is the lead compound in Neuralstem's neuroregenerative small molecule drug platform, which the company plans to develop into orally administered drugs for MDD and other psychiatric disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, anxiety, bipolar disorder and post traumatic stress disorder.
NSI-189 stimulated neurogenesis of human hippocampus-derived neural stem cells in-vitro. In healthy normal adult mice, NSI-189 stimulated neurogenesis in the hippocampus and significantly increased its volume, apparently by increasing its synaptic network after 28 days of daily oral administration. In mouse models of depression, NSI-189 significantly improved behavioral responses associated with depression. In humans, NSI-189 may reverse the human hippocampal atrophy seen in MDD and other disorders and reverse their symptoms. This program has received significant support from both the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
About the Trial
The NSI-189/MDD trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose escalating trial evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic effect of NSI-189 in the treatment of MDD. Phase Ia tested escalating doses of single administration of NSI-189 in healthy patients. Phase Ib will test the safety of escalating doses of NSI-189 for 28 daily administrations in 24 depressed patients. The Phase Ib portion of the trial is expected to take approximately six months to complete.
###
About Neuralstem
Neuralstem's patented technology enables the ability to produce neural stem cells of the human brain and spinal cord in commercial quantities, and the ability to control the differentiation of these cells constitutively into mature, physiologically relevant human neurons and glia. Neuralstem is in an FDA-approved Phase I safety clinical trial for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease and has been awarded orphan status designation by the FDA.
In addition to ALS, the company is also targeting major central nervous system conditions with its cell therapy platform, including spinal cord injury, ischemic spastic paraplegia, chronic stroke, and Huntington's disease. The company has submitted an IND (Investigational New Drug) application to the FDA for a Phase I safety trial in chronic spinal cord injury.
Neuralstem also has the ability to generate stable human neural stem cell lines suitable for the systematic screening of large chemical libraries. Through this proprietary screening technology, Neuralstem has discovered and patented compounds that may stimulate the brain's capacity to generate new neurons, possibly reversing the pathologies of some central nervous system conditions. The company has received approval from the FDA to conduct a Phase Ib safety trial evaluating NSI-189, its first small molecule compound, for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Additional indications could include schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and bipolar disorder.
For more information, please go to www.neuralstem.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
This news release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements in this press release regarding potential applications of Neuralstem's technologies constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and commercialization of potential products, uncertainty of clinical trial results or regulatory approvals or clearances, need for future capital, dependence upon collaborators and maintenance of our intellectual property rights. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in Neuralstem's periodic reports, including the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2011.
[ | 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.
Neuralstem's NSI-189 trial in major depressive disorder receives FDA approval to advance to Phase IbPublic release date: 27-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Deanne Eagle deanneeagle@gmail.com 917-837-5866 Neuralstem, Inc.
First neuroregenerative drug tested in depression
ROCKVILLE, Maryland, December, 27, 2011 Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: CUR) announced that it has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to advance to Phase Ib in its ongoing clinical trial to test its novel neuroregenerative compound, NSI-189, for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Phase Ib will test the safety and tolerability of the drug in depressed patients. NSI-189 is a proprietary new chemical entity discovered by Neuralstem that stimulates new neuron growth in the hippocampus, an area of the brain that is believed to be involved in MDD as well as other diseases and conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"We are pleased to be approved to begin testing NSI-189 in patients who suffer from depression," said Karl Johe, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer and Chairman of Neuralstem's Board of Directors. "Loss of hippocampal volume is a known characteristic in depressed patients. NSI-189 stimulates neurogenesis and increases hippocampal volume in healthy adult mice, at the same time reversing behavioral symptoms in mouse depression models, so it could address depression at the source."
"It is exciting to see a new class of drugs that potentially offers a novel and different approach to this disease moving into patients," said Maurizio Fava, MD, Slater Family Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Fava, one of the world's leading researchers in MDD, helped design the Neuralstem trial.
About NSI-189
Neuralstem's technology enabled the creation of neural stem cell lines from many areas of the human CNS, including the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a part of the brain involved in memory and the generation of new neurons. It is also implicated in several major neurological and psychiatric diseases. From its hippocampal neural stem cell lines, Neuralstem has created virtually unlimited amounts of mature human neurons and glia in laboratory dishes. These can be used to mimic the natural brain environment in order to test drug effects.
Neuralstem has been engaged in its own drug discovery program with these human hippocampal stem cell lines since 2000. In 2009, Neuralstem was granted U.S. patents on four first-in-class chemical entities that boost the generation of new neurons. NSI-189, the first of these to be in a clinical trial, significantly stimulates the generation of new hippocampal neurons (neurogenesis) in vitro and in animal models, above and beyond the neural stem cells' innate differentiation.
NSI-189 is the lead compound in Neuralstem's neuroregenerative small molecule drug platform, which the company plans to develop into orally administered drugs for MDD and other psychiatric disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, anxiety, bipolar disorder and post traumatic stress disorder.
NSI-189 stimulated neurogenesis of human hippocampus-derived neural stem cells in-vitro. In healthy normal adult mice, NSI-189 stimulated neurogenesis in the hippocampus and significantly increased its volume, apparently by increasing its synaptic network after 28 days of daily oral administration. In mouse models of depression, NSI-189 significantly improved behavioral responses associated with depression. In humans, NSI-189 may reverse the human hippocampal atrophy seen in MDD and other disorders and reverse their symptoms. This program has received significant support from both the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
About the Trial
The NSI-189/MDD trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose escalating trial evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic effect of NSI-189 in the treatment of MDD. Phase Ia tested escalating doses of single administration of NSI-189 in healthy patients. Phase Ib will test the safety of escalating doses of NSI-189 for 28 daily administrations in 24 depressed patients. The Phase Ib portion of the trial is expected to take approximately six months to complete.
###
About Neuralstem
Neuralstem's patented technology enables the ability to produce neural stem cells of the human brain and spinal cord in commercial quantities, and the ability to control the differentiation of these cells constitutively into mature, physiologically relevant human neurons and glia. Neuralstem is in an FDA-approved Phase I safety clinical trial for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease and has been awarded orphan status designation by the FDA.
In addition to ALS, the company is also targeting major central nervous system conditions with its cell therapy platform, including spinal cord injury, ischemic spastic paraplegia, chronic stroke, and Huntington's disease. The company has submitted an IND (Investigational New Drug) application to the FDA for a Phase I safety trial in chronic spinal cord injury.
Neuralstem also has the ability to generate stable human neural stem cell lines suitable for the systematic screening of large chemical libraries. Through this proprietary screening technology, Neuralstem has discovered and patented compounds that may stimulate the brain's capacity to generate new neurons, possibly reversing the pathologies of some central nervous system conditions. The company has received approval from the FDA to conduct a Phase Ib safety trial evaluating NSI-189, its first small molecule compound, for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Additional indications could include schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and bipolar disorder.
For more information, please go to www.neuralstem.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
This news release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements in this press release regarding potential applications of Neuralstem's technologies constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and commercialization of potential products, uncertainty of clinical trial results or regulatory approvals or clearances, need for future capital, dependence upon collaborators and maintenance of our intellectual property rights. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in Neuralstem's periodic reports, including the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2011.
[ | 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.
Traci Nobles REALLY wants a publisher to purchase her proposal for a memoir about her interactions with Anthony Weiner.
Nobles, a woman who met the disgraced politician on the Internet and is doing all she can to profit from that experience, supposedly gave an excerpt to Radar Online of one of the conversations she shared with Weiner via Twitter.
Is Anthony Weiner smiling here at the thought of a threesome with another dude? Probably not.
Nobles says Weiner asked her about "3 ways" with him and "another guy" and, when pressed on whether he's turned on by men, responded:
"Well it depends on the guy, but generally yes."
Of course, there's no proof that this exchange actually took place. It's just the word of a woman who carried on a Web-based affair with a married man and is now hoping to write a book about it... versus the word of a popular congressman who ended his career in humiliating fashion because he just had to send photos of his body to random females he had never met.
Last night, Nintendo held the second of its Nintendo Direct online press conferences. In it, the Kyoto-based game creator confirmed several Japanese release dates. One of them was new?the one for Fire Emblem.
While Nintendo did confirm Japanese release dates for titles like Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D (Mar. 8, which we knew), it also gave new release dates for Shin Sangoku Musou Vs., or rather Dynasty Warriors Musou Vs. (Mar. 15, which we didn't).
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream, Drop Distance, once again, was given a wide release window. Once again, March was penciled in for its Japanese release?just as it was earlier this month.
The one game that stood out was the eagerly awaited Fire Emblem 3DS title. That game will be out Apr. 19 in Japan. Yesterday, news broke that Fire Emblem will be the first 3DS game to have DLC for sale. According to the Nikkei report, Nintendo will begin moving forward with DLC in March, making it appear as though the game was dated for that same month.
Fire Emblem will be out on the 3DS in April?the 19th to be exact.
ScienceDaily (Dec. 26, 2011) ? The Harlequin ladybeetle, Japanese knotweed and the American lobster -- while this trio of creatures may have friendly sounding names, they are all introduced species in Norway, and may be anything but friendly to the Norwegian environment. But determining exactly how damaging introduced species may be in their new environment has always been something of a challenge for biologists and land managers -- until now.
A coalition of researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and staff from the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre have created a unique quantitative method that enables researchers and others to assess the environmental risks posed by non-native species. While the method is tailored to the Norwegian environment, it can easily be adapted to other countries, and fills a vital need internationally for a quantifiable, uniform approach to classifying and assessing alien species, the developers say.
"This provides an objective classification of these species' potential impact on the Norwegian environment. We relied on much of the same principles as are used in the preparation of the 'Red List' of endangered and threatened species," says Professor Bernt-Erik Saether at NTNU's Center for Conservation Biology (CCB), who has spearheaded the development of the new methodology along with a coalition of other Norwegian biologists and staff from the Biodiversity Information Centre.
Rating risks
The method classifies species according to their reproductive ability, growth rate, individual densities, population densities, prevalence and their effect. This information allows the researchers to plot the risks posed by each species on two axes, one which shows the likelihood of the species' dispersal and ability to establish itself in the environment (along with its rate of establishment, if applicable) and the other shows the degree to which the alien species will affect native species and habitats.
Based on the combined values ??of the two axes, the species can be placed in one of five risk categories:
Very high risk species that can have a strong negative effect on the Norwegian environment;
High risk species that have spread widely with some ecological impact, or those that have a major ecological effect but have only limited distribution;
Potentially high risk species that have very limited dispersal ability, but a substantial ecological impact or vice versa;
Low risk species, with low or moderate dispersion and moderate to limited ecological effect;
Species with no known risk factors that are not known to have spread and have no known ecological effects.
Black-listed species
Norway's first official foray into evaluating the risks posed by invasive species was with the publication of the 2007 Norwegian Black List, which described the risks posed by 217 of the 2483 alien species then known in Norway.
With the publication of a new list of alien species in the summer of 2012, the number of species that will be thoroughly evaluated by scientists and staff will climb to roughly 2600, says project manager Lisbeth Gederaas, with the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre. The 2012 Black List will employ the new evaluation method.
"The results from this work will give the Norwegian community a better knowledge base with which to evaluate alien species," she said. "We want to provide answers to the following questions: Who are these species, when did they come to Norway, where do they live, how do they behave and what risks do they pose to the Norwegian environment?"
Recent immigrants
Most of the alien species evaluated in the 2007 Black List had come to Norway only in the last 150 years -- in fact, only 10 per cent were introduced to the country prior to 1850.
And compared to countries such as the United States, which is swimming in a soup of alien species that have taken over whole landscapes, Norway is actually in reasonable shape. But Gederaas says that situation is rapidly changing, as Norwegians travel more and their ability to accidently or unintentionally introduce species increases. "We in Norway don't have the same problem as bigger countries, but it may be just a matter of time," she observed.
Beautiful flowers -- but damaging effects
In some cases, for example, alien species are escapes from home gardens, such as the garden lupine, Lupinus polyphyllus, which was first reported from the Oslo Botanical Garden in 1831. Its beautiful pea-type flowers made it a popular planting, but by 1940, it had escaped and now colonizes road corridors and riverbanks. Because it is a legume, it has special nitrogen-fixing nodules on its roots that enable it to colonize even poor soils, and it produces copious amounts of seeds that spread and either sprout or form a nearly indestructable seed bank in the soil. The spread of this beautiful plant is so substantial that it is altering the habitat along riverbanks and waterways, which in turn changes river habitats and thus the ability of different fish species to thrive, Gederaas says.
First Norway, then the world?
Gederaas said that she and her colleagues were surprised in 2007 by the extent to which the 2007 Black List was used by different communities across Norway. The Biodiversity Information Centre (www.biodiversity.no) also offers the existing list in a searchable, electronic version, along with detailed fact sheets for some of the most common or problematic species.
The plan calls for translating the new classification scheme into English, she said. Currently, there is no commonly agreed-upon international approach to quantitatively assessing risks from alien species -- which leaves a gap that the Norwegian approach could fill.
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Its my understanding you don't need a "special build" of Android to not get Carrier IQ. You need a "special build" to get it - like those created by/for the carriers
correct. with ios it was probably bit tricker since they baked it in by default for some versions and I suppose thats one of the reasons they removed it, so they wouldn't be excluded from certifications in future.
and well, for everyday things except combat stuff, military would trust telecoms as usual customers(meetings where they discuss stuff like if some base gets budget or not - those talks are with politicians anyhow).
and the secret, combat etc stuff goes over their own radios and coms anyhow. in most
The amount of misinformation many Republicans are allowed, or indeed encouraged, to believe is a condemnation of Republican leaders.
Many persist in the delusion that health care did not need reform. Budget cuts proposed by Republicans and the tea party do not address the real problems.
The much higher costs we pay for health care are a major drag on the U.S. economy and the cause of government deficits.
Private insurance companies, with their ceiling on benefits and frequent denial of claims, operated much more like ?death panels? than anything proposed in ?ObamaCare.?
Health insurance mandates are only necessary, as Newt Gingrich admitted, if, as Republicans insist, we retain for-profit insurance companies as part of the solution (despite their having been a major part of the problem).
If Medicare were extended to cover everyone, as some Democrats proposed, the problem of insurance mandates disappears.
Blaming Barney Frank for the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is ridiculous. From 2001 through 2006, when most of the damage was done, he did not have the power to block any legislation the Republican majority proposed.
Moreover, Republican policies have made the fundamental problem of money?s corrupting influence on politics worse.
Two of the Redskins? most valuable and promising young players will spend the final week of the NFL season at Redskins Park around the locker room and in the weight room. But they won?t be in the meeting rooms or on the practice field.
And it might not matter a whole lot.
The Redskins? offense isn?t just surviving without tight end Fred Davis and left tackle Trent Williams; it?s somehow thriving.
Men look at the wreckage of a car following a bomb blast at St Theresa Catholic Church
Men look at the wreckage of a car following a bomb blast at St Theresa Catholic Church outside the Nigerian capital Abuja. The White House on Sunday condemned the deadly Christmas Day bombings in Nigeria as "senseless violence" as it offered condolences to the Nigerian people over attacks blamed on an Islamist sect.
Source: AFP - Copyright AFP 2008, AFP stories and photos shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium
That boxy thing up there? That's Kia's Ray EV, and apparently Korea's first mass produced electric vehicle. Looks-wise it's probably not the Hyundai i10 re-badge you were expecting, but that doesn't mean you should count the rectangular Soul-inspired city dweller out. With a range of 86 miles from its 16.4 kWh lithium-ion pack, it'll take six hours to charge over 220 volts or alternatively 25 minutes with an undisclosed fast-charger. Kia also says its electric motor has a "best in segment" efficiency rating, which at 93 percent sounds plausible. What isn't however, is the claim it's also "brisk," which is at odds with the lethargic 15.9 seconds it'll take to go from 0-62MPH. Undeterred by its languid persona and unconventional looks? Better start packing those bags, as the first 2,500 are going to the South Korean government. More shots await at the source.
Cobalt International Energy, Inc. reported that the Ensco 8503 drilling rig, contracted to Cobalt, has returned to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico following a sublet of the rig to drill a well in French Guiana. Cobalt received the required U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Compliance and has subsequently received APD approval from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement for the Ligurian #2 exploratory well. Cobalt plans to spud Ligurian #2 by year end. Ligurian is located in the Southern Green Canyon Area immediately adjacent to the 2009 Heidelberg discovery in which Cobalt is a part owner. After drilling Ligurian #2, Cobalt plans to move the rig to the North Platte #1 well location in the Garden Banks Area to drill that prospect. Cobalt anticipates that each of the Ligurian #2 and North Platte #1 exploratory wells will take approximately six months to drill.
?Obtaining the approved APD for Ligurian #2 represents another significant milestone for Cobalt?.
?Obtaining the approved APD for Ligurian #2 represents another significant milestone for Cobalt?, said Van P. Whitfield, Cobalt?s Chief Operating Officer. ?Ligurian #2 will be our first company-operated well drilled in the Gulf of Mexico since the deepwater drilling moratorium was enforced in May 2010. We are definitely excited about our return to drilling and are confident in our ability to drill this well safely. Additionally, we look forward to obtaining the additional permits required to drill and evaluate the multiple other significant world class prospects we have in our Gulf of Mexico portfolio.?
WINNIPEG - A new award honours the first Canadian woman of Icelandic descent who became a doctor.
Dr. Sigga Christianson Houston started a medical dynasty that now spans four generations.
Her son Dr. C. Stuart Houston and his family have given nearly $100,000 to the University of Manitoba to establish the Sigga Christianson Houston Travel Award.
It will offer travel bursaries to medical students who participate in a summer early exposure program or clinical elective in a remote northern community with a general practitioner or pediatrician.
Sigga Houston earned her medical degree from the university in 1925.
She married and settled in Yorkton, Sask., with her husband in 1928 and established a medical practice.
She retired at 82 and lived another 20 years after that.
Pyongyang citizens grieve as they visit a portrait of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on display in the plaza of the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, FRANCE, HONG KONG, JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA
Pyongyang citizens grieve as they visit a portrait of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on display in the plaza of the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, FRANCE, HONG KONG, JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA
Mourners bow as they pay their respects to North Korea's late leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhang Li) NO SALES
Pyongyang citizens grieve as they visit a portrait of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on display in the plaza of the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. (AP Photo)
Voluntary medical workers support a woman who fainted while visiting a portrait of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. (AP Photo)
Pyongyang citizens pay respects in front of a portrait of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il at the Grand People's Study House in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday Dec. 21, 2011. The portrait was hung in the spot where the portrait of late President Kim Il Sung usually hangs. (AP Photo)
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? Tens of thousands of mourners packed Pyongyang's snowy main square Wednesday to pay respects to late leader Kim Jong Il as North Korea tightened security in cities and won loyalty pledges from top generals for Kim's son and anointed heir.
Women held handkerchiefs to their faces as they wept and filed past a huge portrait of a smiling Kim Jong Il hanging on the Grand People's Study House, in the spot where a photograph of Kim's father, North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, usually hangs.
Kim Jong Il died of a massive heart attack Saturday, according to state media, which reported his death on Monday. They said he was 69 ? although some accounts put his age at 70.
A huge crowd of mourners converged on Kim Il Sung Square with traditional white mourning flowers in hand. The crowd grew throughout the day, even as heavy snow fell, and some mourners took off their jackets to shield mourning wreaths set up in Kim's honor, just below the spot where he stood last year waving to crowds at the massive military parade where he introduced his successor, Kim Jong Un.
Two medical workers rushed to carry away a woman who had fainted.
"We chose to come here to care for citizens who might faint because of sorrow and mental strain," Jon Gyong Song, 29, who works as a doctor in a Pyongyang medical center, told The Associated Press. "The flow of mourners hasn't stopped since Tuesday night."
South Korean intelligence reports, meanwhile, indicated Wednesday that North Korea was consolidating power behind Kim's untested son, believed to be in his late 20s.
Worries around Northeast Asia have risen sharply as Kim Jong Un rises to power in a country with a 1.2-million troop military, ballistic missiles and an advanced nuclear weapons development program.
South Korea has put its military on high alert. In another sign of border tension, Chinese boatmen along a river separating North Korea and China told the AP that North Korean police have ordered them to stop giving rides to tourists, saying they will fire on the boats if they see anyone with cameras.
Along the Koreas' border, the world's most heavily armed, South Korean activists and defectors launched giant balloons containing tens of thousands of propaganda leaflets, a move likely to infuriate the North. Some of the leaflets opposed a hereditary transfer of power in North Korea. Some showed graphic pictures of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's battered corpse and described his gruesome death.
Kim Jong Il ruled the country for 17 years after inheriting power from his father, national founder and eternal North Korean President Kim Il Sung, who died in 1994. Kim Jong Un only entered the public view last year and remains a mystery to most of the world.
Seoul's National Intelligence Service believes the North is now focused on consolidating Kim Jong Un's power and has placed its troops on alert, according to South Korean parliament member Kwon Young-se.
South Korean military officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of policies that restrict comment on intelligence matters, said North Korea has ordered its troops to be vigilant but that it didn't mean they were being moved.
Lawmaker Kwon said the NIS told the parliamentary intelligence committee that senior military officials have pledged allegiance to Kim Jong Un, and that more security officers have been deployed in major cities across the country. Intelligence officials declined to comment.
The NIS also gave its predictions on how the North's government will work during the transition of power to the younger Kim.
It told lawmakers that an ad hoc committee is expected to handle key state affairs before Kim Jong Un formally becomes the country's leader, according to lawmaker Hwang Jin-ha, who also attended the closed-door briefing. Intelligence officials didn't describe how they got the information, he said.
The NIS predicts that Kim Kyong Hui, a key Workers' Party official and Kim Jong Un's aunt, and Jang Song Thaek, her husband and a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, will play larger roles supporting the heir, the lawmaker said.
A South Korean Defense Ministry official handling North Korea affairs, however, said there is too little information to make a confident judgment about where North Korea's power transition is heading.
Initial indications out of North Korea suggest the power transition to the son has been moving forward, though it remains unclear when Kim Jong Un will formally take power.
In 1994, Kim Jong Il declared a three-year mourning period following his father's death, becoming the official leader of the nation in 1997.
Kim Jong Un led a procession of senior officials Tuesday in a viewing of Kim Jong Il's body, which is being displayed in a glass coffin near that of Kim Il Sung. Publicly presiding over the funeral proceedings was an important milestone for Kim's son, strengthening his image as the country's political face at home and abroad.
According to official media, more than 5 million North Koreans have gathered at monuments and memorials in the capital since the death of Kim Jong Il.
Hundreds of thousands visited monuments around the city within hours of the official announcement that Kim had died.
The North has declared an 11-day period of mourning that will culminate in his state funeral and a national memorial service on Dec. 28-29.
The leaflets sent into North Korea on Wednesday by South Korean activists are a sore point with the North, which sees them as propaganda warfare. North Korea has previously warned it would fire at South Korea in response to such actions. There were no immediate reports of retaliation, however. South Korean activists vowed to continue sending leaflets.
___
Reporting from Pyongyang by Associated Press Television News senior video journalist Rafael Wober and AP reporter Pak Won Il. AP writers Foster Klug, Hyung-jin Kim, Sam Kim and Eric Talmadge in Seoul, AP photographers Andy Wong in Dandong, China, and Lee Jin-man in Imjingak, South Korea, as well as Korea bureau chief Jean H. Lee contributed to this story.
PLATINUM PACKAGE (Buy Wed. at 12:00 p.m. ET) Each person in this group (maximum four people per group) will receive:
SummerSlamTicket Staples Center Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012 Seating within ringside rows Plus collectible chair?
SummerSlam Axxess ticket Your choice of which session to attend
SlamSession Private autograph session with WWE Superstars Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012
Pre-Event Hospitality Private reception with WWE Superstars Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012
Each person in this group will share one standard hotel room: Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza Check in Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 Check out Monday, Aug. 20, 2012
1 Person - $1,075 2 People - $837 per person 3 People - $788 per person 4 People - $764 per person
GOLD PACKAGE (Buy Wed. at 12:00 p.m. ET) Each person in this group (maximum four people per group) will receive:
SummerSlamTicket Staples Center Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012 Seating within Level 100 sections
SummerSlam Axxess ticket Your choice of which session to attend
SlamSession Private autograph session with WWE Superstar Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012
Each person in this group will share one standard hotel room: Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza Check in Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 Check out Monday, Aug. 20, 2012
1 Person - $682 2 People - $443 per person 3 People - $394 per person 4 People - $370 per person
This holiday season give your college- or graduate-school-age children a few entrepreneurial memoirs. They provide a low-cost, entertaining mentorship for the self-employed-in-the-making.
Huh? Give books to a young person in this techno-age holiday season? Are you kidding? Young people don't read books anymore, do they?
Not so fast. Entrepreneurial memoirs, whether they are displayed as printed books or on electronic tablets, are a treasure chest of information and entertainment. They fit the bill perfectly for all work-for-yourself wannabes on your holiday list, for which they can serve as on-call advisors. At around $15 per softcover book, you can buy a mountain of knowledge for under $75-$100. You'll be providing immensely valuable information and a virtual mentor for your wannabe entrepreneur. That's why these books are more than just books, and perhaps the best business education value on the planet, and why they make great gifts this holiday season.
Check out 20 Biographies Every Serious Entrepreneur Should Read, from OnlineUniversities.com. Of the 20 recommended titles, you can learn about the formative years of Bill Gates and Microsoft in Hard Drive; of Henry Ford and the auto giant that bears his name, in the biography, The People's Tycoon; and about Wal-Mart's founder Sam Walton, in Made in America.
The list also provides great behind-the-scenes books by entrepreneurs and companies you've never heard of, but whose stories are full of timeless, rich lessons: Raising Eyebrows, by Dal LaMagna, and Launch Fever, by Tim Taylor, are at the top of the list, followed by timeless character stories such as Mark Twain's Ignorance, Confidence, and Filthy Rich Friends, and Ben Franklin: America's Original Entrepreneur, a modern translation of Franklin's autobiography that serves as an inspiration to today's innovators.
And of course there is a tale from the outspoken and brashly successful mega-entrepreneur, Richard Branson, in his invaluable and entertaining book, Business Stripped Bare. From motivation to how to (and how not to), these titles, taken as a whole offer a lifetime of lessons for today's entrepreneurs in the making.
Google 20 Biographies Every Serious Entrepreneur Should Read and go to Amazon and dial up a few titles that strike your fancy. You'll see another few dozen books from the entrepreneurial genre pop up in the "You-might-also-be-interested-in" window. Many are outright fun reading, some are gems, and nearly all of them openly discuss what was learned from various failures. If you're a business student on holiday, browsing a few of these entrepreneurial memoirs may teach you more real-life lessons than a semester of expensive classes. Besides learning how to work for yourself, you can reacquaint yourself with the pleasure of reading, which can develop minds in ways an I-Pad cannot.
You could argue that case histories in business school courses serve the role of educating by reading. But, let's be honest: Those Harvard Business School and other B-school case histories we hear so much about and sometimes read are...well, usually quite boring. Well-structured and carefully prepared, yes. But lifelike and fun to learn by? I don't think so. Many of them could put the worst ADD kid in the class to sleep in 20 minutes flat.
Instead, take a look at the more captivating, real-life sagas of entrepreneurs battling in the trenches, building profitable businesses, overcoming countless mishaps and bad luck--and selling out for a bundle down the road (and starting another company, or giving to charity with some of the proceeds).
This genre of book brings to life the journey and lessons real-life business start-ups encounter. Some of them read like a novel yet teach like an experienced B-school professor. I'd wager they are the best way for your university or college aged child to learn the landscape of business, regardless of what his or her major and career objectives may be.
You can peer inside the amazing minds and lives of Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, or ride the exciting roller coaster of a start-up company and entrepreneur no one's ever have heard of. Either way, these biographies and memoirs invite readers into the culture of entrepreneurship, make learning fun, and prepare young people for the business face of our world. Your kids may end up in non-business professions, but they'll be cashing a paycheck from someone's business most of their lives. They'll thank you some day for introducing them to a category of reading that shows the inner working of the capitalist system we are all part of and reliant upon.
While you're at it, throw in a few non-business titles that teach the landscape of business better than any classroom or DVD. My favorites are James Michener's Hawaii, and Gay Telese's Unto the Sons. Neither of these is touted as business books, but in them you'll learn the bedrock of family life and apprenticeship that leads to great business dynasties and enduring, specialized skill businesses years later.
Another recently published book along these lines is Mathew Parker's The Sugar Barons, which tells the boom and bust history of the Caribbean islands and how the production of sugar catapulted England to world dominance of the oceans and world trade.
The list of entrepreneurial memoirs is long and rich, and their lessons timeless and invaluable. So this holiday season, do your techno-crazy business family and friends a favor: Buy them a book. An old-fashioned, no-bells-and-whistles, have-to-engage-the-brain book. Better yet, buy them a good entrepreneurial memoir. They'll learn how businesses are birthed and built, and how families, communities and economies are enriched in the process.
They'll also learn how, in today's complex web of capitalism, they can best fit in.
Frank Farwell is founder and past president of the WinterSilks catalog. His book, "Chicken Lips, Wheeler-Dealer, and the Beady-Eyed M.B.A.: An Entrepreneur's Wild Adventures on the New Silk Road," details his experiences as a start-up entrepreneur, and was nominated for the Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Best Business Book of the Year Award. Its Appendix lists the attributes of an ideal product; the book is available from Amazon, or frankfarwell.com.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) ? Police in Wisconsin's capital city barely had to try to catch a pair of unlucky suspected thieves.
Madison police say two men in their late 20s stole DVDs and computer games from a Target store Tuesday and discussed their plans to fence the goods while driving away.
Investigators say the duo didn't realize one of them had accidentally pocket-dialed 911. A dispatcher listened in for nearly an hour as they discussed what they had stolen and where they might sell it. Police say they even described their vehicle.
Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain says the pair decided to sell their goods at a video store. When they pulled into the store's parking lot, officers surrounded their vehicle with guns drawn.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? Tennessee's unemployment rate in November dropped 0.4 percent to 9.1 percent, the lowest since January 2009.
State officials said Thursday about 10,000 jobs were created since October with job growth in the service sector such as retail trade and temporary jobs. Eighty-nine hundred jobs were added in retail trade. Professional and business services grew by 7,100 positions.
Jobs losing positions were arts, entertainment and recreation, down by 1,800; wholesale trade, 1,400; and durable goods manufacturing, 400.
We know from stellar nurseries we've seen elsewhere that the current model is largely correct. We know from spectrometry that the gas cloud is abundant in light elements and poor in elements that form in later-generation stars, and know also from spectrometry that the star itself is also very rich in light elements. Spectrometry, the the level of light given off, plus the estimated distance also tells us where in the sequence the star is, because the sequence is now very well known. We can further verify a few details -- the solar winds push gas away from the sun, but there are no solar winds before there's a sun to emit them. By measuring output and the degree of push, you can determine how long the gas cloud has been blasted at by the star. If this matches expectation, all's well. If the gas cloud shows evidence of more displacement than can be accounted for, there'd be problems. So far, all looks good.
So although the exact details of stellar formation do shift from time to time, major changes aren't likely. Minor ones, on the other hand, are commonplace. For example, some stellar nurseries close to the galactic centre are being hammered by solar winds from supermassive stars in the region. Current models cannot account entirely for how the stars were able to condense at all under such conditions. (You wouldn't expect fog patches to form in gale force 9 winds for the same reason. If you see fog in such conditions, then there's some extremely freaky condition to explain it - a total lack of air currents or turbulence is possible if you've exactly the right environment, and therefore something similar must exist in these freak star formations. It's an addition to, though, rather than a replacement of existing models.)
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Public release date: 27-Dec-2011
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Last night, Nintendo held the second of its Nintendo Direct online press conferences. In it, the Kyoto-based game creator confirmed several Japanese release dates. One of them was new?the one for Fire Emblem.
