May 21, 2013 ? Widely available in pharmacies and health stores, phosphatidylserine is a natural food supplement produced from beef, oysters, and soy. Proven to improve cognition and slow memory loss, it's a popular treatment for older people experiencing memory impairment. Now a team headed by Prof. Gil Ast and Dr. Ron Bochner of Tel Aviv University's Department of Human Molecular Genetics has discovered that the same supplement improves the functioning of genes involved in degenerative brain disorders, including Parkinson's disease and Familial Dysautonomia (FD).
In FD, a rare genetic disorder that impacts the nervous system and appears almost exclusively in the Ashkenazi Jewish population, a genetic mutation prevents the brain from manufacturing healthy IKAP proteins -- which likely have a hand in cell migration and aiding connections between nerves -- leading to the early degeneration of neurons. When the supplement was applied to cells taken from FD patients, the gene function improved and an elevation in the level of IKAP protein was observed, reports Prof. Ast. These results were replicated in a second experiment which involved administering the supplement orally to mouse populations with FD.
The findings, which have been published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, are very encouraging, says Prof. Ast. "That we see such an effect on the brain -- the most important organ in relation to this disease -- shows that the supplement can pass through the blood-brain barrier even when administered orally, and accumulate in sufficient amounts in the brain."
Slowing the death of nerve cells
Already approved for use as a supplement by the FDA, phosphatidylserine contains a molecule essential for transmitting signals between nerve cells in the brain. Prof. Ast and his fellow researchers decided to test whether the same chemical, which is naturally synthesized in the body and known to boost memory capability, could impact the genetic mutation which leads to FD.
Researchers applied a supplement derived from oysters, provided by the Israeli company Enzymotec, to cells collected from FD patients. Noticing a robust effect on the gene, including a jump in the production of healthy IKAP proteins, they then tested the same supplement on mouse models of FD, engineered with the same genetic mutation that causes the disease in humans.
The mice received the supplement orally, every two days for a period of three months. Researchers then conducted extensive genetic testing to assess the results of the treatment. "We found a significant increase of the protein in all the tissues of the body," reports Prof. Ast, including an eight-fold increase in the liver and 1.5-fold increase in the brain. "While the food supplement does not manufacture new nerve cells, it probably delays the death of existing ones," he adds.
Therapeutic potential for Parkinson's
That the supplement is able to improve conditions in the brain, even when given orally, is a significant finding, notes Prof. Ast. Most medications enter the body through the blood stream, but are incapable of breaking through the barrier between the blood and the brain.
In addition, the researchers say the supplement's positive effects extend beyond the production of IKAP. Not only did phosphatidylserine impact the gene associated with FD, but it also altered the level of a total of 2400 other genes -- hundreds of which have been connected to Parkinson's disease in previous studies.
The researchers believe that the supplement may have a beneficial impact on a number of degenerative diseases of the brain, concludes Prof. Ast, including a major potential for the development of new medications which would help tens of millions of people worldwide suffering from these devastating diseases.
MOORE, Okla. (AP) ? Helmeted rescue workers raced Tuesday to complete the search for survivors and the dead in the Oklahoma City suburb where a mammoth tornado destroyed countless homes, cleared lots down to bare red earth and claimed 24 lives, including those of nine children.
Scientists concluded the storm was a rare and extraordinarily powerful type of twister known as an EF5, ranking it at the top of the scale used to measure tornado strength. Those twisters are capable of lifting reinforced buildings off the ground, hurling cars like missiles and stripping trees completely free of bark.
Residents of Moore began returning to their homes a day after the tornado smashed some neighborhoods into jagged wood scraps and gnarled pieces of metal. In place of their houses, many families found only empty lots.
After nearly 24 hours of searching, the fire chief said he was confident there were no more bodies or survivors in the rubble.
"I'm 98 percent sure we're good," Gary Bird said at a news conference with the governor, who had just completed an aerial tour of the disaster zone.
Authorities were so focused on the search effort that they had yet to establish the full scope of damage along the storm's long, ruinous path.
They did not know how many homes were gone or how many families had been displaced. Emergency crews had trouble navigating devastated neighborhoods because there were no street signs left. Some rescuers used smartphones or GPS devices to guide them through areas with no recognizable landmarks.
The death toll was revised downward from 51 after the state medical examiner said some victims may have been counted twice in the confusion. More than 200 people were treated at area hospitals.
By Tuesday afternoon, every damaged home had been searched at least once, Bird said. His goal was to conduct three searches of each building just to be certain there were no more bodies or survivors.
The fire chief was hopeful that could be completed before nightfall, but the work was being hampered by heavy rain. Crews also continued a brick-by-brick search of the rubble of a school that was blown apart with many children inside.
No additional survivors or bodies have been found since Monday night, Bird said.
Survivors emerged with harrowing accounts of the storm's wrath, which many endured as they shielded loved ones.
Chelsie McCumber grabbed her 2-year-old son, Ethan, wrapped him in jackets and covered him with a mattress before they squeezed into a coat closet of their house. McCumber sang to her child when he complained it was getting hot inside the small space.
"I told him we're going to play tent in the closet," she said, beginning to cry.
"I just felt air so I knew the roof was gone," she said Tuesday, standing under the sky where her roof should have been. The home was littered with wet gray insulation and all of their belongings.
"Time just kind of stood still" in the closet, she recalled. "I was kind of holding my breath thinking this isn't the worst of it. I didn't think that was it. I kept waiting for it to get worse."
"When I got out, it was worse than I thought," she said.
Gov. Mary Fallin lamented the loss of life, especially the children who were killed, but she celebrated the town's resilience.
"We will rebuild, and we will regain our strength," Fallin said.
In describing the bird's-eye view of the damage, the governor said many houses were "taken away," leaving "just sticks and bricks, basically. It's hard to tell if there was a structure there or not."
From the air, large stretches of town could be seen where every home had been cut to pieces. Some homes were sucked off their concrete slabs. A pond was filled with piles of wood and an overturned trailer.
Also visible were large patches of red earth where the tornado scoured the land down to the soil. Some tree trunks were still standing, but the winds ripped away their leaves, limbs and bark.
In revising its estimate of the storm's power, the National Weather Service said the tornado had winds of at least 200 mph and was on the ground for 40 minutes.
The agency upgraded the tornado from an EF4 on the enhanced Fujita scale based on reports from a damage-assessment team, said spokeswoman Keli Pirtle. Monday's twister was at least a half-mile wide. It was the nation's first EF5 tornado of 2013.
Other search-and-rescue teams concentrated on Plaza Towers Elementary, where the storm ripped off the roof, knocked down walls and destroyed the playground as students and teachers huddled in hallways and bathrooms.
Seven of the nine dead children were killed at the school, but several students were pulled alive from under a collapsed wall and other heaps of mangled debris. Rescue workers passed the survivors down a human chain of parents and neighborhood volunteers. Parents carried children in their arms to a triage center in the parking lot. Some students looked dazed, others terrified.
Neither Plaza Towers nor another school in Oklahoma City that was not as severely damaged had reinforced storm shelters, or safe rooms, said Albert Ashwood is director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
More than 100 schools across the state do have safe rooms, he said, explaining that it's up to each jurisdiction to set spending priorities.
Ashwood said a shelter would not necessarily have saved more lives at Plaza Towers.
"When you talk about any kind of safety measures ... it's a mitigating measure, it's not an absolute," he told reporters. "There's not a guarantee that everyone will be totally safe."
Officials were still trying to account for a handful of children not found at the school who may have gone home early with their parents, Bird said.
On the streets of Moore, evidence of the storm's fury stretched in every direction: Roofs were torn off houses, exposing metal rods left twisted like pretzels. Cars sat in heaps, crumpled and sprayed with caked-on mud. Insulation and siding was piled up against any walls still standing. Yards were littered with pieces of wood, nails and pieces of electric poles.
President Barack Obama pledged to provide federal help and mourned the death of young children who were killed while "trying to take shelter in the safest place they knew ? their school."
The town of Moore "needs to get everything it needs right away," he said Tuesday.
Moore has been one of the fastest-growing suburbs of Oklahoma City, attracting middle-income families and young couples looking for stable schools and affordable housing. The town's population has grown over the last decade as developers built subdivisions for people who wanted to avoid the urban problems and schools of Oklahoma City but couldn't afford pricier Norman, the college town next door.
Many residents commute to jobs in Oklahoma City or to Tinker Air Force Base, about 20 minutes away.
___
Associated Press writers Tim Talley, Ramit Plushnick-Masti and Nomaan Merchant, and Associated Press photographer Sue Ogrocki contributed to this report.
As the middle-resolution model of three recently released budget BenQ DLP data projectors, the BenQ MX518 has much in common with the BenQ MS517 and BenQ MW519: respectable brightness; a good price for the resolution; data image quality suitable for typical classroom presentations and video suitable for shorter clips; feeble audio; a good assortment of ports, 3D compatibility (you supply the glasses), and a variety of eco-friendly features. Like its siblings, it's a solid choice as a low-priced educational (or business) projector.
The MX518 provides XGA (1,024 by 768 pixel) resolution, between the MS-517's SVGA (800 by 600) and the MW519's WXGA (1,280 by 800) resolution. Like the other two models, it's rated at 2,800 lumens of brightness.
The MX518 is all black, with rounded corners and a slightly bowed top. It has a very modest manual zoom (1.1:1), and the focus was fairly responsive. At 8.7 by 11.9 by 4.4 inches (HWD) and 5.1 pounds, the MX518 is quite portable, though it lacks a soft carrying case. It should be easy enough to tote within a school or on trips.
The MX518 has a good selection of ports for a low-priced projector, including HDMI; composite video/audio; S-video; two VGA inputs to connect with computers and one to connect with a monitor; an audio-out jack, an RS232 jack, and a USB type B connector for connecting with a computer.
Testing
The image filled our test screen (about 60 inches on a diagonal) with the projector about seven feet away from the screen. As befitting its 2,800-lumen rated brightness, it was able to stand up to considerable ambient light without it looking degraded.
In data testing, I ran our standard suite of DisplayMate tests over a VGA connection, and then over an HDMI connection. With VGA, when I first loaded the tests using default settings, I saw extensive pixel jitter?moving, thin dark lines appearing to flicker across the screen. I went into the menu and adjusted the Phase setting, and only a trace of the jitter remained. When I switched to HDMI, the jitter completely disappeared.
In our type test, text was slightly blurred at the second smallest white-on-black size, and barely readable at the smallest. As for color, there was some mild green tinting to gray images in both VGA and (to a lesser extent) HMDI. Colors, most notably reds and yellows, generally looked somewhat dull, regardless of the projector's mode or connection type.
One issue that I noted, which is often an issue in DLP projectors, is the rainbow effect, in which bright areas seen against dark backgrounds seem to break up into little red-green-blue rainbows. As is typical, in data images it wasn't severe enough to be problematic, even to people who are sensitive to it.
Video
The rainbow effect was also visible in video images. Rainbow artifacts were apparent enough in some scenes that people who are sensitive to the effect are likely to be distracted by it, making this projector best for relatively short clips as part of a presentation or lecture. Another issue I encountered was posterization, rapid changes in color from one part of an image to another where they should be gradual.
Another impediment to video is this projector's feeble 2-watt audio system. It makes the MX518 best for a small room or if you're sitting quite close to the projector. It does have an audio-out port, so you could always hook it to powered external speakers if need be.
The MX518 has several eco-friendly features that can conserve power and help extent lamp life, up to a claimed maximum of 6,500 hours. EcoBlank mode lets teachers easily take a break from a presentation, blanking the screen out and lowering energy consumption up to 70% while paused. The projector will also automatically enter EcoBlank mode after 3 minutes without a signal. SmartEco mode automatically adjusts lamp brightness depending on lighting conditions.
The MX518 is 3D-capable, with support for 3D Blu-Ray via HDMI as well as NVIDIA 3DTV Play, enabling it to display 3D content from NVIDIA 3D Vision. The active shutter 3D glasses are not included, and can cost up to $70 per pair, so equipping a class with them could prove a pricey proposition.
The Editors' Choice Epson PowerLite 93+ is not 3D capable, but being LCD based, it is immune from the rainbow effect. It provides superb audio and video quality, and loud audio, too. Another XGA projector, the ViewSonic PJD5234, is very similar to the MX518 in features and performance.
All three of the new BenQ budget data projectors are capable of handling the demands of a classroom, providing multiple connection choices, solid data image quality, and good enough video for typical school use. They're 3D capable, with eco-friendly features that should prolong lamp life. On the downside are very soft audio and the rainbow effect. Choosing between them mostly depends on the level of detail you need to display?for typical presentations, the BenQ MX518 should do fine?and how much you're willing to spend.
The MX518 is 3D-capable, with support for 3D Blu-Ray via HDMI as well as NVIDIA 3DTV Play, enabling it to display 3D content from NVIDIA 3D Vision. The active shutter 3D glasses are not included, and can cost up to $70 per pair, so equipping a class with them could prove a pricey proposition.
The Editors' Choice Epson PowerLite 93+ is not 3D capable, but being LCD based, it is immune from the rainbow effect. It provides superb audio and video quality, and loud audio, too. Another XGA projector, the ViewSonic PJD5234, is very similar to the MX518 in features and performance.
All three of the new BenQ budget data projectors are capable of handling the demands of a classroom, providing multiple connection choices, solid data image quality, and good enough video for typical school use. They're 3D capable, with eco-friendly features that should prolong lamp life. On the downside are very soft audio and the rainbow effect. Choosing between them mostly depends on the level of detail you need to display?for typical presentations, the BenQ MX518 should do fine?and how much you're willing to spend.
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I'm new to C++ and I'm not sure which file I code in. I thought it would be the cpp file but the h file says the class name and looks like where I should code. Just to get it started I need to initialize a Date object in the default constructor. Any help would be great.
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Replies To: Code in the cpp or h file?
#2 ferguson32 ?
Reputation: 3
Posts:122
Joined:29-May 12
Re: Code in the cpp or h file?
Posted Yesterday, 05:39 PM
I have this in the .cpp file:
#include "Date.h" #include <string> #include <iostream> using namespace std; Date::Date(string date) :newDate(date) { date = "Jan 1, 2000"; } Date::Date(int month, int day, int year) :newMonth(month) newDay(day) newYear(year) { } Date::~Date(void) { }
This is my .h file: #pragma once #include <iostream> #include <string> class Date { public: explicit Date(std::string date); private: std::string newDate; ~Date(void); };
The default constructor is ti create a date object at Jan, 1 2000. The second constructor is to take three arguments (month, day, year) that initializes the Date object to the parameter values. Is this on the right track?
#3 Skydiver ?
Reputation: 1916
Posts:5,725
Joined:05-May 12
Re: Code in the cpp or h file?
Posted Yesterday, 05:56 PM
First, I'll tell you what future employers and teachers want to see: Unless you are writing a template class, keep the declaration of the class in the header file, and put all the implementation in your .cpp file. If it is a relatively simple template class, you can have your code mixed in with the class declaration. If it's a complex template class, then again keep the declaration in the header file, but have the implementation in a .inc file which is included by the header.
Unfortunately, after being exposed to C#, I don't practice what I preached above, because I hate having to retype function parameters twice. Instead of following the strict separation of declaration and implementation, I usually determine whether the class I am writing needs to be exposed to other compile units. If the answer is yes, then of course the declaration goes into the header file and the implementation will go into a .cpp file. If the class is actually only used locally within the compile unit and not shared outside of it, then I mix in the implementation with the class declaration in my .cpp file.
#4 ferguson32 ?
Reputation: 3
Posts:122
Joined:29-May 12
Re: Code in the cpp or h file?
Posted Yesterday, 06:24 PM
Ok thank you. Can you help me out with my second post regarding the constructors?
#5 #define ?
Reputation: 978
Posts:3,397
Joined:19-February 09
Re: Code in the cpp or h file?
Posted Yesterday, 07:49 PM
Usually when a Date class is designed the day, month and year are held as integer variables. The second constructor's parameters suggests that this is your instructor's intention.
The term default constructor is often used to refer to a parameter-less constructor.
So your first constructor function has a string parameter and therefore incorrect.
WASHINGTON?Carol Burnett, who became famous for playing a variety of characters in sketch comedy routines on her namesake television show, was named the winner of the nation's top humor prize on Tuesday.
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said Burnett will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Oct. 20 in Washington. A gala performance featuring top names in comedy will be taped and broadcast nationally Oct. 30 on PBS.
The 80-year-old Burnett said she can't believe she is receiving the prize from the Kennedy Center.
"It's almost impossible to be funnier than the people in Washington," she said in a statement.
Burnett had her breakout on Broadway in "Once Upon a Mattress," performing at night in 1959 while also appearing in the mornings on TV's "The Garry Moore Show." She is best known for her own long-running variety show, "The Carol Burnett Show." It ran from 1967 to 1978, averaging 30 million viewers a week on CBS. Her guest stars included Lucille Ball, Jimmy Stewart, Ronald Reagan and Betty White.
Burnett was born in San Antonio in 1933. She soon moved to Hollywood with her mother and grandmother and was raised in a small studio apartment. She received an anonymous donation to attend college at UCLA, where she studied journalism and took an acting class.
Burnett moved to New York City, where she staged musical revues and performed in nightclubs. She was spotted by talent bookers and soon performed her
rendition of "I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles" on television.
Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein called Burnett a "unique and beloved entertainer."
"From her television program and appearances, as well as her performances on Broadway and in film, Carol Burnett has entertained generations of fans with her vibrant wit and hilarious characters," he said in announcing the prize.
The Mark Twain Prize honors people who have an impact on society in the tradition of Samuel Clemens, better known as Twain, as a social commentator and satirist. Previous honorees include Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, Tina Fey and Ellen DeGeneres, who won last year.
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Kennedy Center: http://www.kennedy-center.org
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Follow Brett Zongker online at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat
BEIJING -- Beijing-based artist Liu Yi is working on a series of black-and-white portraits he knows will never be shown in a Chinese gallery. His varied subjects - men and women, young and old, smiling and pensive - have one thing in common: They are Tibetans who have set themselves on fire to protest repressive Chinese rule.
Liu wants to paint a portrait of each of the hundred-or-so Tibetans who have self-immolated over the past three years, as a way of bearing witness to one of the biggest waves of fiery protests in recent history. With each brushstroke, Liu is making a heartfelt plea: The burning must end.
"When I'm painting, I'm thinking: 'Enough, enough, don't do this anymore. Stop,'" said the soft-spoken artist who has completed 40 so far. "That's enough."
Liu is rare among his contemporaries for addressing the largely taboo topic. Only a tiny handful of activists from the Han Chinese majority have spoken out, among them the prominent legal scholar Xu Zhiyong.
At the heart of the silence is Han Chinese indifference or even hostility to the Tibetan cause, despite some overlap with liberal Han activists who chafe at authoritarian controls. "We are victims ourselves," Xu wrote in a recent op-ed piece in which he apologized for the silence.
Many among the majority see the immolations as part of attempts to break away from China and wonder why Tibetans aren't more grateful for government development of their region with rail links, expressways, houses and factories.
Han Chinese also tend to see Tibet, with its breathtaking mountain grasslands and yak-rearing nomads, as a wild and unknowable region - but one that fascinates nonetheless. Year-round, Chinese tourists stream into a famous Tibetan Buddhist temple in Beijing to offer incense before snapping up cheap Tibetan jewelry or artifacts in the city's many stores.
Although Han Chinese activists increasingly advocate the preservation of Tibet's pristine environment, most draw the line at political issues, staying mum as Tibetans drink gasoline and douse themselves with it before lighting themselves in calls for religious freedom and autonomy.
Liu hopes to change that.
"I also hope that everyone won't look at it in an ideological or ethnic way, but to pay attention to it from a humanitarian perspective," he said.
Liu chose to paint close-ups of his subject's faces, offering an intimate impression of their every wrinkle, crease, frown or smile, using thick brushstrokes in stark black and white. Many of the subjects are gazing straight at the viewer, creating an arresting effect, especially when the portraits are arranged as a single, large montage.
"You can see that many of them are very young," Liu said as he showed Associated Press reporters his paintings in a recent interview. The works were laid out on the floor of his studio in five rows of eight portraits each. He pointed at two boyish-looking faces in the bottom row and said: "This one is 15, that one is 16."
Tibetan poet and activist Woeser says the self-immolations ''express a form of misery and are an outright protest."
"A lot of Han intellectuals are not willing to accept political demands," Woeser, who goes by one name, said in an interview. "In their consciousness, Tibet is a part of China. They think, 'If you have political demands, maybe what you want is independence, and so on.'"
Tibetan activists say the protests stem from frustration over China's stifling security presence, restrictions on religion and the demonization of their beloved spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. China has said the Dalai Lama instigates the self-immolations to undermine Beijing's economic assistance to the region.
