Planet ?devoured in secret? by its own sun

ScienceDaily (Nov. 20, 2012) ? A planet roughly 1.4 times the size of Jupiter is being consumed by its own star behind a shroud thanks to a magnesium veil absorbing all of certain light wavelengths, according to new observations by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).

WASP-12 b, originally spotted in 2008, is a gas giant planet orbiting extremely close to its parent star. The distance between the star and planet is so small that the planet completes an orbit of its star in just over one Earth day. This proximity has "boiled off" a superheated gas cloud roughly three times the radius of Jupiter which feeds the star. However, some of this gas is moving out towards interstellar space, creating a shroud around the star.

The gas shroud is thin, and barely noticeable in optical light, but the new observations were made with HST using near-UV light. The team discovered that one element in the cloud is magnesium, which is extremely efficient at absorbing near-UV light. These wavelengths are extremely sensitive to the presence of tenuous gas, and in them the star can appear completely invisible.

The study was made by researchers from the UK's Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP) consortium, who originally found the planet in 2008, as well experts on the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph aboard the HST, stellar activity, and interstellar absorption from the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy at the University of Colorado.

Senior Lecturer in Astronomy at The Open University Dr Carole Haswell, who led the study, said that a structure like this had never before been observed around a star, adding: "It's as though a veil has been drawn over the planet's demise."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Open University.

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Journal Reference:

1. Haswell et al. Near-UV Absorption, Chromospheric Activity, and Star-Planet Interactions in the WASP-12 system. The Astrophysical Journal, 2012

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/MJHEiIQaA3M/121119213147.htm

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Snyder's education overhaul: "any time, any place, any way and at ...

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Oakland Schools Superintendent Vickie Markavitch

New West Bloomfield Superintendent Gerald D. Hill

Tresa Zumsteg, who retired as deputy superintendent of the Oakland Intermediate School District, has been selected interim superintendent for Rochester Community Schools. Photo special to the Oakland Press/ANNETTE KINGSBURY RochesterMedia.com

By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Oakland Press
diana.dillaber@oakpress.com; Twitter: @DDillybar

FILE - In this April 27, 2011 file photo, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder delivers an address at a United Way office in Detroit on changes he wants to see in education. A proposal that Snyder commissioned to overhaul Michigan's education system would let students take their public funding to any district that will accept them, enroll in state-funded online learning courses and get $2,500 in scholarship money for each semester they graduate early from high school. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

Oakland Schools regional Superintendent Vickie Markavitch said the ?any time, any place, any way and at any pace? education overhaul proposal introduced by Gov. Rick Snyder Monday is both ?radical experiment? and ?dangerous.?

Markavitch said she and other superintendents believe the 302-page proposal drafted by the private Oxford Foundation and presented to the Legislature on Monday is not based on tried and true educational methods and has no accountability built in.

If passed by the Legislature as is, ?it could end in more taxpayer money going to private companies,? Markavitch said.

Snyder?s proposal would award students up to $10,000 in scholarship money for graduating early from high school at a rate of $2,500 per semester, and districts would be encouraged to offer year-round schooling by spreading the 180-day school year over 12 months.

It also would let students complete coursework online, with Michigan funding the classes based on performance.

And students could get part or all of their state-funded education from any public school district or charter school that accepts them. It would still allow public school districts to decide whether to accept outside students.

?This is a radical experiment, untried, unproven, and dangerous,? said Markavitch. ?

?There is no plan to have accountability follow the child, no quality standards before opening the door to any and all school operators, no transparency regulation on how those entities would be using public money, and missing from the conversation all together is any reference to best practices ? using what has been tried and proven,? Markavitch said.

Basically, she alleges, the proposal would create a statewide education system in place of the local autonomous school districts existing now. ?

Voucher system? Continued...

West Bloomfield school Superintendent Gerald Hill said one major concern is the proposal ?really looks like a strong component of developing a state voucher system ? even though that term isn?t used in the legislation.?

Hill said all funding would be at state level and money would follow students and not be assigned to any district

?That is a voucher system,? Hill said. Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer also called it a voucher system.

Also, Hill said the foundation on which the plan is based? ? that Michigan?s public schools do not prepare students to be college ready ? is faulty. This is especially untrue in Oakland County, he said.

?Over 90 percent of our students (in West Bloomfield) go on to college and they are very successful.? ?

Both Hill and Markavitch are concerned that there will be a diversion of public dollars to the private sector as more charter schools open to provide the education that will get students through high school at a faster pace.

What about kids?

Tresa Zumsteg, interim superintendent for Rochester Community Schools, said, ?I would like to believe that Gov. Snyder is interested in improving learning for students but I find that hard to believe when his plan is to entrust our children to any ?fly by night? for-profit organization without any accountability or transparency to our parents or taxpayers.?

Zumsteg is concerned Michigan?s neediest children will be handed over to companies without research-based strategies, rather than implementing strategies such as early childhood programs and? preventive health screenings, and providing nutritional meals that have been proven to help children in poverty and ?at-risk.?

?For school districts like Rochester Community Schools which are successful by several different measures, (Gov. Snyder) wants to implement schools that are ?selective? and can turn away children with special needs who do not meet the criteria and only admit those of certain abilities. Continued...

?Since there is a limited pot of money, these selective schools would take away dollars from our students and our foundation allowance, leaving even less money for the children who remain,? Zumsteg said.

?I want to believe that Gov. Snyder has our student?s best interest at heart, but I am beginning to believe he just wants to dismantle public education,? Zumsteg said.???????????????????????????? ?

Officials should take close look

Waterford school Superintendent John Silveri said, ?Our elected officials should be taking a careful, surgical approach by focusing on specific problems where they exist, working in collaboration with experts in the field of education to make well-planned and well thought out decisions based on research, results and best practice.

?Instead, our governor and legislators appear determined to continue to blast away with a shotgun approach, seeking to cure public education?s perceived ills in a broad, hasty, short-sighted and ill-conceived ideological rush to judgment,? Silveri said.

In combination with other recent legislation, ?this is tantamount to a takeover of public education by private and political interests, seemingly grounded in the belief that they can do better in some mysterious and unfounded way,? Silveri said. ?

?Our children must not be used to help fulfill a political agenda; they deserve far better, as do all citizens of the State of Michigan.?

?State Board of Education President John Austin also sharply criticized the proposal, calling it a voucher system.

?It?s absolutely destructive. It has nothing to do with improving quality. It?s loaded with the ideology of creating a new for-profit system for learning that will dismantle the schools we have.?

The Associated Press contributed to this story. Continued...

Source: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2012/11/19/news/doc50aa110b0f384910099422.txt

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New Index Is the Kinder, Gentler S&P 500

Most donors consider nonprofit performance important, but do not have an easy way of knowing whether their contributions are doing the most good.

Last week, the Social Impact Exchange sought to change that as it rolled out an index of U.S. nonprofit organizations designed to provide proof of results.

The S&I 100, which is modeled on certain aspects of the S&P 500, tracks the number of people served across the portfolio of the top nonprofits in the same way the S&P tracks the profitability of large-cap U.S. companies.

Donors can choose from 100 high-impact nonprofits and nearly 16,000 local affiliates implementing their solutions. The new index features models that address the country?s most pressing issues in education, health, youth and poverty.

?Right now, donors have no easy way of knowing which nonprofits are truly effective at helping people in need, which means that fewer charitable dollars are going to those programs that can do the most good,? Alex Rossides, the Social Impact Exchange?s president, said in a statement.

?By taking the guesswork out of giving, the S&I 100 has the potential to transform individual philanthropy the same way the S&P 500 changed investing for individual investors.?

The exchange screens the 100 nonprofits for evidence of impact through third-party verified studies?made available to donors on the website?and includes them in the index only if they have the ability to serve more people in need.

When donors visit the site, they can search for high performing nonprofits in the issue areas and locations they most care about. Once they select a nonprofit, the S&I 100 allows them to give directly to the organization in a few steps.

The Social Impact Exchange said the number of organizations on the S&I 100 will grow as it continues to reach out and identify additional nonprofits that meet the index?s criteria.

The exchange listed major foundations, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, among its supporters. It said it is also working with donor advised funds, such as Schwab Charitable, to offer the S&I 100 to their philanthropic clients.

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Check out more stories about Philanthropy at AdvisorOne.

Source: http://www.advisorone.com/2012/11/20/new-index-is-the-kinder-gentler-sp-500

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Improving The Quality Of Your Water Supply Using A Water Softener

Water Softeners remove unhelpful mineral from your water supply and improve the quality of your drinking water

In many areas of the world water on tap is still an unheard of luxury. One is hardly surprised to hear that many villages in Africa, India do not have water reticulation but in many easern European countries large number of the population live in houses which do not have pipes bring water into their homes or a drainage away. These people rely on water drawn from a well. And their "Privy" is likewise outside.

In the US however with our advanced civilization we take running water and water borne sewerage as a basic necessity of life. Certain farmsteads may be drawing water from wells of from the river but virtually all towns and cities lay on water for their town dwellers.

But all the water thus supplied has to come from somewhere. Much is drawn from rivers and then filtered and chlorinated to kill bacteria and algae before being fed into that metropolis' reticulation system.

Other water (In smaller towns for example) may have to be drawn from some ground water resources before undergoing a similar filtration and purification process. But whatever the source the objective is to provide the households with "potable" water. There are however large variations in water quality from city to city and town and village. Much depends on the water source and much else depends on the suspended particles in the water which is not removed by the filtration and water purification processes.

The trouble with these suspended particles and minerals is that, while they are deemed safe for drinking, they affect the usage. By far the most commonly found offender is calcium. This is particularly the case where the water is drawn from ground water sources where the ground water leeches calcium and other minerals from the earth as it flows in its aquifers.

If the water in your household is filled with calcium it is called "Hard". Hard water varies in its intensity and can be fairly mild with the kettles, shower nozzles and possibly the heating elements of your boiler and washing machines getting caked with a white hard deposit over a period. This calcium deposit is troublesome as it often comes off the kettle element and is visible in the water being poured out for coffee. In the shower nozzles it steadily causes the stream and flow to reduce.
Another common effect of very hard water is its inhibition of soap's ability to lather.

Most of the symptoms mentioned above can be eliminated by the relatively simple installation of a water softener. A whole house fleck water softener is a relatively simple installation and not one that will break your bank. It will also immensely improve the quality of your life. It is a high flow system which can cope with masses of water. And is self cleaning giving a double backwash and regeneration cycle as required.

In other areas where this is not indicated as Reverse Osmosis system is often recommended which too cleans the water by filtering out the minerals in suspension. For these there is a reverse osmosis replacement water filter which will have to be inserted from time to time.

If you have hard water, coating your kettle with scale and clogging your shower nozzles a whole house fleck water softener may be required or a reverse osmosis system where reverse osmosis replacement water filter keeps it fresh

Article Tags :

Source: http://www.workoninternet.com/business/reviews/miscellaneous/219935-article.html

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Pressure of Celebrity Baby Weight Loss | Fitnessbuster by Gillian ...

November 19th, 2012?????? no comments???

Image courtesy of [Stuart Miles] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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I find that when a woman has a baby, increasingly there is pressure on them from different segments of society to snap back into shape quickly and lose that baby weight, even for us trainers. How realistic is this, should this really be where?your focus is.

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The media is constantly filled with headlines, on celebrities losing large amounts of weight after having their baby?s in a very short time frame. Sometimes it seems the more controversial the method used the more interest it generates. The problem is that some non celebrity mothers take the advice on board, putting it into practise to assist them in losing their baby weight.

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It may be a heavy burden to shoulder but celebrities have to realise that, being in the lime light comes with responsibility. Like it or not they are acting as role models and their actions will be replicated, good or bad.

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Some methods used by celebrities to lose baby weight are very low calorie diets, this is a dangerous method in which to lose weight. The body would not have sufficient energy, or the right mix of nutrients for day to day functions, which may lead to a number of health problems. Also as soon as normal eating is resumed the weight would pile back on. A better approach is to cut out unnecessary high fat and sugar filled food items, which fill you with empty calories and encourage weight gain. Instead incorporate eating more vegetables, fruits, lean meat, fish, pulses, wholegrain carbohydrates for your energy and nutrient needs, they?ll also encourage fat loss.

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Other methods used are very intense and high impact workout sessions done quite soon after delivery. The body undergoes many changes during pregnancy which need to be addressed, to prevent and reduce the risk of ongoing issues like pelvic floor muscle weakness/pain, lower back pain and the dreaded mummy tummy. So the first stage of exercising should be about, building back up the strength in your pelvic floor and core muscles. Later you can then progress, to shifting the focus to fat loss with higher intensity exercises.

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It?s worth being patient and investing the time to regain your pre baby body in the right way, through a healthy balanced diet and a targeted post natal exercise program. In addition to this remember you?ve now got, a?lovely cute?baby to get to know so enjoy this time.

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Does the media coverage of celebrity successful baby weight loss, put pressure on you to lose your body weight or have you gone for the slower but sustainable approach? Thanks for commenting.

Source: http://www.fitnessbuster.com/celebrity-baby-weight-loss/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=celebrity-baby-weight-loss

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Growing And Successful With Your Home-based Business | Tylko ...

Discover some tips that can help you figure out how to begin your house enterprise. They will allow you to decide what you want for the company, getting a lot more consumers, much more product sales and to generate income. It?s less than scary as soon as you the essentials.

Make use of a independent telephone number for home and office if you are operating a business from home. It will help to ensure that you will never be consuming unrelated cell phone calls on your business hrs. And also this supports in sustaining a separate mindset for home and operate time, which happens to be necessary to keep from experiencing like you are doing work constantly.

A fantastic suggestion for your own home company is to ensure that you begin a checklist of all of the items you will want to obtain your company started out. This is important so that you can be able to shop around and get the best charges to meet your requirements.

For your residence enterprise, give your customers the choice of purchasing your product or service on the internet. On-line repayments are very common plus some consumers may be unlikely to purchase your merchandise if they see that on the internet monthly payments are not a choice. You are able to offer the option of phone repayment, along with, online repayments.

Make sure you save of your own revenue for taxes. Many new business from home managers forget about to set aside money for that tax year, and once it shows up, they already have no funds to pay the internal revenue service. Steer clear of this pitfall by putting a percentage of your income in a banking accounts every month, and never holding them.

You must not make an effort to begin a home-based business according to an item that you are currently not totally assisting. Lots of people believe that they may offer any product or service that can make a return rather than really feel guilty if it fails to work and also it promises. The guilt could take in you up inside of and then make your home-based business crumble and become fruitless.

Ensure that you find out about Search Engine Marketing of your home business website to make sure that you?re driving a vehicle targeted visitors who would like to purchase your merchandise or solutions. When you don?t understand how to do this yourself, work with a professional who can gain you over you?ll need to pay him in service fees.

When beginning a property enterprise, it is crucial that you simply pick something that really plays into the interests. You would like to are employed in something you really love, and enjoy carrying out. Should you don?t just like your operate, and you are the boss, you will not reach your goals in any home business.

If you wish to expand your business and therefore are quick on capital, then have a guaranteed personal loan. Ensure that the guarantee is one thing you can pay for to lose, although. Some banking institutions may even personal loan you cash, then take advantage of the business gear you get from it as the equity to become handed more than when you standard.

Buy your internet site obvious on the market. Posting your blog to the key search engine listings can be a speedy method to get new business to think about your home business. Be patient because numerous search engines like google take some time prior to would really start to arrive with their item listings.

Open a different bank checking account particularly for your company. You may not wish to have to monitor and separate every financial transaction you have manufactured before season for taxation purposes. Begin a new business account, and take note of what every purchase was, why it took place, who posted it, so when it was published.

Home business is similar to most other companies because network remains to be crucial. Marketing will help you locate not merely clientele but additionally buyers. Your system can even be a source that you can go to when you need particular assist with your small business. It can be beneficial for you to maintain a long list of contacts and also to never ever burn off bridges.

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If you want to generate a good deal for your house organization, have a sign of the kilometers. You are able to create off of the expense of those mls in terms of income tax time, and you can be blown away by just how many miles you place on the auto for your residence enterprise. The tax publish off of may be significant!

When beginning a house company you must open a separate bank checking account which is especially set up for the company to use. This is a great way to keep track of just where the amount of money is certainly going and the way very much is coming in the company. After it is time to do income taxes as a result this process easier too.

As you can see, commencing your own home business isn?t as difficult as it can certainly look. It really needs carrying out study, receiving devices, asking questions, acquiring paperwork and working hard to be able to commence and maintain it. The work will pay off once you find how it may help your future.

Source: http://tylkociekawe.pl/growing-and-successful-with-your-home-based-business/

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Logitech T650 wireless touchpad on Windows 8 reviewed

Andy Bryant posted this hands-on review of the Logitech T650 Wireless Touch pad, which brings support for Windows 8 gestures to desktops and laptops which lack multi-touch touchpads.

The device appears to work very well, and is very responsive, but has a few issues, including some ergonomics issues and flaws in multi-monitor support.

Andy concludes:

If you?re used to using a touchpad on a laptop, and are migrating to Windows 8 on a single-screen non-touch PC, then I?d say unreservedly yes. The benefits you get from gestures under Win8 outweigh the complexity of right-click drag on the desktop.

If you?re using a multiple-monitor setup, it does work, but you just won?t gain quite as much primarily because Microsoft hasn?t quite optimized the interaction between the Win8 mode,? and desktop mode across both screens. That said, it is quite usable ? and I?m going to continue using mine on my home PC.

The wireless pad is $85.99 and can be found at Amazon here.

Read his full review here.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/msftnws/~3/CyMMLvpGHvA/

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