The latest number from NPD Group paint a troubling picture for the gaming industry. In the month of September overall sales within the industry ? including accessories, discs and consoles ? in the United States fell 24% from $1.1 billion in 2011 to $848.3 million, CNET reports. Sales of gaming hardware alone tumbled 39% year-over-year to $210.9 million, while software sales decreased 18% year-over-year from $609.7 million to $497.4 million and accessories fell by 11% to $139.9 million.?
For the 21st consecutive month,?Microsoft?s?(MSFT)?Xbox?gaming console led the competition with 270,000 units sold. NPD analyst Liam Callahan believes that?Nintendo?s recently announced Wii U system??has the potential to reinvigorate retail sales of hardware.? It should be noted, however, that NPD?s data does not account for used and digital sales, which are a growing part of the market. When accounting for all sales, consumer spending in the month of September eclipsed $1.6 billion.
Read
Dan joins the BGR team as the Android Editor, covering all things relating to Google?s premiere operating system. When he isn?t testing the latest devices or apps, he can be found enjoying the New York City nightlife.
Reuters sports schedule at 0600 on Wednesday (times GMT):
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SOCCER
Champions League group stages (1845 unless stated)
Group A
Dynamo Kiev v Dinamo Zagreb
Porto v Paris St Germain
Group B
Schalke 04 v Montpellier HSC
Arsenal v Olympiakos Piraeus
Group C
Anderlecht v Malaga
Zenit St Petersburg v AC Milan (1600)
Group D
Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund
Ajax Amsterdam v Real Madrid
LONDON - Real Madrid visit fellow former European champions Ajax Amsterdam while English title holders Manchester City host their German equivalents Borussia Dortmund and fellow big-spenders Paris St Germain visit Porto. (SOCCER-CHAMPIONS/, expect by 2100, pix, by Brian Homewood, 600 words)
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AMSTERDAM - After twice coming from behind to beat Manchester City two weeks ago, Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid continue their quest for a 10th European title at Dutch champions and four-times winners Ajax Amsterdam. (SOCCER-CHAMPIONS/AJAX, expect by 2030, pix, by Theo Ruizenaar, 500 words)
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MELBOURNE - Australia coach Holger Osieck has drafted in young midfielder Tommy Oar for the Socceroos' 2014 World Cup qualifier against Iraq but kept faith with the core group of veterans that have stumbled badly in the team's campaign for Brazil. (SOCCER-WORLD/AUSTRALIA, moved, by Ian Ransom, 350 words)
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MOTOR RACING
SUZUKA, Japan - Sebastian Vettel clinched his second Formula One title in Suzuka last year but it will take more than a Japanese Grand Prix victory this weekend to put the Red Bull driver back on top of the world. (MOTOR RACING-PRIX/ (PREVIEW), expect by 1500, pix, by Alan Baldwin, 500 words)
We will also move a drivers' form sheet and statistics for Sunday's race.
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BASEBALL
The New York Yankees kept their noses in front in the American League East after Raul Ibanez smashed a two-run home run in the ninth inning to tie Tuesday's game against Boston then delivered the game-winning RBI in the 12th. (BASEBALL/, moved, pix, 350 words)
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TENNIS
ATP/WTA: China Open, Beijing (to 7)
ATP: Japan Open, Tokyo (to 7)
TOKYO - U.S. Open champion and Tokyo title holder Andy Murray takes on Slovakian Lukas Lacko in the second round of the Japan Open. (TENNIS-MEN/JAPAN, pix, by Alastair Himmer, 400 words)
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GOLF
ST ANDREWS, Scotland - Europe's Ryder Cup heroes Martin Kaymer and Paul Lawrie and British Open champion Ernie Els host news conferences on the eve of the Dunhill Links pro-am event. (GOLF-EUROPEAN/, 400 words)
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CRICKET
ICC World Cup Twenty20, Sri Lanka (to 7)
COLOMBO - Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene and his Pakistan counterpart Mohammad Hafeez hold their pre-match press conferences on Wednesday, a day before the two sides meet in the first semi-final of the World Twenty20. (CRICKET-T20/, expect by 1100, pix, 400 words) (Asia duty editor: Peter Rutherford)
New research model to aid search for degenerative disease curesPublic release date: 2-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Tom Vasich tmvasich@uci.edu 949-824-6455 University of California - Irvine
UCI development could foster Lou Gehrig's, Paget's, dementia breakthroughs
Irvine, Calif., Oct. 2, 2012 Efforts to treat disorders like Lou Gehrig's disease, Paget's disease, inclusion body myopathy and dementia will receive a considerable boost from a new research model created by UC Irvine scientists.
The team, led by pediatrician Dr. Virginia Kimonis, has developed a genetically modified mouse that exhibits many of the clinical features of human diseases largely triggered by mutations in the valosin-containing protein.
The mouse model will let researchers study how these now-incurable, degenerative disorders progress in vivo and will provide a platform for translational studies that could lead to lifesaving treatments.
"Currently, there are no effective therapies for VCP-associated diseases and related neurodegenerative disorders," said Kimonis, a professor of pediatrics who specializes in genetics and metabolism. "This model will significantly spark new approaches to research directed toward the creation of novel treatment strategies."
She and her team reported their discovery Sept. 28 online in PLOS ONE, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal.
The UCI researchers from pediatrics, neurology, pathology and radiological sciences specifically bred the first-ever "knock-in" mouse in which the normal VCP gene was substituted with one containing the common R155H mutation seen in humans with VCP-linked diseases. Subsequently, these mice exhibited the same muscle, brain and spinal cord pathology and bone abnormalities as these patients.
VCP is part of a system that maintains cell health by breaking down and clearing away old and damaged proteins that are no longer necessary. Mutations in the VCP gene disrupt the demolition process, and, as a result, excess and abnormal proteins may build up in muscle, bone and brain cells. These proteins form clumps that interfere with the cells' normal functions and can lead to a range of disorders.
Another study carried out by members of this group and published in August in the journal Cell Death & Disease made use of these genetically altered mice to examine the development of Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS. The researchers, led by Dr. Hong Yin and Dr. John Weiss in UCI's Department of Neurology, documented slow, extensive pathological changes in the spinal cord remarkably similar to changes observed in other animal models of ALS as well as in human patients. ALS research is currently limited by a paucity of animal models in which disease processes can be studied.
Genetically modified mice have become important research models in the effort to cure human ailments. Mice bred to exhibit the brain pathology of Alzheimer's disease, for example, have dramatically sped up the race to advance new treatments one such model was developed at UCI. And many cancer therapies were created and tested using genetically altered mice.
###
Angele Nalbandian, Katrina Llewellyn, Mallikarjun Badadani, Robert Edwards, Christopher Nguyen, Jogeshwar Mukherjee and Dr. Tahseen Mozaffar of UCI, along with Masashi Kitazawa of UC Merced, Negar Khanlou of UCLA and Giles Watts of the U.K.'s University of East Anglia, also contributed to the PLOS ONE study, which received support from the National Institutes of Health via grant AR 050236, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Paget Foundation.
About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UCI is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County's second-largest employer, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $4 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.
News Radio: UCI maintains on campus an ISDN line for conducting interviews with its faculty and experts. Use of this line is available for a fee to radio news programs/stations that wish to interview UCI faculty and experts. Use of the ISDN line is subject to availability and approval by the university.
Contact:
Tom Vasich
949-824-6455
tmvasich@uci.edu
UCI maintains an online directory of faculty available as experts to the media. To access, visit www.today.uci.edu/experts.
For UCI breaking news, visit www.zotwire.uci.edu.
[ | 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.
New research model to aid search for degenerative disease curesPublic release date: 2-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Tom Vasich tmvasich@uci.edu 949-824-6455 University of California - Irvine
UCI development could foster Lou Gehrig's, Paget's, dementia breakthroughs
Irvine, Calif., Oct. 2, 2012 Efforts to treat disorders like Lou Gehrig's disease, Paget's disease, inclusion body myopathy and dementia will receive a considerable boost from a new research model created by UC Irvine scientists.
The team, led by pediatrician Dr. Virginia Kimonis, has developed a genetically modified mouse that exhibits many of the clinical features of human diseases largely triggered by mutations in the valosin-containing protein.
The mouse model will let researchers study how these now-incurable, degenerative disorders progress in vivo and will provide a platform for translational studies that could lead to lifesaving treatments.
"Currently, there are no effective therapies for VCP-associated diseases and related neurodegenerative disorders," said Kimonis, a professor of pediatrics who specializes in genetics and metabolism. "This model will significantly spark new approaches to research directed toward the creation of novel treatment strategies."
She and her team reported their discovery Sept. 28 online in PLOS ONE, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal.
The UCI researchers from pediatrics, neurology, pathology and radiological sciences specifically bred the first-ever "knock-in" mouse in which the normal VCP gene was substituted with one containing the common R155H mutation seen in humans with VCP-linked diseases. Subsequently, these mice exhibited the same muscle, brain and spinal cord pathology and bone abnormalities as these patients.
VCP is part of a system that maintains cell health by breaking down and clearing away old and damaged proteins that are no longer necessary. Mutations in the VCP gene disrupt the demolition process, and, as a result, excess and abnormal proteins may build up in muscle, bone and brain cells. These proteins form clumps that interfere with the cells' normal functions and can lead to a range of disorders.
Another study carried out by members of this group and published in August in the journal Cell Death & Disease made use of these genetically altered mice to examine the development of Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS. The researchers, led by Dr. Hong Yin and Dr. John Weiss in UCI's Department of Neurology, documented slow, extensive pathological changes in the spinal cord remarkably similar to changes observed in other animal models of ALS as well as in human patients. ALS research is currently limited by a paucity of animal models in which disease processes can be studied.
Genetically modified mice have become important research models in the effort to cure human ailments. Mice bred to exhibit the brain pathology of Alzheimer's disease, for example, have dramatically sped up the race to advance new treatments one such model was developed at UCI. And many cancer therapies were created and tested using genetically altered mice.
###
Angele Nalbandian, Katrina Llewellyn, Mallikarjun Badadani, Robert Edwards, Christopher Nguyen, Jogeshwar Mukherjee and Dr. Tahseen Mozaffar of UCI, along with Masashi Kitazawa of UC Merced, Negar Khanlou of UCLA and Giles Watts of the U.K.'s University of East Anglia, also contributed to the PLOS ONE study, which received support from the National Institutes of Health via grant AR 050236, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Paget Foundation.
About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UCI is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County's second-largest employer, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $4 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.
News Radio: UCI maintains on campus an ISDN line for conducting interviews with its faculty and experts. Use of this line is available for a fee to radio news programs/stations that wish to interview UCI faculty and experts. Use of the ISDN line is subject to availability and approval by the university.
Contact:
Tom Vasich
949-824-6455
tmvasich@uci.edu
UCI maintains an online directory of faculty available as experts to the media. To access, visit www.today.uci.edu/experts.
For UCI breaking news, visit www.zotwire.uci.edu.
[ | 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.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Married country singer Jason Aldean has apologized to fans after photos on a celebrity website showed him getting up close and personal with a former "American Idol" hopeful in a bar in Los Angeles.
Photos posted to TMZ.com showed Aldean, 35, hugging and putting his hands on Brittany Kerr, who was seen on television earlier this year trying out for the 2012 season of "American Idol."
"The truth is that I screwed up," Aldean said in a statement on his Facebook page on Sunday. "I had too much to drink, let the party get out of hand and acted inappropriately at a bar."
Parties appear to be a recurring theme for Aldean. Last year, he won the Country Music Association award for best album for his release "My Kinda Party."
Aldean married his high school sweetheart, Jessica Ussery, in 2001. They have two children.
Aldean and Kerr, a cheerleader for the Charlotte Bobcats basketball team, were shown together at a bar on the Sunset Strip in the photos posted at TMZ.
He noted on his Facebook page that he left the bar "alone," made his way to his tour bus and his next show, and "that's the end of the story." Photos posted to TMZ showed Aldean, a native of Georgia, leaving the bar in the back of a cab, without Kerr.
"I ultimately ended up embarrassing my family and myself," Aldean wrote on Facebook. "I'm not perfect, and I'm sorry for disappointing you guys."
Aldean's statement on his Facebook page attracted nearly 30,000 comments, with many people expressing support for him.
The 35-year-old singer's hit songs include "Fly Over States," "Tattoos On This Town" and "Why."
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Gary Hill)
Social anxiety disorder that can affect people?s overall mental health. It often results from too much apprehension for what might happen in the future. It is a must that they get the best ways to cure it to stop it from further affecting the quality of their life.Nowadays, there are different ways on how to overcome social anxiety. There is an anxiety disorder cure found with NLP.
People suffering from the dreaded condition should seek help from one of the best solutions that will help them eliminate it - Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). Individuals should know that an anxiety disorder cure found with NLP will be the answer to their problem as it deals with the core reason why it is there.
It has some of the world?s best ways to overcome anxiety and almost instantly people become free from its effects. Likewise, NLP can help people with anxiety by focusing on the way they behave, the way they talk and their attitudes that have been causing a negative impact in their life. People should know that the anxiety disorder cure found with NLP can offer simple but failsafe techniques to help them break free of the condition on a permanent basis.
One way in which social anxiety disorder is cured with NLP is the 'Swish' pattern. It will let a negative thought blend with a positive thought. In the minds of anxiety sufferers, they can view themselves as full of sorrow and regrets. With this particular approach, experts will help them to reestablish positive images in the mind and completely eliminate the negative image inside them. A qualified NLP Practitioner/hypnotherapist will let them feel as vibrant as they can get.
Any factors that might trigger them to feel negative shall be prevented. By using a collection of techniques, people can overcome their anxiety immediately and move forward in life. This is why more and more doctors are referring patients to NLP Practitioners and Hypnotherapists to overcome anxiety disorders.
Social anxiety is a dreaded condition that can really damage the overall health of people suffering from it. Life is relationships and these anxieties stop these relationships from getting off the ground. However, with the anxiety cure found with NLP, they can conquer anxiety effectively and get rid of the condition.
People can regain their composure to achieve their aspirations in life and more importantly start enjoying relationships in life whether that be intimate, friends or wanting to climb the corporate ladder.
Author's Bio:?
Neil Harris believes that Hypnosis for anxiety is an excellent method for treatment of these kind of disorders. Following the same path Adam Cumberland, a leading Hypnotherapist London Harley Street has given a new direction to hypnotherapy. He is also providing treatment to problems like Social anxiety disorder, people phobia and Social Phobia.
The airplane taking the Baltimore Orioles to the Tampa area on Sunday night had its flight diverted to Jacksonville because of smoke in the forward galley.
Michael Stewart, spokesman for the Jacksonville Aviation Authority, told The Associated Press that the plane was inspected and deemed OK to fly. The Orioles resumed their trip on the same aircraft, leaving Jacksonville International Airport at 10:15 p.m.
Stewart said the plane was a Delta charter with more than 90 people aboard.
The Orioles beat Boston 6-3 in Baltimore on Sunday afternoon. The Orioles later clinched a playoff spot when the Los Angeles Angels lost at Texas in the second game of a doubleheader.
Baltimore, tied with New York for first place in the AL East, opens a series at Tampa Bay on Monday night.
Running an online business is all about precision, which is why if you get it wrong right at the launch of it, things might not run too well in the long run. All brand new online businesses need to realize that success is all about following the basic rules of the land and laying your foundation right. Take time to be sure you are avoiding the following mistakes as a new business owner.
It?s a mistake to use cheaper options initially to try and get off to a good start, instead invest some money at first.
For example, if you?re looking out to create a long term business on the Internet, you will need a professional website that impresses your target audience. Those cheaper options aren?t worth it, no one wants to visit an unprofessional site like this. It won?t take too long for you to see the long term results of hiring a professional and having a plan. Lots of entrepreneurs get caught up in bad marketing techniques that only offer slow results. This can be very detrimental to your motivation levels and it?s the reason that so many entrepreneurs quit.
This is why it is very important to be creative when it comes to your marketing and promotional efforts. Creative traffic generation and client contact is always the best. The Internet is full of competition and you need to prove that you are innovative and that you can actually stand out from the rest of the crowd. You will make a whole lot more money and be far more successful if you can offer buyers something that nobody else can offer but you can only reach those buyers if you?re willing to experiment and get creative with your marketing efforts.
Finally, it is a huge mistake not to learn about your target market.
You simply can?t launch an internet business if you don?t know who will be buying from you. You need to know your target market like the back of your hand, inside out. It?s important that you put some effort into learning what you can about future buyers because if you don?t your business will collapse. You cannot create successful products without knowing who you?re going to sell them to. In conclusion, these mistakes aren?t anything you probably didn?t already know.
In fact, these mistakes get made regularly by entrepreneurs. The real difference is in avoiding these mistakes and ensuring that your launch is as smooth as possible. If you take a careful look at the mistakes we?ve outlined you will see just how easy it is for you to avoid them altogether.
About the Author
If you are truly serious about making money online, read this special money making report immediately. Don?t think twice about it. This is a limited offer.
This entry was posted on Sunday, September 30th, 2012 at 10:28 am and is filed under entrepreneurship. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.