At this year's E3, EA briefly mentioned that we would see a Madden 25 integration of sorts with SmartGlass in the near future, but that's as much as the gaming developer was willing to share back then. Now, some four months after the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2013 took place, EA Sports and Microsoft are finally prepared to show off what they've been working on. Meet CoachGlass. The aptly named companion app, which is an Xbox One exclusive, uses SmartGlass to connect with Madden 25 and allow users to control defensive plays during a game via smartphone or tablet. Essentially, CoachGlass lets players take over the role of a defensive coordinator, allowing them to handle all the play-calling and recommending formations it believes will be successful against the rival offense.
Obviously, it's easy to see how this took a cue from the renowned "Ask Madden" feature. However, CoachGlass differentiates itself by resorting to data collected from the Madden community, as well as recently used plays, to make its suggestions. Better yet, it also pinpoints who the opposing team's biggest offensive threats are, while "Track Tendencies" displays whether the squad you're up against prefers to throw or pass the football in most situations. EA tells us that as more people get to playing its popular NFL title, the recommended plays will become more efficient, since it'll show ones which have been successful for other gamers around the world.
Is it easier to use the sticks? Perhaps. But CoachGlass is all about the experience, really -- think about it, you can have a friend calling the plays on defense while you take care of business on offense. Just don't forget the popular saying: "Offense wins games, defense wins championships." When the Xbox One arrives next month, CoachGlass is set to be compatible with SmartGlass-friendly platforms such as iOS, Android and, naturally, Windows 8. For now, check out our video below to see the Madden 25 application in action.
Texas Rangers CEO and President Nolan Ryan wipes his eye during a news conference announcing his retirement from the ballclub Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013 in Arlington, Texas. Ryan will step down at the end of this month. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Texas Rangers CEO and President Nolan Ryan wipes his eye during a news conference announcing his retirement from the ballclub Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013 in Arlington, Texas. Ryan will step down at the end of this month. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Texas Rangers CEO and President Nolan Ryan, left, follows team owner Bob Simpson to the desk for a news conference to announce Ryan's retirement from the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. Ryan is retiring after six seasons as CEO and will retire at the end of this month. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Texas Rangers CEO and President Nolan Ryan, left, and team owner Bob Simpson stand up after a news conference announcing Ryan's retirement from the baseball team in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. Ryan is retiring at the end of the month after six seasons as CEO. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Texas Rangers CEO and President Nolan Ryan listens during a news conference announcing his retirement from the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. Ryan is retiring after six seasons as CEO and will retire at the end of this month. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Texas Rangers CEO and President Nolan Ryan listens during a news conference announcing his retirement from the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. Ryan is retiring after six seasons as CEO and will retire at the end of this month. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Nolan Ryan is leaving the Texas Rangers again, stepping away from his CEO role 20 years after ending his Hall of Fame career as a pitcher.
In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. He is also selling his ownership stake in the team to co-chairmen Ray Davis and Bob Simpson.
"It closes a chapter of my life in baseball," Ryan said. "I feel like it's time for me to move on to other things. It's been a decision that weighed on me heavily, but I feel like it's the right decision. ... At this point and time, it's the correct thing for me to do."
Asked about the difference in the team announcing that he was retiring and him calling it a resignation, the 66-year-old Ryan paused and then said he wouldn't be the CEO of another major league team and called this perhaps the "final chapter" of his storied career in baseball.
Ryan's older son, Reid, became president of the Houston Astros earlier this year. Nolan Ryan dismissed any speculation that he's leaving the Rangers to join his son and another of the teams he pitched for and worked for in the past.
The move takes effect Oct. 31.
Ryan became the 10th president of the Rangers in February 2008 when he was hired by former owner Tom Hicks. Ryan added the title of CEO three years later. He was also part of the ownership group that acquired the team in August 2010, months before its first World Series.
Ryan's departure comes less than a year after ownership gave general manager Jon Daniels and chief operating officer Rick George new presidential titles and took the president's title from Ryan.
Davis insisted the change in Ryan's title earlier this year was just that.
"From a corporation standpoint, Nolan's authority didn't change at all," Davis said. "On all major decisions on baseball, Nolan made all final decisions."
Ryan said the title change wasn't a factor in his decision.
"I don't look at it from that perspective," Ryan said. "I just look at it from where I am in life and what I want to do going forward and that's what really drove my decision."
George left in July to become the athletic director at the University of Colorado. Daniels attended the news conference at Rangers Ballpark, but left without speaking to reporters.
Davis said the ownership group is disappointed with Ryan's decision but understands it. Simpson said he tried to talk Ryan out of leaving.
"You don't wake up one day and make a decision of this magnitude," Ryan said. "It was something I've been thinking about on and off for a while now. Just felt like it was probably time for me to move on."
Ryan said he planned to go home and enjoy getting back out to his ranch "and doing things I haven't done for six years now. ... I don't know what a year from now might bring. This may be the final chapter of my baseball career."
Texas made its only two World Series appearances during Ryan's six seasons in the front office. The Rangers have averaged more than 90 wins the past five seasons, though they missed the playoffs this year after losing an AL wild-card tiebreaker game to Tampa Bay.
"During times of significant change for the franchise, Nolan has been a constant — accessible, dedicated and an icon to his fellow Texans who love our game," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "Nolan's unique perspective as a legendary player and an accomplished executive has been invaluable to the Rangers franchise."
Ryan's name has been synonymous with the Rangers for decades.
The major league strikeout king with 5,714 spent the last five seasons of his playing days in a Rangers uniform, getting his 300th victory, throwing the last two of his record seven no-hitters and getting his 5,000th strikeout. He retired as player after the 1993 season.
His No. 34 jersey is the only one worn by a Rangers player to be retired, and there is a statue of the pitcher at Rangers Ballpark. He is the only player in the Hall of Fame whose bust is topped by a Texas cap.
"As his son, I am extremely proud of what he has accomplished as both a player and as a front office executive. He was an integral part of all three of the World Series appearances by Texas teams, in 2005 with the Astros and in 2010-11 with the Rangers," Reid Ryan said in a statement.
"He has always treated the game with dignity and respect and has appreciated those that make our game great: the fans, players and employees," he said.
The co-chairmen said there are no immediate plans to announce a new CEO. Rob Matwick, who's currently executive vice president of ballpark and event operations, will take on more responsibilities with the help of others who have also been shifted into new roles.
As for representing the Rangers in MLB business, Davis said he'd "be the control person for the next two or three years, and Bob and I will rotate that title."
___
AP Sports Writer Stephen Hawkins contributed to this report.
Statin, osteoporosis drug combo may help treat parasitic infections
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 17-Oct-2013
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Contact: Silvia Moreno 706-542-4736 University of Georgia
Athens, Ga. Researchers at the University of Georgia have discovered that a combination of two commonly prescribed drugs used to treat high cholesterol and osteoporosis may serve as the foundation of a new treatment for toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. They published their findings recently in PLOS Pathogens.
Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite capable of infecting nearly all warm-blooded animals. While healthy human adults usually suffer no lasting ill effects from infection, it can be harmful or fatal to unborn fetuses or those with weakened immune systems.
"For many years, therapies for toxoplasmosis have focused on drugs that target only the parasite," said Silvia Moreno, senior author of the article and professor of cellular biology in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. "But in this paper, we show how we can hit the parasite with two drugs simultaneously, one that affects body chemistry in the host and one that affects the parasite."
The UGA researchers discovered that a combination of the cholesterol lowering drug atorvastatin and osteoporosis medication zoledronic acid, both more commonly known by their respective trade names, Lipitor and Zometa, produce changes in the mammalian host and in the parasite that ultimately block parasite replication and spread of the infection.
"These two drugs have a strong synergy," said Moreno, who is also a member of UGA's Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases. "The mice we treated were cured from a lethal infection using this combination approach."
Moreno and her colleagues began working on this drug combination following a series of experiments with unexpected results. They created a genetically modified version of the parasite in the laboratory that lacked a specific enzyme essential for one of the organism's most basic functions.
They thought such an experiment was an excellent opportunity to observe how the absence of this enzyme would kill the parasites. But every time they checked on the supposedly defective parasites, they were healthy and appeared completely unaffected.
"We kept asking ourselves, 'How did this happen? This enzyme should be essential to the parasite's survival,'" said Zhu-Hong Li, a UGA research scientist and lead author of the article. "It's almost like a human surviving without food or air."
What they discovered is that in order to survive, Toxoplasma has evolved an extraordinary ability to siphon essential compounds from its host when it is unable to make them on its own. This led them to the two-drug therapy.
Zoledronic acid prevents synthesis in the parasite and atorvastatin inhibits production in the host.
When Toxoplasma cannot produce these important molecules itself or steal them from its host, the parasites die.
"These drugs have been studied extensively, they are FDA-approved and safe for most people," Moreno said. "Plus, one might not have to take the drugs for an extended period, just long enough to clear the infection."
Moreno cautions that more research must be done before this becomes an accepted treatment for humans, but she hopes that a similar strategy might work for other serious parasitic diseases, such as malaria and cryptosporidiosis.
Early experiments with an anti-malarial drug already suggest that combining atorvastatin with fosmidomycin, an antibiotic effective against malaria parasites, creates a more potent antimalarial cocktail and it may lessen the risk of drug resistance.
###
UGA Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases
The University of Georgia Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases draws on a strong foundation of parasitology, immunology, cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry and genetics to develop medical and public health interventions for at-risk populations. Established in 1998, the center promotes international biomedical research and educational programs at UGA and throughout Georgia to address the parasitic and other tropical diseases that continue to threaten the health of people throughout the world. For more information about the center, see ctegd.uga.edu
Writer:
James Hataway, 706-542-5222, jhataway@uga.edu
Contact:
Silvia Moreno, 706-542-4736, smoreno@uga.edu
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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.
Statin, osteoporosis drug combo may help treat parasitic infections
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 17-Oct-2013
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Contact: Silvia Moreno 706-542-4736 University of Georgia
Athens, Ga. Researchers at the University of Georgia have discovered that a combination of two commonly prescribed drugs used to treat high cholesterol and osteoporosis may serve as the foundation of a new treatment for toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. They published their findings recently in PLOS Pathogens.
Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite capable of infecting nearly all warm-blooded animals. While healthy human adults usually suffer no lasting ill effects from infection, it can be harmful or fatal to unborn fetuses or those with weakened immune systems.
"For many years, therapies for toxoplasmosis have focused on drugs that target only the parasite," said Silvia Moreno, senior author of the article and professor of cellular biology in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. "But in this paper, we show how we can hit the parasite with two drugs simultaneously, one that affects body chemistry in the host and one that affects the parasite."
The UGA researchers discovered that a combination of the cholesterol lowering drug atorvastatin and osteoporosis medication zoledronic acid, both more commonly known by their respective trade names, Lipitor and Zometa, produce changes in the mammalian host and in the parasite that ultimately block parasite replication and spread of the infection.
"These two drugs have a strong synergy," said Moreno, who is also a member of UGA's Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases. "The mice we treated were cured from a lethal infection using this combination approach."
Moreno and her colleagues began working on this drug combination following a series of experiments with unexpected results. They created a genetically modified version of the parasite in the laboratory that lacked a specific enzyme essential for one of the organism's most basic functions.
They thought such an experiment was an excellent opportunity to observe how the absence of this enzyme would kill the parasites. But every time they checked on the supposedly defective parasites, they were healthy and appeared completely unaffected.
"We kept asking ourselves, 'How did this happen? This enzyme should be essential to the parasite's survival,'" said Zhu-Hong Li, a UGA research scientist and lead author of the article. "It's almost like a human surviving without food or air."
What they discovered is that in order to survive, Toxoplasma has evolved an extraordinary ability to siphon essential compounds from its host when it is unable to make them on its own. This led them to the two-drug therapy.
Zoledronic acid prevents synthesis in the parasite and atorvastatin inhibits production in the host.
When Toxoplasma cannot produce these important molecules itself or steal them from its host, the parasites die.
"These drugs have been studied extensively, they are FDA-approved and safe for most people," Moreno said. "Plus, one might not have to take the drugs for an extended period, just long enough to clear the infection."
Moreno cautions that more research must be done before this becomes an accepted treatment for humans, but she hopes that a similar strategy might work for other serious parasitic diseases, such as malaria and cryptosporidiosis.
Early experiments with an anti-malarial drug already suggest that combining atorvastatin with fosmidomycin, an antibiotic effective against malaria parasites, creates a more potent antimalarial cocktail and it may lessen the risk of drug resistance.
###
UGA Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases
The University of Georgia Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases draws on a strong foundation of parasitology, immunology, cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry and genetics to develop medical and public health interventions for at-risk populations. Established in 1998, the center promotes international biomedical research and educational programs at UGA and throughout Georgia to address the parasitic and other tropical diseases that continue to threaten the health of people throughout the world. For more information about the center, see ctegd.uga.edu
Writer:
James Hataway, 706-542-5222, jhataway@uga.edu
Contact:
Silvia Moreno, 706-542-4736, smoreno@uga.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.
One of the themes running through my various government shutdown posts has been the importance of seeing the current wave of right-wing populism clearly and weighing its merits and demerits judiciously. That requires understanding the strategic thinking that led to the shutdown in the first place … acknowledging the legitimate sense of political disappointment that underlies the right’s inclination toward intransigence … and most importantly, recognizing that relative to the G.O.P. establishment (such as it is), today’s right-wing populists often have better political instincts and better policy ideas.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some federal workers back on the job Thursday morning were getting a personal welcome from Vice President Joe Biden.
Biden greeted employees returning to the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters. Just a few blocks away at the White House, a smiling chief of staff Denis McDonough stood at an entrance to shake hands with returning aides.
About three-quarters of White House workers and nearly all EPA employees were told to stay home during the 16-day federal government shutdown. They returned to the job Thursday after Congress reached a budget agreement.
The EPA workers also got a welcome back memo from newly confirmed EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. Among other things, it reminded them to remove "out of office" messages from email and voicemail.
BOSTON (AP) — The number of safety violations at U.S. nuclear power plants varies dramatically from region to region, pointing to inconsistent enforcement in an industry now operating mostly beyond its original 40-year licenses, according to a congressional study awaiting release.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission figures cited in the Government Accountability Office report show that while the West has the fewest reactors, it had the most lower-level violations from 2000 to 2012 — more than 2½ times the Southeast's rate per reactor.
The Southeast, with the most reactors of the NRC's four regions, had the fewest such violations, according to the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.
The striking variations do not appear to reflect real differences in reactor performance. Instead, the report says, the differences suggest that regulators interpret rules and guidelines differently among regions, perhaps because lower-level violations get limited review.
The study also says that the NRC's West region may enforce the rules more aggressively and that common corporate ownership of multiple plants may help bolster maintenance in the Southeast.
However, the reasons aren't fully understood because the NRC has never fully studied them, the report says. Right now, its authors wrote, the "NRC cannot ensure that oversight efforts are objective and consistent."
Told of the findings, safety critics said enforcement is too arbitrary and regulators may be missing violations. The nuclear industry has also voiced concern about the inconsistencies, the report said.
The analysis was written by the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, at the request of four senators. Before the government shutdown, the report had been set for public release later this month.
Steven Kerekes, a spokesman for the industry group Nuclear Energy Institute, declined to comment pending release of the report. The NRC's public affairs office had no comment, citing the government shutdown.
The GAO analysis focuses on lower-level safety violations known as "nonescalated." They represent 98 percent of all violations identified by the NRC, which regulates safety at the country's commercial reactors.
Lower-level violations are those considered to pose very low risk, such as improper upkeep of an electrical transformer or failure to analyze a problem with no impact on a system's operation, such as the effect of a pipe break. Higher-level violations range from low to high safety significance, such as an improperly maintained electrical system that caused a fire and affected a plant's ability to shut down safely.
The GAO's analysis shows 3,225 of these violations from 2000 through the end of 2012 across 21 reactors in the West. By contrast, there were 1,885 such violations in the Southeast. Yet that region is home to 33 reactors — 12 more than in the West. The West registered 153.6 violations per reactor, while the Southeast saw just 57.1.
The Midwest, with 24 reactors, had 3,148 violations, for a rate of 131.2 per reactor. The 26-reactor Northeast also fared worse than the Southeast, with 2,518 violations, or 96.8 per reactor.
The Cooper nuclear station in Brownville, Neb., led all sites in lower-level violations per reactor with 363. The next four were Wolf Creek, in Burlington, Kan., with 266; Kewaunee, in Kewaunee, Wis., 256; Perry, in Perry, Ohio, 256; and River Bend, in St. Francisville, La., 240.
The GAO found less regional variation in higher-level safety violations. The five plants with the most higher-level violations per reactor from 2000 to 2012 were Davis-Besse in Oak Harbor, Ohio, with 14; Kewaunee, nine; Perry, eight; Palisades, in Covert, Mich., eight; and Fort Calhoun, in Fort Calhoun, Neb., eight.
"I believe the oversight process is totally arbitrary," said Paul Blanch, an engineer who once blew the whistle on problems from within the industry and later returned to work on safety. He also said the NRC isn't providing consistent training to inspectors and regional staff. Blanch was made aware of the GAO findings by the AP.
The report also indicates that some regulators may be missing small problems or giving them short shrift, safety experts said. And they said little violations can pile up and interact with one another to create bigger risks.
"Any time you start tolerating minor problems, you're just setting the stage for major safety problems down the road," said nuclear engineer David Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists. He once trained NRC staff.
Phillip Musegaas, a lawyer with the environmental group Riverkeeper, said regulators should do more to make sure that lower-level violations are fixed. "NRC's tracking to make sure these violations are resolved is completely ineffectual," he said.
In its official response to the report, the NRC defended the objectivity of its plant assessments. At the same time, it acknowledged the regional differences and promised to look deeper into why they happen.
According to the GAO, the NRC regulatory staff also offered several explanations, including regional variations in reactor ages and time spent on inspections. However, the congressional watchdog said those explanations are not supported by the data.
The agency did offer that regulators may be right when they cite the possible impact of joint ownership of sites, a circumstance most prevalent in the Southeast. Nuclear plants under one owner may benefit from more corporate resources and thus avoid violations, the GAO suggested. The NRC also said higher-level violations are more consistent because they are more deeply reviewed.
On other issues, the report said the NRC needs an easier-to-use internal database to help staff learn of historical safety issues that apply to current problems. It also pressed the agency to improve its public documents website to allow tracking of safety violations. The NRC said it would work to improve both tools.
Senators requested the report in reaction to the Japanese nuclear accident at Fukushima in 2011 and an Associated Press investigative series later that year about aging U.S. nuclear plants. The AP series found that federal regulators had relaxed safety rules to keep plants running beyond their initial licenses. It also reported leaks of radioactive tritium at three-quarters of plants and outdated estimates of evacuation times.
The GAO analyzed data for 104 commercial reactors, but four permanently shut earlier this year: Crystal River in Florida, Kewaunee, and the two units at San Onofre in California.
___
The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate@ap.org
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