Watch Christina Stephens?a practicing occupational therapist and clinical researcher who lost her foot after a crush injury?build herself a working prosthetic leg out of Lego.
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In an email to all employees, Zynga just announced that veteran executive Don Mattrick will be the gaming giant’s new CEO, and former CEO and co-founder Mark Pincus will now be its Chief Product Officer as well as remaining the Chairman of its Board of Directors. Mattrick comes from Microsoft in a sudden move, and was previously at Zynga competitor Electronic Arts. Pincus explained in an email to staff and a blog post that “I?ve always said to Bing and our Board that if I could find someone who could do a better job as our CEO I?d do all I could to recruit and bring that person in. I?m confident that Don is that leader.” He also noted “Zynga has so much more potential ahead, the opportunity to be an Internet Treasure and deliver on our mission of connecting the world through games.” Update: Mattrick has now sent an “Excited to be here” email to all employees, saying that “Only Zynga combines engineering, industry-leading product management and analytics to deliver products that strike a chord with consumers and add real value in their lives…We have the opportunity to create lifelong relationships with our customers through our high quality products.?Zynga is a great business that has yet to realize its full potential.” Until today, Mattrick was Microsoft?s President of Interactive Entertainment. He most recently delivered the news that Microsoft would retreat following backlash in response to announcements that its new Xbox One would have digital rights management preventing users from freely swapping games and would require an Internet connection to play games. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer sent an email to his employees saying “This is a great opportunity for Don, and I wish him success. Don?s directs will report to me and will continue to drive the day-to-day business as a team, particularly focused on shipping Xbox One this holiday.?Thank you, Don, for setting us on a path to completely redefine the entertainment industry.” As the new CEO he inherits a tough job of completing Zynga’s transition from a web-focused Facebook games company to a multi-platform developer with its own properties and a focus on mobile. The news leaked this morning via Kara Swisher to positive reactions from Zynga shareholders who boosted the company’s stock price 10.43% to $3.07. After hours the stock has gone up another 3.58% to $3.18 following the announcement. Zynga is still struggling to recover fromSource: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/lAB_JYO2PAM/
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It looks like Dwight Howard will already have at least one friend in Dallas if he decides to sign with the Mavericks this summer.
The free agent center teamed up with Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant and professional gaming personalities Chris Puckett and Faze Temperrr to take home the title at Major League Gaming?s All-Star event in Anaheim last weekend.
Bryant and Howard helped take down a team that consisted of Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson, San Antonio Spurs forward DeJuan Blair and gamers Hector Rodriguez and Syndicate in a game of Call of Duty.
You can check out video of the event below. Mobile users can click here to watch it.
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The Egyptian military has given the country's first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, an ultimatum to meet the people's demands or get out. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.
By Ayman Mohyeldin, Charlene Gubash and Ian Johnston, NBC News
CAIRO - In a long-awaited response, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi early Tuesday rejected an order by the army to resolve a political crisis that has?drawn millions of people into the streets demanding his resignation, calling a deadline set confusing and saying he would instead pursue national?reconciliation on his own.
The presidency issued a statement at almost 2 a.m., nine hours after an ultimatum by Egypt?s military, which said the mass protests were an??unprecedented? expression of the will of the people and gave the government 48 hours to meet the opposition's demands.?
Morsi's response was much less direct than the army?s edict but seemed to indicate he had a different plan.
?"The president of the republic was not consulted about the statement issued by the armed forces," it said. "The presidency sees that some of the?statements in it carry meanings that could cause confusion in the complex national environment."
The statement from Morsi's office continued, "The presidency confirms that it is going forward on its previously plotted path to promote comprehensive?national reconciliation ... regardless of any statements that deepen divisions between citizens."?
The army's earlier statement was read on state television just hours after the headquarters of Morsi?s Muslim Brotherhood movement were ransacked.?Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said if the crisis wasn?t resolved, the army would intervene.
The protesters' main demands are that Morsi announce early elections and step down, allowing a temporary government to take over.
"If the demands of the people are not realized within the defined period, it will be incumbent upon (the armed forces) ... to announce a road map for the?future,? the statement said. It was followed by patriotic music.
Protesters attacked and stormed the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo, calling for Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi to step down. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.
The road map would be created by the army, which would also oversee the plan's implementation, the statement said.
It was unclear if the military was effectively demanding Morsi's resignation, but a Muslim Brotherhood politician insisted there would not be "a coup."
On his Facebook page Monday, Morsi said he was meeting with Gen. al-Sisi as well as Prime Minister Hisham Kandil. What they discussed was not disclosed.
Sixteen people were killed and more than 700 were wounded during the protests Sunday and early Monday.
The military statement stressed that the military would remain neutral in politics and maintain its role as protector of the people and the nation?s borders.
The statement said the military will "not be a party in politics or rule."
But it added the armed forces had a responsibility to act because Egypt's national security was facing a "grave danger."
A source at Egypt's presidential palace said Morsi's office was not told in advance that the 48-hour ultimatum would be issued.
In Cairo's Tahrir Square, the vast crowd began to chant that the army and the people were one after al-Sisi's address. Army helicopters circled over the city flying Egyptian flags.
However, Yasser Hamza, a leader of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party,?warned against misinterpreting the army statement.?
"For an institution of state to come and stage a coup against the president, this will not happen," he said. "Any force that goes against the constitution is a call for sabotage and anarchy."?
In a formal response to al-Sisi's statement, an alliance of Islamist groups that includes Morsi's Brotherhood was careful not to criticize the army itself, instead saying that their political opponents were trying to manipulate the army to "assault legitimacy" in a way that would lead to a coup.
In a statement read at a press conference attended by a Reuters reporter, the alliance also said it respected all initiatives to resolve the country's political crisis but that they had to respect constitutional principles.?
As the military statement was read, U.S. President Barack Obama urged all sides to refrain from violence shortly after he arrived in Tanzania.
"We're all concerned about what's happening in Egypt," Obama said. "There is more work to be done to create the conditions in which everybody feels that their voices are heard and that the government is responsive and truly representative."?
U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the U.S. is closely watching the situation in Egypt and is in touch with all sides, and?encouraged groups to avoid violence.
"Our message publicly and privately has been very consistent, that we want to see Egyptians succeed, that we don't take sides, we don't have a?particular party or group or interest that we're backing.? Ventrell said. ?Indeed, the only thing that we're backing is the Egyptian people and the goal?of their success in their democratic transition, that they can get their economy back on track, that they can fully see their democratic transition?succeed."
In a statement, the United Nations also called for Egyptians to resolve differences through ?democratic means.?
In the latest resignation in Morsi's government, Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr offered to step down, state news agency MENA reported early Tuesday, without giving a source. Since Sunday, at least five other non-Brotherhood government ministers have tendered their resignations from the Cabinet, apparently in sympathy with the protesters, underlining a sense of isolation for the party that won a series of elections last year but has failed to build out alliances to form a broader consensus.?
The attack on the Brotherhood building was the bloodiest incident of the weekend's huge and mostly peaceful protests against Morsi.
It began after dark Sunday and continued for hours, with guards inside the suburban Cairo building firing on youths hurling fire bombs and rocks. Reuters cited medical and security sources as saying that eight people were killed, but the figure could not be independently confirmed by NBC News.
Protesters breached ?the Cairo compound's defenses and stormed the building. Crowds later carried off furniture, files, rugs, air conditioning units and portraits of Morsi, according to an Associated Press journalist. One protester emerged with a pistol and handed it over to a policeman outside. ?
Footage on local television showed broken windows, blackened walls and smoke coming out of the building. A fire was still raging on one floor hours after the building was invaded. One protester tore down the Muslim Brotherhood sign from the building's front wall, while another hoisted Egypt's red, black and white flag out an upper-story window and waved it in the air in triumph.
Lasers were used as part of a demonstration in Cairo against President Mohammed Morsi. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians flooded into the streets on the first anniversary of Morsi's inauguration on Sunday to demand that he resign.
The images were reminiscent of the destruction of the state security headquarters when President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in 2011.
Organizers behind Sunday's protests -- who managed to get 22 million signatures calling on Morsi to step down -- ?said they would give him until Tuesday at 5 p.m. (11 a.m. ET) to meet their demands or they would call for nationwide strikes.?
Protesters also demanded?early elections, but late Sunday night word from the presidential palace was that Morsi had no intentions of calling them.?
Some anti-Morsi protesters spent Sunday night in dozens of tents pitched in the capital's central Tahrir Square and in front of the president's Ittihadiya Palace. They have vowed to stay there until Morsi resigns. Morsi supporters, meanwhile, went on with their sit-in in front of a major mosque in Cairo.?
Sunday's protests were the largest seen in Egypt in the 2? years of turmoil since the ouster of autocratic Mubarak in February 2011.?
NBC News' F. Brinley Bruton, Jeff Black, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Amr Nabil / AP
The headquarters of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood was ransacked as widespread protests against President Mohammed Morsi turned violent.
Related:
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This story was originally published on Mon Jul 1, 2013 7:05 AM EDT
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Public release date: 2-Jul-2013
Share ] Contact: Spyridon Mourtzinis
szm0020@tigermail.auburn.edu
American Society of Agronomy
The ability to predict corn yields would benefit farmers as they plan the sale of their crops and biofuel industries as they plan their operations. A new study published in the July-August issue of Agronomy Journal describes a robust model that uses easily obtained measurements, such as plant morphology and precipitation, collected specifically at the silking growth stage of the plant. The new model could help both growers and industry maximize their profits and efficiency.
Forecasting crop yield can be extremely useful for farmers. If they have an idea of the amount of yield they can expect, they can contract their corn prior to harvest, often securing a more competitive price than if they were to wait until after harvest. Likewise, industry can benefit from yield predictions by better planning the logistics of their business. But dependable forecasts can be difficult to find.
Several methods of predicting and modeling crop yields have been used in the past with varying success. Statistical models often don't take into account characteristics of the plants, the weather, or the management practices limiting their usefulness. Some models are based on information from just a single year or location.
"When you develop a model using single location or year data, it will have limited practical applications," explains Spyridon Mourtzinis, lead author of the study. "You don't include variability from multiple environments."
The new study from Mourtzinis and his co-authors from Auburn University found a more robust model for predicting both corn grain and stover yield. The model uses equations calculated with information about nitrogen fertilization rates, precipitation, and plant morphology, such as plant height, stem diameter, height of the first ear, number of forming ears, and plant population.
"Previous attempts were mainly looking at weather factors," says Francisco Arriaga, co-author of the study and now an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "This approach has other factors included in the model, and that is an important strength."
The timing of the measurements is also an important aspect of the model. Mourtzinis took weekly measurements from over 100 plots throughout the growing season to find the best window during which to collect data to be used in the equations. The time-consuming work paid off.
"We looked at all the vegetative states to see which one was best, and it turned out to be the R1 growth stage," explains Arriaga. "Other models tried to take measurements earlier, but that may be why they had poor results. Things change as the season goes by, and the stage we found was the critical one."
The R1 or silking growth stage, when silks are first visible outside the husks, is about two to two and half months before harvest. This model, then, would provide predictions early enough to affect crop prices and to allow industries to plan their operations. While even earlier predictions might be possible, they would depend on better forecasting of weather, which can greatly affect yields. Weather changes significantly throughout the growing season, and current forecasts are not dependable.
Another reason that the new model is robust is because data was collected at two different sites in Alabama over three years. The equations used in the current model, then, translated over six sets of data suggesting that it could be used in a variety of environments. Whether that is true is a goal of future experiments.
"It would be interesting to test the equations across a lot more environments now that we know which growth stage to target," says Arriaga.
Future studies will also test the model with other corn hybrids and management practices. As more data is collected from a variety of environments and growing conditions, the authors are hopeful that the model will continue to be an accurate predictor of corn yield.
"We need to be open-minded," says Mourtzinis. "The equations might change a bit when we get more data from more environments, but I think we can build on the current model."
###
View the abstract at http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2134/agronj2012.0393 .
To obtain a copy of the complete article, please contact Madeline Fisher at 608-268-3973, mfisher@sciencesocieties.org or Caroline Schneider at 608-268-3976, cschneider@sciencesocieties.org.
The full article is available for no charge for 30 days following the date of this summary. View the abstract at http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2134/agronj2012.0393.
A peer-reviewed international journal of agriculture and natural resource sciences, Agronomy Journal is published six times a year by the American Society of Agronomy, with articles relating to original research in soil science, crop science, agroclimatology and agronomic modeling, production agriculture, and software. For more information visit: http://www.agronomy.org/publications/aj
The American Society of Agronomy (ASA) http://www.agronomy.org, is a scientific society helping its 8,000+ members advance the disciplines and practices of agronomy by supporting professional growth and science policy initiatives, and by providing quality, research-based publications and a variety of member services.
[ | 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.
Public release date: 2-Jul-2013 Share ] Contact: Spyridon Mourtzinis
szm0020@tigermail.auburn.edu
American Society of Agronomy
The ability to predict corn yields would benefit farmers as they plan the sale of their crops and biofuel industries as they plan their operations. A new study published in the July-August issue of Agronomy Journal describes a robust model that uses easily obtained measurements, such as plant morphology and precipitation, collected specifically at the silking growth stage of the plant. The new model could help both growers and industry maximize their profits and efficiency.
Forecasting crop yield can be extremely useful for farmers. If they have an idea of the amount of yield they can expect, they can contract their corn prior to harvest, often securing a more competitive price than if they were to wait until after harvest. Likewise, industry can benefit from yield predictions by better planning the logistics of their business. But dependable forecasts can be difficult to find.
Several methods of predicting and modeling crop yields have been used in the past with varying success. Statistical models often don't take into account characteristics of the plants, the weather, or the management practices limiting their usefulness. Some models are based on information from just a single year or location.
"When you develop a model using single location or year data, it will have limited practical applications," explains Spyridon Mourtzinis, lead author of the study. "You don't include variability from multiple environments."
The new study from Mourtzinis and his co-authors from Auburn University found a more robust model for predicting both corn grain and stover yield. The model uses equations calculated with information about nitrogen fertilization rates, precipitation, and plant morphology, such as plant height, stem diameter, height of the first ear, number of forming ears, and plant population.
"Previous attempts were mainly looking at weather factors," says Francisco Arriaga, co-author of the study and now an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "This approach has other factors included in the model, and that is an important strength."
The timing of the measurements is also an important aspect of the model. Mourtzinis took weekly measurements from over 100 plots throughout the growing season to find the best window during which to collect data to be used in the equations. The time-consuming work paid off.
"We looked at all the vegetative states to see which one was best, and it turned out to be the R1 growth stage," explains Arriaga. "Other models tried to take measurements earlier, but that may be why they had poor results. Things change as the season goes by, and the stage we found was the critical one."
The R1 or silking growth stage, when silks are first visible outside the husks, is about two to two and half months before harvest. This model, then, would provide predictions early enough to affect crop prices and to allow industries to plan their operations. While even earlier predictions might be possible, they would depend on better forecasting of weather, which can greatly affect yields. Weather changes significantly throughout the growing season, and current forecasts are not dependable.
Another reason that the new model is robust is because data was collected at two different sites in Alabama over three years. The equations used in the current model, then, translated over six sets of data suggesting that it could be used in a variety of environments. Whether that is true is a goal of future experiments.
"It would be interesting to test the equations across a lot more environments now that we know which growth stage to target," says Arriaga.
Future studies will also test the model with other corn hybrids and management practices. As more data is collected from a variety of environments and growing conditions, the authors are hopeful that the model will continue to be an accurate predictor of corn yield.
"We need to be open-minded," says Mourtzinis. "The equations might change a bit when we get more data from more environments, but I think we can build on the current model."
###
View the abstract at http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2134/agronj2012.0393 .
To obtain a copy of the complete article, please contact Madeline Fisher at 608-268-3973, mfisher@sciencesocieties.org or Caroline Schneider at 608-268-3976, cschneider@sciencesocieties.org.
The full article is available for no charge for 30 days following the date of this summary. View the abstract at http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.2134/agronj2012.0393.
A peer-reviewed international journal of agriculture and natural resource sciences, Agronomy Journal is published six times a year by the American Society of Agronomy, with articles relating to original research in soil science, crop science, agroclimatology and agronomic modeling, production agriculture, and software. For more information visit: http://www.agronomy.org/publications/aj
The American Society of Agronomy (ASA) http://www.agronomy.org, is a scientific society helping its 8,000+ members advance the disciplines and practices of agronomy by supporting professional growth and science policy initiatives, and by providing quality, research-based publications and a variety of member services.
[ | 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.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-07/asoa-cyp070213.php
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Apple's Reno, Nevada data center might be a lot greener in the next few years -- according to GigaOm, the company plans to build a 137 acre solar farm right next to it. The Nevada complex will reportedly generate between 18 and 20 megawatts of power similar to Apple's two arrays in North Carolina, but GigaOm says it will use a different kind of technology. Instead of a standard farm of solar panels, it will include mirrors that concentrate the sun's rays on each one up to seven times, increasing the amount of energy produced. In a statement sent to the publication, Cupertino revealed that the facility will not only provide electricity for the data center, but also supply energy to the local grid. Solar company SunPower will work on the array's engineering and construction, but until it's operational (which could be a while), Apple will depend on geothermal energy generated by local plants.
[Image credit: Apple]
Source: GigaOm
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/uo7eyCB3AiU/
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