Two new species of orchid found in Cuba

Dec. 27, 2012 ? Researchers from the University of Vigo, in collaboration with the Environmental Services Unit at the Alejandro de Humboldt National Park (Cuba), have discovered two new species of Caribbean orchid.

The Caribbean islands have been natural laboratories and a source of inspiration for biologists for over two centuries now. Suffice to say that the studies by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in the tropical archipelagos contributed to the emergence of the theory of evolution.

In this case, a Spanish research team from the University of Vigo has discovered two new species belonging to the orchid family (Orchidaceae: Laeliinae) in Cuba. They have been called Tetramicra riparia and Encyclia navarroi. The two plants were found in the eastern and western zones of the island respectively.

"The first species described, Encyclia navarroi, is an orchid with considerably large flowers. A year later we discovered the Tetramicra riparia species, with very small flowers. The latter is so named because it grows on the banks of stony streams in the mountains of Baracoa, one of the rainiest and least explored areas in Cuba," as ?ngel Vale explained. Vale is a researcher at the University of Vigo and co-author of the studies published by the journals Systematic Botany and Annales Botanici Fennici.

Darwin was very much drawn to the orchid family, and used it to propose certain hypotheses about the importance of the relations between flowers and pollinators for biodiversity. Between 25,000 and 30,000 species of these plants are estimated to exist. However, the mechanisms that explain this amazing variety are only now being discovered.

"We could highlight their extraordinary capacity to interact with different types of pollinators. Contrary to most plants, many orchids do not produce nectar or other substances to compensate insects and birds that visit them," explained the researcher.

Orchids' deceit pollination

Despite this, floral visitors are attracted by orchids' colours and shapes, which enables the plants' sexual reproduction. This is known as deceit pollination.

The University of Vigo Plant Ecology and Evolution research team, which Vale belongs to, is studying the ecological and evolutionary consequences of deceit pollination in orchids that are endemic to the Greater Antilles: Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. One of the mysteries they aim to solve is if the deceit orchids have a greater taxonomic and genetic diversity than other nectar-producing species.

Vale and his team are drawing up studies in the Antilles not only to reconstruct the evolutionary history of orchids but also to analyse the effect of pollinators in the reproduction of plants, and how this interaction has modelled the colourful aspect of these Caribbean flowers.

"Despite the fact that T. riparia's flowers have a complete central petal, just like other species that make up a subgenre endemic to Cuba; the way they grow is very similar to a more widespread group that seems to have diverged on the neighbouring island of Hispaniola. Our work provides molecular evidence of the greater relationship of T. riparia with these species on the neighbouring island. This is in consonance with the geological history of the Caribbean islands, according to which the eastern end of Cuba was in close contact with that land," pointed out Vale.

Scientists are currently trying to estimate how many millions of years ago this and other Caribbean species saw the light of day. This will enable them to test whether the ancestor of this species was already in Cuba, or if on the contrary, it evolved from an ancestor that colonised the island from neighbouring archipelagos.

"Just as with most orchids, which offer no compensation to their pollinators, Encyclia navarroi and Tetramicra riparia receive very few visits from bees. This is one of the basic reasons that guarantee the survival of these plants, and also help protect the populations of their pollinators," explained the scientist.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Plataforma SINC, via AlphaGalileo.

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Journal References:

1. ?ngel Vale, Danny Rojas, Yosvanis Acanda, Natividad L. S?nchez-Abad, Luis Navarro. A New Species of Tetramicra (Orchidaceae: Laeliinae) from Baracoa, Eastern Cuba. Systematic Botany, 2012; 37 (4): 883 DOI: 10.1600/036364412X656491
2. ?ngel Vale, Danny Rojas. Encyclia navarroi (Orchidaceae), a new species from Cuba. Annales Botanici Fennici, 49: 83 - 86, 26; 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/~3/UIue5KsHzb4/121227080048.htm

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25 Idioms About Bread and Dessert

by Mark Nichol

Wheat ? the staff of life ? and the baked products derived from it invite many idiomatic associations. Here are references to bread and other flour-based products in phrases and expressions.

1. ?Bread and butter? refers to the basics in life.
2. ?Bread and water? refers to the bare minimum of food and drink, based on the traditional punitive prison diet.
3. ?The greatest thing since sliced bread? is something considered revolutionary and indispensable.
4. ?Half a loaf is better than none? means that one shouldn?t complain about not having everything, because it is better to have something than nothing.
5. ?Half baked? means ?incomplete? or ?not thoroughly planned or conceived.?
6. To know ?which side (one?s) bread is buttered on? is to recognize what is advantageous.
7. To ?sell (something) like hotcakes? is to be very successful at selling something.
8. To ?separate the wheat from the chaff? is to distinguish what is useful or valuable from what is not.
9. Something that is ?as flat as a pancake? is extremely flat.
10. Something ?as warm as toast? is very warm and comforting.
11. To ?have your cake and eat it, too? is to have or accomplish something more than one way; the phrase often refers to an unrealistic expectation.
12. Something ?as easy as (apple) pie? is very simple to do or understand.
13?14. To ?have (one?s) finger in the pie? is to be involved, but to ?have (one?s) fingers in too many pies? is to be committed in too many endeavors, thus reducing one?s effectiveness.
15. ?Icing on the cake? is an additional benefit.
16. An activity that is ?like taking candy from a baby? is very easy.
17. Something that is ?pie in the sky? is unrealistic.
18. Something that is ?a piece of cake? is extraordinarily easy.
19. To get ?a piece of the pie? is to be among those who earn an advantage or reward.
20. To ?sugarcoat? something is to put it into a deceptively or inaccurately positive light.
21. Something that ?takes the cake? is significantly better or worse than other comparable things; the phrase often refers to an action or comment that is audaciously irritating.
22. ?That?s the way the cookie crumbles? means that what is referred to is an expected or typical outcome.
23. Someone or something ?as nutty as a fruitcake? is crazy or ridiculous.
24. Something ?as slow as molasses (in January)? is very slow.
25. Something ?as sweet as honey? is very appealing.

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Source: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/25-idioms-about-bread-and-dessert/

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Page Ranking Link, Your Trusted Link Listing Websites ? 11th Loop

written by: shaheenbd

Backlink building is an essential part of SEO today. If

you would like to get the best exposure of the website link, article, business, video etc on the web then SEO is the vital thing to generating the utmost traffic to them. Building good quality backlinks is a vital section of SEO technique which will help your site link, business, articles etc rank highly in search engine. That is why a lot of bloggers, webmasters, internet business companies in several fields are searching for reliable link submission sites or companies to submit their links. Among such reliable link submission sites is Google Page Rank Link. It has a nice clatter free website with very friendly interface. Should you be looking to your SEO and create linking solution then Pr Link could be the best brand out there.

Even though this site or company is relatively recent in this field, it provides a high page rank browsing engine sites, including Google. Google Page Rank Link has three top categories plus an impressive set of sub categories under each category. You can actually get the correct sub category to list your link after which relax and observe the traffic grow. Page Rank Link is an extremely reliable supply of your submit link resource. We will list your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) friendly internet directories, article directories, niche directories, general links, articles, business links, images, videos to use as business and site promotion tools.

There are much competition on the internet in terms of get indexed higher in search engine websites? pages that without the right and quality backlinks and submitting techniques you are likely to remain unreachable on the web. This is why people use the services of building links or backlinks services providers. Without submitting your sites, business links, article sites etc into a trustworthy link building service providing company, for example, Page Rank Link, your business will not likely rise to the top online. Consequently, you ought to decide on a good site that may list your sites and present them the ability to rank high searching engines. Thousands of webmasters an internet-based business entities are submitting their links to article and web directory submission sites to build backlinks.

Pr Link has a total of 18 categories and 3515 sub categories nicely and clearly displayed online. Without traffic you will be unable to generate money online from articles, videos, images, business, and business websites etc. Most people know the importance of article writing and submission or web directory submission with a trustworthy link listing site for the best possible traffic. If you will submit your article to Google Page Rank Link it?s going to ensure your article gets decent traffic.

Most webmasters, bloggers and business sites and owners are using link listing sites for top level exposure and traffic. The more traffic you have the more income you can earn. So web directory submission and article submission can help you generate decent traffic that will ultimately pay back. For the backlinks support, Page Ranking Link can be the best and a lot ideal option.

For more information about image directory please visit the website.

Source: http://11thloop.com/page-ranking-link-your-trusted-link-listing-websites/

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Central African Republic wants French help as rebels close in on capital

BANGUI (Reuters) - A government minister in the Central African Republic on Wednesday called for French soldiers stationed there to intervene as rebels closed in on the capital having passed the last major town to the north.

The appeal for help came as hundreds of people protested outside the French Embassy in Bangui, the capital, throwing stones at the building and tearing down the French flag in anger at a rebel advance through the north of the country.

Paris did not immediately respond to the aid request but announced that French troops would be deployed to secure the embassy. The United Nations criticized the rebel advance.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman, Martin Nesirky, issued a statement saying Ban "strongly condemns the armed attacks on several towns in the Central African Republic perpetrated by the coalition of rebel groups 'SELEKA'."

"These developments gravely undermine the peace agreements in place and the efforts of the international community to consolidate peace in the Central African Republic," he said.

Nesirky also confirmed that dependents and all "non-essential" U.N. staff had been temporarily relocated. He added that Ban's special representative in the country, Margaret Vogt, "continues to engage the government and the rebel leaders with a view to ensuring a ceasefire and initiating dialogue."

U.N. officials told Reuters privately that around 50 essential U.N. staff have remained in the CAR while the rest were relocated to Senegal.

The rebel push through a string of towns in recent weeks has highlighted the fragility of the land-locked nation, which has rich deposits of uranium as well as gold and diamonds but has been largely unstable since independence from France in 1960.

A military source and an aid worker said the rebels had got as far as Damara, 75 km (47 miles) from Bangui, by late afternoon, having skirted Sibut, where some 150 Chadian soldiers had earlier been deployed to try and block a push south by a rebel coalition.

"It is true, they are at the gates of Bangui," a government official told Reuters, asking not to be named.

Several armies from Central Africa have troops in the CAR as part of the MICOPAX stabilization mission, and Chad sent extra soldiers earlier this month to try and halt the rebel advance.

It was not clear whether the rebels, who have swept across the country on pick-ups and motorbikes, met resistance in Sibut.

Colonel Djouma Narkoyo, a spokesman for the Seleka rebel alliance, which says it wants the full application of a peace deal to end a previous rebellion or else it will topple the president, said fighters would not, for now, enter Bangui.

"We call on the (army) to lay down its weapons as (President Francois) Bozize has lost all his legitimacy and does not control the country," he said.

French broadcaster RFI on Wednesday quoted Josue Binoua, the CAR's minister for territorial administration, calling for French intervention.

"We are waiting for France to come to our help!" he was quoted as saying on RFI's website in response to a question over what Bangui expected from France's troops stationed there.

TENSE CAPITAL

As night fell, Bangui's residents stocked up on food and other provisions, and some people in northern neighborhoods said they would sleep with relatives or friends elsewhere.

With a government that holds little sway outside the capital, some parts of the country have long endured the consequences of conflicts in troubled neighbors Chad, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo spilling over.

CAR is one of several nations in Central Africa where U.S. Special Forces have been deployed to help regional armies track down the notorious Lords Resistance Army rebel group.

French nuclear energy group Areva is the main mining firm in the country with the Bakouma uranium deposit in the south.

French military officers act as advisors to the CAR's army and Paris in the past has helped prop up or oust governments. However, France is increasingly reluctant to directly intervene in conflicts in its former colonies.

A Reuters reporter at the scene of Wednesday's demonstrations said some protesters had accused France of backing the rebels while others had demanded French forces in the country help the army fight off the rebel push.

A smaller group of protesters, mainly youths linked to the ruling party, gathered outside the U.S. Embassy and stoned cars carrying white passengers, the reporter said.

The French Defence Ministry said some of the 250 soldiers in the country as part of the MICOPAX peacekeeping mission had been sent to secure the embassy and protect French nationals.

Vincent Floreani, deputy spokesman in the French foreign ministry, did not comment on the appeal for help but said the crisis had to be resolved through dialogue.

The United States also called for dialogue and has "strongly encouraged" its citizens to leave the country until the security situation improved. Air France's weekly Paris-Bangui flight had to turn back "due to the situation in Bangui".

On Tuesday, the rebels took the central town of Kaga Bandoro despite the presence of troops from neighboring nations who were meant to shore up the weak national army.

Bozize came to power in 2003 after a brief war and has repeatedly relied on foreign intervention to fend off rebellions and insecurity stemming from neighboring conflicts.

"It has been a pretty tense day in the city. It is hard to tell who is with who," an aid worker told Reuters.

"It is not clear if (the rebels) are going to be able to march in and take it. I guess we will know later tonight."

(Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau in New York, Leigh Thomas in Paris, Andrew Quinn in Washington and David Lewis in Dakar; Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/anti-rebel-protestors-attack-french-embassy-central-african-143503013.html

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Cliff looms: Kicking the Can, Washington-style

WASHINGTON (AP) ? When it comes to the nation's budget challenges, congressional leaders are fond of saying dismissively they don't want to kick the can down the road.

But now, a deadline hard ahead, even derided half-measures are uncertain as President Barack Obama and lawmakers struggle to avert across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts that comprise an economy-threatening fiscal cliff.

Congressional officials said Wednesday they knew of no significant strides toward a compromise over a long Christmas weekend, and no negotiations have been set.

After conferring on a conference call, House Republican leaders said they remain ready for talks, urged the Senate to consider a House-passed bill that extends all existing tax cuts, but gave no hint they intend to call lawmakers back into session unless the Senate first passes legislation.

"The lines of communication remain open, and we will continue to work with our colleagues to avert the largest tax hike in American history, and to address the underlying problem, which is spending," the leadership said in a statement.

A short while later Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. countered that the House leadership should allow action on a Senate-passed bill that lets income tax rates rise only on incomes above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples. The measure could "pass tomorrow" if put to a vote, he said.

The Senate is due in session Thursday, although the immediate agenda includes legislation setting the rules for government surveillance of suspected spies and terrorists abroad, including Americans, as well as a measure providing $60 billion for victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Obama decided to cut short his Hawaii vacation for an overnight flight expected to get him back to the White House on Thursday.

Apart from the cliff, other financial challenges loom for divided government, where political brinkmanship has become the norm. The Treasury disclosed during the day it would take accounting measures to avoid reaching the government's borrowing limit of $16.4 trillion by year's end. The changes will provide about two months of additional leeway.

Separately, spending authority for much of the government will expire on March 27, 2013.

After weeks of negotiations, the president urged lawmakers late last week to scale back their ambitions for avoiding the fiscal cliff and send him legislation preventing tax cuts on all but the highest-earning Americans and extending unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless. Longer, term, he said he still supports deficit cuts that were key to the earlier talks.

"Everybody's got to give a little bit in a sensible way," he said at the White House.

The House has no plans to convene, following last week's rebellion in which conservatives torpedoed Speaker John Boehner's legislation to prevent scheduled tax increases on most, while letting them take effect on million-dollar wage earners.

"How we get there, God only knows," the Ohio Republican said of efforts to protect the economy ? and taxpayers ? from the tax increases and spending cuts.

"Now is the time to show leadership, not kick the can down the road," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said a little over a week ago after Boehner announced he would shift his own focus from bipartisan talks to the approach that eventually was torpedoed by his own rank and file.

It's a phrase that political leaders use when they want to suggest others want to avoid tackling major problems, and one that Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and even Obama as well as Reid have used.

"We have a spending problem. We have to address it, And we're not going to address it by kicking the can down the road," the speaker said at a news conference late last week when he was asked about setting a vote on a plan that Democrats find acceptable.

Cantor recently used the same approach in challenging Obama to agree to savings from Medicare and other benefit programs. "This has to be a part of this agreement or else we just continue to dig the hole deeper, asking folks to allow us to kick the can down the road further and that we don't want to do," he said on Nov. 28.

In fact, it's a phrase that has been in use for over a year as Obama and Republicans jockey for position on pocketbook issues.

In July 2011, when he was struggling with Republicans over the threat of a first-ever government default, Obama said he had "heard reports that there may be some in Congress who want to do just enough to make sure that America avoids defaulting on our debt in the short term. But then wants to kick the can down the road when it comes to solving the larger problem, our deficit."

A few months later, an extension of a payroll tax cut was the issue, and Boehner was insisting on a year-long renewal rather than the temporary plan that passed the Senate with votes from lawmakers in both parties.

"How can you do tax policy for two months?" he asked on Dec. 18, 2011. "I believe that two months is just kicking the can down the road.

"The American people are tired of that."

At issue now is series of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to kick in with the new year that economists caution could send the economy into a recession.

___

AP Economics Writer Christopher S. Rugaber contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-26-Fiscal%20Cliff/id-05e1854d7ac9401a9589343215c9ae35

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Tornado touches down in downtown Mobile, Alabama; damage reported

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Just over one in 12 U.S. service members who died in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars had plaque buildup in the arteries around their hearts - an early sign of heart disease, according to a new study. None of them had been diagnosed with heart disease before deployment, researchers said. "This is a young, healthy, fit group," said the study's lead author, Dr. Bryant Webber, from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. "These are people who are asymptomatic, they feel fine, they're deployed into combat," he told Reuters Health. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tornado-touches-down-downtown-mobile-alabama-damage-reported-002213644.html

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Veteran Analyst Don Cherry Believes Hockey will be back mid ...

Veteran Analyst Don Cherry Believes Hockey will be back mid-January -NHL Lockout Update

The recent most lockout, which is the 2004-2005 one, is too fresh and different from the current deadlock that has made the life of many difficult so far as there is no relief in sight, for veteran hockey analyst Don Cherry.

According to Cherry, mid-January is the target for which fans should await a final decision from the National Hockey League (NHL) about whether they are going to be carrying on with what remains of the 2012-2013 regular season or just call it all off. But Don Cherry, being the optimistic fan that he is, is confident about having hockey back by then.

"Look to the middle of January for the game to return!" said Cherry from his verified Twitter account. "Those people who say it won't be good hockey because it's only half a season don't know what they're talking about."

Cherry compares the current lockout to the one faced by the league back in 1994-1995. That season was not entirely called off, but there were similar issues like player share in team revenue and all sorts of stuff, but both sides eventually managed to work something out.

He is also looking forward to seeing a lot of fast paced hockey action as he reminded followers that when it happened in the earlier 90?s, there was still much excitement.

"Don't you remember the last time it was half a season and New Jersey won the Cup? It was a sprint not a marathon," added Cherry. "Play within their own conference. Lots of action. The guys know every game is important. Won't have the half season blahs. It will be terrific!"

The 78-year-old continued to say that he would not be thinking that the league and labour union will agree on a deal before reaching the edge, but it certainly does seem like both stakeholders are close to that.

It has been over three months since the previous collective bargaining agreement came to an end and nearly 100 days have gone by. Fans are hopeful and are certainly looking forward to that mid-January deadline that everyone is now talking about.

?

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Veteran-Analyst-Don-Cherry-Believes-Hockey-will-be-back-mid-January-NHL-Lockout-Update-a211128

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