Federal Court

2012-03-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

FEDERAL COURT

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

2012-03-14T15:09:00.000-07:00

Treaty Update

On Sept. 25 Burundi became the 145th state to ratify and on Sept. 26 TimorLeste became the 180th state to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. In a joint statement Sept. 24, foreign ministers of more than 80 countries called on all states to continue their moratoria on testing of nuclear weapons and particularly urged nine states to ratify the treaty so it can enter into force: China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, and the United States. Meanwhile, an agreement with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) will give the Preparatory …

World markets advance after central banks move in synch, yet investors remain leery

2012-03-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

European and Asian stocks rose Wednesday in response to a concerted effort by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks to ease pressure on the world's credit markets.

A strong Wall Street rally from Tuesday boosted global market sentiment. Yet in Asia, many analysts remained wary, pointing to recent data indicating the U.S. economy _ a vital export market _ could be sliding into a recession.

Nevertheless, the overview was more bullish in Europe.

"The actions of the Fed caused a surge in financial stocks around the world which is one of the main drivers behind the FTSE's rise," said Paul Chesterton, a trader at CMC Markets in …

Million field drops, but contenders remain

2012-03-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

THE FIELD for Arlington Million XX dipped to nine Friday night asthe midnight deadline for pre-entries approached. But the probablestarters for the Grade I turf classic next Saturday include anengaging blend of four European runners, four North American starsand one home state hero.

"We're looking forward to a high-quality race," said Frank GabrielJr., Arlington's VP of racing and operations. "Beat Hollow is thefavorite among the North American horses, but there are several thatcan compete with him."

WHILE BEAT HOLLOW--Bobby Frankel's seasoned star-- looms as thelikely favorite, others from the colonies still in are the GaryTanaka entry of Sarafan and Falcon Flight, …

CURTAIN CALL: ART IN THE PARK

2012-03-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

There aren't many events in Boise that can boast 48 years of existence. That's like 200 years on the East Coast, which is old and presumably, tried and tested. Art in the Park is one of those events that has proven itself to be a large-scale, excitement-generating, community-building event. People talk about it weeks in advance. Relatives you didn't know you had, suddenly call, wanting to know if they can crash with you for a few days.

Let's face it--even if you are not doing your holiday shopping three months early or seeking out that truly original gift for Aunt Betsy's 70th birthday, Art in the Park is chock-full of fun. The people-watching alone is good enough to pass a few …

Ecuador gets fourth finance minister in 20 months

2012-03-14T05:47:00.000-07:00

Ecuador has a new finance minister after the unexpected resignation of Wilma Salgado.

President Rafael Correa criticized Salgado Tuesday, accusing her of blocking his efforts to boost government spending on roads, hydroelectric and oil projects during her 10 weeks in office.

Correa said a "mafia" has run the finance ministry, …

Reports: Italian court cites danger of fleeing in denying release bid by suspects in slaying

2012-03-14T03:19:00.000-07:00

The American student held as a suspect in the 2007 slaying of a young British woman has a "negative personality" and might flee Italy if released from jail, news reports quoted Italy's top criminal court as saying Monday.

The Court of Cassation was explaining its April 1 decision that Amanda Knox, a university student from Seattle, should remain in a Perugia jail while the probe continues into the stabbing death of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher, who lived with Knox in a rented house in the Umbrian university town of Perugia.

Italian courts must issue written explanations of their decisions, and the Italian news agencies Apcom and ANSA quoted from a ruling released on Monday which describes Knox as having a "negative personality," notes that she has "contradicted" herself on several occasions and contends she is at risk for flight because she is a foreigner.

The court was closed to the public Monday afternoon and a copy of the written could not immediately be obtained.

The explanation also cited a similar risk of flight for Knox's former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, an Italian who was also denied release from jail in the April 1 ruling, saying he has a "fragile" character, Apcom reported.

Also kept in the Perugia jail by the April 1 ruling is Ivory Coast national Rudy Herrman Guede.

All three have denied any wrongdoing. Knox and Sollecito have explained their confused recollections and conflicting statements by saying they smoked hashish the night of the killing, according to court documents.

The three are being held as suspects in the probe of the slaying of Kercher, who was studying for the year in Perugia, a medieval town 180 kilometers (about 110 miles) north of Rome.

Knox, 20, and Sollecito, 24, have been jailed since Nov. 6, four days after the body was found, in a sea of blood, in the victim's bedroom. Guede, 21, was arrested in Germany on Nov. 20 and extradited to Italy. He is believed to have fled shortly after the slaying.

The Perugia judges have ruled that the three could be held for up to a year while the case is investigated. The suspects have not been formally charged.

Scientists Note Brain's Reaction to Fear

2012-03-14T00:27:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON - Science is getting a grip on people's fears. As Americans revel in all things scary on Halloween, scientists say they now know better what's going on inside our brains when a spook jumps out and scares us. Knowing how fear rules the brain should lead to treatments for a major medical problem: When irrational fears go haywire.

"We're making a lot of progress," said University of Michigan psychology professor Stephen Maren. "We're taking all of what we learned from the basic studies of animals and bringing that into the clinical practices that help people. Things are starting to come together in a very important way."

About 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety disorders, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. A Harvard Medical School study estimated the annual cost to the U.S. economy in 1999 at roughly $42 billion.

Fear is a basic primal emotion that is key to evolutionary survival. It's one we share with animals. Genetics plays a big role in the development of overwhelming - and needless - fear, psychologists say. But so do traumatic events.

"Fear is a funny thing," said Ted Abel, a fear researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. "One needs enough of it, but not too much of it."

Armi Rowe, a Connecticut freelance writer and mother, said she used to be "one of those rational types who are usually calm under pressure." She was someone who would downhill ski the treacherous black diamond trails of snowy mountains. Then one day, in the midst of coping with a couple of serious illnesses in her family, she felt fear closing in on her while driving alone. The crushing pain on her chest felt like a heart attack. She called 911.

"I was literally frozen with fear," she said. It was an anxiety attack. The first of many.

The first sign she would get would be sweaty palms and then a numbness in the pit of the stomach and queasiness. Eventually it escalated until she felt as if she was being attacked by a wild animal.

"There's a trick to panic attack," said David Carbonell, a Chicago psychologist specializing in treating anxiety disorders. "You're experiencing this powerful discomfort but you're getting tricked into treating it like danger."

These days, thanks to counseling, self-study, calming exercises and introspection, Rowe knows how to stop or at least minimize those attacks early on.

Scientists figure they can improve that fear-dampening process by learning how fear runs through the brain and body.

The fear hot spot is the amygdala, an almond-shaped part of the deep brain.

The amygdala isn't responsible for all of people's fear response, but it's like the burglar alarm that connects to everything else, said New York University psychology and neural science professor Elizabeth Phelps.

Emory University psychiatry and psychology professor Michael Davis found that a certain chemical reaction in the amygdala is crucial in the way mice and people learn to overcome fear. When that reaction is deactivated in mice, they never learn to counter their fears.

Scientists found D-cycloserine, a drug already used to fight hard-to-treat tuberculosis, strengthens that good chemical reaction in mice. Working in combination with therapy, it seems to do the same in people. It was first shown effective with people who have a fear of heights. It also worked in tests with other types of fear, and it's now being studied in survivors of the World Trade Center attacks and the Iraq war.

The work is promising, but Michigan's Maren cautions that therapy will still be needed: "You're not going to be able to take a pill and make these things go away."

When it comes to ruling the brain, fear often is king, scientists say.

"Fear is the most powerful emotion," said University of California Los Angeles psychology professor Michael Fanselow.

People recognize fear in other humans faster than other emotions, according to a new study being published next month. Research appearing in the journal Emotion involved volunteers who were bombarded with pictures of faces showing fear, happiness and no expression. They quickly recognized and reacted to the faces of fear - even when it was turned upside down.

"We think we have some built-in shortcuts of the brain that serve the role that helps us detect anything that could be threatening," said study author Vanderbilt University psychology professor David Zald.

Other studies have shown that just by being very afraid, other bodily functions change. One study found that very frightened people can withstand more pain than those not experiencing fear. Another found that experiencing fear or merely perceiving it in others improved people's attention and brain skills.

To help overcome overwhelming fear, psychologist Carbonell, author of the "Panic Attacks Workbook," has his patients distinguish between a real threat and merely a perceived one. They practice fear attacks and their response to them. He even has them fill out questionnaires in the middle of a fear attack, which changes their thinking and causes reduces their anxiety.

That's important because the normal response for dealing with a real threat is either flee or fight, Carbonell said. But if the threat is not real, the best way to deal with fear is just the opposite: "Wait it out and chill."

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On the Net:

David Carbonell's tips on how deal with anxiety problems:

http://www.anxietycoach.com/steps.htm

Macy's heir's estate sues Jay Leno over car

2012-03-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

The estate of a Macy's heir has sued Jay Leno and others, saying the "Tonight Show" host was illegally sold a valuable automobile at a sham auction.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan on Tuesday, said Leno coveted the late John W. Straus' 1931 Duesenberg for years and tried to buy it, but Straus wasn't willing to sell.

Leno spokesman Dick Guttman declined to comment.

Quoting a 2007 book about car collecting called "The Hemi in the Barn," the lawsuit said Leno wanted the Duesenberg so badly that he tried to discourage other buyers by spreading around an erroneous rumor that the car couldn't be moved from the garage where it had been parked for more than 50 years.

Court papers said Straus paid everything he owed to store the Duesenberg and a 1930 Rolls Royce, but the garage owners claimed they were due money and auctioned the cars off in May 2005. The lawsuit depicted the auction as a sham designed to wrest the cars away from Straus while he was ill.

Leno "knew that the purported auction was conducted in violation" of state law but bought the Duesenberg for $180,000, the court papers said. They claimed the car was worth $1.2 million.

Straus, a grandson of a Macy's founder, died May 18. He was 88.

Strong earthquake shakes northern Japan

2012-03-13T18:44:00.000-07:00

A strong earthquake rattled northern Japan on Sunday, and authorities said no tsunami was expected in the area. There were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the afternoon quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.2.

The earthquake occurred off the coast of the eastern Hama-dori region of Fukushima prefecture, which is located about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Tokyo.

Tremors were felt in Tokyo and in neighboring prefectures, including Miyagi, Yamagata, Tochigi and Ibaraki.

The agency did not issue a tsunami alert.

The Tokyo Electric Power Co. said its two nuclear power plants in the prefecture were operating normally.

Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. In 1995, a quake of magnitude 7.2 killed 6,400 people in the western port city of Kobe.

Romanian president says his country wants Albania, Macedonia and Croatia in NATO

2012-03-13T15:49:00.000-07:00

President Traian Basescu said Friday that Romania supports having Albania, Macedonia and Croatia join NATO.

Basescu made the comment after meeting NATO'S secretary general months before a summit in Bucharest, Romania's capital.

"Romania unreservedly supports (NATO) enlargement with Croatia, Macedonia and Albania," Basescu said. "Beyond enlargement, the summit wants to bring Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro closer to the alliance."

Basescu was echoing comments made Thursday by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who said the 27 allies would decide in the next few weeks whether to invite Croatia, Albania and Macedonia to join NATO at the summit in Bucharest.

De Hoop Scheffer also said that the alliance is considering closer ties with Ukraine, Georgia, Serbia and Bosnia.

The NATO secretary general was in Bucharest for one day to oversee preparations for the April 2-4 summit. U.S. President George W. Bush and the government leaders of other NATO members will attend the summit, which will be the largest in the alliance's history.

Romania, a NATO member since 2004, has 500 soldiers in NATO missions in Afghanistan and 80 soldiers in Kosovo. There are also about 400 soldiers in Iraq.

Competing Cable Firm's Bid Still Alive

2012-03-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

A bid by a clout-heavy firm to provide competitive cabletelevision service along Chicago's lakefront was kept alive by a CityCouncil subcommittee Monday, despite questions about the company'sfinancial wherewithal.

After a debate that lasted nearly all afternoon, thesubcommittee agreed to forward 21st Century Cable TV's application tothe full Finance Committee without a recommendation.

The company applied last year for permission to provide cableservice in the city's franchise Area One, which stretches along thelakefront from the city's northern border to Kenwood. The companywould compete with Chicago Cable, which has a monopoly on that area.

Many lakefront aldermen have welcomed the competition because ofconstituent complaints about Chicago Cable's service. Others havequestioned 21st Century's commitment to providing service in poorerareas.

Cable Administrator Joyce Gallagher told the subcommittee, "Wecannot recommend approval at this time."

The principal stockholder of 21st Century is Chicago lawyerEdward T. Joyce, a well-connected Democratic fund-raiser.

Former State Sen. Jeremiah Joyce (D-Chicago), a cousin ofEdward Joyce and one of Mayor Daley's closest friends in politics, isa lobbyist for the applicant.

His gypsy life in Europe - young beauties plentiful

2012-03-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

J. Paul Getty lived most of his adult life in Europe so that hecould be free of his marriage and fatherhood responsibilities in theUnited States. At age 59 he left the United States permanently forthe playgrounds of Western Europe, where, as he put it, "I couldtravel with two or three women at the same time." While Getty wascavorting around Europe with a coterie of international girlfriends,his fifth wife, Teddy, was in the United States nursing theirterribly ill son, Timmy. To build his oil empire in the Middle East Getty decided to locatehimself in his favorite playground - the capitals of Western Europe,halfway between the sands of the neutral zone in Saudi Arabia, wherehe expected to find oil, and Southern California, where hisunderlings were required to carry out the boring details of theday-to-day administration of the company. It was meant to be atemporary arrangement. In fact, his nomadic existence lasted foreight years, from mid-1951 to 1959, from his 60th to his 68th year.

Such a life always had appealed to him. He would be free of theconstraints of married life and fatherhood. His bookkeepers coulddole out the alimony and the child support, as they had done beforeduring his absences. His marriage to his fifth wife, Teddy Lynch,was never a total commitment, and their son, Timmy, was in badhealth. The boy had suffered from eye trouble from birth and, in1952, when he was 6, a tumor the size of an egg formed between hiseyes and "affected his optical nerves and eyesight," said Ware Lynch,Teddy's brother. Timmy would require several operations. Getty'sfriend, Art Buchwald, then a columnist on the Paris Herald Tribune,said Getty "had no use for any of the kids. He never spoke of onewith pride."

As for his business empire, the telephone and telegraph wouldkeep him in touch. He told Dave Staples, a lawyer for George F.Getty Inc., that he "preferred Europe because he could travel withtwo or three women at the same time." He moved from the Ritz inLondon to the George V in Paris to the Flora in Rome, ostensibly todevelop markets for the oil he was producing the Middle East but alsoto acquire new lovers and to add to his art collection.

Getty had an extraordinary magnetism for women.

"Even if he was disagreeble, the women were always sniffingabout," recalled Paul Jr. It was probably the result of a uniquecombination of wealth, power, a well-informed and cultivated mind,impeccable manners, a wry sense of humor and, apparently, tremendoussexual prowess. The proof is that when he left the United States in1951, there were many broken hearts. For years afterward womenfriends sent him letters of distressed love, about the excitement andthe pleasure he had given them, begging him to send them some wordthat he cared about them and pleading for the date of his return.

Their devotion to him is impressive if sad.

"Oh God, to see you once more," wrote one.

"I am worried about your silence," wrote another.

A third, whom he had met in the '30s, was still writing to him20 years later.

The wealthy expatriate added to his U.S. gang of girlfriends anew group of lovers of all nationalities. Although he was in his60s, he could pass for a man several years younger. Erect and wiry,5 feet 11 inches tall, he had the type of looks known as "joli-laid,"with an aura of danger and mystery that women found seductive. Healso had a fluent knowledge of French, German and Italian. Some ofhis friends thought that he passed beautifully as either a Frenchmanor a German. He kept entire wardrobes in the basements of variousEuropean hotels so that he could assume the identity of theappropriate nationality. He liked to brag that his English accentdisguised his U.S. origins when he was at Oxford, although thissounds apocryphal.

He sometimes used the procurement services of a painter friend,who seemed to know the pretty debutantes available to travel with himfor a few favors.

Getty had met this man in a Berlin nightclub in the late 1920sat a time when he was in the diplomatic service. Getty's new friendwas a short, intense raconteur, who sported a mustache and had ataste for young girls. Together the two men lived a demimondeexistence among cafe society. At one point he offered Getty M., "anexceptionally intelligent and well-educated person" whose "charm ismysteriously beautiful." In a letter to Getty the painter suggeststhat Getty should "be generous in every way," since M. does not knowwhat a "woman-rascal" Getty is.

The two men's friendship was a reflection of the bohemian strainin Getty. He was bohemian in the sense that he was easily bored bythe constraints of a home and the company of a single woman.Moreover, none of his women friends seems to have been particularlyinteresting at an intellectual level; none had a college educationor a profession, except for Teddy.

His unconventional personal life would have been unacceptable tohis mother, and the pressure to conform to the social norm wasgreater in the United States in the 1930s and 1950s than in Europe. Whereas everyone in Los Angelesknew who Getty was, he could move about freely in Paris, London,Berlin and Rome. It was much easier to indulge his sexualproclivities on the continent than in the conventional,church-dominated stratum of U.S. society in which his parents lived.

Getty received thousands of love letters but never wrote anyhimself. He never documents his love affairs in his diary, nor doeshe ever describe a single intimate situation. He never referred to awoman's anatomy in public - he was far too reserved and subtle for that.But an attractive, primitive drive kept him constantly on the go,even with his secretaries.

Barbara Wallace, his secretary for the last 24 years of hislife, who admired and respected him greatly, wryly recalled his offerto go beyond their customary relationship. "We avoided that one," shesaid fondly. "One can always say, `No.' "

Another of his secretaries was not so sage. In the early '50sGetty employed a young, well-bred English girl to accompany him toRome as his secretary. Once there, she met the youthful, dashingson, Paul Jr., and proceeded to have an affair with him. When Gettyfound out he sacked her.

Above all, in his new milieu he enjoyed the company of the mostglamorous, wealthiest and most beautiful society that Europe couldprovide. He wined and dined with Aristotle Onassis, Baron H. H.Thyssen-Bornemisza, heir to the Thyssen steel fortune and owner ofperhaps the greatest collection of old-master paintings in the world,the duke and duchess of Bedford, who owned Woburn Abbey, the duchessof Argyll, an Anglo-U.S. beauty who had become titled by marriage toa Scottish duke.

In Paris he was the guest of his charming fellow-philanderer,Charles Mendl, who had a marriage of convenience with the elegantinterior designer, Elsie Mendl. When he was in London, Getty oftenstayed at the flat of Lady Drogheda; she also allowed him to use hercar. He was photographed in a Paris nightclub with DorothySpreckels, a flame from his New York days. Among his friends werethe Woolworth millionairess Barbara Hutton and her movie starhusband, Cary Grant, known together as "Cash and Cary." Aly Khan wasanother.

In spite of his love of mixing with the rich and famous, Getty'sown living conditions hardly measured up.

True, he had a suite in the fashionable George V Hotel in the16th arrondissement of Paris, where he registered, mysteriously, as"Monsieur Paul." But Suite 801 was hardly a palatial apartment. Onevisitor described its "wild disarray . . . an unmade daybed, the coldremains of a meager meal. . . . It might have passed for a bookie'soffice or a convention caucus room." He seemed to be living out of asuitcase and conducting his business out of shoe boxes.

In 1954 he visited the London art gallery of Robert Abdy. Onthis occasion he did not buy any paintings, but he did meet Abdy'stall, slender assistant, Penelope Kitson. Six feet in height, and aprim, almost prudish, dresser, Kitson was married, unhappily, to aCornish landowner, Robert Kitson. They had three children. Anearlier marriage during the war to a British naval officer also hadfailed.

Penelope joined the Getty payroll.

While he was living it up in Europe, his youngest child, Timmy,was undergoing painful brain surgery in Los Angeles. The tumor,pressing on the optic nerve, was making the child blind, but Gettynever visited this son, whom he professed to love more than theothers.

He kept Teddy on a tight budget and constantly complained aboutthe size of Timmy's hospital bills. Against all the odds, thesurgery appeared to be a success and the boy seemed to be recovering.So, in 1955, after Getty's four-year absence, Teddy took her son tosee his father in London and Paris.

Despite his disfiguring illness, Timmy was a red-haired,freckled Huckleberry Finn. He must have been puzzled by his father'srelationship with other women, for he told his mother that Penelopedid not know how to make a peanut butter sandwich. For her part,Teddy was amazed at the way Penelope dominated Paul.

If there ever had been any hope of reconciliation between Teddyand Getty, it was killed on the trip to London and Paris. Teddy hadhoped that he might come back to the United States, but he refused.He did, however, ask her to stay in Europe "and I will make you asrich as Queen Elizabeth." Teddy refused.

She left with Timmy for the United States after only a short stayin Europe. She was probably aware by now that Getty was unlikelyever to return and that her multimillionaire gypsy husband cared moreabout money than he did about the most priceless thing in the worldto her, her sick son Timmy. He had no emotional ties with any of hisex-wives or their sons, or with Teddy or Timmy, regardless of what heprofessed in his diary. The thought of divorce was already loomingin her mind.

Getty constantly wrote in his diary about returning to sunnyCalifornia, but like so much of his other behavior, the diary entriesseemed only to reflect what he knew others expected of him. Or washe blocked emotionally from fulfilling his own wishes? It would havetaken a psychiatrist years to find out the true answer, and then thelikelihood is that there were several answers.

His inability to return home, like many aspects of his life,gathered its own mythology. Acquaintances tell the story that heconsulted a fortune teller in Europe, who told him that if he crossedthe Atlantic one more time, either by sea or by air, he would die.His close friend, the duchess of Argyll, who also believes in fortunetellers, gives credence to this tale. When the Italian liner AndreaDoria sank in 1956 in Nantucket Sound after a collision, it was saidthat Getty had booked a ticket on the ship but had canceled at thelast minute. From that day onward it was always the same pattern ofevents. He would make a reservation to sail back to the UnitedStates but would always cancel, asserting pressure of work.

He always said he could not enjoy any close male friendshipsbecause men were jealous of his wealth. In reality, he was afraid ofbeing taken for a ride. However, he was able to form a warmattachment for one man at this time, a charming and wealthyFrenchman, who needed nothing from him and, therefore, could betrusted. Rather the reverse. Getty could learn from Paul LouisWeiller, whose love of beautiful women and works of art, probably inthat order, equaled that of Getty.

Weiller found Getty to be "un homme de Balzac," a man from thecountryside, a hick who did not have the sophistication of Weiller'sfriends. Getty advised him to promise no guarantees on the sale ofhis 420 gasoline stations, "a wonderful piece of advice, which helpedus make a great deal," said Weiller. In return, Weiller taught Gettyabout high society.

Each August, Weiller held open house at his summer villa, LaReine Jeanne, near Le Lavandou on the French Riviera, to which allthe beautiful people were invited.

He enjoyed a combination of stimulation and beauty. Often theHollywood set, including the Charles Chaplins and the David Nivens,would rub shoulders with royalty such as Queen Soraya, wife of theshah of Iran, or with politically influential intellectuals such asAndre Malraux, or industrialists like Aristotle Onassis. So valuedwere his tastes and judgment that Onassis brought his prospectivefiancee to Weiller for his personal verdict on whether she was theright woman for him to wed. Claus von Bulow, then a handsome youngbarrister who was to work for Getty and whose own marital troubleswere to hit the headlines many years later, was another visitor at LaReine Jeanne.

It was through Weiller that Getty met a woman who was to play aprovocative role throughout the rest of his life. Sooner or later,even without Weiller, Getty probably would have met the temperamentalRussian aristocratic beauty Mary Teissier, with whom he was to have atorrid affair and come within a hair's breadth of marrying.

From the moment he met her at Weiller's small charmingtownhouse in Neuilly on the outskirts of Paris, Getty fell under herspell. She was a hauntingly thin beauty, who claimed bloodrelationship with the Romanovs. Her marriage to an extraordinarilyhandsome Frenchman, Lucien Teissier, had fallen apart because of hisamorous exploits. The duchess of Bedford once saw a radiant Maryenter a Paris restaurant with light snow on her fur cap and on thetwo borzoi dogs she was leading. "It was the most beautiful aestheticsight I ever saw in my life," the duchess said.

Getty was so bowled over by her beauty, her lively nature andher aristocratic blood that he wanted her to obtain a divorce. Shetold everyone that he was a demon lover. He was ready to make herhis sixth wife, when, Weiller said, she committed "le baiser de lamort," the kiss of death. She began to talk about the money Gettyought to give her. "Elle est une Russe," said Weiller. "She is aRussian, who kills the thing she loves."

Meanwhile, Getty's fifth wife, Teddy, had finally seen thewriting on the wall, and in 1956 she filed for divorce in LosAngeles. The next year Timmy's growth reappeared, and the boyunderwent three terrible operations. The divorce became final on May29, 1958. In the August, Timmy, seemingly cured, went into hospitalfor an operation to reset the bones of his skull. The boy, who hadknown little but physical pain during his short life, died under theanesthetic. Teddy's brother, Ware Lynch, said, "When he died, Timmywas blind and had a misshapen head. I called Paul to announce hisdeath. He had to attend to business."

In fact, Getty learned of his son's death while visiting hisfriend Heinie Thyssen at La Favorita, a splendid villa facing LakeLugano in the foothills of the Italian Alps. There Thyssen, another"life-enhancer," kept perhaps the most magnificent collection ofold-master paintings in private hands in the world. It never enteredGetty's head to return home. He wrote in his diary, as if to excusehimself in the eyes of those who might one day read it: "Had I notbeen assured the operation was a slight one, I would have gone to NewYork to be present but there was no urgency about the operations.Dear Teddy! How brave she is! Darling Timmy! The world is poorerfor your loss and I am desolate."

He used his diary to set the record crooked, not straight, andin it he practiced his own private brand of self-delusion andhypocrisy. He treated his dog, Shaun, better than his son. When thedog was suffering from a tumor, Getty had the best veterinary surgeonflown in and spared no expense. When the dog died, Getty stayed inhis room for three days weeping.

Getty was far too busy in Europe to return for Timmy's funeral.He was negotiating to buy an Italian refinery, and business camefirst. In his autobiography the death of his son is recorded inpassing in 1 1/2 lines, wedged between a passage on what he saw as adangerous political upheaval in France and a report on his businessactivities.

From The Great Getty: The Life and Loves of J. Paul Getty, theRichest Man in the World by Robert Lenzner. Reprinted by permissionof Crown Publishers. Copyright, 1986, by Robert Lenzner.Distributed by Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

Sharing

2012-03-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

I want to thank you for your balanced views in "Meaty Issues" (Feb. 2002). I know there are lots of pros and cons about consuming beef, fish and dairy products-one study says they're good for us, another says they're unhealthy. But meats especially seem to get bad-mouthed. One vegetarian "guru" I know says that meats cause 90 percent of all illnesses, but gave no references when I asked for them.

While vegetarian diets are cleansing, they aren't sustaining. My studies lead me to believe that a balanced diet -- including all foods -- is needed to promote good health.

Ted H. Spence, DDS, ND (Doctor of Naruropathy)

Exmore, Virginia

There are, as you say, many opposing viewpoints on the merits of incorporating animal products into your diet, just as there are many who would challenge your view that vegetarian diets aren't sustaining. We appreciate all of the comments we receive, and we'll continue to follow both sides of the debate in the coming months.

I would enjoy your magazine more if there were an acknowledgement or realization that many people are allergic to soy and peanut products. While peanuts have all but vanished from health foods and health magazines -- replaced by soy-I'm afraid that as many people will have to die from reactions to soy products as did from peanut products before soy is recognized as potentially dangerous.

Sarah Brown

received via email

If you're allergic to soy, you still have several options open to you so you can maintain your vegetarian diet. Try substituting Quorn, a new meat alternative developed in Europe, for soy-based tofu or tempeh. There also are a variety of non-- dairy, non-soy milks you can try that are made from almonds, coconuts and rice.

Your feedback is important to us. Please send questions, comments or suggestions to our new address: Letters to the Editor, Better Nutrition, 301 Concourse Blvd., Suite 350, Richmond, VA 23059

email: editorial@betternutrition.com

10-run inning fuels Yanks

2012-03-13T02:39:00.000-07:00

Mel Hall singled home two runs during a 10-run fourth inning andlater added a two-run homer Saturday as the New York Yankees ended afour-game losing streak by routing the visiting Cleveland Indians14-0.

The Yankees combined seven singles, two walks, two errors and ahit batsman for their big inning against Indians pitchers Dave Otto(1-1) and Ted Power. The first 11 batters in the inning reached baseand nine of them scored in the Yankees' biggest burst since a 12-runinning against the Kansas City Royals on April 11, 1987.

Backed by the big lead, Greg Cadaret (1-0) pitched the Yankees'first complete game since Scott Sanderson accomplished the feat lastJuly 11. That ended a major-league-record streak of 93 games betweencomplete games.

Cadaret scattered nine hits, struck out six and walked two. Itwas his second career shutout.

Athletics 5, Rangers 3: Jose Canseco's major-league-leadingsixth home run, a mammoth two-run shot, capped a three-run rally inthe eighth inning that lifted Oakland past host Texas.

Canseco's 436-foot blast to left field came against losingpitcher Terry Mathews (0-1). Rangers starter Jose Guzman gave way toMathews after allowing an RBI single to Mike Kingery with one out,and Canseco followed by connecting on a 2-2 pitch to give the A's a4-3 lead.

Winning pitcher Mike Moore (2-0) scattered eight hits in 7 1/3innings. He struck out seven, walked two and extended his winningstreak to seven games over two seasons. Dennis Eckersley got thelast three outs for his fifth save.

Blue Jays 2, Red Sox 1: Todd Stottlemyre pitched three-hit ballfor seven innings to outduel Frank Viola as visiting Toronto edgedBoston for its 10th victory in 12 games.

Stottlemyre (1-1) won with relief help from Duane Ward and TomHenke, who got the last three outs for his second save. Viola (0-2)allowed just six hits, but the Blue Jays had three of them in thesecond inning to take a 2-0 lead.

After Dave Winfield's one-out single in the third and a fieldingerror by Phil Plantier in right, Viola retired the next 16 batters inorder before Winfield beat out an infield hit with two outs in theeighth.

Orioles 6, Tigers 1: Mike Mussina allowed one run in eightinnings and Leo Gomez singled home the go-ahead run in the sixth tohelp host Baltimore trounce Detroit. It was the first time in fivegames at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in which the losing team scoreda run.

Mussina (1-0) gave up seven hits, walked three and struck outfour. In his 14 major-league starts, he has allowed two runs orfewer 10 times and has an ERA of 2.66. His career record, however,is just 5-5.

With the score tied at 1 in the sixth, Randy Milligan drew aone-out walk from losing pitcher Frank Tanana (0-2) and took secondon a single by Mike Devereaux. After Tim Hulett lined out, Gomezlined a single to center to score Milligan.

Mariners 5, Brewers 3: Harold Reynolds squeezed home thego-ahead run in the seventh inning and Mike Schooler escaped abases-loaded jam in the eighth as visiting Seattle tripped Milwaukee.

The Mariners trailed 3-2 when Tino Martinez started the seventhagainst losing pitcher Dan Plesac (1-1) with a single. One-outsingles by pinch hitters Dave Valle and Henry Cotto produced one run,and Reynolds bunted home another. The Mariners then added a run inthe ninth on Rich Amaral's RBI double.

Winning pitcher Russ Swan (1-2) allowed three runs and five hitsin seven innings. The Mariners used three pitchers in the eighthbefore Schooler retired Franklin Stubbs on a weak fly with the basesloaded to end the inning. He then worked the ninth for his secondsave.

Angels 5, Royals 3: Hubie Brooks two-run single in the 10thinning helped California overcome more than three hours in raindelays to hand host Kansas City its 11th loss in 12 games.

About 100 fans from the original crowd of 20,129 were left whenthe game ended.

Coca-Cola Enterprises raises 2009 profit forecast

2012-03-12T23:39:00.000-07:00

Coca-Cola Enterprises, the largest bottler of Coca-Cola drinks, raised its 2009 profit forecast Wednesday after saying its third-quarter results rose on the strength of higher prices.

The company now expects full-year comparable earnings per share to range from $1.54 to $1.57. In September, the company affirmed its prior forecast of $1.44 to $1.49 per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the bottler to earn $1.52 per share for the year.

The Atlanta-based company said its third-quarter profit came in above expectations. Sales fell slightly but price increases helped buffer the drop.

The company's forecast excludes certain one-time items and includes an estimated 16 cent per share negative impact from currency exchange. That is one penny higher than its previous estimate in September. Companies that do significant business overseas suffer when the dollar strengthens because their overseas sales and operations in other currencies translate into fewer dollars.

Coyotes Rally Twice to Beat the Wild 4-3

2012-03-12T20:44:00.000-07:00

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Yanic Perreault and Oleg Saprykin each scored two goals to lead the Phoenix Coyotes over the Minnesota Wild 4-3 Tuesday night.

Ladislav Nagy and Georges Laraque each had two assists for the Coyotes, who have the fewest points in the Western Conference.

Pavol Demitra, Wes Walz and Mark Parrish each had a goal and an assist for the Northwest Division-leading Wild, who lost for the fourth time in five games.

Phoenix goaltender Curtis Joseph stopped Demitra's wide-open shot in the final seconds to preserve the victory.

After Walz put the Wild up 3-2 at 7:00 of the third period, Perreault answered 43 seconds later with his second goal of the night.

Phoenix went ahead 4-3 at 15:41 when Saprykin corralled a rebound of his own shot and backhanded it off goaltender Manny Fernandez's shoulder and into the net.

The Coyotes have had a disturbing tendency of falling behind early in games, and they did it again when Minnesota jumped ahead 1-0 at 1:01 of the first period.

Demitra scooped up a turnover in the Phoenix zone and fired a wrist shot past Joseph for his fourth goal of the season.

Demitra burned the Coyotes again at 1:12 of the second period, feeding Parrish from behind the net.

Minnesota has allowed the third-fewest goals in the NHL, but the Wild couldn't make the 2-0 lead stand up.

The game seemed to turn when Laraque fought with Minnesota's Derek Boogaard less than two minutes after Parrish scored.

Forty-seven seconds later, Perreault beat Fernandez to his glove side to cut Minnesota's lead to 2-1. The Coyotes tied it at 2 on Saprykin's first goal of the game.

Notes:@ The Wild signed assistant coaches Mike Ramsey and Mario Tremblay to multiyear contract extensions. They have been on coach Jacques Lemaire's staff since the Wild made its debut in 2000-01. ... Minnesota was without right wing Marian Gaborik, who has missed 10 games with a groin injury. ... Minnesota finishes its season-long five-game road trip at Nashville Thursday night. ... Mike Comrie, Shane Doan and Jeremy Roenick lead the Coyotes with 12 career points apiece against Minnesota. Comrie (ankle) and Doan (back) were out Tuesday night.

Effect of elemental sulfur application on ammonia volatilization from surface applied urea fertilizer to calcareous sandy soils

2012-03-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

Abstract

Widespread acceptance of urea was delayed in part due to its greater potential for nitrogen (N) loss via ammonia volatilization. Elemental sulfur (S^sup 0^) at rates of 0, 1, 5 and 10 t ha^sup -1^ combined with or without urea and inoculation of Paracoccus versutus (Pv) were tested to determine NH^sub 3^-N volatilization from urea in sandy calcareous soils of Masafi-1 and Masafi-2. Daily NH^sub 3^-N loss was measured up to 29 days after surface urea application in both soils using the closed dynamic airflow system. Total NH^sub 3^-N volatilizations from urea-treated soils were 22.15 to 29.74 % of applied N in Masafi -1 and Masafi -2 soils, respectively. Application of S^sup 0^ had a positive influence on reducing NH^sub 3^-N volatilization from surface applied urea. In both soils significant reductions in NH^sub 3^-N volatilization were observed in amended soil by S^sup 0^. The result reveals that S^sup 0^ at rates of 1or 5 t ha^sup -1^ and 5 or 10 t ha^sup -1^ is required to minimize volatile loss of NH^sub 3^-N from surface applied urea in Masafi-1 and Masafi-2 soils, respectively. Application of Pv with or without S^sup 0^ and urea had no positive influence on reduction of NH^sub 3^-N volatilization.

Keywords: Ammonia volatilization, elemental sulfur, sandy calcareous soils, urea

Abbreviations: DAI-days after incubation, N-nitrogen, Pv- Paracoccus versutus, S-sulfur, S^sup 0^-elemental sulfur, U-urea, UAE-United Arab Emirates

Introduction

Urea is the cheapest form of granular nitrogen, widely used for crop plants (Dong et al., 2009) and accounts for more than 50% of the world's nitrogenous fertilizers (Schwab and Murdock, 2005). However, one of the great disadvantages of urea among nitrogenous fertilizers is its volatile property which causes large losses of urea to the environment. The loss of urea is highly dependent on the rate of hydrolysis which in turn is influenced by soil temperature, soil moisture, relative humidity, wind speed, rainfall pattern, cation exchange capacity, H+ ion buffering capacity, CaCO3 content, organic matter content and N source (Jones et al., 2007) and urease activity as well (Watson et al., 2008). Ammonia volatilization is directly related to soil pH near the fertilizer droplet or granule, which largely determines the ratio of NH3 to NH4+ in the soil solution (Jones et al., 2007). Alkaline soils (pH~8.2 or higher) have proven to increase urea hydrolysis (Christopher et al., 2010) and this condition occurs in calcareous soils, or where the breakdown of the N fertilizer produces alkaline conditions. In addition, the formation of the hydroxide ions can cause soils around the applied urea particle to have a pH around 9.0 which increases ammonia volatilization (Mclnnes et al., 1986). When surface soil pH value is greater than 7.0, volatilization of NH3-N fertilizer is significantly increased. The urease-mediated reaction of soil-applied urea with H2O results in rapid conversion to NH4+ . In this reaction, H+ ions are consumed and NH4+ and HCO-3 are produced, causing the soil pH, at the reaction site to increase. Soil pH change depends on initial pH, net inputs of acid or alkali, and the soil's pH buffeting capacity (Bloom, 2000) and soils with a larger H+ ion buffering capacity have been shown to also retain more NH3 (Izaurralde et al., 1987). The NH3 losses due to urea hydrolysis may reach as much as 80% of the total N applied under field conditions (Gould et al., 1986). Ammonia volatilization is the loss of N to the atmosphere through conversion of the ammonium ion to ammonia gas (NH3). Ammonium is an available source of N for plant while ammonia is not (Bardy and Weil, 2002). Ammonia loss from unamended urea varies with soil type and temperature, ranging from 8.2 to 31.9% of the applied N (Watson et al., 2008). Nitrogen loss through ammonia volatilization on calcareous soils is a common concern when NH3-N is applied to the soil surface and remains there without incorporation into the soil. Therefore, in an application of dry fertilizer containing NH3-N, the fertilizer should be moved into the root zone through irrigation or mechanical incorporation (Jones et al., 2007). This means, timing and method of urea application is a crucial factor to minimize volatilization loss. A substantial amount of N losses can occur if urea is not incorporated into the soil soon after application .The amount of surface residue and time between urea application and precipitation are also critical. Although the influence of the individual factors on NH3 volatilization has been established, the prediction of actual N volatilization losses under a given set of soil and environmental factors can seldom be achieved, due to the complex interactions (Ping et al., 2000). Fertilizer is often applied when field conditions are not optimal, particularly in large scale operations. Thus, crop yield is reduced and extra costs are incurred from additional N fertilizer due to rapid volatile loss of ammonia. Therefore, economic efficiency of cropping systems is reduced due to volatile loss of ammonia. The use of inhibitors can decrease the localized zones of high pH common with untreated urea (Schwab and Murdock, 2005; McCarty et al., 1989), for example N losses can be reduced by the use of a urease inhibitor added to the fertilizer. The use of NPBT allows urea to be used more efficiently and the cost effective delivery vehicle for nitrogen soil amendment, per unit of nitrogen, occurs at a lower cost (Watson et al., 2008). Approaches have been taken to decrease the NH3 loss by using S0 that retard hydrolysis of urea by reducing the activities of urease (Abdou, 2001; Al-Kanani et al., 1994; McCarty et al., 1989; Broadbent et al., 1985). Elemental S has been used for many years in the reclamation and improvement of sodic and calcareous soils (Abdel Fattah et al., 1990; Wassif et al., 1993). Recently, more attention has been given to S application to soils due to its favorable effects in promoting nutrient availability in soils (Saleh, 2001; El-Fakharani, 1995). Application of S0 for the amendment of alkaline and/or calcareous soils has received little attention, as an inhibitor for ammonia volatilization. Therefore, this study was undertaken to determine the rate of NH3-N volatilization from surface applied area as affected by varying rates of S0 application combined with or without urea and Pv inoculation in sandy calcareous soils in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Materials and methods

Experimental design

The study was carried out at laboratory of Aridland Agriculture, College of Food Systems, UAE University. Sandy calcareous soil was collected from two locations of Masafi region, Al Fujairah, UAE (25�1848N 56�946E) which was designated by Masafi-1 and Masafi-2. Elemental S at rates of 0, 1, 5 and 10 t ha-1 was tested combined with or without urea and Paracoccus versutus. Urea was used at rates of 0 and 200 kg ha-1. The treatment arrangements are as follows: Control (S00+U0+Pv0), urea (U), Paracoccus versutus (Pv), U+Pv, S0 1 t ha-1, S0 5 t ha-1, S0 10 t ha-1, S0 1 t ha-1+U, S0 5 t ha-1+U, S0 10 t ha-1+U, S0 1 t ha-1+U+Pv, S0 5 t ha-1+U+Pv and S0 10 t ha-1+U+Pv. The experiment was conducted under completely randomized design with three replications.

Management practices

A proportion of soil was separated and sieved through 1-mm stainless steel sieve and stored in plastic bags for physicochemical analysis. Soil pH was determined from the prepared soil suspension (1:2.5 soil water ratios) by using combined pH meter model 900A (Thermo Orion, Ontario, Canada) (Thomas, 1996). Electrical conductivity (EC) was measured by the saturation extracts of soil samples using Orion model 120 microprocessor conductivity meters (Thermo Scientific, USA). Water soluble cations (Ca, Mg, Na, and K) and anions (Cl, HCO3, CO3 and SO4) were determined as per the methods recommended in Page et al., (1982). Physicochemical properties of the soil are presented in Table 1. Elemental S powder (particle size <150 ?m) was collected from TAKREER Company, Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, UAE and added as per treatment schedule. Commercial grade of granular urea fertilizer was used as a source of N. Local sulfur-oxidizing bacteria Paracoccus versutus (CBS 114155) was used which was previously isolated from the western regions of the UAE (El-Tarabily et al., 2006). Soils were airdried before being used in the experimental glass bottles. Under ambient laboratory conditions (23-250C), a triplicate of 150 g soil were mixed thoroughly with 0.0, 0.502, 2.510 and 5.020 g of S0 powder corresponding to 0, 1, 5 and 10 t ha- 1 and the mixtures were transferred into 1000-mL glass bottles (surface area 50.26 m2) then urea fertilizer (0.258 g) was added on the soil surface at the rate of 200 kg ha-1. After addition of urea fertilizer and Pv, the soil samples were wetted with distilled water using automatic burette and maintained to field capacity (12.0%).

Measurement of volatilization

A closed dynamic airflow system (Purakayastha and Katyal, 1998) was used to measure the NH3-N volatilization. All bottles were connected to the air flow system immediately after soil wetting and the outlets from each bottle was immersed in a boric acid (2%) mixed indicator solution to capture the NH3-N volatilized from soil surfaces (Al-Kanani et al., 1994). The inlet compressed air flow was first passed to bubble through distilled water to produce humidified air, which then passed to the bottles with fixed rate. Boric acidmixed indicator traps were replaced every 24 hrs for a period of 29 days after incubation (DAI) for both soils and the ammonia was determined by titrating with 0.01M H2SO4 solution (Bundy and Meisnger, 1994). The amounts of volatilized NH3-N were calculated as percent of the applied urea-N.

Statistical analysis

Statistical analysis was carried out by one-way ANOVA using general linear model to evaluate significant differences between means at 95% level of confidence (SAS, 2003). Further statistical validity of the differences among treatment means was determined using the least significant differences (LSD) comparison method.

Results and discussion

Soil properties had significant influence on NH3-N volatilization. Masafi-1 soils have higher concentration of Ca/Mg ratio and HCO3 and lower concentration of EC, SO4, Ca and Mg. On the contrary Masafi-2 soils have lower concentration of Ca/Mg ratio and HCO3 and higher concentration EC, SO4, Ca and Mg that enhanced the rate of NH3-N volatilization (Table 1). The NH3-N volatilization was reduced from surface applied urea by amendment of S0 in both soils. The results clearly indicates that the rate of NH3-N volatilization is directly associated with physiochemical properties of soil such as Ca/Mg ratio, EC, HCO3, SO4, Ca and Mg concentration in soil (Table 1). The pattern of NH3-N volatilization differed among the treatment variables. The daily highest rate of NH3-N volatilization (5.29%) was observed in urea treated soil followed by urea with Pv (4.50%) and S0 at the rate of 1 t ha-1 with urea and Pv. The peak NH3-N% volatilization was observed at 2 DAI and thereafter reduced slowly in most of the treatments in Masafi- 1 soils (Fig. 1). The NH3-N volatilization significantly reduced by addition of S0 at rates of 1, 5 and 10 t ha-1 followed by control treatment and slowly declined up to 19 DAI and thereafter rose slightly but significantly lower than other treatments in Masafi-1 soils (Fig. 1). Minimum NH3-N volatilization was observed in S0 amended soil regardless of levels of S0 and control treatment. In Masafi-1 soils, NH3-N volatilization of control treatment decreased gradually up to 19 DAI then rose again and continued at same trend up to the end of incubation period (Fig. 1). In Masafi-1 soils inoculated by Pv, NH3-N volatilization decreased from the second day of incubation and then gradually reduced up to 19 days and again slightly rose while in Masafi-2 soils NH3-N slightly rose up to 3 DAI and thereafter slowly declined up to end of the incubation period. The present findings are in agreement with Dong et al., (2009). They reported that NH3 losses peaked on day 3 after urea application while soil amended with wheat and corn straw plus urea shifted the peak of NH3 losses 1 day ahead. In Masafi-2 soils, the highest rate of NH3-N (5.45%) volatilization was observed at 4 DAI in U+Pv inoculated soil followed by urea treated soil (3.12%). The NH3-N volatilization rate was significantly reduced by addition of S0 regardless of levels with urea and Pv inoculated soil. Ammonia-N loss reached peak at 3 to 4 DAI in most of the treatments and thereafter declined gradually up to end of the incubation period (Fig. 2). In Masafi-2 soils, the declining rate of NH3-N volatilization was a bit different from Masafi-1 soils. The NH3-N volatilization reached peak at 4 DAI in Pv inoculated soil regardless of S0 levels and S0 at the rate of 1 t ha-1+U while all other treatments except control treatment reached peak at 5 DAI and thereafter declined gradually except few variations in some treatments in Masafi-2 soils. Regardless of treatment, NH3-N volatilization was lower in Masafi-2 than Masafi-1 soils. In urea treated soil, decreasing trend of NH3-N volatilization was observed up to end of the experiment except few variations was observed at 12, 14 and 19 to 23 DAI for both soils. In Masafi-1 soils, concentrations of volatilized NH3-N reduced in urea-treated samples at 3 DAI but increased in Masafi-2 soils until 4 to 5 DAI and thereafter declined. In urea-treated soils, the daily amounts of N losses were higher in Masafi -1 than in Masafi -2 soils during whole incubation period (Figs. 1 and 2). The volatile losses of NH3-N were 22.15 and 29.74 % of applied N from urea treated soils throughout the incubation period in Masafi-1 and Masafi-2 soils, respectively (Table 2). Application of S0 significantly reduced NH3-N volatilization in both soils. The reductions of NH3-N volatilization loss were 54.76%, 52.82% and 39.05% in Masafi-1 and 31.71%, 39.64% and 47.92% in Masafi-2 soils by combined application of S0 at rates of 1, 5 and 10 t ha-1 with urea, respectively (Table 2). In urea-treated soils, inoculation of Pv significantly increased the daily losses of NH3-N comparing with the non-inoculated samples during incubation period while inoculation of Pv with S0 also reduced the ammonia volatilization from urea applied to tested soils, but the rate of reduction was less compared to soils treated with S0 only (Table 2). By application of S0 inoculated with Pv, the reduction in NH3-N losses were 27.63%, 46.37% and 3.75% in Masafi-1 and 34.77%, 28.82% and 28.29% in Masafi-2 soils from S0 1 t ha-1+U+Pv, S0 5 t ha-1+U+Pv and S0 10 t ha-1+U+Pv, respectively (Table 2). The results showed that combined application of S0 and Pv had no further positive effect on the reduction of ammonia volatilization in both soils. The results of this study also coincidence with Dong et al., (2009) although their soils amended was done by addition of wheat or corn straw with urea. They reported that addition of wheat and corn straw significantly reduced maximum NH3 emissions to about 23 to 58% of those from urea only. At the end of soil incubation, SO4 concentration and EC were determined from saturated soil extracts. Sulfate concentration was significantly varied by the treatment variables. Regardless of treatments, SO4 concentration was significantly higher in Masafi-2 than Masafi-1 soils (Figs. 3 and 4). The lowest concentration of SO4 was obtained from urea treated treatment in both soils which had positive influence on NH3-N volatilization. The results of SO4 concentration indicated that SO4 in saturation extracts increased as the increased rate of S0 application resulted reduced ammonia volatilization. Application of S0 had also effect on soil EC and slight differences were observed with increasing S0 level in both soils. But S0 with Pv resulted increased EC in both soils (Figs. 5 and 6). The results of ammonia volatilization obtained from the incubated soils revealed that application of S0 played a significant role in reducing the amounts of N losses from soil surfaces. The average NH3-N volatilization loss was 1.83% to 2.30% by the application of S0 while in urea treated soil and loss of NH3-N volatilization was much higher in both soils. When urea treated soil amended by S0, the rate of NH3-N volatilization reduced about 8.65% to 14.25%. In Masafi soil-1, reduction rate of NH3-N volatilization was more (13.88 to 14.84%) when soil was amended by S0 at rates of 1 and 5 t ha-1. While in Masafi soil-2, reduction rate of NH3-N volatilization was more (11.79% to 14.25%) when soil was amended by S0 at rates of 5 and 10 t ha-1. The lower NH3-N loss with urea combined with S0 might be due to neutralization of the alkaline urea microsites by the H2SO4 generated by S0 upon oxidation (Christianson et al., 1993; Blaise and Prasad, 1995) and an acidic environment in the soil (low pH) favors the conversion of NH3 to NH4 and thus suppresses NH3 volatilization (Fenn and Hossner, 1985). The results of ammonia volatilization from urea-treated soils with Pv inoculation showed that the rate of NH3-N emission from soil surfaces increased in both soils. It is assumed that inoculation of urea-amended soils with non-urease releasing Pv increased the NH3-N emission comparing with the non-inoculated ureaamended soils. This might be explained by synergistic effect of applied native bacteria in the tested soils resulted in increase the activity of urease producer bacteria (El-Tarabily et al., 2006).

Conclusion

In both soils significant reductions in NH3-N volatilization were observed and urea treated soil amended by S0 had significant influence on reducing NH3-N volatilization. In Masafi soil-1, S0 at rates of 1 or 5 t ha-1 and in Masafi soil-2, S0 at rates of 5 or 10 t ha-1 are to be applied to minimize NH3- N loss from surface applied urea. Application of Paracoccus versutus with or without S0 and urea had no positive influence on reduction of NH3-N volatilization. The results suggested that the rate of volatilization was higher in Masafi- 2 than Masafi-1 soils.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant from the Sulfur Project funded by the Japan Cooperation Center, Petroleum (JCCP). Our sincere appreciation to Dr. Maytha AlShamsi, Prof. Gharib Sayed Ali and Prof. Abdel Alim Metwally United Arab Emirates University and Mr. Masato Tanaka, General Manager, Nippon oil Technologies Company, Japan and Prof. Satoshi Matsumoto, Faculty of Bioresources Science, Akita Prefectural University, Japan for their technical support, encouragement and offered the opportunity to work this project. We sincerely thank the active participation of M. Abdel Wahab for sample preparations. Thanks also due to the staff of CLU, UAEU for sample analysis.

[Reference]

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[Author Affiliation]

Abdou A. Soaud1, Maher E. Saleh2, Khaled A. El-Tarabily3 and M. Motior Rahman4*

1Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt

2Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Ain Shams, Cairo, Egypt

3Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, United Arab Emirates University, UAE

4Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

*Corresponding author: mmotiorrahman@gmail.com; mmotiorrahman@um.edu.my

Rangers win battle of elite

2012-03-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

Brian Leetch and Mike Gartner scored goals 45 seconds apart inthe third period to give the visiting New York Rangers a 5-4 victorySaturday over the Boston Bruins in a collision of division leaders.

Dave Christian scored two goals for the Bruins, who lead theAdams Division. The Rangers are sitting atop the Patrick Division.

Leetch broke a 3-3 tie at 6:22 of the final period with a goalthat ricocheted off Bruins defensemen Garry Galley and Don Sweeney.Gartner then added his second goal of the game at 7:07 as the Rangersskated on the power play.

Galley got one back for the Bruins on a power play at 9:52, butthe Rangers held the lead with good defense down the stretch.

Devils 4, Blues 1: John MacLean had two goals and an assist andSean Burke stopped 29 shots as visiting New Jersey defeated slumpingSt. Louis.

The Blues are winless in their last five games and 1-4-2 intheir last seven since a 12-1-1 streak lifted them near the top ofthe league standings.

Eric Weinrich added a goal and an assist for the Devils, who are4-1-2 in their last seven games.

Flames 5, Canadiens 3: Brian MacLellan scored in the finalminute of the first and second periods to lead visiting Calgary pastMontreal.

Coincidentally, both of MacLellan's goals came at 19:39 of theirrespective periods as the Flames won for the first time in threegames. The Canadiens, meanwhile, have lost three of their last fourhome games.

Maple Leafs 4, Kings 3: First-period goals by Daniel Marois,Mike Krushelnyski and Wendell Clark lifted visiting Toronto past LosAngeles.

The victory was just the Maple Leafs' second on the road thisseason. The Kings, meanwhile, lost only their second game on homeice.

Capitals 3, Islanders 1: Bob Joyce's goal with 1:53 left inregulation snapped a tie and lifted visiting Washington past NewYork.

Joyce scored his first goal of the season when he took a passfrom Alfie Turcotte in the slot and snapped it past Islanders goalieJeff Hackett from 15 feet out.

Oilers 4, Whalers 2: Joe Murphy had a goal and an assist andCraig Simpson scored a power-play goal as visiting Edmonton skatedpast Hartford.

Nordiques 4, Sabres 2: Defenseman Bryan Fogarty had the firstthree-goal game of his career, including two within 35 seconds latein the second period, as host Quebec defeated Buffalo to extend itsmodest undefeated streak to three games.

North Stars 6, Penguins 3: Larry Murphy snapped a 3-3 tie earlyin the third period and Perry Berezan followed with his first twogoals of the season as Minnesota downed Pittsburgh in Bloomington,Minn.

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