Pa. woman sues Google over Gmail privacy, ads

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A Pennsylvania woman has accused Google Inc. of illegal wiretapping for "intercepting" emails she sent to Gmail accounts and publishing content-related ads.

Her lawsuit echoes others filed around the country by class-action lawyers who say the practice violates wiretap laws in some states. They represent email users who do not have Gmail accounts and have therefore not signed the company's acceptance terms.

"The terms are that Google can intercept your emails and use them for direct marketing purposes," said lawyer Richard M. Golomb, who has sued Google in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida. "They are also intercepting emails of the non-Gmail account holder, in violation of wiretap laws in some states."

In court filings in the Maryland case, Google acknowledged that it routinely scans emails for spam and computer viruses, but said that's permitted under similar federal wiretap laws.

Google argued that selling advertising based on the content of a received email is a routine business practice permitted under an exception written into the wiretap law. Google notes Yahoo and other email providers sell ads through similar methods.

"There can be little doubt that selling advertising in order to provide a free service to consumers is a 'legitimate business goal,'" Google lawyer Michael G. Rhodes and others wrote in a Nov. 9 motion to dismiss the Maryland case. "If it were not, then the entire model by which content is provided on the Internet would be illegitimate, as would the business model by which television programming has been provided for free for the last half century."

Courts reviewing email wiretap cases have repeatedly held that "parties expect and impliedly consent to having their communications intercepted and recorded whenever they use email," the Google lawyers wrote. Rhodes did not immediately return a call for comment Monday.

At least one electronic privacy expert called it "a bit of a stretch" for Google to compare a search for advertising leads to rooting out spyware.

"People think when you send a message, communications companies can filter out spam and malware, and that's correct. But filtering out spam and malware is not the same as looking at the content of the email to (find) keywords for advertising purposes," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

"(What) if you were making a call on your Verizon cellphone, and you were talking to an Italian restaurant trying to make reservations for Friday and a Verizon agent jumped on the line and said, 'Oh, how about this place?'" Rotenberg said. "You're not supposed to be listening to my communications to try to sell me stuff ? even if it's a better restaurant."

The Philadelphia plaintiff, Kristen Brinkman, does not have a Gmail account and never signed the company's acceptance policy, according to her Nov. 30 lawsuit, which has been assigned to Senior U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody.

Google wants the various legal disputes resolved in northern California, where the first such lawsuit was filed in June. The area is also home base for Google, which is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pa-woman-sues-google-over-182256512.html

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Could winning out save coaches on the hot seat?

Andy Reid got such a hearty hug on the sideline from Howard Mudd that the 70-year-old assistant with the artificial hip actually lifted the burly head coach off his feet.

Norv Turner received a game ball from the team president.

Reid and Turner were just two of four coaches on the hot seat who celebrated wins on Sunday, joining Ron Rivera and Pat Shurmur.

Reid's Philadelphia Eagles (4-9) snapped an eight-game losing streak when rookie Nick Foles threw a touchdown pass with no time left to beat Tampa Bay 23-21.

Turner led the San Diego Chargers (5-8) to their first regular-season victory in Pittsburgh in 15 tries. A 34-24 win over Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers kept the Chargers mathematically alive for a wild-card playoff berth.

Rivera watched his Carolina Panthers (4-9) build a 23-0 lead against NFC South champion Atlanta and hold on for a 30-20 upset.

Shurmur is actually getting used to winning in Cleveland. The Browns (5-8) beat Kansas City 30-7 for their third straight victory to also keep slim playoff hopes alive.

But, is it too late for any of the four coaches to save their job?

"Listen, I'm not worried about any of that," Shurmur said Monday. "I'm not worried about saving, I'm worried about doing my job and that's it. I just want to do my job."

He could've been speaking on behalf of the other coaches, too.

"That's not the thing that's on my mind," Turner said about his job status. "We're trying to get ready for Carolina and trying to build on what we did. That's where I'm at."

Reid and Rivera have expressed similar thoughts whenever asked.

Of the four, Reid may have the least security, even though he's been the most successful among the group and is the longest-tenured coach in the NFL at 14 years.

Reid is assured his third losing season and second in a row. The Eagles entered each of the last two seasons as Super Bowl contenders and failed miserably. Team owner Jeffrey Lurie already gave Reid a directive before the season, saying the Eagles had to make "substantial improvement" on their 8-8 finish from last year.

It's a foregone conclusion in what-have-you-done-for-me-lately Philadelphia that Reid won't be back. Local comedian Joe Conklin and his daughter, Casey, put together a video parody of Taylor Swift's song "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" mocking Reid. It's called: "We Are Never Ever Gonna Win With Andy." The video already has nearly 400,000 views on YouTube.

Fans and media have speculated about Reid's potential replacement and the nature of his departure for months. The only question here is whether Reid steps down or is fired.

But Lurie and Reid are closer than a typical owner-coach relationship. Reid also is due to make about $6 million in 2013. So, it's not entirely unreasonable to think Lurie could let him finish his contract, especially if the Eagles win the final three games.

Lurie could cite several reasons, including turmoil and injuries. Reid fired defensive coordinator Juan Castillo in October and defensive-line coach Jim Washburn last week. Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy and DeSean Jackson ? the team's top three offensive players ? have missed a total of eight games. The offensive line was decimated by injuries.

There's also the rookie quarterback factor. Foles has shown signs of being a long-term answer. Reid was hired by the Eagles largely due to the role he played in developing Brett Favre when he was an assistant in Green Bay. Donovan McNabb had an outstanding career under Reid in Philadelphia. Perhaps Lurie would want to keep Foles in proven hands.

All that said, the city might riot if Lurie doesn't part ways with Reid.

There wouldn't be upheaval in San Diego if Turner stays. But that's unlikely. The Chargers are headed toward a third straight year out of the playoffs, and are one loss away from their first losing season since 2003.

Chargers president Dean Spanos is expected to fire Turner and general manager A.J. Smith shortly after this dismal season ends. Reid, by the way, has been mentioned as a potential successor.

In Carolina, Rivera is coaching like a guy who expects to return. He's playing younger guys and preparing them for the future whether he's part of it or not.

The Panthers fired GM Marty Hurney after a 1-5 start. At that time, Rivera said he was told by owner Jerry Richardson the team needs to be "trending upward" the rest of the season. The Panthers are 3-4 since, including the impressive win over the Falcons.

Richardson hasn't talked about his plans. He does have to hire a new GM, who likely would want to bring in his own coach.

"The disappointing thing is that's what we can be," Rivera said after the win over the Falcons. "We know that. Based on what we did, how we did it and who we did it with, that's the disappointing thing. ... We've found balance, we have. Unfortunately, we didn't do it sooner."

Shurmur could make the best argument to keep his job. The Browns are 5-3 after an 0-5 start and they have a roster filled with young players. Cleveland's rookies have combined to make 72 starts ? a league high.

"That's good for the future because we're finally starting to find how to win football games with these young players," Shurmur said.

Whether that future includes Shurmur remains to be seen.

New owner Jimmy Haslam and new CEO Joe Banner may want to hand-pick their own coach to run the franchise. But if the Browns win out and finish the season on a six-game winning streak, firing Shurmur would be hard to justify.

Other coaches who could be looking for employment include Tennessee's Mike Munchak. The Titans (4-9) have lost five of their last six, and owner Bud Adams put the entire franchise on notice following a 51-20 loss to Chicago on Nov. 4.

Munchak, who has a year left on his contract, fired offensive coordinator Chris Palmer two weeks ago and may have to make other staff changes to keep his own job when this season ends.

In Buffalo, Chan Gailey appears safe despite the Bills (5-8) being headed toward their 13th straight season out of the playoffs. Gailey is just 15-30 with the Bills, but general manager Buddy Nix has insisted he has no intention of firing him.

Reid, Turner, Rivera, Shurmur and Munchak haven't received similar votes of confidence.

___

AP Sports Writers Tom Withers, Steve Reed, Teresa Walker, John Wawrow and Bernie Wilson contributed to this report.

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Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobMaaddi

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/could-winning-save-coaches-hot-seat-085327480--nfl.html

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Long-distance solute transport in trees improved by intercellular pathways in living woody tissues

Long-distance solute transport in trees improved by intercellular pathways in living woody tissues

Monday, December 10, 2012

As large organisms, trees face some remarkable challenges, particularly regarding long-distance transport and communication. In addition to moving water and nutrients from their roots to their leaves, they must also integrate cell-to-cell communication over large areas. Furthermore, in order to function as a single, cohesive organism they must be able to effectively and efficiently send vital substances?such as DNA regulating signals?long distances along a network of cells, sieve-tubes, and vessels.

But how effective is this cell-to-cell communication and how far can such solutes travel?

Xylem and phloem serve as the two main arterial systems within a plant, and substances travel along two main pathways. Apoplasmic transport, in the system of cell walls, is important for movement of water and mineral solutes. Symplasmic transport, in which openings in the cell walls allow the cytoplasm of cells to be connected, facilitates the transport of nutrients, small ions, hormones, and transcription factors along a series of cells. Although this intercellular transport system is crucial for regulating cell differentiation and subsequent tissue maturation, it is not known how extensive these symplasmic pathways are and whether they can effectively transport solutes long distances.

The fact that woody tissues?specifically secondary xylem?contain long-living parenchyma cells, in addition to the dead cells primarily responsible for water transport, led Katarzyna Soko?owska and Beata Zag?rska-Marek (University of Wroclaw, Poland) to investigate whether symplasmic pathways in these living cells might play an important role in transporting solutes from xylem to actively dividing tissues, such as the cambium. They've published their study in the most recent issue of the American Journal of Botany.

"Molecular transport of hormones and other signals in cell-to-cell communication is slow," notes Soko?owska. "Yet information is propagated quickly over large distances such as a tree height or width. Moreover, billions of cells building up a tree must quickly and efficiently communicate with one another. This is a necessity for maintaining this large organism's integrity throughout its development."

Soko?owska and Zag?rska-Marek, in order to determine whether they could visually trace the pathways of solutes as those solutes travel up the living cells of the xylem network, cut 1- to 3-year-old branches from maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) and poplar (Populus tremula x P. tremuloides) trees and immersed the cut ends in a solution containing one of several fluorescent dyes.

After leaving the branches in the dye solutions for 3 to 7 days (adequate time for the dye to move a substantial distance), the authors cut cross- and tangential sections of the branches and found that dye was present in the living cells of both the radial and axial xylem parenchyma and ray and fusiform cambial cells?clear evidence that symplasmic transport occurred in both the secondary xylem and the cambial tissues. Moreover, dye was not only clearly seen in the cytoplasm of the cells, but also in the cytoplasmic bridges spanning walls between adjacent cells, confirming intercellular movement.

"Through the fluorescent marker application, we have successfully been able to visualize the transportation routes of nutrients or signaling molecules, which are regulated by changing states of cell-to-cell conductivity in time and in space," said Soko?owska. "They can be compared to traffic lights on crossroads, which control the road traffic and highway networks, ensuring fast and smooth transport between distant places."

Moreover, by using different dyes, the authors were able to see differences between the apoplasmic and symplasmic pathways. Although the apoplasmic dye was present in the cell walls of the secondary xylem, it was not visible in the cambial primary cell walls. This, together with the presence of the symplasmic dye in the cambial cells and in axial and radial xylem parenchyma, indicates the importance of the symplasmic pathway for transporting substances from the living xylem cells to the actively dividing cambial cells, which are crucial for developing new cells and tissues.

One of the most surprising and interesting finds was that the dye was not evenly dispersed throughout the cells despite the regular arrangement of rays in the cambium.

"We found that when fluorescent tracers are loaded to tree branches and migrate freely in the system of living cells, the tracer distribution becomes uneven," commented Soko?owska. "The regions appear with a high and low tracer content in the cells and they alternate along the branches. The pattern emerges in cambium, an embryonic tissue responsible for thickening of a tree through making its secondary conductive tissues, such as wood."

Father up from the source of the dye, the branch regions of rays filled with dye alternated with regions of rays that did not contain the dye?both dye and non-dye rays were composed of living cells with vigorous cytoplasmic streaming. The authors suggest that this pattern could be the result of differences in regulating the intensity of movement and unloading of dye from xylem to cambial cells in different areas.

"Most importantly, this regulation at the cellular level has a potential, through the spatial shift of the cellular states, of propagating important information in the whole population of interconnected plant cells over long-distances?similar to the green wave of streetlights for driving cars," Soko?owska stated.

In addition, this long-distance symplasmic movement from the xylem into the cambial rays is of utmost importance because the cambial cells are zones of active cell production and the intensively dividing cells in this region require many nutrients.

"Nowadays we are getting closer to understanding how cell-to cell communication can be translated into higher levels of plant body organization," Soko?owska concludes. "Cambium is a plant tissue composed of immortal, ever-dividing cells, equivalent to stem cells in animals. The more we learn about the mechanisms governing their functions, the better perspectives we get for directing morphogenetic processes in plants, animals and possibly humans."

"The wood produced by cambium is used commercially," she adds. "So, knowledge about cambial function and its regulation is also important for future modification of wood production quality."

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American Journal of Botany: http://www.amjbot.org/

Thanks to American Journal of Botany for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125828/Long_distance_solute_transport_in_trees_improved_by_intercellular_pathways_in_living_woody_tissues

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