Atoms with quantum-memory

Feb. 28, 2013 ? Order tends towards disorder. This is also true for quantum states. Measurements at the Vienna University of Technology show that in quantum mechanics this transition can be quite different from what we experience in our daily lives.

Ice cubes in a cocktail glass melt until an equilibrium state is reached in which the ice cubes are gone. After that, the geometric shape of the ice cubes is completely lost. The liquid does not contain any memory of their shape, the ordered ice crystal has turned into disordered water molecules. Ultra cold Bose-Einstein condensates behave differently; these highly ordered clouds of ultra cold particles also approach a disordered equilibrium state, but they retain some "memory" about their initial state for a remarkably long time. This phenomenon does not depend on the temperature, it seems to be a stable, fundamental property of quantum physics.

Stopover on the Way to Chaos

In 2012, the research group around Professor J?rg Schmiedmayer at the Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ), Vienna University of Technology, were able to show that they have found an intermediate state between order and disorder; the atoms of an ultra cold Bose-Einstein condensate tend towards an equilibrium state, in which their quantum physical properties are not visible any more.

This, however, does not happen continuously like the transition from an ice cube to liquid water. Instead, there is an intermediate step called "prethermalized state," in which the atoms remain for a surprisingly long time without forgetting about their quantum mechanical origin. "If we split the atom cloud into two parts and recombine them after some time, a wave pattern forms," J?rg Schmiedmayer explains. "That is proof that the atom clouds still contain information about having emerged from a highly ordered quantum physical state."

Intermediate State Independent of Temperature

Now the scientists have managed to take a closer look at this transition -- and it turns out to be remarkably stable with respect to external conditions. From experience, we are used to the opposite case: "Imagine a room full of air, and a vacuum in the room next to it," says Max Kuhnert (Vienna University of Technology). "When we open a door between those rooms, the system approaches an equilibrium, until the molecules are evenly distributed in the two rooms. This transition, however, strongly depends on external parameters such as pressure and temperature." The higher the pressure and the temperature, the faster information about the initial state is lost -- be it information about the initial distribution of air molecules or about the geometry of melting ice cubes.

"The prethermalized state of our atom clouds is reached quite independently from pressure and temperature," says Max Kuhnert. The experiments, which have now been published in Physical Review Letters, show that this state is characterized by a new length scale. This so-called correlation length is a direct measure of the quantum memory of the ordered initial state. It is the length scale on which the quantum physical properties of the atom clouds can still be perceived.

"This emergent correlation length is defined by the density of the initial quantum gas, but it only becomes visible in the dynamics of the transition from an ordered state into the prethermalized state" says J?rg Schmiedmayer. "The fact that this correlation length does not depend on the initial temperature at all strongly indicates that the prethermalized state is a fundamental property of quantum physics and has major significance," Max Kuhnert believes. A deeper understanding of this quantum state is expected not only to explain ultra cold Bose-Einstein condensates, it may also shed some light on the processes in the early universe, or it could help to understand phenomena in the quark-gluon-plasma created in high energy particle accelerators.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Vienna University of Technology, TU Vienna.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Maximilian Kuhnert, Remi Geiger, Tim Langen, Michael Gring, Bernhard Rauer, Takuya Kitagawa, Eugene Demler, David Adu Smith, J?rg Schmiedmayer. Multimode dynamics and emergence of a characteristic length-scale in a one-dimensional quantum system. Submitted to Arxiv, 2013 [link]

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/top_technology/~3/NC_WHASR82M/130228080242.htm

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Is This Multi-Purpose Pasta Tool a Kitchen Saviour or Scourge?

Sometimes a multi-tasking kitchen tool can go too far, taking on so many tasks that it sucks at everything it tries to do. The Chef2 spoon appeared to strike a nice balance between spatula and tong duties. But this multifunction pasta prepper from Sagaform? It might be stretching itself too thin. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/r4qM-SbZ2D8/is-this-multi+purpose-pasta-tool-a-kitchen-saviour-or-scourge

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Having Sons Can Shorten a Woman's Life Expectancy

Each boy raises the risk of death by 7 percent. They may be energetically more demanding to breastfeed

By Zoe Cormier

Image: Melinda Brookshire Photography/Flickr

From Nature magazine.

Women who bear sons can have slightly shorter lives than those who bear daughters, researchers have found. Their study showed that a woman?s risk of death increased by 7% per year for each son born ? a small but statistically robust effect, at least for the individuals the team looked at ? Finnish villagers in pre-Industrial Scandinavia.

?Previous investigations into the effect of the gender of a baby on its mother?s lifespan have been mixed, so our new analysis really is just another brick in the wall,? says Samuli Helle of the University of Turku in Finland, the study's lead author. ?I?m not surprised the results have been mixed, because the previous studies have involved different societies, cultural practices and so on.?

A litany of factors could influence a woman?s lifespan, such as affluence and nutrition, as well as the number of children she has. The impact of having a boy compared with a girl is likely to be most pronounced in settings where resources such as food and health care are poor.

Helle and his co-author, Virpi Lummaafound, investigated parish records for individuals in eight parishes who lived during the seventeenth to mid-twentieth centuries. They found that if a woman in these communities was 37 years old at the time of having her last child, her life expectancy would vary depending on the sex of her children. She would live for another 33.1 years if she had no sons, another 32.7 years if she had three and another 32.4 years if she had six.

The study, which appears in Biology Letters, builds on previous research published by the same team in the journal Science more than ten years ago, which found that for every son she had, a woman's life would be shortened by an average of 34 weeks. By contrast, daughters actually lengthened their mother's lifespan very slightly (though not statistically significantly). In both studies, the life-shortening effects were experienced only by mothers, not fathers.

Biological factors
But the reason behind this small difference is the big puzzle. ?The relative importance of biological versus cultural factors remains an open question,? says Helle, who speculates that it could be that girls are more likely to help their parents in household duties. ?We need more data, such as how many sons versus daughters helped in everyday tasks, what age they actually started to work outside the home and so on.?

Erik Lindqvist of the Research Institute of Industrial Economics in Stockholm, who has looked at lifespan and births in Sweden, is not convinced. ?We have never been able to replicate their results," he says.

But Grazyna Jasienska, who studies longevity and reproductive health at Jagiellonian University Medical College in Cracow, Poland, believes that the effects of sons on a woman's lifespan are certainly real ? and are probably due to biological factors, such as breastfeeding.

Other studies have found that boys can take more of a toll on their mother biologically because they tend to be slightly heavier at birth than girls. And a few studies have found that women expend more energy in producing breast milk for boys ? although the results of such studies have been mixed.

?I think the costs of having boys over girls are more social than biological," she says. "But we still ultimately don?t know."

This story is reprinted with permission from Nature magazine. It was first published on February 27, 2013.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=c4d51c7323eee3315a53eea3e7751f04

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Iran: Ignore US opposition to Pakistani gas deal

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran's top leader told the visiting Pakistani president on Wednesday that the two countries should ignore U.S. opposition to construction of a gas pipeline.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran was the only secure source of energy that can meet Pakistan's needs.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was visiting Tehran to finalize a long-awaited gas pipeline deal with Iran.

The U.S. is against the project because it wants to isolate Iran economically over fears that the country might ultimately be able to develop a nuclear weapon. Tehran denies the charge, saying its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

"One should resolutely pass these objections," Iran's state TV quoted Khamenei as telling Zardari. "The Islamic Republic of Iran is the only secure source of energy in this region and we are ready to meet Pakistan's needs in this field."

Pakistani leaders have vowed to press ahead with the pipeline despite U.S. opposition, saying the deal is vital to supplying gas to the energy-starved country. Iranian media say Tehran has agreed to provide a $500 million loan to help finance construction of the pipeline on the Pakistan side of their shared border.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-ignore-us-opposition-pakistani-gas-deal-205633650.html

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Close encounters with the popes over 3 decades

Rome Bureau Chief Victor Simpson, left, shakes hands with Pope Benedict XVI during the flight from Beirut to Rome, Sept. 16, 2012. Simpson has chronicled four papacies in 35 years covering the Holy See. A Vatican institution in his own right, Simpson has had a unique vantage point on history, enjoying the ear of Vatican insiders and chatting with the pope himself on foreign pilgrimages. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, ho)

Rome Bureau Chief Victor Simpson, left, shakes hands with Pope Benedict XVI during the flight from Beirut to Rome, Sept. 16, 2012. Simpson has chronicled four papacies in 35 years covering the Holy See. A Vatican institution in his own right, Simpson has had a unique vantage point on history, enjoying the ear of Vatican insiders and chatting with the pope himself on foreign pilgrimages. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, ho)

This June 2, 1979 photo shows then Associated Press correspondent Victor Simpson, left, interviewing Pope John Paul II aboard the airplane in flight from Rome to Warsaw, June 2, 1979. Rome Bureau Chief Victor Simpson has chronicled four papacies in 35 years covering the Holy See. A Vatican institution in his own right, Simpson has had a unique vantage point on history, enjoying the ear of Vatican insiders and chatting with the pope himself on foreign pilgrimages. (AP Photo)

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? The Middle East Airlines jetliner had barely taken off from Beirut when I was escorted down the aisle to the first-class section and seated beside Pope Benedict XVI. He had just ended a delicate two-day visit to Lebanon as civil war raged in neighboring Syria, and he looked and sounded weary.

It was my 92nd trip aboard a papal plane ? first with the master of papal globetrotting John Paul II, then over the past eight years with Benedict.

As I was planning to retire, the pope's journey in September was to be my last, and Vatican officials thought I should share the moment with him.

I sat beside the pope and shook his hand. "Congratulations on your retirement," he said in Italian as a Vatican photographer recorded the occasion. Speaking in a soft voice, he asked me how many years I had been covering the Vatican. When I told him more than 30, he looked surprised and said my retirement "is much-deserved." Did his thoughts drift to important plans of his own that he was concealing from the world?

There's no way to tell.

But Benedict appeared pleased with our conversation and in no rush to end it. It was his aides who motioned to me that it was time to return to my seat.

The encounter did not prepare me for his stunning announcement five months later that he planned to retire on Feb. 28 ? the exact date I had chosen to retire myself.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE: Rome Bureau Chief Victor Simpson has chronicled four papacies in 35 years covering the Holy See. A Vatican institution in his own right, Simpson has had a unique vantage point on history, enjoying the ear of Vatican insiders and chatting with the pope himself on foreign pilgrimages. He looks back on a storied career.

___

I know a bishop who says he is jealous of the "Vaticanisti" ? reporters on the Vatican beat ? because we get to ask the pope questions that no bishop would dare to broach. And we're often rewarded with a remarkable response.

Sprung from Vatican confines, airborne popes seem to feel freer to speak out.

John Paul II used just such a papal flight in 1988 to issue a ringing endorsement, one of the strongest of his papacy, of fellow Poles striking against communist authorities in the Gdansk shipyard.

It was on a trip to Uruguay, and the pope came to the back of the plane to take questions. When asked about the Solidarity strikes, he responded that the journalist should read his encyclical on work, which lays out his views on the dignity of labor. At that point, the plane was rocked by turbulence and the pilot advised over the loud speaker that the pope needed to return to his seat.

When calm returned, I complained that the pope had never reached my section.

A few minutes later the pope's secretary, Monsignor Stanislaw Dziwisz (now a cardinal) came and brought me to the pope. He turned off my tape recorder, suggested I ask about the strikes, then turned the recorder back on.

So I asked. John Paul launched into a broadside against communist authorities and lent his full papal support to the strikes.

"Here we are touching the heart of the problem," the pope said. "It is not easy to bring democracy to a system that is by definition dictatorial and totalitarian."

No mention of the encyclical.

The statements, exclusive to AP, hit front pages of newspapers around the world the next day. They were later seen as a landmark in the pope's role in bringing down communism in eastern Europe.

___

Two years earlier, I was asked to join John Paul for dinner in his cabin of a Qantas 747 on the final leg to Rome ? after a two-week trip to Bangladesh, Singapore, Fiji Islands, New Zealand, Australia and the Seychelles.

I was embarrassed at the way I looked: lots of stubble from having shaved at dawn that morning and in a sloppy safari jacket soaked by a monsoon in the Seychelles.

But the pope put me at ease. When I apologized for "my working clothes," he gripped his white robes and said, a twinkle in his eye: "These are my working clothes."

We were joined at dinner by a papal aide and the Australian ambassador to the Holy See.

That's when I found myself in the middle of a diplomatic incident.

The Qantas steward brought wine to the table and the ambassador grabbed a bottle of red and announced we would be having that. But John Paul protested that he didn't drink red wine and wanted white.

After that, the ambassador could get nothing right ? always finding himself on the wrong side of papal opinions (judgments, after all, that are supposed to be infallible!).

John Paul sought to line me up on his side of arguments ranging from the role of young people in the church to the plight of Aborigines. One debate, in particular, became rather lively: Are Australians more like Americans or Europeans? The pope saw them as more like Americans.

What could I do but agree?

___

More recently, Benedict, flying to Africa, defended church policy that handing out condoms is not the answer in the fight against AIDS. The pope, who promotes marital fidelity and abstinence, said condoms only increased the problem. The Vatican transcript did not include that line, but we all had it recorded ? and the news soon made the rounds of the world.

The resulting controversy, including complaints from priests dealing with the AIDS problem in Africa, cast a shadow over Benedict's first trip to Africa.

Benedict's diplomatic tone-deafness on that trip was a big contrast to the media-savvy John Paul's introduction to Africa in 1980.

When his plane touched down in Kisangani, in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, hundreds of dancers surrounded the plane and began swaying to music. Caught up in the exuberant moment, the pope stood atop the stair-ramp beside the plane in the sweltering heat and made some halting dance moves himself, flashing a broad grin as the press corps watched and the crowd cheered wildly.

Not all arrival scenes were as pleasant.

On a visit to Syria in 2001, a pilgrimage to retrace the biblical travels of St. Paul, John Paul listened impassively through a translator as President Bashar Assad urged him to take the Arabs' side in their dispute with Israel ? and referred to what he called Jewish persecution of Jesus Christ.

The Syrian president said Jews "betrayed Jesus Christ and (in) the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad."

Those views were anathema to John Paul, who made strong efforts at interfaith healing throughout his papacy.

And in his address before Assad spoke, John Paul called for a "new attitude of understanding and respect" among Muslims, Christians and Jews.

Ten years later, Benedict made a sweeping exoneration of the Jewish people for the death of Christ ? one of the key achievements of his pontificate.

___

One thing that sets the Vatican apart from other places is that you can't just stroll around and poke your head in everywhere. As many as 18 million people pass through Vatican territory each year, but their visits are effectively limited to St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican museums. Aside from the Vatican's 492 residents and its 4,700 employees, everyone else needs a pass, even to drop by the Vatican pharmacy for medicine not sold in Italy (bring a doctor's prescription please) or to buy back copies of the Vatican paper at the offices of L'Osservatore Romano.

After all these years, I still feel a tingle of excitement to be let in through the Bronze Door, escorted past Swiss Guards in full regalia, and taken up to the pope's apartment on the third floor of the Apostolic Palace for a papal audience with a dignitary. These meetings have given a rare peek inside Vatican diplomacy.

Years ago, during the height of the Cold War, when Vatican contacts with Moscow were rare, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko came calling.

As I was led into the meeting, past guards with plumed helmets and halberds, papal aide Monsignor Jacques Martin mused aloud for anyone who was listening: "And they said Stalin asked, 'How many divisions does the pope have?'" ? a dig at the huge Soviet military machine.

In 1989, reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev made an official visit to the Vatican and invited John Paul to Moscow. The pope didn't take him up on it, and no pope has yet made the visit to the Russian capital.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Rome in June 2000 a month after his inauguration, he showed up to a papal audience 20 minutes late ? a severe breach of protocol.

But the gaffe didn't seem to upset the businesslike atmosphere.

When reporters were ushered into the pope's study after the private talks, the Russian was heard telling John Paul that Gorbachev's old invitation for a papal visit to Moscow still stood.

___

Most people who cover an institution as long as I have see a changing of the guard more often. Over more than three decades, there's only been Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II and Benedict.

So after Benedict's shock announcement, how could I resist letting him go first and hanging around another month to cover one more papal transition?

After all, I never thought I'd see a pope resign: It hasn't happened in 600 years!

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-26-Papal%20Encounters/id-28a950e852d24d89bfef05f9d892a1fb

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Use Optimal URL for E-Commerce Websites - ArticlesWide.com

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It is worth observing why URLs are modified. These URLs are static and often are rewritten to solve issues posed by crawlers for search engines. Dynamic URLs and parameters in static pages are better avoided. Clean and pretty URLs are welcome with dashes instead of spaces and underscores. Relevant keywords in URL are workable but cannibalization is unwelcome. URLS should give users a fair clue as to what the pages hold. URLS are better crawled when shortened.

Complex URLs with lot of folders and parameters do not allow an ecommerce website to be indexed by the search engines. Flow of organic traffic through search engines is almost zero in such URLs. The most popular search engines like Google and Bing prefer optimal URLs. Keywords and descriptive words in URLS give search engine another algorithmic insight. Optimal URLs are short, static, relevant and unique and are highest in relevancy factor.

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'Arrested Development' Updates: Only One Netflix Season, Ben Stiller Will Cameo

Magic is bound to happen when Ben Stiller's Tony Wonder makes a guest appearance on "Arrested Development" during the new season of the resurrected sitcom. The news comes from EW.com, who report that the Wonder-ful Stiller will only appear (and disappear) in one episode of the show, which premieres on Netflix in May. Additional details [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/02/26/arrested-development-one-season-ben-stiller/

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Google Glass Explorer Edition arrives at the FCC

Folks, the rather dour line drawing that you can see in the image above is the very first glimpse of Google's wearable computing project as it swings through the FCC's underground facility. The Google Glass Explorer Edition hardware, promised to arrive this year, is carrying a Broadcom 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g WiFi radio that's been paired with a Bluetooth 4.0 + LE module. We've seen a reference to an "integral vibrating element that provides audio to the user via contact with the user's head," which we presume relates to the bone conduction patent we saw earlier this month. The filing also reveals that the testing laboratory involved used the conduction technology to view video with audio. As the commission is now making the paperwork public, it can only mean that it's judged the unit, with the product code "XEB," to be safe for human consumption -- which means customers 782 and 788 might be expecting something special in the mail very shortly.

Filed under: Wearables, Google

Comments

Source: FCC

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/31/google-glass-fcc/

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Chances Are

What will happen when a girl comes between two step-brothers? ...that don't know they're brothers. [female role taken/one boy open]

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Watch HTC's CEO Rally The Troops With a Bizarre "M7" Chant

That rumored M7 phone? The new HTC flagship? It definitely exists, and "M7" is definitely it's name. That is, if HTC's super-enthusiastic, chant-leading CEO has anything to say about it. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/yziPtfRdIc4/watch-htcs-ceo-rally-the-troops-with-a-bizarre-m7-chant

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SUPER BOWL WATCH: Beyonce, avocados, practice

FILE - In this Dec. 23, 2012, file photo, Green Bay Packers' Donald Driver tries to fire up the crowd before the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in Green Bay, Wis. The Packers all-time leading receiver announced his retirement Thursday morning, Jan. 31, 2013, with a public ceremony planned for Feb. 6 at the Lambeau Field Atrium. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 23, 2012, file photo, Green Bay Packers' Donald Driver tries to fire up the crowd before the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in Green Bay, Wis. The Packers all-time leading receiver announced his retirement Thursday morning, Jan. 31, 2013, with a public ceremony planned for Feb. 6 at the Lambeau Field Atrium. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer, File)

Beyonce answers questions during an NFL football Super Bowl XLVII news conference at the New Orleans Convention Center, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. in New Orleans. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) passes as tight end Delanie Walker (46) waits to run a route during practice on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, in New Orleans. The 49ers are scheduled to play the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game on Feb. 3. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

FILE - In this Jan. 17, 2007 photo, California grown avocados are seen on display at a market in Mountain View, Calif. So why the avocado and why the Super Bowl? It helped that the avocado season happens to hit its prime right around kickoff. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith prepares to catch a pass as he warms up during an NFL Super Bowl XLVII football practice on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, in New Orleans. The Ravens face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday, Feb. 3. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Around Super Bowl XLVII and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of everything surrounding the game:

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GRIDIRON TO LEMONADE STAND

Donald Driver didn't waste much time finding a new job.

The Green Bay Packers all-time leading receiver announced his retirement Thursday morning, then helped kids from Junior Achievement sell lemonade at a pop-up stand in the Super Bowl media center.

Not only did Driver help behind the counter, he loaded up four carrying cases and he and his three new friends set out to find customers. Their cases were empty when they returned.

"All the money they've raised will stay here in New Orleans," Driver said. "What they're starting to do is learn how to run their own business, become entrepreneurs by themselves.

"I'm just here to raise as much money so maybe they can open up their own lemonade stand the next couple of years.

? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour

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JUDGE FOR YOURSELF: BEYONCE

Wondering about Beyonce and her response inauguration lip syncing flap?

Judge for yourself ? here's her full rendition of the national anthem during a press conference Thursday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p2MTKCLNsY

___

QUICKQUOTE: JERSEYS AND DRUGS

Authorities say buying a cheap imitation NFL jersey may be more harmful than you think.

Kevin Abar, assistant special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New Mexico, said there's evidence that Mexican drug cartels are getting involved in the counterfeit NFL black market trade because they can make quick money.

"A lot of folks may think that there's nothing wrong with buying a knockoff Denver Broncos jersey, but in reality, the money is being used to fund the drug war in Mexico," Abar said.

? Michael Kunzelman ? http://twitter.com/Kunzelman75

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STAT OF THE DAY: 158M AVOCADOS

AP Food Editor J.M. Hirsch has the stat of the day today: Americans are expected to consume 158 million avocados around the Super Bowl.

That's 79 million pounds of green goodness ? up from 8 million pounds at the turn of the century.

So has the guacamole improved that much? Not really, it's just outstanding marketing and other factors.

? J.M. Hirsch ? http://twitter.com/JM_Hirsch

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YUP, WE HEARD YOU, BEYONCE

Beyonce belted out the national anthem ? for real ? and America clearly heard.

Shortly after the singer's press conference on Thursday where she admitted singing to a backup track during President Barack Obama's inauguration, "National Anthem" became a trending topic in the United States on Twitter.

Millions of fans clearly approved of her impromptu performance, now reassured that her pipes are still fine.

? Oskar Garcia ? http://twitter.com/oskargarcia .

___

NO TAPE NEEDED

Beyonce's version of the national anthem was worth the wait.

The superstar singer, roundly criticized for lip syncing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the inauguration 10 days ago, walked into Thursday's news conference for the Super Bowl halftime show and asked the ballroom filled with several hundred people to stand. She then belted out a spine-tingling version of the anthem, leaving no doubts about the power of her voice. Many in the room applauded when she finished.

"Thank you guys so much. Any questions?" Beyonce said, drawing laughs.

Beyonce admitted she sang along with a pre-recorded track at the inauguration, saying she hadn't had time to rehearse with the orchestra. This was too big of an occasion to have it be anything less than perfect, she said.

"I did not feel comfortable taking a risk," she said. "This was about the president and the inauguration and I wanted to make my country proud."

She did promise to sing live Sunday, however.

"I am well-rehearsed," she said. "This was what I was born to do."

That was about all Beyonce was willing to spill, though. She wouldn't say what she'll be singing, though she did say it was "not easy" to choose a few songs from her many hits.

"All of my songs are like my children," she said.

As for that rumored Destiny's Child reunion, Beyonce wouldn't confirm it.

She didn't deny it, though, either.

"I can't really give you any details," she said. "I'm sorry."

? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour

___

TURF WARS

The Baltimore Ravens don't like the artificial turf at Tulane's baseball field.

So they've moved to the Saints' facility instead.

The San Francisco 49ers were already training at the Saints' complex in nearby Metairie.

The AFC champions were forced to practice in the outfield of the baseball facility Wednesday because Tulane has broken ground on a new football stadium. Coach John Harbaugh, star linebacker Ray Lewis and several other players said it was "hard on the legs."

After the Ravens approached the league about practicing on grass, the NFL arranged for them to follow the 49ers at the Saints training fields.

? Barry Wilner

___

10 ADS TO WATCH

If you're a fan of Super Bowl ads, here are 10 to look out for during Sunday's game. With more than 111 million people expected to tune in, it's advertising's biggest showcase.

1. Samsung Mobile's 2-minute ad with "Knocked Up" actors Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen, directed by Jon Favreau ("Iron Man"). The company has not released details about the ad's plot other than to say that it shows Rogen and Rudd on a "quest to become the next big thing." Teaser here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzfAdmAtYIY

2. Best Buy's 30-second ad in the first quarter stars Amy Poehler, star of NBC's "Parks and Recreation," asking a Best Buy employee "lots of questions." Teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcmW8HCuLo8

3. Kraft enlists Tracy Morgan from NBC's "30 Rock" to introduce its new Mio Fit water enhancing drops in a 30-second ad during the third quarter. Teaser: http://www.youtube.com/user/makeitmio?feature=watch

4. Hyundai Motor Group's Kia invents a fanciful way that babies are made, blasting in from a baby planet in its "Space babies" ad for the 2014 Sorento crossover. Link: http://www.youtube.com/user/KiaMotorsAmerica?feature=watch

5. First-time advertiser Paramount Farms is touting its Wonderful Pistachios brand of nuts in a 30-second ad with Korean pop sensation Psy. The campaign: http://getcrackin.com/

6. First-time advertiser Axe shows a woman in the ocean getting rescued by a sexy lifeguard, but going for an astronaut instead. It promotes Axe's new cologne "Apollo" and its contest to send someone on the first suborbital space tour in 2014. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGoU3VH7He4

7. Audi's 60-second ad in the first quarter, with an ending voted on by viewers, shows a boy gaining confidence from driving his father's Audi to the prom, kissing the prom queen and getting decked by the prom king. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANhmS6QLd5Q

8. PepsiCo's Frito-Lay's Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" ads are back for the seventh straight year. Two 30-second commercials made by consumers will make it on the air. Fans voted for one winner and Doritos chose the other.

9. Ford Motor Co. enlisted late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon to choose road trip stories submitted by Twitter with the hashtag (hash)steerthescript to base its Super Bowl commercial for Lincoln. The ad features rapper Joseph "Rev Run" Simmons, Wil Wheaton, who acted in the iconic science-fiction series "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

10. The Milk Processor Education Program, known as MilkPep and popular for its "Got Milk?" print ads, is featuring actor and professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in a 30-second ad in the second quarter that is directed by Peter Berg ("Friday Night Lights.")

? Mae Anderson

___

BEYONCE, BUT WHO ELSE?

There's lots of hype for Beyonce's halftime performance at the Super Bowl, but she's far from the only A-list act in New Orleans this week.

The NFL has announced Jennifer Hudson is planning to sing "America the Beautiful" before the game with the chorus from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Just add her to the already packed list. It also includes:

? Justin Timberlake, in his first major musical performance in four years (hosting Saturday Night Live doesn't count ? he hasn't been an official musical guest on the show since 2006).

? Stevie Wonder

? CeeLo Green with his old hip-hop clique, Goodie Mob.

?Rascal Flatts with Journey.

And then there's the parties. Lil Wayne is throwing a bash. Jay-Z will host another event the night before his wife, Beyonce, takes stage. Jamie Foxx and Santigold are also performing, while DJs including Diplo and Questlove from The Roots are spinning.

Not that it's ever difficult, but it's extra easy to find a party in New Orleans the next few days.

___

? Stacey Plaisance

___

PUTTING POLITICS ASIDE FOR NEW ORLEANS

Long working on opposite sides of the American political spectrum, James Carville and Mary Matalin are pulling in the same direction when it comes to promoting their adopted home of New Orleans as a Super Bowl host.

Carville, a longtime Democratic strategist, and Matalin, a Republican pundit, are the co-chairs of the Super Bowl host committee. They're also married.

They've been making the rounds together from one event to the next in the convention center, which houses both the NFL Experience theme park and work stations for several thousand international media.

Carville is from Louisiana and the couple married in New Orleans. Then in 2008, they decided to move here from Washington, D.C. Now living in a stately home just two blocks off of historic St. Charles Avenue, they've been among the biggest boosters of the Big Easy's recovery from Hurricane Katrina, lending their support to a variety of community projects with goals ranging from restoration of fragile coastal wetlands to education and economic development.

The pair agree that while organizing a Super Bowl doesn't cost as much as a presidential campaign, it's just as hard because it's a multiyear project with a lot of moving parts.

Carville says he's always been a sports fan so the transition was natural for him. Matalin says one obvious goal is to get New Orleans back in the regular rotation as a Super Bowl host, but the larger goal is to help the city's future by demonstrating how successfully it can host one of the biggest single events in the sports world. While New Orleans is hosting its 10th Super Bowl, the NFL championship has not been played there since 2002.

Says Carville: "If it goes the way we hope it does, it'll go beyond economic impact. It'll go beyond who won the game. It think there's something significant that's coming to a point here in the city."

___

? Brett Martel ? http://twitter.com/brettmartel

___

ZOO VS ZOO

File this in the quirky Super Bowl wager department: Zoos in Baltimore and San Francisco are gambling with the homes of two ravens and a rhino.

Leaders of The Maryland Zoo and The San Francisco Zoological Gardens have wagered naming rights to their respective exhibits with ties to their hometown football teams.

The zoo in Baltimore is home to official Ravens mascots, Rise and Conquer. If 49ers win, it will rename the ravens' enclosure the "San Francisco 49ers exhibit."

If the Ravens win, the San Francisco zoo has agreed to re-name the enclosure of its black rhino "Boone," who is named after the 49ers offensive tackle Alex Boone, in honor of the Ravens.

The new name would last one month, starting Feb. 11.

___

CATCHING THE COUNTERFEITERS

Shop wisely when looking for those Super Bowl souvenirs.

Federal officials have seized more than 163,000 counterfeit items worth more than $13.6 million over the last five months as part of Operation Red Zone, John Morton, director of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, said. That's a "significant" increase from last year, when about $5 million worth of merchandise was seized.

"Everything from hats to jerseys to Nike shoes. My personal favorite is this counterfeit Super Bowl ring from Super Bowl XLIV," Morton said, holding up a massive gold ring. "It's actually quite heavy and a better counterfeit than most. Just goes to show you the lengths people will go in this business."

Equally troubling are websites selling counterfeit merchandise, some so sophisticated they include anti-virus logos and the seal of the Better Business Bureau ? making them almost impossible to tell them apart from legitimate vendors.

Morton said federal officials have already seized domain names of 313 web sites, almost all of which originated overseas.

"Imagine what's going on when you're putting your credit card through this site. Really think about that," Morton said. "The site is being run by overseas criminals in Asia.... You can imagine what the result is, and sadly many, many of these sites come with malware and other unfortunate ornaments on the Christmas tree."

The easiest way to make sure fans are buying legitimate merchandise is to buy from an official vendor, Morton said. Each team has one, as does the NFL.

But the best way fans can prevent being scammed is to use common sense, Morton said. Look closely at items, and there will be signs they're fakes. If there are extra words in a website address ? com.us ? or misspellings, that's almost always a dead giveaway.

"We're not letting up," Morton said. "We'll have teams out the next couple of days looking for counterfeit and scam artists."

? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour

___

RENO: THE KAEPERNICK EFFECT

Casinos in the Biggest Little City in the World are expecting a bump in Super Bowl betting this year thanks to 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, maybe enough to help Nevada set a record in wagering on the game.

Kaepernick played college football at Nevada, just down the street from casinos in Reno.

Now, most of those casinos are offering an especially large number of proposition bets on the quarterback.

Kaep-mania has run so rampant in Reno that sporting goods stores can't keep stocked in jerseys. More than 7,000 fans set what Nevada officials said was a world record when they all simultaneously kissed their arms "Kaepernicking style" during a break in last week's basketball game against San Diego State.

A Kaepernick viewing party is planned during Sunday's game at the student union.

? Scott Sonner

___

NO MORE TALKING

The players can focus on football now ? they're officially done talking to the media.

Ravens safety Ed Reed was the last guy at the podium on Thursday. After he finished talking with reporters, he scooped up a blue placard with his name on it.

"I'm going to give it to my mother," he said.

He said he's very glad that his interviews are done for the week.

Players had three hourlong sessions during the week, and Reed had another press availability on Monday.

The coaches for the 49ers and Ravens will speak with reporters again on Friday morning.

? Paul Newberry ? http://twitter.com/pnewberry1963

___

BROTHERLY ADVICE: BROOK LOPEZ

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh and San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh are hardly the only high-profile siblings who've squared off in their arena of expertise. The AP is asking some others who can relate how they'd handle going against a family member in the Super Bowl.

Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez said after scoring 21 points in a loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night that it's a combination of joy and competitiveness.

"I know they're just going to treat it as a game. That's how I treat it whenever I play Robin," Brook Lopez said. "I know they will enjoy it as well. But if I have any experience playing against Robin growing up, I know it's going to be competitive. I know they're going to want to beat each other."

Brook's brother, Robin, plays for the New Orleans Hornets.

? Brian Mahoney ? http://twitter.com/briancmahoney

___

SORRY, MOM

The way Jack Harbaugh tells the story, Jackie Harbaugh was so shocked by her eldest son's decision to choose coaching over a career in law or politics, she fell face-first into a dish of mashed potatoes.

See, Jackie Harbaugh loves political science and politics. And as a political science major at Bowling Green with a high grade-point, John Harbaugh seemed headed for law school.

"Jackie was so excited about it," Jack Harbaugh said.

But both of the Harbaugh boys had been bitten by the coaching bug early. The practice fields at Iowa and Michigan were their playground, and they knew more about coaching before they got out of grade school than some veteran assistants.

"He came home one day and we're sitting around the table and we're having dinner. Jackie says, 'John, what law school will it be?' John said, 'Mom, I think I want to try coaching,' Jack Harbaugh said. "To which Jackie went facedown into the mashed potatoes. She said, 'What? Coaching? You've got to reconsider!'"

That's not exactly what happened, Jackie Harbaugh said.

"May I tell the truth? There were no mashed potatoes," she said. "When he came home and talked about (coaching) and I saw that look in his eyes, my feeling was, you have to do what you want to do. If you want to try this and see where it takes you, that would be great."

Seems like he made the right choice. After making the playoffs in each of his first four seasons, John Harbaugh has the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl on Sunday, where they'll face his brother Jim's San Francisco 49ers.

? Nancy Armour ? http://twitter.com/nrarmour

___

EATING RIGHT

How about some home cookin' in the Big Easy ? as in 150 plates of it to feed a football team? That's what Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones' mother, Emily, presented the Baltimore players for dinner this week at the team hotel to kick off Super Bowl prep New Orleans-style.

"Gumbo, jambalaya, potato salad, bread pudding, macaroni, the whole nine yards. She made 150 plates," Jones said. "All they kept saying is she put her foot in it. I love it."

That's a real compliment around here.

Now, Jones might give his mother a break.

"I'm going to let her be. I might buy me some crawfish or something."

And he knows all the best spots in New Orleans to get it.

? Janie McCauley ? http://twitter.com/janieMcCAP

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EDITOR'S NOTE ? "Super Bowl Watch" shows you the Super Bowl and the events surrounding the game through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across New Orleans and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-31-Super%20Bowl%20Watch-Package/id-e958daf3a9524a5e9456baead9a090ac

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