(CBS) - Days after the massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, a Texas gun store owner is offering teachers a discount toward the purchase of a concealed handgun license,?CBS DFW?reports.
"Our normal rate is $110.00, so I would give them a rate of $90.00," said Crocket Keller, of Kellers Riverside Gun Store near Austin. "If they are teachers, we would be more than happy to do that."
CBS DFW reports that Keller says he believes that educators should be allowed to be armed on school grounds.
"We need to start thinking out of the box and deal with this violent culture," Keller said. "We need to lobby our various state governments to allow teachers to be armed."
But Gayle Fallon of the American Federation of Teachers disagrees.
"I knew this would come up at some point, there would be people who think the answer is to put guns on campus. Frankly I think it's absurd," Fallon told CBS DFW.
"In a lot of cases, the perpetrator is a kid. Look at Columbine, it was a 14-year-old kid. You tell me a teacher is going to look in the eyes of a 14-year-old and pull the trigger - it's not in their emotional make up."
Fallon said she believes in having more police officers on campus and tightening restrictions on guns. But Keller said that's not enough.
"Our personal safety is our responsibility, unfortunately the police and the military cannot be everywhere," said Keller. "When seconds count, the police are just minutes away."
ANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) ? Syrian rebels are closely monitoring the regime's chemical weapons sites, but don't have the means to seize and secure them, their newly elected military commander told The Associated Press.
Gen. Salim Idris, who defected from the Syrian army in July, said he is "very afraid" a cornered Syrian President Bashar Assad will unleash such weapons on his own people.
Syria is said to have one of the world's largest chemical arsenals. Earlier this week, Syria's U.N. ambassador said the regime would not use such weapons under any circumstances. However, recent U.S. intelligence reports indicated the regime may be readying chemical weapons and could be desperate enough to use them.
Idris, a 55-year-old German-trained electronics professor, was chosen earlier this month as chief of staff by several hundred commanders of rebel units meeting in Turkey.
With the election of Idris and a 30-member military command center, Syria's opposition hopes to transform largely autonomous groups of fighters into a unified force. The reorganization came after Syria's political opposition won international recognition this month as the sole representative of the Syrian people.
In an interview late Tuesday, Idris said the rebels could defeat the regime within a month if supplied with anti-aircraft weapons. Assad's troops are stretched thin and have lost ground in recent months, particularly in northwestern Syria, but have kept rebel fighters pinned down with massive air bombardments.
The West has refused to supply Syria's opposition with weapons for fear they could fall into the hands of Islamic militants among the rebels, such as Jabhat al-Nusra, which was designated a terrorist group by the U.S. last week. Idris played down possible threats posed by al-Nusra, saying that while the group was not part of the new unified command, "they are not terrorists."
Without foreign military help, driving out the regime could take "one, two or three months," Idris said, speaking in a hotel lobby in the southern Turkish town of Antakya near the Syrian border.
He claimed that more than 120,000 armed men are fighting Assad's military, a figure difficult to confirm independently in the chaos of Syria's civil war. Idris said the new military command represents the vast majority of these fighters, and that he has begun taking command inside Syria in recent days.
Idris said that on Tuesday, he spent much the day near the central city of Hama, observing a successful rebel attempt to capture five regime checkpoints.
Syria's conflict began with a popular uprising in March 2011, but quickly turned violent, with protesters taking up arms in response to a brutal regime crackdown. Activists say more than 40,000 Syrians have been killed and aid officials estimate some 3 million people have been displaced by the fighting.
Idris portrayed Assad as a powerless figurehead, saying decisions are made by his inner circle of fellow Alawites, followers of an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
The ruling elite won't surrender and is willing "to set everything on fire," warned Idris, who served in the military for 35 years, including as dean at the military's technical college in the city of Aleppo, now a major battleground.
The regime "can and will" use chemical weapons unless the international community forces Assad to leave, Idris said, speaking in fluent German.
He said rebel fighters are trying to monitor the chemical weapons sites. "We know exactly where they are and we are watching everything," Idris said. "But we don't have the capability to put them under our control."
The West has shown little desire to intervene militarily in Syria's conflict, but President Barack Obama has said the regime's use of chemical weapons against the rebels would be a "red line."
U.S. officials have said the regime launched more than a half-dozen Scud missiles in recent days, the first time it has used such weapons in this conflict.
Idris said he was aware of three launches, adding that two missiles fell in Syria's eastern desert and a third on the outskirts of a town close to Aleppo.
Idris, citing information from rebel sympathizers within the regime, said Scud missiles are being trained at northwestern Syria, the area close to the Turkish border, and could be fired at any moment.
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
From Search Engine Land:
Google Maps iPhone App Gets 10 Million Downloads In Two Days
Just about a week ago Google?s new Google Maps iPhone app was released and oh boy were people waiting for it. Jeff Huber, Google?s Senior Vice President of Commerce & Local at Google said on Google+ that in two days they had over 10 million downloads of the app. The app has already hit the [...]
Insiders Guide To Selecting The Right Local SEO Tools
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You Need To Steer To Survive In A SERP-Happy World
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Facebook Gets Into Local Search With ?Facebook Nearby? For iOS & Android
As of today, you can count Facebook as a potentially significant new competitor in local search ? on mobile devices. The company is updating the ?Nearby? feature in its iOS and Android apps Nearby Becomes Local Search Tool Previously Nearby was about finding where your friends had checked-in. After the app update Nearby will still [...]
SMX West Agenda Posted ? Register by Friday for Lowest Rates!
Optimize your paid search, SEO and internet marketing campaigns. Attend Search Engine Land?s SMX West conference in San Jose, CA March 11-13. Register before Super Early Bird rates expire this Friday, December 21. Build your own program by selecting from any of the 50+ tactical sessions including: Essential SEO Analytics: The Performance Metrics That Truly [...]
Considering An SEM Agency? How To Separate The Wheat From The Chaff
Over the last month, I?ve had two clients send me email pitches from other agencies trying to ?poach? business away from us. The two pitches were from different agencies, but the message was the same: something is ominously, terribly wrong with the way your current agency is managing your account! Here?s the pitch from the [...]
Google Search Now With The Holiday Christmas & Kwanzaa Decorations
The holiday season is now in full swing! Google has finally added the Christmas and Kwanzaa decorations to compliment the Festivus pole and Hanukkah decorations you already get on Google. How does it work? Just search for [christmas] and you will get Christmas bells. Note, this also works for [santa] and other holiday search terms: [...]
Reports Confirm Google To Escape FTC Antitrust Wrath
Confirming a report from the New York Post last week, the Wall Street Journal and Politico both published articles that said Google would emerge basically unscathed from the FTC?s antitrust investigation. Google will apparently agree to make voluntary changes to various practices and will thus avoid having to sign a consent degree. The voluntary actions, [...]
YP: 30 Percent Of Search Queries Now Coming From Mobile
Local search provider and online ad network YP has released its end of the year review report (.pdf). The data are drawn from a huge volume of queries on its PC destination site, its mobile site and apps, as well as its broader advertising network. YP says that 30 percent of its overall query volume [...]
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Researchers identify role for protein linked to obesity, type 2 diabetesPublic release date: 17-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Remekca Owens remekca.owens@utsouthwestern.edu 214-648-3404 UT Southwestern Medical Center
DALLAS Dec. 17, 2012 Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have taken another step toward better understanding the metabolic functions of obesity and its connection to type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Philipp Scherer, Director of the Touchstone Center for Diabetes Research at UT Southwestern, led a group of researchers in a recent multicenter study published in Nature Medicine that successfully identified ways to manipulate the protein mitoNEET. This is the first time the protein has been effectively altered to expand fat tissue in a way that allows subjects in this case, mice to remain metabolically healthy.
MitoNEET is a key component of a cell's mitochondrion, which serves as the cell's energy powerhouse. When the levels of MitoNEET protein were elevated inside the fat cells of rodents, more fat was stored in the adipose tissue, thereby keeping toxic lipids away from other types of cells. This sequestration resulted in extremely obese yet metabolically healthy mice that displayed no signs of type 2 diabetes. In contrast, when MitoNEET levels were decreased, the mice became lean but unhealthy, and developed pre-diabetic conditions such as failure to metabolize glucose properly.
"The manipulation of mitochondrial activity in fat tissue is a very powerful approach to control how much excess energy we store in our bodies and where we store it. We have heretofore underestimated the importance of mitochondrial pathways in our fat cells and their influence on how we manage our weight," said Dr. Scherer, senior author of the three-year study and Professor of Internal Medicine and Cell Biology at UTSW.
The body stores fat in the white adipose tissue, and, ideally, individuals burn any excess calories through exercise and a healthy diet. The current research findings suggest that manipulating components of mitochondria in fat cells can be an effective way to funnel excess calories into "good" locations. This storage then thwarts their negative effect on other internal organs like the liver in which excess fat accumulation is toxic.
The obese mice in this study weighed 120 to 130 grams (4.23 to 4.58 ounces), whereas a normal adult mouse weighs 25 to 30 grams (.88 to 1.06 ounces). This difference is the equivalent of a 150-pound person increasing his or her weight to 700 pounds.
The researchers were careful to clarify that the findings were not meant to encourage obesity, even though the obese mice were considered metabolically healthy. The study instead provides a clearer understanding of the mitochondrion's importance to the metabolic dysfunction that is characteristic of obese patients and those with type 2 diabetes.
"These results taught us a great deal about how fat cells sense, store, and burn energy," said Dr. Christine Kusminski, a postdoctoral researcher in Internal Medicine who served as the study's first author. "By learning more about the underlying mechanisms, we hope to develop ways to target these pathways for future drug development."
The researchers now hope to translate these findings into a clinical setting. The staff of the Touchstone Center is devoted to the study of cells and tissues that either contribute to or are affected by diabetes and related diseases, including the physiology of adipose tissue.
###
Other UT Southwestern researchers involved in the study were Dr. William L. Holland, Instructor in Internal Medicine; Dr. Kai Sun, Assistant Instructor in Internal Medicine; Dr. Jiyoung Park, Assistant Instructor in Internal Medicine; and Stephen B. Spurgin, a medical student. Scientists from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the University of Utah School of Medicine, and Merck Research Laboratories also contributed.
The investigation was funded by support from the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and fellowships from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Department of Defense.
Media Contact: Remekca Owens
214-648-3404
remekca.owens@utsouthwestern.edu
To automatically receive news releases from UT Southwestern via email, subscribe at www.utsouthwestern.edu/receivenews
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Researchers identify role for protein linked to obesity, type 2 diabetesPublic release date: 17-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Remekca Owens remekca.owens@utsouthwestern.edu 214-648-3404 UT Southwestern Medical Center
DALLAS Dec. 17, 2012 Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have taken another step toward better understanding the metabolic functions of obesity and its connection to type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Philipp Scherer, Director of the Touchstone Center for Diabetes Research at UT Southwestern, led a group of researchers in a recent multicenter study published in Nature Medicine that successfully identified ways to manipulate the protein mitoNEET. This is the first time the protein has been effectively altered to expand fat tissue in a way that allows subjects in this case, mice to remain metabolically healthy.
MitoNEET is a key component of a cell's mitochondrion, which serves as the cell's energy powerhouse. When the levels of MitoNEET protein were elevated inside the fat cells of rodents, more fat was stored in the adipose tissue, thereby keeping toxic lipids away from other types of cells. This sequestration resulted in extremely obese yet metabolically healthy mice that displayed no signs of type 2 diabetes. In contrast, when MitoNEET levels were decreased, the mice became lean but unhealthy, and developed pre-diabetic conditions such as failure to metabolize glucose properly.
"The manipulation of mitochondrial activity in fat tissue is a very powerful approach to control how much excess energy we store in our bodies and where we store it. We have heretofore underestimated the importance of mitochondrial pathways in our fat cells and their influence on how we manage our weight," said Dr. Scherer, senior author of the three-year study and Professor of Internal Medicine and Cell Biology at UTSW.
The body stores fat in the white adipose tissue, and, ideally, individuals burn any excess calories through exercise and a healthy diet. The current research findings suggest that manipulating components of mitochondria in fat cells can be an effective way to funnel excess calories into "good" locations. This storage then thwarts their negative effect on other internal organs like the liver in which excess fat accumulation is toxic.
The obese mice in this study weighed 120 to 130 grams (4.23 to 4.58 ounces), whereas a normal adult mouse weighs 25 to 30 grams (.88 to 1.06 ounces). This difference is the equivalent of a 150-pound person increasing his or her weight to 700 pounds.
The researchers were careful to clarify that the findings were not meant to encourage obesity, even though the obese mice were considered metabolically healthy. The study instead provides a clearer understanding of the mitochondrion's importance to the metabolic dysfunction that is characteristic of obese patients and those with type 2 diabetes.
"These results taught us a great deal about how fat cells sense, store, and burn energy," said Dr. Christine Kusminski, a postdoctoral researcher in Internal Medicine who served as the study's first author. "By learning more about the underlying mechanisms, we hope to develop ways to target these pathways for future drug development."
The researchers now hope to translate these findings into a clinical setting. The staff of the Touchstone Center is devoted to the study of cells and tissues that either contribute to or are affected by diabetes and related diseases, including the physiology of adipose tissue.
###
Other UT Southwestern researchers involved in the study were Dr. William L. Holland, Instructor in Internal Medicine; Dr. Kai Sun, Assistant Instructor in Internal Medicine; Dr. Jiyoung Park, Assistant Instructor in Internal Medicine; and Stephen B. Spurgin, a medical student. Scientists from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the University of Utah School of Medicine, and Merck Research Laboratories also contributed.
The investigation was funded by support from the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and fellowships from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Department of Defense.
Media Contact: Remekca Owens
214-648-3404
remekca.owens@utsouthwestern.edu
To automatically receive news releases from UT Southwestern via email, subscribe at www.utsouthwestern.edu/receivenews
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Baby fish exposed to hormone-laden manure from Indiana farms were much more likely to be male than those raised in uncontaminated water, according to new research
By Brian Bienkowski and Environmental Health News
SOMETHING FISHY: Hormones from livestock operations may skew fish gender toward males.Image: Wikimedia Commons/Enziarro
Baby fish exposed to hormone-laden manure from Indiana farms were much more likely to be male than those raised in uncontaminated water, according to new research.
The findings add to evidence that farm runoff may alter fish hormones and affect their reproduction and development.
Purdue University researchers raised fathead minnow embryos in water taken from two Indiana streams that are contaminated with natural and synthetic hormones from manure spread on fields. The embryos turned out 60 percent male; fish typically are born with roughly equal numbers of males and females.
Over time this skewing toward male fish could ?drop fish populations,? said Maria Sepulveda, an assistant professor at Purdue?s department of forestry and natural resources and lead author of the study. She was quick to warn, however, that other factors ? water temperature, nutrients and pesticides ? also may influence fish gender.
Livestock excrete natural hormones ? estrogens and testosterones ? as well as synthetic ones used to bolster their growth. Depending on concentrations and fish sensitivity, these hormones and hormone mimics might impair wild fish reproduction or skew their sex ratios.
?This type of study was long overdue,? said Luke Iwanowicz, a research biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey who did not participate in the Purdue research. ?Anytime you see skewed sex ratios and population effects, it?s concerning.?
Hormones were found in 80 percent of the water samples taken at two agricultural streams in central Indiana, compared with no hormones at a nearby creek unexposed to manure runoff. The agricultural streams contained both natural and synthetic hormones.
?The maximum hormone loads (from the manure to the streams) are taking place during the spring, which coincides with fish spawning, hatching and developing,? the authors wrote in the study, which was published online in November in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.
The agricultural streams also had 50 percent less fish diversity and a 28 percent higher adult minnow death rate than the creek with no farm runoff, according to the study.
Sepulveda said the lack of diversity and death rates in the agricultural waterways were expected given the poorer water quality and habitat.
But the increased male birth rates were surprising, and fish sex ratios are ?too often overlooked,? said Thea Edwards, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Louisiana Tech University, ?especially since we?re seeing more and more manure runoff and hormones in the water.?
While 60 percent of the fish raised in the manure-tainted water were male, only 48 percent of those raised in the non-contaminated water were male. There were slightly more non-hormone contaminants, such as pesticides and nutrients, in the agricultural streams than in the uncontaminated creek, but it was not a significant difference.
Nevertheless, there are some limitations to the connection the scientists found to manure runoff. While the study focused on hormones, the interaction of all contaminants could be linked to birth rates and fish diversity, Sepulveda said. And fish could have moved in and out of the sites, so it is unclear how frequently they were exposed.
The water from the agricultural streams had more testosterone than estrogen but researchers cannot associate any class of hormones with a specific birth outcome or developmental effect, said Ed Orlando, an assistant professor in the department of animal and avian sciences at the University of Maryland.
However, previous research supports a possible connection between the high rate of male births and the contaminated water.
Aerobic training is the best mode of exercise for burning fat, according to Duke researchers who compared aerobic training, resistance training, and a combination of the two.
The study, which appears Dec. 15, 2012, in the Journal of Applied Physiology, is the largest randomized trial to analyze changes in body composition from the three modes of exercise in overweight or obese adults without diabetes.
Aerobic exercise ? including walking, running, and swimming ? has been proven to be an effective way to lose weight. However, recent guidelines have suggested that resistance training, which includes weight lifting to build and maintain muscle mass, may also help with weight loss by increasing a person's resting metabolic rate. Research has demonstrated health benefits for resistance training, such as improving glucose control, but studies on the effects of resistance training on fat mass have been inconclusive.
"Given that approximately two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight due to excess body fat, we want to offer clear, evidence-based exercise recommendations that will truly help people lose weight and body fat," said Leslie H. Willis, MS, an exercise physiologist at Duke Medicine and the study's lead author.
Researchers enrolled 234 overweight or obese adults in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three exercise training groups: resistance training (three days per week of weight lifting, three sets per day, 8-12 repetitions per set), aerobic training (approximately 12 miles per week), or aerobic plus resistance training (three days a week, three set per day, 8-12 repetitions per set for resistance training, plus approximately 12 miles per week of aerobic exercise).
The exercise sessions were supervised in order to accurately measure adherence among participants. Data from 119 people who completed the study and had complete body composition data were analyzed to determine the effectiveness of each exercise regimen.
The groups assigned to aerobic training and aerobic plus resistance training lost more weight than those who did just resistance training. The resistance training group actually gained weight due to an increase in lean body mass.
Aerobic exercise was also a more efficient method of exercise for losing body fat. The aerobic exercise group spent an average of 133 minutes a week training and lost weight, while the resistance training group spent approximately 180 minutes exercising a week without shedding pounds.
The combination exercise group, while requiring double the time commitment, provided a mixed result. The regimen helped participants lose weight and fat mass, but did not significantly reduce body mass nor fat mass over aerobic training alone. This group did notice the largest decrease in waist circumference, which may be attributed to the amount of time participants spent exercising.
Resting metabolic rate, which determines how many calories are burned while at rest, was not directly measured in this study. While theories suggest that resistance training can improve resting metabolic rates and therefore aid in weight loss, in this study, resistance training did not significantly decrease fat mass nor body weight irrespective of any change in resting metabolic rate that might have occurred.
"No one type of exercise will be best for every health benefit," Willis added. "However, it might be time to reconsider the conventional wisdom that resistance training alone can induce changes in body mass or fat mass due to an increase in metabolism, as our study found no change."
Duke researchers added that exercise recommendations are age-specific. For older adults experiencing muscle atrophy, studies have found resistance training to be beneficial. However, younger, healthy adults or those looking to lose weight would see better results doing aerobic training.
"Balancing time commitments against health benefits, our study suggests that aerobic exercise is the best option for reducing fat mass and body mass," said Cris A. Slentz, PhD, a Duke exercise physiologist and study co-author. "It's not that resistance training isn't good for you; it's just not very good at burning fat."
###
Duke University Medical Center: http://www.dukemednews.org
Thanks to Duke University Medical Center for this article.
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BALTIMORE (AP) ? The Denver Broncos no longer can be considered a notch below the best in the AFC, nor can they be viewed as a team that can succeed only when Peyton Manning puts up dazzling numbers.
Their 34-17 rout of the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday showed just how good these Broncos can be.
Chris Harris returned an interception 98 yards for a momentum-turning touchdown, and Denver cruised to its ninth straight victory in surprisingly easy fashion.
"You come to the Ravens' house and beat them handily, it's definitely a statement game," Harris said. "We definitely wanted to show to everybody that we're an elite team."
Manning threw for 204 yards and a score in his ninth consecutive win against Baltimore, the first with the Broncos (11-3).
But he was merely a role player in this one, because Denver's defense dominated the Ravens, who sputtered in their first game with Jim Caldwell as offensive coordinator.
This was supposed to be a test for Denver, which was 0-5 in Baltimore and was eager to face a quality opponent on the road.
"Pat Bowlen has owned the team for 29 years and has averaged 10 wins a season, but it's the first time he's won in this building," Broncos coach John Fox said. "I was proud to see that for him."
Down 10-0 late in the first half, the Ravens had a first-and-goal at the Denver 4 when Harris stepped in front of Anquan Boldin, picked off a pass by Joe Flacco and sprinted down the right sideline with Flacco in pursuit. The quarterback tripped up Harris, who tumbled into the end zone, leaving Flacco flat on his stomach and with a cut lip.
"He just ran the out route and I was waiting to see when he was going to look back at the quarterback," Harris said. "As soon as he looked back, I looked back and the ball was there. I just made a play on the ball."
It was the longest regular-season interception return in Broncos history, and it turned a close game into a rout.
"I made a mistake. No other way to say it," Flacco said.
"Baltimore had some momentum there on the drive and looks like they're probably going to get the touchdown ? plus they get the ball the first series of the second half," Manning said.
"So just a huge play. The turnover is good, the fact that he took it all the way to the house for a touchdown was even bigger. Big play, big swing in the game, in the momentum. I thought it kind of jump-started everything in the second half for us."
The Ravens (9-5) were playing their first game under Caldwell, who replaced the fired Cam Cameron. Baltimore's offense sputtered in the first half, gaining only 119 yards and committing two turnovers that led to 10 Denver points.
Baltimore has lost three straight ? including two in a row at home for the first time since December 2007. The Ravens trailed 31-3 in the fourth quarter before Flacco threw touchdown passes of 31 and 61 yards to tight end Dennis Pitta.
"We couldn't get anything going until late," coach John Harbaugh said.
Caldwell's debut was a resounding flop. Flacco went 20 for 40 for 254 yards, lost a fumble and threw an interception. Ray Rice ran for 38 yards on 12 carries and the Ravens produced a meager 56 yards rushing.
For three weeks, Baltimore has needed one win to clinch a fifth straight trip to the playoffs. The Ravens still lead the AFC North, but their lead has shrunk to one game with two to play.
"We're a 9-5 football team and we feel like we're 0-14 right now," Flacco said.
Baltimore's previous two defeats were by three points apiece. This one wasn't even close, and the stadium was near empty in the middle of the fourth quarter.
"As (part of) the Ravens Nation, as a player, I am embarrassed for our city," safety Ed Reed said.
Denver, on the other hand, appears poised to reach the postseason with confidence and momentum. The AFC West champions haven't lost since Oct. 7, at New England. The Broncos, who can still capture the top seed in the conference, finish with home games against Cleveland and Kansas City.
Baltimore's first offensive series under Caldwell lasted three plays and ended badly. Flacco fumbled on a third-and-1 plunge and the Broncos recovered at the Denver 47, which led to a 27-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
In the first quarter, Baltimore totaled 21 yards on 12 plays, punted three times and lost a fumble.
Denver went up 10-0 when Jacob Hester ran in from the 1 to cap an 11-play, 78-yard drive. Baltimore answered with three more unproductive plays before punting. On their fifth drive, the Ravens finally got their initial first down ? on a 14-yard run by Bernard Pierce with eight minutes left in the half.
Pierce eventually left the game with a concussion, as did wide receiver Torrey Smith, who hit his head after attempting to make a leaping catch near the sideline in the third quarter.
Denver pulled away with two third-quarter touchdowns. Manning threw a 51-yard scoring pass to Eric Decker, and after the Ravens went three-and-out, Knowshon Moreno ended a 39-yard drive with a 6-yard run to make it 31-3.
Decker caught eight passes for 133 yards and Moreno finished with 118 yards rushing on 22 carries.
NOTES: Rice passed 1,000 yards rushing for a fourth straight season. ... Terrell Suggs returned for Baltimore after missing one game with a torn biceps and made one tackle. ... Hester's score was the second rushing touchdown of his career and the first since his rookie season in 2008. ... Pitta had seven catches for 125 yards.
___
Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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Public release date: 17-Dec-2012
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