Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Nanosponges soak up toxins released by bacterial infections and venom

Monday, April 15, 2013

Engineers at the University of California, San Diego have invented a "nanosponge" capable of safely removing a broad class of dangerous toxins from the bloodstream ? including toxins produced by MRSA, E. coli, poisonous snakes and bees. These nanosponges, which thus far have been studied in mice, can neutralize "pore-forming toxins," which destroy cells by poking holes in their cell membranes. Unlike other anti-toxin platforms that need to be custom synthesized for individual toxin type, the nanosponges can absorb different pore-forming toxins regardless of their molecular structures. In a study against alpha-haemolysin toxin from MRSA, pre-innoculation with nanosponges enabled 89 percent of mice to survive lethal doses.

Administering nanosponges after the lethal dose led to 44 percent survival.

The team, led by nanoengineers at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, published the findings in Nature Nanotechnology April 14.

"This is a new way to remove toxins from the bloodstream," said Liangfang Zhang, a nanoengineering professor at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering and the senior author on the study. "Instead of creating specific treatments for individual toxins, we are developing a platform that can neutralize toxins caused by a wide range of pathogens, including MRSA and other antibiotic resistant bacteria," said Zhang. The work could also lead to non-species-specific therapies for venomous snake bites and bee stings, which would make it more likely that health care providers or at-risk individuals will have life-saving treatments available when they need them most.

The researchers are aiming to translate this work into approved therapies. "One of the first applications we are aiming for would be an anti-virulence treatment for MRSA. That's why we studied one of the most virulent toxins from MRSA in our experiments," said "Jack" Che-Ming Hu, the first author on the paper. Hu, now a post-doctoral researcher in Zhang's lab, earned his Ph.D. in bioengineering from UC San Diego in 2011.

Aspects of this work will be presented April 18 at Research Expo, the annual graduate student research and networking event of the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

Nanosponges as Decoys

In order to evade the immune system and remain in circulation in the bloodstream, the nanosponges are wrapped in red blood cell membranes. This red blood cell cloaking technology was developed in Liangfang Zhang's lab at UC San Diego. The researchers previously demonstrated that nanoparticles disguised as red blood cells could be used to deliver cancer-fighting drugs directly to a tumor. Zhang also has a faculty appointment at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.


Engineers at the University of California, San Diego have invented a ?nanosponge? capable of safely removing a broad class of dangerous toxins from the bloodstream -- including toxins produced by MRSA, E. coli, poisonous snakes and bees. These nanosponges, which thus far have been studied in mice, can neutralize ?pore-forming toxins,? which destroy cells by poking holes in their cell membranes. Unlike other anti-toxin platforms that need to be custom synthesized for individual toxin type, the nanosponges can absorb different pore-forming toxins regardless of their molecular structures. In a study against alpha-haemolysin toxin from MRSA, pre-innoculation with nanosponges enabled 89 percent of mice to survive lethal doses. Administering nanosponges after the lethal dose led to 44 percent survival. Credit: UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering

Red blood cells are one of the primary targets of pore-forming toxins. When a group of toxins all puncture the same cell, forming a pore, uncontrolled ions rush in and the cell dies.

The nanosponges look like red blood cells, and therefore serve as red blood cell decoys that collect the toxins. The nanosponges absorb damaging toxins and divert them away from their cellular targets. The nanosponges had a half-life of 40 hours in the researchers' experiments in mice. Eventually the liver safely metabolized both the nanosponges and the sequestered toxins, with the liver incurring no discernible damage.

Each nanosponge has a diameter of approximately 85 nanometers and is made of a biocompatible polymer core wrapped in segments of red blood cells membranes.

Zhang's team separates the red blood cells from a small sample of blood using a centrifuge and then puts the cells into a solution that causes them to swell and burst, releasing hemoglobin and leaving RBC skins behind. The skins are then mixed with the ball-shaped nanoparticles until they are coated with a red blood cell membrane.

Just one red blood cell membrane can make thousands of nanosponges, which are 3,000 times smaller than a red blood cell. With a single dose, this army of nanosponges floods the blood stream, outnumbering red blood cells and intercepting toxins.

Based on test-tube experiments, the number of toxins each nanosponge could absorb depended on the toxin. For example, approximately 85 alpha-haemolysin toxin produced by MRSA, 30 stretpolysin-O toxins and 850 melittin monomoers, which are part of bee venom.

In mice, administering nanosponges and alpha-haemolysin toxin simultaneously at a toxin-to-nanosponge ratio of 70:1 neutralized the toxins and caused no discernible damage.

One next step, the researchers say, is to pursue clinical trials.

###

University of California - San Diego: http://www.ucsd.edu

Thanks to University of California - San Diego for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127740/Nanosponges_soak_up_toxins_released_by_bacterial_infections_and_venom

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Texas Governor Perry calls for tax cuts for business

By Corrie MacLaggan

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry on Monday called for nearly $1.6 billion in tax cuts for businesses over two years.

"This is about making Texas be more competitive," Perry said at a Tax Day press conference at the Austin Chamber of Commerce.

The proposal, which would require legislative action, would affect about 100,000 large and small businesses, the Republican governor said. It would be paid for from the state's general revenue fund or possibly the rainy-day fund, Perry's office said.

The plan calls for cutting the business franchise tax rate by 5 percent, providing a $1 million deduction for businesses with revenue up to $20 million, giving companies moving to Texas a one-time deduction for moving expenses and lowering the rate for businesses that file using an electronic system.

The governor had called for "tax relief" at the start of the legislative session that began in January and ends in May, but he did not offer specifics at that time.

"States that compete with us, our neighbors, they're not sitting on their laurels," Perry said on Monday.

He pointed out that Governor Bobby Jindal of neighboring Louisiana is seeking to remove personal income tax in his state.

But Jindal's proposal - which sought to make Louisiana more competitive with no-income-tax states such as Texas - appeared dead on Monday, after a key committee chairman declined to hold hearings on proposals aimed at accomplishing Jindal's goal.

Jindal, a possible 2016 Republican presidential candidate, had bowed to widespread public discomfort and "parked" his proposal when the Legislature convened last week. Instead, he called on lawmakers to pass their own plan.

On Monday, Louisiana House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Joel Robideaux, a Lafayette Republican, acknowledged that the support was not there, saying that unless the authors insist, "we should indefinitely defer consideration of these bills."

Jindal said afterward that he hoped lawmakers might still change their minds.

Also on Monday, Perry announced that he was buying ads in business publications in Chicago, urging companies there to relocate to Texas. The $38,450 ad buy will be paid for by TexasOne, the state's nonprofit economic development organization.

Earlier this year, Perry used radio ads to try to lure California businesses to Texas, prompting California Governor Jerry Brown to say that $24,000 effort was "barely a fart."

"Get Out While There's Still Time," says a Texas ad on the website of Crain's Chicago Business that features an emergency exit door.

Illinois is facing a financial crisis. The state legislature is considering proposals to cut pensions for retired state and local workers. The state has the lowest credit rating of any state analyzed by major debt rating agencies.

(Reporting by Corrie MacLaggan; Additional reporting by Stephanie Grace; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-governor-perry-calls-tax-cuts-business-233624758.html

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Monday, April 15, 2013

Kate Middleton and Prince William: Closer, More in Love Than Ever!

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Mathematics provides a shortcut to timely, cost-effective interventions for HIV

Apr. 15, 2013 ? Mathematical estimates of treatment outcomes can cut costs and provide faster delivery of preventative measures.

South Africa is home to the largest HIV epidemic in the world with a total of 5.6 million people living with HIV. Large-scale clinical trials evaluating combination methods of prevention and treatment are often prohibitively expensive and take years to complete. In the absence of such trials, mathematical models can help assess the effectiveness of different HIV intervention combinations, as demonstrated in a new study by Elisa Long and Robert Stavert from Yale University in the US. Their findings appear in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, published by Springer.

Currently 60 percent of individuals in need of treatment for HIV in South Africa do not receive it. The allocation of scant resources to fight the HIV epidemic means each strategy must be measured in terms of cost versus benefit. A number of new clinical trials have presented evidence supporting a range of biomedical interventions that reduce transmission of HIV. These include voluntary male circumcision -- now recommended by the World Health Organization and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS as a preventive strategy -- as well as vaginal microbicides and oral pre-exposure prophylaxis, all of which confer only partial protection against HIV. Long and Stavert show that a combination portfolio of multiple interventions could not only prevent up to two-thirds of future HIV infections, but is also cost-effective in a resource-limited setting such as South Africa.

The authors developed a mathematical model accounting for disease progression, mortality, morbidity and the heterosexual transmission of HIV to help forecast future trends in the disease. Using data specific for South Africa, the authors estimated the health benefits and cost-effectiveness of a "combination approach" using all three of the above methods in tandem with current levels of antiretroviral therapy, screening and counseling.

For each intervention, they calculated the HIV incidence and prevalence over 10 years. At present rates of screening and treatment, the researchers predict that HIV prevalence will decline from 19 percent to 14 percent of the population in the next 10 years. However, they calculate that their combination approach including male circumcision, vaginal microbicides and oral pre-exposure prophylaxis could further reduce HIV prevalence to 10 percent over that time scale -- preventing 1.5 million HIV infection over 10 years -- even if screening and antiretroviral therapy are kept at current levels. Increasing antiretroviral therapy use and HIV screening frequency in addition could avert more than 2 million HIV infections over 10 years, or 60 percent of the projected total.

The researchers also determined a hierarchy of effectiveness versus cost for these intervention strategies. Where budgets are limited, they suggest money should be allocated first to increasing male circumcision, then to more frequent HIV screening, use of vaginal microbicides and increasing antiretroviral therapy. Additionally, they calculate that omitting pre-exposure prophylaxis from their combination strategy could offer 90 percent of the benefits of treatment for less than 25 percent of the costs.

The authors conclude: "In the absence of multi-intervention randomized clinical or observational trials, a mathematical HIV epidemic model provides useful insights about the aggregate benefit of implementing a portfolio of biomedical, diagnostic and treatment programs. Allocating limited available resources for HIV control in South Africa is a key priority, and our study indicates that a multi-intervention HIV portfolio could avert nearly two-thirds of projected new HIV infections, and is a cost-effective use of resources."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Springer Science+Business Media, via AlphaGalileo.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Long, E.F. and Stavert, R.R. Portfolios of biomedical HIV interventions in South Africa: a cost-effectiveness analysis. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2013 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-013-2417-1

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/-ktXNjH2hcc/130415095941.htm

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Venezuelans choose between Chavez heir, new path

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? Voters chose Sunday between the hand-picked successor who campaigned to carry on Hugo Chavez's self-styled socialist revolution and an emboldened second-time challenger who warned that the late president's regime has Venezuela on the road to ruin.

Nicolas Maduro, the longtime foreign minister to Chavez, pinned his hopes on the immense loyalty for his boss among millions of poor beneficiaries of government largesse and the powerful state apparatus that Chavez skillfully consolidated.

Maduro's campaign was mostly a near-religious homage to the man he called "the redeemer of the Americas," who succumbed to cancer March 5. He blamed Venezuela's myriad woes on vague plots by alleged saboteurs that the government never identified.

Challenger Henrique Capriles' main campaign weapon was to simply emphasize "the incompetence of the state," as he put it to reporters Saturday night.

Maduro, 50, was favored to win, and two hours after polls closed his campaign manager, Jorge Rodriguez, used a news conference to summon supporters to the presidential palace from which Maduro has governed since being sworn in as acting president upon Chavez's death.

Capriles urged supporters in a Tweet not to be "desperate and defeated," saying results were still coming in from across Venezuela.

Maduro's big lead in opinion polls was cut in half over the past two weeks in a country struggling with the legacy of Chavez's management of the world's largest oil reserves.

Millions of Venezuelans were lifted out of poverty under Chavez, but many also believe his government not only squandered, but plundered, much of the $1 trillion in oil revenues during his tenure.

Venezuelans are afflicted by chronic power outages, crumbling infrastructure, unfinished public works projects, double-digit inflation, food and medicine shortages, and rampant crime. Venezuela has one of the world's highest homicide and kidnapping rates.

"We can't continue to believe in messiahs," said Jose Romero, a 48-year-old industrial engineer who voted for Capriles in the central city of Valencia. "This country has learned a lot and today we know that one person can't fix everything."

Voting lines seemed considerably lighter than in the October election that Chavez won, when more than 80 percent of the electorate turned out, although government officials said it was due to the improved efficiency of the system.

After polls closed there were moments of tension at some voting centers.

At Andres Bello high school in central Caracas a band of about 100 Chavistas on motorcycles, many with faces covered with bandanas, harassed opposition activists who wanted to witness the vote count to ensure there was no fraud.

Some of the Chavistas tried to steal phones and cameras from people recording video of the event. The digital audio recorder of an Associated Press reporter was grabbed out of her hand.

Motorcycle-riding Chavistas have on several occasions during the campaign beaten Capriles supporters in the capital, though none apparently seriously enough to require hospitalization.

In the Chavista stronghold of Petare outside Caracas, the Maduro vote was strong. Maria Velasquez, 48, who works in a government soup kitchen that feeds 200 people, said she was voting for Chavez's man "because that is what my comandante ordered."

Reynaldo Ramos, a 60-year-old construction worker, said he "voted for Chavez" before correcting himself and saying he chose Maduro. But he could not seem to get his beloved leader out of his mind.

"We must always vote for Chavez because he always does what's best for the people and we're going to continue on this path," Ramos said. He said the government had helped him get work on the subway system and helps pay his grandchildren's school costs.

The governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela deployed a well-worn get-out-the-vote machine spearheaded by loyal state employees. It also enjoyed the backing of state media as part of its near-monopoly on institutional power.

Capriles' camp said Chavista loyalists in the judiciary put them at glaring disadvantage by slapping the campaign and broadcast media with fines and prosecutions that they called unwarranted.

Capriles is a 40-year-old state governor who lost to Chavez in October's presidential election by a nearly 11-point margin, the best showing ever by a challenger to the longtime president.

"Capriles ran a remarkable campaign that shows he has creativity, tenacity and disposition to play political hardball," said David Smilde, an analyst with the Washington Office on Latin America think tank.

At his campaign rallies, Capriles would read out a list of unfinished road, bridge and rail projects. Then he asked people what goods were scarce on store shelves.

Capriles showed Maduro none of the respect he earlier accorded Chavez. Maduro hit back hard, at one point calling Capriles' backers "heirs of Hitler." It was an odd accusation considering that Capriles is the grandson of Holocaust survivors from Poland.

The opposition contended Chavez looted the treasury last year to buy his re-election with government handouts. It also complained about the steady flow of cut-rate oil to Cuba, which Capriles said would end if he won.

Venezuela's $30 billion fiscal deficit is equal to about 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

Maduro, a former union activist and bus driver with close ties to Cuba's leaders, constantly alleged that Capriles was conspiring with U.S. putschists to destabilize Venezuela and even suggested Washington had infected Chavez with the cancer that killed him.

He focused his campaign message on his mentor: "I am Chavez. We are all Chavez." And he promised to expand anti-poverty programs.

The victor of Sunday's balloting will face no end of hard choices.

Many factories operate at half capacity because strict currency controls make it hard for them to pay for imported parts and materials. Business leaders say some companies verge on bankruptcy because they cannot extend lines of credit with foreign suppliers.

Chavez imposed currency controls a decade ago trying to stem capital flight as his government expropriated large land parcels and dozens of businesses. Now, dollars sell on the black market at three times the official exchange rate and Maduro has had to devalue Venezuela's currency, the bolivar, twice this year.

Meanwhile, consumers grumble that stores are short of milk, butter, corn flour and other staples. The government blames hoarding, while the opposition points at the price controls imposed by Chavez in an attempt to bring down double-digit inflation.

A 37-year-old government employee leaving a polling station in central Caracas with her 4-month-old son and her sister said she was fed up with what she described as political intimidation at her office and was voting for Capriles.

"We have to keep quiet at work or else they fire you or make your life impossible," said the woman, who asked that she only be identified by her first name, Laurena.

She said she had been told to attend pro-government marches. "You go for a little so they see your face and then you leave. It's not fair that you have to stop doing your job to go to a march. "

___

Associated Press writers Fabiola Sanchez, Jorge Rueda, E. Eduardo Castillo and Christopher Toothaker in Caracas and Vivian Sequera in Valencia contributed to this report.

___

Alexandra Olson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Alexolson99

Frank Bajak on Twitter: http://twitter.com/fbajak

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuelans-choose-between-chavez-heir-path-213318490.html

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MTV Movie Awards Red Carpet 2013: Who Was Best-Dressed Of The Night? (PHOTOS)

They're no Oscars, but the MTV Movie Awards still bring out some well-dressed stars. From Beyonce and K-Stew to Rachel McAdams and Mila Kunis, high-wattage celebs walk the red carpet each year to celebrate the best movies in Hollywood.

The 2013 show is hosted by Rebel Wilson, meaning there are certainly hijinks -- sartorial and otherwise -- to be had. After all, this is the awards ceremony that devotes an entire category to kissing (and thank goodness for that).

So when it comes to fashion, who will make the best-dressed list and who stands to commit a fashion faux pas? Check out our updated red carpet slideshow below and sound off in the comments!

  • Selena Gomez

  • Emma Watson

  • Kim Kardashian

  • Kerry Washington in MIchael Kors

  • Chloe Moretz

  • Kylie Jenner

  • Brittany Snow

  • Zoe Saldana in Givenchy

  • Melissa McCarthy

  • Bella Thorne

  • Sammi Giancola

  • Eddie Redmayne

  • Steve Carell

  • Jordana Brewster

  • Kylie Minogue

  • Kim Kardashian & Kylie Jenner

  • Quvenzhane Wallis

  • Corinne Bishop & Jamie Foxx

  • Holland Roden

  • Snooki

  • Lauren Miller & Seth Rogen

  • Hayley Williams of Paramore

  • Snoop Dogg

  • Crystal Reed

  • RuPaul

  • Ke$ha

  • Zachary Quinto

  • Karina Smirnoff

  • Shaun Robinson

  • Jessica Lu

  • Hana Mae Lee

  • Alexandra Daddario

  • Nikki Glaser & Sara Schaefer

  • Ashley Rickards

  • Kara Hayward

  • Ronnie Ortiz-Magro & Sammi Giancola

  • Noel Lee

  • Skylar Astin

  • JWoww

  • Tom Hiddleston

  • Carrie Keagan

  • Ariana Grande

  • Macklemore

  • Jillian Rose Reed

  • Beau Mirchoff

  • MTV Movie Awards Announce Nominees

Want more? Be sure to check out HuffPost Style on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram at @HuffPostStyle.
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Do you have a style story idea or tip? Email us at stylesubmissions@huffingtonpost.com. (PR pitches sent to this address will be ignored.)

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/14/mtv-movie-awards-red-carpet_n_3081888.html

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Sunday, April 14, 2013

Venezuela's choice: Chavez heir or fresh start

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? Voters who kept Hugo Chavez in office for 14 years were deciding Sunday whether to elect the devoted lieutenant he chose to carry on the revolution that endeared him to the poor but that many Venezuelans believe is ruining the nation.

Across Caracas, trucks blaring bugle calls awoke Venezuelans long before dawn in the ruling socialists' traditional election day get-out-the-vote tactic. This time, they also boomed Chavez's voice singing the national anthem.

Nicolas Maduro was seeking to ride Chavez's endorsement to victory with a campaign nearly bereft of promises but freighted with personal attacks that was otherwise little more than an unflagging tribute to the polarizing leader who died of cancer March 5.

The 50-year-old longtime Chavez foreign minister pinned his hopes on the immense loyalty for his boss among millions of poor beneficiaries of a socialist government's largesse and the heft of a state apparatus that Chavez skillfully consolidated.

The governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela deployed a well-worn, get-out-the-vote machine spearheaded by loyal state employees. It also enjoyed a pervasive state media apparatus as part of a near monopoly on institutional power.

Challenger Henrique Capriles' aides accused Chavista loyalists in the judiciary of putting them at glaring disadvantage. Prosecutors and state regulators impoverished the campaign and opposition broadcast media by targeting them with unwarranted fines and prosecutions, they said

Capriles' main campaign weapon was thus jujutsu: To simply point out "the incompetence of the state," as he put it to reporters in a news conference Saturday night.

Maduro was still favored, but his early big lead in opinion polls halved over the past two weeks in a country struggling with the legacy of Chavez's management of the world's largest oil reserves. Many Venezuelans believe his confederates not only squandered but plundered much of the $1 trillion in oil revenues during his time in office.

People are fed up with chronic power outages, crumbling infrastructure, unfinished public works projects, double-digit inflation, food and medicine shortages and rampant crime that has given Venezuela among the world's highest homicide and kidnapping rates.

"We can't continue to believe in messiahs," said Jose Romero, a 48-year-old industrial engineer voting in the central city of Valencia. "This country has learned a lot and today we know that one person can't fix everything."

Capriles is a 40-year-old state governor who lost to Chavez in October's presidential election by a nearly 11-point margin, the best showing ever by a challenger to the longtime president. He showed for Maduro none of the respect he accorded Chavez. Maduro hit back hard, at one point calling Capriles' backers "heirs of Hitler." It was an odd accusation considering that Capriles is the grandson of Holocaust survivors from Poland.

"Capriles ran a remarkable campaign that shows he has creativity, tenacity and disposition to play political hardball," said David Smilde, an analyst with the Washington Office on Latin America think tank.

At his campaign rallies, Capriles would read out a list of unfinished road, bridge and rail projects. Then he asked people what goods were scarce on store shelves. The opposition contends Chavez emptied the treasury last year to buy re-election with government largesse.

Maduro, a former union activist and bus driver with close ties to Cuba's leaders, constantly alleged that Capriles was conspiring with U.S. putschists to destabilize Venezuela and even suggested Washington had somehow infected Chavez with the cancer that killed him.

But mainly he focused his campaign message on the simple theme of his mentor's October campaign: "I am Chavez. We are all Chavez."

Maduro promised to expand anti-poverty programs, but without explaining how he'd pay for them.

On Saturday evening, Maduro met with members of Venezuela's 125,000-strong citizen militias outside the museum that holds Chavez's remains to mark a poignant anniversary: Eleven years since Chavez was triumphantly restored to power after a failed coup initially recognized by the U.S. government.

Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank said Maduro campaigned "ineptly," trying too hard to "replay the Chavez script" and alienating moderate Chavistas.

Whoever wins Sunday will face no end of hard choices.

Many Venezuelan factories operate at half capacity because strict currency controls make it hard for them to pay for imported parts and materials. Business leaders say some companies are on verging on bankruptcy because they are unable to extend lines of credit with foreign suppliers.

Chavez imposed currency controls a decade ago trying to stem capital flight as his government expropriated large land parcels and dozens of businesses. Now, dollars sell on the black market at three times the official exchange rate and Maduro has had to devalue Venezuela's currency, the bolivar, twice this year.

Meanwhile, consumers grumble that stores are short of milk, butter, corn flour and other food staples. The government blames hoarding, while the opposition points at the price controls imposed by Chavez in an attempt to bring down double-digit inflation.

Capriles said he will reverse land expropriations, which he says have ruined many farms and forced Venezuela to import food after previously being a net exporter of beef, rice, coffee and other foods. But even Capriles said currency and price controls cannot be immediately scrapped without triggering a disastrous run on the bolivar.

High international oil prices remain a boon for Venezuela, underpinning its economy. Chavez spent $500 billion to bolster social programs, trimming the poverty rate from 50 percent to about 30 percent.

But critics say the government has misused the oil industry, ordering the state oil company PDVSA into food distribution and financing of social programs while neglecting needed investment that has caused production and refining to drop.

Venezuela's oil revenue is down from $5.6 billion five years ago to $3.8 billion in 2012, and PDVSA's debt climbed to $40 billion last year. The country even imports 100,000 barrels a day of gasoline from the United States.

___

Alexandra Olson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Alexolson99

Frank Bajak on Twitter: http://twitter.com/fbajak

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuelas-choice-chavez-heir-fresh-start-060843388.html

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