I have taken on a new client recently and am helping her to explore and build her business blog. The client has a blog already and has taken certain steps to identify how to improve business on line, but there are still areas in need of improvement. For instance the blog is sort of an add on to the main entry point - web site - portion of her business. It is not as seamless as it should be and it isn't sharing well to social media right now. (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest). Blogging is not an add on to a business, but an integral part of connecting with customers in a digital age. So as I share with her some tips on how to change that blog and make it connect with customers, I am going to share a new series here with you.
?The Business of Blogging will periodically give you some insights into how to build your business with blogging.
The Business of Blogging
Five Ways to Find Your Voice
1. How do you talk?
A client said to me the other day: I am worried that I blog the way I talk. I asked her why she was worried about that and the answer was: "Well I talk in run on sentences and am worried it sounds strange in a blog post." Now I didn't agree 100 % with her assessment that she was blogging the way she talks, but I believe that's actually one of the best places to start. Blogging for business or for personal reasons: whatever your motivation, your style should almost always be reflective of voice. Tape yourself speaking some time, then play it back and compare to a written paragraph of what you are trying to pass off as a blog post. Is there a giant difference? If there is, then I suggest starting over with your blog post. Of course you don't write a post with umm and ahh and run on sentences, but you should almost always be writing with an ear to how it sounds.?
Read what you have written out loud and eliminate the words you trip over.
Remove all the thats.
Make it sound conversational, unless you are tech writing for a very technical publication/blog.?
Conversational reads best.
Jargon should not be left unexplained, better yet don't use jargon at all.
2. Who is Your Audience?
Assess who you are writing for and then speak to them every time you are writing. Crucial to developing your voice. You have to know your reader before you can succeed at blogging. The reader helps you determine tone. Pretend they are in the room with you and address them as you write. Your voice should be reflective of who you are when you are speaking to that reader.
3. What are you reading?
Are you reading? Are you a reader? You can't begin to be a good writer unless you are reading constantly. What are you reading? If you want to blog well, then you need to read blogs. Oh you can keep reading books too, but you better get started with some great blogs and keep reading regularly. I see daily some of the best writing, period happening on blogs. So pick some and read them daily and learn from them. Don't copy, but at the same time absorb and analyze what works for them. And leave a comment also after you read. Bloggers appreciate that and it helps you to build a connection and a relationship with another writer who may, in time, be a resource for you.
4. Blogs Aren't Second Best.
My recent client is still treating the blog art form as a second best vehicle for writing. It's not. It is the biggest opportunity out there for your business to connect with readers. It is also the location of some of the best writing on the Internet. It is an opportunity to be you and let your personality, plus style, plus business all build your brand. Don't treat your blog as a dumping ground or a draft notepad. It is a permanent legacy, a testimony for your business and a footprint leading back to your business. It's your digital welcome mat.?
5. Practice.
Writing improves with two things: reading and practice. Practice, practice, practice. Experiment a bit if you want, but remember that your blog is a place where you represent your business as a brand. Find your niche and become the expert in your area. Combine style, voice, branding and expertise to grow your business and maintain an instant connection with your clients. Read your posts out loud before publishing. Read them out loud as you are writing.?
and?
and most of all this one right here.
Spectrum Psychological
These are not ads and this is not sponsored. These are my favourite examples of how to do business blogging well. Stay tuned next week for more in the Business Blogging Series.
This June 15, 2013 photo released by National Geographic Channel shows Fox News commentator and author Bill O'Reilly, left, and actor Rob Lowe on the set of National Geographic Channel's "Killing Kennedy," in Richmond, Va. O'Reilly, whose book "Killing Jesus: A History" is being published Sept. 24, has already inked a deal with National Geographic Channel for the movie version. And he's got three similar books in the works. While he declined to divulge the topics, the upcoming projects will make ?very, very dramatic history come alive on the page and then in the movies,? O'Reilly said in an interview on the set of "Killing Kennedy,? the film adaptation of his book about President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination. (AP Photo/ National Geographic Channel, Kent Eanes)
This June 15, 2013 photo released by National Geographic Channel shows Fox News commentator and author Bill O'Reilly, left, and actor Rob Lowe on the set of National Geographic Channel's "Killing Kennedy," in Richmond, Va. O'Reilly, whose book "Killing Jesus: A History" is being published Sept. 24, has already inked a deal with National Geographic Channel for the movie version. And he's got three similar books in the works. While he declined to divulge the topics, the upcoming projects will make ?very, very dramatic history come alive on the page and then in the movies,? O'Reilly said in an interview on the set of "Killing Kennedy,? the film adaptation of his book about President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination. (AP Photo/ National Geographic Channel, Kent Eanes)
This Oct. 13, 2012 file photo shows Fox News commentator and author Bill O'Reilly at the Comedy Central "Night Of Too Many Stars: America Comes Together For Autism Programs" at the Beacon Theatre in New York. O'Reilly, whose book "Killing Jesus: A History" is being published Sept. 24, has already inked a deal with National Geographic Channel for the movie version. And he's got three similar books in the works. While he declined to divulge the topics, the upcoming projects will make ?very, very dramatic history come alive on the page and then in the movies,? O'Reilly said in an interview on the set of "Killing Kennedy,? the film adaptation of his book about President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/Invsion/AP, file)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) ? Fox News host Bill O'Reilly is taking his book-turned-movie franchise and running with it.
O'Reilly already has inked a deal with National Geographic Channel for the movie version of his book "Killing Jesus: A History" being published Sept. 24. And he's got three similar books in the works.
While he declined to divulge the topics, the upcoming projects will make "very, very dramatic history come alive on the page and then in the movies," O'Reilly said in an interview with The Associated Press on the Richmond set of "Killing Kennedy," the film adaptation of his book about President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination. The film featuring Rob Lowe as the former president and Ginnifer Goodwin as the first lady is expected to air around the 50th anniversary of the shooting later this year.
"We consider ourselves historical investigators," O'Reilly said of himself and researcher Martin Dugard. "We go and try to find new stuff and try to bring you a really vivid picture of who these people really were. ... I don't have an agenda at all, I mean I just want to know the facts."
In the beginning O'Reilly said the books were a "hard sell" to publishers, "but I said we're going to bring a different sensibility to it. And boom." The books have sold millions of copies.
The former history teacher also has published children's versions of his books because he was bothered that kids are "just not paying attention and not caring about history anymore."
"You have to force the urchins to look at their country and understand they're in America and here's what happened, and we're trying to make it fun for them to do it," O'Reilly said.
The film versions of his books have allowed O'Reilly to take on a behind-the-camera role, executive producing the movies. But he insists he's not a meddler.
"I'm a creative guy and I don't like meddling in my writing or my broadcasting," O'Reilly said. "They run stuff by me but I'm a 90-percenter ... they know what they're doing. It's a successful machine, so why do I want to muck it up? ... They can take a little bit of a creative liberty to move the narrative, but they can't change the facts. And it's as simple as that."
As far as his nightly TV program, the 63-year-old O'Reilly said he'll continue to do it "as long as it's worthwhile."
O'Reilly touted his program's ability to help raise money for charitable organizations as the one of the major motivations to stay on the air.
"I'm in it for that more than the self-aggrandizement at this point," he said. "I've proven what I had to prove. I still enjoy doing my job but it's a lot of work for an old guy."
___
Michael Felberbaum can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/MLFelberbaum .
It’s Tuesday! These recommended reads will carry you through your afternoon: VIDEO: Alexis Denisof‘s very special father-daughter bond — PEOPLE.com 10 baby names inspired by summer’s barbecue season — Babble Family outraged after their disabled son is isolated in his class picture — HuffPost Parents Single moms share their secret to success in both their […]
CHICAGO (AP) ? Chicago's next U.S. attorney faces a dilemma sprung from the twin evils bedeviling America's third-largest city.
Should he zero in on Illinois' deep pool of political corruption with the resolve of his predecessor, who sent two governors to prison? Or should he devote even more resources to the gang- and drug-related violence that has claimed hundreds of lives, including in neighborhoods near President Barack Obama's own house?
The urgency of the question was highlighted by a weekend of violence that left seven people dead and more than three dozen wounded. But it's unclear what, if anything, U.S. attorneys can do to stem the bloodshed that has not already been tried.
The same question has arisen in other big cities, including New York and Los Angeles.
"Some think federal prosecutors can ride in on a white horse and end street crime. They can't," said Laurie Levenson, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. "The question is ? how do you coordinate efforts of local and federal authorities? There's a role for both."
Other federal prosecutors have used the power of their office to attack urban crime. Rudy Giuliani became New York City mayor after first gaining prominence in the 1980s as a crime-busting U.S. attorney in Manhattan. And New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie built his political career on his reputation as a U.S. attorney who convicted public officials.
The pressure on Zachary Fardon has been especially intense.
After the White House recently named him to replace Patrick Fitzgerald, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin ? the Senate's second-most powerful member ? and Republican Sen. Mark Kirk called on Fardon to target guns, gangs and drugs. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has also urged Fardon to make city violence a top priority.
The city's murder tally topped 500 in 2012, the first time since 2008 it hit that mark. Though the murder rate has declined in 2013, the killing early this year of 15-year-old honor student Hadiya Pendleton a mile from Obama's home put the issue back in the national news.
Kirk called on Fardon to use racketeering statutes to jail what he said were up to 18,000 Gangster Disciple members in the Chicago area, saying it would be "payback" for Pendleton's killing. Rep. Bobby Rush, a Chicago Democrat, dismissed the notion as a simplistic "white boy" solution to a complex problem.
But it's not as if the federal prosecutors didn't pursue violent crime during Fitzgerald's 11-year tenure.
Already, a third of the roughly 130 criminal prosecutors at the Chicago office are assigned to its gangs-and-drugs division, according to figures from office spokesman Randall Samborn. There are around 10 prosecutors in the public corruption and organized-crime division, though prosecutors often work together across divisions.
Despite the splash they make in the news, political corruption cases are relatively rare. Even at the height of the investigation surrounding disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, there were never more than a half a dozen politicians indicted a year.
Drug cases account for around a third of total prosecutions, according to data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts for the year ending in September 2012. That number is mirrored in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
Federal prosecutors in Chicago have already used racketeering statutes to go after street gangs. Fitzgerald used them to send Latin Kings leader Augustin Zambrano to prison for 60 years last year. Nearly 30 gang members were convicted in the same investigation.
But drawing on federal drug or gun laws to go after gang members is more common because those laws can carry stiffer sentences and are often less labor-intensive than racketeering, or RICO, laws.
"RICO is often designed for the big hit, to take out the leadership of a gang and to send a larger message," Levenson said. "But RICO cases take a huge amount of resources and are far more complicated."
Observers have noted that Fitzgerald's success taking down heads of big street gangs had the unintended consequence of splintering gangs into dozens of factions, leading to fighting that has fueled some of the recent killing.
No matter what federal prosecutors do, city police and state prosecutors remain on the front lines of battle to reduce violence.
Just last week, local authorities took advantage of a new state racketeering law to arrest dozens of reputed leaders of the Black Souls street gang who allegedly engaged in beatings, kidnappings and killings to maintain their multimillion dollar narcotics operation. It's one of the first prosecutions using the new legal tool.
Fardon himself has been mum in public since his nomination last month. He has declined media interviews while awaiting a Senate confirmation vote, which hasn't been scheduled but should happen within a few months.
Tackling violent crime isn't what Fardon is best known for, at least up to now.
As an assistant U.S. attorney, he was a member of Fitzgerald's trial team that convicted former Republican Gov. George Ryan of corruption. And as a private defense attorney in Chicago in recent years, he focused in part on white-collar crime.
Fardon will also be under pressure not to scale back on the commitment to fighting corruption.
"The U.S. attorney's office, for all practical purposes, has been the sole check on corruption in Illinois," said Dick Simpson, a political scientist at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "And there is no indication corruption is on the decline."
But it could be difficult to shift more resources into violent crime without adjusting other obligations. That's especially true because congressional budget constraints have frozen staff at current levels. As a result, the annual office budget of around $35 million is unlikely to increase anytime soon.
The federal prosecutor's office in Chicago is one of the nation's busiest, with a staff already stretched thin handling more than 1,500 pending cases a year, according to the prosecutor's office.
And any hope of a dramatic reduction in violent crime would require the office to assign more prosecutors to smaller drug and gun cases.
"In a perfect world, you would grow the size of the office and hire more prosecutors and assign more to violent crimes units," said Julian Solotorovsky, a former assistant attorney in Chicago. "But the Department of Justice isn't in the hiring mood right now. ... That will complicate things for Fardon."
June 14, 2013 ? As spring warms up Wisconsin, humans aren't the only ones tending their gardens.
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Bacteriology, colonies of leaf-cutter ants cultivate thriving communities of fungi and bacteria using freshly cut plant material.
While these fungus gardens are a source of food and shelter for the ants, for researchers, they are potential models for better biofuel production.
"We are interested in the whole fungus garden community, because a lot of plant biomass goes in and is converted to energy for the ants," says Frank Aylward, a bacteriology graduate student and researcher with the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center.
Aylward is the lead author of a study identifying new fungal enzymes that could help break down cellulosic -- or non-food -- biomass for processing to fuel. His work appears on the cover of the June 15 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
"All the enzymes that we found are similar to known enzymes, but they are completely new; no one had identified or characterized them until now, " Aylward says.
Building on Aylward's previous study of these gardens, the researchers relied on genome sequencing provided by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and support from Roche Applied Science's 10 Gigabase Grant Program to understand the unique roles of fungi and bacteria. In addition to sequencing the genome of Leucoagaricus gongylophorous, the fungus cultivated by leaf-cutting ants, the researchers looked at the genomes of entire, living garden communities.
"We really tried as thoroughly as possible to characterize the biomass degrading enzymes produced," Aylward says. "Identifying all these new enzymes really opens the door to technological applications, because we could potentially mix and match them with others that we already know about to achieve even better biomass degradation."
In a symbiotic relationship, L. gongylophorous provides food for the leaf-cutter ant Atta cephalotes by developing fruiting bodies rich in fats, amino acids and other nutrients. To fuel production of these fruiting bodies, the fungus needs sugar, which comes in the form of long cellulose molecules packed inside the leaf clippings the ants deliver. To get at the sugars, the fungus produces enzymes that break the cellulose apart into glucose subunits.
After sequencing the L. gongylophorous genome, the researchers noticed that the fungus seemed to be doing the lion's share of cellulose degradation with its specialized enzymes. However, they also realized that it was by no means working alone: in fact, the gardens are also home to a diversity of bacteria that may help boost the fungus's productivity.
"We think there could potentially be a division of labor between the fungus and bacteria," says Garret Suen, co-author of the study and a UW-Madison assistant professor of bacteriology and Wisconsin Energy Institute researcher.
The researchers have a few leads in their investigation of the mysterious role of bacteria in leaf-cutter ant communities, which they are pursuing in collaboration with JGI. In addition to providing nitrogen and key vitamins, the bacteria appear to help the fungus access energy-rich cellulose by breaking apart other plant polymers that encase it, such as hemicellulose.
Accessing and deconstructing cellulose is also the goal of GLBRC researchers, who want to ferment the stored sugars to ethanol and other advanced biofuels. Enzymes such as those of the leaf-cutting ants' fungus specialize in breaking down leaves, but understanding how they work in the context of the ant community could help researchers create similar methods for processing cellulosic biofuel feedstocks, such as corn stalks and grasses.
The researchers are discovering, however, that both the beauty and the challenge of the leaf-cutter ant garden lie in its complexity. A peek into UW-Madison's resident colony in the Microbial Sciences Building reveals a metropolis of brown insects bustling around the pale, pitted surface of the fungus garden, many with leaf sections held aloft. The strong resemblance to a small city drives home the point that energy production in such a meticulously coordinated system would be difficult to replicate in a lab or a bio-refinery.
"In an industrial setting, you need a system that's reproducible, sustainable, controlled -- and that produces a consistent level of ethanol," Suen says.
A potential alternative to re-creating these natural processes is to extract, replicate and purify biomass-degrading enzymes synthetically. New enzymes could be added to known combinations and tested for their ability to break down biofuel feedstocks. However, this process can be time-consuming and costly.
To put their findings in perspective, the researchers plan to study other insects in addition to ants, including certain species of termites and beetles, which also act as gardeners in fungal communities. They hope that a better understanding of these complex systems will help them share their biomass-degrading secrets with bioenergy researchers.
"It's difficult to think that we can actually find a process that improves on nature," says Aylward, "so it probably makes sense to learn from it."
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Just weeks after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election victory in 2005, Iran's top nuclear negotiator Hasan Rowhani stepped down from the post after quarrelsome meetings with the new president.
The decision cemented Rowhani's reputation as a moderate who rejected Ahmadinejad's combative approach in world affairs in favor of the more nuanced philosophy of Ahmadinejad's leading political foe, former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Rafsanjani was rejected by Iran's election guardians from Friday's presidential ballot. But for many reformists and liberals in Iran, the 64-year-old Rowhani is somewhat of a mirror image of the elder Rafsanjani by reflecting his outlook that Iran can maintain its nuclear program and ease tensions with the West at the same time.
Rowhani was declared the president-elect on Saturday after winning 50.7 percent of the more than 36 million votes cast. He takes office in August.
"Rafsanjani was really the only choice to re-energize reformists," said Rasool Nafisi, an Iranian affairs analyst at Strayer University in Virginia. "Rowhani only got their support because he is seen as Rafsanjani's man and a vote for Rowhani was a vote for Rafsanjani."
This deep connection between the two men could give Rowhani's presidency a dual nature: Rowhani as the public face and Rafsanjani behind the scenes as its powerful godfather and protector.
Although all key policies such the nuclear program are directed by the ruling clerics, the alliance with Rafsanjani may give Rowhani more latitude to put his stamp on Iran's negotiation tactics with world powers after four rounds of talks since last year have failed to make any significant headway.
At campaign rallies, Rowhani pledged to seek "constructive interaction with the world" that includes efforts to ease Western concerns about Iran's program and lift punishing international sanctions that have pummeled the economy. The West and its allies fear Iran could be moving toward development of a nuclear weapon. Iranian officials, including Rowhani, insist that the country only seeks nuclear reactors for energy and medical applications.
"We won't let the past eight years be continued," Rowhani told a cheering crowd last week in a clear reference to Ahmadinejad's back-to-back terms. "They brought sanctions for the country. Yet, they are proud of it. I'll pursue a policy of reconciliation and peace. We will also reconcile with the world."
Rowhani ? the only cleric in the six-candidate presidential field ? started religious studies at a teenager. He soon established himself as an outspoken opponent of the Western-backed shah, traveling frequently for anti-monarchy speeches and sermons that caught the attention of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the eventual leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Rowhani later graduated from Tehran University with a law degree in 1972. He then went abroad to Glasgow Caledonian University for a master's degree in legal affairs, according to his campaign biography.
While outside Iran, the stirrings of the Islamic Revolution were growing stronger. Rowhani returned to Iran and stepped up his denunciations of the shah, but fled the country to avoid arrest. He then joined up with Khomeini, who was in self-exile in France, and the rest of his inner circle, including Rafsanjani.
After the revolution, Rowhani rose quickly with various roles, including reorganizing the military, serving in the new parliament and overseeing the state broadcaster, which became a valued mouthpiece for Khomeini.
He strengthened his ties to Rafsanjani during the 1980-88 war with Iraq and, later, as Rafsanjani's top national security adviser during his 1989-97 terms. Rowhani continued the role with reformist President Mohammad Khatami, who also appointed Rowhani as the country's first nuclear envoy.
Rowhani took over the nuclear portfolio in 2003, a year after Iran's 20-year-old nuclear program was revealed. Iran later temporarily suspended all uranium enrichment-related activities to avoid possible sanctions from the U.N. Security Council.
Ahmadinejad strongly opposed any such concessions and deal-making. He also had carry-over friction with Rowhani, who backed his mentor Rafsanjani against Ahmadinejad in the 2005 race.
Rowhani resigned as nuclear negotiator and head of the Supreme National Security Council after a few testy postelection meetings with Ahmadinejad.
In his campaign stops, Rowhani had been careful not to directly confront authorities over crackdowns since Ahmadinejad's disputed 2009 election. But Rowhani was seen as clearly siding with Ahmadinejad's reform-minded opponent four years ago, Green Movement leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who was placed under house arrest in early 2011 along with fellow opposition candidate Mahdi Karroubi.
Taking a page from Mousavi's color-branded campaign, Rowhani adopted purple for his run for the presidency. It also brought some backlash, including several supporters arrested at a rally that brought cries from the crowd for the release of Mousavi and Karroubi.
At Rowhani's final campaign event earlier this week, chants rang out: "Love live reforms."
E3 is over, but Microsoft still has a long way to go to answer questions from gamers about its new Xbox One console, particularly when it comes to the effects of DRM. Director of Programming of Xbox Live Larry Hryb aka Major Nelson takes on the most upvoted ones from posters in Reddit's games section in this video interview with Chloe Dykstra. One question that seems to have a clear answer is whether banned users will lose access to any games they've activated, as he stated "Absolutely not, you will always have access to the games you purchased." That goes against a previous response from the Xbox Support twitter account, although that may have been the result of confusion between the Xbox One and Xbox 360 policies. A question with no satisfying response yet however, is what gamers can expect years down the road if Xbox One's authentication servers are shut down. Major Nelson followed up with a response in the comment thread that "I'll get the real answer, I just don't know it yet."
Interestingly, the question he wished more people would have asked is about the "family package" and, we assume game sharing with a single account, after previously bringing up its cloud library as one upside to the new DRM setup. Tracking back to the original debut's focus on the console's HDMI input and TV overlays he mentioned using snap mode to watch TV while gaming, or getting Xbox Live notifications and jumping "instantly" to a game while watching TV. A similar crowdsourced interview was planned with the PlayStation team, but cancelled. Major Nelson says he will address more questions leading up to launch and is planning an ask me anything session later, so keep your (many) inquiries at the ready.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Information that the United States has given Russia about suspected use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces "does not look convincing", President Vladimir Putin's senior foreign policy adviser said on Friday.
Yuri Ushakov said expanded U.S. military support for Assad's opponents would undermine joint efforts to organize a peace conference, but added that Moscow was "not yet" considering sending Assad advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems in response.
A U.S. official said on Thursday that President Barack Obama had authorized sending U.S. weapons to Syrian rebels for the first time, after the White House said it had proof that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against opposition forces.
U.S. officials briefed Russia on the information they had, Ushakov said at a briefing before Putin's trip to Northern Ireland for a G8 summit. "But I will say frankly that what was presented to us by the Americans does not look convincing."
"It would be hard even to call them facts," said Ushakov, speaking at a briefing before a summit where Putin will meet Obama and other Western leaders.
"If the Americans ... carry out more wide-scale aid to the rebels and opposition, it will not make organizing the international conference easier," he said.
But he said Russia was not "competing" with the United States over Syria. Asked whether Moscow would send Assad the S-300 missile systems that Israel and the West have urged it not to deliver, he said: "We are not talking about that yet."
Russia and the United States are trying to bring Syria's government and rebels together for talks, but have not secured a commitment from either side to participate.
(Reporting by Alexi Anishchuk; Writing by Thomas Grove; Editing by Steve Gutterman and Kevin Liffey)
Contact: EULAR Press Office eularpressoffice@cohnwolfe.com 44-020-733-15364 European League Against Rheumatism
Rapid diagnosis followed by immediate treatment is key to preventing
Madrid, Spain, 12 June 2013: A new study presented at EULAR 2013, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, shows that rapid evaluation for Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) by Color Doppler Ultrasound (CDUS) followed by immediate initiation of treatment (if required) significantly reduces permanent vision loss.
Of the patients evaluated by the ''fast track'' principle from March 2010 to December 2012, 11.1% had transient visual manifestations, and none went on to suffer from permanent visual loss.
GCA is a condition in which medium and large-size arteries, usually in the head and neck, become inflamed (sometimes referred to as temporal arteritis). Symptoms of GCA, which include aching and soreness in and around the temples, jaw pain while eating, and loss of vision, often develop suddenly. Permanent visual loss is one of the most serious complications of GCA; in one study, visual manifestations were reported in 26% of patients, and permanent visual loss in up to 15%.2
Speaking on behalf of the SONOVAS study group, Dr. Andreas P. Diamantopoulos from the Department of Rheumatology, Hospital of Southern Norway Trust, Kristiansand, Norway said: "Giant cell arteritis should be regarded as a medical emergency because without prompt treatment it can lead to permanent blindness. Our data suggests that a fast-track approach significantly reduces this risk, encouraging findings that will now need to be confirmed in larger groups of patients."
This was in marked contrast to the results seen in the 28 patients who were traditionally evaluated between March 2010 and February 2012. In this group, visual disturbances were observed in seven patients, of whom six (21.5%) suffered from permanent vision loss in one or both eyes. The difference between the two groups with regard to permanent visual loss was statistically significant (p=0.035).
Patients suspected to have GCA were consecutively evaluated between March 2010 and December 2012 using colour Doppler ultrasound (CDUS). The ''fast- track'' principle (quick evaluation by CDUS within 24 hours, and immediate initiation of treatment if appropriate) was implemented in the outpatient clinic from March 2012.
During the evaluation period, a total of 46 patients were diagnosed with GCA. All of these patients fulfilled the ACR Classification Criteria for GCA* and produced a positive CDUS result of the temporal artery.
###
* American College of Rheumatology Classification Criteria for GCA: at least two of the following five criteria (i) age more than 50 years (ii) new headache (iii) superficial temporal artery (STA) tenderness or decreased pulsation (iv) elevated ESR more than 50 mm in the first hour, and (v) abnormal findings on temporal artery biopsy.
1.Diamantopoulos AP et al., The "fast track" giant cell arteritis outpatient clinic: a useful tool to reduce the morbidity of disease? [abstract]. EULAR Annual European Congress of Rheumatology; 12-15 June 2013; Madrid, Spain. Abstract nr. OP0207
2.Gonzalez-Gay MA, Garcia-Porrua C, Llorca J, et al. Visual manifestations of giant cell arteritis. Trends and clinical spectrum in 161 patients. Medicine. 2000; 79 (5):283-92
NOTES TO EDITORS:
For further information on this study, or to request an interview with the study lead, please do not hesitate to contact the EULAR congress Press Office in room A10:14 of the Congress Centre during EULAR 2013 or on:
The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) is an umbrella organisation which represents scientific societies, health professional associations and organisations of people with rheumatic diseases throughout Europe
In line with the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS), EULAR defines rheumatology as including rheumatic diseases of the connective tissue, locomotor and musculoskeletal systems.
EULAR aims to promote, stimulate and support the research, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of rheumatic diseases
With 45 scientific member societies, 36 People with Arthritis and Rheumatism in Europe (PARE) organisations and 11 health professionals associations, EULAR underscores the importance of combating rheumatic diseases not only through medical means, but also through patient care
EULAR 2013 is set to be the biggest rheumatology event in Europe with over 14,000 scientists, physicians, allied health professionals and related audiences in attendance from more than 110 countries. Over the course of the congress there will be more than 320 oral and 1,800 poster abstract presentations, and 750 lectures with 330 invited speakers
To find out more about the activities of EULAR, visit: http://www.eular.org
[ | 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.
Contact: EULAR Press Office eularpressoffice@cohnwolfe.com 44-020-733-15364 European League Against Rheumatism
Rapid diagnosis followed by immediate treatment is key to preventing
Madrid, Spain, 12 June 2013: A new study presented at EULAR 2013, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, shows that rapid evaluation for Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) by Color Doppler Ultrasound (CDUS) followed by immediate initiation of treatment (if required) significantly reduces permanent vision loss.
Of the patients evaluated by the ''fast track'' principle from March 2010 to December 2012, 11.1% had transient visual manifestations, and none went on to suffer from permanent visual loss.
GCA is a condition in which medium and large-size arteries, usually in the head and neck, become inflamed (sometimes referred to as temporal arteritis). Symptoms of GCA, which include aching and soreness in and around the temples, jaw pain while eating, and loss of vision, often develop suddenly. Permanent visual loss is one of the most serious complications of GCA; in one study, visual manifestations were reported in 26% of patients, and permanent visual loss in up to 15%.2
Speaking on behalf of the SONOVAS study group, Dr. Andreas P. Diamantopoulos from the Department of Rheumatology, Hospital of Southern Norway Trust, Kristiansand, Norway said: "Giant cell arteritis should be regarded as a medical emergency because without prompt treatment it can lead to permanent blindness. Our data suggests that a fast-track approach significantly reduces this risk, encouraging findings that will now need to be confirmed in larger groups of patients."
This was in marked contrast to the results seen in the 28 patients who were traditionally evaluated between March 2010 and February 2012. In this group, visual disturbances were observed in seven patients, of whom six (21.5%) suffered from permanent vision loss in one or both eyes. The difference between the two groups with regard to permanent visual loss was statistically significant (p=0.035).
Patients suspected to have GCA were consecutively evaluated between March 2010 and December 2012 using colour Doppler ultrasound (CDUS). The ''fast- track'' principle (quick evaluation by CDUS within 24 hours, and immediate initiation of treatment if appropriate) was implemented in the outpatient clinic from March 2012.
During the evaluation period, a total of 46 patients were diagnosed with GCA. All of these patients fulfilled the ACR Classification Criteria for GCA* and produced a positive CDUS result of the temporal artery.
###
* American College of Rheumatology Classification Criteria for GCA: at least two of the following five criteria (i) age more than 50 years (ii) new headache (iii) superficial temporal artery (STA) tenderness or decreased pulsation (iv) elevated ESR more than 50 mm in the first hour, and (v) abnormal findings on temporal artery biopsy.
1.Diamantopoulos AP et al., The "fast track" giant cell arteritis outpatient clinic: a useful tool to reduce the morbidity of disease? [abstract]. EULAR Annual European Congress of Rheumatology; 12-15 June 2013; Madrid, Spain. Abstract nr. OP0207
2.Gonzalez-Gay MA, Garcia-Porrua C, Llorca J, et al. Visual manifestations of giant cell arteritis. Trends and clinical spectrum in 161 patients. Medicine. 2000; 79 (5):283-92
NOTES TO EDITORS:
For further information on this study, or to request an interview with the study lead, please do not hesitate to contact the EULAR congress Press Office in room A10:14 of the Congress Centre during EULAR 2013 or on:
The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) is an umbrella organisation which represents scientific societies, health professional associations and organisations of people with rheumatic diseases throughout Europe
In line with the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS), EULAR defines rheumatology as including rheumatic diseases of the connective tissue, locomotor and musculoskeletal systems.
EULAR aims to promote, stimulate and support the research, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of rheumatic diseases
With 45 scientific member societies, 36 People with Arthritis and Rheumatism in Europe (PARE) organisations and 11 health professionals associations, EULAR underscores the importance of combating rheumatic diseases not only through medical means, but also through patient care
EULAR 2013 is set to be the biggest rheumatology event in Europe with over 14,000 scientists, physicians, allied health professionals and related audiences in attendance from more than 110 countries. Over the course of the congress there will be more than 320 oral and 1,800 poster abstract presentations, and 750 lectures with 330 invited speakers
To find out more about the activities of EULAR, visit: http://www.eular.org
[ | 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.
For youtube videos, paste embed code directly in the text box
-
Members do not need to provide an address
-
Rate Article
1
2
3
4
5
Total votes: 0
Select Comment Validation Method Member Name/URL (Guest) FaceBook (Guest) Member Commenting:
Authenticate with Facebook before submitting
OR
Make your LabSpaces comments count. Start earning LabSpaces points by becoming a member! Learn more. Please verify that you are human:Register for LabSpaces Make your LabSpaces comments count. Start earning LabSpaces points by becoming a member! Learn more.
Please authenticate before trying to post a comment.
If you would like to remain anonymous, please enter a new name and link below
Ernie Els, of South Africa, walks down the first hole during practice for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Merion Golf Club, Wednesday, June 12, 2013, in Ardmore, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Ernie Els, of South Africa, walks down the first hole during practice for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Merion Golf Club, Wednesday, June 12, 2013, in Ardmore, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Ben Hogan's 1-iron is shown at the U.S. Open golf tournament at Merion Golf Club, Wednesday, June 12, 2013, in Ardmore, Pa. Good luck finding a player who even carries a 1-iron. And the shot Hogan hit in 1950 at Merion, which the USGA estimates to be 213 yards, is no longer a 1-iron. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Zach Johnson tees off on the eighth hole during practice for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Merion Golf Club, Wednesday, June 12, 2013, in Ardmore, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Ian Poulter, of England, walks past wicker baskets during practice for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Merion Golf Club, Wednesday, June 12, 2013, in Ardmore, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
ARDMORE, Pa. (AP) ? Under cloudy skies and with weather prospects dicey for the rest of the day, the U.S. Open returned to the Merion for the first time in 32 years.
Cliff Kresge, a 44-year-old Floridian ranked No. 551 in the world, hit the first tee shot of the first round early Thursday, the first of 156 players on the historic course.
The marquee group was scheduled to tee off shortly after lunchtime. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott are together as the top three players in the world rankings, although a forecast calling for severe storms in the afternoon could delay or interrupt their round.
Phil Mickelson also had an early tee time ? 7:11 a.m. ? after making an overnight flight from San Diego, where he watched his oldest daughter graduate from the eighth grade.
For all the extraordinary effort it took to shoehorn a modern-day championship onto the historic but intimate course, there was nothing anyone could do about the 6? inches of rain that has soaked the Philadelphia area during the last week. Sunny days Tuesday and Wednesday helped dry out things a bit, but one look at the radar Thursday morning indicated that stormy skies would return in a matter of hours.
The various forecasts led to a USGA news conference Wednesday that covered topics like hail, standing water and the dreaded "potentially damaging winds." At one point during a long and otherwise straight-laced opening statement, USGA vice president Tom O'Toole spoke about the presentation of the championship trophy ? then rolled his eyes skyward and added: "which we hope will be Sunday."
The forecast also renewed calls for officials to break with U.S. Open tradition and allow players to lift, clean and replace balls in the fairway if the conditions get nasty.
"I would be a fan of being able to clean the mud off," said Matt Kuchar, a two-time winner this year on the PGA Tour. "I think it's one of those really rotten breaks in golf. Driving it in a divot is a rotten break, but most of us can figure it out from there. You drive down the middle of the fairway and you have mud on the ball and you have no idea what's going to happen, you have no real control. It seems like a guy might be rewarded more for missing fairways in those situations, being in the rough, not picking up the mud."
Nice try. But such protestations went nowhere fast.
"We wouldn't be adopting that rule this week," O'Toole said. "And if it was so bad, then the obvious response to that, or consequence, would be we probably wouldn't be playing."
Any major disruption would be a shame, given that the U.S. Open has waited 32 years to return to the course where Olin Dutra overcame a serious stomach illness to win in 1934, where Ben Hogan hit the picture-perfect 1-iron approach to No. 18 before winning in a playoff in 1950, where Lee Trevino pulled a rubber snake out of his bag at the first hole of the playoff when he beat Jack Nicklaus for the title in 1971, and where David Graham became the first Australian to win the trophy in 1981.
It would also dampen the drama of Tiger Woods' pursuit of his first major in five years, a reasonable proposition given that he's already won four times on the PGA Tour this year. And Adam Scott's hopes of becoming the first to win the Masters and U.S. Open back-to-back since Woods in 2002. Weather permitting, Woods, Scott and 2011 U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy have an early afternoon tee time Thursday, a grouping of the top three players in the world rankings.
Thought to be too small to host an Open anymore, Merion had been off the radar for so long that many of the top names in the field ? including Woods ? had never played it until recently. Organizers had to be creative with the placement of hospitality tents and parking lots on the club's relatively small footprint, and ticket sales were capped at 25,000 a day instead of the usual 40,000 or so for recent championships.
But Merion was still expected to provide a quality test, emphasizing precision over power in the first major championship in nine years on a course under 7,000 yards.
"I've been reading about how many scoring records are going to be broken," Nick Watney said. "I've been around here once. And I think that's insane. It's funny to me. People look at the yardage and think it's going to be easy. Even if it's soft, the greens are sloped. The rough is thick. OK, we'll have wedges into some of the greens, but that doesn't mean you make birdie on all those holes. There's enough tough holes to counteract that."
There's concern from others, however, that the degree of difficulty might be watered down ? literally.
"Don't go by what they score here this week," Trevino said, "simply because Merion may not have its teeth in because of the wetness."
Neither did Congressional two years ago, when rains softened the course and yielded a record-shattering 16-under 268 score for McIlroy. That year, USGA officials said repeatedly that even par wasn't their target score for a U.S. Open winner.
They're already in the same mode this week at Merion.
"Sure, we want it firm and fast," O'Toole said. "We happen to play a sport that's played outdoors. ... So it's not a perfect world."
___
Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) ? U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone said Sunday that he's officially in the race to fill the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Frank Lautenberg and can win the Democratic primary against better-known Newark Mayor Cory Booker by running on his progressive congressional record.
Pallone planned to hold a news conference Monday announcing his intentions. He spoke exclusively to The Associated Press on Sunday night.
"At the end of the day, we're all going to run on our records," said Pallone, who has been in Congress since 1989. "I believe my record of 25 years in Congress and the legislation that I've sponsored and the initiatives I've worked on show I'm the best person to get the job done."
Meanwhile, South Jersey political leader George Norcross III put his considerable influence behind Booker Sunday night.
"I think he's a winner," Norcross told The AP. "He represents a new type of Democrat ? fiscally conservative, socially progressive." Norcross and Booker both support the end of lifetime teacher tenure, expansion of charter schools and other urban school reforms.
Pallone, 61, who had banked $3.7 million for a future campaign as of the end of March, said his progressive record on issues such as the Affordable Care Act, mass transportation funding and Superfund cleanups more closely mirrors Lautenberg's positions than his opponents. He and Lautenberg frequently worked together on legislation, with Lautenberg sponsoring a bill in the Senate and Pallone sponsoring it in the House.
He is the third well-funded Democrat seeking to carry on Lautenberg's liberal legacy in a state that has not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate in more than 40 years. Booker, 44, a rising star in the Democratic Party with Hollywood friends like Oprah Winfrey and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, formally declared his candidacy on Saturday. The understated Rep. Rush Holt, 64, a former research physicist, also announced his intention to compete for the seat.
Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver told fellow Democrats at a meeting Sunday night she was planning to run. Her boss, Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, was in Booker's cheering section at his campaign kickoff in Newark.
Lautenberg, 89, died June 3, setting off a scramble for the seat. A reliably liberal vote, Lautenberg had not planned to seek another six-year term because of failing health and was due to retire in January 2015.
Republican Gov. Chris Christie appointed state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa to the Senate temporarily and called special primary for Aug. 13 and general election for mid-October for the remainder of the term. Another election will be held in November 2014 for a full six-year term.
The quick election schedule gave candidates only until Monday to enter the race. The only Republican who has announced so far is Steve Lonegan, the 57-year-old conservative former mayor of Bogota who has twice run in his party's gubernatorial primaries.
Pallone begins the race with support from teachers and public-sector and trade unions. He also likely has early organizational support from three of the state's 21 counties, which could be a considerable asset in an accelerated race.
"My hallmark has always been grassroots ? getting out, meeting the people, explaining to the people what my record is and how I'm going to solve problems," Pallone said. "A lot of this will be grassroots."
Holt also has a record of support for environmental initiatives and rail and transit security funding.
The congressman was courted as a late-season addition to the U.S. Senate ballot in 2002 after Sen. Robert Torricelli abruptly dropped out of the race five weeks before the election. Ultimately, Lautenberg came out of retirement to take that spot.
There was scuttlebutt that Pallone was interested in running for governor in 2005, but he was one of the first to publicly endorse U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine for the seat when Corzine announced he was running.
When Corzine became governor, he sought to be appointed to his vacant Senate seat. But Corzine chose Rep. Robert Menendez, and Pallone decided against challenging him in a primary.
Holt had also expressed interest in Corzine's seat.
Pallone served on the City Council in Long Branch, his hometown, and on the state Senate before he ran for Congress in 1988.
He is associated with liberal causes. He has trumpeted his role in helping pass President Barack Obama's 2010 health care overhaul bill, has pushed for beach restoration and has advocated coastal environmental protections. Pallone has also had strong labor support dating to the 1990s when he bucked lobbying from then-President Bill Clinton and voted against the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The labor support helped him defeat tea party candidate Anna Little, who challenged him in 2010 and again last year.
___
Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill contributed to this report from Haddonfield.
Anki used the WWDC keynote stage to introduce its first product in development, a game called Ankidrive. It's not a video game, though - it's a real world game using remote controlled cars, a modernized version of a slot car game.
The cars speed along a track laid out on the floor and navigate using artificial intelligence running on an iOS device, controlled using Bluetooth low power connectivity. You can control the cars and even "shoot" at other cars on the tracks.
The game will hit stores this fall, but the app is available for download from the App Store today.
Working with lab mice models of multiple sclerosis (MS), UC Davis scientists have detected a novel molecular target for the design of drugs that could be safer and more effective than current FDA-approved medications against MS.
The findings of the research study, published online today in the journalEMBO Molecular Medicine could have therapeutic applications for MS as well as cerebral palsy and leukodystrophies, all disorders associated with loss of white matter, which is the brain tissue that carries information between nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
The target, a protein referred to as mitochondrial translocator protein (TSPO), had been previously identified but not linked to MS, an autoimmune disease that strips the protective fatty coating off nerve fibers of the brain and spinal cord. The mitrochronical TSPO is located on the outer surface of mitochondria, cellular structures that supply energy to the cells. Damage to the fatty coating, or myelin, slows the transmission of the nerve signals that enable body movement as well as sensory and cognitive functioning.
The scientists identified mitochondrial TSPO as a potential therapeutic target when mice that had symptoms of MS improved after being treated with the anti-anxiety drug etifoxine, which interacts with mitochondrial TSPO. When etifoxine, a drug clinically available in Europe, was administered to the MS mice before they had clinical signs of disease, the severity of the disease was reduced when compared to the untreated lab animals. When treated at the peak of disease severity, the animals' MS symptoms improved.
"Etifoxine has a novel protective effect against the loss of the sheath that insulates the nerve fibers that transmit the signals from brain cells," said Wenbin Deng, principal investigator of the study and associate professor of biochemistry and molecular medicine at UC Davis.
"Our discovery of etifoxine's effects on an MS animal model suggests that mitochondrial TSPO represents a potential therapeutic target for MS drug development," said Deng.
"Drugs designed to more precisely bind to mitochondrial TSPO may help repair the myelin sheath of MS patients and thereby even help restore the transmission of signals in the central nervous system that enable normal motor, sensory and cognitive functions," he said.
Deng added that better treatments for MS and other demyelinating diseases are needed, especially since current FDA-approved therapies do not repair the damage of immune attacks on the myelin sheath.
The UC Davis research team hopes to further investigate the therapeutic applications of mitochondrial TSPO in drug development for MS and other autoimmune diseases. To identify more efficacious and safer drug candidates, they plan to pursue research grants that will enable them to test a variety of pharmacological compounds that bind to mitochondrial TSPO and other molecular targets in experimental models of MS and other myelin diseases.
The journalpaper is entitled, "A TSPO ligand is protective in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis."
###
University of California - Davis Health System: http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Thanks to University of California - Davis Health System for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_u-A2MyDI3epqvB7aJNYsjCB5r8WXm5T94e2j9gomUqmB5H9la6lMkLlymi2pJz2NiYB76DVAMf0dex4uOQ0EORca-juettL3oOs5KG4SY=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 12-Jun-2013
Share ] 
Make your LabSpaces comments count. Start earning LabSpaces points by becoming a member! Learn more. 
