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It is important to take the time to learn how to properly utilize internet promotion. Read this article to learn more about internet marketing and get started with your online business.

Always stay on top of what your internet promotion competition is doing. There is competition in Website marketing, no matter how tiny you think your niche is.

You must take your website marketing seriously and devote time to research in order to succeed. Pick a mentor that you trust and admire online. Savvy internet marketers often offer free consultations or promotional service bundles to customers. You should thoroughly research your endeavor before deciding it is something you will stick with over the long haul. Keep in mind that this might take time to start, but know that it is well worth your time.

TIP! Make yourself an expert in any topic on your site. This is very important because it gives you a great deal of credibility and makes a strong impression on your potential customers.

Personalize whatever you put out to your email contacts. Your current and prospective customers probably are already annoyed at the bulk emails they receive. Consider this: don?t you dislike getting bulk mail from strangers? If you make your emails more personal, this should give you a leg up on your competition when sending emails.

Use social media, such as Twitter or Facebook in your Website marketing strategy. Social media sites will keep you and your target audience in constant contact, allowing you to send information quickly and easily. Just be wary of over-promoting. Be sure to layer in original and more conversational posts along with your more promotional style messages.

TIP! Always keep an eye on exactly what kind of content you are giving your customers when you use the internet to promote your business. Individualize your content, and make it relevant.

Review your business website from the perspective of a customer. Is your site user friendly? Does it offer enjoyment to the reader? Ordering products should be quick, easy and secure. Make sure that you maximize the quality and functionality of your site to keep your customers.

When you use email as a regular form of communication with your customers, make sure you change your links on a regular basis. If you information is redundant you will likely bore your customers instead of encouraging them to purchase products. Your email readers will be less likely to lose interest if you keep changing up the links in your emails.

Promote your business through other popular sites online. Making this investment will pay off in the form of valuable exposure for your company or brand. For the most bang for your buck, choose a page with plenty of traffic so that as many people as possible see your company name.

TIP! A time tested strategy to maintain an edge in business is to always look at what your competitors are doing. Check out other websites in your field to discover what they could improve upon.

Stay away from spamming at all costs. While it may seem efficient to post a bunch of comments on sites, those posts won?t have the positive effect you desire. If you try to use that method you are more likely to have people turn away from your business than to seek more information.

Create interactive features such as a chat area on your website for customers. People will identify with your brand if they can discuss things they enjoy with people who have similar interests. A forum gives you the opportunity to learn from your customers while allowing users to make important business contacts.

Be certain to make use of textual emphasis techniques as you plan your site?s layout. Augment the power of a term or phrase by changing it to italics, underlined, or bold text. Using emphasis on certain words will help you clarify what message you are wanting to get across to your customers.

TIP! Be sure to have customer reviews and testimonials included on your site. People enjoy reading what others have written about any product they are considering.

For any business website that sells products in any volume at all, third-party transaction security is vital. There are a lot of services that are considered ?trusted?. McAffee, VeriSign, etc. will safeguard the financial exposure of both vendor and customer. While these systems are not always very cheap, they are a critical component of safe and secure online transactions.

Closely evaluate the actions of your top competitors and analyze that data to formulate your own plans. Picture yourself as a customer on their site, and if you can see yourself wanting to buy, they are doing it right. Use the best ideas and fold it into your own strategy.

If you want to be seen as an authority in your field, compile a glossary of terms. This can help your customers figure out what they need to know, making them more likely to visit your site again. As a highly searchable page, a glossary is sure to drive significant new traffic to your site.

TIP! Your site may be marketed as some kind of social marketing or club instead of your business. This will keep customers coming back, rather than visiting once and leaving immediately.

Blogging can be an effective way to increase traffic to your website. Just remember that you need regular infusions of fresh content to make a blog effective. Visitors are more likely to revisit your site if they know they will always be reading up-to-date, useful information.

Try your hand at mobile marketing. This gives you a chance to give visitors to your site a way to get alerts via text about discounts or new products. This is a new method of advertising that also will boost your advertising campaigns in Web marketing.

The tag you choose for your site should clearly define you. Many people will either be enticed further or steered away by what they read in your website?s tag. Using language that isn?t natural and relevant can be the biggest mistake you make when creating this tag.

TIP! If you want to build trust and to sell products, you need to offer a warranty or some type of guarantee. Such policies will put your customers at ease and give you a respectable and trusted persona.

Sell your product using positive motivation. Talk about how much your readers can improve their lives by buying your product. Encouraging your audience to use your product to follow their dreams will make them much more likely to buy.

It is very helpful to have a 500 error page. This type of error page will be seen by customers if something goes wrong with your website. Genetic error messages just display a message that the connection timed out. Instead, inform your visitors that you are working on a fix to their problem using a more creative webpage message that fits the format of your site.

It would take extensive articles and books to explain every aspect of Online marketing, yet all successful businesses need to start somewhere. Even those who are experienced at Internet promotion are looking for new techniques.

TIP! Always have a budge and do not overspend on advertising. Not all forms of marketing online require an investment.

Join me on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/maynaseric

Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/choose-the-right-online-marketing-strategy-using-these-ideas-2

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Considering a divorce? Wait until January

3 hrs.

Geoff Williams, Reuters

Going through a divorce during the holidays can be emotionally wrenching, which is why many people don't do it -- they put it off until January.?

"People don't want to upset the apple cart over the holidays, and they want a peaceful Christmas, Hanukkah or New Year's. And then, because they don't want to spend another damned year with that spouse of theirs, as soon as the holidays are over they pull the plug and file," says Alton Abramowitz, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.?

While there are no hard numbers on how many divorces are filed in January, Abramowitz says it's undoubtedly a popular time to act, rivaled only by September, when marriages break up after the summer holidays. Yet waiting for the holidays to pass doesn't all come down to simply wanting a harmonious holiday season. There are sound financial reasons to wait until January.?

1. Waiting for the bonus?
A husband or wife who waits until January is likely to be entitled to any year-end windfall that might come from a spouse's job.?

"In New York, at least, once you file for divorce and you set the cut-off date; anything you obtain afterward is separate property," says Steven Goldfeder, a matrimonial attorney in New York City who acknowledges that year-end bonuses are often fought over, even if a spouse declares he or she wants a divorce in January. "Someone could claim the bonus isn't really for that particular year, but a payment to entice someone to stay at the firm for the future."?

2. Cool your emotions?
The holidays are a time when emotions run high. "If your spouse always has it in her mind that Christmas was ruined, she or he may not be so eager to settle with you," says Goldfeder. "Your divorce might drag out for months or years longer than it would have."?

Once, shortly before Christmas, Goldfeder received a call from a client who said a co-worker had had a baby they both believed was his. The client, married and the father of three, planned to tell his wife and assumed she would leave him. Goldfeder talked him into first getting a paternity test. The client's family had a nice Christmas, and the day after, the client learned he wasn't the father.?

Not exactly a warm holiday tale, but by cooling your emotions, you may save your family a lot of stress.?

3. Avoid disastrous shopping?
December is the shopping season, and that can spell disaster if an angry spouse is set loose with a credit card. "The spouse served with divorce papers may feel that they deserve some kind of emotional gift because of this horrible thing their spouse did to them," says Kevin Worthley, a certified divorce financial analyst and certified financial planner in Warwick, R.I.

An angry spouse may also be more inclined to want to drain the bank accounts and run up the credit cards. "That's a danger any time, but past the holidays, when everything's been bought, there's likely less inclination to buy a big-ticket item out of revenge," says Worthley.?

4. Think about April?
At year-end, taxes come to mind. "Obviously, the better records you have, the better position you're going to be in," says Andrew Katzenstein, a Los Angeles lawyer, referring to paperwork that you might want to start collecting now.?

Katzenstein, who specializes in assisting high-net-worth individuals, businesses and charities, says that in the past there haven't been many tax advantages to filing for a divorce in January rather than December. Filling for divorce is just a beginning step, after all. Many couples end up filing their taxes jointly until the divorce is completed.?

But tax brackets may go up in 2013, depending on whether the U.S. budget dispute is resolved. So going forward, the calculus may be different. "The person who pays alimony will get more bang for their deduction buck, and the person receiving the payments will pay more taxes," he says.?

5. More time to plan?
If you've made up your mind that a divorce is going to be one of your New Year's resolutions, there are things you can do now. Whatever side you end up on -- paying alimony or receiving it -- you need to start preparing.?

"You should start collecting all of your end-of-the-year statements," says Worthley. "You really need to know everything -- your household budget, your assets, what's in your checking account, how much you're paying for the mortgage, all of your debts and your credit card balances. It's important to get all of that."?

Your financial records will be needed to determine how much spousal support will be paid out, and how the finances will be divided. "The more information you get, the less complicated it'll be when you're negotiating and working things out with a financial mediator, attorney or judge," says Deborah Moskovitch, a divorce coach in Toronto who counts January as her busiest month for new clients.?

The turn of the new year can also be a good time to try to salt away some extra money to pay for an attorney, says Worthley.?

You don't need to have all of your money affairs in order the moment you and your spouse begin discussing the dreaded D-word. You may want to start the year off with a fresh start by filing for divorce in January, but chances are you'll be lucky to be divorced before that year is up.?

"Here in California, if you didn't file by October, you weren't going to get divorced in the next year anyway," says Katzenstein. "And if you decide to divorce in January, it's not like you'll be divorced in February. It's going to be a process."?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/considering-divorce-wait-until-january-1C7659310

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For Obama's second inauguration, a subdued, less crowded Washington

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It is one of those occasions that is quintessential Washington: the inauguration of a president, a multi-day festival of patriotism, politics, optimism and self-congratulation.

All of that will be on display on January 21, when President Barack Obama is publicly sworn in for his second four-year term. But this inauguration will be far less grand than Obama's first in 2009, when a record 1.8 million visitors flooded the city to see the nation's first black president take office.

This time the celebration is likely to attract no more than 800,000 or so guests, city officials estimate. As a result, some luxury hotel rooms and coveted tables at high-end restaurants are still available, less than a month before the inauguration.

The swanky Mandarin Oriental Hotel, with its sweeping views of the National Mall, initially required inauguration guests to make reservations for four nights. Now it has relaxed that requirement to three nights to try to fill its rooms.

But the "inauguration markup" still applies: The Mandarin's least expensive room, normally available for $295 a night, starts at $1,195 a night during the long inauguration weekend.

Even so, the demand for hotel and restaurant reservations for this inauguration pales compared with the rush that followed Obama's first election.

Back then, the scramble for accommodation was so desperate that homeowners and renters in Washington and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs leased their homes for the inauguration, creating a vast secondary market in housing that week.

Hundreds of those homeowners - including former Tennessee senator and actor and Fred Thompson, who offered to rent out his condominium for five days for $30,000 - sought to profit from the festivities and leave town to avoid the crowds.

Today the website Craigslist shows only a few dozen ads offering housing for the inauguration.

"They swarmed to the market last time," said real estate agent Hill Slowinski, who deals in luxury properties. "We are not seeing the same level of interest" this year.

The story is similar at the Palm restaurant, which offers a $54 rib-eye steak and is a favorite of Democratic power brokers. Some tables are still free for Sunday night, January 20, the evening before the ceremony.

Looking over the reservations for that night, Tommy Jacomo, who has run the restaurant for four decades, said: "It's mediocre. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Jacomo said that for many of Obama's supporters, the 2009 inaugural celebration was a history-making one that can't be topped.

"The second time, it's always not that big," he said.

That has been the case in recent second-term inaugurations, particularly Republican Ronald Reagan's in 1985. Thanks to brutally cold weather, that became a mostly-indoor affair in which Reagan took the oath of office and delivered his inaugural address in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda rather than outside the Capitol.

For Obama's second inauguration, the thrill might be lessened further by the fact that he will take the official oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts in a closed ceremony the day before the public festivities - on January 20, as required by law.

Because that day falls on a Sunday, the public events - the swearing-in outside the Capitol, Obama's inaugural address, the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House, and the inaugural balls - will be held a day later.

Hans Bruland, the general manager of the Hay-Adams Hotel who is working his fifth inauguration, said the lack of excitement for a president's second time around should be expected.

He said the ongoing negotiations between the White House and Congress over looming tax increases and budget cuts - and the threat of economic calamity if some sort of deal isn't reached - are clouding the mood in Washington and could be affecting the plans of some potential celebrants.

Obama's first inauguration took place as a worldwide financial crisis was unfolding, but his history-making ascent to the White House seemed to trump such concerns, at least for a few days.

"Oftentimes, we don't remember what normal feels like," Bruland said. "People tend to panic a little."

FEWER INAUGURAL BALLS

Such economic jitters are one reason Obama's second inauguration will feature just two official balls, rather than the 10 that were held in 2009.

Both will be at the Washington Convention Center on January 21. One ball will be for the public and guests, the other primarily for military families and veterans.

There will be a few unofficial balls held by various groups, but this will be the fewest number of official inaugural balls by any president since Dwight Eisenhower's first term in 1953 - a reflection of Obama's effort to keep the celebration low-key at a time when many Americans are struggling financially.

For all that relative austerity, there will be plenty of opportunities for big-spending Obama supporters to wrap themselves in luxury.

For $60,000, guests can stay four nights in the Mandarin Oriental's presidential suite, with 24-hour butler service and a private dining room.

A champagne cork's flight from the White House, the Hay-Adams is renting its largest suite for $7,900 a night. Before the 2009 inauguration, Obama and his family occupied an entire wing of the hotel before he was able to move into his new digs at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

One early indication that there will be fewer visitors filling such expensive beds - and contributing to the festivities - was the president's decision to widen the search for funds for his second inauguration.

In 2009, Team Obama raised a record $53 million for his inauguration, without donations from corporations, lobbyists, and political action committees as part of a "commitment to change business as usual in Washington."

This time, Obama supporters have welcomed donations from such groups. A spokesperson for the presidential inauguration committee, which manages the effort, declined to comment on the pace of fundraising so far.

In 2009, the maximum donation for individuals accepted by the committee was $50,000. This year, Obama's fundraising committee is encouraging gifts of $250,000 from individuals. That kind of generosity will earn givers access to VIP receptions, reserved seats for the inaugural parade and other benefits.

THE FIRE STILL BURNS

There is one group that appears to be fired up and ready to go to Washington: his former campaign workers.

One volunteer, Catherine Lyons, a phone bank coordinator in Emeryville, California, said she was so excited that she bought plane tickets for Washington before Obama's re-election was assured.

On the morning of November 6, Election Day, Lyons went online and bought a seat for a cross-country flight.

"It was a little risky," Lyons, 25, said. "Bravery or a little stupidity, however you want to see it."

Also heading to Washington will be Shomari Figures, 27, a lawyer who was a field organizer for Obama's campaign in Akron, Ohio.

"The excitement," Figures said, "is still there."

(Editing by David Lindsey and Xavier Briand)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-second-inauguration-subdued-less-crowded-washington-182305024.html

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Jack Klugman Dies; Veteran TV Star was 90

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/jack-klugman-dies-veteran-tv-star-was-90/

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Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of meddling ahead of summit

MANAMA (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia on Monday told regional rival Iran to stop interfering in internal Gulf Arab affairs and spreading "sedition", activities Tehran denies.

The comments, made by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, follow similar allegations leveled at Iran by the kingdom in the past, and other Gulf states are likely to voice similar complaints at a summit of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that opens later on Monday.

"Interference to stir sedition is unacceptable from a neighbor," Prince Saud was quoted as saying by the London-based, Saudi-owned daily al-Hayat.

"This is not comfortable because it is trying to use the circumstances to interfere."

Prince Saud was speaking in Bahrain, which is hosting the annual summit of the leaders of the Saudi-led GCC, a group of oil-exporting Gulf Arab countries that comprises Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

The newspaper did not elaborate on what the Saudi minister meant by "circumstances", but the most common Gulf Arab complaint about alleged Iranian interference in the region relates to Bahrain, which has repeatedly accused Tehran of meddling in its internal politics.

While not convulsed by unrest on the scale of Egypt or Libya, Bahrain has been volatile since pro-democracy protests led by its Shi'ite Muslim majority erupted last year.

Bahrain's Sunni Muslim rulers brought in Saudi and United Arab Emirates forces last year to help quell the protests, and Shi'ite power Iran condemned the move, saying it could lead to regional instability. Bahrain has accused Iran of being behind the unrest. Tehran denies this.

The two-day summit is also likely to hear fresh calls from Gulf Arab leaders for an end to the violence in Syria and for President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

The GCC in November recognized a newly-formed opposition coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

In an interview on Bahrain television, GCC Secretary-General Abdulatif al-Zayani said the summit would debate several matters including the Syrian crisis, conflict in Yemen and "Iranian interference".

Bahrain's Shi'ites complain they have long been marginalized in political and economic life, an assertion the government denies. Its Sunni rulers have rejected the protesters' main demand for an elected government.

The GCC summit is expected to start at about 1300 GMT, with speeches by heads of state or their representatives.

(Reporting by Asma Alsharif in Manama and Rania El Gamal in Dubai; Editing by William Maclean and Andrew Osborn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-arabia-accuses-iran-meddling-ahead-summit-105158940.html

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Robert Brustein: Gun Play

Scene: The teller's window of a local bank in Tombstone, Arizona. A well-dressed man walks up to the window, where the teller is counting cash, puts a gun to his forehead, and speaks:

ROBBER
I am a bank robber, and this is a holdup. Hand over your cash.

TELLER
(The Teller takes out his gun and puts it to the robber's forehead) Well, I am a police officer, and this is an arrest. Hand over your weapon.

ROBBER
You're a cop? What are you doing behind a bank window in Tombstone pretending to be a teller?

TELLER
The kids are on vacation. Usually, I"m in the school corridors, pretending to be a teacher. Your weapon, please.

ROBBER
You have no constitutional right to expropriate a privately-owned hand gun.

TELLER
I do if you bring it into a bank.

ROBBER
I am one of the 4.3 million dues-paying, card-carrying members of the National Rifle Association, which says that citizens have the right to carry weapons into all public areas.

TELLER
I thought the NRA was ONLY interested in sporting arms.

ROBBER
That's right.

TELLER
So what are you hunting in the Tombstone National Bank? Goldfish?

ROBBER
I did hear that deer were plentiful in this area.

TELLER
And that's why you're carrying a magazine-loaded semi-automatic pistol -- to hunt for game?

ROBBER
No, to defend myself against perpetrators.

TELLER
And how would you define a perpetrator?

ROBBER
Anyone who aims a gun at me. Our Chairman, Wayne LaPierre, says that the only way to prevent armed violence is for the good guys to shoot the bad guys.

TELLER
Yeah, but if both have guns in their hands, how can you tell the difference? Why don't you lower your weapon, and I'll put down mine and then we can discuss this issue like rational gun owners.

ROBBER
Okay.

(Carefully, they lay their weapons down on the counter)

ROBBER
I am glad you are beginning to show some respect for my sacred Second Amendment rights.

TELLER
The Constitution doesn't give you a sacred right to rob banks.

ROBBER
Maybe not, but it guarantees me the sacred right of self-protection.

TELLER
Where does it guarantee you that?

ROBBER
(Reciting by rote) "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

TELLER
You've completely misunderstood that clause.

ROBBER
(Startled) What do you mean?

TELLER
It's a misprint. At this very moment the Supreme Court is considering a case arguing that the Second Amendment has nothing to do with weaponry.

ROBBER
(Incredulous) "The right to bear arms?"

TELLER
There's the misprint. The Second Amendment doesn't guarantee a right to "bear" arms, allowing men to carry weapons, but rather a right to "bare" arms," allowing women to walk abroad freely in short sleeve jerseys.

ROBBER
You're saying it's not about shooters... ?

TELLER
It's about hooters.

ROBBER
You're kidding me. What does a well-regulated militia have to do with exposing female flesh?

TELLER
How else can a militia be well-regulated?

ROBBER
Well, until the Supreme Court decides on this case, it is still legal for me to carry my gun in self-defense.

TELLER
Not if it results in the death of innocent civilians from people with psychiatric disorders.

ROBBER
You think I'm a psycho?

TELLER
How would I know?

ROBBER
Then you should arrest my mother. She was the one that let me play video games as a kid.

TELLER
Video games don't kill people. Guns kill people.

ROBBER
No, people kill guns. Read Wayne LaPierre.

TELLER
What are you talking about?

ROBBER
Our Chairman, Wayne LaPierre, says that you Liberal pussies are trying to abolish guns in this country.

TELLER
Yes, because guns kill people.

ROBBER
No, people kill people. The state of Arizona, which has twenty percent more automatic weapons per capita than anywhere else in the world, has 6.3 percent fewer murders.

TELLER
Actually, it has 6.3 percent more murders.

ROBBER
Where did you get that?

TELLER
Police records.

ROBBER
Liberal propaganda.

TELLER
Look, we can't stand here arguing this with pistols pointed at each others' brains. Why don't we holster our weapons, and discuss this issue over a beer?

ROBBER
Okay with me, so long as you don't try to arrest me. Otherwise, I'll be obliged to exercise my Constitutional rights and shoot you.

TELLER
Well, you haven't committed a crime yet, only attempted one, and I'm the only witness. So let's go to our local bar and look for some bare arms.

ROBBER
Great. What's this place called?

TELLER
The O.K. Corral.

ROBBER
(Enthusiastic) Okay!!!

(They shake)

BLACKOUT

?

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-brustein/gun-play_1_b_2360137.html

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Why some grasses evolved a more efficient photosynthesis and others didn't

Public release date: 24-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: David Orenstein
david_orenstein@brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University

Key differences in anatomy evolved in PACMAD and BEP clades

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] Even on the evolutionary time scale of tens of millions of years there is such a thing as being in the right shape at the right time. An anatomical difference in the ability to seize the moment, according to a study led by Brown University biologists, explains why more species in one broad group, or clade, of grasses evolved a more efficient means of photosynthesis than species in another clade did.

Their findings appear this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Biologists refer to the grasses that have evolved this better means of making their food in warm, sunny and dry conditions with the designation "C4." Grasses without that trait are labeled "C3."

What scientists had already known is that while all of the grasses in the BEP and PACMAD clades have the basic metabolic infrastructure to become C4 grasses, the species that have actually done so are entirely in the PACMAD clade. A four-nation group of scientists wondered why that disparity exists.

To find out, Brown postdoctoral researcher and lead author Pascal-Antoine Christin spent two years closely examining the cellular anatomy of 157 living species of BEP and PACMAD grasses. Using genetic data the team also organized the species into their evolutionary tree, which they then used to infer the anatomical traits of ancestral grasses that no longer exist today, a common analytical technique known as ancestral state reconstruction. That allowed them to consider how anatomical differences likely evolved among species over time.

Paradoxically, to understand C4 evolution, the researchers focused on the anatomy of C3 grasses in each clade.

In general what they found was that in the leaves of many PACMAD C3 grasses the veins were closer together, and that the veins themselves were surrounded by larger cells ("bundle sheath" cells) than in BEP C3 grasses. Ultimately PACMAD grasses had a higher ratio of bundle sheath cells to mesophyll cells (cells that fill in the area between veins).

In C4 plants, such an anatomical arrangement facilitates a more efficient transfer and processing of CO2 in the bundle sheath cells when CO2 is in relatively short supply. When temperatures get hot or plants become stressed, they stop taking in as much CO2, creating just such a shortage within the leaf.

So PACMADs as a group had developed an anatomical predisposition to C4 photosynthesis that BEP grasses didn't, said senior author Erika Edwards, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Brown.

"We found that consistently these PACMAD C3s are very different anatomically than the C3 BEPs," she said. "We think that was the evolutionary stepping stone to C4-like physiology."

When the new leaves turned over

It didn't used to be this way. Back around 60 or so million years ago, BEP and PACMAD grasses were more similar and both headed in the same direction. The distance between the leaf veins in both clades had been growing closer together. But then they started to diverge in a key way. The bundle sheath cells surrounding the veins in BEP grasses started to shrink down while those in PACMAD grasses stayed larger.

For a long time the climate didn't particularly punish or reward either of those directions. But then climate changed, and opportunity knocked, Edwards said. Only PACMAD was near the proverbial door.

"When atmospheric CO2 decreased tens of millions of years after the split of the BEP and PACMAD clades, a combination of shorter [distances between veins] and large [sheath] cells existed only in members of the PACMAD clade, limiting C4 evolution to this lineage," Christin and co-authors wrote in the paper.

The researchers also found that evolution among C4 grasses was anatomically nuanced. Some C4 grasses evolved because of advantageous changes in outer sheath cells, while others saw the improvement in inner sheath cells.

Ultimately, Edwards said, studies like this one show that plant biologists have made important progress in understanding the big picture of when and where important plant traits evolved. That could lead to further advances in both basic science, and perhaps agriculture as well.

"Now that we have this increasingly detailed birds-eye view, we can start to become a more predictive science," she said. "Now we have the raw goods to ask interesting questions about why, for example, one trait evolves 10 times in this region of the tree but never over here. In terms of genetic engineering we're going to be able to provide some useful information to people who want to improve species, such as important crops."

###

In addition to Christin and Edwards, the paper's other authors at Brown were David Chatelet and Laura Garrison. Other authors were Colin Osborne of the University of Sheffield in the U.K.; J. Travis Columbus of Claremont Graduate University in California; Guillaume Besnard of the Universite Paul Sabatier-Ecole Nationale de Formation Agronomique in Tolouse, France; Trevor Hodkinson of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland; and Maria Vorontsova of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Surrey, U.K.

The National Science Foundation (grants 0920147 and 0843231), the Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship (252568) and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (10LABX-41) supported the research.

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Public release date: 24-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: David Orenstein
david_orenstein@brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University

Key differences in anatomy evolved in PACMAD and BEP clades

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] Even on the evolutionary time scale of tens of millions of years there is such a thing as being in the right shape at the right time. An anatomical difference in the ability to seize the moment, according to a study led by Brown University biologists, explains why more species in one broad group, or clade, of grasses evolved a more efficient means of photosynthesis than species in another clade did.

Their findings appear this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Biologists refer to the grasses that have evolved this better means of making their food in warm, sunny and dry conditions with the designation "C4." Grasses without that trait are labeled "C3."

What scientists had already known is that while all of the grasses in the BEP and PACMAD clades have the basic metabolic infrastructure to become C4 grasses, the species that have actually done so are entirely in the PACMAD clade. A four-nation group of scientists wondered why that disparity exists.

To find out, Brown postdoctoral researcher and lead author Pascal-Antoine Christin spent two years closely examining the cellular anatomy of 157 living species of BEP and PACMAD grasses. Using genetic data the team also organized the species into their evolutionary tree, which they then used to infer the anatomical traits of ancestral grasses that no longer exist today, a common analytical technique known as ancestral state reconstruction. That allowed them to consider how anatomical differences likely evolved among species over time.

Paradoxically, to understand C4 evolution, the researchers focused on the anatomy of C3 grasses in each clade.

In general what they found was that in the leaves of many PACMAD C3 grasses the veins were closer together, and that the veins themselves were surrounded by larger cells ("bundle sheath" cells) than in BEP C3 grasses. Ultimately PACMAD grasses had a higher ratio of bundle sheath cells to mesophyll cells (cells that fill in the area between veins).

In C4 plants, such an anatomical arrangement facilitates a more efficient transfer and processing of CO2 in the bundle sheath cells when CO2 is in relatively short supply. When temperatures get hot or plants become stressed, they stop taking in as much CO2, creating just such a shortage within the leaf.

So PACMADs as a group had developed an anatomical predisposition to C4 photosynthesis that BEP grasses didn't, said senior author Erika Edwards, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Brown.

"We found that consistently these PACMAD C3s are very different anatomically than the C3 BEPs," she said. "We think that was the evolutionary stepping stone to C4-like physiology."

When the new leaves turned over

It didn't used to be this way. Back around 60 or so million years ago, BEP and PACMAD grasses were more similar and both headed in the same direction. The distance between the leaf veins in both clades had been growing closer together. But then they started to diverge in a key way. The bundle sheath cells surrounding the veins in BEP grasses started to shrink down while those in PACMAD grasses stayed larger.

For a long time the climate didn't particularly punish or reward either of those directions. But then climate changed, and opportunity knocked, Edwards said. Only PACMAD was near the proverbial door.

"When atmospheric CO2 decreased tens of millions of years after the split of the BEP and PACMAD clades, a combination of shorter [distances between veins] and large [sheath] cells existed only in members of the PACMAD clade, limiting C4 evolution to this lineage," Christin and co-authors wrote in the paper.

The researchers also found that evolution among C4 grasses was anatomically nuanced. Some C4 grasses evolved because of advantageous changes in outer sheath cells, while others saw the improvement in inner sheath cells.

Ultimately, Edwards said, studies like this one show that plant biologists have made important progress in understanding the big picture of when and where important plant traits evolved. That could lead to further advances in both basic science, and perhaps agriculture as well.

"Now that we have this increasingly detailed birds-eye view, we can start to become a more predictive science," she said. "Now we have the raw goods to ask interesting questions about why, for example, one trait evolves 10 times in this region of the tree but never over here. In terms of genetic engineering we're going to be able to provide some useful information to people who want to improve species, such as important crops."

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In addition to Christin and Edwards, the paper's other authors at Brown were David Chatelet and Laura Garrison. Other authors were Colin Osborne of the University of Sheffield in the U.K.; J. Travis Columbus of Claremont Graduate University in California; Guillaume Besnard of the Universite Paul Sabatier-Ecole Nationale de Formation Agronomique in Tolouse, France; Trevor Hodkinson of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland; and Maria Vorontsova of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Surrey, U.K.

The National Science Foundation (grants 0920147 and 0843231), the Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship (252568) and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (10LABX-41) supported the research.

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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/bu-wsg122112.php

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Richard Adams, early figure in gay marriage, dies (Providence Journal)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/272727994?client_source=feed&format=rss

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agakhan: Self Improvement | Grief - Supporting People Who Are ...

By Nathalie Himmelrich

Grief is a process that most people have experienced in their lives. It is an interesting fact that even though many of us have gone through it before we seem to forget how it was for us and lack knowledge on how to be with people who are in it.

Experiences with clients have shown that there are really only a few simple guidelines to follow to support people who are grieving. The grief cycle, which was put forward by Dr. Elisabeth K?bler-Ross, contains the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Depending on where the person in grief is there might be slightly different approaches needed. The best way to find out which of the following suggestions would work, is to ask them.

Being there with them

As simple as it may sound, being there with the grieving person is the first and most important suggestions. It is true that sometimes time alone is needed or desired but more often than not, grieving people are left alone for too long, when in fact they need companionship. This might mean staying with them watching television or having a meal, asking them to join you to go out or just checking whether they wish you to come over and keep them company.

Asking them: How are you doing?

This question is often avoided for various reasons, either because the questioner is uncomfortable with their own unresolved grief that might surface or with the potential reaction of the person in grief. Sometimes days or weeks pass without them ever being asked by people who care for them. Dare to ask. There is no need to change the situation or trying to make them feel better ? simply listen and show them you care.

Wanting them to feel better and get over it

Grief is a process that can take 2 hours, 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years or 20 years. There is no set time limit when people should be over it. Whether they are grieving for a loss that just occurred or for old unresolved hurt ? all is possible and has its place. Your job as a support person is to allow them to be where they are at and not moving them into a stage they are not.

Elisabeth K?bler-Ross proposed the grief cycle and its stages as being sequential. In my experience the stages can appear without any seeming order and be repeated if needed. I see the grief cycle as a spiral on top of a cake and the 5 slices of the cake representing the stages. As we travel along the spiral from the center towards the outer side of the cake we can revisit the stages (different slices) multiple times. Often the experience of ?I?m feel the same way as before, nothing has changed yet? is a sign that the client is revisiting a stage however they are no longer in the center but have travelled further outside.

Want to know more? Have a look at my blog.

Nathalie Himmelrich is the founder of ?Reach for the Sky Therapy? on Sydney?s Northern Beaches and specialises in ?relationship related issues?. She is working with individuals and couples using techniques ranging from Counselling, Neuro Linguistic Programming to Journey Therapy. She supports clients in their personal growth in a supportive and professional environment.

Visit my website: http://www.reachforthesky.com.au or visit my blog: http://reachforthesky.wordpress.com and sign up for our newsletter today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nathalie_Himmelrich
http://EzineArticles.com/?Grief?Supporting-People-Who-Are-Grieving&id=3597786

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Source: http://theselfimprovementblog.com/self-improvement/self-improvement-tips/grief-supporting-people-who-are-grieving/

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Source: http://agakhan47.blogspot.com/2012/12/self-improvement-grief-supporting.html

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Source: http://stallonsmlatoyia7.typepad.com/blog/2012/12/agakhan-self-improvement-grief-supporting-people-who-are.html

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Is air marshal program a model for schools?

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The former congressman who's heading the National Rifle Association's school emergency response program that would include volunteers to help guard children says it makes sense because it's similar to placing air marshals on planes.

Asa Hutchinson tells ABC's "This Week" that the air marshal program has provided a deterrent and made flying safer.

He says putting trained guards such as retired police officers or military persons at schools will help protect students. Hutchinson says hiring guards to defend schools is a "very reasonable approach" but it should be a local choice.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a prominent Republican, says the approach will turn schools into an armed camp for kids.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/air-marshal-program-model-schools-154430512--politics.html

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Foreclosures in Centerville GA 31028, November 2012

The month of November saw more of the same?another month of very few?Foreclosures in Centerville GA 31028. ?While this is discouraging for investors, it is good news for the rest of the market.

Currently, there are only 6 Foreclosures in Centerville GA, ranging in price from $61,950 to $349,900 and square footage from 1,326 up to 3,820.

In November, 2 new foreclosure properties made their way onto the Centerville real estate market. The details for these homes are as follows (address, price, heated sq feet, subdivision, year built):

• 109 Chase Circle, $61,950, 1326, George Place, 1986
• 116 Bartlett Way, $349,900, 3820, Orchards @ Grove Pointe, 2006

For a complete list of available Centerville real estate, visit Homes for Sale in Centerville or call me at (478) 960-8055 (C) / (478) 953-8595 x227 (O) so we can discuss your housing needs.

Foreclosures in Houston County Georgia

Bonaire GA Foreclosures ? 31005

Byron GA Foreclosures ? 31008

Centerville GA Foreclosures ? 31028

Kathleen GA Foreclosures ? 31047

Perry GA Foreclosures ? 31069

Warner Robins GA Foreclosures ? 31088

Foreclosures in Centerville GA 31028, November 2012

View Foreclosures in Centerville GA 31028, November 2012 in a larger map

Statistics represent ONLY available foreclosure single family homes, condos, and townhouses in Centerville GA for the month listed.? (Source: CGMLS).? Information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

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About Anita Clark Realtor

Anita Clark has written 883 posts on this blog.

Anita Clark Realtor+ sells Warner Robins Real Estate and provides community information as a service to the public. You can contact her at (478) 960-8055 or via email at anita@cbssk.com.

Source: http://sellingwarnerrobins.com/2012/12/foreclosures-in-centerville-ga-31028-november-2012/

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Juggling By the Numbers

It took me about a month to learn how to juggle with 3 balls.
I didn't have a teacher by then, and only saw a guy doing it in the street.
The good news is that I did pretty much all the mistakes one can do by learning.:)

In all modesty, I think I became a very good juggling teacher. I taught a few hundred people how to juggle, and it took anywhere from 2 minutes (really) to an hour.
Anyone can do it, and you really got to begin with the basics (that is, with one ball, going from L to R and R to L).

I'm blind in

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/IZ9PDrxt3Rs/story01.htm

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Few memorials to forgotten victim: Gunman's mother

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) ? When people here speak of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, they use the number 26: the ones killed after Adam Lanza blasted his way into the school.

When the bells of Newtown toll mournfully Friday morning to honor the victims of last week's shooting rampage, they'll do so 26 times, for each child and staff member killed.

Rarely do residents mention the first person police said Lanza killed that morning: his mother, Nancy, who was shot in the head four times while she lay in bed.

That makes 27.

A private funeral was held Thursday in New Hampshire for Nancy Lanza, according to Donald Briggs, the police chief in Kinston, N.H., where her funeral was held. About 25 family members attended the ceremony.

In Newtown, where makeshift memorials of stuffed animals, angels, candles, flowers and balloons have blossomed on patches of grass throughout town, there is only one noticeable tribute to Nancy Lanza. It's a letter written by a friend on yellow paper affixed, screwed and shellacked onto a red piece of wood.

"Others now share pain for choices you faced alone; May the blameless among us throw the first stone," it reads in part.

No one outwardly blames Nancy Lanza for the rampage. But authorities have said the gunman, her 20-year-old son Adam, used the guns she kept at their home to carry out a massacre that became the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history and has stirred lawmakers to call for gun control laws.

Nationwide, churches will ring their bells 26 times at 9:30 Friday morning ? exactly a week after the shooting occurred ? in memory of the victims. Two gold balloons, one a 2, the other a 6, are tied to a bridge. Handwritten tributes mention 26 snowflakes. "26 angels will guide us," reads one.

The dearth of tributes to Nancy Lanza underscores the complicated mix of emotions surrounding her after the shooting.

In a small town where multiple funerals are taking place each day, where black-clad mourners stand in lines waiting to say goodbye to another child, many are incredibly angry at Nancy Lanza for not keeping her guns away from her son.

Some view her as a victim, but one whose guns were used to kill first-graders. And others think Nancy Lanza was an innocent victim, one who should be counted and included at memorials.

"It's a loss of life and, yes, her life mattered," said Christine Lombardi. "Yes, I do believe she should be included."

Others in Newtown are weary of the crush of media and have become reluctant to answer questions after a difficult week. But the subject of marking Nancy Lanza's death, along with those of the children and teachers killed by her son, seemed mainly to surprise two moms who stopped to place flowers at the memorial at Main and Sugar streets with their two grammar-school aged girls.

They paused, appeared bewildered, and looked at each other for a moment. Then one quietly said, "No, no," and they each took a girl's hand and led them away.

Newtown and environs weathered a fourth day of funerals Thursday as mourners laid to rest Catherine Hubbard, Benjamin Wheeler, Jesse Lewis and Allison Wyatt, all 6 years old; and Grace McDonnell, 7.

A service was held in Katonah, N.Y., for teacher Anne Marie Murphy, 52, who authorities believe helped shield some of her students from the rain of bullets. Roman Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan compared her to Jesus.

"Like Jesus, Annie laid down her life for her friends," Dolan said. "Like Jesus, Annie's life and death brings light, truth, goodness and love to a world often shrouded in darkness, evil, selfishness and death."

A bell tolled Thursday at Newtown's St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church at the funeral for Catherine, who her family said would be remembered for her passion for animals and her constant smile.

Trinity Episcopal church on Main Street was filled to capacity for the funeral for Benjamin, described as a budding musician and Beatles fan. His service included a rendition of "Here Comes The Sun." About two dozen Boy Scout leaders lined the front pathway to the church in honor of the former Cub Scout.

In downtown Danbury, mourners filed into the ornate white-pillared First Congregational Church for a memorial service for 30-year-old teacher Lauren Rousseau. Friends wept at the altar as they remembered the spirited, hardworking, sunny-natured woman who brightened their lives with silliness and gave them all nicknames.

Gov. Dannel Malloy has asked people across Connecticut to observe a moment of silence at 9:30 a.m. Friday, which will mark a week since the shootings. The White House has said President Barack Obama will privately observe the moment of silence.

Places of worship and buildings with bells have been asked to ring them 26 times, for the victims at the school. Officials and clergy in many other states have said they will participate.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was one of the people to visit Newtown on Thursday, stopping by a firehouse.

The Obama administration will push to tighten gun laws in response to the shooting, Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday, and Speaker John Boehner said the GOP-controlled House would consider the proposals.

Biden, who is overseeing the administration's response to Friday's shooting, said he and Obama are "absolutely committed" to curbing gun violence in the United States.

"Even if we can only save one life, we have to take action," he said.

Gun-control measures have faced fierce resistance in Congress for years, but that may be changing because of the events in Connecticut, which shocked the nation.

After the shooting, Obama signaled for the first time that he's willing to spend significant political capital on the issue. Some prominent gun-rights advocates on Capitol Hill ? Democrats and Republicans alike ? have expressed willingness to consider new measures.

Authorities say Adam Lanza shot his mother at their home and then took her car and some of her guns to the school, where he broke in and opened fire. A Connecticut official said Nancy Lanza, a gun enthusiast who practiced at shooting ranges, was shot four times in the head with a .22-caliber rifle.

Lanza was wearing all black, with an olive-drab utility vest, during the attack. Investigators have found no letters or diaries that could explain the rampage.

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Michael Melia, John Christoffersen and David Klepper in Newtown; Jim Fitzgerald in Katonah, N.Y.; and Frederic J. Frommer in Washington.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/few-memorials-forgotten-victim-gunmans-mother-074052159.html

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Danville author digs past stigma and silence to write about family of ...

By Stephen Burnett
KyForward correspondent
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As an actor in Broadway plays and on television, author Eric F. James of Danville was not accustomed to death threats. But, Eric said, that probably should be expected when one begins studying and writing about the family of infamous outlaw Jesse James.
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(Photo from Eric F. James)

It?s like the reverse of studying Elvis, he said: Conspiracies abound.
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But while many people may wish the rock ?n? roll king still lived, some in 1882 were horrified at the accusation that the bandit king actually cheated death.
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?When Jesse was assassinated (in 1882), the family was left with what to make of it all,? Eric explained. ?Immediately off the bat, they were being accused that Jesse had faked his death; that wasn?t him in the coffin, and you?re doing this for publicity and money, and all those kinds of things. ? People are still claiming that Jesse lived to be 120 years old!?
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To this day, that stigma ? much of it based on very real persecutions against them ? haunts James family members. That partly led to Eric?s own search for answers, delving into his own genealogy and then that of the more-infamous James family more than 10 years. Now with last month?s publication of Jesse James: Soul Liberty, the author has begun a five-book series that explores the family?s story. That book?s subtitle is Behind the Family Wall of Stigma and Silence.
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There?s apparently no shortage of interest in the Jesse James family story. Copies of Eric?s book sold out before his recent appearance at the Historic Midway Museum and Store in Midway recently. And six people came to that event who professed their own connections to the James family. One said he owned the farm where Jesse and Frank James?s mother?s grandparents are buried, James said. Another man said that he owned a farm in Kearney, Mo., that adjoined the farm where Jesse and Frank James were born.
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Eric James doesn?t claim a relation. People reading his books can judge for themselves, he said.
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?I?ve put my life on the line; I?ve put my reputation on the line,? he said, adding that he wants to explore facts based on family members? testimonies and historical record ? unlike some other authors who repeat the wanton hyperbole that marked Jesse James? life even while he lived.
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Search for family
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Growing up himself in Chicago?s south side, politically owned by the Democrats and the Daley family, Eric?s family already had one connection to a famous frontiersman: land once owned by Levi Boone, great-nephew of Daniel Boone. But cousins expressed curiosity about James?s surname. ?Like Jesse James?? they would ask. Eric thought that a very unlikely stretch.
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But when he asked Jesse?s great aunts, they would respond with something like: ??You know all you need to know about Jesse James, and that?s that.??
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Eric couldn?t have known that when he chose a school history course over a Russian course, that would later help him pursue that family riddle. ?What made the course advanced is we weren?t taught history; we were taught to teach ourselves history,? James explained. ?We had to pick a subject of our own interest and go research it. ? Then near the end of the semester, we would present a paper to our class, and it would not be the teacher who would grade us, but our fellow classmates who would question us on the subject for two days and then give us a grade.?
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That proved to help him throughout all of life ? during acting in Broadway shows, to some appearances on television (including a Colombo bit role), to his 35-year career in real estate.
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Eric?s focus changed in the 1990s when both his parents died within nine months of each other.
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?You begin to feel the loss of family,? James said. Family aunts and uncles were also dying. He began to realize that those family members rarely discussed their own genealogy.
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Although some of his family members were gone or not speaking, the Internet was available. So Eric began posting on genealogical bulletin boards, offering information and seeking more. At that point he hadn?t even thought of any research into the outlaw-James family.
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One breakthrough came with an email from a teacher in Texas. She said Eric should talk to an 80-year-old woman in Somerset, Kentucky, who would know all about his family history.
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And that she did. After Eric spoke with the woman, she began sending him large packages of records once a week for 10 weeks.
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In 2002 came a second breakthrough: another large package sent by a relative of Joan M. Beamis, author of Background of a Bandit. She began researching that 80-page James family history in 1950. All proceeds from its 1970 publication went to the Kentucky Historical Society.
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?Inside that FedEx box were all of her search files that went into the making of that book,? he said. ?In those files there was a letter in which she talked about her first efforts at trying to find out about the family. She had grown up not knowing anything about the relationship until she was in high school.?
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Then one day Beamis? father let it slip that she was the first cousin of Jesse James. But he refused to say more, and dropped the subject. ?

Another of Beamis? relatives, visibly shaken, also admitted the relation. It was enough to pique Beamis? interest and spark her research, Eric said.
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Likewise, Beamis? work urged James onward ? and back to Kentucky, specifically to Baptist churches.
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Kentucky connections
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The James family banded together in colonial Virginia during the American revolution, Eric said, and later became rebel Baptist preachers, ostracized because of their lack of registration. Coming to Kentucky, they started several Baptist churches, some of which remain to this day.
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One of those is Flat Lick Baptist Church, founded in 1799 in Shopville, Kentucky.
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When Eric visited the church for his research, one of the deacon?s? first questions was, ??Tell us your history with Frank and Jesse James, because we?re writing our church history,?? he said. Of course, Eric replied that he did not know, which apparently what the deacon had hoped to hear from them.
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It turned out that Baptist church records were a better way to trace the James family.
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Eric learned, for example, about the Rev. Jeremiah Vardeman, a Flat Lick Baptist Church member who gave the Rev. Robert S. James ? father of Frank and Jesse ? $20,000 to move to Missouri and start a college. Using that years-ago experience of finding records on his own, James visited courthouses, attics and churches, doing research however he could.
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As for the James brothers? mother, Zerelda Cole, her father was Richard Cole Jr., owner of two Woodford County taverns. In 1825 Cole was born at one of those inns. ?The (James) boys used to come and steal horses from Airdrie Farm ? and also from other farms in the area,? he said.
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Oddly, people Eric met along the way echoed a refrain he had once heard from his own kin: ??You know all you need to know.??
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Fewer of those fears were evident in the records of in-law families ? those who had married James family members, but did not carry the surname. Often they had more information about the James family than they had about themselves, Eric said. That led him to a third level of research ? records in communities where the in-laws had lived.
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In 2003, Eric moved to Kentucky at the recommendation of Ron Bryant, a former director member of the Kentucky Historical Society. At about that same time, another recommendation would set Eric on the path to writing five books ? from Judge James R. Ross, Jesse James?s great-grandson. During a half-hour meeting that turned to an all-day discussion at Ross? home, Ross suggested Eric write a book that would provide yet-unpublished details on the entire James family.
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?Little did I know he handed me a 10-year sentence to hard labor,? Eric said.
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Soul Liberty
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The stigma persisted. Several family members wouldn?t talk with him; some warned him to mind his own business.
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?I started to convince them that this wasn?t going to be just another ?building up the legend and mythology? ? just trying to get down to the hard facts of what happened,? Eric explained. ?Some started opening up to me, and they?re accounted in the book. Their stories are told in their words.?
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The book also covers several examples of real stigmas against the family, perhaps based on their infamous ancestor. One of them, Daniel Lewis James Jr., co-wrote the film The Great Dictator (1940) with Charlie Chaplin, but was later blacklisted from Hollywood work.
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Many writers, publishers and leaders are members of the James family, Eric said. Yet they still keep their connections quiet.
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?I can?t explain why (the family stigma) is, but it appears now to be genetic,? James offered. ?In doing all this work, I?ve come into contact with a lot of genealogists, and a lot of genealogists seem to be of the belief that a lot of those things like behaviors, not just physical characteristics, can be transferred from generation to generation.?
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Other books and media about Frank and Jesse James haven?t helped. Out of the hundreds that have been published, only three have sources to back up their facts, Eric said.
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To those three books, Eric hopes to add his own, starting with next year?s release of his second book covering more of the outlaw-James?s family?s origins.
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?I imagine these books will take me to my grave,? he said, laughing. ?Between finishing these books and writing these books and promoting these books, and answering the questions (from interviewers), my time is going to be quite consumed, I think.?
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Meanwhile, Eric along with Judge Ross (who died in 2007) started a James Preservation Trust to address family issues, and even set up a system to DNA-test professing James family members. The trust has confirmed several claims and issued challenges to others, such as to TV motorcycle customizer Jesse James.
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Early reviews and Internet sales for Jesse James: Soul Liberty have been positive. The rest of the books will continue the family?s Kentucky connections. That may include one side of the James family, recently found and confirmed, who was related to slave traders who started banks in Lexington. Some of those banks still exist, so ?that may rock Lexington?s world,? he said.
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But Eric added that provoking questions and discussion is only a secondary fruit of his quest.
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?What greater way to get somebody interested in taking a course or in studying history, if it?s not about you? That?s what keeps me going now. As much as I?m dealing with 5,000 living relatives of Frank and Jesse James and almost 3,000 people associated with them throughout their history ? I?m learning about their histories, too ? this is essentially about me.
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?If we could start teaching children, say, ?Look we?re going to start talking about you and your family,?? and teach them skills to do that, he added, ?what better way to teach them a lifetime of work but also integration into society??
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Even basic-level genealogy teaches you about your family and how you act and live, Eric said. That may be one way to help children discern their connections beyond self-interest, celebrity cravings and the present, he added.
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?It?s a social responsibility for not only ourselves and our lives, but our communities. That?s how we build communities that are strong.?

Source: http://www.kyforward.com/our-neighbors/2012/12/21/danville-author-digs-past-stigma-and-silence-to-write-about-family-of-outlaw-jesse-james/

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Cardiovascular disease: The mechanics of prosthetic heart valves

Dec. 20, 2012 ? Computer simulations of blood flow through mechanical heart valves could pave the way for more individualized prosthetics.

Every year, over 300,000 heart valve replacement operations are performed worldwide. Diseased valves are often replaced with mechanical heart valves (MHVs), which cannot yet be designed to suit each patient's specific needs. Complications such as blood clots can occur, which can require patients to take blood-thinning medication.

To investigate why such complications occur, Vinh-Tan Nguyen at A*STAR's Institute of High Performance Computing, Singapore, together with scientists at the National University of Singapore and institutions across the USA, have developed a new computer model to simulate the dynamics of blood flow through MHVs1.

"The current practice for heart valve replacement in patients is a one-size-fits-all approach where a patient is implanted with the best-fit valve available on the market," explains Nguyen. "The valves are well designed for general physiological conditions, but may not be suitable for each individual's particular heart condition."

The researchers focused on the blood flow dynamics in a prosthetic valve known as a bileaflet MHV. This type of MHV contains two mobile leaflets, or gates, which are held in place by hinges. The leaflets open and close in response to blood flow pressures through the valve. Little is known about the effect that the hinged leaflets have on blood dynamics, although such designs are suspected of causing blood clots.

The computer model developed by Nguyen and his team simulates pressure flows through bileaflet MHVs by representing blood vessels as a computational mesh, where calculations are performed for individual blocks of the mesh. Their crucial advance was in enabling this mesh to move and evolve in response to the leaflet movements.

The researchers validated their computer model through laboratory experiments with a full 3D reproduction of the heart's circulation system. Particle imaging equipment allowed them to visualize the fluid dynamics under different scenarios including pulsatile flow, which follows the pattern of a typical cardiac cycle.

"We obtained good agreement between our computer simulations and the experiments in terms of the magnitude and velocity of blood flow through the leaflets," states Nguyen. The researchers also found that leaflet hinges might play a vital role in clotting, because individual hinges have different tolerances that can disrupt normal blood flow and cause stress in the vein walls.

This research is a first crucial step in understanding the impact of MHVs on blood flow. "Ultimately we hope to provide doctors with a tool to evaluate blood flow dynamics and other related aspects in patients with newly implanted valves," says Nguyen.

The A*STAR-affiliated researchers contributing to this research are from the Institute of High Performance Computing.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), via ResearchSEA.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Vinh-Tan Nguyen, Yee Han Kuan, Po-Yu Chen, Liang Ge, Fotis Sotiropoulos, Ajit P. Yoganathan, Hwa Liang Leo. Experimentally Validated Hemodynamics Simulations of Mechanical Heart Valves in Three Dimensions. Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology, 2011; 3 (1): 88 DOI: 10.1007/s13239-011-0077-z

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/computers_math/information_technology/~3/hSxzbDS9oUc/121220153120.htm

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