ScienceDaily (Oct. 29, 2012) ? Physicists describe how they have synthesized a new material that belongs to the iron-selenide class of superconductors, called LixFe2Se2(NH3)y, in a paper about to be published in The European Physical Journal B. The work was carried out by Ernst-Wilhelm Scheidt from the University of Augsburg and colleagues. This material displays promising superconducting transition temperatures of 44 Kelvins (K) at ambient pressure, thus improving upon traditional copper-based high-temperature superconductors.
The ultimate goal of scientists developing such materials is to reach superconducting characteristics at temperatures above that of liquid nitrogen (77K), which is the benchmark temperature to make them attractive for applications.
Until now, superconductors based on iron and arsenic discovered in 2008 worked at 56K. As recently as 2010 attempts to develop other materials replacing arsenic with selenium yielded iron-selenium materials with an intercalation of potassium, rubidium, cesium or thalium. These materials, belonging to the family of iron chalcogenide materials, reached a superconducting temperature of 32 K.
The authors have now used a chemical synthesis method to intercalate lithium atoms between layers of iron and selenium. Similar to the way a cocktail would generate an exciting new flavour, stirring all these ingredients for several hours in liquid ammonia produced exciting new superconducting properties. They found that these properties are controlled by electronic doping and expansion of the iron-selenium material's lattice structure, which is gained by intercalating the lithium-based electronic donor molecules.
Unlike previous attempts, the authors showed in this study that these materials can be successfully synthesised with a remarkable degree of purity. In addition, the fraction of the material that is superconductive was almost 80 percent, the highest reported for materials in the intercalated iron chalcogenides family.
Going one step further, the authors also showed that using sodium instead of lithium will further increase the superconducting temperature to 45.5 K.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Springer Science+Business Media, via AlphaGalileo.
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Journal Reference:
E. -W. Scheidt, V. R. Hathwar, D. Schmitz, A. Dunbar, W. Scherer, F. Mayr, V. Tsurkan, J. Deisenhofer, A. Loidl. Superconductivity at Tc = 44 K in LixFe2Se2(NH3)y. The European Physical Journal B, 2012; 85 (8) DOI: 10.1140/epjb/e2012-30422-6
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
National Control Commission for Prices and Energy set the newly adjusted AB Lietuvos Dujos natural gas transmission and distribution price caps (effective from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2013) and approved the adjusted version of AB Lietuvos Dujos long-term programme (for 2009?2013) of investments in gas transmission and distribution systems.
The natural gas transmission price cap (effective from 1 January 2013) was set at LTL 44.26* / 1000 m3, and the natural gas distribution price cap was set at LTL 179.33 / 1000 m3.
Following the price caps that were set by the NCCPE, the Board of Directors of AB Lietuvos Dujos will subsequently adopt its decision regarding the specific natural gas transmission and distribution service tariffs (effective from 1 January 2013). Then the tariffs will be submitted to the NCCPE for review and final approval.
NCCPE also set the Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal related extra tariff component for the year 2013 to cover part of the costs of the installation of the facilities and the connector of the prospective LNGT.
The aforesaid tariff component was set at LTL 37.53 / 1000 m3. According to the Description of procedures for the administration of funds allocated to cover the costs (or part thereof) related to the construction and operation of the Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal, the LNGT infrastructure and connector (as adopted by the NCCPE), from 2013, the LNGT funds (based on the aforesaid LNGT-extra tariff component) will have to be paid by all users of the Gas Transmission System.
According to the Law on the Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal, the entity appointed in charge of the administration of the LNGT funds, the Transmission System Operator ? AB Lietuvos Dujos, will collect the LNGT funds and transfer them to the beneficiary ? the company that was appointed by the Government to implement the LNGT Project (AB Klaipedos Nafta).
* LTL 3.45 = EUR 1
LNG World News Staff, October 26, 2012; Image: AB Lietuvos Dujos
When people start to meet eachother in dreams... reality seems to twist around. Two soulmates have found eachother in there sleep... but daylight is still keeping them apart...
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Intensive care ?trauma lingers? | Human Health and ScienceOctober 16, 2012 1:27 am You are here:Home News Intensive care ?trauma lingers?Posted by on October 14, 2012in News|
FILE - In this Oct. 3, 2012, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama wave to the audience during the first presidential debate at the University of Denver in Denver. The sixth "town hall" style presidential debate will bring Obama and Romney to Hofstra University on New York?s Long Island Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012. They?ll take questions from undecided voters selected by Gallup. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 3, 2012, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama wave to the audience during the first presidential debate at the University of Denver in Denver. The sixth "town hall" style presidential debate will bring Obama and Romney to Hofstra University on New York?s Long Island Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012. They?ll take questions from undecided voters selected by Gallup. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
President Barack Obama makes phone calls to volunteers at an Organizing for America field office with Alexa Kissinger, left, and, Suzanne Stern, right, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, in Williamsburg, Va. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns in front of The Golden Lamb Inn and Restaurant in Lebanon, Ohio, Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Barack Obama makes phone calls to volunteers at an Obama campaign office with Suzanne Stern, right, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, in Williamsburg, Va. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney picks up a baby as he campaigns at The Golden Lamb restaurant in Lebanon, Ohio, Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) ? With the economy showing some signs of improvement three weeks before Election Day, President Barack Obama on Monday laid down a full embrace of the economic record many Republicans say is his biggest weakness.
The president's first act in this critical campaign week was to announce a new battleground state advertisement featuring voters discussing the ways their economic conditions have improved during his term. The ad was hitting the airwaves as Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney huddled in intense preparation for their second debate as polls show a closely fought campaign.
"This race is tied," Obama said in an appeal to supporters asking them to donate at least $5 to his re-election effort. He promised to be "fighting" for the election on the debate stage Tuesday night ? something many of his supporters thought he did too little of in his first face-off with Romney.
GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan lambasted Obama's handling of the deficit during an appearance Monday in Ryan's home state of Wisconsin. He pointed to a digital scoreboard his campaign set up at the far end of Carroll University's field house that tracked the growth of the nation's deficit in real time.
"Look at how fast those numbers are running," Ryan said. "We know without a shred of doubt that we have consigned the next generation to this path of debt."
He acknowledged that Obama inherited "a tough situation" when he took office but argued the president has only made things worse. He touted Romney's plan to cut taxes by 20 percent across the board as the path back to economic growth.
Even as polls show the race tightening nationally and in battleground states, Obama's campaign aides say they are encouraged by public and private surveys showing voters growing more confident about the direction of the economy. Those trends are behind the new 30-second spot the campaign is running in Colorado, Iowa, Nevada and Virginia.
"Stick with this guy," a gravelly voiced man says at the end of the commercial in a point Obama hopes wavering voters will embrace. A second ad targeted at Ohio voters features former astronaut and Sen. John Glenn touting Obama's character and economic record.
Aides argue that some voters got a psychological boost when the unemployment rate fell below 8 percent last month for the first time since Obama's inauguration. But the campaign says it puts more stock in economic indicators showing an increase in consumer confidence and retail spending, which indicate shifts in voter behavior.
Retail sales rose 1.1 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Monday. That followed a 1.2 percent increase in August, which was revised slightly higher. Both were the largest gains since October 2010. The Commerce Department also announced Monday that American companies restocked their shelves at a solid pace of 0.6 percent in August.
Still, with millions of Americans still out of work, the campaign is trying to walk a fine line between touting economic gains and acknowledging that many voters are still struggling.
Obama campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said the president would seek to run on his economic record, not away from it, during Tuesday's debate.
"He would be happy to spend the entire debate talking about their visions for the middle class," Psaki told reporters gathered in Williamsburg, Va., where Obama and his advisers were in the midst of an intense, three-day "debate camp" at a golf resort.
Obama's campaign, seeking to rebound from a dismal first debate, promised a more energetic president would take the stage Tuesday at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. Romney's team aimed to build on a commanding opening debate that gave the Republican new life in a White House race that had once appeared to be slipping away from him.
"The debate was huge and we've seen our numbers move all across the country," Romney's wife, Ann, said in an interview on Philadelphia radio station WPHT. She talked about the larger crowds her husband has been drawing in the aftermath of that first face-off. "That's what you call momentum," she said.
Early voting is already under way in dozens of states, including some battlegrounds, giving the candidates little time to recover from any slipups.
Much of the pressure in the coming debate will be on Obama, who aides acknowledge showed up at the first face-off with less practice ? and far less energy ? than they had wanted. Romney, who has made no secret of the huge priority his campaign puts on the debates, practiced Monday at a hotel near his home in Massachusetts.
Romney's advisers suggested the Republican nominee would continue to moderate his message ? in tone, if not substance ? as he did in the Oct. 3 meeting to help broaden his appeal to the narrow slice of undecided voters. In recent days, Romney has promised his tax plan would not benefit the wealthy, emphasized his work with Democrats as Massachusetts governor and downplayed plans to curtail women's abortion rights.
Ann Romney focused on the struggles women face in her radio interview. "The numbers don't lie and what the numbers tell us is that more women have been hurt by this economy than men, more women are unemployed, and more women have fallen into poverty in the last four years," she said. "We do hear their voices."
During debate preparations, aides are working on tailoring that message to a debate format. They're also working on balancing aggressive tactics with the debate's town-hall format, which often requires candidates to show a connection with questioners from the audience.
Romney's top-flight donors are meeting at New York's tony Waldorf Astoria hotel through Wednesday, getting a chance to mingle with Ryan and attend strategy briefings and policy discussions with senior Romney aides.
The retreat appears to be a scaled-down version of a posh Park City, Utah, gathering this summer for Romney's most generous contributors. There, Romney officials hosted campaign updates and set ambitious fundraising goals for the general election.
___
Obama ad: http://tinyurl.com/ck3oblq
___
Pickler reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Steve Peoples in Belmont, Mass., contributed to this report.
Of mice and menPublic release date: 15-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Veronika Sexl veronika.sexl@vetmeduni.ac.at 43-125-077-2910 University of Veterinary Medicine -- Vienna
So-called Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL) is even less attractive in real life than it is on paper. It is a highly aggressive type of lymphoma that generally occurs in children and young adults and that has to date proven extremely difficult to treat. It has long been known that ALCL patients frequently show a genetic alteration (a translocation) that causes expression of nucleophosmin-anaplastic lymphoma kinase (NPM-ALK), a gene known to be capable of giving rise to cancer. But how the NPM-ALK gene works has to date remained largely a matter of conjecture.
Working in a mouse model for lymphoma, Karoline Kollmann in Veronika Sexl's group at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna and colleagues in the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Cancer Research and the Medical University of Vienna were able to show that the development of lymphoma is absolutely dependent on the "Platelet derived growth factor receptor B" (PDGFRB), a protein already associated with the growth of other types of tumour. They demonstrated that the effect was direct, with NPM-ALK stimulating the production of the transcription factors JUN and JUNB, which bind to and activate the PDGFRB promoter. And importantly they were able to show that inhibition of PDGFRB with the drug imatinib was able to extend dramatically the survival of mice with this kind of lymphoma.
In human patients, ALCL is traditionally treated with crizotinib, a drug that directly inhibits the NPM-ALK protein. The major problem is that the patients tend to relapse and their chances of survival are extremely poor. Based on the results from the imatinib tests in mice it seemed conceivable that the use of this drug might improve the prognosis of patients who do not or no longer respond to crizotinib therapy. The scientists obtained ethical approval and informed consent to attempt imatinib treatment of an ALCL patient who had not responded to conventional chemotherapy and had relapsed after transplantation of stem cells. Remarkably, the patient improved immediately upon imatinib treatment: after ten days he was in complete remission and he is still alive and again working 22 months later.
The idea of inhibiting PDGFRB in ALCL is novel and potentially of great therapeutic importance. Kollmann is naturally extremely excited by the implications of the results. "The patient had essentially run out of options and would have died a long time ago. But thanks to the indications from our mouse work that inhibiting PDGFRB could prevent growth of this type of tumour he is still alive. This new type of therapy could significantly prolong patient survival."
Intriguingly, the researchers have also found that PDGRFB is also present in ALCL patients without the translocation that leads to NPM-ALK expression. Whether the PDGRFB protein is required for the development of tumours in such patients is not yet clear but it is possible that a combined crizotinib / imatinib therapy might be more widely applicable, providing hope for patients suffering from other types of lymphoma.
The paper "Identification of PDGFR blockade as a rational and highly effective therapy for NPM-ALK driven lymphomas" by Daniela Laimer, Helmut Dolznig, Karoline Kollmann, Paul W. Vesely, Michaela Schlederer, Olaf Merkel, Ana-Iris Schiefer, Melanie R. Hassler, Susi Heider, Lena Amenitsch, Christiane Thallinger, Philipp B. Staber, Ingrid Simonitsch-Klupp, Matthias Artaker, Sabine Lagger, Stefano Pileri, Pier Paolo Piccaluga, Peter Valent, Katia Messana, Indira Landra, Thomas Weichhart, Sylvia Knapp, Medhat Shehata, Maria Todaro, Veronika Sexl, Gerald Hfler, Roberto Piva, Enzo Medico, Bruce A. Riggeri, Mangeng Cheng, Robert Eferl, Gerda Egger, Josef M. Penninger, Ulrich Jaeger, Richard Moriggl, Giorgio Inghirami and Lukas Kenner is published in the current issue of "Nature Medicine". The first four authors contributed equally to the work.
###
Abstract of the scientific article online (full text for a fee or with a subscription):
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm.2966
About the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna
The University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna is the only academic and research institution in Austria that focuses on the veterinary sciences. About 1000 employees and 2300 students work on the campus in the north of Vienna, which also houses the animal hospital and various spin-off-companies.
http://www.vetmeduni.ac.at
Scientific contact:
Prof. Veronika Sexl
Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology
University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna
T +43 1 25077-2910
Veronika.Sexl@vetmeduni.ac.at
Distributed by:
Klaus Wassermann
Public Relations/Science Communication
University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna
T +43 1 25077-1153
Klaus.Wassermann@vetmeduni.ac.at
[ | 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.
Of mice and menPublic release date: 15-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Veronika Sexl veronika.sexl@vetmeduni.ac.at 43-125-077-2910 University of Veterinary Medicine -- Vienna
So-called Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL) is even less attractive in real life than it is on paper. It is a highly aggressive type of lymphoma that generally occurs in children and young adults and that has to date proven extremely difficult to treat. It has long been known that ALCL patients frequently show a genetic alteration (a translocation) that causes expression of nucleophosmin-anaplastic lymphoma kinase (NPM-ALK), a gene known to be capable of giving rise to cancer. But how the NPM-ALK gene works has to date remained largely a matter of conjecture.
Working in a mouse model for lymphoma, Karoline Kollmann in Veronika Sexl's group at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna and colleagues in the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Cancer Research and the Medical University of Vienna were able to show that the development of lymphoma is absolutely dependent on the "Platelet derived growth factor receptor B" (PDGFRB), a protein already associated with the growth of other types of tumour. They demonstrated that the effect was direct, with NPM-ALK stimulating the production of the transcription factors JUN and JUNB, which bind to and activate the PDGFRB promoter. And importantly they were able to show that inhibition of PDGFRB with the drug imatinib was able to extend dramatically the survival of mice with this kind of lymphoma.
In human patients, ALCL is traditionally treated with crizotinib, a drug that directly inhibits the NPM-ALK protein. The major problem is that the patients tend to relapse and their chances of survival are extremely poor. Based on the results from the imatinib tests in mice it seemed conceivable that the use of this drug might improve the prognosis of patients who do not or no longer respond to crizotinib therapy. The scientists obtained ethical approval and informed consent to attempt imatinib treatment of an ALCL patient who had not responded to conventional chemotherapy and had relapsed after transplantation of stem cells. Remarkably, the patient improved immediately upon imatinib treatment: after ten days he was in complete remission and he is still alive and again working 22 months later.
The idea of inhibiting PDGFRB in ALCL is novel and potentially of great therapeutic importance. Kollmann is naturally extremely excited by the implications of the results. "The patient had essentially run out of options and would have died a long time ago. But thanks to the indications from our mouse work that inhibiting PDGFRB could prevent growth of this type of tumour he is still alive. This new type of therapy could significantly prolong patient survival."
Intriguingly, the researchers have also found that PDGRFB is also present in ALCL patients without the translocation that leads to NPM-ALK expression. Whether the PDGRFB protein is required for the development of tumours in such patients is not yet clear but it is possible that a combined crizotinib / imatinib therapy might be more widely applicable, providing hope for patients suffering from other types of lymphoma.
The paper "Identification of PDGFR blockade as a rational and highly effective therapy for NPM-ALK driven lymphomas" by Daniela Laimer, Helmut Dolznig, Karoline Kollmann, Paul W. Vesely, Michaela Schlederer, Olaf Merkel, Ana-Iris Schiefer, Melanie R. Hassler, Susi Heider, Lena Amenitsch, Christiane Thallinger, Philipp B. Staber, Ingrid Simonitsch-Klupp, Matthias Artaker, Sabine Lagger, Stefano Pileri, Pier Paolo Piccaluga, Peter Valent, Katia Messana, Indira Landra, Thomas Weichhart, Sylvia Knapp, Medhat Shehata, Maria Todaro, Veronika Sexl, Gerald Hfler, Roberto Piva, Enzo Medico, Bruce A. Riggeri, Mangeng Cheng, Robert Eferl, Gerda Egger, Josef M. Penninger, Ulrich Jaeger, Richard Moriggl, Giorgio Inghirami and Lukas Kenner is published in the current issue of "Nature Medicine". The first four authors contributed equally to the work.
###
Abstract of the scientific article online (full text for a fee or with a subscription):
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm.2966
About the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna
The University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna is the only academic and research institution in Austria that focuses on the veterinary sciences. About 1000 employees and 2300 students work on the campus in the north of Vienna, which also houses the animal hospital and various spin-off-companies.
http://www.vetmeduni.ac.at
Scientific contact:
Prof. Veronika Sexl
Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology
University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna
T +43 1 25077-2910
Veronika.Sexl@vetmeduni.ac.at
Distributed by:
Klaus Wassermann
Public Relations/Science Communication
University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna
T +43 1 25077-1153
Klaus.Wassermann@vetmeduni.ac.at
[ | 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.
We are ready for another desktop operating system release from Microsoft, this time Windows 8 comes with improved performance, different interface and new features too. Amazon the online shopping store started to accept orders for Windows 8 pro DVD pack which can be used for new installation and upgrade from Windows 7, Vista and XP. Definitely Windows 8 will be a hit like Windows XP and Windows 7 on respective released years.
Sysprobs covered several guides and articles about Windows 8 here is this page. I?m using Windows 8 for testing purpose since it was available for public as beta version. It is one of the great OS from Microsoft with fast booting and working performance. Once you install on the system, I?m sure you will see the performance difference on same PC between your old OS and new Windows 8, in good way.
Click here to order Windows 8 pro DVD pack and free delivery from Amazon (to some areas only)
The final version of Windows 8 will be available for download from October 26th when it is launched officially. I know there are people crazy on having DVD and software box of their favorite OS, applications and games, if you are one of them, order Windows 8 Pro DVD pack now.
Any customer who buys or already purchased a Windows 7 PC between June 2 2012 and the end of January 2013 will be able to get upgrade to Windows 8 pro just for $15, that?s really cool. This is make sure current PC sales with Windows 7 doesn?t get effect.
For Windows 8 installation, your computer should support Hardware Virtualization Technology (VT) and NX/ND enabled processors. Mostly the all latest computers have this feature now, if your computer is pretty old, better check this requirement before order. You can refer following guides,
Learn the most powerful cardio workout that will help you lose weight fast and get ripped. Did you enjoy the ?High Intensity Cardio for Fast Weight Loss Part 1? video? For the web?s best Six Pack ABS Workout & Exercise Videos.
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Resent research found that more than one-third of the newly discovered planet, 55 Cancri e, may be covered in diamonds. This discovery marks the first of a planet so fundamentally different from Earth.?
By Chris Wickham,?Reuters / October 11, 2012
This NASA handout artist's rendition shows the planet 55 Cancri e orbiting its sun in the constellation of Cancer. Discovered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists have determined that the surface of the planet is likely covered with graphite and diamond.
REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Handout
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Forget the diamond?as big as the Ritz. This one's bigger than planet Earth.
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Orbiting a star that is visible to the naked eye, astronomers have discovered a planet twice the size of our own made largely out of diamond.
The rocky planet, called '55 Cancri e', orbits a sun-like star in the constellation of Cancer and is moving so fast that a year there lasts a mere 18 hours.
Discovered by a U.S.-Franco research team, its radius is twice that of Earth's with a mass eight times greater. That would give it the same density as Earth, although previously observed diamond?planets are reckoned to be a lot more dense. It is also incredibly hot, with temperatures on its surface reaching 3,900 degrees Fahrenheit (1,648 Celsius).
"The surface of this planet is likely covered in graphite and diamond?rather than water and granite," said Nikku Madhusudhan, the?Yale?researcher whose findings are due to be published in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The study - with?Olivier Mousis?at the?Institut de Recherche?en Astrophysique et Planetologie in?Toulouse,?France?- estimates that at least a third of the planet's mass, the equivalent of about three Earth masses, could be diamond.
Diamond planets have been spotted before but this is the first time one has been seen orbiting a sun-like star and studied in such detail.
"This is our first glimpse of a rocky world with a fundamentally different chemistry from Earth," Madhusudhan said, adding that the discovery of the carbon-rich planet meant distant rocky planets could no longer be assumed to have chemical constituents, interiors, atmospheres, or biologies similar to Earth.
David Spergel, an astronomer at?Princeton University, said it was relatively simple to work out the basic structure and history of a star once you know its mass and age.
"Planets are much more complex. This 'diamond-rich super-Earth' is likely just one example of the rich sets of discoveries that await us as we begin to explore planets around nearby stars."
"Nearby" is a relative concept in astronomy. Any fortune-hunter not dissuaded by "The Diamond?as Big as the Ritz", F.Scott Fitzgerald's jazz age morality tale of thwarted greed, will find Cancri e about 40 light years, or 230 trillion miles, from Park Avenue.
(Editing by Andrew Osborn, Alistair Macdonald and Sandra Maler)
Now, you may be thinking that?s an extreme statement, but certainly by now you?ve discovered just how popular blogging is both personally and professionally. Maybe not everyone is into it, but it certainly is one of the top 10 things to include in a business-marketing plan.
You might be familiar with blogging already and even have a few blogs on the go. As a business owner, you probably know you should be blogging regularly as a way to promote your business, but have you narrowed down a strategy? Is it time to tweak your blog?
The Importance of Blogs
Chances are you?ve seen value in subscribing to certain blogs. You may have saved a few as favorites or signed up to have them delivered to your inbox. You do this because you?ve seen value in keeping up with certain blog writers. In some way, what they share enhances your own work or sense of direction. Their blog may help you to stay in the loop. If they?ve already done the homework on certain initiatives, their blog may serve as a quick-read report?one that will give you the information you need to keep momentum in your field. A trusted blog writer filters out the noise helping you to stay current quickly.
Creating Your Strategy
You?ve probably scanned or read the blogs of other professionals and know which styles you like and which you don?t. That detail alone will help guide you into knowing what you want to write and how you want to display it. Variety is the spice of life, however. Create a blog that reflects you, not merely copies one of your favorite authors. Learn from your favorites, but don?t copy them and their information.
To gain an outline for your strategy, think about the reasons you subscribe to the blogs you do. What you like about certain authors? What do you like about their language or presentation style? When have these same authors almost made you hit the ?unsubscribe? button?something you?ll want to avoid? When you land on a blog page, how did you get there? What were you looking for? How much of the blog did you read? What answers or enlightenment did the blog give you? Could it have been shorter? Do you wish there were more information? Why makes you want to stay connected to a particular blog?
The answers you give to these questions may help you decide the value you want your blog to offer. Give your audience a reason to subscribe and a revisit. A blog is a great tool to help keep a conversation going and to build rapport with your market. Creating trust through consistency and through giving the gift of free information will help you build reader loyalty. The idea is that eventually they will order one of your products or sign up to use one of your services. Ideally, they will also refer you to their friends, share your link, and so on.
Write your blog with end results in mind. Write in such a way as to enhance readers lives, help them grow their own business, or offer them a sense of personal direction or motivation. Keep your information current, keep your blog updated regularly, and reply to comments.
Blogging is a tool for today that is constantly transforming. If you?re not into blogging yet, it?s time to try it. If you already have a blog on the go, tweak it and make it work to your benefit with these suggestions.
Many elderly people are lonely because they have lost touch with their families. Even, a life in a nursing home can present adjustment difficulties. Many have lost a partner, family and friends.
Cats make excellent companions to help the elderly overcome loneliness, writes Raising Whiskers, a specialized feline website.
Cats are gentle and affectionate. Elderly people need love and affection from an animal that in turn needs them.
Cats are a substitute for suppressed emotions, like fear, worry, lost love.
Cats are often less demanding than dogs and do not require constant care.
Cats help elderly people to regain their self esteem, given them a sense of personal responsibility.
Cats possess a lot of unconditional love, loyalty and affection for the elderly, who want to invest their efforts in an animal friend.
Eventually, cats and the elderly forge a bond with each other, promoting a feeling of well being.
Older people can also come in contact with other cat owners, creating a network system for friendships.
Cats are warm. laidback and friendly. They enjoy being caressed, purr when petted. Their luxuriant fur gives warmth to elderly people.
Cats are loyal companions that contribute to a longer and healthier life.
Elderly people lead more active lives when caring for pets and suffer less from low blood.
Proper cleaning, feeding and training of cats by the elderly, even if performed for a few minutes, strengthen the cardiovascular system and the limbs.?The sense of responsibility give older people more self-esteem.
Nursing homes where the elderly were talking care of small animals ? rabbits, cats and birds ? have a lower mortality rate.
Cats can be found for friendship in Assisted Living and Continuing Care residences.
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LONDON (AP) ? A British court has ordered self-exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky to pay 35 million pounds ($56 million) in legal costs to fellow Russian Roman Abramovich after losing a lawsuit against him.
Berezovsky waged a multimillion-dollar legal battle against Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club, claiming that he was cheated out of his stakes in the oil group Sibneft.
Berezovsky, a former Kremlin power broker who sought political asylum in Britain in the early 2000s, argued that Abramovich blackmailed him into selling the stakes vastly beneath their true worth after he fell out with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But Judge Elizabeth Gloster threw out the case in August, ruling that Berezovsky was a dishonest and unreliable witness.
Neither man was in court Friday as the costs were settled.
The Magazine is a new endeavor by Marco Arment, the creator of Instapaper and host of Build & Analyze, with no greater or lesser goal than to do an iOS Newsstand periodical the way it was meant to be done. In a market all too littered by massive, unwieldy Adobe InDesign exports, shackled to old-world sales and marketing models, The Magazine's premise comes off as audacious -- 4 articles every two weeks, written by passionate technologists for passionate technologists. Here's how Arment describes it in his forward/declaration of intent:
I?ve always loved technology, and I especially love the recent focus on mobile phones, tablets, and truly great personal computers. These interests also increasingly include other fields, such as photography, publishing, and music, affected heavily by technology.
This is what The Magazine is about.
Arment is also taking a page, almost literally, from Instapaper's playbook. Eschewing the static PNG files and anachronistic layouts of traditional magazines, he's simply, beautifully, cleanly, presenting The Magazine's content in as enjoyably readable a format a possible. Controls are likewise minimal. From the table of contents you can switch between dark and light mode, increase or decrease the type size, or swipe to delete content (a small trashcan will appear in the colored issue number/data bar to confirm).
From an individual article's page, you can share content via Mail, Message, Twitter, or Facebook, or send a copy to the clipboard or to Instapaper. Links are easy to see and if you tap on one, the article lifts up to show you a preview of the linked content. If you tap a link in the preview, you're carousel'ed out of The Magazine and the web page is served up in Safari.
The reading controls, however, are only available on the table of contents screen, so you can't change type size or toggle dark/light modes while inside an article, which also means you can't preview type-size changes without flipping back and forth. The share sheet is available on the article pages, but it's anchored to the top, so if you only decide you want to share an article by the time you finish reading it, you have to scroll all the way back to the top. Some sort of persistent controls (the way the issue number and date persist on the table of content), or even a set reveal-on-touch controls, would feel better.
Scrolling in articles is fast and fluid, and both button and gesture-based navigation options are available. From the table of contents screen, tap a article to go to that article, and tap the contents button to go back to the table of contents. You can also swipe to push the table of contents aside and reveal an article beneath it (the first article if you haven't begun reading yet, otherwise the last article you were reading). You can also swipe to pull the table of contents back into place so you can choose another article. Unfortunately, you can't swipe the other way to navigate to the next article. That's something I keep instinctively wanting to do, so hopefully it gets added in a future release.
In addition to Arment's forward, the first issue of The Magazine includes essays by Guy English, Jason Snell, Alex Payne, and Michael Lopp. English takes a look at the [Daring] Fireball Format of link blogs and their rise in popularity, Snell tackles the schism between geeks who do and don't love sports, Alex Payne laments on the people behind technology and how sometimes we get it wrong, and Lopp explores leadership and the dynamics between stability and volatility.
Most magazines aren't really in the content business. They're in the advertising and marketing business, selling our attention and our mailing addresses, with the content serving as a kiss and a cookie to keep us happily flipping page and subscribed. That's not always bad, and some really terrific magazines have been funded using that model. But The Magazine looks to be in the actual content business -- you read what you pay for.
With The Magazine, Arment has stripped the traditional format, model, and expectations of the magazine down to its essence, to the barest possible elements it needs to exist as a magazine -- a determined publisher, talented writers, and solid content -- and is hoping that in doing so, it flourishes.
I hope so as well. I hope it gives voice and exposure to a wide array of technologists who take the opportunity to raise the bar and the stakes of technology writing. And I hope it provides an oasis to readers hungry for just that. That may sound like a lot of pressure to put on a new type of publication on the day of its very first issue, but it seems like not an ounce less than Arment himself is placing upon it. And that's a stupendous thing.
The first issue of The Magazine, with free 7-day trial, is available now. Subscriptions cost $1.99 a month (which should include 2 issues given the current publishing schedule). Give it a read.
This is one of those recipes that has already become a staple in our house. It?s taken me a few weeks to share the recipe with you (what can I say, apple streusel bread seems more exciting), but this slow cooker chicken in a pot is absolutely wonderful. Plus, it?s so easy to throw together. The chicken takes a small amount of prep work, but then it cooks in the crockpot all day, creating mouthwatering aromas in your kitchen. By the time it?s done, the whole chicken is cooked to perfection and practically falling off the bone. It?s tender and juicy and absolutely delicious. We usually eat this as a main dish the night I make it, then use the leftover chicken throughout the week in soups or casseroles. ?It?s so simple, but so good!
Slow Cooker Chicken In a Pot
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 onions, roughly chopped 6 garlic cloves, peeled 1 Tbsp all purpose flour 1/4 cup dry white wine 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth 5 fresh thyme sprigs 2 bay leaves 1 (4 1/2 to 5 lb) whole chicken, neck and giblets removed salt and pepper
Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions are softened, 5-6 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly add the wine and chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out lumps. Transfer to slow cooker.
Add thyme sprigs and bay leaves to the slow cooker. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place breast side down in the slow cooker. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender, 5-6 hours on low.
Transfer chicken to a cutting board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 20 minutes. Let braising liquid settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using a large spoon. Strain liquid, discarding any solids, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Carve chicken and serve with sauce.
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Public release date: 15-Oct-2012
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