MILWAUKEE (AP) ? Dozens of air shows that draw tens of thousands of people and generate millions of dollars for local economies have been cancelled this year after the military grounded its jet and demonstration teams because of automatic federal budget cuts.
For years, the biggest draws at air shows have been the military's two elite jet teams, the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force's Thunderbirds, and their intricate stunts. The armed services also have provided F-16, F-18 and F-22 fighter jets and the U.S. Army Parachute Team, known as the Golden Knights. All the teams were grounded as of April 1 to save money, and the military also dramatically curtailed its help with ground displays of various aircraft.
Those cutbacks have affected more than 200 of the approximately 300 air shows held in the United States each year, said John Cudahy, president of the International Council of Air Shows. About 60 shows have been cancelled, and he expects more cancellations as the season progresses and hope for restoration of the budget cuts fades. He predicted 15 percent to 20 percent of the shows won't return next year, even if the military begins participating again.
"The worst case is that they either cancel and go out of business, or they don't cancel and they have such poor attendance and they go out of business," he said.
Local economies also will feel the sting of the cancellations without the air shows bringing in crucial tourism dollars.
Representatives for some of the nation's biggest air shows, such as the air and water shows in Chicago and Milwaukee and the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., said they didn't expect a lack of active military jets to affect their events. The Chicago and Milwaukee shows are held along the shore of Lake Michigan, where large crowds are expected to gather for a free spectacle; the Oshkosh event is primarily a convention of pilots and aviation enthusiasts, with an air show attached.
But organizers of other events said they expected such a dramatic drop in attendance that they felt they had to cancel.
Thunder over the Blue Ridge in Martinsburg, W.V., an easy day trip from Baltimore and Washington, won't happen. The two-day show drew 88,000 people when the Thunderbirds performed in 2010, said Bill Walkup, one of the board members and manager of the Martinsburg airport.
"Having the Thunderbirds or the Blue Angels is like having the Super Bowl, it's a household name," Walkup said. Without a jet team, the show typically draws 15,000 or fewer.
Organizers also faced a challenge because the show had been hosted for the past few years by the West Virginia Air National Guard. After the Guard said it couldn't do that because of budget cuts, organizers considered hosting the show at the civilian side of the airport ? until the Thunderbirds cancelled.
"When this happened, it just put us out of business," Walkup said.
Maj. Darrick Lee, spokesman for the Thunderbirds, said a typical season averages about $9.75 million and the Air Force needs to focus its resources now on its mission in Afghanistan. Team members are still doing local public appearances that have little or no cost, he said.
"Would we prefer to be flying? Of course," he said. But, he added, "We encourage folks to go and have a good time with or without us."
Organizers cancelled the Indianapolis Air Show in February because of concerns the Blue Angels wouldn't participate, said Robert Duncan, chairman of the show's executive committee. The jet team makes a 25 percent to 30 percent difference in the gate admissions, and sponsors weren't signing up as quickly because of uncertainty about the Blue Angels. The committee is trying to reinvent the show for next year, perhaps by adding a 5k run, carnival games or more civilian aircraft, Duncan said.
Many air shows, including those in Martinsburg and Indianapolis, benefit charities. They also generate millions of dollars in tourism, benefiting hotels, rental car companies and restaurants. Economic impact studies indicate the shows are worth $1 billion to $2 billion nationwide, Cudahy said.
Bob Anderson, of Tallahassee, Fla., is among those whose businesses have been hurt. For more than a decade, he and his wife, Sandy, have sold Blue Angels and Thunderbirds T-shirts and other apparel at shows. In a typical year, they go to more than 20 of them and sales surpass $250,000.
This year, they went to two shows before the teams ended their seasons on April 1. Anderson, who is back to doing carpentry and home repair, said the loss of business also affects others? he spends about $90,000 a year on shirts, printing, embroidery and other supplies.
"The trickle-down effect is tremendous," he said.
Air show organizers in many communities have been scrambling to avoid additional losses.
Curt Drumm, producer and co-founder of Thunder on the Lakeshore, in Manitowoc, Wis., said he has been talking to private owners of former military aircraft and to aerobatic performers to help fill gaps left by three smaller military teams. The event usually draws 70,000 people over three days and is an important source of income for local businesses and civic groups that run food and beverage stands.
"We still have an incredible lineup of civilian performers," Drumm said. But, he acknowledged, "Without those big, noisy jets, it's not quite the same event."
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) ? Doug O'Neill's first full day at Churchill Downs already has him feeling like he could achieve something special in the Kentucky Derby.
Again.
Back at the track for the first time since winning last year's Derby with I'll Have Another, the trainer is thinking about winning another Run for the Roses.
And why not?
This time around, the trainer has Goldencents, who like I'll Have Another, comes into the Saturday's Derby off a victory in the Santa Anita Derby.
"It's great to be back," O'Neill said. "It's wonderful looking at the twin spires and dreaming of what could be coming on May 4."
Goldencents has O'Neill looking forward to Saturday, especially after the 3-year-old colt took his first jog around the track. A day after making the cross-country flight from California, the colt co-owned by Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino jogged a leisurely mile with exercise rider Jonny Garcia aboard. Jockey Kevin Krigger looked on.
"He looked great," O'Neill said before showers passed over the track following the jog. "We just had an easy day with him, but I was real happy with the way he looked, Jonny was happy with the way he felt. If all goes well, we'll gallop him tomorrow."
Goldencents had his last workout Thursday at Santa Anita, covering six furlongs in 1:16.20 at Santa Anita. Most notable about the workout was covering the final three furlongs in 36.00, boosting O'Neill's Derby outlook.
Goldencents has won two of three starts this year and totals four wins in six career races. After a fourth-place finish in the San Felipe Stakes, the colt rebounded with a 1?-length win over Flashback in the Santa Anita Derby.
Krigger has been the regular rider and will have a chance on Saturday to become the first African-American jockey to win the Derby since 1902.
Though Krigger wasn't sure if he'd get aboard Goldencents before Saturday, O'Neill has about 10 mounts planned for him so the jockey becomes familiar with the track and its surface.
"I'm happy either way how we do it, so it doesn't really matter to me if I do or not," Krigger said. "I would like to, though."
Also, Florida Derby runner-up Itsmyluckyday jogged just over a mile following his van trip from Florida. The Holy Bull winner had his last workout Thursday at Calder Race Course, clocking 53:00 over four furlongs before making an 18-hour van trip to Kentucky.
Exercise rider Peter Shelton said Itsmyluckyday was bouncing and eager to keep going during his jog, just the kind of enthusiasm trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. was looking for.
"Everything went according to the plan that we had," Plesa said by phone. "It couldn't have gone any better."
The only Derby contender to post a workout Sunday was Code West, who went five furlongs in 1:00.40 under Hall of Famer Mike Smith. The workout pleased trainer Bob Baffert following the horse's sixth-place run in the Louisiana Derby, but Code West's status for the Derby will be determined after Baffert meets with owner Gary West.
The Derby field is limited to 20 starters. Code West is one of three horses tied for 20th in the qualifying points with 20, so it's uncertain whether he would make the field.
"Our options are the Derby, the Preakness, the Peter Pan," Baffert said. "The Belmont has been the target for him. ... We're going to go over it. There's no rush to judgment just yet."
Baffert plans to send out Govenor Charlie on Monday for the first time since April 11, a layoff caused by a foot bruise and soreness in his hind end.
Apr. 29, 2013 ? Roboticists are currently developing machines that have the potential to help patients with caregiving tasks, such as housework, feeding and walking. But before they reach the care recipients, assistive robots will first have to be accepted by healthcare providers such as nurses and nursing assistants. Based on a Georgia Institute of Technology study, it appears that they may be welcomed with open arms depending on the tasks at hand.
More than half of healthcare providers interviewed said that if they were offered an assistant, they preferred it to be a robotic helper rather than a human. However, they don't want robots to help with everything. They were very particular about what they wanted a robot to do, and not do. Instrumental activities of daily living (IDALs), such as helping with housework and reminding patients when to take medication, were acceptable. But activities daily living (ADL) tasks, especially those involving direct, physical interactions such as bathing, getting dressed and feeding people, were considered better for human assistants.
The findings will be presented April 27- May 2 at the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Paris, France.
"One open question was whether healthcare providers would reject the idea of robotic assistants out of fear that the robots would replace them in the workplace," said Tracy Mitzner, one of the study's leaders and the associate director of Georgia Tech's Human Factors and Aging Laboratory. "This doesn't appear to be a significant concern. In fact, the professional caregivers we interviewed viewed robots as a way to improve their jobs and the care they're able to give patients."
For instance, nurses preferred a robot assistant that could help them lift patients from a bed to a chair. They also indicated that robotic assistants could be helpful with some medical tasks such as checking vitals.
"Robots aren't being designed to eliminate people. Instead, they can help reduce physical demands and workloads," Mitzner said. "Hopefully, our study helps create guidelines for developers and facilitates deployment into the healthcare industry. It doesn't make sense to build robots that won't be accepted by the end user."
This study complements the lab's prior research that found older people are generally willing to accept help from robots. Much like the current research, their preferences depended on the task. Participants said they preferred robotic help over human help for chores such as cleaning the kitchen and doing laundry. Getting dressed and suggesting medication were tasks viewed as better suited for human assistants.
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Wine is among the oldest drinks around and tastes great. If you don?t like wine, maybe you just haven?t found one you like yet. This article has a ton of tips and tricks to help you become more knowledgeable about wine.
Trust your instincts when it comes to trying wine. For example, just because a friend likes a wine that you have never liked in the past, don?t buy some just to look good. You will just end up wasting funds on a wine you already know you?re not likely to enjoy.
If you drink and cook with wine frequently, especially pricier varieties, it may be worthwhile to have your own wine cellar installed. You definitely need this if you plan on storing your expensive wine for a long time in a location other than your kitchen. A wine cellar can prolong the life of your wines.
Windex is a life-saver if you get from wine. It gets the stain out faster than water and soap and water does. Use Windex right away or you can before the stain completely.
This is key if you own pricey wines that you plan to drink down the future and cannot store it in your kitchen.A wine cellar keeps the wine over extended periods.
If you find that you really prefer less expensive wine, don?t be afraid to buy it. You might be told that one wine is better than the one you like by a professional wine taster, but that won?t make it taste better. If a less expensive variety tickles your fancy, then choose that wine with glee! The end goal, after all, is to enjoy what you?re drinking.
Don?t be afraid to join a discussion forum or two to discuss your new hobby. There are some really good forums out there where people about wine.
Do not be frightened of the sulfite warnings on the labels scare you. All wines contain sulfites, but it?s the American made versions that must show a warning.While it is true that some may experience an allergic reaction to sulfites, there is no need to worry if this has not been a problem in the past.
If you are getting many headaches after you drink wine with your meal, cut down on the amount of wine that you are drinking that week. Wine contains sulfites, and sulfates encourage headaches. Drink water on off days, to filter some of the wine out of your system.
Try different things when buying wine! You can experience different countries by trying their wines. Ask your local wine shop staffer what they recommend. You may find something you never tried before is your new favorite.
Wine country is a place that you should visit wineries. These places are both scenic and gain some context on their origins.
Know whether the wine you wish to store away will age well. It would be a wise idea to learn about the particular type of wine you plan to store to learn just how long that particular type will store. One tip is that Bordeaux wine will store and age very well.
Listen to the advice of wine experts, but don?t take them too seriously.Any reputable wine expert readily admit that they don?t know everything there is to know about wine.
The variety and color of grapes determine if a wine is white or white. Red wines are made out of purple grapes that have a fuller body. White wines use green grapes that are known for being crisp and crisper. There is more than just color differences in these wines, but this is the most fundamental discrepancy.
If you love wine, plan your next vacation in wine country. Vineyards are gorgeous, and you will learn a lot that you did not know.
Many varieties of wines go well with your favorite dessert. Dessert wines are typically sweeter than the wines served with your meal. Port wines are a natural sweetness that compliments most chocolates and desserts. They should be served at around 55 degrees.
As was mentioned in the beginning, people have been enjoying wine for years. While it may seem tough to find the perfect wine at first, it?s easy enough to do with a little knowledge about wine. Start by using the tips from this article when you go shopping for a bottle of wine.
Enjoy yourself when it comes to wine. Too much time is often spent trying to figure out all the components of wine and which wines go well with which foods. Be creative and allow your imaginations to explore. After all, the purpose of wine is to have a good time.
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New stats: Plastic surgery trend has women armed for spring and summerPublic release date: 29-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Shannon McCormick shannon@mediasourcetv.com 614-477-2719 American Society of Plastic Surgeons
Inspired by strong-armed celebrities, upper arm lifts jump 4,378% since 2000, new ASPS statistics show
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., April 29, 2013 New statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) show that arm lifts in women have skyrocketed more than 4,000 percent in just over the last decade. It is a trend fueled, in part, by sleeveless fashions for women and more focus on strong-armed celebrities. In 2000, more than 300 women got upper arm lift procedures. Last year, more than 15,000 did.
Arm Lifts By The Numbers:
Procedures in 2012
Overall: 15,457 up 3% since 2011 / 4,473% since 2000
Women: 15,136 up 4,378% since 2000
98% of arm lift patients were women
Most popular with patients over 40. The majority, 43%, of patients were ages 40 and 54, 33% were over age 55.
Average surgeon fee: $3,939 / total spent on arm lifts: $61 million
Upper arm lifts can include liposuction or a surgical procedure known as brachioplasty, in which loose skin is removed from the back of the arms.
"Women are paying more attention to their arms in general and are becoming more aware of options to treat this area," said ASPS President Gregory Evans, MD. "For some women, the arms have always been a troublesome area and, along with proper diet and exercise, liposuction can help refine them. Others may opt for a brachioplasty when there is a fair amount of loose skin present with minimal elasticity."
Doctors say there is no single reason behind the increase, though celebrities from the White House to the red carpet may be having an influence. A recent poll* conducted on behalf of ASPS found that women are paying closer attention to the arms of female celebrities.
According to the poll, women most admire the arms of first lady Michelle Obama, followed closely by Jennifer Aniston. Actresses Jessica Biel and Demi Moore, and daytime TV talk show host Kelly Ripa also got votes for their toned arms.
"I think we are always affected by the people that we see consistently, either on the big screen or on TV," said ASPS Public Education Committee Chair David Reath, MD, based in Knoxville, Tenn. "We see them and think, 'yeah, I'd like to look like that'."
That's just what happened to 24-year-old Natalie Robinson of Knoxville, who says she was inspired by the arms of the first lady. "I looked at Michelle Obama and said 'Oh my gosh, I want her arms. When I first started losing weight and started to tone up, I had her image in my head."
That was three years ago. Today, Robinson has lost more than 170 pounds and continues an amazing transformation through diet and exercise. But for all the weight she'd lost, Robinson says she still wasn't entirely happy.
"I had a lot of excessive skin around my upper arms," she said. "Every time I looked in the mirror there was a reminder of a heavier person and I just couldn't get rid of it."
That's when Robinson contacted Dr. Reath, who performed her brachioplasty. "Natalie had the perfect arms for this procedure," said Dr. Reath, "but it's not for everybody."
A brachioplasty requires an incision from the elbow to the armpit, generally on the back of the arm, leaving a visible and permanent scar. For Robinson, the scar was much easier to deal with than the excessive skin, but Dr. Reath cautions patients to carefully consider the pros and cons before having an upper arm lift, particularly a brachioplasty.
"It's a trade off. We get rid of the skin, but we leave a scar," he said. "So, as long as there's enough improvement to be made in the shape of the arm to justify the scar, then it's a great procedure."
Dr. Reath stresses the importance of proper diet and exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle to all his patients, but says some women simply can't achieve the look they want on their own. Many who simply want to tighten and tone their upper arms, but don't have a lot of excess skin, opt for liposuction instead of a brachioplasty.
"We are genetically programmed to have different accumulations of fat in different areas, and for some women the arms can be a problem area," said Dr. Reath. "The arms are a very noticeable area and if excessive fat and skin are an issue, they tend to look more out of proportion than the rest of the body."
That was certainly the case for Robinson, but not anymore. Robinson says she never expected surgery to make her arms perfect, just more normal. "Well-proportioned is what I was going for, and I'm very happy. It was well worth the investment," she said. "I would do it again."
###
For more new statistics on trends in plastic surgery including gender, age, regional, national average fees and other breakouts, refer to the ASPS 2012 National Clearinghouse of Plastic Surgery Procedural Statistics report at http://www.plasticsurgery.org/news-and-resources/2012-plastic-surgery-statistics.html. (Stats on this site will be updated with the specific demographics and trends when embargo lifts on 4/29/13). Information about procedures and referrals to ASPS Member Surgeons can be found at http://www.PlasticSurgery.org.
* This poll was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons from March 28-April 1, 2013 among 1,219 women ages 18 and older. This online poll is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete poll methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Shannon McCormick.
About ASPS
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is the world's largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons. Representing more than 7,000 Member Surgeons, the Society is recognized as a leading authority and information source on aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. ASPS comprises more than 94 percent of all board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States. Founded in 1931, the Society represents physicians certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery or The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. ASPS advances quality care to plastic surgery patients by encouraging high standards of training, ethics, physician practice and research in plastic surgery. You can learn more and visit the American Society of Plastic Surgeons at PlasticSurgery.org or Facebook.com/PlasticSurgeryASPS and Twitter.com/ASPS_News.
Broadcast quality multimedia elements at: http://bit.ly/14STmA2
(Multimedia Newsroom is password protected until embargo lifts. Please contact media relations representative listed below for password prior to embargo.)
Media Contacts: Shannon McCormick, 614-932-9950 (ext. 14) shannon@mediasourcetv.com or ASPS: 847-228-9900, media@plasticsurgery.org
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
New stats: Plastic surgery trend has women armed for spring and summerPublic release date: 29-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Shannon McCormick shannon@mediasourcetv.com 614-477-2719 American Society of Plastic Surgeons
Inspired by strong-armed celebrities, upper arm lifts jump 4,378% since 2000, new ASPS statistics show
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., April 29, 2013 New statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) show that arm lifts in women have skyrocketed more than 4,000 percent in just over the last decade. It is a trend fueled, in part, by sleeveless fashions for women and more focus on strong-armed celebrities. In 2000, more than 300 women got upper arm lift procedures. Last year, more than 15,000 did.
Arm Lifts By The Numbers:
Procedures in 2012
Overall: 15,457 up 3% since 2011 / 4,473% since 2000
Women: 15,136 up 4,378% since 2000
98% of arm lift patients were women
Most popular with patients over 40. The majority, 43%, of patients were ages 40 and 54, 33% were over age 55.
Average surgeon fee: $3,939 / total spent on arm lifts: $61 million
Upper arm lifts can include liposuction or a surgical procedure known as brachioplasty, in which loose skin is removed from the back of the arms.
"Women are paying more attention to their arms in general and are becoming more aware of options to treat this area," said ASPS President Gregory Evans, MD. "For some women, the arms have always been a troublesome area and, along with proper diet and exercise, liposuction can help refine them. Others may opt for a brachioplasty when there is a fair amount of loose skin present with minimal elasticity."
Doctors say there is no single reason behind the increase, though celebrities from the White House to the red carpet may be having an influence. A recent poll* conducted on behalf of ASPS found that women are paying closer attention to the arms of female celebrities.
According to the poll, women most admire the arms of first lady Michelle Obama, followed closely by Jennifer Aniston. Actresses Jessica Biel and Demi Moore, and daytime TV talk show host Kelly Ripa also got votes for their toned arms.
"I think we are always affected by the people that we see consistently, either on the big screen or on TV," said ASPS Public Education Committee Chair David Reath, MD, based in Knoxville, Tenn. "We see them and think, 'yeah, I'd like to look like that'."
That's just what happened to 24-year-old Natalie Robinson of Knoxville, who says she was inspired by the arms of the first lady. "I looked at Michelle Obama and said 'Oh my gosh, I want her arms. When I first started losing weight and started to tone up, I had her image in my head."
That was three years ago. Today, Robinson has lost more than 170 pounds and continues an amazing transformation through diet and exercise. But for all the weight she'd lost, Robinson says she still wasn't entirely happy.
"I had a lot of excessive skin around my upper arms," she said. "Every time I looked in the mirror there was a reminder of a heavier person and I just couldn't get rid of it."
That's when Robinson contacted Dr. Reath, who performed her brachioplasty. "Natalie had the perfect arms for this procedure," said Dr. Reath, "but it's not for everybody."
A brachioplasty requires an incision from the elbow to the armpit, generally on the back of the arm, leaving a visible and permanent scar. For Robinson, the scar was much easier to deal with than the excessive skin, but Dr. Reath cautions patients to carefully consider the pros and cons before having an upper arm lift, particularly a brachioplasty.
"It's a trade off. We get rid of the skin, but we leave a scar," he said. "So, as long as there's enough improvement to be made in the shape of the arm to justify the scar, then it's a great procedure."
Dr. Reath stresses the importance of proper diet and exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle to all his patients, but says some women simply can't achieve the look they want on their own. Many who simply want to tighten and tone their upper arms, but don't have a lot of excess skin, opt for liposuction instead of a brachioplasty.
"We are genetically programmed to have different accumulations of fat in different areas, and for some women the arms can be a problem area," said Dr. Reath. "The arms are a very noticeable area and if excessive fat and skin are an issue, they tend to look more out of proportion than the rest of the body."
That was certainly the case for Robinson, but not anymore. Robinson says she never expected surgery to make her arms perfect, just more normal. "Well-proportioned is what I was going for, and I'm very happy. It was well worth the investment," she said. "I would do it again."
###
For more new statistics on trends in plastic surgery including gender, age, regional, national average fees and other breakouts, refer to the ASPS 2012 National Clearinghouse of Plastic Surgery Procedural Statistics report at http://www.plasticsurgery.org/news-and-resources/2012-plastic-surgery-statistics.html. (Stats on this site will be updated with the specific demographics and trends when embargo lifts on 4/29/13). Information about procedures and referrals to ASPS Member Surgeons can be found at http://www.PlasticSurgery.org.
* This poll was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons from March 28-April 1, 2013 among 1,219 women ages 18 and older. This online poll is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete poll methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Shannon McCormick.
About ASPS
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is the world's largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons. Representing more than 7,000 Member Surgeons, the Society is recognized as a leading authority and information source on aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. ASPS comprises more than 94 percent of all board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States. Founded in 1931, the Society represents physicians certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery or The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. ASPS advances quality care to plastic surgery patients by encouraging high standards of training, ethics, physician practice and research in plastic surgery. You can learn more and visit the American Society of Plastic Surgeons at PlasticSurgery.org or Facebook.com/PlasticSurgeryASPS and Twitter.com/ASPS_News.
Broadcast quality multimedia elements at: http://bit.ly/14STmA2
(Multimedia Newsroom is password protected until embargo lifts. Please contact media relations representative listed below for password prior to embargo.)
Media Contacts: Shannon McCormick, 614-932-9950 (ext. 14) shannon@mediasourcetv.com or ASPS: 847-228-9900, media@plasticsurgery.org
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The infamous Kermit Gosnell trial has revealed for those who didn?t know, or who had been living in denial, the gruesome atrocities that take place inside abortion clinics. The Daily Mail?reports that Chinese immigrant?Bei Bei Shuai is being charged with murder and feticide after ingesting rat poison which killed her eight-month-old unborn child.?
Why is Shuai?s termination of the growing, living being inside her considered murder, and abortion is not? Pro-aborts no longer seem to argue the reality that the unborn fetus, formerly known as a ?blob of tissue,? is indeed a baby. If it were simply that, why have laws governing the removal of it? Why aren?t there harsh debates about allowing people to have tumors and moles removed too? Why do pregnant women weep and become haunted with remorse and intense depression when they undergo the ?routine procedure?? The truth is, it?s no longer an issue of whether the unborn is a life, and I don?t think it ever really was.?
So what have we come to? Is it finally time to admit that the United States has legal murders?
The juggernaut that is search advertising grew so popular and lucrative because it offered?businesses the ability to reach and persuade people with true purchase intent. But now keyword targeting is available on Twitter and Facebook, which could loosen Google?s stranglehold on ads that convince us what to buy.
Demand Generation Vs Fulfillment
A solid model for understanding web advertising is the purchase-intent funnel. At the wide top of the funnel is demand generation ? raising awareness about a product and engendering the brand to the consumer. Demand generation is more about ad views and changing your perceptions than clicks and driving immediate action. Imagine banner ads for Coca-Cola, Facebook sidebar ads for a movie coming to theaters next month, or a Twitter Promoted Tweet about Clorox bleach. They?re designed to keep those brands stuck in your mind so you pay them later, and they?re targeted based on your demographic and interests.
At the narrow bottom of the funnel is demand fulfillment ? convincing someone ready to make a purchase of what specifically they should buy. These ads typically seek a click through to a purchase page or sign-up form. Imagine searching for ?Buy camera? on Google and seeing sponsored results for Best Buy?s website and specific Canon camera models that you can click through to purchase. Or searching ?San Francisco lawyer? and seeing ads for specific local firms you could click through to book an appointment. They?re designed to attract the final click before you purchase, but to do that they need to know you?re actually in the mood to buy something. Since they directly inspire purchases and are more easily tied to return on investment, these ads can command high prices.
Until recently, Facebook and Twitter were stuck in the demand generation part of the funnel. With all their biographical and interest data, they were good for brand and institutional advertising but not at delivering dollars directly into advertisers? hands. Google has long ruled demand fulfillment with its AdWords product that lets advertisers compete in auctions to show their ads to people who?ve searched for specific keywords that demonstrate purchase intent. But those dividing lines are rapidly blurring, and it could shift the axis of power in online advertising.
Mining The Bottom Of The Funnel
Twitter and Facebook are now aggressively trying to drill down the funnel into demand fulfillment, and they have the data they need to succeed. They might not have traditional web search engine queries, but they have plenty of internal searches and a near infinite amount of chatter.
Intentful Tweets
Twitter last week announced the launch of keyword advertising, which lets businesses target ads to people who recently tweeted or engaged with tweets containing certain keywords. Tweet about a band and you might see ads for an upcoming concert by them. Retweet someone saying they haven?t been to the dentist in forever, and you might see ads for nearby dentists.
Searching for and tweeting a word are two very different things, but Twitter keyword ads are certainly much closer to purchase intent than targeting based on who you follow. And with some savvy multi-keyword targeting, for example ?[Product name]? and ?want?, businesses could deduce purchase intent out of 140 characters.
Social Invading From All Sides
Facebook meanwhile currently offers ?search typeahead ads?. When you search for a specific Facebook Page or app, businesses can set up ads to to show their own Pages or apps above or just below the organic results. If you?re searching for ?Candy Crush Saga?, you almost surely want to play a puzzle game. Search typeahead ads for other puzzle games at the moment could be very effective. Gadgets, games, professional services and more brands can all take advantage of this signal of purchase intent.
And that?s just the beginning for Facebook. Last week it revealed its first ads within its new Graph Search feature. For now, these ads can?t be targeted by keywords, just the standard biographical targeting. But it?s very likely that keyword targeting is on the way.
Along with creating big advertising opportunities for online conversion businesses, they could be with local businesses. Facebook is making a big push right now to challenge Yelp as the place you find a business? address, open hours, photos, reviews, and recommendations. Just yesterday Facebook redesigned its mobile Pages for businesses to highlight this info. That shift in focus means people looking for Facebook business Pages aren?t just trying to see their news feed updates. They?re trying to find out how to get there because they want their service right now ? aka purchase intent.
Now imagine if you query Facebook?s Nearby local business browser or Graph Search for nearby Italian restaurants. Graph Search keyword ads could let an Italian restaurant show up more prominently in results, even if Facebook?s quality and relevance algorithms didn?t peg it as the best.
Then there?s Facebook Exchange. These are real-time bid, cookie-retargeted ads based on what websites you?ve visited. For example, you might see an FBX ad for a flight to Hawaii you looked at but didn?t pull the trigger on. While retargeting is in a whole different category than search keyword ads, they have the same ability to reach people who are deciding where to spend their money. And in the past, Facebook has tested sidebar ads related to the keywords you post in status updates. Facebook is trying everything it can to get to the juicy bottom of the funnel.
Fragmented Budgets
Many businesses keep essentially separate ad budgets for search, display, and retargeting. Until recently, Twitter and Facebook were only tapping the display budgets. But now they?re smashing open the other piggy banks. Businesses aren?t likely to suddenly expand the total amount of the spend on online advertising, even as the market steadily grows. Instead they experiment a bit at first with some spend borrowed from what?s usually devoted to Google, and if the ads work, they?ll cleave that Google budget and divvy it up among the newfound channels.
That is not what Google wants.
Search ad money is what funds its moonshots and sustains its enormous engineering staff for free products like Chrome. Despite Google?s legacy, Twitter and Facebook have formulated advantages. Twitter?s relatively un-ad-cluttered interface keeps people?s guards down which likely contributes to the reportedly high click-through rates on its ads. And Facebook has the might of the social graph to throw in the ring. Sticking the face of a friend who Likes Canon cameras on an ad for Canon cameras shown when you search for ?Cameras? or ?Nikon? could persuade you to click the ad, when on Google you?d ignore it. Plus there?s Amazon. The traffic to the ecommerce leader comes with implicit purchase intent, and whose shopping history data helps it target ads on-site as well as in its burgeoning off-site and mobile app ad network.
Now, Google is still the heavyweight of purchase-intent web ads. That?s not going to change overnight. But the Lilliputians have finally developed the technology to drag down the search giant?s revenues and claim some of those ad dollars for their own.
[Image Credits: Bryce Durbin for TechCrunch, John Swift / Inyamuakut / WebBooks]
Apr. 24, 2013 ? A microbial byproduct of intestinal bacteria contributes to heart disease and serves as an accurate screening tool for predicting future risks of heart attack, stroke and death in persons not otherwise identified by traditional risk factors and blood tests, according to Cleveland Clinic research published today in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The research team was led by Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D., Vice Chair of Translational Research, Chair of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine for the Lerner Research Institute and section head of Preventive Cardiology & Rehabilitation in the Miller Family Heart and Vascular Institute at Cleveland Clinic, and W.H. Wilson Tang, M.D., Department of Cardiovascular Medicine in the Miller Family Heart and Vascular Institute and Lerner Research Institute.
The current study is an extension of Dr. Hazen's previous work, in which he found that a chemical byproduct called trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is produced when intestinal bacteria digest the nutrient phosphatidylcholine, commonly known as lecithin. The prior research showed that TMAO levels in the blood were associated with heart disease. Dr. Hazen and colleagues have now confirmed that gut flora are essential in forming TMAO in humans and demonstrated a relationship between TMAO levels and future cardiac events like heart attack, stroke, and death -- even in those with no prior evidence of cardiac disease risk.
To demonstrate the role of gut flora in forming TMAO, human subjects were asked to eat two hard-boiled eggs (a common dietary source of lecithin) and a capsule of labeled lecithin (as a tracer). After ingestion, TMAO levels in the blood increased. However, when these same subjects were given a brief course of broad-spectrum antibiotics to suppress their gut flora, their TMAO levels were suppressed, and no additional TMAO was formed, even after ingesting lecithin. These results demonstrated that the intestinal bacteria are essential for the formation of TMAO.
In the second phase of the study, the researchers measured TMAO levels in a large, independent, clinical cohort -- consisting of more than 4,000 adults undergoing cardiac evaluation at Cleveland Clinic -- over a three-year follow-up period. They found that higher TMAO blood levels were associated with higher future risks of death and nonfatal heart attack or stroke over the ensuing three-year period, independent of other risk factors and blood test results. These results complement those of another recent study of Dr. Hazen's linking gut flora metabolism of a structurally similar nutrient found in animal products, carnitine, to TMAO production and heart attack risk.
"Heart disease remains the No. 1 killer, and while we know how to reduce cholesterol, treat blood pressure, and reduce cardiac risks through diet and other interventions, a substantial residual risk still remains," Dr. Hazen said. "We need to find new pathways to attack heart disease, and these findings strongly suggest that further research into the involvement of gut microbiome in the development of cardiovascular disease could lead to new avenues of prevention and treatment of heart disease."
Dr. Hazen further suggested, "These studies show that measuring blood levels of TMAO could serve as a powerful tool for predicting future cardiovascular risk, even for those without known risk factors. More studies are needed to confirm that TMAO testing, like cholesterol, triglyceride or glucose levels, might help guide physicians in providing individualized nutritional recommendations for preventing cardiovascular disease. Our goal is not to suggest dietary restrictions of entire food groups. Eggs, meat and other animal products are an integral part of most individuals' diets. Our work shows, however, that when digesting these foods, gut flora can generate a chemical mediator, TMAO, that may contribute to cardiovascular disease."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Cleveland Clinic, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
W.H. Wilson Tang, Zeneng Wang, Bruce S. Levison, Robert A. Koeth, Earl B. Britt, Xiaoming Fu, Yuping Wu, Stanley L. Hazen. Intestinal Microbial Metabolism of Phosphatidylcholine and Cardiovascular Risk. New England Journal of Medicine, 2013; 368 (17): 1575 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1109400
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.
Christie's scientific specialist James Hyslop poses for photographs with a sub-fossilized pre-17th century Elephant Bird egg at the auction house's premises in London, Wednesday, March 27, 2013. The egg, which is estimated to fetch 20,000 to 30,000 pounds ($30,210 to $45,315 and 23,645 to 35,467 euro) in the forthcoming Travel, Science and Natural History sale on April 24, measures over 100 times the average size of a chicken egg, and stands at 21cm in diameter and 30cm in height. The extinct Elephant Bird species was native to Madagascar and among the heaviest known birds. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Christie's scientific specialist James Hyslop poses for photographs with a sub-fossilized pre-17th century Elephant Bird egg at the auction house's premises in London, Wednesday, March 27, 2013. The egg, which is estimated to fetch 20,000 to 30,000 pounds ($30,210 to $45,315 and 23,645 to 35,467 euro) in the forthcoming Travel, Science and Natural History sale on April 24, measures over 100 times the average size of a chicken egg, and stands at 21cm in diameter and 30cm in height. The extinct Elephant Bird species was native to Madagascar and among the heaviest known birds. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
LONDON (AP) ? A massive, partly fossilized egg laid by a now-extinct elephant bird has sold for more than double its estimate at a London auction.
Christie's auction house said Wednesday that the foot-long, nearly nine-inches in diameter egg fetched 66,675 pounds ($101,813). It had been valued at 20,000 to 30,000 pounds pre-sale, and was sold to an anonymous buyer over the telephone after about 10 minutes of competitive bidding.
Elephant birds were wiped out several hundred years ago. The oversized ovum, laid on the island of Madagascar, is believed to date back before the 17th century.
Flightless, fruit-gobbling elephant birds resembled giant ostriches and could grow to be 11 feet high (3.4 meters). Christie's says their eggs are 100 times the size of an average chicken's.
Today?s Business Success is from a new contributor, Kevin McNally, CEO and founder of Interactive Palette, and focuses on a topic we can?t learn enough about: marketing online.
Build a Better Business through Online Presence ?
Effective marketing is at the heart of a successful business with a prevailing online presence perhaps the most straightforward route to achieving commercial goals.
In fact, a company?s website is the first thing many potential clients check out before deciding where to take their business, so it pays to maintain one that provides consistent up-to-date information, is easy to navigate and in general positively reflects what your company has to offer.
A powerful website should focus on your specific industry and help to build your brand. Those in the photography trade already know that a picture is indeed worth a thousand words; as such current content is critical to a business website.? Here is where a Content Management System (CMS) can keep your website fresh and inviting.? All too often, businesses rarely alter their website, in large part due to the misconception that it will be a costly endeavor.? While it?s true that a complete overhaul of a website comes with a considerable price tag, adding a CMS is quite cost-effective and typically pays for itself in short time.
For the uninitiated, a CMS is a web-based interface that allows business owners and specified staff the ability to add pages, edit content, upload images and PDFs and make other changes to a website as needed.? This allows a business to maintain the most up-to-date information on projects, services and price information. It enables the capacity to post press releases, special offers, testimonials and useful links.? And perhaps most importantly for the photography industry, a CMS allows inclusion of a dynamic photo gallery of completed projects.
A website becomes much more search engine friendly with the use of a CMS, allowing for increased traffic and potentially increased business. Building wide awareness of a website is essential to the success of a business and with a few fundamental SEO (Search Engine Optimization) measures you can increase ?hits.?
In much the same way that real estate is defined by ?location, location, location,? in the world of websites a top ranking on search engines ?such as Google or Yahoo ? is king.
One of the best methods to increase search engine ranking is through the optimal use of keywords; that is, knowing what specific words or phrases people are searching for and then targeting those phrases on your site.? A website designer can conduct the appropriate research to determine and target those keywords and also provide further analysis to pinpoint the most important terms ? or terms ?with opportunity? ? that might help bring the right visitors to your site.
Website linking is another technique used by professional website designers to attract traffic to a site.? In brief, this mechanism interlinks words or phrases key to a business website to other relevant pages on the site.? In addition, consider linking images from your website to other important pages in the same way; this can attract traffic through ?image search? results.
While ?less is more? in terms of a company?s home page or contact page, a website?s news section is where content rules.? Instead of short paragraphs or brief press releases, it?s wise to include blogs or articles of about 500 words.? This approach not only allows for comprehensive information about your services or other newsworthy information, it also adds to that all important keyword total.? In fact, search engines are always on the look-out for expanded website content, so use it to your best advantage.
So, how can you gauge whether your website is doing your business justice? Google Analytics is a service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about a website?s traffic and traffic sources.? It allows you to measure sales and conversions and also provides insights into how visitors arrived at your site, how they use it and how you can keep them staying on it longer and returning more often.
Also, sure your company is included in Google Local listings ? think of it a modern day Yellow Pages.
The ?must have? list for better business is a website that loads quickly; that?s the best way to optimize traffic.? Keep in mind that if your website?s home page overdoes content, you may be in jeopardy of scaring off potential clients, so word to the wise ? pare content on the home page down to the essentials to allow visitors continued navigation on the website.
Speaking of navigation, make sure that information is never more than a click or two away; providing a variety of navigational routes will go a long way toward ensuring customer satisfaction.? Think image maps, hyperlinks and drop-down menus in addition to search engines?all say ?user friendly.?
Maintaining a few social networking profiles (such as LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook) can be a great way to promote your company to new clients, while at the same time keeping past and current clients in the know about what?s going on.
While a static website that provides comprehensive and consistently updated information is of great value, site owners can leverage their knowledge, add another dimension to their site and directly target audiences through podcasts.
In short a podcast is a digital media file, downloaded directly from a streaming Internet source.? Podcasts are distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds and are hosted by individuals, businesses or organizations that want to share information. Podcast files are streamed and/or downloaded onto a computer, mobile device, MP3 player or iPod, etc.
Think of podcasting as having the ability to broadcast a personalized radio and/or video show directly from your website, thereby lending a ?voice? to your business. Podcasting is a way to showcase your expertise and can enhance your reputation as an authority in your field.? It is also a means of communicating in a much more personal manner than via a blanket email, e-newsletter or attached written document. Another plus to podcasting is its minimal cost; all that is needed is a microphone and Internet connection with RSS, a format for delivering regularly changing web content.
Essentially, podcasts are recorded and then distributed over the Internet, allowing you to reach new and wider audiences through your website.? Once listeners subscribe to a podcast feed, new podcasts are automatically downloaded to their computer or mobile device as soon as they are available, enabling your audience to listen at their convenience.? Since podcasting is an on-demand subscription technology, you can monitor your subscribers and have confidence that they are receiving the information you?re providing.
As a bonus, guests can be invited to participate in your podcast, providing an interactive and engaging element.
Podcasting not only showcases your expertise, it also shines a media light on your personality, giving your audience a sense of who you are and what your business can provide.? Moreover, podcasting allows subscribers access to information at their convenience.? They can listen when they want, starting and stopping content at will.
Having and maintaining an up-to-date website is essential to conducting business these days, but optimizing its potential should also be a priority. Through the use of proven mechanisms, traffic can be drawn to the right destination? your website.
One of the benefits of buying a Windows Phone 8 handset with a Nokia stamp is the exclusive apps, and today we can add another to that list with the beta release of Nokia Chat for WP8. The software started life on Symbian and Series 40 devices before falling out of favor with Nokia, but this WP8 refresh enables cross-platform chatter between those older phones, the newer Lumia range and, as Yahoo Messenger contacts are supported, anything running that IM client, too. In addition to standard messaging, you can share your location with others, and send details about a specific place -- a restaurant, for example -- that'll link with Nokia Maps on Lumias for more info. (That sounds an awful lot like Nokia's other beta messaging app Pulse, doesn't it?) Other Lumia-only features in Nokia Chat include Live Tile and lock screen push notifications, Live Tile message previews, voice commands and text-to-speech composition. Nokia Chat beta is only available in a handful of countries right now, including the US, Canada and the UK, with more being added "in the near future." Head over to the Nokia Beta Labs source link to try it out.
NEW YORK (AP) ? Weak earnings forecasts from Procter & Gamble and AT&T held the Dow Jones industrial average back on Wednesday.
P&G, the world's largest consumer goods maker, fell 4.8 percent to $78.03 after the maker of Tide detergent and Gillette razors said its revenue fell short of the expectations of Wall Street analysts. The company also issued a weak profit forecast for the next quarter. AT&T dropped 5.9 percent to $36.70 after it lost phone subscribers from its contract-based plans for the first time as sales of smartphones slow.
Those declines were enough to keep the 30-member Dow in the red, despite more stocks rising than falling in the index. The Dow was down 24 points by noon Eastern time.
In the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index, the earnings news was mixed.
Yum Brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, was among the gainers, advancing 7 percent to $68.70. Yum reported earnings late Tuesday that exceeded the expectations of financial analysts. General Dynamic, the aerospace and defense company, also surged after posting a profit that was better than expected. The stock jumped 5.3 percent to $70.66.
Other companies, including home appliance maker Whirlpool and drug maker Eli Lilly, disappointed investors.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.2 percent at 14,695 at midday. The S&P 500 index rose one point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,579. The Nasdaq composite was down six points, or 0.2 percent, at 3,264.
While the majority of companies have been exceeding Wall Street's expectations on earnings, their performance on sales hasn't been as strong, suggesting that they are struggling to grow.
About 67 percent of S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far have beaten expectations, better than the 10-year average of 62 percent, according to S&P Capital IQ. However, only 42 percent have beaten revenue forecasts.
Company earnings so far have been consistent with signs that the global economy is slowing, said Jim Russell, a regional investment director at U.S. Bank. Russell said it's too early to conclude whether the slowdown will be short-lived.
"We think that most managements are appropriately cautious in their outlooks, because it's very possible that the second-quarter will continue to slow," said Russell. "We're watching with cautious optimism that this is a second-quarter-only soft patch in the economic data."
A report Wednesday that orders for long-lasting U.S. factory goods fell more than economists expected last month added to the signs that global growth is cooling. The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods declined 5.7 percent in March following a 4.3 percent gain the previous month. February's figure was also revised lower.
Stocks logged their biggest weekly drop in five months last week after growth in China, the world's second-biggest economy, slowed. Weaker hiring and manufacturing growth in March have also weighed on the stock market this month.
The market's gains this month have been modest after a first-quarter surge that pushed both the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 to record highs. The Dow is up just 0.8 percent in April, the S&P 500 index 0.6 percent.
During the first three months of the year, the Dow and the S&P 500 averaged monthly gains of more than 3 percent, driven by optimism that the housing market was recovering and company earnings would continue to climb.
Among other companies that reported earnings, Boeing rose 3.6 percent to $91.27 after the airplane maker said its first-quarter net income rose 20 percent despite problems with the 787 Dreamliner. The company said it would still meet its financial and delivery targets this year even after the 787 was grounded in mid-January because of problems with its batteries.
Amgen plunged 6 percent to $105.80 after the biotech company's sales growth disappointed investors.
In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, was little changed at 1.71 percent.
BEIJING (AP) ? A new strain of bird flu that emerged in China over the past month is one of the "most lethal" flu viruses so far, worrying health officials because it can jump more easily from birds to humans than the one that started killing people a decade ago, World Health Organization officials said Wednesday.
Scientists are watching the virus closely to see if it could spark a global pandemic but say there is little evidence so far that it can spread easily from human to human.
WHO's top influenza expert, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, told reporters at a briefing in Beijing that people seem to catch the H7N9 virus from birds more easily than the H5N1 strain that began ravaging poultry across Asia in 2003. The H5N1 strain has since killed 360 people worldwide, mostly after contact with infected fowl.
Health experts are concerned about H7N9's ability to jump to humans, and about the strain's capacity to infect birds without causing noticeable symptoms, which makes it difficult to monitor its spread.
"This is definitely one of the most lethal influenza viruses we have seen so far," Fukuda said. But he added that experts are still trying to understand the virus, and that there might be a large number of mild infections that are going undetected.
The H7N9 bird flu virus has infected more than 100 people in China, seriously sickening most of them and killing more than 20, mostly near the eastern coast around Shanghai. Taiwan on Wednesday confirmed its first case, a 53-year-old man who became sick after returning from a visit to the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu.
In comparison, the earlier bird flu strain, H5N1, is known to kill up to 60 of every 100 people it infects.
Wednesday's briefing came at the end of a weeklong joint investigation by WHO and Chinese authorities in Beijing and Shanghai.
Experts said they still aren't sure how people are getting infected but said evidence points to infections at live poultry markets, particularly through ducks and chickens. They said it was encouraging that reported infections appeared to slow down after the closure of live poultry markets in affected areas.
Apr. 23, 2013 ? While gun control issues usually surface after major incidents like the fatal shooting of 20 elementary school students in Newtown, Connecticut, a new U.S. study shows that children are routinely killed or injured by firearms.
The study, conducted by the Colorado School of Public Health, Denver Health and Children's Hospital Colorado, was published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). It examined trauma admissions at two emergency rooms in Denver and Aurora over nine years and found that 129 of 6,920 injured children suffered gunshot wounds.
"In 14% of these cases children managed to get access to unlocked, loaded guns," said the study's lead author Angela Sauaia, MD, Ph.D., at the Colorado School of Public Health and the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "In an area with so much disagreement, I think we can all agree that children should not have unsupervised access to unlocked, loaded guns."
The study shows that at least 14 children between the ages 4 and 17 are injured by firearms every year in the Denver metro area alone. That number excludes those found dead at the scene. It also doesn't count those who did not go to the emergency department, so Sauaia believes the injury rates exceed 14 or about 2 percent of all trauma admissions.
The number of gun injuries to children has changed little over the years.
According to state data, Colorado firearm death rates for children were 2.2 per 100,000 in the year 2000, 1.9 per 100,000 in 2009 and 2.8 per 100,000 in 2011.
"People tend to only pay attention to gun safety issues after these mass killings but this is happening all the time to our children and it's totally preventable," Sauaia said. "Are we as a society willing to accept that 2 percent of our children shot each year is an acceptable number?"
Sauaia, an associate professor of public health, medicine and surgery, studied child trauma admissions from 2000-2008 at Children's Hospital Colorado and Denver Health Medical Center. She found those who had been shot suffered significantly more severe wounds than children hurt with other objects and that the severity of the firearm injuries in increasing
At the same time, 50 percent of shooting victims required intensive care. And 13 percent died compared to 1.7 percent of children hurt in non-firearm incidents. The majority of those shot were adolescent males whose injuries were often self-inflicted.
Sauaia did not include the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School, which killed 12 students and injured another 21, in her study. The 2012 Aurora theater shootings, which killed 12 and wounded 58 last year, were also left out.
"When we examined the data we found that 7 percent of the injuries to children were related to violence and of those 38 percent were related to guns," she said. "If the injury was gun related, the odds of dying were 10 times greater than from any other kind of injury."
Sauaia and her colleagues had done another study in 1993 that found that 42 percent of people who died from trauma incidents in Denver were killed by guns. That compared to 26 percent killed in car accidents.
She conducted both studies entirely without federal funding.
"There is little money to do gun research, which is unfortunate," Sauaia said. "But the point we can all agree upon is that, no matter what side of the gun divide you fall on, we need to store these weapons safely to protect our children from death or serious injury."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Colorado Denver, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Angela Sauaia, Joshua I. Miller, Ernest E. Moore, David Partrick. Firearm Injuries of Children and Adolescents in 2 Colorado Trauma Centers: 2000-2008. JAMA, 2013 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2013.3354
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.
MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) ? The elder suspect in the Boston bombings regularly attended a mosque and spent time learning to read the Quran, but he struggled to fit in during a trip to his ancestral homeland in southern Russia last year, his aunt said.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev seemed more American than Chechen and "did not fit into the Muslim life" in Russia's Caucasus, Patimat Suleimanova told The Associated Press. She said when Tsarnaev arrived in January 2012, he wore a winter hat with a little pompom, something no local man would wear, and "we made him take it off."
Tsarnaev and his younger brother are accused of setting off the two bombs at the Boston Marathon on April 15 that killed three people and wounded more than 200. Tsarnaev, 26, was killed in a gun battle with police. His 19-year-old brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was later captured alive, but badly wounded.
On Monday, two U.S. officials said preliminary evidence from an interrogation suggests the brothers were motivated by religion but were apparently not tied to any Islamic terrorist groups. The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.
U.S. investigators are focusing on the six months Tamerlan Tsarnaev spent last year in two predominantly Muslim Russian provinces, Dagestan and Chechnya, to see if he was radicalized by the region's militants who have waged a low-level insurgency against Russian security forces for years.
After returning from Russia, Tsarnaev made his presence known at a Boston-area mosque, where his outbursts interrupted two sermons that encouraged Muslims to celebrate American institutions such as the July 4 Independence Day and figures like Martin Luther King Jr., according to the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center. During one incident congregants shouted at him, telling him to leave, the center said in a statement released Monday.
The Tsarnaev family moved to the United States a decade ago, but the suspects' parents are now in Russia. Their father said he hopes to go to the United States this week to seek "justice and the truth."
Suleimanova, who wore a pea-green headscarf, said her nephew prayed regularly and studied the Muslim holy book. "He needed this. This was a necessity for him," she said.
Every day, using Skype, he spoke to his American-born wife, who had recently converted to Islam, and at times she instructed him on how to observe religious practices correctly when he lapsed, Suleimanova said Sunday from her home in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan. She said her nephew was considering bringing his wife to Dagestan.
His parents insist he spent much of his time visiting relatives in his mother's and father's extended families in Dagestan and Chechnya, but details of his whereabouts are vague and contradictory. His father says Tsarnaev stayed with him in Makhachkala, regularly sleeping late.
His aunt, however, said neither of Tsarnaev's parents was in Russia when he arrived. One reason his father came last year, Suleimanova said, was to make sure his elder son returned to the United States. It was not clear when his father or mother arrived. His mother was arrested in the U.S. in June on charges of shoplifting.
Tsarnaev's father explained his son's trip by saying he needed to get a new Russian passport. But an official with the federal migration service in Dagestan said Monday that Tsarnaev had applied for a new passport in July, but never picked it up, the Interfax news agency reported. Tsarnaev returned to the U.S. on July 17.
His mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, told the AP that her son greatly enjoyed his time with her relatives, but never traveled to her native village in a mountainous region of Dagestan, which is a hotbed of an ultraconservative strain of Islam known as Wahabbism. Wahabbism was introduced to the Caucasus in the 1990s by preachers and teachers from Saudi Arabia.
The mother said her relatives now all live in Makhachkala and the town of Kaspiisk. She refused to say which mosque her son frequented, but Tsarnaev's parents and aunt firmly denied that he met with militants or fell under the sway of religious extremists.
"He used to say, 'I want to go somewhere in the mountains, to be all by myself, to escape from everyday life, to be alone,'" Suleimanova said.
The suspects' father, Anzor Tsarnaev, said he intends to travel to the U.S. "I want normal justice," he said. "I have many questions for the police. You know, I am a lawyer myself and I want to clear up many things. .... I want justice and the truth."
The family said he wants to bring Tsarnaev's body back to Russia.
___
Associated Press writers Eileen Sullivan and Pete Yost in Washington contributed.
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Public release date: 29-Apr-2013
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At the narrow bottom of the funnel is demand fulfillment ? convincing someone ready to make a purchase of what specifically they should buy. These ads typically seek a click through to a purchase page or sign-up form. Imagine searching for ?Buy camera? on Google and seeing sponsored results for Best Buy?s website and specific Canon camera models that you can click through to purchase. Or searching ?San Francisco lawyer? and seeing ads for specific local firms you could click through to book an appointment. They?re designed to attract the final click before you purchase, but to do that they need to know you?re actually in the mood to buy something. Since they directly inspire purchases and are more easily tied to return on investment, these ads can command high prices.
Twitter last week announced the launch of keyword advertising, which lets businesses target ads to people who recently tweeted or engaged with tweets containing certain keywords. Tweet about a band and you might see ads for an upcoming concert by them. Retweet someone saying they haven?t been to the dentist in forever, and you might see ads for nearby dentists.
Build a Better Business through Online Presence ?