Featured Cardmaker: Allison G. Fort Worth, TX | Operation Write Home

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! If you are like me and plan to spend your day crafting instead of joining in the crowds that ?Black Friday? shoppping brings I have some terrific inspiration to get you started. This week it?s my pleasure to introduce you all to Allison. Allison joined the OWH Blog Team earlier this year and has been instrumental is planning our huge hops among other things. She is also a member of the Doodle Pantry Creative Team and blogs regularly over at Allison?s Creations. Please be sure to take a moment to say hello in the comments section on this post and then make a trip over to check out her blog and she what she?s been up to lately.

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How long have you been stamping? ??I started seriously scrapbooking in 2004 when I completed a scrapbook of my daughter?s first year. ?During this time, I just dabbled in making cards, usually through friends who were Stampin? Up! demonstrators or by making my own Christmas cards. ?In 2011 I discovered Operation Write Home. ?That?s when the serious card making began and with it came stamping, using digi images, and blogging.

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Do you have a craft room or specific area where you stamp/craft?? ?I am so fortunate to have an entire room in the house devoted to my crafts. ?For years we lived on our family farm where my husband built me an ?outbuilding? to use as a craft room, but because it was a separate building I rarely made it out there. ?With the room IN the house now, I spend most weekends happily crafting away!

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What are your favorite stamp/craft products? ??I love Doodle Pantry pre-colored digis and coordinating papers and Stampin? Up! supplies because everything goes together ? are you seeing a trend here?! ?Other stamps I like to use are Hero Arts and Lawn Fawn. ?My biggest weakness is paper ? I have more paper than I could ever use in a lifetime and somehow I continue to accumulate more!

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Do you have a favorite technique? ??If using sketches is a technique, then it?s my favorite! ?Of course, Operation Write Home sketches are the best because the measurements are included (yes, I measure everything to the disappointment of my LSS owner who encourages me to ?eyeball? everything!), but I also like Mojo Monday, Clean and Simple Stamping, and Something For You To Try sketches. ?As far as tools, my Big Shot and dies get used the most!

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Are there colors you love to include on your cards?? ?Bright colors are my favorites, but I?ll use just about anything ? after all, with all the paper I have I can find just about anything in my stash!

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How did you hear about Operation Write Home? ??In January 2011, I received my February issue of Scrapbooks Etc. magazine announcing a Craft It Forward feature/challenge they were starting. ?I went to their website for more information where they listed Operation Write Home as an organization I could donate cards to for deployed troops to write home on. ?I thought it was a fantastic idea and set a goal of making 365 cards in 2011. ?I ended up making 1,280 cards in 2011 and have never looked back! ?Now I spend more time card making than scrapbooking.

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What motivates you to make cards for our heroes? ??The war in Iraq began just months after my daughter was born. ?She is now about to turn 10 years old. ?Knowing that our troops have voluntarily served our country in an effort to keep us safe, preserve our way of life and maintain our freedom to live in a democratic society for as long as my child has been alive motivates me to do whatever I can to show them my gratitude and appreciation for their sacrifices.

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Source: http://operationwritehome.org/featured-cardmaker-allison-g-fort-worth-tx/

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Scientists describe elusive replication machinery of flu viruses

Friday, November 23, 2012

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made a major advance in understanding how flu viruses replicate within infected cells. The researchers used cutting-edge molecular biology and electron-microscopy techniques to "see" one of influenza's essential protein complexes in unprecedented detail. The images generated in the study show flu virus proteins in the act of self-replication, highlighting the virus's vulnerabilities that are sure to be of interest to drug developers.

The report, which appears online in Science Express on November 22, 2012, focuses on influenza's ribonucleoprotein (RNP). RNPs contain the virus's genetic material plus the special enzyme that the virus needs to make copies of itself.

"Structural studies in this area had stalled because of the technical obstacles involved, and so this is a welcome advance," said Ian A. Wilson, the Hansen Professor of Structural Biology at TSRI and senior author of the report with TSRI Professors of Cell Biology Bridget Carragher and Clint Potter. "The data from this study give us a much clearer picture of the flu virus replication machinery."

Unveiling the Mystery of RNPs

At the core of any influenza virus lie eight RNPs, tiny molecular machines that are vital to the virus's ability to survive and spread in its hosts. Each RNP contains a segment?usually a single protein-coding gene?of the RNA-based viral genome. This viral RNA segment is coated with protective viral nucleoproteins and has a structure that resembles a twisted loop of chain. The free ends of this twisted loop are held by a flu-virus polymerase enzyme, which handles the two central tasks of viral reproduction: making new viral genomic RNA, and making the RNA gene-transcripts that will become new viral proteins.

Aside from its importance in ordinary infections, the flu polymerase contains some of the key "species barriers" that keep, for example, avian flu viruses from infecting mammals. Mutations at key points on the enzyme have enabled the virus to infect new species in the past. Thus researchers are eager to know the precise details of how the flu polymerase and the rest of the RNP interact.

Getting those details has been a real challenge. One reason is that flu RNPs are complex assemblies that are hard to produce efficiently in the lab. Flu polymerase genes are particularly resistant to being expressed in test cells, and their protein products exist in three separate pieces, or subunits, that have to somehow self-assemble. Until now, the only flu RNPs that have been reproduced in the laboratory are shortened versions whose structures aren't quite the same as those of native flu RNPs. Researchers also are limited in how much virus they can use for such studies.

The team nevertheless managed to develop a test-cell expression system that produced all of the protein and RNA components needed to make full-length flu RNPs. "We were able to get the cells to assemble these components properly so that we had working, self-replicating RNPs," said Robert N. Kirchdoerfer, a first author of the study. Kirchdoerfer was a PhD candidate in the Wilson laboratory during the study, and is now a postdoctoral research associate in the laboratory of TSRI Professor Erica Ollmann Saphire.

Kirchdoerfer eventually purified enough of these flu RNPs for electron microscope analysis at TSRI's Automated Molecular Imaging Group, which is run jointly by Carragher and Potter.

Never Seen Before

The imaging group's innovations enable researchers to analyze molecular samples more easily, in less time, and often with less starting material. "We were able, for example, to automatically collect data for several days in a row, which is unusual in electron microscopy work," said Arne Moeller, a postdoctoral research associate at the imaging group who was the other first author of the study.

Electron microscopes make high-resolution images of their tiny targets by hitting them with electrons rather than photons of light. The images revealed numerous well-defined RNP complexes. To Moeller and his colleagues' surprise, many of these appeared to have new, partial RNPs growing out of them. "They were branching?this was very exciting," he said.

"Essentially these were snapshots of flu RNPs being replicated, which had never been seen before," said Kirchdoerfer. These and other data, built up from images of tens of thousands of individual RNPs, allowed the team to put together the most complete model yet for flu-RNP structure and functions. The model includes details of how the viral polymerase binds to its RNA, how it accomplishes the tricky task of viral gene transcription, and how a separate copy of the viral polymerase assists in carrying out RNP replication. "We're now able to take a lot of what we knew before about flu virus RNP and map it onto specific parts of the RNP structure," said Kirchdoerfer.

The new flu RNP model highlights some viral weak points. One is a shape-change that a polymerase subunit?which grabs viral RNA and feeds it to the polymerase's active site on a second subunit?has to undergo during viral gene transcription. Another is key interaction between the polymerase and viral nucleoproteins. Flu RNPs are long and flexible, curving and bending in electron microscope images; and thus the structural model remains only modestly fine-grained. "You wouldn't be able to design drugs based on this model alone," said Kirchdoerfer, "but we now have a much better idea of how flu RNPs work, and that does suggest some possibilities for better flu drugs."

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Scripps Research Institute: http://www.scripps.edu

Thanks to Scripps Research Institute for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125443/Scientists_describe_elusive_replication_machinery_of_flu_viruses

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Marc Anthony comes to aid of Dominican orphanage

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) ? Singer Marc Anthony is coming to the aid of an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.

A foundation run by Anthony with music and sports producer Henry Cardenas plans to build a new residence hall, classrooms and a baseball field for the Children of Christ orphanage in the eastern city of La Romana. Anthony attended the groundbreaking ceremony Friday with his model girlfriend Shannon de Lima.

Children of Christ Foundation Director Sonia Hane said Anthony visited the orphanage previously and decided to help. His Maestro Cares Foundation raised $200,000 for the expansion on land donated by a sugar company. The orphanage was founded in 1996 for children who were abused or abandoned or whose parents were unable to care for them.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-11-23-Dominican-People-Marc%20Anthony/id-32d800a44c194a5fbd0444a46b2b5552

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blab unseemly: jamainai: HEALTH and FITNESS | Disability Benefits ...

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Source: http://eugenegrove.typepad.com/blog/2012/11/health-and-fitness-disability-benefits-explained-ebook.html

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S.C. State Museum features paintings of famous Civil War artist ...

dworthington@heraldonline.com

Artist Mort Kunstler was once the king of hot rods, hot women and manly men. His paintings were on the covers of men?s magazines and the paperback pulp fiction of the day, as well the box tops of model car kits.

?I though that would be my road to riches,? Kunstler said.

His artistic road, however, has traveled through the Wild West, through the formative years of our republic, and to space.

But he is best known for his Civil War work. His paintings have been published as prints, collected into books, and adapted to a variety of media including jig saw puzzles, holiday ornaments and cards, stationary, mugs and mouse pads.

Kunstler has painted the Civil War battles ? from Charleston to Richmond ? with bullets and flags flying.

But it is his ability to paint the human condition, the love and the loss, that gives his work distinction. It has Kunstler traveling the country to sign his prints and attend gallery showings. His most recent show is ?For Us The Living? at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia. The show is on display until April 7.

The show has 30 painting and sketches, a highlight of the more than 350 Civil War scenes Kunstler has painted over the past 25 years.

Now, at age 81, Kunstler is moving on. He recently announced ? to the dismay of his fans ? he will paint only eight more Civil War themed paintings.

The first, ?Shenandoah Strategy? depicts Confederate general Thomas ?Stonewall? Jackson and a group of mounted soldiers approaching the Glen Burnie mansion in Winchester, Va. on a snowy night. The painting, Kunstler?s annual snow scene, was unveiled Saturday in Winchester.

The last painting, still untitled, will center on the surrender at Appotomax. The painting?s release will coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Gen. Robert E. Lee?s surrender.

Ironically, when Kunstler painted ?The High Water Mark,? depicting the charge of troops led by Confederate Maj. Gen. George Pickett at Gettysburg, Pa., he thought the painting for the 125 anniversary of the epic battle would be one-shot assignment.

While he already had established a reputation for his detailed-oriented work centered on history, Kunstler admitted during a recent phone interview while in Columbia he wasn?t then all that interested in the Civil War.

As he painted more Civil War-themed painting, Kunstler decided he wanted to do more than paint battle scenes. ?I wanted to things others had not painted,? he said.

He has painted Jackson?s men using horsed to pull steam engines down the ?Valley Pike,? the main road of the Shenandoah Valley, to get them to rails controlled by the Confederacy. He has painted Thaddeus Lowe, commander of the Union?s Aeronautics Corp and his hot air balloons.

His heroes are not all gods and generals. He has painted common soldiers receiving apples from the adoring crowd as they march to battle. A common theme is a soldier in a tender embrace with a loved one before they depart. Several paintings depict soldiers and their faith.

Before starting each painting Kunstler consults with experts ? be it historians with national reputation to local writers ? to learn about his subject. He wants to know what the weather was on a particular day. He wants to hold the weapons, feel the uniforms used. If the painting involves a building, he wants to know what it looked like during the Civil War.

?If you paint it right, it looks right,? he said.

He reads too. Kunstler admits he wasn?t interested in history as a child. Now it?s become part of his passion.

His details are more than physical. He studies photographs of his subjects to understand the characteristics of each face.

One of his favorites is Gen. Jackson. ?He is easy to draw,? Kunstler said, checking off Jackson?s features: low eyebrows, high cheekbones, a prominent nose.

While a number of his painting show Jackson in battle, it was Kunstler?s rendering Jackson and his wife, Mary Anna, sharing a private moment in the snow before the general left, that showed he was more than just a ?military artist.?

Titled ?Until We Meet Again,? it is one of Kunstler?s most famous Civil War works and original prints, when available on the secondary market, sell for $4,000 or more.

To paint George Washington crossing the Delaware in 1776, Kunstler posted a dollar bill near his easel. But that likeness, taken from Gilbert Stuart?s famous painting, showed a 64-year-old Washington. In 1776 Washington was 44.

?You have to take years off your vision. I struggled with that,? Kunstler said.

Kunstler also faced the iconic image of Washington crossing the Delaware painted by Emanuel Leutze in 1851. While the Leutze painting has large doses of glory, inspiration and heroism, it lacks historical accuracy. Kunstler sought to paint the most history accurate version of Washington?s crossing.

When it came to painting the Confederate submarine Hunley departing on its fateful last mission, there were no images. There were items pulled from the Hunley?s watery grave, as well as some historical accounts.

?Painting The Final Mission was an exhausting, but exhilarating experience for me,? Kunstler said after finishing the work in several years ago, ?Thanks to the enormous amount of research assistance I received, I believe that the painting will stand the test of time. I hope that generations of Americans will be able to visit the restored Hunley, examine the submarine closely ? then study this painting and understand what that incredible last mission was really like.?

And for Kunstler, there is a bit of irony with the Hunley painting. A men?s magazine assignment in the 1950s to paint a World War II submarine set him on his quest for historical accuracy.

While he won?t be painting the Civil War, Kunstler stressed he is not slowing down. He still projects he will paint between 10 to 15 works a year and has commissions that will keep him busy until 2015.

And that?s fine by him, being an artist is all he has ever know. He said it started when he started scribbling at 2 1//2 years-old. He insists it was meant to be. After all, he said, Kunstler means artist in German. ?It?s in the genes,? he said.

Source: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/11/23/4434937/sc-state-museum-features-paintings.html

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Genesee County Residents Now Have a Home Away From Home ...

Genesee County residents now have a home away from home for all their possessions at Northwest Mini Storage in Flushing MI.

Flushing, MI (USA), November 21, 2012 ? It?s fall in Michigan and time to store away all the summer toys before the snow starts flying. Residents of Genesee County are glad that they have a home away from home for all of their summer toys. Boat storage, RV storage, ATV storage, Northwest Mini Storage has all one would need in self-storage units.

Located 2 1/4 miles west of I-75 at 4170 Commerce DR #1, Flushing, MI, Northwest Mini Storage can provide climate-controlled units or outside storage for even the biggest RV or boat. With 24-hour access to the storage units, Northwest Mini Storage has just the right storage unit to fit any need. For directions to Northwest Mini Storage go to http://goo.gl/maps/pNb2v or simply call 810-659-9504 and speak to Steve Burrows, property manager.

Northwest Mini Storage has all the amenities that customers would expect from a premium self-storage facility. That?s why more and more Flushing residents are turning to Northwest Mini Storage for safe and secure storage of all of their storage needs. Safe and secure inside warehouse storage is available for all the prized possessions that one just does not have room for in the garage at home.

If one needs a place to store all their ?toys? for the winter and are hoping to find affordable rates on a clean, modern storage unit, Northwest Mini Storage provides all the conveniences and amenities in a safe, secured and easily accessible location.

At Northwest Mini Storage, one will not only find peace of mind, but:
? Special prices offered for boat and car dealers on all storage.
? Heavy zoning for construction storage, heavy equipment, bulk materials, piping and landscaping materials.
? RV storage and boat storage.
? Discounts on long-term rentals.
? Climate-controlled units.
? 220 Square-Foot Office for $180 per Month
? Month-to-Month Leases on Units of Many Sizes
? Storage Units As Large As 900 Square Feet Are Only $300 per Month ? These Are Perfect for Small Businesses ? Call for Details!
? 24-hour access to the property

Northwest Mini Storage also provides dumping stations for their RV customers that want to drive directly from the campground to their storage units without having to stop and wait in line at the campground to empty their tanks. For more information one should visit their website at http://www.storageunitsflushingmi.com/ or call 810-659-9504 and ask for Steve.

About Northwest Mini Storage:
Northwest Mini Storage is the premier self-storage facility in Flushing, MI. They offer inside storage for belongings in their storage units and offer inside and outside storage for one?s cars, boats, campers and RVs. Customers have 24-hour access to their units within the fenced-in, secure facility.

This Press Release was submitted by Right Now Marketing Group, LLC

Press & Media Contact:
Steve Burrows
Northwest Mini Storage
4170 Commerce DR #1
Flushing, MI 48433 ? USA
810-659-9504
nwministorage@hotmail.com

http://www.storageunitsflushingmi.com

News from ReleaseWire.

Source: http://www.releasewire.org/11/2012/home-family/home-improvements/genesee-county-residents-now-have-a-home-away-from-home-for-all-their-possessions-at-northwest-mini-storage-in-flushing-mi/

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Find stories in the impact of seasonal travel on airport-related ...

This holiday season track down stories that highlight the impact of seasonal travel on airport-related industries.

This week kicks off a month-long whirlwind travel season, with 24 million people expected to fly in the United States for?Thanksgiving?alone, according to an industry trade group.? Here?s a list generated by Orbitz, for example, of the U.S. airports expected to be the most- and least-busiest this weekend.

Business stories pertaining to this seasonal phenomenon generally focus on airlines from the financial or consumer point of view.? For a different twist, why not take a look between now and Christmas?at the effect of holiday travel and tourism on other airport-related industries?

Known as sources (for the airport) of non-aviation revenue, these businesses range from the front-of-house operations like stores, restaurants and services to things like advertising, rental car fees and parking.? A really interesting trade journal, Airport Revenue News, covers the sector.? While a subscription is probably beyond your means, the media/advertising kit on the publication?s website offers a variety of interesting tidbits that will help you formulate questions for local airport officials and for vendors/suppliers.? The site also says ARN?s factbook compiles all sorts of sales and revenue data ?on a terminal-by-terminal basis;?? perhaps they?ll share excerpts with journalists upon request.?

The Baton Rouge Advocate notes that Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, for example, is working to increase concessions and other revenue to offset airlines? resistance to higher fees.

And here?s an interesting April 2012 presentation by the Federal Aviation Administration, ?How airports make money and what?s new in compliance.?? Who knew that land leasing ? a blueberry farm at a Georgia airport ? and solar power generation, among other tactics, are being employed to make use of idle land at airports nationwide

And while security measures prohibit non-passengers from dining in or browsing the terminals, passengers killing time before their next flight have an increasing array of shops and eateries from which to choose.? Do these concessions benefit from holiday travelers?? Here?s an Arizona Star piece, ?For travelers, airport can be its own enjoyable stop,? that gives a nod to the merchandise, consumables and amenities at Tuscon?s airport.??And here?s an ABC News piece about yoga, flu shots and even airport hotel workout facilities as revenue generators.

?I?ve seen specialty pet shops, massage kiosks, oxygen bars and even used book stores at airports in the Midwest; I wonder how many travelers treat themselves to pampering or head home with stocking stuffers at this time of year, and whether those purchases give a boost to the airport economy.?

You might also take a look at the season shifts for the rental car, sedan car, taxicab and shuttle bus industries, as well as off-site parking concessions and even airport hotels.? Check in with the catering companies that service aircraft, as well as food and beverage distributors that sell to in-terminal bars and bistros.? Security firms, cargo handlers, cleaning companies ? do workers at these sorts of businesses get extra hours or any other bump from holiday schedules?

Also, check with your area?s general aviation facilities about their business in terms of fuel, fees, charters and other areas that might get a bump during seasonal travel time.

Source: http://businessjournalism.org/2012/11/21/find-stories-in-the-impact-of-seasonal-on-airport-related-industries/

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