Authors and readers both know that book reviews are an important part of the world of books. Today my guest is Edith Maxwell, who tell us some of the things she has done to get early reviews of her books. Comments are, as always, very welcome. Readers - what do you review, and how do reviews affect your book choices? Authors - more ideas? ~ Sheila
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Thanks so much, Sheila, for having me over. I want to share my experiences with finding reviewers and readers.?
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I think reaching out to readers is the most important thing a writer can do and it can also be the hardest. How do I find the community of readers who enjoy reading my genre of mystery, who want to read about my particular characters and setting, and who are willing to buy the book or request that their library do so??
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I know a lot of writers by now. Some I?ve met in person, some only online, and all are really generous and supportive. Most mystery writers are also readers, but they add up to a small subset of all mystery readers.?
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Because I am the kind of person who likes to stay in touch, I have a lot of personal friends from the various wide-ranging parts of my life. Hey Facebook, I love ya! I also have an Author page but the personal and the author news often comingle. I have Friended and Tweet-followed a whole bunch of people. Who knows if they even see my little 140-character messages??
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How do I find my readers? I love writing but I want people to read the book, and if they do, I will make some money so I can keep writing. If I get advance reviews and positive reviews on sites like Amazon and Goodreads, more readers will know about my books.
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My first mystery (written under pen name Tace Baker), Speaking of Murder, is set in a small New England town and fictional college. Lauren Rousseau is a Quaker linguistics professor who finds her star student dead on campus. Her boyfriend works in video forensics and helps solve the mystery. So I tried to reach out to linguists on twitter by using the #linguistics hashtag and asked several linguists to review it with zero results. I also reached out to video editors But no reviews, as far as I know. With A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die, my first Local Foods mystery (May, 2013), I have a publicist from a major publisher, Kensington, working for me. She sent advance review copies out all over the place; she also sent me a boxful to distribute. Publisher?s Weekly gave me a positive review, which is huge.? Edible Boston is recommending my book on their summer reading list and I was interviewed by a newspaper north of Boston.?
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I?ve been trying very hard to reach out to farmers and local foods enthusiasts. I took out a year?s worth of ads in the Northeast Organic Farming Association newsletter, which goes out to ten thousand subscribers. A farmer in northern California and his wife both read the book and wrote glowing reviews on Goodreads. I have signings lined up at local farmers' markets and big farm stands.
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I also sponsored two Goodreads givewaways, for five books each, spaced a month apart, and so far got one review, but several hundred added the book to their Want to Read lists.
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But it?s a hard slog for a writer who?d rather just be at her desk creating the next book! Have you found a creative or unusual way to reach reviewers and readers? What has worked and what hasn?t? If you?re a reader, how would you like to be approached?
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Here's the opening of A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die
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?What?s this doing here?? Cam pushed the jug toward a disheveled Mike Montgomery, who faced her in a wide stance, tattooed arms crossed, breath reeking of alcohol despite the noon hour.
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?How would I know?? The young man glanced at the container and then examined the fingernails on his left hand.
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Edith Maxwell writes the Local Foods Mysteries.? A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die introduces organic farmer Cam Flaherty and a Locavore Club (Kensington Publishing, May 2013). Edith once owned and operated the smallest certified-organic farm in Essex County, Massachusetts.
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Edith Maxwell also authored, under the pseudonym Tace Baker, Speaking of Murder (Barking Rain Press) featuring Quaker linguistics professor Lauren Rousseau. Edith holds a PhD in linguistics and is a long-time member of Amesbury Monthly Meeting of Friends.
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A mother and former technical writer, Edith is a fourth-generation Californian but lives north of Boston in an antique house with her beau and three cats.
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In June, Write Here, Write Now will be focusing on two topics?because it's
If you were a coal miner in the early 1800s, the light you used was an openflame oil lamp?even though mines were sometimes filled with "fire-damp," a volatile mixiture of air and methane gas. Explosions were inevitable, and at times, threw bodies from mine shafts like grapeshot from a cannon. Humphry Davy became a national hero when, in 1815, he found a remedy: Surround the lamp flame with mosquito screen.
Three months after a major database hack, Evernote has finally made good on its promise to implement two-factor authentication as an additional precautionary measure. Following the footsteps of othersecurity-consciouscompanies, the technique requires not just your username and password, but also a six-digit code provided either via text message or an app like Google Authenticator. Further, you can print out a list of backup codes in case you don't have your phone handy. Premium and Business users will be the first to get this functionality -- it'll be offered to all users once the system proves to be robust enough.
Other apps in the Evernote clan, including Skitch, Penultimate and Evernote Food will need to be updated and certain third-party apps might need to be given their own dedicated passwords as well. Aside from the double-step verification, Evernote has also introduced the ability to view your account's access history and a list of authorized applications; you can revoke any device from your account settings if necessary. All of these added layers of security are totally optional, of course, but you might want to set yourself a reminder to check them out.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) ? Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee was set to join the Democratic Party ? a switch the former Republican-turned-independent has said could boost his chances of winning a second term and one that could set up a primary confrontation with two of the state's most popular leaders.
Chafee plans to change his party affiliation to Democratic Thursday morning at his local board of canvassers in Warwick, spokeswoman Christine Hunsinger told The Associated Press. She said the move was less about politics than about "principles and conviction."
Fundraising and the support of an organized party likely played a role in the decision too. Chafee said months ago that he was considering switching parties to aid his re-election effort. He has also noted that he shares many views with the party. He was an early supporter of President Barack Obama and spoke at last year's Democratic National Convention.
The governor, a former Republican senator, became a political independent in 2007, the year after he lost re-election to the U.S. Senate. He was elected as the nation's only independent governor in 2010.
His decision complicates next year's governor's race, creating the possibility of a primary contest with Providence Mayor Angel Taveras and Treasurer Gina Raimondo.
Chafee was coy about his switch Wednesday as he returned to the mainland from a visit with tourism leaders on Block Island. Stepping off the ferry, Chafee wouldn't discuss his party affiliation but said his beliefs and priorities haven't changed.
"All I've cared about since my time in public service started is good, honest, efficient government. That hasn't changed. Nothing has changed since I was a councilman in Warwick," Chafee said.
Obama said in a statement that he was delighted and thrilled by the decision. He called Chafee an "independent thinker and leader who's unafraid to reach across party lines to get things done" and said he looked forward to working with him in the years ahead.
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, said the group was excited to welcome Chafee and looked forward to "enthusiastically supporting whoever emerges as the Democratic nominee in Rhode Island."
Many local Democrats declined to immediately weigh in, with some saying they hadn't been informed of Chafee's plan. House Speaker Gordon Fox had not been told of Chafee's plans, a spokesman for Fox said. Hours after news of the switch broke, Fox issued a statement saying he was pleased Chafee had joined Democrats' ranks. Democratic Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed issued her own statement noting that Chafee has long "embraced many of the ideals" of her party.
His potential opponents in the Democratic Party said Chafee's decision wouldn't impact their plans.
Taveras responded by highlighting his own party credentials, saying in a statement that he has been "a Democrat and a Red Sox fan my whole life, and I don't intend on changing either."
Raimondo said she continues to seriously consider a run for governor.
"The governor's decision to change parties for a second time has not changed my thinking," she said.
Former longtime Democratic Congressman Patrick Kennedy told The Associated Press that the move makes sense for Chafee given his political views. When asked how he thinks local Democrats will react, given the likelihood that two longtime Democrats are already running for governor, Kennedy, who now lives in New Jersey, said Democrats know Chafee shares their core principles.
"He has been very progressive in those ways and I think he'll find a lot of people embracing him," Kennedy said, adding, "It's not like he's becoming a Democrat for political expediency alone. He's been consistent."
Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans in Rhode Island nearly four to one, although almost half of voters aren't affiliated with any party.
Brown University political science Prof. Wendy Schiller said changing parties is a risky move for the governor, setting up a matchup with two of the state's most popular politicians with built-in bases of support.
Taveras is Hispanic and is likely to compete with Chafee for the support of organized labor. Raimondo could win over more conservative Democrats and tussle with Chafee for the party's female voters.
"I still do not see the significant gain for Chafee in switching parties," Schiller said. "Raimondo and Taveras represent the future of the Democratic Party. They span a wide spectrum of Democratic voters. I think he'd really benefit if those two really beat each other up."
Although Rhode Island is heavily Democratic, it has not had a Democratic governor for years. Chafee will become the first Democrat to hold the seat since 1995.
Following Chafee's formal party switch Democrats will hold the governorships of 20 states, compared with 30 states with GOP governors.
Republican Governors Association Executive Director Phil Cox dismissed Chafee's move as a calculated act to shore up his re-election chances. Allan Fung, the Republican mayor of Cranston, who is considering a run for governor, declined to discuss the politics of the governor's move, and predicted a hard-fought Democratic primary.
"Most likely it's going to be a slugfest, and I'm not sure how that's going to play out," he said.
Chafee is son of the late U.S. Sen. John Chafee, a former governor whose name was synonymous with the Republican Party in Rhode Island for decades. When John Chafee died in office in 1999, Lincoln Chafee was appointed to fill his seat, and then won re-election to the post the following year. In the Senate, he voted to the left of many Democrats, opposing the war in Iraq, for example. But he stuck it out as a Republican through his 2006 re-election campaign, which he lost to Sheldon Whitehouse.
He switched parties the following year and made a political comeback in 2010, winning a four-way race for governor with 36 percent of the vote.
As governor, Chafee has struggled with poor approval ratings and some of his policy proposals have fizzled in the face of opposition in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly, such as an early plan to expand the sales tax.
Chafee is a reluctant fundraiser, and he has often depended on personal wealth to fund his campaigns. He told the AP in December that he was considering joining the Democrats to help his chances of winning a second term.
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Associated Press writers Michelle R. Smith and Erika Niedowski in Providence and Ken Thomas and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
He's a movie star and a rock musician today, but in his childhood, Jared Leto was "food-stamp poor," he tells style catalog and publication Mr. Porter.
Leto and his brother Shannon were raised by a single mom who moved often, but infused her sons with a sense of creativity and the arts.
"It was the 1970s, the age of the artist and the hippy, and my exposure to that shaped me in a really deep way," he said. "I had no concept of the word 'fame'; or a notion of success or money. We grew up very poor, so our world wasn't anywhere near that kind of stuff. You have to do what is important to you and protect that."
Leto is known to many as Angela Chase's crush Jordan Catalano in the 1994-1995 cult TV favorite "My So-Called Life." He's also starred in such films as "American Psycho," "Requiem for a Dream," and "Urban Legend," but his second love is music. Leto and his brother perform together as part of the rock group 30 Seconds to Mars.
The band's latest album, "Love Lust Faith and Dreams," features a song that harks back to Leto's childhood, as "Depuis Le D?but," the final song on the album, closes by featuring a music box playing the theme from "Swan Lake."
"My mother used to put my little brother and me to sleep by playing that exact music box," he said. "And we wanted to put a little bit of our life on there. The whole record is very personal and I hope it is an album that can be transformative."
May 28, 2013 ? Treatments for depression that don't involve antidepressant drugs but rather focus on different forms of talking therapy (referred to as psychotherapeutic interventions) are all beneficial, with no one form of therapy being better than the others, according to a study by international researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine.
These findings are important as they suggest that patients with depression should discuss different forms of non-drug therapy with their doctors and explore which type of psychotherapy best suits them.
The researchers, led by J?rgen Barth from the University of Bern in Switzerland, reached these conclusions by reviewing 198 published studies involving over 15,000 patients receiving one of seven types of psychotherapeutic intervention: Interpersonal psychotherapy, behavioural activation, cognitive behavioural therapy, problem solving therapy, psychodynamic therapy, social skills training and supportive counselling.* The authors compared each of the therapies with each other and with a control -- patients on a waiting list or continuing usual case -- and combined the results.
The authors found that all seven therapies were better at reducing symptoms of depression than waiting list and usual care and that there were no significant differences between the different types of therapy. They also found that the therapies worked equally well for different patient groups with depression, such as for younger and older patients and for mothers who had depression after having given birth. Furthermore, the authors found no substantial differences when comparing individual with group therapy or with face-to-face therapy compared with internet-based interactions between therapist and patient.
The authors say: "We found evidence that most of the seven psychotherapeutic interventions under investigation have comparable effects on depressive symptoms and achieve moderate to large effects vis-?-vis waitlist."
They continue: "All seven psychotherapeutic interventions achieved a small to moderate effect compared to usual care."
The authors add: "Overall, we found that different psychotherapeutic interventions for depression have comparable, moderate-to-large effects."
Notes:
*"Interpersonal psychotherapy" is short and highly structured, using a manual to focus on interpersonal issues in depression.
"Behavioral activation" raises the awareness of pleasant activities and seeks to increase positive interactions between the patient and his or her environment.
"Cognitive behavioural therapy" focuses on a patient's current negative beliefs, evaluates how they affect current and future behaviour, and attempts to restructure the beliefs and change the outlook. "Problem solving therapy" aims to define a patient's problems, propose multiple solutions for each problem, and then select, implement, and evaluate the best solution.
"Psychodynamic therapy" focuses on past unresolved conflicts and relationships and the impact they have on a patient's current situation.
In "social skills therapy," patients are taught skills that help to build and maintain healthy relationships based on honesty and respect.
"Supportive counselling" is a more general therapy that aims to get patients to talk about their experiences and emotions and to offer empathy without suggesting solutions or teaching new skills.
Funding: This research was supported by a Swiss National Science Foundation Grant (no. 105314-118312/1) awarded to JB, HJZ, and PJ.
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Orange?County?sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said Tuesday the?teens?were students in the Irvine Unified School District.
The names of the three girls and two boys were released a day after they were killed in the single-car accident in Newport Beach.
The driver was identified as 17-year-old Abdulrahman Alyahyan, a senior at University High School.
The passengers included 17-year-old Robin Cabrera, a senior at Irvine High School, and her 16-year-old sister Aurora, a sophomore at the same school. Also killed were Cecilia Zamora and Nozad Al Hamawendi, both 17-year-old juniors at Irvine High School.
Shaving with an electric razor saves you the hassle of dealing with messy shaving cream and dull blades that can leave your face all cut up. But the friction generated by an electric razor's moving blades usually causes the head to heat up, which can in turn irritate a dry face. The only alternative left is to let your beard grow free, or try Braun's new CoolTec Shaver which promises to eliminate both stubble and heat.
Earlier this month, I was horrified to read the story about Steve Flesch, a backpacker who was shot in the back of the head by members of a gang in Costa Rica. The poor man, after a month in the hospital under an induced coma, sadly succumbed to his injuries. Adding weight to this tragedy was the fact that Steve hadn?t purchased travel insurance. His family would be responsible for paying tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills.
I know many single people- like Steve- who decide not to get travel insurance. The thought makes me shiver. Yet it?s families who decide not to invest in travel insurance who I really worry about.?
Yes, there really are families who decide not to get travel insurance. Many of them, in fact. Mine isn?t one of them. While I hope my daughter and I will be healthy and happy during all of our international trips, the mere thought of something happening to either of us and not being able to pay for it is enough to make me bite the proverbial bullet and purchase travel insurance.
While there are countless providers, I buy our travel insurance through?World Nomads. Our insurance covers unexpected medical care, emergency or security evacuations, trip cancellation or interruption and lost and stolen property. I opted for a slightly more expensive plan that would cover injuries received from adventure sports and activities. The total for five weeks in Peru for the two of us? $314.
While in Peru, I?ll be carrying copies of the documents with me, and have already sent the details to my parents. I?ve told my kid where she can find the documents in our belongings, and also what she should do if the worst ever happens. Hopefully we won?t need to ever use our travel insurance, but if we do, it?s there. My immediate AND extended family can rest easy knowing that they?ll never need to put together a huge fundraising campaign to raise funds to cover international medical bills.
Think emergencies never happen? What?about this couple in their 70s, who had to come up with close to 100,000 pounds to get their son home to England after he crashed on a motorbike in Indonesia?
Here?s another story about a second family in England who needed to come up with funds to help their son after he also got into a motorbike accident in Indonesia.
Or what about this woman, who traveled with her partner for a quick five-day trip to Spain and unexpectedly gave birth to her daughter 13 weeks early? The couple and their new daughter became stranded, as they didn?t have the insurance needed to send them home by air ambulance.
Bottom line, travel insurance is the #1 item to purchase for a trip.It not only provides peace of mind, but, if the going gets rough, it would ensure that my extended family wouldn?t need to break the bank to fish us out of deep water.
German and Israeli scientists gain new insights into protein disposalPublic release date: 27-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Barbara Bachtler bachtler@mdc-berlin.de 49-309-406-3896 Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
Cells have a sophisticated system to control and dispose of defective, superfluous proteins and thus to prevent damage to the body. Dr. Katrin Bagola and Professor Thomas Sommer of the Max Delbrck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch as well as Professor Michael Glickman and Professor Aaron Ciechanover of Technion, the Technical University of Israel in Haifa, have now discovered a new function of an enzyme that is involved in this vital process. Using yeast cells as a model organism, the researchers showed that a specific factor, abbreviated Cue1, is not only a receptor and activator for a component of the degradation apparatus, but also contributes to ensuring that the defective protein is marked with a molecular tag for degradation (Molecular Cell, doi: org/10.1016/j.molcel.2013.04.005)*.
Proteins are molecular machines in the cells of an organism. Different types of proteins perform many different functions: They transport materials to their destination, ward off pathogens, enable chemical reactions in the cell and much more. Many proteins are produced in a cell organelle, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), are then folded and subsequently transported to their destination.
Some proteins are only required for a specific, time-limited purpose and must be degraded once their purpose has been served. But errors also frequently occur during production and folding. These defective proteins are not functional and can even harm the organism. Therefore they, too, must be degraded.
The cells therefore have a sophisticated system to dispose of defective, superfluous proteins. In the ER there is a special process for protein degradation, known as ER-associated degradation (ERAD). This system contains a number of enzymes that cooperate to ensure that a defective protein is marked with a molecular tag, the molecule ubiquitin. This process is called ubiquitylation. A chain of four to six molecules serves as degradation signal. A protein tagged with such a molecular chain is transported to the proteasome, the protein-cleaving machinery of the cell, where it is separated into its components.
This ubiquitin-proteasome system is found in all eukaryotic cells; it is ubiquitous. It is one of the most complex cellular systems and protects the body from severe diseases. Defective proteins that escape this system trigger serious diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, cystic fibrosis or diabetes. The scientist who discovered this protective program is Professor Ciechanover. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2004 for this achievement together with Professor Avram Hershko (Technion) and Professor Irwin Rose (University of California, Irvine, USA).
Several enzymes must work in concert to facilitate the attachment of a ubiquitin chain to a defective protein. Some of these enzymes are anchored in the membrane of the ER, others such as the enzyme Ubc7 swim freely inside the cell. A factor called CUE1, which itself is bound to the membrane, is responsible for recruiting Ubc7 and escorting it to the enzymes at the membrane. To achieve this, it has a domain which binds specifically to Ubc7. Another domain of the factor is the so-called CUE domain. Dr. Bagola and Professor Sommer have studied its function in yeast cells together with their colleagues Professor Glickman and Professor Ciechanover.
Fateful connection
The CUE domain is a ubiquitin-binding domain (UBD). UBDs bind to specific ubiquitin patterns. For example, they can recognize whether one or more ubiquitin molecules have been attached to a protein and how the respective ubiquitin molecules are linked together in chains. The ubiquitin pattern determines which ubiquitin domain binds to which protein and thus determines the subsequent fate of the protein.
Direct impact on molecular chain formation Signal for protein degradation
The MDC and Technion researchers, who have collaborated closely for many years, showed that the CUE domain of the factor Cue1 binds to ubiquitin chains that are linked together via a specific building block of the individual ubiquitin molecules. These chains subsequently serve as a degradation signal for proteins. In addition, the researchers found that the CUE domain also has a direct impact on the length of the ubiquitin chains: If the CUE domain was lacking or limited in its function due to a mutation, the ubiquitin chains developed more slowly and were shorter in length. Apparently, the CUE domain stabilizes the ubiquitin chains, allowing additional ubiquitin molecules to be attached more easily.
In yeast cells, the researchers found that the CUE domain of Cue1 in this way actually affects how effectively the ERAD system can degrade proteins. The researchers suspect that the CUE domain is used specifically for the disposal of proteins which are bound to the ER membrane. However, they seem to have no influence on the degradation of soluble proteins. "Our results show that a ubiquitin-binding domain can also regulate the formation of ubiquitin chains," the researchers said. "This function was previously unknown until now."
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* Ubiquitin binding by a CUE domain regulates ubiquitin chain formation by ERAD E3 ligases.
Katrin Bagola1, Maximilian von Delbrck1, Gunnar Dittmar1, Martin Scheffner3, Inbal Ziv4, Michael H. Glickman4, Aaron Ciechanover5, and Thomas Sommer1, 2
1Max-Delbrck-Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rssle-Strasse 10, D-13122 Berlin, Germany
2Humboldt-University zu Berlin, Institute for Biology, Invalidenstr.43, D-10115 Berlin, Germany
3Department of Biology, Konstanz Research School Chemical Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
4Department of Biology and 5Cancer and Vascular Biology Research Center, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Polak Cancer Center, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 31096, Israel
Contact:
Barbara Bachtler
Press Department
Max Delbrck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch
in the Helmholtz Association
Robert-Rssle-Strasse 10; 13125 Berlin, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 30 94 06 - 38 96; Fax: +49 (0) 30 94 06 - 38 33
e-mail: presse@mdc-berlin.de
http://www.mdc-berlin.de/
[ | 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.
German and Israeli scientists gain new insights into protein disposalPublic release date: 27-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Barbara Bachtler bachtler@mdc-berlin.de 49-309-406-3896 Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
Cells have a sophisticated system to control and dispose of defective, superfluous proteins and thus to prevent damage to the body. Dr. Katrin Bagola and Professor Thomas Sommer of the Max Delbrck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch as well as Professor Michael Glickman and Professor Aaron Ciechanover of Technion, the Technical University of Israel in Haifa, have now discovered a new function of an enzyme that is involved in this vital process. Using yeast cells as a model organism, the researchers showed that a specific factor, abbreviated Cue1, is not only a receptor and activator for a component of the degradation apparatus, but also contributes to ensuring that the defective protein is marked with a molecular tag for degradation (Molecular Cell, doi: org/10.1016/j.molcel.2013.04.005)*.
Proteins are molecular machines in the cells of an organism. Different types of proteins perform many different functions: They transport materials to their destination, ward off pathogens, enable chemical reactions in the cell and much more. Many proteins are produced in a cell organelle, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), are then folded and subsequently transported to their destination.
Some proteins are only required for a specific, time-limited purpose and must be degraded once their purpose has been served. But errors also frequently occur during production and folding. These defective proteins are not functional and can even harm the organism. Therefore they, too, must be degraded.
The cells therefore have a sophisticated system to dispose of defective, superfluous proteins. In the ER there is a special process for protein degradation, known as ER-associated degradation (ERAD). This system contains a number of enzymes that cooperate to ensure that a defective protein is marked with a molecular tag, the molecule ubiquitin. This process is called ubiquitylation. A chain of four to six molecules serves as degradation signal. A protein tagged with such a molecular chain is transported to the proteasome, the protein-cleaving machinery of the cell, where it is separated into its components.
This ubiquitin-proteasome system is found in all eukaryotic cells; it is ubiquitous. It is one of the most complex cellular systems and protects the body from severe diseases. Defective proteins that escape this system trigger serious diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, cystic fibrosis or diabetes. The scientist who discovered this protective program is Professor Ciechanover. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2004 for this achievement together with Professor Avram Hershko (Technion) and Professor Irwin Rose (University of California, Irvine, USA).
Several enzymes must work in concert to facilitate the attachment of a ubiquitin chain to a defective protein. Some of these enzymes are anchored in the membrane of the ER, others such as the enzyme Ubc7 swim freely inside the cell. A factor called CUE1, which itself is bound to the membrane, is responsible for recruiting Ubc7 and escorting it to the enzymes at the membrane. To achieve this, it has a domain which binds specifically to Ubc7. Another domain of the factor is the so-called CUE domain. Dr. Bagola and Professor Sommer have studied its function in yeast cells together with their colleagues Professor Glickman and Professor Ciechanover.
Fateful connection
The CUE domain is a ubiquitin-binding domain (UBD). UBDs bind to specific ubiquitin patterns. For example, they can recognize whether one or more ubiquitin molecules have been attached to a protein and how the respective ubiquitin molecules are linked together in chains. The ubiquitin pattern determines which ubiquitin domain binds to which protein and thus determines the subsequent fate of the protein.
Direct impact on molecular chain formation Signal for protein degradation
The MDC and Technion researchers, who have collaborated closely for many years, showed that the CUE domain of the factor Cue1 binds to ubiquitin chains that are linked together via a specific building block of the individual ubiquitin molecules. These chains subsequently serve as a degradation signal for proteins. In addition, the researchers found that the CUE domain also has a direct impact on the length of the ubiquitin chains: If the CUE domain was lacking or limited in its function due to a mutation, the ubiquitin chains developed more slowly and were shorter in length. Apparently, the CUE domain stabilizes the ubiquitin chains, allowing additional ubiquitin molecules to be attached more easily.
In yeast cells, the researchers found that the CUE domain of Cue1 in this way actually affects how effectively the ERAD system can degrade proteins. The researchers suspect that the CUE domain is used specifically for the disposal of proteins which are bound to the ER membrane. However, they seem to have no influence on the degradation of soluble proteins. "Our results show that a ubiquitin-binding domain can also regulate the formation of ubiquitin chains," the researchers said. "This function was previously unknown until now."
###
* Ubiquitin binding by a CUE domain regulates ubiquitin chain formation by ERAD E3 ligases.
Katrin Bagola1, Maximilian von Delbrck1, Gunnar Dittmar1, Martin Scheffner3, Inbal Ziv4, Michael H. Glickman4, Aaron Ciechanover5, and Thomas Sommer1, 2
1Max-Delbrck-Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rssle-Strasse 10, D-13122 Berlin, Germany
2Humboldt-University zu Berlin, Institute for Biology, Invalidenstr.43, D-10115 Berlin, Germany
3Department of Biology, Konstanz Research School Chemical Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
4Department of Biology and 5Cancer and Vascular Biology Research Center, The Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Polak Cancer Center, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 31096, Israel
Contact:
Barbara Bachtler
Press Department
Max Delbrck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch
in the Helmholtz Association
Robert-Rssle-Strasse 10; 13125 Berlin, Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 30 94 06 - 38 96; Fax: +49 (0) 30 94 06 - 38 33
e-mail: presse@mdc-berlin.de
http://www.mdc-berlin.de/
[ | 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.
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) ? A 22-year-old who lives with his parents is the new mayor of Ivory Coast's largest city, at least according to the West African nation's active community of self-described Internet geeks.
Abidjan's budding network of bloggers, strategists, designers and Web entrepreneurs organized a separate vote for "Web Mayor," in late April days after Ivorians went to the polls for local elections.
Emmanuel Assouan was crowned leader for a group that in recent years has dreamed up creative ways to aid the city's population of roughly 4 million people and draw attention to government shortcomings in areas like traffic congestion and power supply, said Amevi Midekor, who helped organize the vote.
Assouan beat out a crowded field of 12 candidates, with more than 25 percent of 534 votes counted.
In a suit, he took the oath of office on Friday night with his parents looking on. As he placed his right hand on a gleaming white iPad, Assouan vowed to foster an online community that was "healthy, safe and rich in content." Ivory Coast has a reputation for cybercrime, which has placed it on blacklists for websites like PayPal.
But it's clear Abidjan's techies see their work as central to reforming the broader image of Ivory Coast.
"Always we hear the same things about Ivory Coast - the problems of war, of politics," said Bacely Yorobi, head of a social media marketing firm called Social Spot and the third-place candidate for "Web Mayor."
"We hear no information about the world of technology. So we want the Web community to speak with one voice and bring the message that Ivory Coast is back, and we are having a technological revolution," Yorobi said.
The online community came of age during Ivory Coast's 2010-11 postelection violence, which ended with heavy fighting in Abidjan prior to the April 2011 arrest of former President Laurent Gbagbo, who had refused to leave office despite losing the vote to current President Alassane Ouattara.
Using Twitter hashtags and maps, members alerted one another to violence and to people in need of food or medical care.
With the conflict over and recovery under way, Edith Brou, blogger and founder of a webzine geared to Ivorian women, said she wanted Abidjan to blossom into "the next technopole" rivaling other African cities like Dakar, Senegal and Nairobi, Kenya.
Like other techies, she said the group had little interest in politics. She drew a contrast between April's government-sponsored local elections, which produced pockets of unrest when losing candidates contested the results, and the vote for "Web Mayor," which was decidedly peaceful.
"It's the difference between a clean election and a dirty election," said Brou, who placed second in the "Web Mayor" vote. "In the local elections, when you lose, you cry, you insult someone, you rally your supporters. For us, it's different. We are here to work together to develop the community. I lost, I accepted it, and I congratulated the person who won. It's that easy."
Still, certain members of Abidjan's online community don't shy away from challenging the government or highlighting its failures.
In late January, responding to a wave of electricity cuts, 37-year-old designer and advertiser Charles Dadie created a black-hooded cartoon villain named Delestron - a play on the French word for power cut, "delestage."
Though initially intended as a joke, Dadie soon gave Delestron his own Facebook page, and he has amassed more than 4,700 "likes." Following a citywide power cut earlier this month, a graphic on the page showed Delestron standing over a map saying, "Tonight I will strike everywhere at once."
"Delestron was created to denounce the power cuts with a bit of humor," Dadie said. "This is the character of Ivorians. And I think this is a more advanced method of articulating our concerns. It's not violent. And it allows people to express their opinion quickly, so that the authorities are aware of it."
The national electricity company already had its own superheroes: Two men in full-body orange-and-green spandex suits who restore power with a simple nod of the head. In a video on the company's home page, the men work their magic at a home, a factory and a hospital where a woman is undergoing an ultrasound before ending up at an outdoor dance party.
But after Delestron's popularity took off, a new female superhero appeared on the scene, informing Abidjan residents of efforts to repair power cuts. Electra's 710 Facebook followers are also treated to detailed posts on rate structures. The character was widely believed to have been created by the national electricity company, though officials have not confirmed this, and the company could not be reached for comment.
Dadie said it would "probably be better if officials focused on improving the electricity situation rather than creating cartoons."
But the attention garnered by Delestron shows the potential power of online activism in Abidjan, something Assouan, the new "Web Mayor," said he hopes to use to spur innovation in online commerce, government and education.
He doesn't have much time, however. A new election for "Web Mayor" is tentatively scheduled for next spring.
The federal government is looking to reward a nonprofit or company that would advise businesses owned by American Indians, and Bridgeport is one of the locations where the future center could operate.
The agency could also choose Buffalo, N.Y., Green Bay or Milwaukee in Wisconsin, Portland, Ore., or Jackson, Miss. All of these cities, according to the Minority Business Development Agency, are locations with a significant American Indian population.
Once open, the business center would not just serve businesses owned by American Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts, but also could help those owned by blacks, Puerto Ricans, other Hispanics, Hasidic Jews, and Asian Americans.
The nonprofit would be given $255,000 each year for four years to run the center. There are no centers in Connecticut currently.
The government said that in fiscal year 2012, the MBDA helped create and retain over 16,000 jobs, ?and helped its clients obtain over $3.6 billion in contracts and capital awards.
Applications must be submitted electronically and time-stamped at www.Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. on June 22, 2013.?
(Reuters) - Starbucks Corp executive Michelle Gass, who was instrumental in the world's biggest coffee chain's post-recession U.S. turnaround, is leaving after more than 16 years to become chief customer officer at retailer Kohl's Corp .
Gass, known for having led many big initiatives at Starbucks, including the development of Frappuccino blended drinks, will join Kohl's in the newly created position on June 17, the low-price department store said on Wednesday.
Gass had just been named to a new position at Starbucks, where she was set to work directly with Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schultz. Most recently, she was president for Starbucks Europe, Middle East and Africa.
"The news should be viewed as disappointing to investors as Gass was highly regarded, having helped create the overall strategic blueprint for the brand," said Barclays analyst Jeffrey Bernstein.
He added that Gass has been a director at Ann Inc , the parent of women's clothing chain Ann Taylor, since November 2008.
"We value her many contributions over the years," Starbucks spokesman Jim Olson said, adding that Wednesday was Gass' last day at the Seattle-based company.
At Kohl's, Gass will oversee areas such as marketing and e-commerce, and will report directly to Chairman and CEO Kevin Mansell.
Before she joined Starbucks, Gass worked in marketing and new product development with Procter & Gamble Co .
Starbucks shares closed down 0.2 percent at $64.14, while Kohl's ended down 0.5 percent at $52.08.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles. Editing by Andre Grenon)
FILE - This May 10, 2011 file photo shows children at Tracy Elementary School running across a field as they take part in after-school exercise activities on the campus in Baldwin Park, Calif. Reading, writing, `rithmetic _ and PE? The prestigious Institute of Medicine is recommending that schools provide opportunities for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day for students and treat physical education as a core subject. The report says only about half of the nation's youngsters are getting at least an hour of vigorous or moderate physical activity every day. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
FILE - This May 10, 2011 file photo shows children at Tracy Elementary School running across a field as they take part in after-school exercise activities on the campus in Baldwin Park, Calif. Reading, writing, `rithmetic _ and PE? The prestigious Institute of Medicine is recommending that schools provide opportunities for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day for students and treat physical education as a core subject. The report says only about half of the nation's youngsters are getting at least an hour of vigorous or moderate physical activity every day. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2012 file photo, students hold their position during a yoga class at Capri Elementary School in Encinitas, Calif. Reading, writing, `rithmetic _ and PE? The prestigious Institute of Medicine is recommending that schools provide opportunities for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day for students and treat physical education as a core subject. The report says only about half of the nation's youngsters are getting at least an hour of vigorous or moderate physical activity every day. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Reading, writing, 'rithmetic ? and PE?
The prestigious Institute of Medicine is recommending that schools provide opportunities for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day for students and that PE be designated a core subject.
The report, released Thursday, says only about half of the nation's youngsters are getting at least an hour of vigorous or moderate-intensity physical activity every day.
Another concern, says the report, is that 44 percent of school administrators report slashing big chunks of time from physical education, arts and recess since the passage of the No Child Left Behind law in 2001 in order to boost classroom time for reading and math.
With childhood obesity on the rise ? about 17 percent of children ages 2 through 19 are obese ? and kids spending much of the day in the classroom, the chairman of the committee that wrote the report said schools are the best place to help shape up the nation's children.
"Schools for years have been responsible for various health programs such as nutrition, breakfast and lunch, immunizations, screenings," Harold W. Kohl III, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas School of Public Health, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
"Physical activity should be placed alongside those programs to make it a priority for us as a society," he said.
The report calls on the Education Department to recommend that PE be adopted as a core subject.
It says physical education in school is the "only sure opportunity" for youngsters to have access to activity that will help keep them healthy.
The majority of states, about 75 percent, mandate PE, according to the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. But most do not require a specific amount of time for PE in school, and more than half allow exemptions or substitutions, such as marching band, cheerleading and community sports.
Many kids also aren't going to gym class at school every single day. According to the CDC, only about 30 percent of students nationwide attend PE classes five days a week.
Specifically, the report recommends:
?All elementary school students should spend an average of 30 minutes each day in PE class.
?Middle and high school students should spend an average of 45 minutes each day in PE class.
?State and local officials should find ways get children more physical activity in the school environment.
PE isn't the sole solution, though.
The report advocates a "whole-of-school" approach where recess and before-and-after-school activities including sports are made accessible to all students to help achieve the 60-minutes-a-day recommendation for physical activity. It could be as simple as having kids walk or bike to school, or finding ways to add a physical component to math and science class lessons.
The report also cautions against taking away recess as a form of punishment, and it urges schools to give students frequent classroom breaks.
Schools can do this if they make it a priority, says Paul Roetert, CEO of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.
"We have an obligation to keep kids active," Roetert said in an interview. "We have research to show that physical activity helps kids perform better in school. It helps them focus better in the classroom ... and they behave better in school. So there are all kinds of side benefits."
The idea of putting more of an emphasis on physical education in schools has support in Congress.
Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, plans to introduce the PHYSICAL Act on Thursday. It would recognize health education and physical education as core subjects within elementary and secondary schools. Reps. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Jared Polis, D-Colo., will join Fudge as co-sponsors.
The man shot dead by an FBI agent in Orlando, Florida early today was "about to sign a statement" admitting to a role, along with Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, in an unsolved triple murder in Massachusetts in 2011, two people with direct knowledge of the case told ABC News.
Ibragim Todashev "just went crazy," and pulled a knife during his interview with the FBI, said state and federal law enforcement officials briefed on the latest strange twist in the investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing.
One official said an FBI agent was stabbed several times, although his injuries were described by the FBI as "non-life threatening."
FBI agents and Massachusetts state police began to question Todashev after his name and phone number were recovered from the phone of the dead bombing suspect. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with police days after he and his younger brother Dzhokhar allegedly planted two bombs near the finish line at the Boston Marathon April 15, killing three and injuring more than 260 others. Dzhokhar was later captured and is in custody.
FULL COVERAGE: Boston Marathon Bombing
Todashev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev both fought mixed martial arts in the name of Boston's Wai Kru gym, where one of the 2011 triple murder victims, Brendan Mess, also trained, according to a former fighter there and law enforcement officials.
According to officials, Todashev was initially being questioned about any role in the marathon bombing when it emerged he had connections to the gruesome murder. There is no indication Todashev was tied to the bombing, sources familiar with the case said.
In the wake of the bombing, detectives developed DNA evidence linking both Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother Dzhokhar to the triple murder scene.
READ: 'Mounting Evidence' Boston Bombers Involved in 2011 Triple Murder
The three men who were killed had their throats slit and their bodies were left with cash and marijuana placed on top of them. The murder took place on September 11, 2011, the ten year anniversary of the al Qaeda terror attacks on New York and Washington.
Also killed with Mess were Raffael Teken and Eric Weissman. A spokesperson for the Middlesex County district attorney, which is handling the triple murder investigation, declined to make any official statement today.
According to a recent Florida police report, Todashev was arrested May 4 and booked with aggravated battery for allegedly fighting with a father and son over a parking space in a mall parking lot in Kissimmee, Fla. Todashev had told police he fought in self-defense as the son "came at him swinging" after Todashev pushed the father. The father did not want to press charges, but the son did, the report said.
Todashev was a lawful permanent resident holding a Russian passport, when he arrived in the U.S. in 2008 on a student visa, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.
Despite a recent assault arrest, his immigration file was devoid of derogatory information, the official said.
Freelance writer Michele McPhee is a Boston-based reporter and frequent contributor to ABC News.
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When NFL spokesman Greg Aiello takes issue with something we write on PFT, he calls us out via Twitter.? When he doesn?t like something written by the Associated Press, Aiello breaks out the typewriter.
Aiello has written a lengthy response to a column from Jim Litke of the AP.? The Litke column is, basically, a sawed-off shotgun blast of various and in spots inaccurate contentions regarding the NFL?s ongoing quest for dominance of the American sports landscape.
Litke?s cynicism is sort of cute, in that it implies he?s only realizing now that the NFL has pitched a tent at the top of the mountain and is building a moat around the perimeter.? That?s what successful businesses do.? They keep looking for ways to improve and to grow.? The improvements are limited only by the ingenuity and drive of the business; the growth is limited only by consumer demand.
Apart from the factual errors in Litke?s column (e.g., he claims Dolphins owner Stephen Ross wants taxpayers to ?foot the bill? for renovations to Sun Life Stadium, which as Aiello points out implies incorrectly that the project includes no private money), it arises from the premise that, in a capitalistic economy, it?s somehow wrong for the NFL to capitalize on its success.
At a time when strangers happily are buying up the items on Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III?s wedding registry at Bed, Bath & Beyond, there?s nothing wrong with the NFL doing whatever the NFL can do to take advantage of the enormous power and popularity it has amassed.? As long as the NFL uses that power and popularity in legal and ethical ways, the more power and popularity to it.
Still, Litke whines about the NFL rewarding cities that have contributed public funds to stadium projects with Super Bowls.? Should the cities that have contributed public fund to stadium projects be excluded from hosting Super Bowls?
Litke whines about a potential three-week delay in the draft, and the ?scheduling conflicts? conflicts it will potentially create with Mother?s Day and NHL and NBA playoff games.? As to the former, the draft isn?t held on a Sunday.? As to the latter, if consumers choose to watch and follow the NFL draft instead of hockey or basketball playoffs, why should Litke or anyone else (other than hockey and basketball owners) care?
Litke whines about the extra work that the expanded calendar will create for NFL employees.? First, free agency, the Scouting Combine, and the draft will still happen, only at different times.? Second, if more work truly is created, teams can hire more help or pay the current employees more money or risk having employees who don?t want to work a little harder leaving for other jobs.
Litke also whines that ?many clubs are likely to cut out minicamps? if the draft is delayed, revealing that he has no understanding of how the NFL works.? The coaches will ensure that every practice permitted by the labor deal is conducted.? Besides, if Litke is worried about people working too hard, shouldn?t he applaud a change that results in less work for players and coaches?
With all due respect (i.e., here comes the insult), Litke just wants to whine about the NFL, and to do so he has slapped together some flimsy gripes and complaints without regard to whether they hold water.
The far better point is that, by constantly expanding and growing, the league risks saturating the marketplace, and in turn seeing its power and popularity diminish.? Moreover, it?s human nature to resent (or at least to be leery of) anything that gets too big, too strong, and/or too rich.
Perhaps that mindset spawned Litke?s column.? Perhaps the league is inching toward the point of diminishing returns.? Even if that?s the case (and we think this could indeed happen if the NFL forces an 18-game season onto the American public), the NFL has every right to keep looking for ways to expand its influence and to enhance its balance sheet.
The NFL has plenty of flaws and problems, and it seems at times to thrive despite them.? But the goal of any worthwhile business is to get bigger, and no company? ever should say, ?OK, that?s enough.? We?re good right here.?Those that do risk not being ?right here,? or anywhere else, for very long.
WASHINGTON -- Military families are always moving around, and those shifts can be tough for children who have to adjust to new surroundings. School districts that serve these students often try to ease the transition by providing counselors for them to talk with. But thanks to sequestration, the Leemore School District in central California has had to get rid of that service.
"These [military parents] go out on crews on a ship for nine months. The kids don't see a parent or two for that long. So they have to deal with that," said Jack Boogaard, the assistant superintendent of schools in Leemore, Calif.
"The military child moves quite often," he said. "We talk to some kids out there -- and they're young -- and they've already moved four or five times. So they have to deal with new friends, new schools, and now with tight budgets, we're not able to service them. We used to have a counselor; we don't have a counselor anymore."
Leemore schools receive what is known as "impact aid," which the federal government gives to schools that educate children who live on Indian reservations, military bases or in low-income housing. The government assistance is intended to make up for decreased property taxes in school systems based on federal land.
In total, the more than 1,300 schools that receive impact aid will receive $60 million less than expected this year, according to the Department of Education, as a result of the wide-ranging spending cuts known as sequestration.
Boogaard's schools alone, which serve children from both the nearby military base and Indian land, lost $350,000 this year due to the cuts.
Eliminating the counselor was just the tip of the iceberg for Leemore. The district has also stopped filling vacant positions, meaning that overworked staff are now taking on multiple roles.
"Not only do I take care of the business end of the schools, but I also take care of facilities," Boogaard said. "We have another assistant superintendent -- she has human resources, she has special ed, she has technology, she has curriculum. In some districts, each one is one position."
Leemore has also had to cut its technology program. So while the schools have technology labs, there are no teachers devoted to the subject. Students only get experience if their primary teachers have the expertise and decide to take them to the labs.
Bryan Jernigan is communications director at the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, which represents more than 400 schools receiving impact aid. He watched as Congress rushed to provide reprieve for the problems sequestration caused the Federal Aviation Administration as soon as travelers -- and lawmakers -- became inconvenienced by long lines at airports. He said while NAFIS always thought sequestration was bad policy, the group believed the spending cuts were going to affect programs across the board. But things began to change with the FAA fix.
"Whether they understood that at the time or not, we felt like they had automatically prioritized commuting and addressing long lines at airports over the education of children," he said. "That is really unacceptable to us."
Jernigan's group is working on a survey of how its members are dealing with sequestration, due out in the next few weeks. He shared some of the initial findings with The Huffington Post. Schools said they were cutting back on music and physical education programs, eliminating positions and delaying facility repairs needed for safety and health reasons. Down the road, they're looking at increasing class size, lowering salaries, laying off employees and even closing schools.
Keith McVay is superintendent at the McLaughlin School District in northern South Dakota, which educates a large number of American Indian students. Until last year, the district offered summer school, like so many others do around the country. But McVay just doesn't have the resources to do so anymore, thanks to sequestration, and the program has been eliminated.
The school also used to have a bus to take students home after sports practice -- some children live 20-25 miles away -- but that service is now also gone.
When asked whether he thought the school district would have to close some schools, McVay replied, "I don't think next year; but I would think if sequestration continues, I would say down the road, it would happen."
Not surprisingly, that uncertainty is taking a toll on employees.
"The last thing you want your teachers to do is be concerned about getting a paycheck," said Mike Rabideaux, superintendent of the Fond du Lac Ojibwe School in Minnesota, who has already had to lay off staff. He added that even in the best of times, it's tough to hire quality employees because the school is limited in what it can offer for salaries; sequestration is compounding that problem.
"I have young, talented teachers and administrators telling me, 'I have to look elsewhere, I have to support my family and I have to somehow meet their needs. As much as I love my job, I'm going to be looking elsewhere ... where there's more stability,'" said Brent Gish, executive director of the National Indian Impacted Schools Association.
Gish has spent 40 years working for Indian land schools. He said that cuts to school support staff -- who come from the native communities they serve -- is simply increasing an unemployment rate that often exceeds 50 percent in some areas.
"Many times these support staff are the primary breadwinner in the families," he said. "So we are taking an independent family and saying, 'No, you're unemployed, and you've become dependent on this other system [federal unemployment benefits]."
It seems unlikely that impact aid schools will be getting their own special fix anytime soon. And at the moment, a full replacement for sequestration is nowhere near reality.
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) recently spoke on the Senate floor about the harmful effects of sequestration, specifically mentioning what tribal schools are going through.
?The severe cuts made to programs that benefit Native American Students are a distressing reminder of why we need to replace the entire sequester," Franken said in a statement to The Huffington Post. "The U.S. Department of Education estimates that Minnesota school districts may lose almost one million dollars in critical funding for these students. As a result, students could see increased class sizes, fewer afterschool programs, and maintenance projects at their schools delayed. Children in Indian Country are hurting because of the sequester, and it's only going to get worse if we don't get something done.?
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has acknowledged that the impact aid schools are going to get hit hardest by sequestration but said there is not much he can do unless Congress acts.
"There's very little to nothing I can do," said Duncan in February, "to mitigate what's going to be devastating for children and for teachers and for schools at a time when we need to get better."
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Public release date: 27-May-2013
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