Scientists reveal how river blindness worm thrives

ScienceDaily (Aug. 22, 2012) ? Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that the worm which causes River Blindness survives by using a bacterium to provide energy, as well as help 'trick' the body's immune system into thinking it is fighting a different kind of infection.

River Blindness affects 37 million people, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, causing intense itching of the skin, visual impairment and in severe cases, irreversible blindness. It is caused by a parasitic worm that is transmitted by blood-feeding blackflies, which breed in fast-flowing rivers.

The team at Liverpool investigated a bacteria carried by the worm, called Wolbachia, which if removed by antibiotics, kills the adult worm and cures River Blindness. To understand why the worms need these bacteria to survive, scientists sequenced the genome of Wolbachia from a closely related parasite in cattle.

They found that the bacteria could provide the worm with energy through a process that needs iron and oxygen, similar to cell energy processes in the human body. The bacteria can also 'trick' the body's immune response into believing it is dealing with a bacterial rather than worm infection, making it difficult for the body to fight the disease.

Research findings could help target drugs at disabling the bacteria's energy-giving properties, which may provide shorter treatment regimes for River Blindness. Understanding the bacteria's ability to misdirect the human immune response could also contribute to work into vaccine development.

Dr Ben Makepeace, from the University of Liverpool's Institute of Infection and Global Health, said: "River Blindness is a major problem in tropical regions of Africa, where a similar parasite can also be found in cattle. Antibiotics have shown promise in critical trials, but treatment can be a long process for a patient, and so it is important for us to find new ways of combating the disease to improve patient welfare.

"It was a team at Liverpool that first discovered antibiotics could kill the bacteria inside these particular worms. The findings led us to believe that the bacteria played a crucial role in keeping the parasite alive. Sequencing the genome revealed that it could give the worm energy to survive and help 'fool' the host's immune response into believing it had to tackle a bacterial infection.

"We also studied, for the first time, which bacterial genes were switched on and off in different parts of the worm, and identified the kinds of proteins made by Wolbachia. We hope our research will contribute to shorter treatment programmes and potentially impact on the search for a vaccine."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Liverpool, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/WZCSPo4hFLI/120822181350.htm

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Real Estate Investors: Non-traded REITs and Risk | Millionaire Corner

REITs are the most popular alternative investments among affluent Americans, but the products can expose real estate investors to a high level of investment risk. What are REITs? How do they vary?

REIT stands for Real Estate Investment Trust, a corporation that owns commercial real estate, such as hotels, rental apartments, shopping centers and storage units.? The corporation purchases its property by pooling assets from numerous real estate investors and, in exchange for preferential tax treatment, returns 90 percent of its taxable income to its shareholders.? Beyond these common features, REITS can differ in significant ways, and these differences have important implications for real estate investors.

REITs fall into three broad categories, public exchange-traded REITs, public non-traded REITs and private REITs. Both types of public REITS are registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and must file a prospectus, as well as quarterly and annual reports. Exchange-traded REITs can be bought on national securities exchanges, and are considered to be fairly liquid investments, easy for real estate investors to buy and sell.

Non-traded public REITS are not listed on national securities exchanges and can be extremely illiquid, according to the Financial Industries Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, which regulates broker-dealers.? Non-traded public REITs can also charge relatively high front-end fees of up to 15 percent that can ?erode total return.? ?Many non-traded REITs lock in funds for a set period, after which the trust must liquidate or go public, but, according to FINRA, ?there is no guarantee that the value of your investment will have gone up ? and it may go down or lose all its value.?? Early redemption of non-traded REIT shares may involve restrictions and expensive penalties.

Private REITs, or private-placement REITs, carry ?significant risk? to real estate investors, according to FINRA. They are not listed on national securities exchanges and are generally exempt from SEC reporting requirements, according to FINRA.? The lack of disclosure can make it difficult for investors to make informed decisions about private REITs and the investments are typically sold only to more affluent and sophisticated investors accredited by the SEC.

REITs have gained appeal among affluent investors seeking income in a time of extreme stock market volatility and low interest rates, but all REITs pose investment risk. For one, REIT distributions are not guaranteed and can be suspended or halted. Distributions can also be funded through investor capital or borrowing, and this leveraging can increase the risk a REIT will default or lose value ? risk more typically associated with non-traded REITs, according to FINRA.

FINRA recommends the following tips to real estate investors considering non-traded REITs:

????????? Do not put all your assets in a single REIT or REIT family. Older investors, in particular, should ?be cautious? about investing large portions of their retirement nest egg in a single REIT.

????????? Do not invest solely based on current distributions of a non-traded REIT. The distributions can be suspended or halted, and may be funded through borrowing.

????????? Redemption policies of non-traded REITS can change, making the products difficult to sell.

????????? Be wary of claims that a non-traded REIT is about to go public. The process is lengthy and may never come to pass. If it does, shares may trade at a lower price that the current valuation.

????????? Be cautious about investing proceeds from one non-traded REIT into another, especially if both REITs are sold by the same securities firm.

????????? Real estate investors considering a non-traded REIT are urged to thoroughly research the product through its investor relations department and the SEC?s EDGAR database.?

Source: http://www.millionairecorner.com/article/real-estate-investors-non-traded-reits-and-risk

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Emerging debt rally at risk from rising Treasury yields

LONDON (Reuters) - Uncertainty over the timing of U.S. monetary stimulus and a rise in U.S. Treasury yields is threatening the blistering summer rally in emerging market bonds.

Some investors are being tempted to book profits from the record-busting run, which has made emerging debt among the best-performing asset classes of 2012.

Returns have been around 10-12 percent this year, courtesy of investors seeking refuge from zero- or negative-yielding developed market securities. Many bonds, especially local currency ones, are at multi-year or even all-time highs.

Some of this is now in danger. Yields have been rising on 10-year Treasury bonds, the underlying risk-fee rate that defines the attractiveness of emerging assets. The higher the Treasury yield, the less premium investors get from holding emerging assets.

The debate over whether and when the Federal Reserve will start buying more bonds in a third quantitative easing program - a move that would lower Treasury yields and make emerging debt even more attractive - is also making investors cautious.

Improving economic data may push the Fed to delay.

Analysts at JP Morgan have tried to calculate the impact of continuing U.S. Treasury rises.

The bank's main dollar bond index, the EMBI Global, has returned around 12 percent so far this year and could add another 3 percent if U.S. yields stay at 1.5 percent, the analysts said.

But returns for the rest of this year would halve if U.S. 10-year yields rose to 1.75 percent and would fall to zero if they jumped to 2 percent, the bank said.

The yield was 1.68 percent on Thursday but they hit three-month highs over 1.83 percent earlier in the week, a rise of almost 50 bps from the start of August.

All this has some investors shifting their emerging debt portfolios.

"Clearly the recent rise in yields reflects better-than-expected U.S. data," said Claudia Calich, head of emerging markets at Invesco which has $2 billion in EM debt.

She has raised her cash levels and favors debt issued by countries such as Angola which is less correlated with global developments than mainstream markets such as Brazil.

Calich does not view August U.S. yield rise as a game changer but reckons it is time to take "selective profits" on emerging markets, especially as governments and companies are likely to start issuing bonds again in September when the new issue market typically re-opens after a summer lull.

Rob Drijkoningen, who oversees $12 billion in emerging debt at ING Investment Management, has also become more cautious, particularly as he sees little chance of Fed QE near-term.

He is especially wary about on dollar debt from investment grade-rated markets such as Brazil and Russia which offer a relatively small premium over Treasuries.

"You have high-yield names such as Argentina and Venezuela which are trading close to 1000 bps (over U.S. Treasuries) and won't be materially affected by a 25 (basis point) rise in U.S. yields," he said. "But investment-grade has tightened to an extent we don't think the risk-reward is justified."

Brazilian dollar bonds listed on JP Morgan's EMBI Global dollar bond index carry a premium of 1.67 percentage points over U.S. Treasuries. That's down from 2.23 percentage points at the start of the year.

NO PANIC

So far despite some position-trimming there has been nothing approaching a big selloff in emerging debt. Data tracker EPFR reported continued inflows in August to bond funds.

And although 10-year Treasury yields have risen in August, they are still not far off record lows.

Dollar debt in particular has been solid, with yield spreads over Treasuries staying at one-year lows, meaning the overall index has actually outperformed the underlying "safe" asset.

However, yields on the main local debt index, JP Morgan's GBI-EM, have risen to 5.8 percent, around 10 bps higher than a month ago - a pointer to what may happen if Treasury yields firm.

What happens next will be crucial, with investors waiting to see if U.S. Fed boss Ben Bernanke drops any hints about QE in his speech next week at the Jackson Hole central bankers' get-together.

(Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/48763964?__source=RSS*tag*&par=RSS

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Women?s Equality Day celebration (Offthekuff)

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Even CEOs can use feedback ? Business Management Daily: Free ...

CEOs need to accept feedback and modify their behavior, says Deborah Farrington, founder and general partner at StarVest Partners, a venture capital firm in New York.

Through her venture capital firm, she has invested in about 70 companies and taken a long look at hundreds of others.

What does she look for?

?I look for people who don?t think they know all the answers,? she says, ?because no one does in this very fast-changing world, especially in technology.

?I want to know if they?re going to listen when I?m giving them feedback.?

She tends to ask them about what they?re doing right, how they?re doing it, and what they think they can do better. Just as you might ask a job candidate, Farrington asks the questions so she can hear how the CEO handles uncertainty.

She wants to know where the current problems are, so she can help solve them?if the CEOs are willing to be honest and then listen in turn.

Lesson: Even the best CEOs don?t have every problem solved.

? Adapted from ?CEO or Not, You Always Need Feedback,? Adam Bryant, The New York Times.

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Republican Akin defies party bosses, stays in Missouri Senate race

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Representative Todd Akin on Wednesday dismissed calls from party leaders that he drop out of the Missouri Senate race after his controversial remarks on abortion and rape, saying party officials should not overrule voters.

Akin has been under fire since he said on Sunday that it was extremely rare for rape victims to get pregnant. He backtracked on that position in appearances on several morning TV programs on Wednesday, saying he was wrong to say the female body could shut down reproduction when raped.

"The people of Missouri chose me, and I don't believe it's right for party bosses to decide to override those voters," Akin said on ABC's "Good Morning America" program.

"It makes me uncomfortable to think that the party bosses are going to dictate who runs, as opposed to the election process," he added.

But when pressed, Akin did not rule out stepping down later. "I'm never going to say everything that could possibly happen. I don't know the future," he told ABC.

The backlash over Akin's comments has dominated the presidential campaign in recent days, just as Republicans prepare for their national convention in Tampa, Florida, next week. It has distracted attention from Republican efforts to focus on Democratic President Barack Obama's handling of the sluggish economy and high unemployment.

Akin won the primary race against several other Republicans earlier this month to challenge Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill in the November 6 election. Under Missouri election law, Akin had until Tuesday to get his name off the ballot without having to seek a court order.

Democrats control the Senate and Republicans need to pick up four seats to take over the chamber. Prior to the Akin controversy, Republicans considered McCaskill one of the most vulnerable Democratic Senate incumbents.

"I've made the decision to stay in because I believe we can win this race," he told ABC. "I'm planning to win it."

A number of Republican leaders, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney, have called on the congressman to quit the race after he said in an interview Sunday that it was extremely rare for women to get pregnant from "legitimate rape."

On NBC's "Today" program, Akin said he was not staying in the race for personal gain.

"It's about trying to do the right thing and stand on principle," he said.

"This is not about me. This is not about my ego. But it is about the voters of the state of Missouri. They have chose me because of principles I stand on ... I believe they stand with me on a whole host of issues."

On both television shows said he was wrong about the medical facts about rape.

On Sunday, he said pregnancy from rape was "really rare" because: "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." That notion has been widely rejected by medical experts.

"That's not true. I was misinformed," he told NBC.

"But I'm not apologizing for the fact that I am pro-life and that I also believe that it's important to defend the helpless and the unborn," Akin said on ABC.

(Reporting By Susan Heavey; Editing by Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/akin-rebuffs-romney-republican-calls-quit-senate-race-000512736.html

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Business Model Innovation Through Process Change - Brad Power ...

by Brad Power??|?? 8:00 AM August 20, 2012

More and more companies I see these days are making strategic process changes to drive unprecedented business model innovation. Forbes has embraced online collaborative publishing as it adds a substantial online presence to its traditional print magazine. Healthcare organizations are implementing electronic health records systems so they can migrate from islands of medical services to sharing patient data across care providers. Consumer packaged goods manufacturers are monitoring social media to get real-time information on their customers' perceptions and share it with brand managers.

Business model innovation ? often enabled by new technology platforms ? isn't new. It was the driver of dramatic growth for, among other companies, Dell, FedEx, and Wal-Mart. In the late 1990s the dot-com boom made every organization look at the potential for online presence and examine its business model. But the pace has been heating up with emerging social (Facebook), mobile (smart phones and iPads), "cloud," and "big data" technologies that are creating new ways to compete, and, along with them, new ways of working.

Embrace Industry Disruption
Consider the transformation at Forbes, the business publishing and media company, which has embraced the shift from traditional print media to online publishing, salvaging a business that was being disrupted, and becoming a disrupter itself. Forbes is well known for its lists, such as of the richest Americans (the Forbes 400). In 1996 the company launched a website at a time when other media companies were trying to figure out how to respond to the rise of the Internet. Forbes.com quickly grew to 18 million monthly unique users. Forbes then took another bold step by deciding to move beyond its website to a more inclusive and scalable digital publishing platform. 30 million unique users now visit Forbes.com monthly, and it has 1,000 content creators.

This latest change was driven by Lewis DVorkin, an experienced veteran of both the traditional news industry and digital media, who joined Forbes as its Chief Product Officer (a newly created position) in 2010. In 2011 DVorkin rolled out a "New Newsroom" on a blog-based platform (WordPress) and a new organization. The New Newsroom added outside contributors to Forbes' traditional staff reporters. Forbes gave the outside contributors visibility to help build their personal brands, and in return the contributors broadened Forbes' coverage. The self-publishing tools Forbes provided to contributors made it easy to write something and publish it, to put images into it, to link to other media, or to embed videos.

For example, as contributors write, the platform suggests images which Forbes has already paid for; they can just click on one, put it into their post, and write a caption. Forbes also gives contributors control over comments. They can highlight comments they think are valuable and they can delete or mark as spam comments that are weak or abusive. And Forbes provides contributors with real-time feedback on how many views each post is getting. The counter at the top of every post helps contributors see what is working and learn to better serve their readers. Each contributor has an individualized real-time data dashboard.

Knit Your Network Together
Partners Healthcare, the large healthcare provider in the Boston area, is also putting in a new technology platform and processes to enable a new business model in an industry undergoing disruption. According to the Boston Globe, Partners is negotiating to buy a standard enterprise system (Epic) to knit together its nine hospitals with 6,000 physicians and other healthcare providers in Massachusetts:

"Expected to cost at least $600 million over 10 years, the Epic system would give each patient a single up-to-date record accessible by all Partners providers, at a time when doctors and hospitals are under pressure to keep closer tabs on the sickest people they care for and to better track their own performance over time... Its executives said the decision is an important step toward a more integrated, statewide system for sharing medical records."

With the new system, data for a patient who is referred from a primary care office to an orthopedist, has surgery, and later is discharged with home care would be available in real time, and would make it easier to apply quality control tools ? such as warnings of possible drug interactions ? uniformly across all healthcare providers.

Monitor the Pulse of Customer Opinions in Real Time
Consumer goods companies are realizing that they can keep their fingers on the pulse of consumer opinion in real time by tapping into the flow of consumer commentary in social media. In a recent article, Procter & Gamble CEO Robert McDonald described the process change from his experience:

"In 1984, when I was the Tide brand manager, I would get a cassette tape of consumer comments from the 1-800 line and listen to them in the car on the way home. Then, back at the office, I'd read and react to the letters we'd received. Today that's obviously not sufficient ? you've got blogs, tweets, all kinds of things. And so we've developed something called 'consumer pulse,' which uses Bayesian analysis [a statistical technique that can determine which items are important] to scan the universe of comments, categorize them by individual brand, and then put them on the screen of the relevant individual. I personally see the comments about the P&G brand. This allows for real-time reaction to what's going on in the marketplace, because we know that if something happens in a blog and you don't react immediately ? or, worse, you don't know about it ? it could spin out of control by the time you get involved."

Today's new generation of technologies, e.g., social and mobile, are enabling a new wave of process changes. For many organizations, the technology is moving faster than they are, but if harnessed, associated process changes can drive industry disruption and competitive advantage.

Questions: Do you see competition with processes heating up? What changes have you seen in the C-Suite when process changes jump onto the strategic agenda?

Source: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/08/business_model_innovation_thro.html

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