Report: U.S. taps 500M German phone, Internet links in month

BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States taps half a billion phone calls, emails and text messages in Germany in a typical month and has classed its biggest European ally as a target similar to China, according to secret U.S. documents quoted by a German newsmagazine.

The revelations of alleged U.S. surveillance programs based on documents taken by fugitive former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden have raised a political furor in the United States and abroad over the balance between privacy rights and national security.

Exposing the latest details in a string of reputed spying programs, Der Spiegel quoted from an internal NSA document which it said its reporters had seen.

The document Spiegel cited showed that the United States categorized Germany as a "third-class" partner and that surveillance there was stronger than in any other EU country, similar in extent to China, Iraq or Saudi-Arabia.

"We can attack the signals of most foreign third-class partners, and we do it too," Der Spiegel quoted a passage in the NSA document as saying.

It said the document showed that the NSA monitored phone calls, text messages, emails and internet chat contributions and has saved the metadata - that is, the connections, not the content - at its headquarters.

On an average day, the NSA monitored about 20 million German phone connections and 10 million internet data sets, rising to 60 million phone connections on busy days, the report said.

While it had been known from disclosures by Snowden that the United States tapped data in Germany, the extent was previously unclear.

News of the U.S. cyber-espionage program Prism and the British equivalent Tempora have outraged Germans, who are highly sensitive to government monitoring having lived through the Stasi secret police in the former communist East Germany and with lingering memories of the Gestapo of Hitler's Nazi regime.

A Spiegel report on Saturday that the NSA had spied on European Union offices caused outrage among EU policymakers, with some even calling for a suspension to talks for a free trade agreement between Washington and the EU.

In France, Der Spiegel reported, the United States taps about 2 million connection data a day. Only Canada, Australia, Britain and New Zealand were explicitly exempted from spy attacks.

Snowden, a U.S. citizen, fled the United States to Hong Kong in May, a few weeks before the publication in the Guardian and the Washington Post of details he provided about secret U.S. government surveillance of internet and phone traffic.

He has been holed up in a Moscow airport transit area for a week after U.S. authorities revoked his passport. The leftist government of Ecuador is reviewing his request for asylum.

(Reporting by Annika Breidthardt; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-taps-half-billion-german-phone-internet-links-093938180.html

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Mitchell 2008 Kia Optima Used Sedan near Sioux Falls, SD Brookings, SD Vern Eide Ford Lincoln for $

• Color: Red
• Stock#: F93223A
• Engine: 2.4L 4 cyls
• VIN: KNAGE123X85177440
• Odometer: 41,253 mi.
• Body Style: FWD Sedan (4 Door)

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• • Center Console - Full with covered storage
  • Overhead console - Mini with storage
  • Power steering
  • Clock - In-dash
  • Tachometer
  • Power heated mirrors
  • Power windows with 1 one-touch
  • Rear defogger

• Exterior

• • Intermittent window wipers
  • Privacy/tinted glass

• Interior

• • Rear bench seats
  • Front seat type - Bucket

• Safety

• • Head airbags - Curtain 1st and 2nd row
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• • 162 horsepower
  • 2.4 liter inline 4 cylinder DOHC engine with variable valve timing
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Contact Us at (800) 778-0215

EPA mileage estimates are for newly manufactured vehicles only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.

Before purchasing this vehicle, it is your responsibility to address any and all differences between information on this website and the actual vehicle specifications and/or any warranties offered prior to the sale of this vehicle. Vehicle data on this website is compiled from publicly available sources believed by the publisher to be reliable. Vehicle data is subject to change without notice. The publisher assumes no responsibility for errors and/or omissions in this data the compilation of this data and makes no representations express or implied to any actual or prospective purchaser of the vehicle as to the condition of the vehicle, vehicle specifications, ownership, vehicle history, equipment/accessories, price or warranties.

Source: http://www.verneideford.com/2008-Kia-Optima-Mitchell/vd/15572176

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How to download photos from Dropbox directly to your iPhone or iPad camera roll

If you use Dropbox to store photos and save space on your iPhone or iPad, there may come a time when you want to share those photos to a social network or with a friend. In order to do so, you'll most likely have to save them to your camera roll first.

As it happens, Dropbox gives you an easy way to do this. Here's how:

1. Launch the Dropbox app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
2. Find the photo that you'd like to download to your camera roll in your Dropbox app.
3. Click on the Download button in the lower right hand corner.
4. Now tap on the option for Save to Photo Library.
5. The photo will export directly to your iPhone or iPad camera roll.

Once the export is done you can hop right into your Photos app and upload it to whatever service you'd like.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/z_gPubTzkvY/story01.htm

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Trader Dan Interviewed at King World News Markets and Metals Wrap

Please click on the following link to listen in to my regular weekly radio interview with Eric King over at the KWN Markets and Metals Wrap. You will especially want to hear this week's recording as it is a companion to the piece I posted last afternoon (Friday) about my theory on the mining companies commencing hedging programs once again.

http://www.kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2013/6/29_KWN_Weekly_Metals_Wrap.html

Source: http://traderdannorcini.blogspot.com/2013/06/trader-dan-interviewed-at-king-world_29.html

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Fears of more unrest as rival protesters mass in Egypt | Morocco ...

CAIRO, June 28, 2013 (AFP)

Supporters and opponents of Egyptian Islamist President Mohamed Morsi took to the streets on Friday for rival protests a year after his election, as clashes in Alexandria raised fears of widespread unrest.

Fervent displays of emotion on both sides underline the bitter divisions in Egypt, with Morsi?s opponents accusing him of hijacking the revolution and his supporters vowing to defend his legitimacy to the end.

Violence between Morsi supporters and opponents in Egypt?s second city of Alexandria injured at least 10 people, a security official told AFP.

Television footage showed protesters running in several directions in Alexandria?s Sidi Gaber area as gunshots were heard.

At least four people have died since Wednesday in clashes in the Nile Delta ? three in the city of Mansura and one in Zagazig, medics said.

Overnight violence erupted in the eastern part of the Nile Delta, north of the capital, Morsi?s own home province of Sharqiya.

The unrest is seen by many as a prelude to mass anti-Morsi protests planned for Sunday.

In Cairo, thousands of Islamists gathered under the slogan ?legitimacy is a red line?, in reference to Morsi?s insistence that he has a popular mandate.

?People must go with everything they?ve got to defend legitimacy and Egypt,? one speaker told the cheering crowd, but also urging them to keep their protests peaceful.

Meanwhile, anti-Morsi protesters joined hundreds camped overnight in Tahrir Square, epicentre of the 2011 revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak and catapulted Morsi to the presidency.

Thousands more anti-Morsi protesters demonstrated across Cairo including in the Shubra, Sayeda Zeinab and Mohandesseen districts.

Outside the capital, his opponents gathered in Alexandria, Mansura and the canal city of Port Said.

The June 30 protest was called by Tamarod (Arabic for Rebellion), a grassroots movement which says it has more than 15 million signatures for a petition demanding Morsi?s resignation and a snap election.

The broad-based opposition alleges that Morsi reneged on his promise to be a president for all Egyptians and has failed to deliver on the uprising?s aspirations for freedom and social justice.

Germany warned that Egypt?s fledgling democracy faces a ?moment of truth?, and urged Morsi to implement reforms.

Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said demonstrators had a right to peaceful assembly, but urged both sides to avoid bloodshed.

Westerwelle ?is deeply concerned about the current escalation in political tensions in Egypt,? his spokesman told reporters.

?This is in his view a key moment of truth for political change in Egypt.?

Morsi himself warned in a televised speech on Wednesday that the growing polarisation threatens to ?paralyse? the country.

He pledged to consider constitutional reforms and appealed to the opposition to join talks.

It was his latest attempt to strike up a dialogue between political factions in a country deeply split between his Islamist allies and an opposition of leftists, liberals, Christians and some Muslim groups.

Late on Thursday, however, the opposition National Salvation Front coalition rejected his offer of talks and renewed its call for a snap presidential election.

Since taking office last June 30, Morsi has squared off against the judiciary, media, police and even artists.

But he has also admitted to failings and vowed to correct them.? ?I have made many mistakes, there is no question. Mistakes can happen, but they need to be corrected,? he said.

He also warned the media against abusing freedoms won in the uprising.? Judges on Thursday slapped a travel ban on Mohammed al-Amin, the owner of private television channel CBC that hosts a popular satire show. He faces charges of tax evasion.

In Wednesday?s speech, Morsi named him and several other private television channel owners.

The army, which oversaw the transition from Mubarak?s autocratic rule but has been on the sidelines since Morsi?s election, warned it would intervene if violence erupts.

It has brought in reinforcements to key cities, security officials said.? In Cairo, residents were withdrawing cash and stocking up on food, and many companies plan to close on Sunday, the first day of the working week.

Fuel shortages have seen drivers queueing outside petrol stations through the night, bringing parts of Cairo to a standstill.

Source: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/06/95889/fears-of-more-unrest-as-rival-protesters-mass-in-egypt/

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Colo. woman arrested after home burns in wildfire

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) ? A Colorado woman is angry after she lost her home in a wildfire and got arrested on a warrant for a traffic violation.

Marsha McCormack was arrested and handcuffed on June 21 as she sifted through the charred remains of her uninsured trailer.

A license plate device tipped authorities that she was wanted on a bench warrant for failing to appear in court on a traffic-related charge.

According to the Colorado Springs Gazette (http://tinyurl.com/nfdf2cx ), the woman was released after her neighbors posted a $446 bail and court fee.

___

Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazette.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/colo-woman-arrested-home-burns-wildfire-144456682.html

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Spieth takes share of early lead at Congressional

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) ? Jordan Spieth, playing with nothing to lose, gave himself another chance to win going into the weekend at the AT&T National.

Spieth hit every green in regulation Friday and extended his streak to 29 holes without a bogey on a tough Congressional course, giving him a 5-under 66 and a share of the lead with Roberto Castro (69) before storms halted the second round.

They were at 7-under 135, with the round to be completed Saturday morning.

Players went back out to the practice range after a two-hour delay, only for more storms to approach and extended the suspension until the PGA Tour called it for the day. Andres Romero was at 5 under with five holes remaining. No one else was within four shots of the lead.

Spieth is the 19-year-old Texan who started the season with no status, uncertain where he was going to play. He now has earned over $900,000 ? the equivalent of being No. 39 on the PGA Tour money list ? and is assured of a tour card when the new season starts in October.

But he won't be eligible for the lucrative FedEx Cup playoffs unless he's a PGA Tour member, and he can't be a member this year unless he wins.

"Honestly, I think it's a great position to be in," Spieth said. "I'm just free swinging. I can't be in the playoffs unless I win, and that makes winning the No. 1 goal. You'd like to get in the playoffs and play against the top players, the best players from this year. It's everyone's goal out here to win the FedEx Cup. My goal is to move up the world rankings as much as I can, and that's the way to do it, is to get into those playoffs."

D.H. Lee had a 66 and was two shots behind at 5-under 139. Cameron Tringale (67) and James Driscoll (69) were another shot behind, while the group at 3-under 139 included former British Open champion Stewart Cink (69), Gary Woodland (69) and David Lingmerth, who went from around the cut line to contention with a 65.

Spieth has lived up to the hype he first generated when he played late on Sunday in the Byron Nelson Championship at age 16 and tied for 16th. In one year at Texas, the Longhorns won the NCAA title. And in six months as a pro, he has shown quickly that he belongs.

He already has four top 10s and has special temporary membership, meaning he gets unlimited exemptions. His goal was to somehow get a PGA Tour card for 2013-14 season, and a win would be over the top.

Even so, the teenager who was born just three years before Tiger Woods turned pro is savvy to realize the tournament is not even halfway over.

"I can't really think about that at this point," he said. "There's a long way to go. I'm kind of free swinging. I've gotten in a position where I can play a pretty full schedule this year, and I know I'll have my card for next year. Now all there's left to do is try and get a win to make the playoffs. So I'm just going out there trying to win and being aggressive, and hopefully, it will work out for me."

Scoring was slightly better at Congressional, a course that has hosted the U.S. Open three times. Warmer weather in the morning made the ball fly a little farther and shortened the longest PGA Tour course on the mainland.

Spieth began his day with a 25-foot birdie putt on the first hole, avoided a long three-putt from above the hole on No. 4 by making a 12-foot par putt and then picked up four birdies over the final five holes on the front nine for a 31. He made nine pars on the back nine, never coming close to a bogey.

It was a clean round, executed well by a teenagers who plays like he knows where he is going.

"I'm excited for what the weekend is going to bring," he said.

Castro tied the course record on the TPC Sawgrass in May with a 63 to lead the opening round of The Players Championship, and then he followed with a 78 and never seriously challenge the rest of the week. After opening with a 66 at Congressional, he dropped a shot early from a fairway bunker on No. 3 and was plodding along until finishing the back nine with a pair of birdies, and then adding a birdie on the par-5 16th.

"I felt good," he said. "I probably learned a lot there (at Sawgrass) and realized that one round doesn't mean anything ? just got to keep going. And I was able to do that."

Defending champion Woods is not playing because of an elbow injury, and U.S. Open champion Justin Rose withdrew earlier in the week because of fatigue. Some of the other big names most likely won't be around for the weekend, such as Hunter Mahan, who had a 72 and was at 5-over 147. Masters champion Adam Scott traded birdies and bogeys in his round of 71 that left him nine shots behind.

Brandt Snedeker had to salvage a scrappy round with two late birdies for a 71, leaving him five shots behind.

DIVOTS: The tee on the par-5 ninth hole was moved forward Friday, making it play only 613 yards. Six players went for the green in two ? compared with none Thursday when the hole was 635 yards ? with Angel Cabrera and Jason Day going just over the back. Both made birdie. ... Charlie Beljan, who opened with an 84, called officials Friday morning to say he had withdrawn. ... Russell Henley holed out from 149 yards for eagle on No. 9. He was at 3-under 139.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spieth-takes-share-early-lead-congressional-185543072.html

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Video: American CEO Flees China

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/52326933/

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'People must be educated on tackling natural calamities'

Places that are prone to natural disasters must have a proper warning system in place and their residents should be educated on how to deal with crisis situations, experts said here Wednesday.

Experts, representatives of governments and the civil society from eight South Asian countries, including India, Pakistan and Bhutan, participated in a three-day workshop on ?Regional Priorities for Knowledge Management and Strategy for Action: South Asia on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction? organised by Unesco.

Speaking to IANS on the sidelines of the event which ended Wednesday, SAARC Disaster Management Centre director Santosh Kumar said it was of utmost importance that a proper early warning system was in place for areas that were prone to natural calamities and residents were educated and informed about tackling a crisis.

?Early warnings need to be more quantified and people should be educated about the impact of such a damage?local level communities have to be educated and informed,? he said.

Agreed Lam Dorji, executive director of Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN), Bhutan, who said that when it comes to natural disasters, people at the village level have no education on how to tackle the situation.

?Changes have to be made at the ground level,? he said.

Kumar said it was difficult to say whether climate change was behind the cloudburst and incessant rains which subsequently led to flash floods and landslides, killing hundreds in the hill state of Uttarakhand.

?Scientifically, it is difficult to establish the relation between the heavy rains and climate change as more study is required on this subject though according to reports, global warming is threatening to affect the rain patterns in India,? Kumar said.

?

?

Article Reference: ?www.business-standard.com

Source: http://southasiarevealed.com/2013/06/27/people-educated-tackling-natural-calamities/

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Andreessen-backed Enterprise App Startup Tomfoolery Launches Anchor, A Real-Time Conversation Platform With Consumer Demands In Mind

Tomfoolery, the mobile app lab founded by ex-Yahoo and AOL execs that aims to make enterprise apps capturing some of the light and free nature of consumer services, is today debuting its first product: Anchor, a real-time conversation app. Tomfoolery has two aims for Anchor, which is coming out first as an iOS and web app: for it to become a central repository for all kinds of work conversations; and for Anchor to become, literally, the anchor for its bigger strategy to create many more enterprise services down the line.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/CZZokDPU21o/

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Keyword Research Tools: The Ultimate List for Small Business ...

For marketers and small business owners, keyword research tools are very useful in discovering common search terms used by prospects and customers to search for products and services online.

With the data and trends provided by these tools, small businesses can have a better idea on the demand of their products and services, which then allows for informed decisions when it comes to the implementation of online marketing strategies.

It doesn?t matter if you are building your first online marketing campaign or looking for new keyword opportunities, the list below showcases all the popular keyword research tools that are out there. Feel free to bookmark this guide for future reference.

Free Tools

Free keyword research tools are created by either avid marketers, marketing tool providers or advertising companies with clients that rely heavily on keywords in their marketing campaigns.

The good news for small businesses, especially those that are on a tight budget, is that there is no need to pay in order to use these tools. Moreover, keywords generated using these tools are more than sufficient to kickstart an online marketing campaign.

Tools by Google

As the leading search engine on the Internet, Google relies a lot on keywords in displaying advertisements to the relevant audience. The search engine offers a number of free tools to assist advertisers with keyword brainstorming and selection.

Google AdWords Keyword Tool

The Keyword Tool is the tool that forms the backbone of Google AdWords, Google?s core advertising product. You need to have at least a non-spending AdWords account to fully enjoy the tool?s functionalities.

You can generate up to 800 keyword ideas based with one or more keywords. Data that are useful for keyword selection and optimization such as search volume, the level of competition and approximate cost-per-click data from Google are all attached to the keywords ideas generated.

The tool can even provide keyword data based your selection of broad categories, countries, languages and devices. Furthermore, there is an option to generate keyword ideas based on a landing page or website. A filter function is available for the inclusion or exclusion of keywords meeting certain criterias.

For advanced users, it is good to note that search volume for broad match is provided by default. Of course, there is a toggle for users to get phrase match and exact match search volume.

If you are running active advertising campaigns on AdWords, the list of generated keyword ideas can be added directly from the tool into your existing campaigns or ad groups.

Google AdWords Keyword Planner

Similar to the Keyword Tool, Keyword Planner is a tool provided by Google to aid its customers with keyword research. It was only introduced recently as the enhanced version of Keyword Tool. At the moment, only a number of advertisers can see the tool in their AdWords account.

Exact match is the default match type used in Keyword Planner for historical search volume statistics, which is different from Keyword Tool?s default match type of broad match. Certain data columns which are deemed as redundant on the Keyword Tool are no longer available in Keyword Planner.

By providing the keyword or website URL in the space provided, a list of keyword and ad group ideas will be generated together with average cost-per-click data and average monthly searches. You can then change the country and language targeting, or customize the list of keywords generated in order to make them suit your needs.

If you are considering about running a pay-per-click or search engine marketing campaign on AdWords, the Keyword Planner has a feature that estimates the amount of impressions and clicks that you will be getting based on your keyword and the range of bids selected.

Keyword list multiplier is another cool feature that Keyword Planner has. Simply take two keyword lists and paste them into the space provided. The tool will then match and combine the keywords from both the lists. A new list of keyword and ad group ideas will be created together with either historical search volume or traffic estimates based on the range of bids selected.

Google Trends

Google Trends is another tool provided by the popular search engine that illustrates trending search terms across the globe.

Typing a search term into the search box will pull up information such as the search term?s interests over time, regional interests and related terms. We can request Google Trends to limit the results to only contain information from specific vertical search engines, countries, timelines or categories.

Additionally, a simple comparison of interests and trends can be made between multiple search terms.

It is also interesting to look at Hot Searches and Top Charts, which showcases keywords and topics that are getting high daily search volume. We can even explore current or past hot searches, in countries around the world or across major topics such as business, sports and more.

Search Engine Suggestions

Search engines provide suggestions as we enter our search queries and we pay attention to them most of the time. If the suggestions match the search query we have in mind, we will save the hassle of completing the query by clicking on the suggestion.

This natural behavior prompted smart marketers to include these suggestions as part of their keyword lists. The suggestions change from time to time based on user search trends and may vary from one search engine to another.

As compared to other keyword research tools which usually return a list of keywords with significant search volumes, the suggestions from search engines can go up to 6 or 7-word long. This makes the suggestions a great feature to generate long tail keyword ideas.

Ubersuggest

Instead of performing hundreds of search queries on major search engines to obtain the suggestions and retyping them into a notepad, Ubersuggest allows us to generate a list of keywords based on Google Suggest and other suggestion services.

To use Ubersuggest, simply enter a keyword into the space provided, and select a preference for country / language combination together with a search vertical (web search, images, news, shopping, video and more) to use. All potential alphanumerical characters will then be added to your keyword to generate a long list of keyword suggestions.

Clicking on the green plus sign beside these generated keywords will shortlist them and clicking on the ?Get? button above the shortlist will generate a popup containing all shortlisted keywords. From the popup, you can then copy and paste the keywords into another tool or software.

Soovle

Many search engines, even those that power large e-commerce websites, suggest keywords as users type their queries. These suggestions are useful because users rely on them a lot to complete their searches.

Soovle is a simple but useful tool that returns keyword suggestions from major search engines including Google, Bing and Yahoo as well as popular content and shopping websites like Amazon, Answers.com and Youtube.

Clicking on the keyword suggestions under each of these websites will bring users to the respective search result pages. Apart from keyword suggestions, the top result on these search engines and content websites will be shown for the primary keyword that you have entered.

Search Engine Related Searches

When a broad search term is entered into the search box, search engines will usually return search results with a list of related search terms. The main aim of showing these related terms is to help users to be more relevant with their searches.

Similar to suggestions provided by search engines, related searches is a great feature for small business owners to find out specific and relevant keywords that can be used in our marketing campaigns as opposed to broad and highly competitive keywords.

Tools by SEO Book

SEO Book is a training program on search engine optimization. It offers a number of free tools to help their members with keyword research.

Google Suggest Keyword Suggestion Scraper Tool

As the name suggests, this simple tool scrapes keyword suggestions from Google.

Keywords generated are linked to the relevant search results for users to analyze the level of competition, and to the SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool for users to understand the search volume along with other relevant data.

If a search phrase of more than two words is entered, the tool will present a list of keyword suggestions for the phrase itself as well as a separate list of suggestions for every single word within the phrase.

SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool

SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool generates a list of relevant keywords along with daily search volume estimates pulled from major search engines.

The tool also provides links to other keyword research tools, as well as search result pages of your keywords on popular content websites such as Answers.com, eBay, Youtube, Wikipedia, Stumbleupon and many more.

Although the interface may look clunky, it is a great tool that does not only help with keyword research, but also with content idea brainstorming, competitive analysis and discovery of relevant communities.

SEO Book Keyword Typo Generator

It is common for users to mistype their search queries. This presents an opportunity for us because most advertisers or marketers only use correctly-spelt keywords as part of their marketing or advertising campaigns.

The Keyword Typo Generator by SEO Book will return potential user typos when a keyword is provided. The following are the types of typo that can be generated using this tool:

• Skip letter
• Double letters
• Reverse letters
• Skip spaces
• Missed key
• Inserted key

The frequency of these typos happening may be more or less depending on the keyword specified and the audience that we are targeting.

SEO Chat Keyword Typo Generator

As explained earlier under SEO Book Keyword Typo Generator, misspellings and typos should be targeted by business owners and marketers because users of search engines frequently make these mistakes.

To quickly generate a list of potential misspellings or typos with Keyword Typo Generator by SEO Chat, enter your keyword into the box provided, complete the captcha puzzle and click on ?Generate Typos?.

A list will then be generated and the potential misspellings can be transferred over to another software or application with a simple copy and paste.

Good Keywords

Good Keywords is a free and downloadable Windows-based keyword research software developed by Softnik Technologies.

Basically, the software requires users to import CSV files generated using Google AdWords Keyword Tool into the software in order to build an offline database of up to 20,000 keywords. There are other paid software developed by Softnik that supports unlimited keywords but Good Keywords should be sufficient for most small businesses.

Once you have a database of keywords with this software, you can perform a simple query for keywords that match certain criterias. From there, you can also delete unwanted keywords or modify them to remove unwanted words or characters, before copying and pasting them into another application or online advertising interface.

Apart from acting as a keyword manager, Good Keywords comes with a misspelling generator that returns potential misspellings in the form of duplicate characters, missing characters, swapped characters and keyboard proximity errors.

Moreover, the keyword phrase builder within Good Keywords helps to recombine words within a phrase. For example, the possible re-combinations of ?small business marketing? are:

• ?small marketing business?
• ?marketing business small?
• ?marketing small business?
• ?business small marketing?
• ?business marketing small?

Last but not least, the built-in site and link popularity tool can be used to pull in Alexa statistics and the number of websites that link to a particular website.

Bing Ads Intelligence

Bing Ads Intelligence is a Microsoft Excel add-in. Once you have it downloaded, access the tool via Microsoft Excel and provide the required credentials associated to your Bing Ads account.

This tool is often deemed as irrelevant because of the low search engine market share that Bing has. However, the fact that it offers search query data and insights, such as geographic and demographic information, from Bing, Yahoo! and other partner sites is attractive enough, even though we might not be running any ad campaigns on Bing.

Other than performing keyword suggestion and research that are based mainly on data from Bing and Yahoo!, simplifying keyword selection and optimization of Bing Ads advertising campaigns are also core features of this tool.

Thesaurus

We may not know or fully understand how our existing or potential customers are describing our products. This is when the good old Thesaurus becomes handy.

Put a word into the search box and Thesaurus will show the synonyms, antonyms and other words that people might use in place of the word. For example, buying can be replaced by purchasing, acquiring, procuring, ordering, shopping and many other similar words.

With these keyword ideas, you can then insert them into a preferred keyword tool so that the tool can use it to discover potential long tail keywords that can then be used in a marketing campaign.

Freemium Tools

Freemium tools do not charge users for light usage but some may require users to register for an account before using them. These tools are usually provided by software companies or marketing tool providers that earn from the subscriptions of their premium tools.

Although some of us might be irritated by the usage caps, this is actually a good way to give the tools a try before signing up for the paid versions. Using the free versions allows us to gauge our dependence on the tools and whether the cost of the premium versions is justified.

To entice users to upgrade to the paid version, many of these tools also offer a free trial so that users can enjoy the full benefits of the paid version before deciding whether to upgrade.

For many small business owners, the free version of freemium keyword research tools should be sufficient because unlike bigger companies or e-commerce stores, we tend to focus on the quality of targeted keywords rather than the quantity.

SEMrush Keyword Research Tool

SEMrush is a comprehensive set of tools for Internet marketers. Some of its features include keyword research, search engine results tracking, competitive intelligence for pay-per-click advertising and organic results, backlinks profile analysis and more.

Keyword research can be performed with the free version of the tool. By typing your query into the search box, you will be presented with a report related to the query. Search volume, cost-per-click data, competitive information of organic results and pay-per-click ads, trends and keyword suggestions are all included in the brief report.

To explore in detail on any of these information, a paid account will be required. The good thing about SEMrush is that there is no daily limit on queries for users who are not paying for the it.

SpyFu

SpyFu develops a suite of online marketing tools that helps marketers with keyword research, competitive intelligence, keyword grouping and the tracking of website ranking on search engine result pages.

Its Classic tool allows us to discover important statistics about a particular keyword and competitive metrics of advertisers who are competing with us using the same keywords.

By providing SpyFu with a keyword, the following information will be presented in an easy-to-understand interface:

• Keyword search volume
• Average cost-per-click
• Average daily spend on the keyword
• Average click-through rate
• Search engine optimization ranking difficulty
• Related keywords
• Successful advertisers and their best ad copies
• Analysis of top ranking websites in organic search results and the estimated clicks that each of them receives

On the other hand, if a domain or URL is provided, SpyFu will immediately return the following details about the domain or URL:

• Daily budget spend on Google AdWords
• Average position of ads
• Daily organic traffic value
• Daily paid traffic versus organic traffic
• Top performing ads and keywords
• Top competitors for paid and organic keywords

Do note that the data provided by SpyFu is more relevant for advertisers who are targeting markets in the United States or United Kingdom.

To conclude, SpyFu is a useful tool in helping us to decide whether to pursue certain keywords in our marketing campaigns. Of course, since this is only a freemium tool, limits are placed on the amount of information provided for non-paying users.

Tools by Wordtracker

Wordtracker is a company that provides search marketing tools together with training and education on pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, social media marketing, blogging and more in the form of videos, articles, e-books or webinars.

They have been around since 1998 and the tools developed by the team have been relied upon by many entrepreneurs, business owners and marketers after their introduction.

Wordtracker Keyword Tool

The free version of this keyword tool from Wordtracker is pretty basic. The functions of coming up with a list of keyword suggestions and search volume can actually be easily accomplished with other free keyword tools.

With the free version, we are allowed to get a list of up to 100 keyword suggestions and their respective search volume. Details of the suggestions such as competition and Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI) are both hidden and only available for paid users.

Another limitation is that users without a paying account are limited to 15 daily searches only.

Wordtracker Keyword Questions

Keyword Questions is an interesting tool that generate keyword ideas in the form of questions together with their search volume. This is extremely useful in understanding the common questions searched by your target audience on search engines.

To illustrate, a query for ?business? using this tool will return keyword suggestions such as ?how to start a business?, ?how to write a business plan?, ?how to start an internet business? and many more.

Only 100 suggestions will be provided for every query and only 15 queries are allowed per day on the free version.

Tools by WordStream

WordStream develops search marketing software and manages pay-per-click advertising accounts for clients. To help their clients with the management of pay-per-click campaigns, they offer a wide range of keyword tools.

Users can use all the free keyword tools up to a cumulative limit of 30 searches a day. Certain details relating to the list of keywords generated are hidden for non-paying users.

WordStream Free Keyword Tool

This keyword tool from WordStream performs the basic function of suggesting keywords and presenting them in a list with their relative search frequency.

However, only a small portion of the generated keyword list is available for free users and details such as search volumes and competition are not shown.

WordStream Keyword Niche Finder

The purpose of Keyword Niche Finder is to discover smaller groups of thematically-similar keywords using a broad keyword.

This tool can help us in focusing on just a few profitable niches rather than spreading our resources and efforts thinly across the industry that we are in.

Free users need to take note that from the eleventh suggested niches onwards, the list of keywords are all hidden unless we fork out some money to pay for the tool.

WordStream Negative Keyword Tool

If you are running a pay-per-click advertising campaign, it is important to include negative keywords, which are keywords that you would like to exclude from your targeting.

For example, if your business is selling camera lenses, you might want to have the keyword ?contact? added as a negative keyword so that your ads will not show up when users search for ?contact lenses? online.

After you have entered a keyword, WordStream Negative Keyword Tool will generate a list of relevant keyword suggestions, sorted by search volume. All you need to do after that is to go through the list and mark each of these keywords as either relevant or irrelevant. While you are doing this, a list of negative keywords will be created. You can then have the list emailed to you.

As a free user, you will not be able to view the full list of keyword suggestions, especially the less popular ones. Thus, your list of negative keywords may not be complete.

Keyword Discovery

Compiling keyword statistics from over 200 search engines worldwide, Keyword Discovery is another feature-packed freemium keyword research tool. The basic feature helps users find the most popular and effective search terms that are related to their business.

Apart from querying keyword data from the default database, we can specifically query certain databases on Keyword Discovery. Some of these databases include regional database, industry-related search terms, news database, question phrases database and many others.

Competitive analysis, keyword effectiveness analysis, thesaurus, keyword management and editing, and many other additional features are also provided by the tool.

To enjoy all the features without any form of limitations, users will have to sign up for one of the premium or paid plans.

Wordpot

Like many others out there, Wordpot is a simple keyword research tool that helps to provide keyword suggestions together with their exact and broad search volume.

Advanced settings of the tool help users to specify whether to include singular or plural forms of suggestion, synonyms, related keywords or associated keywords. Wordpot can also pull data from either all or one of Google, Yahoo!, MSN Live, Ask or AOL.

Unless you pay for the tool, you will only be allowed to perform up to 25 keyword searches a day and 5 searches for synonyms, related word and associated word respectively. In order to have synonyms, related and associated keywords to appear within the keyword suggestions, you are required to register with Wordpot.

Visual Thesaurus

Visual Thesaurus is similar to the free-to-use Thesaurus but it has a more visually-appealing interface.

To get started with the tool, simply enter your keyword into the space provided. A popup will then appear with an interactive map of related keywords that you can drag around or click on. Clicking on them will open up more keywords that are semantically-related or have neighboring meanings. Hovering over any one of them will give you the definition.

The usage of a mind mapping interface enables its users to brainstorm for keywords quickly without the need to carefully sift through lines after lines of text.

You can try the tool for free but only a small number of searches are allowed.

Advanced Tools

There are tools out there that can add an insightful layer of information on top of our keyword data despite the fact that they are not built to perform keyword research.

Google Analytics

The core functionality of Google Analytics is to collect website traffic data and insights. With these information, webmasters, marketers and website owners can then proceed to tweak their website to improve the overall browsing experience or the conversion process of turning a visitor into a lead or a sale.

Google Analytics also collects keyword referral details for visitors arriving on a website via search engines, whether paid or organic. From the data collected, we can easily tell the quality of traffic coming from different keywords based on metrics such as goal conversion rate, time on site, bounce rate or pages/visit.

Often times, profitable or relevant long tail keywords that we may have never thought of may be discovered by scrolling through the long list of historical keyword referral data in Google Analytics.

Google Webmaster Tools

Google Webmaster Tools is created by Google to help website owners understand how their websites are performing in the organic search results.

Impressions and clicks that a website receives from keywords, incoming links from other websites, website diagnostics and other information are provided so that your website can be improved to rank higher for relevant keywords in the organic search rankings.

As part of the keyword research process, potential keywords to target in our marketing campaigns can be found under Search Queries report in Google Webmaster Tools. Impressions, clicks and click-through rates are good metrics to look at in determining which keywords are capable of driving quality traffic to a website.

Use in Marketing

Now that there is a huge list of tools that you can use for keyword research, let?s look at how they can benefit both your online and offline marketing campaigns.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Almost every keyword research tool out there are built to help marketers or business owners who are running pay-per-click (PPC) advertising or search engine marketing campaigns.

A keyword list is often needed for a PPC campaign and the list usually comes from one of the tools mentioned above. A basic keyword research tool should at least provide the following data and insights to aid users in optimizing their PPC campaigns:

• Keywords: With a primary keyword, keyword tools should have the ability to generate a list of keyword suggestions. The basis for keyword suggestions can be relevance, synonyms, semantics or even misspellings.
• Search volume: Different tools may use different methodologies in measuring search volume of keywords. However, the search volume should always allow users to have an idea of how often a keyword is searched for.
• Competition: Is the level of competition high or low for specified keywords?
• Cost-per-click: The level of competition and the nature of different industries dictate the level of cost-per-click (CPC). By comparing this against the profitability of keywords, advertisers can make the decision of whether a particular set of keywords are worth targeting.
• Negative keywords: Some keywords, known as negative keywords, may be too broad that they include words that are not relevant to your business, products or services. By going through keyword suggestions, you can tell which words should be included in your list of negative keywords.

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is performed on a website in order for its pages to rank highly for relevant keywords in the search engines.

Before making a decision on whether to pursue high rankings for certain keywords, there is a need to understand the popularity and the level of competition for the keywords in the organic search results. Marketers often rely on keyword research tools for such information.

For search engine optimization efforts, tools like domain authority analyzer, keyword density analyzer and backlinks profile analyzer are often used together with keyword tools.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a marketing strategy used to build authority and trust with existing and potential customers by providing useful and educational content.

Before creating these content, marketers and business owners need to know what their prospects and customers are looking for on the Internet and this is where keyword research tools come into the picture.

By looking at the search volume of keywords, topics that are in demand can be identified and prioritized for content creation.

Seasonal Trends

There are some keyword tools that illustrate seasonal search trends for keywords.

Understanding the trends of consumer demand allows small businesses to stay ahead of competitors and start planning for upcoming online or offline marketing campaigns. These campaigns could be social media campaigns, contests or discounts.

Using the data provided by keyword research tools, business owners can also ensure that they always have sufficient product inventory to meet customer demand, especially if they sell a wide range of seasonal products.

Ask Us Questions

Did we miss out any keyword research tools that you frequently use? Have you used any of the tools above? Share your tools and the experience you had with them in the comment section below.

Image courtesy of Thompson Rivers University

Source: http://www.sproutgeek.com/keyword-research-tools/

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Pakistan to start investigation of military ruler

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? Pakistan's prime minister has ordered the government to begin a treason investigation into ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

Wednesday's order brings the government closer to putting Musharraf on trial for his actions while in office. He could face life in prison or the death penalty if convicted of treason.

The government told the Supreme Court Monday that it believes Musharraf committed treason when he declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution in 2007, and should be put on trial.

The Supreme Court ordered the government to notify it by Wednesday about the steps it would take to try Musharraf.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Wednesday in his written reply to the court that the government would conduct its investigation and constitute the special court required to try Musharraf for treason.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-start-investigation-military-ruler-115530700.html

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Jennifer Aniston & Justin Theroux: Why Are They Still on the Rocks?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/06/jennifer-aniston-and-justin-theroux-why-are-they-still-on-the-ro/

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Supreme Court sends affirmative action case back to lower court

The first of three widely followed Supreme Court cases this week is out, and court ruled in a 7-1 vote against a lower court?s decision about the University of Texas? affirmative action policy.

With Justice Elena Kagan recused, the court sent the case back to a federal appeals court for review. The Obama administration had argued in favor of the University of Texas? system, which allows for race as part of its admissions criteria.

Link: Read The Supreme Court Decision

By sending the case of Fisher v. University of Texas back to a lower court, the Supreme Court didn?t make a sweeping ruling on the constitutionality of affirmative action.

Instead, Justice Kennedy said the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals made errors when it upheld the university?s program. The lower court, Kennedy said, should have examined the university program more closely to a ?demanding burden of strict scrutiny.?

Now, the Fisher case heads back to the lower court and it could return to the Supreme Court at some point after a decision is rendered.

But the Supreme Court is also hearing another case about affirmative action in its next term, which starts in October 2013.

Link: Timeline of Affirmative Action Cases

The Supreme Court also said it will announce more decisions on Tuesday, and that that session isn?t the final one of the term, meaning there will be two additional decision days this week.

Abigail Fisher was denied admission to the University of Texas in 2008. She alleges that she wasn?t admitted, as a Caucasian, because the University of Texas uses race as a factor in university admissions in a way that the court allowed in 2003 in the case of Grutter v Bollinger.

The state of Texas uses a Top 10 Percent plan, which guarantees admission to school for students who are in the top 10 percent of their graduating class. Fisher wasn?t in the top 10 percent of her class. The school used different criteria, including race, to fill the remaining openings at the University of Texas.

The Fisher case was argued last October and was the last one from that session that hadn?t seen a public ruling by the court.

Recent Constitution Daily Stories

Next 10 Amendments: Term limits for Congress?

Affirmative action: Timeline of 10 major cases and orders

Updated: Our Supreme Court scorecard

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Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/supreme-court-sends-affirmative-action-case-lower-court-153206940.html

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Obama plan offers help to U.S. cities on climate's front lines

By Environment Correspondent Deborah Zabarenko

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's climate plan on Tuesday offered help to U.S. cities dealing with natural disasters and specifically for the region slammed by massive Superstorm Sandy in October.

For Dawn Zimmer, mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey the plan came not a moment too soon.

Hoboken, across the Hudson River from Manhattan, was in the bull's eye of Sandy last October, when storm surges flooded 80 percent of the city, causing $100 million in property damage to 1,700 homes and hundreds of businesses. Since then, the city of 52,000 has weathered three more major flood events.

"For me, this is an emergency," Zimmer said. "Whether you believe in (climate change) or not, and I definitely do, we're seeing the impact of it on the local level."

In addition to proposals to cut pollution from power plants and boost fuel efficiency, the White House on Tuesday directed federal agencies to cut bureaucratic red tape to support local climate-resilient investment.

Obama's plan also sets up pilot projects for areas hit by Sandy to make communities better able to deal with extreme weather and other climate impacts.

Zimmer is among dozens of U.S. mayors who have taken on the challenges of climate resilience - to heat, drought, flood and extreme weather - as an economic and public safety necessity.

Last week, more than 50 elected officials from localities as diverse as Washington D.C., Des Moines, Iowa and Santa Barbara County, California, released a plan (online at http://www.resilientamerica.org/) to make communities better able to deal with climate impacts that included using more renewable energy and making buildings and infrastructure more energy-efficient.

"NO-BRAINER"

This initiative was launched less than a week after New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a $20 billion plan to prepare his city for rising sea levels and hotter summers.

Rosina Bierbaum, an expert on climate change adaptation at the University of Michigan and a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, said local leaders have consistently been at the forefront on these issues.

"The rubber really hits the road in cities...Mayors are having to deal with heat waves, droughts, floods, all of the above, and they're making adjustments in real time," Bierbaum said by telephone.

While the required action may be local, some of the data communities need, such as climate projections, can only be done at the federal level, Bierbaum said.

Bierbaum and other climate experts have long maintained that climate resilience, or adapting to altered conditions, must be done along with mitigation of climate change, which aims to curb the rate at which the global temperatures rise.

In the absence of mitigation, though, working to adapt to changed circumstances "is a no-brainer," said Stuart Gaffin, a research scientist at Columbia University's Earth Institute.

"It's amazing how much more traction (climate resilience) has on all levels," Gaffin said by phone. This is especially true in cities, he said, because urban areas are already dealing with the effects of a changing climate, and Superstorm Sandy was a wake-up call for many cities.

(Reporting by Deborah Zabarenko; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-plan-offers-help-u-cities-climates-front-225928063.html

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Heavy rain or other weather needed at Colo. fire

DEL NORTE, Colo. (AP) ? Tourists and business owners forced to flee a popular summer retreat in the southwestern Colorado mountains resigned themselves to a long wait as fire officials declined to speculate when they might be able to rein in an unprecedented and erratic blaze raging through the Rio Grande National Forest.

The fire more than doubled in size over the weekend, growing to an estimated 117 square miles. Incident commander Pete Blume said Monday that firefighters would need a major change in the weather, such as the arrival of heavy rain from the summer monsoon season, to check the fire burning in drought-stricken, beetle-killed forest near South Fork.

"It's a significant fire with significant problems and it's not going to be significantly contained until we see significant changes in the weather," said Blume, a commander with the Rocky Mountain Type 1 Incident Command Team.

Afternoon thunderstorms producing rain typcially develop in the state in July.

The fire has been fueled by beetle-killed trees and fanned by hot, windy weather. More of those conditions were expected Monday there and across much of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. A nearly 119-square-mile wildfire burning in the mountains of southern New Mexico's Gila National Forest is expected to grow larger this week because of the conditions.

In Colorado, firefighters were able to start building about 2 miles of bulldozer line near South Fork on Sunday because the fire didn't grow much. A break in the wind was expected Tuesday at the fire near South Fork but Blume said that wouldn't be enough to help stop the fire. Still, he said every day the fire doesn't advance toward town is a good day.

"Things are looking better but are no means secure," he said of South Fork.

Mike and Mary Duffy, who own the South Fork Lodge, were able to get their personal possessions before fleeing fast-advancing flames that officials on Friday feared would overtake the town. But with the fire still within three miles of South Fork, they are worried about the long-term impact of a prolonged evacuation and news reports about the massive blaze threatening the tourism-dependent town.

Summer visitors include many retirees from Texas and Oklahoma who come to the mountains to flee the heat.

"Here we are the 23rd of June. We had to tell people not to come because we are not there," Duffy said. "I just don't how much more of an affect it will have. Everyone's bottom line is going to get tagged by this. ... You still have to pay your property taxes whether you make money or not."

The town has 400 permanent residents, but South Fork Mayor Kenneth Brooke estimates that between 1,000 to 1,500 people were in town when the evacuation was ordered. More than 800 firefighters were battling the blaze, and more are coming every day.

No structures have been lost and firefighting efforts remained focused on protecting South Fork, the Wolf Creek ski area and homes along Highway 149 as the newest arm of the fire crept through beetle kill toward the historic mining town of Creede.

Creede, near the headwaters of the Rio Grande River, was the last silver boom town in Colorado before the industry went bust in the late 1800s. It has since dwindled in population, making way for a thriving tourist industry that relies on the town's colorful past. The town also is known for such characters as Robert Ford, who ran a tent saloon there and was best known for shooting and killing outlaw Jesse James in Missouri in 1882.

Tim Foley, a fire behavior expert with the same incident command as Blume, said beetles have killed most of the forest's hundreds of thousands of acres of mature spruce.

Elsewhere in Colorado, about a dozen fires also continued to burn. Cooler conditions and clouds helped firefighters hold the line on a 20-square-mile wildfire near Walsenburg in southern Colorado. It's 15 percent contained.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/heavy-rain-other-weather-needed-colo-fire-165033130.html

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Two Parodies (Unqualified Offerings)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/314812588?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Oregon chemists moving forward with tool to detect hydrogen sulfide

Public release date: 24-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jim Barlow
jebarlow@uoregon.edu
541-346-3481
University of Oregon

Newly developed approach could benefit basic medical research and find H2S in the environment

EUGENE, Ore. -- (June 24, 2013) -- University of Oregon chemists have developed a selective probe that detects hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels as low as 190 nanomolar (10 parts per billion) in biological samples. They say the technique could serve as a new tool for basic biological research and as an enhanced detection system for H2S in suspected bacterially contaminated water sources.

Hydrogen sulfide, a colorless gas, has long been known for its dangerous toxicity -- and its telltale smell of rotten eggs -- in the environment, but in the last decade the gas has been found to be produced in mammals, including humans, with seemingly important roles in molecular signaling and cardiac health. Detection methods for biological systems are emerging from many laboratories as scientists seek to understand the roles of H2S in general health and different diseases.

Reporting in the Journal of Organic Chemistry -- online in advance of regular print publication -- researchers in the UO lab of Michael D. Pluth, professor of chemistry, describe the development of a colorimetric probe that relies on nucleophilic aromatic substitution to react selectively with H2S to produce a characteristic purple product, allowing for precise H2S measurement.

"This paper describes a new way to selectively detect H2S," said Pluth, who has been pursuing detection methods for the gas under a National Institutes of Health "Pathway to Independence" grant. That early career award began while he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "This technique allows you to use instruments to quantify how much H2S has been produced in a sample, and the distinctive color change allows for naked-eye detection."

In biological samples, he said, the approach allows for a precise measurement. In the environment, he added, the technique could be used to determine if potentially harmful H2S-producing bacteria are a contaminant in water sources through the creation of testing kits to detect the gas when levels are above a defined threshold.

The key to the technique, said the paper's lead author, doctoral student Leticia A. Montoya, is the reaction process in which the probe reacts with H2S to produce a distinctly identifiable purple compound. "This method allows you look selectively at hydrogen sulfide versus any other nucleophiles or biological thiols in a system," Montoya said. "It allows you to more easily visualize where H2S is present."

The chemical reaction produced in the experiments, Pluth said, also holds the potential to be applied in a variety of materials, on surfaces and films, with appropriate modifications. The UO has applied for a provisional patent to cover the technology.

The study is the second in which Pluth's lab has reported potential detection probes for H2S. Last year, in the journal Chemical Communications, Montoya and Pluth described their development of two bright fluorescent probes that sort out H2S from among cysteine, glutathione and other reactive sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen species in living cells.

"We're really interested in making sharper tools," Pluth said. "We have the basic science worked out, and now we want to move forward to fine-tune our tools so that we can better use them to answer important scientific questions."

"University of Oregon researchers are helping to foster a more sustainable future by developing powerful new tools and entrepreneurial technologies," said Kimberly Andrews Espy, vice president for research and innovation and dean of the UO graduate school. "This important research from Dr. Pluth's lab may someday alert us to environmental contaminants and could also impact basic science and human health."

###

Co-authors with Montoya and Pluth on the newly published paper were UO undergraduate students Taylor F. Pearce and Ryan J. Hansen, and Lev N. Zakharov of the UO-based Center for Advanced Materials Characterization in Oregon (CAMCOR). The NIH grant to Pluth (R00 GM092970) came from the National Institute for General Medical Sciences. The research also utilized UO-based nuclear magnetic resonance facilities that are supported by the National Science Foundation (ARRA CHE-0923589).

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

Sources:

Michael D. Pluth
assistant professor of chemistry
541-346-7477
pluth@uoregon.edu

Leticia A. Montoya
doctoral student, chemistry
lmontoya@uoregon.edu

Links:

Pluth faculty page: http://chemistry.uoregon.edu/fac.html?pluth
Pluth lab: http://pages.uoregon.edu/pluth/
Department of Chemistry: http://chemistry.uoregon.edu
Follow UO Science on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UniversityOfOregonScience
UO Science on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UO_Research
More UO Science/Research News: http://uoresearch.uoregon.edu

Note: The University of Oregon is equipped with an on-campus television studio with a point-of-origin Vyvx connection, which provides broadcast-quality video to networks worldwide via fiber optic network. In addition, there is video access to satellite uplink, and audio access to an ISDN codec for broadcast-quality radio interviews.

---

[ | 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.

Public release date: 24-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jim Barlow
jebarlow@uoregon.edu
541-346-3481
University of Oregon

Newly developed approach could benefit basic medical research and find H2S in the environment

EUGENE, Ore. -- (June 24, 2013) -- University of Oregon chemists have developed a selective probe that detects hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels as low as 190 nanomolar (10 parts per billion) in biological samples. They say the technique could serve as a new tool for basic biological research and as an enhanced detection system for H2S in suspected bacterially contaminated water sources.

Hydrogen sulfide, a colorless gas, has long been known for its dangerous toxicity -- and its telltale smell of rotten eggs -- in the environment, but in the last decade the gas has been found to be produced in mammals, including humans, with seemingly important roles in molecular signaling and cardiac health. Detection methods for biological systems are emerging from many laboratories as scientists seek to understand the roles of H2S in general health and different diseases.

Reporting in the Journal of Organic Chemistry -- online in advance of regular print publication -- researchers in the UO lab of Michael D. Pluth, professor of chemistry, describe the development of a colorimetric probe that relies on nucleophilic aromatic substitution to react selectively with H2S to produce a characteristic purple product, allowing for precise H2S measurement.

"This paper describes a new way to selectively detect H2S," said Pluth, who has been pursuing detection methods for the gas under a National Institutes of Health "Pathway to Independence" grant. That early career award began while he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "This technique allows you to use instruments to quantify how much H2S has been produced in a sample, and the distinctive color change allows for naked-eye detection."

In biological samples, he said, the approach allows for a precise measurement. In the environment, he added, the technique could be used to determine if potentially harmful H2S-producing bacteria are a contaminant in water sources through the creation of testing kits to detect the gas when levels are above a defined threshold.

The key to the technique, said the paper's lead author, doctoral student Leticia A. Montoya, is the reaction process in which the probe reacts with H2S to produce a distinctly identifiable purple compound. "This method allows you look selectively at hydrogen sulfide versus any other nucleophiles or biological thiols in a system," Montoya said. "It allows you to more easily visualize where H2S is present."

The chemical reaction produced in the experiments, Pluth said, also holds the potential to be applied in a variety of materials, on surfaces and films, with appropriate modifications. The UO has applied for a provisional patent to cover the technology.

The study is the second in which Pluth's lab has reported potential detection probes for H2S. Last year, in the journal Chemical Communications, Montoya and Pluth described their development of two bright fluorescent probes that sort out H2S from among cysteine, glutathione and other reactive sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen species in living cells.

"We're really interested in making sharper tools," Pluth said. "We have the basic science worked out, and now we want to move forward to fine-tune our tools so that we can better use them to answer important scientific questions."

"University of Oregon researchers are helping to foster a more sustainable future by developing powerful new tools and entrepreneurial technologies," said Kimberly Andrews Espy, vice president for research and innovation and dean of the UO graduate school. "This important research from Dr. Pluth's lab may someday alert us to environmental contaminants and could also impact basic science and human health."

###

Co-authors with Montoya and Pluth on the newly published paper were UO undergraduate students Taylor F. Pearce and Ryan J. Hansen, and Lev N. Zakharov of the UO-based Center for Advanced Materials Characterization in Oregon (CAMCOR). The NIH grant to Pluth (R00 GM092970) came from the National Institute for General Medical Sciences. The research also utilized UO-based nuclear magnetic resonance facilities that are supported by the National Science Foundation (ARRA CHE-0923589).

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

Sources:

Michael D. Pluth
assistant professor of chemistry
541-346-7477
pluth@uoregon.edu

Leticia A. Montoya
doctoral student, chemistry
lmontoya@uoregon.edu

Links:

Pluth faculty page: http://chemistry.uoregon.edu/fac.html?pluth
Pluth lab: http://pages.uoregon.edu/pluth/
Department of Chemistry: http://chemistry.uoregon.edu
Follow UO Science on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UniversityOfOregonScience
UO Science on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UO_Research
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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoo-ocm062413.php

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