Monthly Archives: August 2012

NewsX@9: Government’s move to privatise health care raises hackles – Video

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09-08-2012 12:50 NewsX@9 is a NewsX special show which debates the main news event of the day. A proposal by the Planning Commission seeking major changes in the government's public health policy from the 12th Plan, by assigning increased role for the private sector and greatly reducing the government's role, has drawn flak from the health ministry as well as experts and non-government organisations working in the health sector. The health ministry has taken a strong stance against what is being referred to as "corporatisation of health care" and will send a strong reply to Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, arguing that "the first priority should be to strengthen the public health system and involve the private sector only for critical gap-filling". So we debate today - Are corporate interests undermining India's public health system? We debate the question on the show and try to evolve consensus among our panelists over the issue. Watch this NewsX special NewsX@9. For more log on to

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NewsX@9: Government's move to privatise health care raises hackles - Video

Willis Releases Advanced Health Care Reform Impact Analysis Calculator

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NEW YORK, N.Y., Aug. 9, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Willis North America's Human Capital Practice, a unit of Willis Group Holdings (WSH), the global insurance broker, today announced enhancements to its Health Care Reform Impact Analysis Calculator. Available as a standard deliverable to all Willis Human Capital Practice clients, the calculator provides assessment and plan modeling capabilities to help firms address the financial impact of key health care reform provisions.

Building upon the initial offering, released in 2010, the Willis team of actuaries, lawyers, and benefit consultants identified and designed additional functionality to help clients assess the potential cost impact and develop a clear strategy for managing their current plan to best address the Play or Pay provision and the Cadillac Plan Excise Tax.

The proprietary tool allows organizations to evaluate plan offerings within the context of health care reform. For example, clients can easily perform "what-if" scenarios on current plan offerings to determine the average annual increase that can be absorbed and stay $1 short of the Cadillac Plan Excise Tax effective in 2018. The tool also expanded its capabilities around the Pay or Play provision to help employers understand an organizations' exposure to employee eligibility related to the state exchanges.

"Given the recent Supreme Court decision related to Health Care Reform, we know clients need to refocus on their action plan," said Jim Blaney, CEO, Willis Human Capital Practice. "We redesigned the financial modeling capabilities of our original Health Care Reform Impact Analysis Calculator to provide our clients real time, actionable data based on plan design criteria, and to indicate how certain decisions would affect Pay or Play or Cadillac Plan Excise tax liabilities," he said.

"What makes this a unique and powerful offering is that we can very quickly work with clients to evaluate different scenarios around how their current plan design may require modifications. Knowing in advance what changes are needed over the next several years helps clients plan and implement in a way that addresses financial concerns, and provides a sufficient window to communicate effectively to management and employees," Mr. Blaney added.

The Willis HCR Impact Analysis Calculator supports client planning through the following analyses:

The Willis Human Capital Practice is dedicated to supporting organizations around all aspects of health care reform. The practice has assembled a multi-disciplinary team to address employer concerns around financial forecasting, legal responsibilities, plan design changes and strategies, as well as the role of Human Resources in developing effective employee communications. The company will continue to offer a variety of informational resources including publications, webcasts and seminars to provide further guidance to clients.

About Willis

Willis Group Holdings plc is a leading global insurance broker. Through its subsidiaries, Willis develops and delivers professional insurance, reinsurance, risk management, financial and human resource consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public entities and institutions around the world. Willis has more than 400 offices in nearly 120 countries, with a global team of approximately 17,000 employees serving clients in virtually every part of the world. Additional information on Willis may be found at http://www.willis.com.

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Willis Releases Advanced Health Care Reform Impact Analysis Calculator

Health Care Cost Slowdowns Continue, Predated 2007 Recession

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ANN ARBOR An article just published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that a downward bend in the health care cost curve is not simply the result of the recession which began in December 2007, and the subsequent weak recovery.

The study came from Ann Arbors Altarum Institute, which also announced that national health expenditures in June 2012 grew by 3.9 percent relative to June 2011, down from the 4.2 percent growth rate observed in May, after incorporating the effects of major government updates.

The longer-term analysis, conducted by Altarums Center for Sustainable Health Spending, shows that excess growth in health spending, defined relative to growth in potential gross domestic product, began moderating in 2005, more than two years prior to the start of the Great Recession.

The full article is available at http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1205958.

Charles Roehrig, director of the center and the studys lead author, suggestedthis finding should be of interest to policymakers looking for viable approaches to controlling the nations spending anddebt.

Excess growth in personal health care spending averaged only 0.5 percent during the two and a half years leading up to the recession, compared to 1.9 percent excess spending growth in the prior period, Roehrig said. Understanding the causal factors behind this downward trend in 2005 which we know cannot be attributed to the recession is critical to crafting sustainable fiscal policies for the future.

Altarums Center for Sustainable Health Spending tracks and analyzes health spending growth in the United States and issues three monthly Health Sector Economic Indicators briefs that assess data on health sector employment, spending and prices/utilization.

The center is currently working on a more thorough analysis of the factors that lie behind the 2005 bend. Roehrig noted that examining what happened leading up to 2005 will enable improved projections of future growth trends, and suggest better cost containment strategies.

In the more immediate past, health care prices in June 2012 were up 1.9 percent from June 2011, down a tenth from May. On a 12-month moving average basis, price growth is lower now than at any time since January 1999.

These data come from the August Health Sector Economic Indicators briefs released by Altarum. The briefs, covering health care spending, utilization, prices, and employment, are at http://www.altarum.org/healthindicators.

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Health Care Cost Slowdowns Continue, Predated 2007 Recession

Health Care Law's Tax Hikes Are Coming: Who Pays?

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Who gets thumped by higher taxes in President Barack Obama's health care law? The wealthiest 2 percent of Americans will take the biggest hit, starting next year. And the pain will be shared by some who aren't so well off people swept up in a hodgepodge of smaller tax changes that will help finance health coverage for millions in need.

For the vast majority of people, however, the health care law won't mean sending more money to the IRS.

And roughly 20 million people eventually will benefit from tax credits that start in 2014 to help them pay insurance premiums.

The tax increases plus a mandate that nearly everyone have health coverage are helping make the law an election-year scorcher. Obama is campaigning on the benefits for the uninsured, women and young adults. His rival, Mitt Romney, and Republican lawmakers are vowing to repeal "Obamacare," saying some health care reforms are needed but not at this cost.

Lots of the noise is about the financial consequences for people who decline to get coverage and businesses that don't offer their workers an adequate health plan. Some 4 million individuals without insurance are expected to pay about $55 billion over eight years, according to the Congressional Budget Office's estimates. Employers could be dinged an estimated $106 billion for failing to meet the mandate, which starts in 2014.

But that mandate money, whether it's called taxes or penalties, is overwhelmed by other taxes, fees and shrunken tax breaks in the law. These other levies could top $675 billion over the next 10 years, under the CBO's projections of how much revenue the government would lose if the law were repealed.

The biggest chunk is in new taxes on the nation's top 2 percent of earners some $318 billion over a decade.

Other major taxes are aimed at the health care industry, and some of that cost is sure to be passed along to consumers as higher prices.

A rundown of the most significant tax changes and who pays:

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Health Care Law's Tax Hikes Are Coming: Who Pays?

US Navy defends renewable fuels strategy in Industrial Biotechnology Journal

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Public release date: 9-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, August 9, 2012Despite criticism from Congressional Republicans and other groups, the U.S. Navy recently completed its Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2012 international maritime exercises, featuring the "Great Green Fleet" powered by a 50% biofuels blend. The Navy contends that renewable energy resources such as biofuels have a critical role to play in enhancing national security and energy independence. Tom Hicks, U.S. Navy Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy, responded to recent attacks on the military's biofuels strategy and clearly presented the Navy's position going forward in an interview published in Industrial Biotechnology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com). The article is available free online at the Industrial Biotechnology website (http://www.liebertpub.com/ind).

In the interview "A Dialogue with Thomas Hicks, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy," (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ind.2012.1534) Mr. Hicks identified areas of consensus and ongoing challenges that emerged from a recent Industry Roundtable on the Advanced Drop-in Biofuels Initiative organized by the Navy that brought together the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Departments of Energy and Transportation, the Air Force, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He also responded to questions about the Navy's strategy of using market pull to drive technological innovation and commercial development of high-performance biofuels. Mr. Hicks comments on the potential effects of recent actions by the Senate Armed Services Committee to restrict the use of Department of Defense funds for biofuels procurement.

"We applaud the U.S. Navy's commitment to developing our domestic renewable energy platform to help secure the country's energy future," says Larry Walker, PhD, Co-Editor-in-Chief and Professor, Biological & Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. "Efforts like those being proposed by the U.S. Navy will help catalyze biotechnology developments that are so critical for our nation to compete successfully in the expanding global market."

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About the Journal

Industrial Biotechnology (http://www.liebertpub.com/ind), led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Larry Walker, PhD, and Glenn Nedwin, PhD, MBA, is an authoritative journal focused on biobased industrial and environmental products and processes, published bimonthly in print and online. The Journal reports on the science, business, and policy developments of the emerging global bioeconomy, including biobased production of energy and fuels, chemicals, materials, and consumer goods. The articles published include critically reviewed original research in all related sciences (biology, biochemistry, chemical and process engineering, agriculture), in addition to expert commentary on current policy, funding, markets, business, legal issues, and science trends. Industrial Biotechnology offers the premier forum bridging basic research and R&D with later-stage commercialization for sustainable biobased industrial and environmental applications.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Environmental Engineering Science and Sustainability: The Journal of Record. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. website (http://www.liebertpub.com).

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Leif Ove Andsnes: Fatherhood And Freedom At The Piano

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Now that pianist Leif Ove Andsnes is in his 40s, he's told himself that it's time to "grow up" and immerse himself in Beethoven. This comes at the same time that he's immersing himself in the life of his daughter Sigrid, now 2.

For Andsnes, seeing the world through Beethoven's eyes is one thing, but seeing it through the eyes of a child is something else altogether.

"I notice a kind of willingness to look for the childlike beauty in things," Andsnes said. That's something new for the pianist. He says he also feels a new kind of freedom, knowing that after a concert, "if things didn't go that well, there are more important things in life ... and sometimes that brings freedom to the music-making."

For this Fraser Studio performance at WGBH, Andsnes takes a break from Beethoven, bringing a few sparkling miniatures including the Spanish Dance No. 5 by Enrique Granados, which he used to play when he was a small boy. He also plays the three elegant waltzes, Op. 70 by Chopin. They are miniatures, too, layered with intimacy while posing as salon entertainment. These jewels must be especially attractive now for Andsnes as he endures a massive, 150-city, four-year Beethoven project.

But for Andsnes, even in the small jewels, it's the depth that pulls him in; it's about finding and exposing the drama. I was reminded of pianist Marc-Andr Hamelin's description of a car ride with Andsnes. It was a trip across Norway to the seaside village of Risr with Andsnes at the wheel, gleefully pulling over for surprise waterfalls and sudden, breathtaking visions of the Norwegian mountains. It may be a slightly stretched metaphor, but in the same sort of way, Andsnes lights up the drama in the little Spanish waltz without veering off and losing his direction.

When it comes to Chopin, Andsnes plays with a warm, full-blooded approach: no secret undercurrents, no random shifts in tempo or temperament. He's focused on the flow and nature of the waltz more than on the myriad indulgent things that one might do to a waltz with a piano.

While Beethoven and Leif Ove Andsnes make their way around the world, he's discovered another thing since turning 40: "I am getting more and more sure of the fact that I cannot move away from Norway."

That strong sense of home seems to deepen Andsnes in every way. You can tell in the tenderness and detail he brings to his final selection: the March, Op. 54, No. 2 from fellow Norwegian Edvard Grieg.

Video production by Greg Shea, WGBH

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Freedom Group Names Jonathan K. Sprole General Counsel

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MADISON, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Freedom Group, Inc. (FGI), the firearms industry leader with brands including Remington Arms, Bushmaster, DPMS and Marlin, has named Jonathan K. Sprole as its General Counsel. Sprole, an avid upland bird hunter and clays shooter, comes to FGI from Versa Capital Management, LLC, a private equity firm with more than $1billion of assets under management, where he was General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer. Hewill oversee FGI legal strategies and initiatives as well as manage Litigation, Compliance, Regulatory Affairs, SEC, Government Affairs, contracts and other legal matters.

Previously Sprole was Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). He also served as the BMS Chief Compliance Officer and sat on the Management Executive Committee. Prior to BMS, Sprole held numerous legal positions at GE Capital Corporation (GE) including General Counsel and Managing Director of GE Equity and Corporate Finance.

This is a tremendous hire for the Freedom Group Family of Companies, said George Kollitides, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FGI. I spent nearly a decade of my professional life working with Jon and have known him for more than 20 years I know his leadership, intellect and determination first hand. His ability to provide key counsel and strategic advice across a wide range of brands and issues is unparalleled by anyone in the field. Moreover, his expertise in areas of compliance and quality control are particularly strong. Jon is exactly the kind of leader we want as we advance in the global marketplace.

Jons legal and business acumen combined with his passion for the outdoors and enthusiasm for firearms make him an outstanding match for Freedom Group, said Walter McLallen, Vice Chairman of Freedom Group. Jon will be a great asset to our team, providing strong and critical leadership to our Legal, Compliance, Quality Control and Technology departments. Were very excited to have him on board.

Among Jons direct reports include recent FGI hires Catherine Wall, Associate General Counsel who joined FGI from Smith & Wesson, Corp., and Emile Buzaid, a practicing attorney from Connecticut, graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and combat veteran who was awarded the Bronze Star.

As a longtime wing and clays shooter who understands the deep roots of our nearly 200 year old Company history, I am excited for this great opportunity, said Sprole. The senior leadership of Freedom Group is dedicated to providing every aspect of the organization with the tools it needs to achieve excellence. Thats the mentality here and the mind-set of our team; more than 3,000 hard working Americans determined to be the first and the best in the field. I look forward to bringing my skill set to the table and contributing to this great American legacy.

Sprole has a Bachelor of Arts in Classics from Stanford University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia.

About Freedom Group, Inc.

Freedom Group is the worlds leading innovator, designer, manufacturer, and marketer of firearms, ammunition, and related products for the hunting, shooting sports, law enforcement, and military markets. As one of the largest manufacturers in the world of firearms and ammunition, we have some of the most globally recognized brands including Remington, Bushmaster, Barnes Bullets, DPMS/Panther Arms, Marlin, H&R, Parker, Mountain Khakis, AAC, PARA USA, and Dakota. The Company distributes its products throughout the U.S. and in over 80 foreign countries. More information about the Company can be found at http://www.freedom-group.com.

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Freedom Group Names Jonathan K. Sprole General Counsel

Amber Case's Illustrated Dictionary of Cyborg Anthropology

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If you want to thrive in the future, it might help to read the manual. Software designer, CEO and 21st century renaissance woman Amber Case has published An Illustrated Dictionary of Cyborg Anthropology. Its a light-hearted guide to ideas that permeate our lives in networked societies whether we know it or not.

Humans, dogs, bees and even the computers themselves all use information technology to extend themselves. Were all cyborgs. We may not realize it, but we are.

When we extend our memories by storing them in Gmail or Evernote, when were ambiently aware of people far away thanks to their status updates, or when we switch identities by switching accounts, were experimenting with a new, extended kind of humanity.

But the more you examine our behaviors, and even those of other species, the more you realize that we have all kinds of customs, languages and codes that extend ourselves. Theres no clear line between these kinds of organic technologies and the ones we plug into the wall at night to feed them, as Case writes in her introduction.

Case is a seasoned guide to this thick forest of ideas. Not only is she a software designer and CEO of pioneering mobile location platform Geoloqi, shes an anthropologist by training.

Case describes our relationships with technology - both the digital and analog kinds - as a kind of symbiosis between life, society, objects and information. And the more we study these relationships, the more prepared we are for their growth and change, which is constantly accellerating.

The Illustrated Dictionary of Cyborg Anthropology reads like Cases report from the field. Shes been logging concepts that illuminate aspects of our cyborg relationships, and shes reporting back to us on each of them with their definitions, significance and relevant source materials.

Each entry is no longer than one two-column page, and theyre accompanied by whimsical full-page illustrations by Maggie Nichols. The 111 pages are not densely packed; theyre quick references to massive ideas, and you can gaze into the warm illustrations as you think about them.

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Amber Case's Illustrated Dictionary of Cyborg Anthropology

Area beaches expecting bumper crop of turtle hatchlings

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Published: Thursday, August 9, 2012 at 12:03 p.m. Last Modified: Thursday, August 9, 2012 at 12:03 p.m.

Beginning Monday, Ginnie and Tom Stapelfeld will spend their evenings on the sand in Carolina Beach. They'll set up beach chairs and sit for hours, chatting, counting shooting stars and satellites and waiting to meet their babies around 100 loggerhead sea turtles, who at any time in the next week could hatch and emerge from the sand.

"We try to sit before. We want to sit before. We want to be there," said Ginnie, who lives in Monkey Junction and volunteers with the Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project, which monitors turtle nests on Carolina and Kure Beaches from May through October. "Honestly, it's kind of like waiting for a human to be born. You don't know when it's coming."

Nest time is at a premium for volunteers in Carolina Beach, where the first half of nesting season produced just six loggerhead nests, a number project officials said was "about average." But as of July 31, North Carolina beaches had a total of 953 loggerhead nests, which could place 2012 among the most productive nesting seasons in state history.

North Carolina beaches serve as nesting grounds for loggerhead, leatherback, green and Kemp's ridley sea turtles, according to Matthew Godfrey, a biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. But loggerheads account for around 95 percent of all nests in the state, providing the majority of tracking and statistical data for nesting season.

"Based on seasonal data from previous years, about 90 percent of all the nests in a season are laid by July 31," Godfrey said via email. "Assuming this pattern remains constant for 2012, we should receive about 1,058 loggerhead nests ... by the end of this season."

That's second only to 1999, when Tar Heel State beaches played host to 1,140 loggerhead nests, Godfrey said, adding that at this point, the 2012 projections are largely hypothetical.

"It's very difficult to say," he said. "We just don't know. I'm reluctant to say what it's going to be without actually waiting to see what it's going to be."

Thus far, 336 sea turtle nests have been laid on beaches in the Cape Fear region; 326 of those are loggerheads. The vast majority of those eggs remain unhatched, as incubation periods are stretching longer this year for all species a development most likely due to fluctuating sand temperatures, said Nancy Busovne, director of the Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project.

"The school of thought and it is just a theory is that at the beginning of the season, in late May and early June, it was unseasonably cool and very rainy," said Busovne, who has been involved with the sea turtle project for 11 years. "That may have contributed to it. This has definitely been a statewide phenomenon."

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Veterans Park hosts astronomy night

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August 9, 2012 Veterans Park hosts astronomy night

Anonymous Cordele Dispatch The Cordele Dispatch Thu Aug 09, 2012, 02:00 PM EDT

Cordele Georgia Veterans State Park will host an astronomy night Saturday, Aug. 11 from 9 to 11 p.m. on the astronomy field south of the airplane exhibit.

Participants should pick up star charts and other information and pay the $1 program fee at the park office.

Meteors from the Perseid meteor shower will be at their peak. Also visible that evening will be Saturn, Mars and first magnitude stars such as Arcturus, Antares and Vega.

Telescopes and astronomical binoculars will be set up in the astronomy field, but visitors may bring their own eqiupment if they wish.

This program is dependent on the weather and may be cancelled due to cloud cover, rain or lightning.

More information is available by calling the park office at 276-2371.

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5 Minutes With a Visionary: Eliezer Yudkowsky

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Editors note: As part of CNBCs 20 Under 20: Transforming Tomorrow TV documentary, we interviewed thought leaders and visionaries who have paved the way for the next generation of entrepreneurs. In a series of Q&As called 5 Minutes with a Visionary, we discover what has shaped and molded the careers of these innovators. The following interview was conducted via email.

Eliezer Yudkowsky is an artificial intelligence researcher focused on the singularity. Yudkowsky co-founded the nonprofit Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence in 2000, where he is currently employed as a full-time research fellow. He has no formal education, never having attended high school or college.

If you are a truly obsessed Harry Potter fan, its possible you have stumbled across Yudkowskys fan fiction story entitled, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, in which he takes the original story and retells it in an attempt to explain Harry Potters wizardry through science. As Yudkowskys website states, he is a man who wears more than one hat.

Q: What do you consider to be your greatest success as a technology/science leader?

My successes already accomplished have mostly been taking existing science and getting people to apply it in their everyday lives. Thanks to LessWrong.com there is now an active, growing community of people interested in refining their epistemic and instrumental rationality through the study of the cognitive science of known bugs in human reasoning, and comprehending the mathematics of probability theory and decision theory.

Q: What innovation in the last 20 years has had the most positive impact on your life?

I can't honestly say that I believe in the standard trope that change is accelerating; keeping things to just the last 20 years seems very restrictive. The cognitive science that has had such a huge impact on my life had its beginnings in the 1970s. Bayes's Rule, the central theorem of probability theory, though it's just now beginning to get popular, is two and a half centuries old. There are exceptions, like Google

Q: What current challenge, when resolved, would do the most to change the world?

Anything that could give rise to smarter-than-human intelligencein the form of Artificial Intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, or neuroscience-based human intelligence enhancementwins hands down beyond contest as doing the most to change the world. Nothing else is even in the same league.

Q: If you had the world's intellectual elite all in one room, what thought-provoking questions would you pose for debate?

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5 Minutes With a Visionary: Eliezer Yudkowsky

Schellenberg: Outcome of Aerospace Review Will Be Vital to Industry's Future

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ABBOTSFORD, BC, Aug. 9, 2012 /CNW/ - David Schellenberg, Chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) and President and CEO of Cascade Aerospace and the Conair Group stated today that the outcome of the current Aerospace Review led by the Honourable David Emerson will be critical to the future of the Canadian aerospace industry.

During a keynote speech at the Abbotsford Aerospace and Defence Expo, which coincided with the 50th Abbotsford Air Show, Schellenberg stated that "although Canada is a world leader in aerospace, several nations around the world really want a piece of our high-tech, knowledge based industry. Our market share is definitely under threat."

"I want to sincerely thank the Harper government and particularly Minister Christian Paradis for the vision they demonstrated in launching [the Aerospace] Review," Schellenberg said. "But the work is only beginning. There will be a need for a significant overhaul of policies and programs if we are to remain competitive and keep creating high paying, long-term jobs for Canadians from coast to coast."

Schellenberg commented that implications for the Aerospace Review go beyond the aerospace industry, and that the aerospace industry looks forward to working with the government at getting this right for the benefits of all Canadians. "A nation which excels at aerospace can excel at anything." he concluded.

For a full version of the speech please visit http://www.aiac.ca.

The AIAC is the national association representing Canada's aerospace manufacturing and services sector. As the world's fifth-largest aerospace industry, Canada's aerospace sector generates than $22 billion and employed 87,000 Canadians. Nearly three quarters of Canadian aerospace products are exported. AIAC represents the interests of 500 aerospace companies across Canada.

SOURCE: Aerospace Industries Association of Canada

Maryse Harvey Vice-President Public Affairs Aerospace Industries Association of Canada 613 760-4562 mharvey@aiac.ca

Kristen VanderHoek Director of Communications Aerospace Industries Association of Canada 613 232-4297 x225 kvanderhoek@aiac.ca

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Harper Government Supports Aerospace & Defence Expo at the 50th Abbotsford International Airshow

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ABBOTSFORD, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire -08/09/12)- The Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, provided opening remarks today at the 2012 Abbotsford Aerospace and Defence Expo and met with key western Canadian aerospace, defence and marine stakeholders, reaffirming the Harper Government's commitment to these sectors and their importance to the Canadian economy.

Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) provided $75,000 to support the Aerospace and Defence Expo, which brings together large international companies with small and medium sized businesses from Western Canada. The Expo features a number of opportunities designed to showcase western Canadian capabilities and facilitate strategic partnerships, including an industry tradeshow, networking opportunities and interactive workshops on various topics.

"Our Government is committed to creating the right conditions that will promote the success of Canada's job-creating businesses and industries," said Minister Yelich. "This Expo will help to create important partnerships that will contribute to the prosperity of the western Canadian aerospace, defence and marine sectors."

Since 2006, WD has made significant contributions to support Western Canada's aerospace industry. These investments are creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity, while helping to ensure that western Canadian companies succeed in the competitive global marketplace.

"The City of Abbotsford is very grateful for the support of Western Economic Diversification in hosting the 2012 Aerospace and Defence Expo at the Abbotsford International Airport," said Mayor Bruce Banman. "Abbotsford is committed to developing the aerospace industry in our City and events like the one today are a key component of making that vision a reality."

Western Economic Diversification Canada works to create jobs and economic growth in the western Canadian economy. By promoting new economic opportunities, WD is securing a more diverse and prosperous future for the West while advancing western interests at the national level.

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B/E Aerospace Increases Credit Line With $950 Million Revolver

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By Christine Idzelis - 2012-08-09T19:40:01Z

B/E Aerospace Inc. (BEAV), a maker of cabin interiors for commercial aircraft and business jets, got a $950 million five-year revolving credit line to replace a $750 million debt pact that was set to expire in 2015.

The new senior secured credit, which matures in August 2017, pays interest at 1.75 percentage points more than the London interbank offered rate, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. The interest rate on the revolver would have been about 2.21 percent had it been drawn on June 30, the company said in the filing.

B/E Aerospace, based in Wellington, Florida, had $1.75 billion of long-term debt consisting entirely of bonds at the end of June, according to the filing.

Moodys Investors Service said today it gave the revolver an investment-grade rating of Baa2, while affirming B/E Areospaces junk-category corporate ranking of Ba1. Standard & Poors, which rates the company BB+, assigned the revolver a BBB grade.

The new revolving credit has a so-called accordion feature allowing the company to request as much as $750 million of additional commitments or term loans, according to Moodys.

In a revolving credit facility, money can be borrowed again once its repaid; in a term loan, it cant.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christine Idzelis in New York at cidzelis@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Faris Khan at fkhan33@bloomberg.net

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B/E Aerospace Increases Credit Line With $950 Million Revolver

Study: One week of therapy may help reorganize brain, reduce stuttering

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Public release date: 8-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Angela Babb, APR ababb@aan.com 612-928-6102 American Academy of Neurology

MINNEAPOLIS Just one week of speech therapy may reorganize the brain, helping to reduce stuttering, according to a study published in the August 8, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The Chinese study gives researchers new insights into the role of different brain regions in stuttering, which affects about one percent of adults.

The study involved 28 people with stuttering and 13 people who did not stutter. Fifteen of the people with stuttering received a week of therapy with three sessions per day. The other stutterers and the controls received no therapy. Therapy involved the participants repeating two-syllable words that were spoken to them and then reading words presented to them visually. There was no time limit in either task. The average scores on stuttering tests and percent of stuttered syllables improved for those who received the therapy. There was no change in scores for the stutterers who did not receive therapy.

Brain scans were used to measure the thickness of the cerebral cortex in the brain for all participants at the beginning and end of the study. They also measured the interactions between areas of the brain while at rest, called resting state functional connectivity. Thickness and strength of interactions was reduced in an area of the brain important in speech and language production called the pars opercularis for those with stuttering compared to the controls. Increased strength of interactions was found in the cerebellum for those with stuttering compared to the controls.

For those who received the therapy, the functional connectivity in the cerebellum was reduced to the same level as that of the controls. There was no change in the pars opercularis area of the brain.

"These results show that the brain can reorganize itself with therapy, and that changes in the cerebellum are a result of the brain compensating for stuttering," said study author Chunming Lu, PhD, of Beijing Normal University in China. "They also provide evidence that the structure of the pars opercularis area of the brain is altered in people with stuttering."

Christian A. Kell, MD, of Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study, said, "These findings should further motivate therapists and researchers in their efforts to determine how therapy works to reorganize the brain and reduce stuttering."

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Study: One week of therapy may help reorganize brain, reduce stuttering

17,000 waiting over four years to see consultant

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By Fiachra Cionnaith

Friday, August 10, 2012

Almost 17,000 people including heart, orthopaedics, kidney, neurology, and cancer patients have been waiting over four years for an initial hospital consultant outpatient appointment.

HSE figures show that, despite repeated ministerial promises to resolve the delays, the long-term treatment backlogs are continuing across a range of vital specialities in the system.

Leading medical website irishhealth.com has revealed that, of the 351,000 people on outpatient lists, 117,000 are still waiting more than a year to be seen for the first time by a hospital consultant.

Of this figure, 16,903 are waiting as long as four years across all hospitals in the country.

This is despite the fact that Health Minister James Reilly is bidding to finally address lengthy waiting times for vital hospital treatment via his special delivery unit team.

While the above delays are lengthy, for patients facing the extensive waits, the queue for accessing care does not end when they are finally seen.

An initial outpatient hospital consultant appointment is generally considered to be a waiting list to get on to a second waiting list for more specialised care.

As such, the actual wait for specialised care is longer than the initial outpatient hospital consultant appointments.

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17,000 waiting over four years to see consultant

One Week of Therapy May Help Reorganize Brain, Reduce Stuttering

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Newswise MINNEAPOLIS Just one week of speech therapy may reorganize the brain, helping to reduce stuttering, according to a study published in the August 8, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The Chinese study gives researchers new insights into the role of different brain regions in stuttering, which affects about one percent of adults.

The study involved 28 people with stuttering and 13 people who did not stutter. Fifteen of the people with stuttering received a week of therapy with three sessions per day. The other stutterers and the controls received no therapy. Therapy involved the participants repeating two-syllable words that were spoken to them and then reading words presented to them visually. There was no time limit in either task. The average scores on stuttering tests and percent of stuttered syllables improved for those who received the therapy. There was no change in scores for the stutterers who did not receive therapy.

Brain scans were used to measure the thickness of the cerebral cortex in the brain for all participants at the beginning and end of the study. They also measured the interactions between areas of the brain while at rest, called resting state functional connectivity. Thickness and strength of interactions was reduced in an area of the brain important in speech and language production called the pars opercularis for those with stuttering compared to the controls. Increased strength of interactions was found in the cerebellum for those with stuttering compared to the controls.

For those who received the therapy, the functional connectivity in the cerebellum was reduced to the same level as that of the controls. There was no change in the pars opercularis area of the brain.

These results show that the brain can reorganize itself with therapy, and that changes in the cerebellum are a result of the brain compensating for stuttering, said study author Chunming Lu, PhD, of Beijing Normal University in China. They also provide evidence that the structure of the pars opercularis area of the brain is altered in people with stuttering.

Christian A. Kell, MD, of Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study, said, These findings should further motivate therapists and researchers in their efforts to determine how therapy works to reorganize the brain and reduce stuttering.

The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

To learn more about stuttering, visit http://www.aan.com/patients.

The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 25,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimers disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinsons disease and epilepsy.

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One Week of Therapy May Help Reorganize Brain, Reduce Stuttering