Monthly Archives: March 2014

Vector Aerospace Receives 2013 Rolls-Royce FIRST Network Customer Satisfaction Award

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Richmond, BC Vector Aerospace (www.vectoraerospace.com), a global independent provider of aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, Vector Aerospace Helicopter Services North America (HS-NA), one of the worlds leading providers of helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul centers was presented the 2013 Rolls-Royce FIRST Network Customer Satisfaction Award during Heli-Expo 2014.

Vector conducts quarterly surveys among Rolls-Royce customers to ensure customer satisfaction, and received an impressive 94% satisfaction rating in 2013. Vector also recorded improvements in their Turn Around times (TAT) and their On Time Delivery (OTD) in 2013. In addition, Vector continues to take great pride in supporting the Kiowa Warrior Program with improved engine performance and reliability.

We are pleased to receive this award from Rolls-Royce, states Julien Roy, Vice President, Operations at HS-NA. This is affirmation that Vectors focus on quality and customer service is generating positive results and most importantly, meeting or exceeding the expectations of our Rolls-Royce customers.

About Vector Aerospace

Vector Aerospace is a global provider of aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul services. Through facilities in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, South Africa and Kenya, Vector Aerospace provides services to commercial and military customers for gas turbine engines, components and helicopter airframes. Vectors customer-focused team includes over 2,700 motivated employees.

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Vector Aerospace Receives 2013 Rolls-Royce FIRST Network Customer Satisfaction Award

Khushwant: RIP

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I was saddened to read that Khushwant Singh passed away in his sleep last week. What a quiet end for so loud a man. How the gods mock the mocking.

Contradictions surrounded Khushwant at every stage of his life. He strove to give the impression that he was a drunken slob yet he was one of the most hard-working and punctual men I knew. He professed agnosticism and yet enjoyed kirtan as only few can and do. He was known nationally as a celebrated lecher but for the past thirty years at least it was a hot-water-bottle that warmed his bed. He devoted his last years in the service of a woman who decisively spurned him in the end. He made a profession of living off his friends' important names and yet worked single-handedly to diminish that very importance. Empty vessels make the most noise but Khushwant was always full of the Scotch he had cadged off others.

He was a much misunderstood man. So before the limp eulogies start pouring in (how Khushwant would have hated them!) let me set the record straight. As Khushwant once said, the obituary is the best place to tell the truth for dead men file no libel suits. (An agnostic to the end he didn't believe in the Resurrection.)

Khushwant was born in 1915 in a rich but not particularly educated home. They were Khuranas from Sargodha who made good in Delhi. His father, Sir Sobha Singh, was the contractor who built the city of New Delhi and who in consequence received a knighthood. In '47 it used to be said (somewhat inaccurately it must be admitted) that ninety-nine per cent of New Delhi was owned by the Government and one per cent by Sir Sobha Singh.

After his initial education Khushwant was sent to England to appear for the ICS. He didn't make it. Later he would tell a story of how he had made it to the Merit List but how that year there was a reserved place for a non-Jat from Phulkian state (later PEPSU) and how some- one with less marks than him filled that place. But Khushwant was always a great raconteur so it is difficult to know what to believe.

Once bitten, twice shy. Khushwant didn't try for the ICS again but instead enrolled himself at the London School of Economics from where in the course of things he acquired a BA. The examiners decided to place him in the Third Class. After his degree Khushwant read for the Bar where he was equally successful. (His brother Daljit, now a businessman, was always the better scholar of the two.)

When Khushwant came back after six years in England a family friend asked his father: 'Kaka valaiton kee kar ke aayaa hai? (What has the boy done in England?) Sir Sobha Singh replied 'Time pass kar ke aaya hai jee.' (He has been marking time.) It is unlikely the canny con- tractor was joking.

After the Partition Khushwant joined the Indian Foreign Service and this phase of his career took him to London, Ottawa and Paris. In this period he began publishing short stories on rustic themes. In '55 he shot to fame when a novel of his won a large cash award set by an American publishing house in order to attract manuscripts. It was a mediocre Partition quickie called Mano Majra (later published as Train to Pakistan).

Years passed. Khushwant kept writing books, on the Jupji, on the Sikhs, on India, stories, translations: many of them provocatively titled and indicative of his deepest desires, "I Shall Rape the Nightingale", "I Take This Woman" etc. Some of these attempts were successful.

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Khushwant: RIP

Stem Cell Therapy | Advanced Orthopedics | Regenerative …

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It's been nothing but 100% improvement.It just continues to get better.Ive been avoiding doing stairways and I have to be real careful climbing in and out of equipment. I find myself being a lot more relaxed, not having the problems, not having the pain. I don't have the swelling in my knees that I used to have and it hasnt been waking me up at night. View my video testimonial here My name is Susan and Im 62 year old I just finished having my second PRP treatment and Im very, very happy with the results I can do all kinds of things I wasn't able to do beforeI believe my knee will continue to get better as the cartilage grows. Thank you! View my video testimonial here

Many thanks to the Stem MD team for giving me the use of my hands back, pain free! Professional, courteous and compassionate, describes this team of caring people. To anyone considering this procedure, I say you will be amazed and thankful at the results.

Lenita Brewer Ansonia, Ohio

Thank you for giving my life and health back. The PRP treatment worked wonders and helped alleviate the pain. I highly recommend the anti-inflammatory diet, Dr. Purita suggested. My body noticed the difference and I lost 35 pounds. I can finally be active again!

Jennica Califf Coconut Creek, Florida

I thought there was no hope for my chronic back pain. I am so thankful I found out about Dr. Purita and stem cells. I have had back pain for over 5 years, debilitating me to do everyday things. Today my pain has gone down 50%. I tell all my friends and family and wish everyone knew about this wonderful treatment. Thank you so much Dr. Purita

It has been 3 months since my mothers procedure to her knees. Now, my mom climbs into the van without any help, before we had to pull her up and assist her. She does not take painkillers anymore, even her recurring bladder infection and Diabetes is well controlled. All my friends and colleagues are super amazed every time I show them a video of my mom dancing. Thank you so much what you have done for my mom it is truly wonderful and I am forever indebted to you.

Malou Aragon-De Veyra Philippines

I came to Dr. Purita on the advice of a friend when I expressed trepidations about cortisone shots or the possibility no matter how remote of a joint replacement. I was a wrestler in high school and college, and this had done no good for my kneed as I aged. I had no expectations, only hope that somehow my knees could be made less fragile by the stem cell therapy my friend described. I had gotten to the point where any down stairs journey or stepping down off a van or public bus was excruciating, to the point that I usually made an exclamation that wasn't fit for public utterance every time I stepped off a bus or a van. My expectations were neutral at best. I had no idea as to how this stem cell therapy would impact my general health whatsoever. I can say without hesitation that the results have been beyond what I could have hoped. My knees are now cooperative to the point that sometimes I take the stairs down just because I can. I have resumed walking the stairs up and down at work, and I can say that I really don't think about anything I want to do where my kneed are involved. I am not quite where I was when I was 20, but 35 is a real thought, my flexibility and agility are restored to a level I could not have imagined. As an additional part of the procedure Dr. Purita also injected stem cell into my left hand, which has been diagnosed with some arthritis. The results are less instantaneously spectacular, but the had continues to improve. I no longer sit in my office while my hand burns with joint pain, my movement and most of my strength are improving daily, and I have a feeling that within a month or so I will have the same level of improvement I have experiences with my knees. Many thanks to the friend who recommended the trip to Dr. Purita's office, and to Dr. Purita and his staff who have put thoughts of joint replacement and the mad merry-go-round of cortisone shots far in the past for me.

Mark Burns Hypoluxo, Florida

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Humans Wiped Out Giant New Zealand Bird

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Nine species of giant, flightless birds, known as moas, suddenly went extinct within two centuries of humans first arrival to New Zealand. Coincidence? No, a team of geneticists, biologists and archeologists recently wrote. The scientists found evidence that moas thrived before Polynesians colonized the islands in the 13th century.

The scientists analyzed genetic remains from 281 individual birds from four species of moa. The researchers looked for signs of dwindling moa populations in the 4,000 years before humans arrived. When animal populations shrink dramatically, their genetic diversity also decreases. Instead, the moa had a healthy variety of DNA, which suggested strong populations.

CSI Fossils: Ancient Killers Caught in the Act

For example, the 3.6 meter (12 ft.) tall South Island giant moa (Dinornis robustus) had an estimated population of 9,200 individuals that may have been growing. Although another species, the 1.5 to 1.8 meter (4.95.9 ft.) tall eastern moa (Euryapteryx crassus), showed signs of a major historical die-off, that reduction in numbers likely occurred more than 17,900 years ago, thousands of years before humans arrived. Euryapteryx crassus had recovered and seemed to be thriving in the eastern lowland forests of New Zealand by the time humans arrived.

BLOG: Humans Acquitted of Mammoth Murder

These findings point strongly toward human contact as the only factor responsible for the extinction, wrote the scientists in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Elsewhere the situation may be more complex, but in the case of New Zealand the evidence provided by ancient DNA is now clear: The megafaunal extinctions were the result of human factors, said lead author Mike Bunce of Curtin University in Australia in a press release. We need to be more aware of the impacts we are having on the environment today and what we, as a species, are responsible for in the past.

Illustration: Polynesians Hunting Giant Moa, by Heinrich Harder. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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Humans Wiped Out Giant New Zealand Bird

Analysis: Industry-sponsored academic inventions spur increased innovation

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

19-Mar-2014

Contact: Bobbie Mixon bmixon@nsf.gov 703-292-8485 National Science Foundation

Industry-sponsored, academic research leads to innovative patents and licenses, says a new analysis led by Brian Wright, University of California, Berkeley professor of agricultural and resource economics.

The finding calls into question assumptions that corporate support skews science toward inventions that are less accessible and less useful to others than those funded by the government or non-profit organizations.

The analysis, based on a study of two decades of records from the University of California system, is in today's science journal Nature.

The National Science Foundation's Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences funded the study. "There are two potential interpretations of the report," said Joshua Rosenbloom, program director for Science of Science and Innovation Policy (SciSIP). "One is optimistic. Corporate funding leads to research that is more likely to be commercialized and this greater focus is good.

"The second reading is that corporate funding shifts the focus of research away from basic science," added Rosenbloom.

During the last few decades, the share of gross domestic product supporting research and development has been stable, but the corporate share has increased substantially. "This may reflect a shift in emphasis away from basic science discoveries that provide a basis for future commercialization," Rosenbloom said.

SciSIP supports interdisciplinary social science research that builds an evidence base for informed policy choices and contributes to a better understanding of the interactions between science, technology and innovation.

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Analysis: Industry-sponsored academic inventions spur increased innovation

Spices and herbs intervention helps adults reduce salt intake

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Teaching people how to flavor food with spices and herbs is considerably more effective at lowering salt intake than having them do it on their own, according to research presented on Wednesday at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology & Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity & Metabolism Scientific Sessions 2014.

In the first phase of the study, 55 volunteers ate a low-sodium diet for four weeks. Researchers provided all foods and calorie-containing drinks. Salt is the main source of sodium in food.

In the second phase, half of the study volunteers participated in a 20-week behavioral intervention aimed at reducing their sodium intake to 1,500 mg/day by using spices and herbs. The other half reduced sodium on their own.

More than 60 percent of the participants in the study had high blood pressure, 18 percent had diabetes and they were overweight.

The researchers found:

"People in the intervention group learned problem-solving strategies, use of herbs and spices in recipes, how culture influences spice choices, how to monitor diet, overcoming the barriers to making dietary changes, how to choose and order foods when eating out and how to make low-sodium intake permanent," said Cheryl A. M. Anderson, Ph.D., M.P.H., lead author of the study and associate professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California San Diego.

Those assigned to the behavioral intervention group had cooking demonstrations and had a chance to share how they were changing traditional recipes to remove salt and include spices. The researchers didn't emphasize specific spices, and encouraged participants to try different things to find out what they liked most.

"Salt is abundant in the food supply and the average sodium level for Americans is very high -- much higher than what is recommended for healthy living," Anderson said. "We studied the use of a behavioral intervention where people learn how to use spices and herbs and less salt in their daily lives."

"Given the challenges of lowering salt in the American diet, we need a public health approach aimed at making it possible for consumers to

The McCormick Science Institute funded the study.

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Spices and herbs intervention helps adults reduce salt intake

Westchester is back on course, beats Redondo, 76-67

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A week and a half after losing in the City Section Division I championship basketball game, Westchester has regained its swagger and shooting touch, moving to within one victory of reaching the state championship game in Sacramento.

With Elijah Stewart scoring 30 points and the Comets making 10 three-pointers, Westchester knocked off host Redondo, 76-67, on Tuesday night in a semifinal game of the Southern California Regional Open Division playoffs.

The Comets (30-6) will play Santa Ana Mater Dei on Saturday at 8 p.m. in a regional final at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario.

Mater Dei defeated Etiwanda, 67-64, in double overtime.

There were no guarantees when the regional playoffs began that Westchester would be able to move forward after its disappointing 58-56 loss to Woodland Hills El Camino Real on March 8.

"You can't dwell on it," Coach Ed Azzam said. "Our practices the week after were not good. They're kids. They're resilient. We're capable of beating anybody and losing to anybody."

Against Redondo, the Comets made nine three-pointers in the first half

to open a 16-point halftime lead. They outscored Redondo 25-9 in the second quarter. Stewart, who

has signed with Loyola Marymount, made four threes.

Redondo (25-6) closed to within seven points in the third quarter, but Westchester built the lead back to 20 points in the fourth.

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Westchester is back on course, beats Redondo, 76-67