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Actifio and Boston University School of Medicine Selected to Present on Consequences of Big Data Sprawl at SNW Fall 2012
WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Actifio, the radically simple copy data management company, today announced its presence at SNW Fall 2012, October 16-19th in Santa Clara, CA. The event will be highlighted by a presentation by Dr. John Meyers, assistant professor of medicine and director of technology in Boston University School of Medicines (BUSM) Department of Medicine on how the institution built a research storage and computing platform from the ground up based on Actifios Protection and Availability Storage (PAS) platform.
Dr. Meyers will be joined by Actifios Senior Director Andrew Gilman on Thursday, October 18, 3:10-3:55 pm PDT in the session, Combat the Consequences of Data Sprawl with PAS. Protection and Availability Storage (PAS) is a revolutionary new category of storage that enables a fundamentally new and radically simplified approach to data management. PAS is a provenvirtualized storagesolution transforming the economics of the industry through a purpose-built approach to addressing the root cause of todays data storage explosion:copy data. By focusing on smarter and more efficient copy data management, streamlining the typically 13-120 excess, redundant copies of production data, Actifio provides faster recovery and more reliable data protection for up to 90 percent less cost than traditional backup and recovery point tools.
Boston University School of Medicines Department of Medicine is the medical campus largest department, conducting extensive clinical and basic science research. The faculty collectively exceeds $80 million per year in research grant funding and actively researches pressing medical issues from autoimmunity to nearly all types of cancer. Historically there were no research-specific computing resources available to faculty, and irreplaceable data was stored on a patchwork of consumer NAS devices, workstations-turned-servers, portable media and other devices. Legacy enterprise-class data backup and recovery solutions in place at the time werent able to scale across their diverse and increasingly complex infrastructure. BUSM needed a radically new storage solution to address their copy data challenge.
Click here to view a short video of how Dr. Meyers uses PAS.
In our unique environment, not all data is the same, said Dr. Meyers. Actifio PAS supports the concept of an SLA that defines how often an object is snapped, deduped, replicated and retained. These SLAs can be applied to individual VMs, file systems and even types of NAS data regardless of underlying storage design. Im excited to share how Actifio PAS has saved us well over $1 million, which allows us to fund pilot grants and support novel research. Ill also share our vision for copy data management -- for example, how it allows us to parse scientific metadata and apply a PAS SLA based on that information.
In addition to being selected to present, Actifio will be exhibiting at SNW Fall 2012 at kiosk #P4 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. It is also participating in hands-on-lab sessions throughout the event, where end users will be able to setup, build application SLAs and manage data on the new Actifio PAS 20T solution. For more details about attending the hands-on-lab, please contact Andrew Gilman at Andrew@actifio.com.
Were very gratified to see the Actifio customer base climbing past the 200 mark, and grateful that industry organizations like SNIA are empowering our user community to share their stories and experiences with their industry peers, said Ash Ashutosh, Actifio CEO.
About Actifio
Actifio is radically simple copy data management. Our Protection and Availability Storage (PAS) lets businesses recover anything instantly, for up to 90 percent less. PAS eliminates siloed data protection applications, virtualizing data management to deliver an application-centric, SLA-driven solution that decouples the management of data from storage, network and server infrastructure. Actifio has helped liberate IT organizations and service providers of all sizes from vendor lock-in and the management challenges associated with exploding data growth. Actifio is headquartered in Waltham, Mass., with offices around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.actifio.com or email info@actifio.com.
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Traditional Chinese Medicine World Foundation and School of Social Welfare, Stony Brook University, NY, Partner On …
NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Longtime partners Traditional Chinese Medicine World Foundation (www.tcmworld.org) and the School of Social Welfare at Stony Brook University, New York, will offer a one-day training workshop on Wu Ming Qigong movements for breast health at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, Virginia, the location of the Foundation's 11th annual conference, Building Bridges of Integration for Traditional Chinese Medicine (www.tcmconference.org). The training session, which supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month, costs $99 and takes place Thursday, October 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The workshop is open to all healthcare practitioners and health-seekers interested in learning ancient Qigong forms that can then be taught to individuals, families, patients, clients and community groups. Participants receive three complimentary DVDs on "Wu Ming Qigong for Breast Health" featuring a real-time instructional session of these energy forms that support breast health.
"Wu Ming Qigong for Breast Health" is based on the work of Nan Lu, OMD, Qigong master, longtime TCM practitioner and best-selling author of Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Woman's Guide to Healing from Breast Cancer (HarperCollins) Dr. Lu is also an associate clinical professor at the School of Social Welfare, Stony Brook University, NY. Dr. Frances Brisbane, the School's dean, remarked, "This is the kind of innovative event our School is eager to support. It empowers women and can make a real difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities."
TCM World Foundation's Program Director Elaine Katen commented, "We are passionate in our belief that breast cancer prevention goes beyond early detection. Learning these powerful Qigong forms takes serious practice so this vital prevention technique can be properly demonstrated to others for maximum results. This gratifying effort has helped women nationwide understand how to care for their own bodies."
To learn more or to register, call TCM World Foundation at 212.274.1079, or visit http://www.tcmconference.org.
CONTACT: Ellen Schaplowsky. VP TCM World Foundation 212.274.1079 or 212.593.6316
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Research and Markets: Oral Medicine – A Color Handbook, 2nd Edition
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/wwk4qh/oral_medicine_a) has announced the addition of the "Oral Medicine - A Color Handbook, 2nd Edition" book to their offering.
This is a revised edition of a bestselling handbook. The authors have fully updated the text to include the most up to date treatment options, have added a section on head and neck imaging (CT/MRI), a series of self-test clinical cases, and 100 new photographs.
The book uses a symptom-based approach to assist the clinician in the diagnosis and management of those conditions that fall into the speciality of oral medicine. Dealing first with normal anatomy, physical examination and investigation - particularly lesional biopsy, haematological assessment and microbiological sampling - the authors cover all areas of those diseases, local and systemic, that manifest themselves in the lips and mouth. Conditions are grouped under their principal presenting sign - blistering, white patches, red patches, swelling, pigmentation, pain, dry mouth, altered tasted and halitosis.
This comprehensive handbook is of value to professionals and trainees in medicine, dentistry and pathology.
Key Features:
- Combines the advantages of a colour atlas with those of a short text/reference.
- Symptoms-based approach.
- New section on head and neck imaging (CT/MRI).
- New self-test clinical cases.
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Research and Markets: Oral Medicine - A Color Handbook, 2nd Edition
Brehm hosts Harvard video-conference
CARBONDALE — Brehm Preparatory School is hosting by way of videoconference the 2012 Harvard Medical School/Dyslexia Foundation Conference.
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Cook Medical’s Zilver® PTX® Trial Shows Sustained Patency after Three Years
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Three-year data from the Zilver PTX Randomized Controlled Trial of Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents for Femoropopliteal Disease from Cook Medical demonstrate 70.7 percent primary patency in the superficial femoral artery (SFA) at 36 months for patients treated with the paclitaxel-eluting stent. This compares to 49.1 percent patency for patients with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and provisional bare metal stent placement in the 479-patient study.
In addition, the paclitaxel coating was shown to reduce the restenosis rate by 53 percent in a head-to-head comparison of provisional paclitaxel-eluting versus bare metal stent placement.
Michael Dake, M.D., professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford University Medical School and medical director of the Cath/Angio Laboratories at Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, California, presented the study findings yesterday at the Vascular InterVentional Advances (VIVA) 2012 conference in Las Vegas, Nev.
These data, from the largest clinical study ever conducted on peripheral stenting, clearly show a sustained drug effect for paclitaxel-eluting stents versus bare metal stents after three years, said Rob Lyles, vice president and global leader of Cook Medicals Peripheral Intervention clinical division. We are proud to have pioneered this important technology.
Zilver PTX is neither approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration nor available for sale in the United States. Dr. Dake, the global principal investigator for the Zilver PTX trial, is a paid consultant to Cook Medical regarding the research and development of medical devices.
About Cook Medical
A global pioneer in medical breakthroughs, Cook Medical is committed to creating effective solutions that benefit millions of patients worldwide. Today, we combine medical devices, drugs, biologic grafts and cell therapies across more than 16,000 products serving more than 40 medical specialties. Founded in 1963 by a visionary who put patient needs and ethical business practices first, Cook is a family-owned company that has created more than 10,000 jobs worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.cookmedical.com. Follow Cook Medical on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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Cook Medical’s Zilver® PTX® Trial Shows Sustained Patency after Three Years
Liberty's Miller excels in tennis after starting in other sports
October 11, 2012 12:18 AM
Nate Miller arrived at Liberty with thoughts that basketball, or perhaps the gridiron to follow in the footsteps of his two brothers, would highlight his prep career.
Hell leave the northern Colorado Springs high school with quite the athletic legacy all right. But in neither of the aforementioned sports.
Basketball was actually my sport growing up, but I wasnt big enough for football, Miller said. I took up tennis instead. I just loved it. As time progressed, I focused on tennis and started taking it seriously. This year, I was able to take it to another level. This will be one of my last chances to play, so I want to go out as well as I can.
Miller, a senior, became quite possibly Libertys first boys singles regional champion Oct.5 when he recorded a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Lakewoods Ram Vuppaladadiyam in the Region 6 championship match in No. 2 singles at Denver East. Lancers coach Joe Frasca didnt witness the feat during his seven years there, and he doubts anyone previously made it to the top at the school known instead for its high-caliber cross country and soccer programs.
Now, its onto the state tournament, where 373 athletes in 5A and 4A head for Denvers Gates Tennis Center and Pueblo City Park, respectively, to compete in the three-day tournament starting Thursday.
Miller, along with Pine Creek junior Zack Inman, represents the only Pikes Peak-area 5A singles players to make it through regional play and into state play.
For these guys to even make it to state is quite an accomplishment, Frasca said. But I know what kind of competitor Nate is. Hes not just happy getting there. Nate wants to be there on Saturday.
Millers breakthrough at Liberty marked another momentous step for the program, which just last year saw its girls team post a school-best seven victories in dual matches and qualified five players to the state tournament.
This is the best season we have ever had, Frasca said. Like Nate, most of my players didnt start tennis until they were in high school and they have improved tremendously the past four years. There is a renaissance happening at Liberty with our tennis programs.
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Liberty's Miller excels in tennis after starting in other sports
First Liberty Power – Website Launch
LAS VEGAS, Oct. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --First Liberty Power Corp. (FLPC) is pleased to announce the launch of a newly redesigned website for First Liberty which reflects our growing scope of business. The new site, http://www.firstlibertystrategic.com, enhances the discussion on our lithium property exploration and development and introduces our expanded emphasis on the exploration, development, mining and refining of strategic industrial metals in the USA.
With this announcement, First Liberty is formally launching another one of its new initiatives that more effectively updates investors and shareholders on the Company's progress in a timely manner. The new site not only lays out the Company's strategic vision moving forward, but also incorporates multiple methods for interaction with the company. The delivery of information, including relevant industry and corporate news, has been greatly enhanced and the site also acts as a medium for access to key social media channels - allowing for the facilitation and broadening of communication. You will now be able to follow the company on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/FirstLibertyOTC and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/firstlibertypower. Both social media platforms can be accessed directly from First Liberty's website.
CEO Don Nicholson in a released statement commented that, "As the Company continues to evolve, this revamped website is the next logical step in our communication strategy and it reinforces our commitment to providing our shareholders with the information and transparency they require. The new website will be a more up-to-date, easily accessible source of information that will provide timely data for shareholders and others having an interest in our development. This is another significant step forward in disseminating details on our Lithium brine properties, our new Antimony property, and our ongoing efforts to establish holdings in other strategic metals." Mr. Nicholson further stated, "The website is an essential step forward to fully reflect our company's vision and assist our shareholders and investors in understanding the critical issues of the domestic supply of those strategic mineral elements for current and emerging technologies."
About UsFirst Liberty is a Nevada based mineral exploration company with a focus on the exploration, development, mining and refining of strategic industrial metals in the USA. With a foundation in lithium exploration and a recent addition of antimony mining and development, it is our vision to significantly contribute towards ensuring a domestic supply of those strategic mineral elements that are critical to current and emerging technologies. We will continue assembling a portfolio of properties and interests in several key areas, ranging in developmental to advanced stage exploration, to those being production ready.
ContactFirst Liberty Power Corp. http://www.firstlibertystrategic.com ir@firstlibertystrategic.com Investor Relations Telephone: (800) 709-1196
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis current report contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future, including but not limited to, the final outcome Lida Valley and Smokey Valley exploration / work programs, the specific nature and extent of the next phase of our exploration program, our ability to raise the necessary capital to complete our exploration program, and any mineralization, exploration and development of our mineral properties, specifically in regards to Lithium.
Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. We are not in control of metals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our most recent annual report for our last fiscal year, our quarterly reports, and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Liberty Coal Energy Corp. Announces Completion of Financing
DENVER, CO--(Marketwire - Oct 11, 2012) - Liberty Coal Energy ( OTCQB : LBTG ) (the "Company," or "Liberty Coal") is pleased to announce that it has closed an equity placement of $9,196,500.00 (Nine million, One Hundred Ninety Six Thousand, Five Hundred dollars) with 10 institutional accredited investors, through its equity advisor Catwalk Capital, LLC.Ed Morrow, CEO of Liberty Coal Energy had this to say, "This funding provides Liberty Coal the financial capability to complete its plan on the Owsley County, Kentucky coal property and to make additional acquisitions to grow its business plan. We are grateful to Catwalk Capital for their diligence and aid in the acquisition of this capital facility."
The Owsley property comprises approx. 1000 acres of fee surface and coal rights, and has a mine plan in place and a phase 1 permit technically approved by the Kentucky Department of Natural Resources. The permit may be activated by posting the required reclamation bonds and liability insurance. The coal quality is excellent thermal coal, used primarily for generation of electricity.
The recoverable thermal coal resource on the Owsley project is in excess of 5.7 million tons.3.5 million tons are recoverable with surface and highwall mining, and an additional 2.2 million tons are recoverable by underground deep mining. Owsley resources have a sales value in excess of $300 million over 10 years of planned production.
About Liberty Coal Energy Corp.
Liberty Coal Energy is a resource development and production company with coal property in eastern Kentucky. Liberty Coal's plan is that the Owsley production will be followed by a series of similar sized projects in the Appalachian coal fields over the next three plus years. The Company is building the foundation for success in the United States' most active coal mining regions. Liberty Coal Energy is dedicated to the acquisition, development and production of coal in North America. The Company is committed to creating value for its shareholders by maintaining the highest environmental standards to produce clean coal for the nation's energy needs. Please visit the Company's website http://www.libertycoal.com for additional information.
About Catwalk Capital, LLC:
Catwalk Capital is the equity funding advisor to Ferme Group, http://www.fermegroup.com. Ferme assists private and public companies, investment banks and institutional investors in their drive to create value. Ferme's advisors are versatile and have worked extensively in many industries and transaction types. Ferme's worldwide network of channel partners provides a large geographic capability.
For further information onLiberty Coal, contact Samantha White at 888-399-3989 or info@libertycoal.com
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Words such as "expects," "intends," "plans," "may," "could," "should," "anticipates," "likely," "believes" and words of similar import also identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current facts and analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determined and assumptions of management. The statements by our officers, and other statements regarding optimism related to the business, expanding exploration and development activities and other statements in this press release are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business. Actual results could vary materially from the description contained herein due to many risk factors that affect the industry the Company operates in and other risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings under "risk factors" and elsewhere. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.
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Libertarian VP candidate visits Yuma
The United States will continue to deteriorate whether a Democrat or a Republican is elected president in November, said Jim Gray, vice presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party.
Romney and Obama are so interchangeable we call them Robamney.' They are really the same person.
Gray is running alongside Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico.
If you vote for the lesser of two evils, like most people are, you still get evil, Gray said Wednesday afternoon during a public meeting at Booth Machinery in Yuma.
If a constituent doesn't support their party's candidate but still votes along party lines, that is a wasted vote because the message to each party is this type of candidate is acceptable, Gray added.
He believes the only real solution, and the only way to end the duopoly in Washington, is for voters to cast a ballot for Johnson.
If we just get 5 percent, it will be a revolution, Gray said. It will be historic because then we as Libertarians will be able to get matching funds from the federal government ... in 2016 for the presidential race. It will be the beginning of the end of the two-party system. Once that happens, we are in the mainstream, we are in the middle financially responsible and socially tolerant.
That will require the radical extremes on both sides to come more towards the center, because we will be that third party voice, he continued. This is historic, this is important.
During his time in Yuma, Gray spoke at length about personal freedoms in the United States. The very soul of our country is our civil liberties, and our very soul is under attack by our very own government.
Those attacks include but are not limited to the passage of the Patriot Act and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012, he said.
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Libertarian candidate to visit Va. school
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is making a stop in Richmond to meet with students at Maggie L. Walker Governor's School.
The school says the former New Mexico governor is scheduled to meet with students Thursday morning.
The selective public school specializes in government and international studies. It serves students from the metropolitan Richmond region.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Poll: Libertarian Party nominee could be spoiler in Nevada — for Obama
While some may roll their eyes at Libertarian Party presidential nominee and marijuana-legalization champion Gary Johnson, recent polling shows that his presence on the ballot could have an effect on the presidential race, at least in Nevada.
A Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey released Wednesday found that, while President Barack Obama has a four-point lead over Republican nominee Mitt Romney in Nevada (51-47 percent), when Johnson is thrown into the mix, the former New Mexico governor garners three percent of the vote, largely pulling voters from Obama.
When Gary Johnsons included he gets 3 percent and actually takes mostly from Obama, pulling his lead over Romney down to 48/47, PPP explained. That could be something worth keeping an eye on.
PPP noted that, last month, Obamas lead on Romney in the Silver State was five points higher, with a 52-43 percent result in the middle of September.
That five point decline for Obama is consistent with what weve been seeing in most of our national and state level polling since last weeks debate, the report read.
Johnson will be on the ballot in 47 states and the District of Columbia. Nevada has six electoral votes.
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Jay Carney: It's an 'editorial judgment' to say administration was wrong on Libya crisis
In 1994, Obama argued for affirmative action, against 'return to good old-fashioned racism'
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Poll: Libertarian Party nominee could be spoiler in Nevada — for Obama
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson campaigns in Richmond
State directs hundreds of schools to narrow achievement gaps State directs hundreds of schools to narrow achievement gaps
Updated: Thursday, October 11 2012 10:20 AM EDT2012-10-11 14:20:05 GMT
Updated: Thursday, October 11 2012 10:17 AM EDT2012-10-11 14:17:11 GMT
Updated: Thursday, October 11 2012 10:09 AM EDT2012-10-11 14:09:37 GMT
Updated: Thursday, October 11 2012 10:04 AM EDT2012-10-11 14:04:20 GMT
Updated: Thursday, October 11 2012 10:02 AM EDT2012-10-11 14:02:56 GMT
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson will rally support for his presidential campaign in Richmond Thursday.
He's meeting student at Maggie Walker's Governor's School at 10 a.m. then hosting a rally atVirginia Commonwealth University at noon.
The former governor of New Mexico and entrepreneur is on the ballot in all 50 states.
Copyright 2012 WWBT NBC12. All rights reserved.
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Society Islands Are Home To 14 Newly Described Beetle Species
October 11, 2012
Image Caption: This is the newly described Perraults predatory ground beetle, Mont Tohiea, Moorea; actual body size is 6 mm. Credit: James Liebherr, Cornell University Insect Collection
April Flowers for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online
If exploring remote mountaintops and naming new beetle species has always been a dream of yours, you might want to jump on that now that there are two fewer such mountains left.
James Liebherr, curator of the Cornell University Insect Collection, has described 14 species of predatory carabid beetles, also called ground beetles, found on Mont Tohiea and Mont Mauru in the Society Islands. Liebherr was part of a U.S. National Science Foundation survey team examining the insects and spiders of French Polynesia.
Two papers published in the online journal Zookeys (see links below) describe the species. Leibherr took advantage of recent changes to the rules that allows for the electronic publication of names for newly described species.
The Society Islands are in the South Pacific Ocean, supposedly named by Captain James Cook, and include Tahiti and Bora Bora.
Part of the genus Mecyclothorax, the new beetles are part of a group that seem to have found a home in the remote Pacific Islands. There are about 100 species on the Society Islands, and another 200 in the Hawaiian Islands. On the Australian continent, where the evolution presumably started, there are only 25 species. Other differences exist as well; all of the Pacific Island beetles are flightless, whereas many of the Australian species can fly.
The discovery of seven new species on the island of Moorea expands the known territory of the genus from Tahiti to Moorea. This mirrors the distribution of related species in the Hawaiian Islands, where members of the genus stretch from Hawaii to Oahu. In the Society Islands, the beetles are rarely found below 1000 meters elevation, severely limiting the geographic distribution of the new species.
When we travel to a new mountain we find only new species. Its like moving to a different continent as far as these beetles are concerned says Liebherr.
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Society Islands Are Home To 14 Newly Described Beetle Species
Darden Restaurants Cut Workers’ Hours to Avoid Paying Health Care Coverage – Video
09-10-2012 23:30 More at
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Darden Restaurants Cut Workers' Hours to Avoid Paying Health Care Coverage - Video
Activists question new mental health bill to be proposed – Video
10-10-2012 00:48 A new mental health bill will soon be presented to the Cabinet for approval. But activists say the bill is only an eyewash. India has the highest suicide rates in the world, said a Lancet study. 10 per cent adult Indians have mental health disorders, according to the World health Organisation and an estimated 1 million Indians are in need of mental health services. 25 years since the mental health act of 1987 came into being, a new Mental Health Care Bill will soon be presented to the Cabinet for approval.But for people like Bhargavi Davar, a mental health patient and an activist herself, the bill definitely has loopholes, at the patient's end. "Robbing all personal rights - treatment, hospital, indefinite stay - laws make the individual more vulnerable," Bhargavi said. With India being home to 30 to 40 million people living with psychosocial disabilities, the bill needs a wider debate before it is adopted.
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Activists question new mental health bill to be proposed - Video
GE Funds Chicago Healthcare; FedEx Healthcare Summit; Pfizer Quest HIV Tests- Health Min 10/10/12 – Video
10-10-2012 07:44 GE has been acknowledged by the Chicago Department of Public Health at the halfway point of its two-year, $1.25 million grant program that started in 2011. Five non-profits and many volunteers, supported by the grant from the GE Foundation for the Developing Health Chicago program, have worked to increase access to primary health care for underserved communities. The many accomplishments of the program after a year's work were celebrated in a recent event at the Howard Brown Health Center. The FedEx Healthcare Industry Summit held in New York City focused on "borderless" health care in an interconnected world. Presenters and attendees discussed how the industry, from R&D and manufacturing to caregivers, could develop more and better solutions to meet the changing dynamics of a global healthcare industry. FedEx showcased a portfolio of its new products and service solutions, from innovations in cold chain technologies to temperature-controlled shipping capabilities with increased speed and reach. A new study from researchers at Quest Diagnostic and Pfizer reveals that a laboratory-developed blood test using deep-sequencing technology performed comparably to the industry's current, standard phenotypic test in predicting clinical response to HIV antiretroviral therapy. The study's findings confirm the potential of advanced sequencing technologies to help in cost-effective management of HIV patients. For more information on these and other stories, go to ...
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Kansas providers unsure of Medicaid replacement
For many providers that accept Medicaid, the new privatized program that will manage health care services for the states poor and disabled citizens is full of uncertainty.
Pending various approvals, KanCare will go live on Jan.1, 2013, replacing the states current Medicaid system.
But the state is still waiting on federal approval of the program. At this time, there is no indication the state will not obtain federal approval from the Department of Health and Human Services by the Jan. 1, 2013, implementation, according to an official at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.Under the new system, state Medicaid recipients will be assigned to one of three corporate providers, called managed care organizations. Amerigroup, UnitedHealth Care and Sunflower State Health Plan, a subsidiary of Centene, are all Fortune 500 companies with headquarters in other states.
State officials said they expect Medicaid participants will start to receive enrollment packets for the new system sometime in November.
Managed care is a growing trend throughout the U.S. All states except three enroll Medicaid beneficiaries in some kind of managed care program, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation 2011 survey.
Kansas already uses two managed care companies, UniCare and Coventry, for HealthWave, which provides low-cost insurance for uninsured children and qualifying parents, according to the KDHE.
Nearly all of Kansas 380,000 Medicaid recipients will be placed under the three managed care organizations under KanCare. The Brownback administration has said the new program will not cut benefits, limit enrollment or lower provider compensation rates but will save the state $1billion over the next five years.
Alex Melugin, an administrator for Phoenix Home Care, is concerned that many patients will lose their targeted case managers, who work to make sure people are signed up and authorized to use Medicaid under the new plan. The three companies will now be in charge of those tasks, and Melugin said its unclear how helpful the companies will be if they dont have any incentive to get people signed up.
Although Melugin said his companys reimbursement amounts will stay the same for now, he said that the word from providers in other states is that some managed care organizations reduce the number of approved hours to be spent with patients if the company thinks those extra hours are unnecessary, and that could mean less revenue for the providers.
One of our concerns is if what happened in other states happens here, but I dont think it will happen overnight, Melugin said. We are afraid they will cut approved hours down.
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Health care changes in Ajax, Pickering can't mean fewer key services
Provincial governments for years have complained about the ballooning cost of providing health care.
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Health care changes in Ajax, Pickering can't mean fewer key services
Health IT Testing Program Will Enable Health Data Sharing For More Than Half Of U.S. Patients And Their Providers
NEW YORK, Oct. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --More than half the U.S. population and their health care providers could soon have access to health data shared across multiple states and systems. A public-private partnership of states, public agencies, federally-funded health information exchanges (HIEs) and health information technology (HIT) companies has established a program to test and certify electronic health records (EHRs) and other health IT to enable reliable transfer of data within and across organizational and state boundaries.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120816/NE58665LOGO)
High costs, technical differences and long wait times for interface development are barriers to sharing health data among health care providers and across state lines. The coalition of 15 states, 37 technology vendors and 34 HIEs, representing more than 50 percent of the U.S. population, has created a robust, highly automated testing program to verify that, once tested, a system is capable of exchanging health information with many other systems. With this testing, a single set of standardized, easy-to-implement connections can support communication among systems.
The effort is being jointly led by the EHR/HIE Interoperability Workgroup, a New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC)-led consortium of states and vendors; and Healtheway, the newly formed public-private partnership of the eHealth Exchange, a network of 34 public and private organizations representing hundreds of hospitals, thousands of providers and millions of patients across the country.
This effort will build on and accelerate consensus on national standards, adopting EHR certification criteria and testing procedures as relevant and finalized for Stage 2 of meaningful use. Members of both groups will continue to provide feedback from these real-world implementations to the national health IT standard setting initiativesestablished by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).
"Today's announcement brings together several activities supported by ONC over the past years: a core set of national standards, an Accredited Certification Body, the Public-private partnership that has emerged from the Nationwide Health Information Network Exchange, and the convening power of New York and other State Health Information Exchange grantees," said Dr. Farzad Mostashari, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. "We look forward to working with this consortium to continue progress on interoperability and secure health information exchange, and to reflect what is learned in national standards as necessary."
The coalition selected the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT), the most experienced HIT certification organization in the U.S., to carry out the testing. As the compliance testing body, CCHIT will certify that the interfaces between the HIT and HIEs are consistent across multiple states and systems. CCHIT is also an Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) authorized certification body and is an accredited testing laboratory for EHRs. CCHIT is collaborating withAEGIS.neton the testing software, which is being developed under an open source license.
"The collaboration between the states and vendors to address a shared marketplace gap and work toward a mutual vision has been one of the remarkable aspects of this effort," said David Whitlinger, Executive Director of NYeC. "And momentum is building within both communities as states grow their HIE networks by working with the EHR and HIE vendors to provide seamless integration and clinical workflow, taking the market to a new level for the benefit of patients."
"The testing program Healtheway has developed with NYeC is the key to realizing secure and interoperable exchange of health information across organizational and geographic boundaries," said Michael Matthews, Healtheway President and Board Chair. "The launch of a compliance testing program will enable the eHealth Exchange to more than double participation and connectivity over the next 9 to 12 months."
Realizing that merging efforts with other states would create economies of scale and provide the vendor community with a single, consistent set of specifications, NYeC created the EHR/HIE Interoperability Workgroup last year. Over the course of 18 months, the group has developed technical and test specifications to address the major use cases of interoperable exchange. Around the same time, plans took shape to transition the NwHIN Exchange to function outside the federal government as a public-private network, now called the eHealth Exchange. To expand nationwide HIE, Healtheway and NYeC formed a strategic partnership to enable technology systems, public and private providers and health information organizations (HIOs) to have access to more efficient testing.
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