Beijing (China Daily/ANN) - Tokyo's sensationalising of the Diaoyu Islands issue will stir up nationalism within the country and help more right-wing politicians win seats in parliament, which will inevitably cast a long-term shadow over China-Japan ties, analysts warned.
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More than 54,000 wild birds, including critically endangered species, were laundered through the Solomon islands into the global wildlife trade between 2000 and 2010, a wildlife group said Tuesday.
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16-07-2012 21:25 - Standing with Nancy Pelosi for health care, and voting to raise energy costs, Shelley Berkley is in the wrong corner for small business and Nevada taxpayers. Sign the petition for policies that will support small businesses and lower costs for Nevada -
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Shelley Berkley, In the Wrong Corner for Small Businesses in Nevada - Video
BLOOMFIELD, Conn. & DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Cigna (CI) and New West Physicians, P.C., a large physician group in Denver, have launched a collaborative accountable care initiative to expand patient access to health care, improve care coordination, and achieve the triple aim of improved health outcomes (quality), lower total medical costs and increased patient satisfaction. Collaborative accountable care is Cigna's approach to accomplishing the same population health goals as accountable care organizations, or ACOs.
Accountable care is a variation on the patient-centered medical home model of health care that rewards primary care doctors for improved outcomes and lower medical costs.
The number one priority of our physicians is to help our patients stay healthy so they can live their lives to their full potential, said Ruth Benton, chief executive officer at New West Physicians. This collaboration with Cigna is an opportunity to achieve the triple aim while delivering well-coordinated patient care that results in health improvement.
The program will benefit nearly 7,800 individuals covered by a Cigna health plan who receive care from among approximately 60 primary care physicians and 20 mid-level providers in 16 locations throughout the Denver Metro area. Individuals who are enrolled in a Cigna health plan and later choose to seek care from a New West physician will also have access to the benefits of the program.
New West Physicians will monitor and coordinate all aspects of an individuals medical care. Patients will continue to go to their current physician and will not need to take any action to receive the benefits of the program. There also are no changes in any plan requirements regarding referrals to specialists. Patients most likely to see the immediate benefits of the program are those who need help managing chronic conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease.
Cigna is committed to supporting New West Physicians efforts to put the patient at the center of its practice, with expanded access to care, better coordination of care, patient education about chronic conditions and wellness, and access to clinical programs for health improvement, said Mark Laitos, M.D., Cigna's senior medical director for Colorado. This is an important step toward creating a health care system that rewards physicians for the quality of care they provide rather than the number of procedures they perform.
Critical to the programs benefits are registered nurses, employed by New West Physicians, who serve as clinical care coordinators and help patients with chronic conditions or other health challenges navigate the health care system. The care coordinators enhance care by using patient-specific data provided by Cigna to identify patients being discharged from the hospital who might be at risk for readmission, as well as patients who may be overdue for important health screenings or who may have skipped a prescription refill. The care coordinators contact these individuals to help them get the follow-up care or screenings they need, identify any issues related to medications and help prevent chronic conditions from worsening.
The care coordinators also help patients schedule appointments, provide health education and refer patients to Cigna's clinical programs, such as disease management programs for diabetes, heart disease and other conditions; and lifestyle management programs, such as programs for tobacco cessation, weight management and stress management.
Cigna will compensate New West Physicians for the medical and care coordination services it provides. Additionally, the practice may be rewarded through a pay for performance structure if it meets targets for improving quality and lowering medical costs.
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New West Physicians, P.C. and Cigna Bring Accountable Care to Denver
By Lee Samaha - July 17, 2012 | Tickers: ABT, COV, ISRG, JNJ | 0 Comments
Lee is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.
Investors have been keen to bid up defensive sectors recently but one stock seems to have been left behind in the rush. Tyco spinoff Covidien (NYSE: COV) appears to be unloved by the market, yet its mix of stable single digit revenue growth plus double digit earnings growth and high cash flow generation is quite compelling.
Moreover, the future spinoff of its low growth pharmaceuticals division will allow the management to fully focus on medical devices. Reductions in headcount and facilities over the last few years have generated operational efficiencies that have led to margin improvement. This company is well run, it trades at a discount to its peers and I think it's well worth a look for risk adverse investors.
Covidien Offers a Mixed Growth Opportunity
In this article I am going to focus on medical devices. A graphic depiction of Covidiens offerings by product line reveals the mixed performance over the last few years.
Whilst Soft Tissue Repair and Airway & Ventilation growth has been hard to come by, Vascular and in particular Energy growth has been strong. Oximetry & Monitoring and Endomechanical growth has slowed this year. The company is currently tracking ahead of its internal 2-5% overall growth for medical devices but it has been clear in articulating that headwinds would get stronger in the second half. In addition there is one less trading week this year.
Endomechanical and Energy Products are Driving Growth
Together these product lines make up 46.8% of medical device sales, and Energy has consistently generated double digit revenue returns in recent years. Endomechanical and Energy devices in surgical procedures are increasingly being used in a drive to shift surgical procedures from open toward minimally invasive surgery (MIS). The big advantage of MIS is that it tends to lead to better patient outcomes, which in turn creates shorter hospital stays and less post-surgery complications. Both of which reduce hospital costs.
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CHICAGO, July 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Long term care liability loss rates and claim severity reached an eight-year high and are expected to grow steadily in 2013 against a backdrop of health care provider budget constraints and uncertainty about health care reform, according to Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management business of Aon plc (AON). This finding is illustrated in the 2012 Aon Long Term Care General Liability and Professional Liability Actuarial Analysis, released July 12 in partnership with the American Health Care Association.
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Since 2005, the annual loss rate (liability costs relative to occupied long term care beds) has grown from $1,040 to a projected $1,480 in 2012 and is expected to increase again in 2013 to $1,540, according to the report based on 19,500 individual claims from long term care facilities. Claim severity (claim size) also has grown from a low of $109,000 per claim in 2005 to a projected $168,000 per claim in 2012 and $175,000 in 2013. Claim severity and loss rates have been growing consistently since 2009 at a rate of 4 percent annually, even though claim frequency has been stable since 2008.
"Long term care and skilled nursing centers strive to provide quality care each day, but they also must find ways to cope with the ever-increasing cost of doing business and multiple rounds of funding reductions at the state and federal level. This report underscores the need to continue to utilize tools like voluntary arbitration agreements, a cost-effective option for long term care providers and their residents to resolve legal disputes," said Governor Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of AHCA/NCAL.
Liability and the Long Term Care Profession Long term care providers faced high loss rates in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Over the years, they answered this challenge by reinvesting in patient safety, developing liability defenses, advocating for limits on tort damages and implementing arbitration. While these efforts helped providers control the growth of liability costs, reductions in Medicare reimbursement rates and health care reform have had an impact on long term care provider revenue and budgets.
"With reduced revenue, providers may have difficulties funding expansion and improvements, maintaining facilities and hiring and training qualified caregivers," said Christian Coleianne, associate director and actuary at Aon Global Risk Consulting. "These competing priorities have the potential to impact liability costs. By providing access to this invaluable data, we are enhancing our clients' ability to better understand and more effectively manage these risks."
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act encourages closer coordination of care with additional health care providers with the expectation of reduced costs. Interaction between long term care providers and dependence on other health care providers may increase exposure as the new system is expected to operate at a lower cost.
Loss Rates by State State laws and the state judiciary have a tremendous influence on liability costs. As a result, state loss rates vary considerably. For example, tort limits on awards are constitutionally prohibited in Kentucky, which has the highest loss rate in this study ($5,120 per bed for 2012). In contrast, Texas amended its constitution to protect its tort limits and has the lowest projected loss rate ($320 per bed for 2012).
"Malpractice costs and the tort environment are often major considerations in the decision to locate and invest in long term care beds and services in a specific state," said Dom Colaizzo, chairman of the National Health Care Practice for Aon Risk Solutions. "This ultimately affects the supply of beds and cost to seniors and their families in a marketplace where demand is growing for senior care and constrained by reduced reimbursements."
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Aon forecasts eight-year high for long term care liability loss rates, claim severity
For Gov. Rick Perry, saying "no" to the federal health care law could also mean turning away up to 1.3 million Texans, nearly half the uninsured people who could be newly eligible for coverage in his state.
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Public release date: 17-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News
New Rochelle, NY, July 16, 2012A small, naturally occurring nucleic acid sequence, called a microRNA, known to regulate a number of different cancers, appears to alter the activity of the androgen receptor, which plays a critical role in prostate cancer. Directly targeting microRNA-125b to block androgen receptor activity represents a novel approach for treating castrate-resistant prostate cancer. This promising new strategy for improving the effectiveness of anti-androgenic and other hormonal therapies is described in an article in BioResearch Open Access, a new bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.. The article is available free online at the BioResearch Open Access website.
Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer affecting men and the second most common cause of cancer death among men. In the article "miR-125b Regulation of Androgen Receptor Signaling Via Modulation of the Receptor Complex Co-Repressor NCOR2," Xiaoping Yang, Lynne Bernis, Lih-Jen Su, Dexiang Gao, and Thomas Flaig, University of Colorado Denver (Aurora) and University of Minnesota (Duluth), looked for targets of microRNA-125b that might shed light on its role in regulating prostate cancer and found that it directly inhibits NCOR2, which acts to repress the androgen receptor. The authors point out that "the androgen receptor is a critical therapeutic target in prostate cancer" and that alterations in the receptor are essential for the development of castrate-resistant prostate cancer, in which the disease no longer responds to hormonal therapies.
"This research provides new insight into the mechanism of miR-125b regulation of castrate-resistance prostate cancer through the identification of a novel target for miR-125b," says Editor-in-Chief Jane Taylor, PhD, MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. "The clinical implications of this study are that targeted regulation of this miRNA may lead to more effective anticancer therapies."
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About the Journal
BioResearch Open Access is a bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal that provides a new rapid-publication forum for a broad range of scientific topics including molecular and cellular biology, tissue engineering and biomaterials, bioengineering, regenerative medicine, stem cells, gene therapy, systems biology, genetics, biochemistry, virology, microbiology, and neuroscience. All articles are published within 4 weeks of acceptance and are fully open access and posted on PubMedCentral. All journal content is available online at the BioResearch Open Access website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., 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 Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells and Development, Human Gene Therapy and HGT Methods, and AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. 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.
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With some help from the community, Freedom Work Opportunities of Highland could become the owner of a brand new car, courtesy of Toyota's 100 Cars for Good program.
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July 16, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom TRAVERSE CITY,MI-The Florence Freedom returned to action Monday night after having the day off on Sunday. They began a pivotal three game series with the first place Traverse City Beach Bums who led the Freedom by 6 games when the night began. By the time the game ended, the Beach Bums(35-17) extended their lead to 7, with a 5-4 opening series win at Wuerfel Park over the Freedom(28-24).
Peter Fatse led the Freedom going 2-5 with 2 RBI's as it was his single in the 1st inning that scored John Malloy to give the Freedom a 1-0 lead. Alec Lewis, made his return to the rotation after being sidelined for 14 days with a foot injury. He recorded a 1-2-3 1st inning, however he couldn't build off that momentum. He surrendered one of his three homeruns in the 2nd inning as Chase Burch hammered one over the left field wall to tie the game at 1-1. The Beach Bums took the lead later in the inning after Lewis was called for a balk scoring Jeff Flagg from third base.
In the 4th inning, Drew Rundle led of the frame with his 6th homerun of the season to tie the game at 2-2. Then in the 5th, the Freedom recaptured the lead. With two outs and Junior Arrojo at second base after a single and a steal, Eddie Rodriguez lined a double to the outfield scoring Arrojo giving the Freedom their last lead of the night at 3-2. The Beach Bums responded with a three run inning of their own. They got back to back homers from Sean Gusrang and Travis Higgs to open the inning, and then Brian Heere singled home a run to put the Beach Bums ahead 5-3. Lewis(2-6) took the loss, after going 4 innings, giving up 9 hits, and 5 earned runs while striking out two. The big problem in his return was allowing three homeruns.
The Freedom scored their last run in the 7th as Fatse lined a double scoring Malloy all the way from first base. It was Fatse's second straight multiple RBI game. The Freedom had a chance at tying the game, with runners on the corers with two outs, but Rundle grounded into an inning ending fielder's choice. The Freedom left 10 men on base, as they dropped their 2nd in a row and 5th in the last 6 games.
The Freedom will attempt to even up the 3 game series at a game apiece on Tuesday night. Righty Sean Gregory(4-3, 3.65) will start for the Freedom, as lefty Bennett Whitmore(3-2 4.15) goes for Traverse City. Tuesday's game can be heard with Steve Jarnicki starting at 6:50 pm on Real Talk 1160 and realtalk1160.com.
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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Michael Mbiduka, a caregiver with Freedom Home Care since February of 2007, has been nominated by Freedom Home Care with hopes that he will become a nominee for Caregiver of the Year at the 2012 NPDA Leadership Conference.Highland Park, IL (PRWEB) July 17, 2012 Michael Mbiduka, a caregiver with Freedom Home Care since February of 2007, has been nominated by Freedom Home Care with hopes that he ...
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Freedom Home Care Submits Nomination for NPDA Caregiver of the Year
A Toronto computer engineering professor known for augmenting his body with various cyborg-like computing devices has been attracting media attention after he reported on his blog that staff at a McDonald's restaurant in Paris tried to pull his digital glasses off his head.
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McDonald's staff took offence to digital glasses, Toronto cyborg says
We don't know what is so complicated about not unnecessarily provoking the wrath of cyborgs, but some French McDonald's employees couldn't help themselves. Steve Mann, a University of Toronto professor who wears augmented reality glasses that are surgically connected to his skull and who is known as the "world's first cyborg," was assaulted and thrown out of a Paris McDonald's earlier this month. Real smart, guys. Don't call us when Mann's cyborg army blitzkriegs your sorry asses.
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No shirt. No shoes. No augmented reality glasses. No service. Earlier this month, human cyborg and University of Toronto Professor Steve Mann, claims he was brutalized and kicked out of a Paris McDonald’s after employees objected to his headset and its ability to record photos and videos of his experiences.
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Human Cyborg: McDonald’s Employees Assaulted Me For Wearing My Gear
We thank the Bangor Daily News for its interest in the clean-water work of Environment Maine and the Natural Resources Defense Council, as outlined in the July 11 editorial Pull on the bikini and enjoy Maines clean beaches. We share the hope that Mainers will get out and enjoy the great beaches in the state this summer, and were working to make sure theyre informed about potential health risks when they do.
When beach water is contaminated with viruses, bacteria and other pathogens, it can make people sick if they swim. NRDCs report Testing the Waters summarizes data provided by states about beach closings and swimming advisories and sampling done to detect the presence of bacteria that indicate human or animal waste contamination. In 2011, approximately 9 percent of samples taken along Maines seashore were worse than the national recommended public health standard, which was slightly higher than the average contamination rate for the 30 coastal and Great Lakes states the report profiles.
Upon making the data public, Environment Maine and NRDC pointed out that the Maine Healthy Beaches program has been proactive in trying to identify sources of pollution to address beach contamination issues. And we highlighted that beach water is sampled near potential contamination sources a responsible practice, given that people swim in a variety of locations.
But we had constructive criticism for the program, which is that a beach advisory should be issued when a sample exceeds the relevant public health standard. Thats a precautionary approach to protect public health that is not routinely followed in Maine but is in other places. NRDCs report cites Georgia as one such state, for example.
We think its worth having a public conversation about Maines notification practices. We highlighted this issue because officials from Gov. LePages administration presented an incomplete picture of the safety of our beaches by emphasizing only how often beach advisories and closings were issued in 2011. Advisories and closings are not the best measure of beach water pollution, since the decision to issue them is a judgment call that looks at a variety of things. Indeed, if you take a comprehensive look at all of the water quality samples taken at the 50 Maine beaches that have monitored water quality in each of the last five years, the rate that bacterial levels exceeded the public health standard did not improve over the period.
Whats most important, however, is our agreement with the BDN that advocates and state and local officials need to work in partnership to address the key sources of beach pollution. We also need to push modernization of the health standards that are used for identifying contamination problems.
Because polluted runoff is the biggest known source of pollution that officials identify for swimming advisories or beach closings, state officials and the Environmental Protection Agency need to rigorously enforce existing clean water requirements to ensure that runoff is controlled using innovative solutions known as green infrastructure that enable communities to naturally absorb or use runoff before it causes problems. Smart green infrastructure policies, like linking stormwater fees to the amount of impervious area on a site as Portland recently advanced can help prevent water pollution that can put people, our coastal economies and our communities at risk.
In addition, EPA is revising the safety standards designed to protect swimmers from getting sick, but the agency needs to strengthen its weak proposed standards, which based on EPAs estimates of illness risks would make it acceptable for 1 in 28 swimmers to become ill. The proposed standards also do not adequately consider the risks of other health effects such as rashes and ear, eye and sinus infections, all of which are commonly experienced by swimmers at U.S. beaches.
This summer marks a critical time for all of us who care about and enjoy our beaches to call on EPA to do their job to protect public health and ensure that public health officials base closing and advisory decisions on the best science available.
Working together, we can clean up our great Maine beaches and give Mainers the information they need to protect themselves from getting sick.
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Fairfield's beaches on Long Island Sound re-opened for swimming this morning after the water was declared off-limits Monday because of heavy run-off from the Sunday night storm.
Swimming at Lake Mohegan, however, continues to be banned for a second day as a health precaution.
Town health officials close the public beaches for swimming whenever the level of bacteria in the water exceeds safe guidelines -- a condition likely to exist when heavy runoff from storms drains into swimming areas.
Check here -- http://www.fairfieldcitizenonline -- for updates later.
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Warm weather has brought the annual influx of those gelatinous marine animals known as jellyfish to the beaches of San Diego County.
Dozens of beach patrons have reported being stung by the creatures in recent days at beaches stretching from La Jolla Shores to Oceanside. The jellyfish venture close to shore in search of plankton to eat.
Folk remedies abound about alleviating the pain inflicted by the poisonous nettles. One common remedy is to douse the area with vinegar and then remove the nettles very carefully while wearing gloves.
Beachgoers beware: Even in death, a jellyfish can sting.
While it is no comfort to those who have stepped on orbrushed against a jellyfish,large numbers of jellyfish have been spotted at some of the world's glamour beaches of late, including the French Riviera, Spain's Costa del Sol and the sandy beaches of Australia.
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Beaches might not be the first thing that spring to mind when you think of Britain, but our coastline is worth exploring.
You don't have to venture far from home to find long stretches of sandy beach. Mainland Britain's coastline is over 11,000 miles long and as we Brits are never more than 70 miles from the sea, there really is no excuse not to head to the seaside this summer.
CLICK ON PHOTO FOR FULL GALLERY OF BRITAIN'S BEST BEACHES
And Britain's coast is on the up. This year the prestigious international Blue Flag award has been given to 79 British beaches - nine more than in 2011. The Blue Flag guarantees high levels of cleanliness, water quality and safety - blue flag beaches can be found dotted up and down the British coastline.
And with the weather set totake a turn for the better next week, there's no better time to pack a picnic, dig out your bucket and spade and hit Britain's best beaches.
Bamburgh, Northumberland Bamburgh is a vast stretch of 3 miles of white sand is surrounded by glossy, grassy dunes and is overlooked by the ancient Bamburgh Castle, an imposing castle perched on a basalt outcrop. What the beach lacks in sun-bathing opportunities and warm inviting waters, it makes up for with its spectacular setting and abundant surrounding nature birdwatchers, photographers, kite-flyers and fishermen alike will not be disappointed. Views from the beach extend to The Farne Islands on the North Sea and inland to the dramatic Northumberland moors.
Barafundle Bay, Pembrokeshire Surrounded by a nature reserve, Barafundle Bay might be the closest you'll get an exotic paradise in the UK. Its golden sands and clear waters can only be accessed by a cliff path which winds down to the beach through grassy dunes and picturesque pine trees. This award winning, pristine beach suits those with a sense of adventure - once you're there, you won't find any facilities which means it stays relatively quiet, even during the summer. Granny in tow?Visit one of the Pembrokeshire coasts many charming seaside towns instead such as medieval, walled Tenby.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Teaching modern astronomy with planetarium equipment that was built before astronauts landed on the moon is a tricky venture.
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Jul 17 2012 By David Moulton - North Wales Astronomy Society
Crescent Nebula
Without doubt it has been a difficult summer for Astronomy, not only the light nights, but the dreadful weather has put the handbrake on my pursuit of Astrophotography.
I did however manage just one night under the stars in the middle of June during a gap in the fronts coming in for m the Atlantic. The skies cleared that evening and stayed clear until dawn so I took full advantage and was up imaging until the dawn chorus.
The target for the night was a wide field view of NGC 6888 common name The Crescent Nebula. This object is located in The heart of the milky way in the constellation of Cygnus, I imaged this target in Natural colour several years ago now in close up (see image), but I have also been aware that the area is worth looking at in wide field as there is plenty going on. This wide field image was taken using my ED80 Refractor telescope using Narrowband filters in a cooled QSI 583 Astro camera. The resulting data on the night totalled 2.5hrs of exposure and has been colour mapped to the Hubble palette colours to produce the image
The Crescent is estimated to be 5000 light years distant and is an estimated 400,000 years old. The Nebula itself has been formed from material expelled from a dying Red Giant star; this material has fallen under the spell of the stellar wind emitting from a neighbouring Wolf- Rayet star, this interaction has resulted in the dramatic shock fronts seen in the Crescent Nebula. The wide field view does however illustrate just how active whole region is, showing large swirls of emission nebulosity that are present in the area.
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