Islands Insider : National Geographic captures Philippines

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Asia, Philippines By melo on May 31, 2012 1:48 pm

International television channel, National Geographic, is set to feature the Philippines through Islands Insider, a Filipino-produced 6-part documentary series that seeks to reveal cultural and historical insights on some of the countrys world-class destinations, which include the Batad Rice Terraces in Mountain Province, Coron in Palawan, Taal and Anilao in Batangas, Siquijor, and Mt. Pulag in Benguet.

El Nido in Palawan

Produced by The Extra Mile Productions, with support from the Department of Tourism (DOT), Islands Insider presents the Philippines in a different perspective and deviates from traditional travel shows by featuring stories as narrated by the locals, highlighting issues beyond the breathtaking sights, and delivering a strong preservation and conservation message.

In a special screening held last May 21, 2012 at Greenbelt 3, members of the press, blogging community, and tourism stakeholders enjoyed a two-episode preview of the Islands Insider: Batad Rice Terraces and Coron. Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez also graced the screening and expressed his delight as a partner of the project.

This project came as a surprise because I was not yet the Secretary when this was conceptualized. This being a part of National Geographic means that the beautiful sights of your country are part of the world, not just part of the Philippines, and the days will come that we will have to share it with the rest of the world. We want you to see it first, we want you to protect it, before they all come rushing in, Secretary Jimenez said during his opening remarks.

Islands Insider is a title befitting the documentarys theme and in-depth look at the communities, as the featured locals the Ifugaos, Ibaloys, and Shamans in Siquijor were allowed to speak for themselves and their culture. Insider connotes a point of truth that an outsider would not know, according to the producers.

The first episode of the 6-part series, which will feature the Batad Rice Terraces, is targeted to premiere in the third week of June on National Geographic Channel. Islands Insider is directed by Gabby Malvar and hosted by Ginggay Hontiveros, both executive producers of The Extra Mile Productions.

As the Department of Tourism endeavors to boost the countrys tourism potential and elicit renewed enthusiasm for the new campaign, it hopes that this project will encourage more Filipinos to explore the Philippines, participate in preserving its rich cultural and historical heritage, and promote it to the rest of the world.

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Islands Insider : National Geographic captures Philippines

Fitch Affirms Virgin Islands WAPA Sr Lien Bonds at 'BB' & Sub Lien Bonds at 'BB-'; Outlook Negative

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ratings on the following Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) bonds and removed the bonds from Rating Watch Negative:

--$156.47 million senior lien bonds at 'BB'; --$109.34 million subordinate lien bonds at 'BB-'.

The resolution of the Rating Watch primarily reflects the authority's improved near-term liquidity, following the sale of $69.14 million electric system bonds in April, with a portion of the proceeds used to repay working capital lines of credit and reduce the amount of an outstanding term loan. Fitch previously assigned the authority's $17.39 million electric system revenue refunding bonds series 2012A (tax-exempt) a rating of 'BB' and the $51.75 million electric system subordinated revenue bonds series 2012B (federally taxable) and 2012C (federally taxable) a rating of 'BB-'.

The Rating Outlook on the outstanding bonds is Negative, which takes into account Fitch's continuing concerns about the authority's longer-term ability to address its high operating costs, increased leverage and more limited financial flexibility.

SECURITY

The senior bonds are secured by net electric revenues and certain other funds while the subordinated bonds are secured by net electric revenues on a subordinate lien basis. Lines of credit are junior to the payment of all obligations under the senior and subordinated resolutions. Debt service reserve funds are available for both series of bonds. The senior and subordinated bonds are not subject to cross-default provisions.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF RISK FACTORS: WAPA's financial ratios have declined significantly in recent years, due to higher oil costs, a softer economy, an increased dependence on short-term debt and growing sums due from the Water System. The 2012 bond financing and moderation of fuel prices lessens near-term financial liquidity concerns, but the ability of WAPA to consistently meet its financial obligations and stabilize its fiscal position remains uncertain.

EXPOSURE TO OIL: The authority's generating plants are oil-fired, limiting the system's operating and financial flexibility. HOVENSA's decision to close its St. Croix oil refinery and end oil deliveries to the authority by year end 2012 will necessitate a change in oil suppliers; this is currently being addressed by senior management through a request for qualifications process to secure fuel supply by Jan. 1, 2013.

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Fitch Affirms Virgin Islands WAPA Sr Lien Bonds at 'BB' & Sub Lien Bonds at 'BB-'; Outlook Negative

Britain's best islands: Readers' feedback

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Ailsa James, by email

Anglesey - a place of mystery

Reading your article on Great British Islands, I was pleased to discover Anglesey amongst the top 10. Nodding enthusiastically over the authors description of the islands rugged cliffs, I recalled how it felt to walk along the edges of that same land.

Anglesey has always been a special place to me. Part of my family moved there when I was a child, and my visits are often a mix of the familiar and the strange. During one trip to the island, a friend described this feeling to me as being in a thin place, a place where the veil between the known and unknown is thinner.

My first trip to the Blue Flag Llanddona beach epitomised this feeling. Located at the eastern edge of Red Wharf Bay, Llanddonas long sandy beach is soaked in mystery, with tales of shipwrecked wanderers settling on the shores. When I visited I saw a woman leading a horse through the pebbles, and the sea was so calm it could have been a photograph. To me, Anglesey evokes a sense of wonder and peace that comes from more than the view it is born in the air and lives in the soil. Helen Cocker, by email

West Highlands peninsula

I really want to query the lack of mention of one of the most accessible yet exciting parts of the British Isles, the Ardnamurchan peninsula in the West Highlands. I admit it takes a day to get there and a ferry ride, but take it easy and stay in such gems as the Crianlarich Hotel or the Fox and Hounds pub in Cotherstone. Explore gently on the way up and enjoy clean hotels, excellent food and stunning scenery. OK, perhaps the two hour last few miles on single track roads will put you off, but you may see seals, otters, numerous RSPB treasured birds and of course, deer. Last time we were near loch Mudle we were eyeballed by over 40 deer. If you love walking, scenery and wildlife and the best fish restaurant ever (Caf Fish) go quickly before the rest of the world descends on it. Pippa Brown, by email

Isle of Man omission

Having read the article on "Islands" in last Saturday's Travel Section, I feel that, once again, you have left out one of the islands with much to offer, the Isle of Man. This is a place with beautiful glens and beaches, good walking, including a 90 mile circumnavigation of the island and other long and shorter walks. There is an integrated transport system which is run by the Government and covers steam railway, electric railway and buses. This is not only a place for the motorcycle enthusiast but has a great deal to offer the traveller, culturally and for leisure. As it is set in the middle of the Irish Sea, it is easily accessible by ferry from both sides, there are also good connections by air. All sorts of accommodation are available from hotels to campsites. If the publication of this letter encourages anyone to visit the Island, I am sure that they will not be disappointed. Robert Faragher, by email

As a committed island lover I really lapped up Nick Cranes article. Our daughter, from a young age, has always been adamant that an island is only an island if you can stand and see all the way round it. I cant go along with that, but am equally adamant that the only way to arrive on an island is by boat. I had a real tussle with my husband when we visited Skye (possibly the most beautiful place on the planet) and had to compromise by arriving by ferry and coming back over the bridge.

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Britain's best islands: Readers' feedback

Patents will not be granted to inventions that result from human embryo destruction, IPO says

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The IPO said it was changing its approach to the consideration for patentability of inventions in the human genetics field following a recent interpretation of EU laws by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

In October last year the ECJ ruled that, under the terms of the EU Biotech Directive, inventions are said to have used human embryos if they require human embryos to be destroyed at any stage, including "long before the implementation of the invention", and even if the claims for the invention do not mention any use of human embryos at all, the IPO said.

The Biotech Directive states that an element isolated from the human body can be protected by a patent even if the structure of that element is identical to that of a natural element and its industrial application is disclosed in the patent. The Biotech Directive further states that "uses of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes" shall be considered unpatentable.

The IPO updated its guidance on inventions involving human embryonic stem cells on the basis of the ECJ's findings. It said that because the UK's Patents Act implements the Biotech Directive, that the ECJ's interpretation of provisions of that Directive was binding on it.

"The Office practice will now recognise that where the implementation of an invention requires the use of cells that originate from a process which requires the destruction of a human embryo, the invention is not patentable according to [the Patents Act]," it said. "For example, where the implementation of the invention requires the use of a human embryonic stem cell line the establishment of which originally required the destruction of a human embryo, the invention is not patentable."

The IPO said that inventions that involve human stem cells that do not emanate from human embryos can still be patented, providing they "satisfy the normal requirements for patentability" and that the ECJ's ruling had also "confirmed that inventions that are for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes that are applied to and useful to the human embryo are not excluded from patentability."

The ECJ had been ruling on the meaning of the term 'human embryo' in its case last year. It said that any organism that is "capable of commencing the process of development of a human being" should be considered a human embryo and gave examples where both fertilised and non-fertilised human ovums would be said to constitute human embryos. It also left it to national courts to decide "in light of scientific developments" whether a stem cell obtained at the blastocyst stage, which is a very early stage of development, constitutes a human embryo within the meaning of the Biotech Directive.

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Patents will not be granted to inventions that result from human embryo destruction, IPO says

Odds of quitting smoking affected by genetics

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Public release date: 30-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: NIDA Press Team media@nida.nih.gov 301-443-6245 NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Genetics can help determine whether a person is likely to quit smoking on his or her own or need medication to improve the chances of success, according to research published in today's American Journal of Psychiatry. Researchers say the study moves health care providers a step closer to one day providing more individualized treatment plans to help patients quit smoking.

The study was supported by multiple components of the National Institutes of Health, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Human Genome Research Institute, the National Cancer Institute, and the Clinical and Translational Science Awards program, administered by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

"This study builds on our knowledge of genetic vulnerability to nicotine dependence, and will help us tailor smoking cessation strategies accordingly," said NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D. "It also highlights the potential value of genetic screening in helping to identify individuals early on and reduce their risk for tobacco addiction and its related negative health consequences."

Researchers focused on specific variations in a cluster of nicotinic receptor genes, CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4, which prior studies have shown contribute to nicotine dependence and heavy smoking. Using data obtained from a previous study supported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, researchers showed that individuals carrying the high-risk form of this gene cluster reported a 2-year delay in the median quit age compared to those with the low-risk genes. This delay was attributable to a pattern of heavier smoking among those with the high risk gene cluster. The researchers then conducted a clinical trial, which confirmed that persons with the high-risk genes were more likely to fail in their quit attempts compared to those with the low-risk genes when treated with placebo. However, medications approved for nicotine cessation (such as nicotine replacement therapies or bupropion) increased the likelihood of abstinence in the high risk groups. Those with the highest risk had a three-fold increase in their odds of being abstinent at the end of active treatment compared to placebo, indicating that these medications may be particularly beneficial for this population.

"We found that the effects of smoking cessation medications depend on a person's genes," said first author Li-Shiun Chen, M.D., of the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. "If smokers have the risk genes, they don't quit easily on their own and will benefit greatly from the medications. If smokers don't have the risk genes, they are likely to quit successfully without the help of medications such as nicotine replacement or bupropion."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States. Smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke results in more than 440,000 preventable deaths each year -- about 1 in 5 U.S. deaths overall. Another 8.6 million live with a serious illness caused by smoking. Despite these well-documented health costs, over 46 million U.S. adults continue to smoke cigarettes.

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The study can be found at: http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=1169679. For information on tobacco addiction, go to: http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/tobacco-addiction-nicotine. For more information on tools and resources to help quit smoking, go to: http://www.smokefree.gov/.

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Genetics Society of America Announces Travel Award Winners

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Newswise BETHESDA, MD May 30, 2012 The Genetics Society of America (GSA) is pleased to announce the selection of six graduate students and seven postdoctoral researchers as recipients of the DeLill Nasser Awards for Professional Development in Genetics. Each of these early-career geneticists receives a $1,000 travel award to attend a national or international meeting or to enroll in a laboratory course of their choice that will enhance their career.

These awards are named in honor of DeLill Nasser (1929-2000), a long-time GSA member who was instrumental in promoting genetics research, championing the genome sequencing of Arabidopsis and research in Drosophila during her 22 years with the National Science Foundation. She was particularly supportive of young scientists, those at the beginning of their careers, and those trying to open new areas of genetic inquiry.

GSA Executive Director Adam Fagen, PhD, said we are honored to support the future of genetics through these awards, especially in recognizing an individual who played such an important role in guiding the discipline and ensuring its continued vitality. There are no more important investments we can make than in the graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who will be leaders in genetics in the decades to come.

The six graduate student recipients and the meetings they will attend are:

Guangbo Chen (Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO), Experimental Approaches to Evolution and Ecology using Yeast Meeting, October 17-21, 2012, EMBL Heidelberg, Germany.

Kathleen J. Dumas (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor), Keystone Meeting on Aging and Disease of Aging, October 22-27, 2012, in Tokyo, Japan.

Michael Eastwood (University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada), GSA Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology Meeting, July 31-August 5, 2012, Princeton, NJ.

Erik Lehnert (Stanford University, CA), International Coral Reef Symposium, July 9-15, 2012, Cairns, Australia.

Xin Li (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN), 10th International Conference on Zebrafish Development and Genetics, June 20-24, 2012, Madison, WI.

Daniel P. Rice (Harvard University, Boston, MA), First Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology, July 6-10, 2012, Ottawa, Canada.

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Health Care Sector Wrap

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The Health Care sector (XLV) showed little movement on a trading day that saw S&P 500 fall 0.2%.

While being down today, the ETF, as a proxy for sector performance, tracked closer to the overall market today than over the past month. Entering today's trading, XLV was down 4% over the last thirty trading days while the S&P 500 was down 6.6%.

Increasing 15.6% (+65 cents) to close at $4.81, Synta Pharmaceuticals (SNTA) was a major gainer in the sector. Today, 2.1 million shares traded hands. The stock traded in a range of $4.19 to $5.10. Shares price has risen 91 cents (23.3%) from $3.90 on May 23, 2012.

Osiris Therapeutics (OSIR) was one of the sector's big losers, as its price dropped 9.3% (-65 cents) to close at $6.33. 562,837 shares of the stock moved. The stock traded between $6.22 and $6.84. The stock has risen $1.63 (34.7%) over the last three months from a price of $4.70 on March 5, 2012.

BG Medicine (BGMD) rose 7.2% to close at $5.35, cross its 50-day moving average of $5.08 and 200-day moving average of $5.61.

MAP Pharmaceuticals (MAPP) rose 4.4% to close at $11.77, approaching its 50-day moving average of $12.37. It has also moved closer to its 200-day moving average of $14.03. Alexion Pharmaceuticals (BMRN) fell 1.2% to close at $90.57, moving closer to its 50-day moving average of $89.44. Also, the stock moved closer to its 200-day moving average of $34.95.

Utah Medical Products (UTMD) hit a new 52-week high today, reaching $34.10 to top the previous high of $33.71.

Shire Plc. (SHPGY) hit a new 52-week low today, hitting $83.88 to fall below the previous low of $85.60.

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Jump in health care complaints in Qld

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There's been a jump in the number of Queenslanders complaining about the quality of their health care.

Almost 2700 people lodged complaints with the independent health watchdog, the Health Quality and Complaints Commission (HQCC), in 2011 - up seven per cent on 2010.

The HQCC's annual snapshot has been released amid claims it is failing patients.

Independent MP Peter Wellington has referred medical misconduct allegations involving seven doctors in four Queensland hospitals to the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC).

He said there is strong evidence to suggest regulatory bodies, including the HQCC, are failing in their duties and allowing doctors accused of gross medical negligence to continue practising.

In releasing the 2011 snapshot, HQCC chief executive Cheryl Herbert said complaints about the quality of treatment were the most common (61 per cent).

'Complainants cited concerns about inadequate treatment or care, diagnosis, unexpected outcomes or complications, and wrong or inappropriate treatment,' she said in a statement.

Complaints about public hospitals far outstripped those for private hospitals (62 per cent to 9.5 per cent).

Doctors and dentists attracted the most complaints among registered healthcare practitioners.

Prof Herbert said they provided more complex, and therefore higher risk, services than other providers and patients often viewed them as the people primarily responsible for their healthcare.

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Jump in health care complaints in Qld

India Needs Doctors, Nurses, and Health Insurance

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As he tries to transform his Indian hospital company into an Asian regional health-care business, Malvinder Mohan Singh should have a natural advantage: low-cost Indian talent. Singh is chairman of Fortis Healthcare, the New Delhi-based company with a collection of medical-related businesses around the region, such as primary care clinics in Hong Kong and dental centers in Australia. On May 29, the company said it hopes to raise as much as $360 million through a Singapore listing of its regional operations.

Just as Indian IT services outsourcers leverage inexpensive workers in Bangalore to win customers worldwide, cant Fortis take advantage of the many doctors at its 66 hospitals in India and become a leader in medical outsourcing?

Not so, says Singh. When it comes to medicine, India isnt the superpower you might think it is. We dont have enough medical talent, he said during a recent visit to Hong Kong. Yes, India has 1.2 billion people and world-class medical education to be had. Still, many of the countrys top doctors leave to practice in the West. Its not just MDs in short supply, but many health-care professionals. We are not generating enough doctors, nurses, technicians in India, linked to what our needs are, he said. There is a pool and its very goodbut its not enough.

Thats just one of Indias problems of health care, which suffers in comparison to that of its Asian neighbor and rival, China. India has just six doctors per 10,000 people, while China has 14 per 10,000, says B. Kemp Dolliver, head of health-care research in Singapore with Religare Capital Markets. Both Asian giants are far behind such developed economies as the U.S., with 27 per 10,000, and Australia, with 30 per 10,000.

India lags in broader measures, too, most notably in health insurance. Less than 20 percent of Indians are covered by policies, says Singh. China has almost universal coverage, with 95 percent of the population covered by some sort of insurance, according to Jason Mann, head of China health-care equity research at Barclays in Hong Kong. China has made significant progress in just a few years, he says: In 2009, before the Chinese government launched its latest effort to expand coverage, just 40 percent of Chinese had health insurance. Health-care reform in China remains a work in progress, with the government looking to make coverage more comprehensive, while also opening the local hospital market to foreign investment. Chinas government needs to do this, says Mann, as millions of Chinese want better care. Their expectations are rising by the day, he says.

India, too, has a growing middle class, but the coalition government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has struggled to push through a range of significant economic reforms and is therefore hard-pressed to match Chinas moves in health care. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has an idea to address the brain drain: Last month he said the government will start requiring that Indian doctors going to the U.S. for advanced medical studies post a bond to ensure their return to the country. Only a few thousand Indian doctors go to the U.S. each year, though; meanwhile, India faces a major health-care infrastructure shortfall. There are just nine hospital beds per 10,000 people in India, compared with 41 per 10,000 in China.

Even with the Indian economy slowing and the government weak, some hope the country will make progress in closing the health-care gap with China. Fortis Healthcare boss Singh, for instance, sees experiments at the state level in India to offer health insurance to poor Indians. He predicts that many leading states will have some form of health insurance for their poorest citizens five years from now. Singh himself is targeting wealthier Indians, with Fortis moving into the market for private insurance.

Others are not as optimistic. Given the many other challenges Indias poor face, expanding health insurance coverage isnt going to top the agenda for the countrys politicians, says Dolliver. It doesnt strike me as one of the top three concerns that will move an election, he says. While there might be talk among policy makers about enacting some changes, anything dramatic is years away, Dolliver says. Many years away.

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India Needs Doctors, Nurses, and Health Insurance

Health Care Spending At Historically Low Growth Rates-The Question Is Why?

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According to a study published today by the Research Institute of PwC US, healthcare spending in the United States is expected to continue growing at a historically low rate into 2013, continuing the pattern of slower growth in medical costs the nation has been experiencing since 2009. The question is...why? A recent article by Forbes ...

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Health Care Spending At Historically Low Growth Rates-The Question Is Why?

Drugmakers Vowed to Campaign for Health Law, Memos Show

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By Drew Armstrong - 2012-05-31T18:51:16Z

Drugmakers led by Pfizer (PFE) Inc. agreed to run a very significant public campaign bankrolling political support for the 2010 health-care law, including TV ads, while the Obama administration promised to block provisions opposed by drugmakers, documents released by Republicans show.

The internal memos and e-mails for the first time unveil the industry's plan to finance positive TV ads and supportive groups, along with providing $80 billion in discounts and taxes that were included in the law. The administration has previously denied the existence of a deal involving political support.

The documents were released today by Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. They identify price controls under Medicare and drug importation as the key industry concerns, and show that former Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Kindler and his top aides were involved in drawing it up and getting support from other company executives.

As part of our agreement, PhRMA needs to undertake a very significant public campaign in order to support policies of mutual interest to the industry and the Administration, according to a July 14, 2009, memo from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. We have included a significant amount for advertising to express appreciation for lawmakers positions on health care reform issues.

The goal, the memo said, was to create momentum for consensus health care reform, help it pass, and then acknowledge those senators and representatives who were instrumental in making it happen and who must remain vigilant during implementation.

Republicans, including Representative Joe Pitts, of Pennsylvania, have been probing promises made during the March 2010 passage of the health law, with some arguing that political activity by the drugmakers in any agreement may cross an ethical line.

After promising transparency, the White House turned around and cut a secret deal with pharmaceutical companies, Pitts said today in a statement. Todays revelation about the $80 billion deal shows an administration that cared more about victory than reform.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz called the Republican probe a nakedly political taxpayer-funded crusade to hurt the presidents re-election campaign.

The committee has wasted time on investigations but has done almost nothing to move legislation that would create jobs or grow the economy, Schultz said today in an e-mail.

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More Americans Are Checking Prices Before Getting Health Care

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How much will that cost, doc?

Do you shop around for the best price on a visit to the doctor, a CT scan or surgery at a hospital? If so, it looks like you've got a little more company.

In the latest NPR-Thomson Reuters Health Poll we asked people across the country whether they size up the prices for care before making decisions. And, if so, how they do it. We put the same questions to more than 3,000 people back in September 2010, and we were curious to see how much had changed.

Right off the bat, we wanted to find out the proportion of households that included someone who had received health care services in the past year. About 81 percent of the households we asked in April had, virtually the same as the 80 percent we found in 2010.

Among the recent health care consumers, 16 percent said they'd looked for prices beforehand, compared with 11 percent who'd answered that way in the previous poll.

OK, so where do they turn for price info? The most common source is a doctor's office, cited by 50 percent of those households that had checked recently on prices. But, that was down 10 percentage points from 2010.

The second-most-popular source was insurance companies at about 49 percent. And insurers were big gainers since 2010, when only about 26 percent of the price checkers consulted them.

Most commonly, people got the information in person at about 53 percent. That's up a bit from 2010, when it ran 47 percent. As a shopping tool, the telephone dropped in popularity to 48 percent from 61 percent in 2010. Email and the Internet zoomed to 45 percent from 22 percent.

A solid majority of people who sought information found what they were looking for. Most said it was accurate, though the overall proportion on that score dropped to 86 percent from 98 percent in 2010.

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The Advisory Board Company to Highlight New Technology Capabilities that Support Accountable Care

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WASHINGTON, May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Advisory Board Company will describe its innovative use of health care data and introduce new technology capabilities to support Accountable Care Organizations at the Health Data Initiative (HDI) Forum III, also known as the Health Datapalooza, on June 5-6 at the Washington Convention Center.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110802/PH45999LOGO )

"We are excited to be among the diverse group of health care and technology leaders that is coming together to support health care data innovations at the third annual Health Datapalooza," said Aneesh Chopra, former U.S. Chief Technology Officer and current Senior Advisor, Health Care Technology Strategy at The Advisory Board Company. Mr. Chopra, who will attend the HDI Forum, added, "In the shift toward an accountable care payment landscape, The Advisory Board Company is at the forefront in helping hospitals and health systems improve quality, control costs, and optimize health care utilization through centralized population risk management. We look forward to inspiring discussion and new innovative solutions to improve our nation's health care system."

Matt Cinque, Managing Director of Performance Technologies at The Advisory Board Company, will join Atul Gawande and others at a breakout presentation at the HDI Forum entitled "Accountable Care Organizations: Using Data to Deliver Patient-Centered Care and Improve Population Health While Lowering Costs," in Room 103A from 1:30-4:30 pm EDT on Wednesday, June 6.

Mr. Cinque's presentation will highlight new functionality from The Advisory Board Company's Crimson (R) program that connects sophisticated population analytics with direct patient care. Specifically, the presentation will explain how leading hospitals and health systems can use Crimson to identify high-risk patients and support active and coordinated care management for these individuals, including at the point of care. By bringing together leading-edge analytic and workflow technologies developed in partnership with Milliman MedInsight and the University of Michigan, Crimson helps provider organizations secure new needed capabilities and bridge the often-siloed worlds of analysis and action.

"Payers have had solid population risk analytics for years," Mr. Cinque said, "but they have been unable to meaningfully inflect patient care and outcomes. Providers have a better chance of moving the dial, but only if they're able to connect these analytics to patient-level decisions and coordination. Crimson now offers hospitals and health systems that opportunity."

The session will include a reactor panel of Accountable Care Organizations and experts who will discuss the impact and value of Crimson.

In addition to the June 6 presentation, Mr. Cinque will provide insights from the firm's experiences impactfully leveraging CMS data. This discussion will be part of a breakout panel session entitled "How to Turn Data into Meaningful Information for Business Problems; Strategy, Practice and Games for Start Ups and Status Quos with Examples from CMS Data," in Room 101 from 1:30-5:30 pm EDT on Tuesday, June 5

Across the country, health care providers are utilizing The Advisory Board Company's Crimson suite of products, including a cohort focused specifically on leveraging Crimson to manage population risk more effectively. "Crimson services have played a strategic role in our ability to structure risk-based contracts with payers," said Charles Kelly, D.O., President and CEO, Henry Ford Physician Network, a physician-led subsidiary of Henry Ford Health System that focuses on delivering higher quality care while reducing medical costs through collaborative best practices, evidence-based medicine and improved efficiency. "Crimson has enabled us to understand and improve our performance on controlled populations and has given us the confidence to pursue additional risk-based contracts."

The Advisory Board Company is a global technology, research, and consulting firm partnering with 140,000 leaders in 3,700 organizations across health care and higher education. Through its Crimson offerings, The Advisory Board Company collaborates with health care providers dedicated to strengthening hospital-physician alignment, coordination among care settings, and overall clinical performance.

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11th International Conference on Preimplantation Genetics Diagnosis Welcome remarks Nicolas H. Zech – Video

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30-05-2012 10:32 Nicolas H. Zech, Congress President Where to next for PGD? From polar body to blastocyst -- the evolving genome Dear Colleagues! On behalf of the Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis International Society (PGDIS) we take great pleasure in inviting you to our biannually held 11th International Conference in Bregenz, Austria. The PGD Conference will address a much wider range of topics than PGD, as the recent developments in related areas may soon move PGD from a research tool to the basic procedure in reproductive medicine and genetic practices. First of all, the recent application of microarray technology and next generation sequencing may clearly improve the accuracy of PGD for genetic and chromosomal disorders, so array-CGH, SNP arrays, genome wide analysis and next generation sequencing for single cell analysis will be one of the major topics of the Conference. In addition some related theoretical issues, such as molecular aspects of meiosis and cell fate in the preimplantation embryo will be also addressed. On the other hand, because of increasing importance of clinical aspects of PGD, a number of Workshops will be organized on advance topics in clinical PGD, as well as a few debates on controversial issues in PGD, such as the optimal stage for performing biopsy procedures and reproductive outcome of preimplantation aneuploidy testing, prior to and after the application of 24-chromosome analysis, currently performed in a few dozens of thousands of cycles. As PGD is still ...

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11th International Conference on Preimplantation Genetics Diagnosis Welcome remarks Nicolas H. Zech - Video

Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital identify a genetic cause for CLOVES syndrome

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Public release date: 31-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Erin Tornatore erin.tornatore@childrens.harvard.edu 617-919-3110 Children's Hospital Boston

Boston, Mass. Using advanced technologies for rapidly sequencing and analyzing DNA from clinical and pathologic samples, a multidisciplinary research team consisting of geneticists, pathologists and surgeons at Boston Children's Hospital has identified the genetic basis for CLOVES syndrome, a rare congenital malformation and overgrowth disorder.

The discovery raises the hope that, for the first time, it will be possible to develop targeted medical treatments capable of delaying, reversing or possibly preventing CLOVES's debilitating consequences. Importantly, it also demonstrates the potential of advanced DNA sequencing technologies for identifying the underlying molecular roots of malformation disorders that are genetic but not hereditary.

The teamled by Matthew Warman, MD, director of the Orthopedic Research Laboratories at Boston Children's, and Kyle Kurek, MD, of the hospital's department of Pathology, and members of the hospital's Vascular Anomalies Centerreported the discovery today in the online edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Some 90 children worldwide have been diagnosed with CLOVES (which stands for Congenital Lipomatous Overgrowth, Vascular malformations, Epidermal nevis, Spinal/skeletal anomalies/scoliosis) since 2006, when the condition was first characterized by Boston Children's Ahmad Alomari, MD, and investigators at the National Institutes of Health. Alomari co-directs the Vascular Anomalies Center with Steven Fishman, MD, and John Mulliken, MD; all three are authors on the paper.

The clinical features of CLOVESin general a combination of fatty growths in the torso, vascular and skin anomalies, overgrowth in or deformities of limbs or extremities and spinal problems such as scoliosiscan vary greatly from child to child. Presently there is no cure for CLOVES, only surgical treatments aimed at alleviating symptoms or managing the syndrome's progression.

Until now, the exact nature of the genetic defect or defects that cause CLOVES has remained a mystery.

"CLOVES is dynamic, presenting itself in new ways all the time, even within the same patient," said Fishman, who with Alomari and others in the Vascular Anomalies Center has treated numerous children with CLOVES. "With this discovery we are optimistic that it will now be possible to develop treatments that take less of a shotgun approach and which could prevent the syndrome's progression."

The researchers started from the assumption that CLOVES is genetic but not inherited, because the syndrome always appears sporadically and is never passed from affected parents to their children; nor do the parents of affected children show signs of the syndrome.

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Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital identify a genetic cause for CLOVES syndrome

Success Of Quitting Smoking Hinges On Genetic Variations

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May 31, 2012

Connie K. Ho for RedOrbit.com

Nature versus nurture has always been a highly debated question in the sciences. This discussion has been seen in a research project focused on smoking, where scientists determined that genetics can play a role in how patients respond to treatments. Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine found that genes can show how smokers will respond to medication to quit the habit; they found that gene variations that make it difficult to stop smoking will also make smokers respond to nicotine-replacement therapy and treatments.

The study, published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, found that it could be possible to predict how patients respond to drug treatments for smoking cessation in the future based on the gene variations.

Smokers whose genetic makeup puts them at the greatest risk for heavy smoking, nicotine addiction and problems kicking the habit also appear to be the same people who respond most robustly to pharmacologic therapy for smoking cessation, explained senior investigator Dr. Laura Jean Bierut, a professor of psychiatry, in a prepared statement. Our research suggests that a persons genetic makeup can help us better predict who is most likely to respond to drug therapy so we can make sure those individuals are treated with medication in addition to counseling or other interventions.

In the experiment, the scientists looked at data from 5,000 smokers who were involved in community-based studies as well as another 1,000 smokers who participated in a project focused on clinical treatment. The researchers examined the connection between participants ability to quit smoking successfully and genetic variations that had been related to dependence on nicotine and a habit of obsessively smoking. They found an interesting set of results in regards to those who had high-risk genetic markers.

People with the high-risk genetic markers smoked an average of two years longer than those without these high-risk genes, and they were less likely to quit smoking without medication, noted first author Dr. Li-Shiun Chen, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Washington University, in the statement.

Individuals who showed high-risk genetic variants in the clinical trial were three times more likely to respond to drug therapies that were designed to help people quit smoking.

The same gene variants can predict a persons response to smoking-cessation medication, and those with the high-risk genes are more likely to respond to the medication, continued Chen in the statement.

Both Bierut and Chen believe the findings show that the genetic variations can help explain why smokers may be addicted to nicotine, as they studied the same genes that determined heavy response and an intense response to nicotine-dependence treatments.

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Success Of Quitting Smoking Hinges On Genetic Variations