PSI Announces New Leadership in Latin America

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ZUG, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

PSI CRO, a full service Contract Research Organization, known for predictable,on-timeenrollment and project delivery, announced today that Oscar Podesta has joined PSI as Head of Latin America. He holds a University degree in Biochemistry with sixteen years experience in research, a Fellowship in Clinical Microbiology and further specialization in Virology.

Prior to joining PSI, Mr. Podesta worked in the clinical research business field, working as a manager for central laboratory services and has held positions in Operations and Strategic Development at international CROs and SMOs in Latin America that have included clinical start up activities in the region.

We are very pleased to have Oscar join PSI at a time when we are expanding our operational presence in the region which is directly driven by a strong interest and demand from our clients worldwide, said Boris Iossel, Head of Project Management, The Americas. Oscar brings a wealth of experience and a clear understanding of specifics of growing a successful operation and understands the challenges of conducting high quality clinical studies in Latin America. Supported by our existing experienced clinical and regulatory teamat our regional headquarters in Buenos Aires, Oscar will lead our expansion, oversee opening more of our new offices and manage the continuing growth of our personnel across Latin American region.

Mr. Podesta has an active role in the clinical research market in Latin America, with participation in the Chamber of CROs (Brazil and Argentina) and Committee member of the Drug Information Association Latin American event. Lastly, Mr. Podesta is currently responsible for Fundraising and Marketing for a non-profit organization focused on Ethics and Quality in Clinical Research in Latin America (FECICLA).

Mr. Podesta stated, I am very excited with this opportunity. PSI has the strengths and resources to expand their business in the region and I am honored the company has considered me to lead this process. There is no doubt Latin America is a fertile ground for a patient recruitment centric international CRO like PSI.

About PSI CRO AG: PSI is a privately-held, full-service CRO, operating globally with 1,200 employees worldwide.Global headquarters are located in Zug, Switzerland at 113a Baarerstrasse 6300.

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PSI Announces New Leadership in Latin America

Innovative Enterprises Partners with PeopleAssessments To Provide Industry-Leading Assessment Solutions

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NEWPORT NEWS, Va., May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovative Enterprises, Inc., a strategic partner to the background screening industry and expert provider of court research information products, smart data solutions and ancillary services, today announced that it has partnered with PeopleAssessments.com to deliver industry-leading, science-based assessment solutions to the professional background screening community. Through this new partnership, Innovative's network of Screening Industry Partners gains immediate access to a comprehensive suite of best-in-class behavioral assessment solutions designed to empower employers to hire the very best candidates.

Solutions offered by PeopleAssessments are based upon more than 90 years of research and field practice by its principal scientists, Drs. Tom Janz, George Paajanen and John Callender. With over 140 million tests scored, more than 250,000 behavioral responses collected, hundreds of case studies and numerous biodata and ability scales developed, validated and administered around the world, PeopleAssessments' behavioral assessment products represent the cutting edge in science-based and empirically proven solutions designed to connect the right applicant to the right position.

"PeopleAssessments provides what is clearly the most advanced and scientifically validated set of assessment solutionsavailable," stated Clifford J. Williams, Innovative's Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "We are very pleased to partner with PeopleAssessments to bring enhanced value to our network of the industry's leading background screening professionals."

"We are very excited to begin our partnership with Innovative and their network of Screening Industry Partners. Given the recent updates in the background screening industry's best practice guidelines, we anticipate many employers looking for validated screening instruments to complement their recruitment processes. This timely offering will provide Screening Industry Partners with a highly valuable proposition to help support and compliment their overall set of solutions," offered Dr. Tom Janz, PeopleAssessments' Chief Scientist.

About Innovative Enterprises, Inc.

Innovative serves as a strategic partner to the background screening industry as an expert provider of court research information products, smart data solutions and ancillary services. Innovative commands an intimate knowledge of its core competencies gleaned from more than two centuries of cumulative staff experience in public records research and aggregation, law enforcement, judicial administration and private investigation.

An industry leader since 1996, Innovative is a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners and hashelped to raise the barthrough its active participation in the formulation of a number of best practice guidelines for industry providers across various segments.Innovative was honored in 2008 and again in 2009 as one of the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies in America. For more information, please call 1-888-777-9435, email solutions@knowthefacts.com, or visit us online at http://www.knowthefacts.com.

About PeopleAssessments

PeopleAssessments provides assessment solutions for companies that want to hire better people, faster, for less total cost. Our methods have helped thousands of companies identify candidates who contribute more and stay longer. Reports clearly outline a candidate's potential and past performance through validated tests and online responses to our proprietary Behavioral Interview application. With PeopleAssessments' per hire pricing, employers gain true ROI and competitive advantage compared to per test or candidate pricing. Assess more and hire better with PeopleAssessments! For more information go to http://www.peopleassessments.com or email info@peopleassessments.com.

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Innovative Enterprises Partners with PeopleAssessments To Provide Industry-Leading Assessment Solutions

Sense Networks Unveils New Products to Transform Mobile Advertising for Advertisers and Publishers

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Sense Networks, the original Big Data mobile location company, today announced its new products AdMatch and AudienceSense, which will empower marketers to reach new audiences and allow publishers to monetize mobile advertising. Unique to market newcomers, Sense Networks has a proven platform to turn location data into behavioral data at a scale of billions of mobile location points per day. Using location and prediction, Sense Networks is able to understand each users behavior, allowing advertisers and publishers to finally accurately profile and target to their audiences, and generate more revenue from mobile advertising.

The latest products from Sense Networks that will help mobile publishers and advertisers include:

Both products offer big advantages for consumer privacy as well. All user data is anonymous and never matched to external data sources that would require knowing a users name, address, phone number, or email. The location data is abstracted into consumer segments and the raw data is discarded after processing.

As consumers increasingly depend upon their mobile devices to access content and social media, its critical that publishers transition their ad strategies to a mobile-first approach. AdMatch provides the solution that delivers higher mobile ad revenue by anonymously pairing users to local ads with behavioral profiles and machine-learned models. AdMatch today is delivering a 4x increase in performance and beating traditional ring-fenced targeting by twice as much. AdMatch does this by selecting the best ads in real time through evaluation of behavioral attributes, current location context (whats nearby), click history and ad characteristics. AdMatch is delivering ads to users in their neighborhoods from thousands of local merchants. The familiarity that users have with their local merchants and the relevance of the offers drives up click-throughs and ultimately revenue.

For content and social media sites to survive the shift to mobile, they will have to dramatically increase the relevance of their content and offers, and in many cases they wont have much information on users, said David Petersen, CEO of Sense Networks. Sense Networks is unique because we have over six years of experience developing a platform that produces anonymous behavioral information with accuracy and scale, and were now ready to transform how marketers reach their mobile consumers. Were able to combine the power of predictive location and behavioral targeting to reach consumers, allowing publishers to better monetize mobile ads.

For publishers that sell ads directly, the key challenges are being able to target to their audiences and prove the value of their audiences with advertisers. AudienceSense addresses these needs by helping publishers segment and target to their audiences using their own user data. AudienceSense uses a publishers valuable location-based data to build high-value segments that advertisers pay to reach. AudienceSense includes 100 plus pre-built segments and can be extended to deliver custom segments to meet a publishers specific needs.

AdMatch and AudienceSense are now available at http://www.sensenetworks.com.

About Sense Networks

Sense Networks applies science to generate value from mobile location data. The company adds rich user behavior to location data to deliver actionable, predictive targeting beyond place. Sense Networks has a proven technology platform and over six years of experience working at scale with Big Data, processing billions of location points per day. Sense Networks AdMatch uses predictive location and behavioral targeting to match consumers to the most relevant offers from local merchants via mobile display advertising, while increasing revenue for mobile publishers and keeping users anonymous. Its AudienceSense solution helps publishers better monetize their audience by building predictive, location-centric behavioral segments on their own mobile data. For more information about Sense Networks visit us at http://www.sensenetworks.com/. Follow us on Twitter at @Sense_Networks.

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Sense Networks Unveils New Products to Transform Mobile Advertising for Advertisers and Publishers

Makucell Selected as a “Cool Company” by the San Diego Venture Group

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. & SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Makucell, Inc., a life science company dedicated to the development, manufacture and distribution of non-prescription products formulated to address the challenges of aging and photo-damaged skin has been selected from 150 applicants as one of San Diego Venture Groups Cool Companies to be showcased at the upcoming 10th Annual Venture Summit on June 6, 2012. The selection criteria included investor appeal, progress, and innovation. Makucell is one of nine life science companies chosen.

We are excited to have SDVGs vote of confidence and to participate in this years venture summit

We are excited to have SDVGs vote of confidence and to participate in this years venture summit, commented Dr. Lawrence Rheins, President and CEO of Makucell. Makucells Renewnt products are at the forefront of skin science; the clinical tests prove their efficacy and safety. The Makucell team is confident that we have a superior product, winning solution and without question, a very cool company.

Michael Kahn, Ph.D., Makucell Co-founder, Board Chairman and distinguished research scientist at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, added, Renewnts proprietary ingredient, Asymmtate, is a novel approach to cellular aging, working with the bodys own skin stem cells by optimizing the signals in the Wnt (pronounced wint) pathway to encourage production of the components that create the skins supportive matrix. This essential regenerative process is the key differentiator in Makucells Renewnt products.

Dr. Mark V. Dahl, Makucell Chief Medical Officer and former President of the American Academy of Dermatology, developed the formulations. Each product targets a specific area of the body with ingredients in specific proportions most suited for that type of skin, explained Dr. Dahl. And all Renewnt products are formulated to reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, roughness, thinning skin and pigment irregularities.

Initially, Makucell is offering Renewnt products exclusively through aesthetic skincare professionals and directly via our toll-free number (1-855-MAKUCLL).

About Makucell

Makucell Inc. (www.Makucell.com) is a life science company dedicated to the development, manufacture and distribution of non-prescription topical products developed to address the challenges of aging and photo-damaged skin. Based on scientific research at the Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, Makucells Renewnt products are formulated to enhance theskin's appearance, making it stronger and more youthful-looking. The companys new proprietary technology, Asymmtate, works with an individuals own skin stem cells to maintain cellular differentiation which decreases as we age.

The San Diego Venture Group

The San Diego Venture Group cultivates durable and high value relationships between entrepreneurs, capital providers and strategic advisors intended to promote the formulation and funding of innovative new ventures in the San Diego area community. http://www.sdvg.org.

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Makucell Selected as a “Cool Company” by the San Diego Venture Group

Health Buzz: Panel Recommends Against Prostate Screening

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Panel Advises Against Routine Prostate Test

Men shouldn't be screened for prostate cancer with a common blood test, a federal advisory panel recommended Monday. In its new guidelines for prostate cancer screening, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force urged doctors not to use the popular PSA test to detect the disease. At best, it only helps about 1 in 1,000 men avoid death from prostate cancer, the panel said. And most of the cancers it detects are slow-growing, not life threatening, and will not cause a man any harm during his lifetime. Plus, testing often leads to treatment that leaves men incontinent, impotent, or both. The guideline isn't a mandate, however; men who want a PSA test can still get one, but only after their doctor explains the uncertainties, the Associated Press reports. In an editorial published with the guidelines in the Annals of Internal Medicine, some urologists argued that the panel underestimated PSA's value while overestimating its harms. "What PSA screening offers the men is a substantial opportunity to avoid dying a particularly unpleasant death from prostate cancer," said editorial co-author William Catalona of Northwestern University, who pioneered the testing.

Watch Out for Unproven Anti-Aging Treatments

The anti-aging industry is booming. Twenty years ago, there was no such thing as an "anti-aging" or "longevity" clinic. Today, many major cities house dozens.

Step inside one, and you'll likely encounter an assortment of remedies ranging from multivitamin cocktails to hormone injections to miracle pills that, if you believe the pitches, will guarantee you youthful entry into the triple digits.

There's just one wrinkle. Although often lucrative for physicians, evidence suggests that many of the treatments anti-aging doctors tout don't actually workand some may be downright dangerous. "You really have to be careful," says Loren Schechter, chairman of the patient safety committee for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. "There are a lot of extravagant claims out there that simply don't check out when you look at the science."

Consider vitamins and supplements, for example. Most are harmless and possibly helpful in moderate doses, but a growing body of evidence shows that in excess, they can cause problems. Getting too much vitamin A, for example, has been linked to osteoporosis, vitamin B to nerve damage, and vitamin E to cancer. [Read more: Watch Out for Unproven Anti-Aging Treatments]

Vitamins and Supplements: Do They Work?

Vitamins and dietary supplements are bigmore than 110 million Americans forked over a collective $28 billion in 2010 on little bottles of would-be health magic. Research is unclear, however, on whether shoring up your diet with extra vitamins, minerals, and other supplements helps or hurtsin the short run or in reaching for the century mark.

For more than a decade, for example, researchers followed more than 35,000 men enrolled in SELECT, a clinical trial designed to see whether taking selenium and vitamin E might help prevent prostate cancer. In 2008, study participants received phone calls and letters: Stop the pills. Not only was the answer "no," but vitamin E apparently increased the chance of prostate cancer, if very slightly, and selenium seemed to do the same to diabetes risk. Later the same year, researchers from the Physicians' Health Study-II reported that neither vitamin E nor vitamin C reduced the chances of major cardiovascular problems or cancer as hoped.

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Health Buzz: Panel Recommends Against Prostate Screening

Anatomy of a hack: 6 separate bugs needed to bring down Google browser (Updated)

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After exploiting six different Chrome vulnerabilities, a hacker named Pinkie Pie was able to display this image on his target machine.

Dan Goodin

An exploit that fetched a teenage hacker a $60,000 bounty targeted six different security bugs to break out of the security sandbox fortifying Google's Chrome browser.

The extreme lengths taken in March by a hacker identified only as Pinkie Pie underscore the difficulty of piercing this safety perimeter. Google developers have erected their sandbox to separate Web content from sensitive operating-system functions, such as the ability to read and write files to a hard drive. Such sandboxes are designed to minimize the damage that can be done when attackers identify and exploit buffer overflows and other types of software bugs that inevitably find their way into complex bodies of code.

Pinkie Pie's attack came during Pwnium, a contest that awarded $60,000 prizes to hackers who successfully broke out of the protective barrier by exploiting only vulnerabilities residing in code that is native to the Google browser. The teenager was one of only two contestants to win the top prize. He did it after executing a custom-written Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface directly on a Dell Inspiron laptop that ran a fully patched version of Chrome on a fully patched version of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system. Google patched the severest of the vulnerabilities within 24 hours of them being exploited.

According to technical details Google published Tuesday, Pinkie Pie's odyssey began by exploiting a bug in aprerendering engine that helps Chrome work faster by gathering clues about webpages before they're loaded. By combining the attack with a second one that exploited a separate bug, he was able to inject a tiny, eight-byte address into a highly restricted section of the browser that processes commands sent to graphics cards.

By guessing some predictable addresses allocated by Windows, he was able to execute the snippet using a technique known as return-oriented programming, which extracts pieces of code present in executable memory areas and rearranges them to form a malicious payload. Although graphics processes are sandboxed, their restrictions are more permissive than the parts of Chrome that render HTML and Native Client processes. That allowed the hacker to tap Chrome's inter-process communications channelwhich allows different parts of the browser to work togetherand exploit two additional bugs described here and here. They allowed his code to gain additional privileges so it could access the part of Chrome that runs NPAPI plugins. (Note: To keep similar bugs from being exploited in other programs, Google is delaying the disclosure of some details. Some of these links may not work immediately.)

By exploiting two more bugs here and here, he was finally able to break out of the sandbox. The Dell Inspiron responded by displaying an image of a pink pony wielding a medieval axe, but it could just as easily have loaded a backdoor trojan that gave Pinkie Pie complete control over the machine.

In an e-mail that arrived after this article was published, Pinkie Pie said Google's deep-dive analysis varied widely from the way he thought about the attack when he was fashioning it.

"It's interesting to see the bugs listed this way because when writing the exploit I only counted three bugs, not six," he wrote. "117417, 117715, and 117736 are all hardening measures that enforce security boundaries that don't strictly need to exist, which I guess is a good thing."

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Anatomy of a hack: 6 separate bugs needed to bring down Google browser (Updated)

Grey's Anatomy's Jesse Williams: Chyler Leigh, Kim Raver's Exits Were "Depressing"

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Fans aren't the only ones reeling from the unexpected exits of Grey's Anatomy mainstays Chyler Leigh and Kim Raver: Costar Jesse Williams was just as shocked!

"I was sad to lose those guys. We love them to death, they're really, really beautiful people and it was difficult," Williams, who plays Dr. Jackson Avery on the ABC hit, told Us Weekly at Sunday's 27th Anniversary Sports Spectacular in Century City, Calif. "It was kind of depressing."

PHOTOS: TV bombshells

Made aware of Lexie (Leigh) and Teddy's (Raver) exits at the finale table read with his castmates shortly before filming, Williams, 30, says their characters' swan songs make him wonder if Dr. Avery's days are numbered.

"Everybody is supposedly leaving, one way or another," said Williams, who first joined the series in 2009.

PHOTOS: Grey's most memorable moments

After Grey's Anatomy's shocking May 17 finale, show creator Shonda Rhimes explained that she was "sick" over having to write Leigh and Raver off the series.

"This finale was incredibly hard to write. I did not enjoy it. It made me sick and it made me sad. We end the season not knowing anything about the future. Except for two things. We know we are definitely saying goodbye to two of my favorite people: Chyler Leigh (Lexie) and Kim Raver (Teddy)," Rhimes explained of the characters, who made their exits via death and job changes.

VIDEO: How the Grey's cast kills time on set

Frequently one to try to predict how Rhimes' storylines would go, Williams has instead decided to stay in the present on the ABC series.

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Grey's Anatomy's Jesse Williams: Chyler Leigh, Kim Raver's Exits Were "Depressing"

Jess

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21-05-2012 07:34 We are going on a mystical journey travel with us and see Thailand through the eyes of light workers stay tuned for messages from shamans , great heath tips for travelling in 3rd world countries , raw food insights and a looks in to difference parts of our collective dream . filmed live in the adventure of life.

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TripAdvisor Honours Top Businesses with 2012 Certificate of Excellence

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LONDON, May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site*, today announced that it is awarding highly rated accommodations, restaurants and attractions with the 2012 Certificate of Excellence Award. The accolade, which honours hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Approximately 10 percent of accommodations listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award.

To qualify for the Certificate of Excellence, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travellers on TripAdvisor. Additional criteria include the volume of reviews received within the last 12 months.

"TripAdvisor is pleased to honour exceptional businesses for consistent excellence, as reviewed by travellers on the site," said Christine Petersen, president of TripAdvisor for Business. "The Certificate of Excellence award gives highly rated establishments around the world the recognition they deserve. From exceptional accommodations in Beijing to remarkable restaurants in Boston, we want to applaud these businesses for offering TripAdvisor travellers a great customer experience."

Certificate of Excellence honourees can showcase their achievement in multiple ways, including prominently displaying their certificate that they will receive in the coming weeks, exhibiting an award widget on their business's website, and celebrating their award with a press release. The array of promotional items can be downloaded through the TripAdvisor Management Center.

"Best Western is honoured that so many of our hotels have earned the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence," said Dorothy Dowling, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Best Western International. "We're proud to have more than 1,000 winning hotels around the world. TripAdvisor awards are highly regarded by travellers and our staff alike, because they reflect the opinions of the people who matter most: our guests."

The Certificate of Excellence programme does not replace the TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards, but is an extension of TripAdvisor's recognition of highly rated businesses, as reviewed by travellers on the world's largest travel site.

For more information and materials on the Certificate of Excellence programme, as well as other resources to help businesses engage with travellers, please visit the TripAdvisor Management Center at http://www.tripadvisor.com/Owners.

About TripAdvisor TripAdvisor is the world's largest travel site, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 50 million unique monthly visitors*, and over 60 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to TripAdvisor's millions of monthly visitors.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (TRIP) manages and operates websites under 19 other travel media brands, and together the sites attract more than 69 million unique monthly visitors**. TripAdvisor's travel media brands include http://www.airfarewatchdog.com, http://www.bookingbuddy.com, http://www.cruisecritic.com, http://www.everytrail.com, http://www.familyvacationcritic.com, http://www.flipkey.com, http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk, http://www.holidaywatchdog.com, http://www.independenttraveler.com, http://www.onetime.com, http://www.seatguru.com, http://www.sniqueaway.com, http://www.smartertravel.com, http://www.tingo.com, http://www.travel-library.com, http://www.travelpod.com, http://www.virtualtourist.com, http://www.whereivebeen.com, and http://www.kuxun.cn.

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TripAdvisor Honours Top Businesses with 2012 Certificate of Excellence

TripAdvisor Honors Top Businesses with 2012 Certificate of Excellence

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NEWTON, Mass., May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site*, today announced that it is awarding highly rated accommodations, restaurants and attractions with the 2012 Certificate of Excellence Award. The accolade, which honors hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Approximately 10 percent of accommodations listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080902/TRIPADVISORLOGO )

To qualify for the Certificate of Excellence, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travelers on TripAdvisor. Additional criteria include the volume of reviews received within the last 12 months.

"TripAdvisor is pleased to honor exceptional businesses for consistent excellence, as reviewed by travelers on the site," said Christine Petersen, President, TripAdvisor for Business. "The Certificate of Excellence Award gives highly rated establishments around the world the recognition they deserve. From exceptional accommodations in Beijing to remarkable restaurants in Boston, we want to applaud these businesses for offering TripAdvisor travelers a great customer experience."

Certificate of Excellence honorees can showcase their achievement in multiple ways, including prominently displaying their certificate that they will receive in the coming weeks, exhibiting an award widget on their business's website, and celebrating their award with a press release. The array of promotional items can be downloaded through the TripAdvisor Management Center.

"Best Western is honored that so many of our hotels have earned the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence," said Dorothy Dowling, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Best Western International. "We're proud to have more than 1,000 winning hotels around the world. TripAdvisor awards are highly regarded by travelers and our staff alike, because they reflect the opinions of the people who matter most: our guests."

The Certificate of Excellence program does not replace the TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards, but is an extension of TripAdvisor's recognition of highly rated businesses, as reviewed by travelers on the world's largest travel site.

For more information and materials on the Certificate of Excellence program, as well as other resources to help businesses engage with travelers, please visit the TripAdvisor Management Center at http://www.tripadvisor.com/Owners.

About TripAdvisor TripAdvisor is the world's largest travel site, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 50 million unique monthly visitors*, and over 60 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to TripAdvisor's millions of monthly visitors.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (TRIP) manages and operates websites under 19 other travel media brands, and together the sites attract more than 69 million unique monthly visitors**. TripAdvisor's travel media brands include http://www.airfarewatchdog.com, http://www.bookingbuddy.com, http://www.cruisecritic.com, http://www.everytrail.com, http://www.familyvacationcritic.com, http://www.flipkey.com, http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk, http://www.holidaywatchdog.com, http://www.independenttraveler.com, http://www.onetime.com,www.seatguru.com, http://www.sniqueaway.com, http://www.smartertravel.com, http://www.tingo.com, http://www.travel-library.com, http://www.travelpod.com, http://www.virtualtourist.com, http://www.whereivebeen.com, and http://www.kuxun.cn.

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TripAdvisor Honors Top Businesses with 2012 Certificate of Excellence

Travel & Tourism in the Americas contributes more to GDP than automotive manufacturing

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21 May 2012

The Travel & Tourism industry in the Americas region is three times the size of automotive manufacturing and roughly one-third larger than chemicals manufacturing and mining.

This is according to new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) sponsored by American Express, launched on the first day of WTTC"s first Regional Summit of the Americas in the Riviera Maya, Mexico from 16-18 May.

This is according to new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) sponsored by American Express, launched on the first day of WTTC"s first Regional Summit of the Americas in the Riviera Maya, Mexico from 16-18 May.

The research, undertaken by Oxford Economics, shows that the sector"s direct contribution to the Americas GDP is US$666 billion which is more than three times the GDP of automotive manufacturing and one-third larger than the global chemicals and mining industry.

Travel & Tourism"s total contribution to GDP in the Americas was US$1.9trillion in 2011, or 8.6% of total GDP. This compares to 6% for automotive and mining and 7% for chemicals.

With 15 million direct employees in the Americas, Travel & Tourism is one of the leading employers in the region, surpassing the job creation of mining (2.5m), chemicals manufacturing (2.5m), automotive (4m) and financial services (10m). The new research also showed that Travel & Tourism"s contribution to GDP is faster than most other sectors in the Americas. It will grow by 3.6% over the next ten years, a faster growth rate than mining (1.5%), Education (2%), chemicals (2.5%) and financial services (3.4%). As the Americas Summit in the Riviera Maya commences, the research highlights the importance of Travel & Tourism in Mexico in terms of generating income and GDP in economies. It shows that Travel & Tourism spend is more powerful than most other sectors.

For example in Mexico, every US$1 million spent on Travel & Tourism generates a further US$1.5 million to the economy as a whole, and 66 jobs (compared to an average of 42 for all sectors). The industry generates more jobs than all other sectors considered - double that of the automotive industry, twenty times that of mining and six times that of the financial services sector.

The story in other countries across the region is similar. The study looked at the United States, Canada, Jamaica, Brazil and Argentina as well as Mexico.

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Travel & Tourism in the Americas contributes more to GDP than automotive manufacturing

Local agency snaps national award

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HARVEY World Travel The Ridge has been named Travel Agency of the Year for QLD at the Harvey World Travel National Symposium.

Harvey World Travel managing director David Rivers said the win reflected the shop's expertise and passion for travel.

"We are extremely proud of Bernie Freyling and his team on their outstanding performance," Mr Rivers said.

"Harvey World Travel consistently rates among the highest in the industry for 'knowledge and experience' and 'travel agency likely to call or visit' in Newspoll research.

"These awards celebrate the best of the best and it's a remarkable achievement given our overall high standards of customer service.

"The win sets a new standard for the other franchisees and I have no doubt we will - as a brand - continue to grow even stronger for many years to come."

Owner Bernie Freyling, who also runs Harvey World Travel agencies in Toowoomba and Indooroopilly, said the award is a great honour and the recognition rewarding.

"This is an enormous accolade to our success and really tells us that we are doing everything right - it's very encouraging and makes going the extra mile for our customers all worthwhile," Mr Freyling said.

"Office manager Leah Fuller and the team at Harvey World Travel The Ridge has been sending their customers on dream holidays for more than four years.

"The team pride themselves on being the travel professionals and they love what they do.

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Local agency snaps national award

Travel to South Africa Thriving Despite Sluggish World Economy; USA Visitors Edging Out Europe; Tours.com's Travel …

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire -05/21/12)- Travel to South Africa from the USA is on the rise, just behind the UK and growing still, according to figures released at the Indaba 2012 travel expo in Durban, South Africa this month. South Africa's Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk told reporters at this year's Africa travel show that South Africa expects to nearly double the number of international arrivals by 2020 from 8.3 million to 15 million.

Indaba is Africa's largest and most important travel conference, held annually in Durban, South Africa since 1979. This year was no exception as 2,000 exhibitors of travel products, mostly in South and East Africa, showed what's new and noteworthy for travel to the continent. Travel-Intel was there and reveals findings in the May 15 issue.

South African Airways told reporters at this year's gathering that plans are on target for expansion -- a five-year plan calls for the delivery of 22 A320s and six A330-200s -- despite what CEO Siza Mzimela calls the worst era ever for the airline business. Travel-Intel interviews SAA's Executive Vice President for North America, Todd Neuman, about SAA's plans and future.

Travel-Intel's all Africa May 15 issue also looks at Durban as a sleeper destination for tourism with its business hotels, extensive beach walk refurbishments and new developments following the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Similarly, Travel-Intel presents options for wonderful wine country drives as day trips from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth on the southernmost coast. An interview with the US marketing representative from Rovos Rail shows the privately owned, 1920s luxury Pullman train company based in Cape Town is preparing a Cape Town to Cairo itinerary for 2014 that will take in all the sights and wildlife Africa can offer in by-gone style with three-week rail journeys through the continent.

Travel-Intel sends its reporters around the world to get the latest news in travel first hand, by visiting the great cities of the world, testing the products and interviewing the people behind the emerging trends in travel. This month Travel-Intel travels to South Africa, Ethiopia and Thailand to see what these destinations have in store for visitors.

Tours.com's Travel-Intel is a newsletter that goes out twice a month to the travel industry to keep more than 100,000 North American travel agents and travel sellers up on what's happening in the constantly changing world of travel.

Recent issues of Travel-Intel have looked at the changing trends in the cruise, hospitality and airline industries, and featured destination close-ups.

The May 1 issue archives, which can be viewed at http://www.travel-intel.com, examined the dark side of tourism and what happens when trips go bad. That issue also featured the odd destination of Jeju Island in South Korea to find theme parks made of glass and museums devoted to teddy bears and tea.

All issues of Travel-Intel are posted on Tours.com for those seeking answers through Tours.com's comprehensive directory of tour companies and travel information.

"Travel is a constantly changing business. We try to keep up with what is happening by being on the scene and talking to the influencers so we can get the news out to travel agents, the people who need it most," says Lark Ellen Gould, content director for Travel-Intel and Tours.com.

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Travel to South Africa Thriving Despite Sluggish World Economy; USA Visitors Edging Out Europe; Tours.com's Travel ...

A world of travel info awaits at presentation in Fairfield

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Senior group travel provides the opportunity to satisfy the wanderlust in you and to form friendships that last over time. Group travel gives you the freedom to see the world without any logistical worries.

The Community Resources Department for the city of Fairfield is seeking adult travelers to attend a travel presentation at the Fairfield Senior Center at 10 a.m. today in the Christiansen Room. The center is at 1200 Civic Center Drive.

Premier World Discovery will highlight all of their trips planned for this year and beyond. Come hear about the itineraries for Eastern Europe, Great Canadian Cities, Chicago, an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic, and the Great Trains heading to the Sedona area. Adults are encouraged to sign up six months in advance, especially for the most popular destinations. Reservations are taken on a first-come, first-served basis.

Other itineraries available, but not on the presentation schedule this month are trips to South Lake Tahoe, Pageant of the Masters, multiple trips to Reno, Netherlands with Belgium and Paris for the Floriade, Colors of New England, Italy, Australia, San Antonio for the holidays, Christmas in the Ozarks, and even more for 2013, including a cruise up the Yangtze River.

For more information on senior group travel experiences, as well as the Fairfield Senior Center, contact Senior Services Coordinator Jane Kibbey at 429-6291 or e-mail jkibbey@

fairfield.ca.gov.

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A world of travel info awaits at presentation in Fairfield

Moms Helping Moms: Expedia Launches "Kids in the City" Family Travel Guide

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BELLEVUE, WA--(Marketwire -05/22/12)- Expedia.com, the world's leading online travel agency, today launched Expedia Kids in the City Guide, a compilation of 12 distinct guides to top US summer vacation destinations. Each online guide is curated by a family travel blogger who is a mom herself from cities such as Boston, New York and Chicago. They feature the best places to see, stay, eat and play with children of all ages in the summer months.

The Expedia Kids in the City Guide comes on the heels of the launch of Expedia's largest summer sale ever, with over 12,000 hotels and resorts from 700+ destinations offering up to 35% off. New Expedia research shows that 91% of US family getaways are for travel within the US and that 56% of these trips were to an urban destination. Further, 32% of those booking a family getaway reported that they were going to a destination they've never been to before.

The full set of guides will appear on Expedia.com on May 22, 2012. To review the guides, visit expedia.com/kidsinthecity and follow Expedia on twitter @Expedia using #ExpediaKids as the hashtag for the discussion.

"In everyday life, moms rely on other moms for the recommendations relating to their family: the best pediatrician, childcare, babysitters, schools, you name it. Moms are usually the Chief Travel Officer of the family so vacation and travel shouldn't be any different," said Sarah Keeling, director of travel communications, Expedia Worldwide. "When parents commit to a family vacation, to spend their precious time and resources on that special summer trip, they want to feel confident that they've found the best services and attractions for their kids. The Expedia Kids in the City Guide gives moms the peace of mind that these trips are mom-approved."

Participating bloggers and their corresponding cities include:

"Who better to recommend kid-friendly attractions than travel-savvy moms who live in or near these key cities across America? We share our insider tips for visiting famous city sights with kids, as well as some of our favorite lesser-known activities in each area," said Kara Williams, travel blogger for The Vacation Gals. "We hope our suggestions will inspire parents across the country to grab their kids and set out to explore some of the United States' most popular urban destinations!"

About Expedia.comExpedia.com is the world's leading online travel site, helping millions of travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia.com (http://www.expedia.com/, 1-800-EXPEDIA) aims to provide the latest technology and the widest selection of vacation packages, flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises and in-destination activities, attractions, and services. With the Expedia Best Price Guarantee, Expedia.com customers can get the best rates available online for all types of travel.

2012 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. Expedia, Expedia.com and the Airplane logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners. CST # 2029030-50

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Moms Helping Moms: Expedia Launches "Kids in the City" Family Travel Guide

New Drug Shows We Must Overcome Taboos About Stem-Cell Research

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COMMENTARY | I'll be the first to admit that stem-cell research, as we typically view it, troubles me in many ways. The entire principle of using viable embryos for medical research causes me to feel the pangs of worry and regret I get from reading dystopian science fiction. But one thing makes me considerably more uncomfortable than stem-cell research itself: the knowledge that failure to ...

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New Drug Shows We Must Overcome Taboos About Stem-Cell Research

Prochymal – First Stem Cell Drug Approved

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Editor's Choice Main Category: Bones / Orthopedics Also Included In: Stem Cell Research Article Date: 22 May 2012 - 12:00 PDT

Current ratings for: 'Prochymal - First Stem Cell Drug Approved'

4.5 (2 votes)

Prochymal (remestemcel-L) is also the first drug to be approved for the treatment of acute graft-vs-host disease (GvHD) in children, a devastating complication of bone marrow transplantation that kills almost 80% of all affected children, many of which just weeks after they have been diagnosed.

GvHD is the leading cause of transplant-related mortality, caused by an immunologic attack. Severe GvHD can cause blistering of the skin, intestinal hemorrhage and liver failure and is extremely painful with a death rate of up to 80%. At present, the first-line standard therapies for GvHD are steroids. Given that the success rate of steroids is only 30 to 50%, the only other therapy if steroids fail is limited to immunosuppressive agents that are used off-label with little benefit and significant toxicities. Until the approval of Prochymal, there has not been any other therapy for GvHD.

Osiris Therapeutics Inc. was awarded authorization for Prochymal under Health Canada's Notice of Compliance with conditions (NOC/c). A NOC/c is an authorization to market a drug with the condition that the manufacturer undertakes additional studies to verify the clinical benefit. This pathway provides access to treatments for unmet medical conditions and has demonstrated its benefits outweigh its risks in clinical trials.

Andrew Daly, M.D., Clinical Associate Professor from the Department of Medicine and Oncology at the University of Calgary, Canada and leading researcher of Prochymal's phase 3 clinical program declared:

C. Randal Mills, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Osiris announced:

Prochymal is an intravenous formulation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are derived from the bone marrow of healthy adult donors aged between 18 and 30 years. The MSCs are selected from the bone marrow and grown in culture, producing up to 10,000 doses of Prochymal from a single donor. The drug is a true off-the-shelf stem cell product, which is stored frozen until it is needed. Prochymal is infused through a simple intravenous line without the need to type or immunosuppress the recipient. The drug is currently undergoing Phase 3 trials for refractory Crohn's disease, as well as undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of heart attacks and type-1 diabetes.

Health Canada granted the Prochymal's authorization for the management of acute GvHD in children who are unresponsive to steroids, based on the drug's results of clinical trials. Prochymal was recommended by an independent expert advisory panel, which was commissioned to assess the drugs safety and efficacy.

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Prochymal - First Stem Cell Drug Approved

Art and Spirituality with Sr Sheila Gosney rjm

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Art and Spirituality with Sr Sheila Gosney rjm Posted: Tuesday, May 22, 2012 11:44 pm Email Print A Day of Prayer and Creativity with Sr Sheila Gosney rjm will take place in Wapping, east London, on Saturday 26 May 2012.

Focussing on 'The Heart of the Seed of Love' - 'What the sower is sowing is the word.' Mark 4:14, the day will begin with Mass at 10am followed by coffee/tea. The workshop will run from 11 am 4pm with a break for shared lunch.

The Day takes places at Old St Patricks School, Dundee Street Wapping E1W 2PH

Organiser Alice Robertson said: "Come and join us in a day of spirituality and creativity opening doors on our spiritual journey through art and prayer. Please bring something for a shared lunch."

For more information contact: alicerobertson@hotmail.com

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Art and Spirituality with Sr Sheila Gosney rjm