Select Page ::

FSB warns about funeral policy providers and offshore trading sites – Independent Online

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

The Financial Services Board (FSB) is investigating 13 businesses selling funeral policies. It says you should be extra-cautious when buying a funeral policy from any provider.

The entities under investigation are: Matome Molefe Funeral Service of Mamelodi East, Gauteng; Eyodidi Funeral Undertakers of Khayelitsha, Western Cape; Baxolise Funerals of Mdantsane, Eastern Cape; Zeldas Wreaths and Coffins of Victoria West, Northern Cape; City Funerals of Nancefield, Gauteng; Devine Casia of Johannesburg, Gauteng; Ndikhokhele Yehova Funeral Service of Richmond, Northern Cape; Infinitum Funeral Assist of Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal; Tswelopele Funerals of Koffiefontein, Free State; Itshereletso Funerals of Bluegum Bosch, Free State; Nom and Macc Funeral Services of Mafikeng, North West; Botlhe Funeral Undertakers of Zeerust, North West; and M&P Funeral Services of Hammanskraal, Gauteng.

The FSB says these businesses were asked to provide proof that their funeral policies are underwritten by a registered long-term insurance company, and were given 10 days to respond. They have either failed to respond or have failed to confirm that their policies are underwritten, as required by law.

The FSB investigates and takes action against entities that sell non-underwritten funeral policies. Such conduct breaches the Long Term Insurance Act and amounts to running an unregistered insurance business.

OFFSHORE OPERATORS

The FSB warns you against using Financika, an offshore online foreign-exchange trading platform that also provides advisory services, and Q International, also trading as Q Asia Pacific. Neither of these operators is an authorised financial services provider, as required by the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act.

The FSB says it has been informed that the American shares that Q International offers to prospective clients may be worthless or non-existent. You are again reminded to check beforehand with the FSB, on either the toll-free number (0800 110 443) or the website, http://www.fsb.co.za, whether the entity with which you intend doing financial services business is authorised to render such services.

Originally posted here:

FSB warns about funeral policy providers and offshore trading sites - Independent Online

African states band together to defeat crime on high seas | News24 – News24

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

Yaound - A total of 19 African countries on Thursday launched an EU-funded network to tackle piracy, high seas robbery, kidnappings and human trafficking in the strategically important Gulf of Guinea.

The Gulf of Guinea interregional network (GOGIN) officially began operations after a ceremony in the Cameroon capital Yaounde.

"Nineteen African coastal nations, from Angola to Senegal, have begun working together to combat criminality at sea," said an official statement from the group.

The $9.8 million four-year initiative is designed to clamp down on maritime crime in a region where trafficking in both human beings and drugs is rife.

Adding to a raft of problems to solve in a zone stretching across some 6 000km are illegal fishing and oil theft.

Heading the GOGIN taskforce is retired French vice-admiral Jean-Pierre Labonne, who said the agreement followed "several months of fine-tuning with my African colleagues.

Peace and stability

"Our long-term aim is to support peace, stability and economic and human development throughout West and Central Africa," said Labonne, who vowed to spare no effort to ensure the project achieves tangible results.

He added that GOGIN would provide participating states with technical and logistical assistance to fight crime and to better exchange information among themselves.

The African states will also benefit from academic training modules and training exercises at sea with the goal of eventually overseeing such activities themselves.

The project will be implemented by Expertise France, a French international cooperation agency specialising in technology.

GOGIN has emerged from the Yaounde Process, a code of conduct adopted in 2013 following a regional summit on how to tackle illegal maritime activities in west and central Africa.

The GOGIN initiative adds to existing operations, including an interregional coordination centre in Yaounde to monitor the Gulf of Guinea, whose strategic position is bolstered by an abundance of natural resources.

24.com encourages commentary submitted via MyNews24. Contributions of 200 words or more will be considered for publication.

London family who built a Greek island getaway: unspoilt Meganissi … – Homes and Property

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

Unless you are a sailor youve probably never heard of Meganissi. It is one of the Ionian Islands in western Greece but at less than nine square miles it is overshadowed by its much larger sister islands Corfu and Lefkas.

Getting to Meganissi from London involves an easyJet flight from Gatwick to Preveza airport on the mainland, a 20-minute drive over a sea-crossing bridge to Lefkas and then 20 minutes by sea taxi. Travellers pass the private island of Skorpios, once owned by Aristotle Onassis, before arriving on green Meganissi with its coves, beaches and whitewashed villages.

Its a journey that Oscar Tymon knows well. In 2005 he and his wife Sue, both former City workers, bought a 10-acre plot on Meganissi and two years later started building a home there. Door to door it takes eight hours from our house in Bromley, says Oscar. Or five hours from when the plane leaves London.

Regular trips: Oscar and Sue Tymon of Bromley, with children Abby, Alexis, Eve and Charlie, holiday for up to seven weeks a year in the villa the couple built on Meganissi

SAIL TO SECRET COVES

By early 2009 the project was complete. Oscar, Sue and their four children, Abby, Alexis, Eve and Charlie, now aged 16 to 27, have loved their Greek holiday home ever since.

Meganissi is wonderful for boating with safe waters and good wind, says Oscar. The sailing community know it as a place with untouched coves and bays. We have a boat and love to explore Ithaca, Kefalonia or Lefkas where even in summer theres always somewhere to moor for a waterfront lunch.

Paradise: Oscar and Sue Tymons villa, Akrothea, has a large infinity pool overlooking the Med

Peaceful and private, Meganissi is unspoilt with a year-round population of 1,500. Theres a supermarket, a few boutiques, butchers and patisseries, several tavernas and hotels and one nightclub.

It is like the land that time forgot, laughs Sue, an award-winning garden designer. All the necessary infrastructure is there, it just doesnt always look like it is. And you cannot overestimate the friendliness of the locals.

Their house, Akrothea, has five double bedrooms and a large infinity pool overlooking the Med. The family visit for six or seven weeks a year and otherwise rent it through The Thinking Traveller for 3,966 to 10,163 a week.

3,966-10,163 a week: Oscar and Sue Tymons villa, Akrothea, sleeps 10

An acre building plot on Meganissi would cost 128,000 to 170,000, and on Corfu it would be 215,000 to 256,000. New-build three-bedroom villas on Meganissi start at 280,000 through Rokka Villas. On Corfu, Sphere Estates has a four-bedroom detached east coast villa with pool for 467,000.

HOW TO RENT OUT YOUR HOLIDAY HOME

Since 2013 British couple Oscar and Sue Tymon have rented out their villa on Meganissi through The Thinking Traveller, a London-based company with 200 exclusive properties on its books, founded and run by Huw and Rossella Beaugi.

Mining gems in the Med: Huw and Rossella Beaugi run London-based villa rental firm The Thinking Traveller

Half the companys properties are in Sicily and a further 45 are elsewhere in Italy, but they also cover the Ionian Islands, with seven villas on Meganissi.

Their best villas rent for an impressive 30 weeks-plus each year with an average weekly rent of 6,000.

Says Huw: The Holy Grail for villa renters is a pool, a sandy beach and an easy walk to local restaurants. Combine that with peace, views and top-quality furnishings, and you have the perfect villa.

The future of caregiving: ‘good deaths’ and, of course, robots – MarketWatch

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

Expect a caregiving environment rich in technology in the not-so-distant future. But along with that, therell be an emphasis on human connection to counter the devastating health effects of social isolation on older people.

In May, NextAvenue marked its fifth anniversary, but not with a look back. Instead, weve been trying to peer into the future for people 50 and older. We wanted learn how everything will change or not: living, learning, work, personal finance, health and now caregiving.

We received help on the caregiving front from three experts who have an eye on trends.

Demographically, well be facing hard realities in the next five to 10 years, says Ken Dychtwald, founder and CEO of the research and consulting firm AgeWave, and a 2016 Next AvenueInfluencer in Aging.

Therell be a handful of profound demographic shifts among them, a boomer generation with fewer children than their parents that will alter our capacity for caregiving, Dychtwald says. That will create great need and demand for alternate solutions.

The hope with the experimentation thats going on [now], is that well come up with better models that dont involve residential care for the disabled elderly in nursing homes, says John Haaga, director of the Division of Social and Behavior Research at the National Institute on Aging.

Technology will play a big role in helping people stay in their homes, says Laura Sands, professor at the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech and editor of a new journal, Innovation in Aging, published by the Gerontological Society of America. But well get more nuanced in our use of things like sensors and apps.

What I mean by that is that its not obtrusive. It doesnt violate basic principles of privacy and dignity, Sands says.

Those are the broad strokes. Now heres more on what our experts see as the future of caregiving in the next 5 years, 10 years and beyond:

Apps and online tools for family caregivers will be widely adopted, Sands says. Caregiving has already been inundated with tech gadgets. Whats been missing is a foundation of research and evidence to weed out the schlock from whats truly usable by older adults and their families and will lead to good caregiving or good health outcomes.

That evidence is more available now and tech tools known mostly in the research world will be entering the consumer market, Sands explains. She says: Theres really a lot of opportunity for entrepreneurs to use this evidence-based literature to start thinking about, How can I bring this into a cellphone environment?

Well be feeling the gap between lifespan and healthspan, says Dychtwald. Our health care system has done a pretty good job of keeping people alive longer, but not necessarily alive longer with health, he notes. Pair that with the demographics families with fewer children, families more geographically spread out and more women becoming primary breadwinners as well as having less capacity for the caregiving theyve traditionally done the lions share of and well be forced to redefine our goals, Dychtwald says. Instead of thinking only about how to improve long-term caregiving services and supports, well be looking for ways to prevent more people from needing them.

Well benefit at least a little bit from disease trends that are turning in the right direction, says Haaga. The worst fears about the growth of the population that has dementia and severe disabilities so far havent come true. Those populations are growing, but I think theyre growing slower than most people would have forecast 10 years ago, he notes. The percentage of the population developing Alzheimers disease is going down, Haaga says, but because the population of older adults overall is growing, the absolute number of Alzheimers cases is still on the rise.

Next-generation sensors will support caregivers and older adults who want to continue living at home, Sands says. Therell be better privacy checks to control who gets the information, she explains, and really deep thoughtfulness as to what is the information theyre collecting and why are they collecting it. Instead of gathering a massive amount of ongoing data about all of a persons movements in the house, for example, sensors will use logic checks built into their operating software to collect and store only the movementsthat seem like red flags.

Well get better at designing environments that dont prematurely drive people into dependency, Haaga believes. The universal design elements that make a home more accessible and user-friendly for those with physical limitations are one example of this. But Haaga is talking about community design as well. I predict that in 10 years, there will be no brick sidewalks in the United States. They will have been replaced by exposed aggregate that reduces fall risks, he says. He expects the car-centric suburban model of community planning to give way to plans that are more walkable and livable for nondrivers.

A good death will take priority over prolonging life, says Dychtwald. The social, emotional and financial costs of a stretched caregiving system will prompt us to look hard at our health care systems bias toward prolonging life even when prolonging it isnt what the dying person wants. Im not saying we should shorten peoples dying process unnaturally, thats a slippery slope, Dychtwald says. But many people will welcome a conversation about good deaththe idea of dying in a natural way without a lot of technology hooked up to you, in a comfortable setting, perhaps at home and not having it stretched out longer than nature would have it.

Mapping out highly individualized care pathways will become possible, says Sands. It will involvelayering together three things: 1) a persons genetic makeup and the tendencies that come with it for example, being a good or bad metabolizer of a certain drug; 2) metadata analyses of whole populations and the way specific health interventions tend to lead to certain kinds of outcomes and 3) apersons life and health preferences and goals.

The result will be the ability to predict just how effective a certain treatment will be in a patient and to make a care plan that the person is likely to stick with and benefit from. I think we have that opportunity in the future, but were still a ways off, Sands says, because it takes a lot of communication between technologists and clinicians.

Robots will share in caregiving, Haaga says. Not the high-touch and highly personal aspects of care, he adds, but for some of the physically difficult aspects of care. For example, we wont have to have home health care aides spraining their backs turning people over.

Haaga is also really optimistic about things like self-driving cars to help older adults overcome isolation and get out into the community. Dychtwald, on the other hand, has a different take and wants to see a driver in that car with the older adult.

Were going to have to become more comfortable with interdependence, Dychtwald says. Independence has been our goal for generations, and weve all learned to want our own houses, cars, bedrooms, TVs, phones and tech gadgets. But independence combined with aging creates a lot of isolation, Dychtwald says. In recognition of that problem, more of what we call senior housing, will be intergenerational in the future. Where families are scattered or dont exist, well create intentional communities like the village movement to stay connected, he says.

The thing about the Jetsons is they lived in a world with lots of cool technology, but what we liked was the family, Dychtwald adds. They were together in their bubble car.

View original post here:

The future of caregiving: 'good deaths' and, of course, robots - MarketWatch

Get It While It’s Hot: Why Fintech Is a Goldmine for Investors – Singularity Hub

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

Its 1998 in Silicon Valley, and PayPal is born.

Many argue this was the moment that launched fintech as we know it. Today, fintech is comprised of roughly 15,000 startups globally, all focused on either enabling or disrupting the industry.

Fintech is still relatively new, and yet it has a remarkable amount of money flowing through it. A recent report from CB Insights found that VC-backed fintech companies raised $2.7 billion in the first quarter of 2017 alone. And the report says the global value of fintechs 22 unicorn companies amounts to $77 billion. While the pace of investment is likely to drop in the US this year, Europe saw an early spike in Q1.

The landscape is rich in opportunity for both investors and startups, from new lending, crowdfunding, and financial management platforms to novel payment, insurance, and investing services.

This week at Singularity Universitys Exponential Finance Summit in New York, Mike Sigal, partner at 500 Startups, gave the audience a snapshot of the current abundance in fintech and a look into how investors and entrepreneurs are viewing the market.

Since it was founded in 2012, 500 Startups remains one of the most active early-stage investors in the world, according to Sigal. The companys made nearly 2,000 seed investments across 50 countries and has $330 million in capital invested.

Within fintech specifically, the firm has invested in over 200 companies across 27 countries and invests in almost 40 new companies each year.

Unlike some traditional VC firms that tend to keep a tight focus on a specific industry vertical, 500 Startups prides themselves on maintaining an extremely diversified investment portfolio. So far, the results have been in their favor.

The company has four unicorns (startups valued a billion dollars) in their portfolio, including Credit Karma, Grab, Stripe, and Twilio. They also have invested in 40 companies that are now each valued between $100 million and a billion dollars.

One of the most interesting things about the financial services industry, Sigal said, is that large portions of it remain untouched by digital technology.

Less than one percent of loans, for example, originate online. This means theres a lot of demand for new digital products to transform existing financial services.

Think about just how much more could be done here, Sigal said.

In many ways, transforming financial services is the name of the game.

Over the last few years, theres been as massive shift in which particular companies are controlling customer expectations while using a financial service. In fact, the companies now controlling user expectations are no longer the banks. Instead, Amazon, Apple, Google, Uber, and Facebook have been setting the tone for customer expectations ever since they moved into financial services.

The funny twist is that thirty percent of fintech investments are still coming from banks and insurers. In short, the big guys who are being disrupted are also willing to invest a lot of money in new solutions that could help them stay competitive.

Another huge opportunity in fintech is the three billion new smartphones users projected to enter the market by 2020. Sigal points out that many current financial services cannot serve this new population with their existing offerings.

Sigal recommends a few specific tactics for early-stage investors to use while selecting companies to invest in.

Most importantly, he notes that VCs often pursue white space where theres open market opportunity. Additionally, Sigal advises investors to pattern match by finding companies that are doing a mix of the following:

To wrap things up, Sigal played a game of fintech hot or not to test how well the audience could identify which technologies are hottest to investors today.

Sigal said many of the technologies receiving the most seed investments are the ones with the most practical market applications. For example, technology for sourcing customer data and technology improving how banks sell to new customers.

Though artificial intelligence and blockchain are the craze in Silicon Valley, Sigal explains they arent necessarily the most appealing technologies to investors yet, unless they have a very clear practical market application.

Its hard to say whether the rapid pace of capital flowing into fintech will continue, but for now, it seems extremely promising to both investors and entrepreneurs.

Cheesy or not, in the case of fintech, get it while its hot.

Image Credit: Pond5

Visit link:

Get It While It's Hot: Why Fintech Is a Goldmine for Investors - Singularity Hub

Ascension Episcopal not satisfied by last season’s success – The Daily Advertiser

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

Everything you need right at your fingertips. The Daily Advertiser

Ascension Episcopal quarterback Jake Vascocu throws a pass in the second quarter as the Gators take on Central Catholic on Friday night 11/4/16. JOHN ROWLAND/FOR THE ADVERTISER (Photo: John Rowland)

When asked about the Ascension Episcopal Blue Gator's run to the Division IV state title game, coach Matt Desormeaux has a pretty blunt answer.

"Whatever we did last summer wasn't enough," Desormeaux said.

"We're trying to work harder and get better. We are not satisfied," he continued.

It is that drive for greatness that has propelled Ascension Episcopal to higher and higher plateaus in recent seasons as Desormeaux and his brother, Mike who now coaches with the Ragin' Cajuns, have been in charge of the program.

MORE:4 way-too-early Acadiana Preps football predictions

And despite moving up a classification to Class 2A and facing some tough district competition in Catholic-NI and Loreauville, Desormeaux still wants to reach higher.

The Blue Gators did lose some big-time playmakers on the offensive side of the ball in 6-foot-5 receiver Ronald LeBlanc and supreme athlete Zach Ronquillo, but Desormeaux was confident the offense wouldn't suffer too much.

"We're losing a little bit of that big-play capability with those guys on the edge," Desormeaux said. "But I think the running game has a chance to be just as good as last year, if not better.

"We only lost one lineman and we have a pretty good idea of what we're going to be doing to replace him."

Running behind that line will be Leo Franques, who is one of the top running backs returning in the area in terms of yardage from last season.

MORE:Five new running backs to watch next season

MORE:Who are the top 5 returning quarterbacks in the Acadiana area?

Senior quarterback Jake Vascocu stepped in and performed well for the departed Jake Arceneaux last season, but will have to make better decisions with the ball this year with LeBlanc and Ronquillo gone, Desormeaux said.

"He had a high completion rating, but those guys bailed him out some," Desormeaux said. "He made some bad decisions at times... He knows going into this season we have some pretty good receivers but he knows he'll have to make some better decisions."

Receiver Seth Kerstetter and tight end Jack Leoni, who will also play a big role in the running game with his blocking and along the defensive line, will be Vascocu's two top returning targets.

MORE:Who are the Top 5 returning wide receivers in Acadiana?

Because of the baseball team's run to the Division IV state title, the Blue Gators elected to not participate in spring practice something a lot of smaller schools do because of multi-sport athletes and they will get extra days in the fall before the season.

Desormeaux said the biggest drawback to not having spring practice was the lack of pad work, but the Blue Gators would go through their typical summer schedule now.

"Our guys will be pretty crisp once they get to the fall camp and should know pretty much the whole playbook by then," Desormeaux said. "We just need to sharpen up on the mental aspect of the game and that way in the fall, we can sharpen up on the physical aspect."

MORE:After frustrating 2016, Spartans looking to take step forward

Ascension Episcopal not satisfied by last season's success - The Daily Advertiser

Zachary man dies in single-car crash in Ascension Parish – The Advocate

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

SORRENTO A Zachary man was killed Friday in an early morning crash in Ascension Parish when his car crossed the centerline of La. 22 and struck a tree, State Police said.

Dustin Good, 34, of Zachary, was traveling west on La. 22, just east of La. 936 near Sorrento, in a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado, shortly after 3 a.m. when his vehicle crossed the centerline into the eastbound lane and ran off the road, striking a tree, State Trooper Bryan Lee said.

Good was not wearing a seat belt, Lee said. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Ascension Parish Coroner's Office.

Lee said it is unknown if impairment was a factor in the crash but a toxicology sample was taken from Good and will be sent to the State Police Crime Lab.

The reasons for the crash are still under investigation, Lee said.

Go here to see the original:

Zachary man dies in single-car crash in Ascension Parish - The Advocate

Space exploration: The solutions to land scarcity – Real Estate Weekly

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

By Marc Weider, Anchin, Block and Anchin

In New York and other dense urban areas, space is an increasingly precious commodity.

Here are some of the trends developers are embracing as they search for solutions to address the scarcity of land for development.

Cantilevered Buildings

Most developers are familiar with the practice of transferring air rights that is, the right to build or develop in the airspace above a property.

If zoning laws permit it, acquiring air rights from nearby owners who dont plan to use them allows a developer to build higher than zoning restrictions would otherwise allow. Generally, taller buildings command higher resale values, particularly on the upper floors, boosting the developers return on investment.

Going taller isnt always an option, though. A planned building may already be at the legal limit. Or, even if its possible to acquire additional air rights, the developer may be concerned about the risk that the city will impose new height restrictions down the road. In recent years, an increasing number of developers have maximized their spaces (and increased their profitability) by acquiring the right to cantilever their buildings over adjacent properties. Cantilevered buildings offer a variety of benefits: For example, they allow developers to extend their horizontal spaces beyond the constraints of the buildings footprint and to add value by expanding apartment layouts, improving views, and bathing units in natural light.

In addition, cantilevered buildings use a sort of inverted pyramid approach, which enhances value: Floors get bigger as one goes higher, where space is more valuable.

Developers considering this strategy should be sure to work with financial and legal advisors who have experience with air rights and land use issues.

Cantilevered structures can be expensive and challenging to build. And valuing air rights (values can be 60 percent or more of comparable land values) and negotiating their transfer is a complex process. Missteps can lead to costly surprises.

For example, if the transfer isnt negotiated and documented thoroughly and precisely, theres a risk that the seller will retain rights that can interfere with the buyers plans.

And buying air rights from condo buildings can be tricky, because typically it requires the approval of each unit owner.

Converting older buildings

Another strategy developers are using to tap new sources of developable space is to convert existing buildings such as schools, hospitals or churches into residential, retail, or mixed use properties.

The availability of these buildings is on the rise, as struggling schools and houses of worship close and health care facilities close or are consolidated.

Other possibilities include banks, movie theaters, warehouses, government buildings, industrial facilities, parking garages, and fire stations.

Many of these buildings boast historic or distinctive architectural features and unique structural elements such as high ceilings, large windows and skylights, unusual building materials, and unconventional layouts that lend themselves to intriguing residential and retail spaces. Plus, these buildings are often located in desirable neighborhoods.

Converting these types of buildings also presents several significant challenges that require the assistance of experienced advisors.

In addition to the architectural and engineering challenges associated with such a conversion, there may be zoning, land use, historical preservation, building code, and other regulatory issues, as well as potential environmental obstacles. Hospitals, schools, and industrial buildings, for example, may contain hazardous substances that require remediation. And certain conversions, churches in particular, may be controversial in the community.

Micro-Units

Most developers focus on the luxury market and strategies for expanding spaces. But theres a burgeoning trend toward micro-units studio apartments as small as 300 square feet or less but with high-quality amenities that appeal to the relatively untapped market of young singles who want to stay in the city.

This trend has yet to take off, and many developers are skeptical about the profitability of micro-units. But based on the enthusiastic response to the first micro-unit buildings to hit the market in New York, this strategy may be worth a look. Rent per square foot for micro-units is substantially higher than that of larger apartments, and developers can maximize their profits by squeezing many units into a relatively small space.

Of course, in most cases renters can get more for their money by sharing apartments with others, but many young people are willing to trade space for privacy.

So far, there hasnt been much interest in micro-unit condos, but that may change. Were beginning to see a market for these units among young professionals looking to buy on their own, parents seeking alternatives to the dorm for their children in college, and people looking for a piedterre.

Be Creative

As developers confront the challenges of a dwindling supply of developable space, these and other trends may offer solutions. To remain competitive, developers must be creative and push the boundaries of traditional development strategies.

See the rest here:

Space exploration: The solutions to land scarcity - Real Estate Weekly

Nanotech-based test can predict prostate cancer risk better … – Business Standard

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

IANS | Toronto June 10, 2017 Last Updated at 15:42 IST

Using nanotechnology, scientists have developed a new diagnostic process that can identify aggressive prostate cancer from a single drop of blood with 40 per cent more accuracy than current screening methods.

The Extracellular Vesicle Fingerprint Predictive Score (EV-FPS) test uses machine learning to combine information from millions of cancer cell nano-particles in the blood to recognise the unique fingerprint of aggressive prostate cancer.

The diagnostic, evaluated in a group of men suspected of prostate cancer, correctly identified aggressive prostate cancer 40 per cent more accurately than the most common blood test -- Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) and helped them avoid unnecessary painful biopsies and over-treatment.

"Higher sensitivity means that our test will miss fewer aggressive cancers...for this kind of test you want the sensitivity to be as high as possible because you don't want to miss a single cancer that should be treated," said John Lewis from the University of Alberta in Canada.

Current tests such as the PSA and digital rectal exam (DRE) often lead to unneeded biopsies, the researchers said, while presenting the paper at the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles conference in Toronto recently.

More than 50 per cent of men who undergo biopsy do not have prostate cancer, yet suffer the pain and side effects of the procedure.

It is estimated that successful implementation of the EV-FPS test could eventually eliminate up to 600,000 unnecessary biopsies, 24,000 hospitalisations and up to 50 per cent of unnecessary treatments for prostate cancer each year in North America alone, Lewis said.

"Compared to elevated total PSA alone, the EV-FPS test can more accurately predict the result of prostate biopsy in previously unscreened men," added Adrian Fairey, Urologist from the University of Alberta.

--IANS

karthik/rt/nir/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

More than 50 per cent of men who undergo biopsy do not have prostate cancer, yet suffer the pain and side effects of the procedure.

--IANS

karthik/rt/nir/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

IANS

http://bsmedia.business-standard.com/_media/bs/wap/images/bs_logo_amp.png 177 22

Link:

Nanotech-based test can predict prostate cancer risk better ... - Business Standard

Trance Night – BrixtonBuzz

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

When:

June 9, 2017 @ 11:00 pm June 10, 2017 @ 7:00 am

2017-06-09T23:00:00+01:00

2017-06-10T07:00:00+01:00

Where:

Club 414 414 Coldharbour Lane Brixton, London SW9 UK

On Friday 9th June Club 414 opens its doors once again for a Trance night.

For this night you can expect to hear a mixture of amazing Trance music, such as Trance from the past and present, Tech Trance and harder edged Trance, spun from some of the UKs finest underground DJs around.

Damien Blanes shall be playing a Tech Trance set, under his Trance alias DJ name Patrick Blanes.

A very well known regular to Club 414 and the main man behind Trancelucid parties at 414 and Lorenzo Barrero returns again. Lorenzo has a big love for Trance music and various styles of Trance, within the Trance spectrum.

A regular on CRT (Channel RubeTube), a Internet music channel and Dibs features on the line up also. Dibs has a big passion for Trance music and will be playing a mixture of Progressive leading into some Uplifting Trance.

Finally we have Kestas returning back to Club 414, and who is a very versatile DJ. With him moving back to his home country and Lithuania soon we thought of getting him down to play, before he leaves.

LINE UP:

PATRICK BLANES (AKA Damien Blanes) (Tech Trance set under his Trance alias DJ name Patrick Blanes)

LORENZO BARRERO

Mixcloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/lorenzobarrero/

DIBS

KESTAS

https://www.facebook.com/kestas.malinis

EVENT INFO:

Club 414 Presents Trance Night Friday 9th June 2017 11pm 7am 5 before midnight, 10 after. Progressive & Trance

PLEASE BRING PHOTO ID / NO ID NO ENTRY

Open Roof terrace for those who wish to smoke.

Club 414 414 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, London, SW9 8LF

http://www.club414.org

HOW TO GET THERE =

Tube = Brixton (Victoria Line 24 hours)

Rail = Brixton Mainline station

Daytime buses = 2, 3, 35, 37, 45, 59, 109, 118, 133, 159, 196, 250, 322, 333, 345, 355, 415, 432, P4, P5

Night buses = N2, N3, N35, 37, N133, N159, 250, 345, 689, 690

Directions: Come out of Brixton tube station and turn left. Walk 100 yards till you see KFC on your left. Turn left and walk 100 yards. You have reached your destination on the left.

Trance Night - BrixtonBuzz

Cyberpunk 2077 Design Documents Being Held For Ransom, CD …

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

Now Playing: GS News Update: Cyberpunk 2077 Design Documents Are Being Held For Ransom

Subscribe for the latest gaming news

Documents related to the development of Cyberpunk 2077, the upcoming game from The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red, have somehow found their way out of the studio. Now, they're being held for ransom, with someone (or some group) threatening to release them if CD Projekt doesn't pay up.

The developer revealed this news in a message posted on Twitter today. It describes the documents as "a few internal files belonging to CD Projekt Red. Among them are documents connected to early designs for the upcoming game, Cyberpunk 2077."

"A demand for ransom has been made, saying that should we not comply, the files will be released to the general public," CD Projekt's message continued. It said it has contacted the authorities and does not intend to pay the ransom, which it acknowledges might result in the files making their way online. It did not say what the ransom entails.

"The documents are old and largely unrepresentative of the current vision of the game," it said. "Still, if you're looking forward to playing Cyberpunk 2077, it would be best for you to avoid any information not coming directly from CD Projekt Red."

It's a somewhat bizarre situation, as it's not often that leaks manifest themselves in this way. One of the more famous leaks in the industry involves Half-Life 2, which saw its source code leaked following a Steam hack prior to the game's release. This also led to the public release of a playable version of the game. Valve would later attempt to lure the hacker into being arrested by the FBI under the guise of a job interview, though he was first arrested in Germany.

Little has been shared about Cyberpunk 2077 since its announcement; you can see a 2013 teaser trailer above. The RPG is slated for release on PC, PS4, and Xbox One at some point in the future. CD Projekt Red's message concludes, "When the time is right, you will hear about Cyberpunk 2077 from us--officially."

Here is the original post:

Cyberpunk 2077 Design Documents Being Held For Ransom, CD ...

CD Projekt Red: "Cyberpunk 2077" Files Are Being Ransomed – HardOCP

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

CD Projekt Red: "Cyberpunk 2077" Files Are Being Ransomed

Design documents related to Cyberpunk 2077 have been stolen by hackers, but the studio will not be paying up. CD Projekt Red claims that the documents are "old and largely unrepresentative of the current vision for the game," but be wary of potential spoilers if they do get released. I suppose it would be amusing if they referenced this little incident in the finished game; its a cyberpunk title after all.

The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red released a statement this morning that early design documents related to its upcoming, but mostly mysterious, Cyberpunk 2077 are currently being held for ransom by hackers. It's an odd situation to hear CD Projekt Red publicly airing this interaction with hackers, but I like how they're approaching it. They're basically saying, "Hey! Someone is holding our game hostage, but we're not letting them. So, just want to make sure you're wary of spoilers that might be leaking soon. Thanks!"

Discussion

View original post here:

CD Projekt Red: "Cyberpunk 2077" Files Are Being Ransomed - HardOCP

What’s Happening To These Stocks? EDAP TMS SA (EDAP), Nutanix, Inc. (NTNX) – Post Analyst

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

Post Analyst

What's Happening To These Stocks? EDAP TMS SA (EDAP), Nutanix, Inc. (NTNX)
Post Analyst
EDAP TMS S.A. has a consensus outperform rating from 2 Wall Street analysts, and the number of shares currently sold short amount to at least 1.33% of shares outstanding. The stock spiked 20.63% last month and is down -7.32 this year. Wall Street is ...
EDAP TMS S.A. (NasdaqGM:EDAP): A Look at the Company's ...JCTY News
Edap Tms SA (EDAP) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks ...Markets Daily
Research Brokerage Views on EDAP TMS S.A. (NASDAQ:EDAP ...Sherwood Daily

all 4 news articles »

Go here to see the original:

What's Happening To These Stocks? EDAP TMS SA (EDAP), Nutanix, Inc. (NTNX) - Post Analyst

Welch Capital Partners Increased By $3.59 Million Its Eqt (EQT) Position, Stryker (SYK) Sellers Decreased By 3.59 … – UtahHerald.com

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

June 7, 2017 - By Hazel Jackson

Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) had a decrease of 3.59% in short interest. SYKs SI was 4.88M shares in June as released by FINRA. Its down 3.59% from 5.06M shares previously. With 925,900 avg volume, 5 days are for Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK)s short sellers to cover SYKs short positions. The SI to Stryker Corporations float is 1.49%. It closed at $144.05 lastly. It is down 24.95% since June 7, 2016 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 8.25% the S&P500.

Welch Capital Partners Llc increased Eqt Corp (EQT) stake by 67.55% reported in 2016Q4 SEC filing. Welch Capital Partners Llc acquired 55,210 shares as Eqt Corp (EQT)s stock declined 9.10%. The Welch Capital Partners Llc holds 136,943 shares with $8.96M value, up from 81,733 last quarter. Eqt Corp now has $9.39B valuation. It closed at $53.97 lastly. It is down 18.61% since June 7, 2016 and is downtrending. It has underperformed by 35.31% the S&P500.

Stryker Corporation is a medical technology company. The company has market cap of $53.78 billion. The Firm offers a range of medical technologies, including orthopedic, medical and surgical, and neurotechnology and spine products. It has a 32.32 P/E ratio. The Companys divisions include Orthopaedics; MedSurg; Neurotechnology and Spine, and Corporate and Other.

Among 19 analysts covering Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK), 12 have Buy rating, 3 Sell and 4 Hold. Therefore 63% are positive. Stryker Corporation had 34 analyst reports since July 27, 2015 according to SRatingsIntel. The stock of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) has Market Perform rating given on Tuesday, November 1 by BMO Capital Markets. The stock of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) has Buy rating given on Thursday, December 15 by UBS. Argus Research maintained Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) rating on Wednesday, April 27. Argus Research has Buy rating and $130 target. BMO Capital Markets downgraded the stock to Underperform rating in Monday, December 14 report. As per Friday, March 3, the company rating was maintained by RBC Capital Markets. RBC Capital Markets maintained Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) rating on Wednesday, April 26. RBC Capital Markets has Outperform rating and $140 target. Needham downgraded the stock to Underperform rating in Friday, January 6 report. Barclays Capital initiated the shares of SYK in report on Monday, April 11 with Underweight rating. The rating was maintained by Canaccord Genuity on Wednesday, January 25 with Buy. The company was upgraded on Wednesday, April 27 by Sterne Agee CRT.

Investors sentiment increased to 0.86 in 2016 Q4. Its up 0.07, from 0.79 in 2016Q3. It increased, as 50 investors sold Stryker Corporation shares while 331 reduced holdings. 72 funds opened positions while 257 raised stakes. 277.34 million shares or 0.00% more from 277.33 million shares in 2016Q3 were reported. Savings Bank Of Montreal Can holds 0.02% or 192,296 shares in its portfolio. Rand Wealth Ltd Com reported 13,720 shares. Polar Llp holds 180,000 shares or 0.34% of its portfolio. Hall Laurie J Trustee owns 34,992 shares. 1,745 are held by Dorsey Whitney Trust Ltd. Caz Investments Limited Partnership has 1.87% invested in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) for 13,270 shares. 8,484 were reported by South Texas Money. Private State Bank Trust has 4,073 shares for 0.07% of their portfolio. Inv Services Of America Inc reported 2.26% of its portfolio in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK). Next Gp Inc invested 0% in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK). Saturna Cap Corporation holds 1.26% in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) or 300,000 shares. Cantab Capital Partners Limited Liability Partnership invested 0% of its portfolio in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK). Family Mgmt owns 0.16% invested in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) for 2,000 shares. National Pension Ser accumulated 0.2% or 244,754 shares. Massachusetts Services Com Ma accumulated 0.67% or 11.45M shares.

Since December 9, 2016, it had 1 insider buy, and 10 sales for $13.28 million activity. FRANCESCONI LOUISE sold $454,623 worth of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) on Monday, January 30. 5,194 shares were sold by STRYKER RONDA E, worth $626,410. Lobo Kevin sold $1.30M worth of stock or 9,539 shares. Another trade for 13,322 shares valued at $1.81M was made by Scannell Timothy J on Monday, May 1. $1.40M worth of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) shares were sold by Becker Yin C. 41 shares were bought by Doliveux Roch, worth $5,048.

Welch Capital Partners Llc decreased Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc (NYSE:BFAM) stake by 59,776 shares to 61,273 valued at $4.29M in 2016Q4. It also reduced Surgical Care Affiliates Inc. (NASDAQ:SCAI) stake by 20,830 shares and now owns 71,333 shares. Gentex Corp (NASDAQ:GNTX) was reduced too.

Since January 1, 2017, it had 2 buys, and 1 insider sale for $157,693 activity. Cary A. Bray Jr. had bought 417 shares worth $27,272 on Sunday, January 1. Another trade for 3,479 shares valued at $210,688 was sold by Hyland M Elise.

Among 20 analysts covering EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT), 9 have Buy rating, 0 Sell and 11 Hold. Therefore 45% are positive. EQT Corporation had 43 analyst reports since July 21, 2015 according to SRatingsIntel. The company was maintained on Friday, June 2 by RBC Capital Markets. The firm has Hold rating by Tudor Pickering given on Thursday, October 13. On Tuesday, July 21 the stock rating was initiated by Cowen & Co with Outperform. The firm has Buy rating given on Wednesday, February 3 by GMP Securities. The stock has Buy rating by Stifel Nicolaus on Friday, August 26. The stock of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) earned Hold rating by Jefferies on Tuesday, January 12. The stock of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) has Hold rating given on Friday, April 7 by Jefferies. As per Friday, December 9, the company rating was downgraded by Seaport Global. As per Monday, October 24, the company rating was initiated by Credit Suisse. The stock of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) has Accumulate rating given on Wednesday, January 13 by Seaport Global.

Receive News & Ratings Via Email - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings with our daily email newsletter.

Read the rest here:

Welch Capital Partners Increased By $3.59 Million Its Eqt (EQT) Position, Stryker (SYK) Sellers Decreased By 3.59 ... - UtahHerald.com

Vox Populi: ‘Liberalism and political correctness are proving to be the downfall of our republic.’ – Savannah Morning News

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

Tell the big wigs at the Savannah Morning News to the let the Vox Populi have an entire page to itself.

If we went by the old clich that if you cant say something nice, dont say nothing at all, Vox Populi would cease to exist.

Im all for a toll bridge on to Tybee Island. That way, every time one of those pretentious people wants to come into Savannah, they can pay to come in and pay to go back home.

I hear so many negative things in the Vox Populi. I would just like to wish everyone that reads this to have a wonderful and blessed day. God bless all of you.

It is pathetic in todays world that a grown person cannot get over being called a name. This is not second grade, people. Grow up.

We in the United States should be proud with President Trump pulling out of the Paris environmental accords. We are on the same level as Syria and Nicaragua.

Pence and Trump, Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

If Kathy Griffin is the canary in the coal mine, then the American people have spoken. They dont want to have anything to do with her or so-called free speech.

The zoning issue regarding Cumberland Island is so depressingly familiar. Nature loses out to development in every case it seems. Georgia wont realize what it lost until its gone.

Liberalism and political correctness are proving to be the downfall of our republic.

When if ever can we declare America is great again?

View original post here:

Vox Populi: 'Liberalism and political correctness are proving to be the downfall of our republic.' - Savannah Morning News

Warriors’ Steve Kerr marvels at how sports defy evolution – SFGate

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle

Golden State Warriors' head coach Steve Kerr laughs during press availability on practice day during NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on Thursday, June 8, 2017.

Warriors Steve Kerr marvels at how sports defy evolution

CLEVELAND The Warriors dominance this postseason has left many wondering: Could Golden State beat the greatest teams in NBA history in a best-of-seven series?

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, thickly laying on the sarcasm, told a large scrum of reporters after shoot-around Friday that the Warriors would have no shot.

Theyre all right, Kerr said of the pundits who reckon Golden State would get outplayed by elite teams from past generations. They would all kill us. The game gets worse as time goes on. Players are less talented than they used to be. The guys in the 50s wouldve destroyed everybody. Its weird how human evolution goes in reverse in sports. Players get weaker, smaller, less skilled. I dont know. I cant explain it.

Though much of the chatter has centered on whether the 1995-96 Bulls could beat Golden State in a seven-game series, Magic Johnson made sure his Showtime Lakers joined the discussion. Johnson said Monday night that those Lakers teams would sweep the Warriors, and his reasoning was simple: Theyre too small. Im sorry. Too little.

Asked Tuesday about Johnsons comments, Golden State power forward Draymond Green chuckled before saying: Thats my thoughts.

In becoming the first team in NBA history to open the playoffs 15-0, the Warriors had won by an average of 16.2 points. It prompted ESPN to ask some Las Vegas bookmakers to set the odds in a game and series between the 2016-17 Warriors and Jordans 95-96 Bulls team that went 72-10 en route to an NBA title. Five of the six bookmakers had Golden State favored.

As for Warriors guard Stephen Curry? He doesnt see much need to compare Golden State against past teams.

Its kind of comedy to me, Curry said. The hypothetical game is never one Ive played. I dont want to be in that situation where youre having to argue that.

Kerr on return: When Kerr announced April 21 that he was taking an indefinite hiatus from the bench, his goal was clear: find an answer to the chronic pain that has plagued him for almost two years.

Though he still deals with intense head and neck pain, the Warriors head coach was well enough to return to the sideline before Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Kerr, intent on focusing on winning a championship, has been relatively mum on what specifically went into his decision to come back. Roughly 90 minutes before tip-off of Game 4 on Friday night, he offered a bit more insight.

Its just fun, Kerr said of why he returned to the bench. Its fun, and I felt better. That was my barometer. If I felt better, I was going to do it.

Acting head coach Mike Brown went 11-0 during Kerrs hiatus from the sideline. Now, with Golden State nearing the end of another long season, Kerr still faces plenty of doubts. The hope is that a solution to his chronic pain will come this summer.

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

Visit link:

Warriors' Steve Kerr marvels at how sports defy evolution - SFGate

3 Books on the Evolution of the Gay Rights Movement – New York Times

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

New York Times

3 Books on the Evolution of the Gay Rights Movement
New York Times
As gay pride month kicks into gear, culminating in ebullient parades across the country, here are three books that take a look at the history of the gay rights movement. Photo. VICTORY (2012) The Triumphant Gay Revolution By Linda Hirshman 443 pp.

More here:

3 Books on the Evolution of the Gay Rights Movement - New York Times

Softbank bets on Boston robotics firm – The Boston Globe

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

Boston Robotics is renowned for teaching robots to walk. Above, one of the companys robots at an exposition in Quantico, Va.

After a rocky three-year marriage, Boston Dynamics, the Waltham company famed for making robots that walk like people or run like deer, has been dumped by Alphabet Inc., parent company of Google.

But its a soft landing for Boston Dynamics, a company that has yet to translate its innovative technologies into profitable products.

Boston Dynamics fell into the arms of Softbank Group, a Japanese conglomerate that has recently been making billion-dollar bets on hot technologies ranging from satellite Internet systems to microchips.

Softbank also scooped up another Google property: Schaft, a Japanese maker of human-shaped robots. Financial details of the acquisitions were not revealed. But with 2016 net income of $13.2 billion, Softbank can certainly afford the investments.

Get Talking Points in your inbox:

An afternoon recap of the days most important business news, delivered weekdays.

I think Softbank has made a major commitment to the future of robotics, said Daniel Theobald, cofounder of Vecna Technologies Inc., a robot maker based in Cambridge. They understand that the world economy is going to be driven by robotics more and more.

In 2013, about the same time Google bought Boston Dynamics, Softbank acquired Aldebaran Robotics, a French firm that makes human-shaped robots that roll on wheels, and are used as guides and greeters in Japanese retail stores.

But while Google is now backing off, Softbank is doubling down. With Boston Robotics in its portfolio, Softbank might someday offer walking robots that could stock store shelves, or provide home care for senior citizens.

With birth rates falling and average population ages rising throughout the world, there are big opportunities for humanlike robots to supplement the flesh-and-blood workforce. Besides, said Dan Kara, research director for robotics at ABI Research in Oyster Bay, N.Y., Boston Robotics excels at teaching robots to walk. These are the worlds greatest experts on legged mobility, he said.

According to Damion Shelton, chief executive of Agility Robotics Inc. in Albany, Ore., Boston Dynamics new owners had better be patient. The technology right now is at the stage where self-driving cars were six years ago, said Shelton, whose company will build just five or 1o walking robots this year, for sale to university research labs.

Agility is working on a security guard robot, and thinks it could sell several hundred a year. But the product wont be ready for another two years. And it will be designed for relatively uncluttered areas, like walking the perimeter of a factory.

Designing a walking robot to move through a city is a much tougher task. Theres lots of stuff to run into, theres lots of things you dont want to step on, like pets or kids, and its a relatively unstructured environment, Shelton said.

Bruce Newman/Oxford Eagle/Associated Press

Pepper, a humanoid robot from Softbank Robotics America, at a tech show in Miss.

Boston Dynamics was spun off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1992, but has yet to bring a commercial product to market. For years, it subsisted on grants from the US military, developing machines like BigDog, a robotic pack mule that could carry ammunition and supplies into battle, and Atlas, a human-shaped robot capable of driving a car or climbing stairs, and designed for disaster relief missions.

Enter Alphabet, which acquired Boston Dynamics and several other small robot makers in 2013. The new owners backed away from accepting military contracts, and said they expected to turn robots into a profitable business in a few years. But three years later, nothing much had happened. They bought all these companies and they didnt do anything with them, said Kara.

Meanwhile, despite its ample resources, Alphabet was pulling away from investments that didnt promise near-term payoffs. For instance, it halted further expansion of Google Fiber, the costly effort to run high-speed Internet fibers to homes and businesses in major cities. And about a year ago, the company put Boston Dynamics on the auction block.

Continue reading here:

Softbank bets on Boston robotics firm - The Boston Globe

Robotics are helping paralyzed people walk again, but the price tag … – Washington Post

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

Ashley Barnes was 35 years old when doctors told her she would never walk again.

A botched spinal procedure in 2014 paralyzed her from the waist down. The Tyler, Tex., resident had been an avid runner, clocking six miles daily when not home with her then-9-year-old autistic son, whom she raised alone. Life in a wheelchair was not an option.

I needed to be the best mom I could be, Barnes said. I needed to be up and moving.

So she threw herself into physical therapy, convinced she would one day run again. Soon she realized that wasnt a reality.

Although she wore a brave face, I would save my moments of crying for my room, she said.

About a year later, hope resurfaced when she learned of the ReWalk system, a battery-powered robotic exoskeleton that attaches to the legs and lower back. It contains motors at the knee and hip joints and sensors to help it adjust with each footfall. While wearing the device and holding two forearm crutches, someone with complete lower-limb paralysis can walk.

Rehabilitation centers often employ such devices in physical therapy, which is how Barnes first encountered one at the Baylor Tom Landry Center, a rehab clinic in Dallas. After seven months without being able to stand, she did. Then she took a step as she began to learn how to walk again.

In 2014, the ReWalk system became the first personal robotic exoskeleton approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The following year, the Department of Veterans Affairs agreed to cover the exoskeletons for qualifying vets. Meanwhile, several companies began touting similar devices. For example, Ekso makes units used to rehabilitate people after spinal cord injury or stroke.

Health insurers, however, generally dont cover the expensive equipment.

After working with the ReWalk system at her rehab center, Barnes,who uses a wheelchair at home to get around, decided she wanted one of her own. But Tricare, her insurer, denied the request.

In a statement, Tricare said it does not cover these devices for use on a personal basis due to concerns with their safety and efficacy. This is particularly important due to the vulnerability of paralyzed users in the event of a fall.

Two years and countless nos later, Barnes still doesnt have one because, according to Tricare, it isnt medically necessary.

Barnes strongly disagrees.

This is medically necessary, she said. If she had one of the devices, Id be able to go to the bathroom. I would be able to walk around, exercise in it. I would love to be able to stand up and cook things in my microwave or on my stove.

She paused before adding, I would no longer have to look up at my son.

High prices, low incomes

The ReWalk Personal 6.0 System costs, on average, $81,000. Ottobocks C-Brace is priced at $75,000. For the Indego Personal, which received FDA approval last year, it is $98,000.

About 28 percent of the more than 5.2 million Americans living with paralysis survive on an annual household income of less than $15,000, according to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. The basic expenses of living with paraplegia are, on average, $519,520 in the first year and $68,821 each subsequent year, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center. Furthermore, only 34.3 percent of people are employed 20 years after a paralysis-causing injury.

To date, ReWalk has sold only 118 personal devices in the United States.

Some people do get devices covered by insurance, but it can be an onerous process, as evidenced by Mark Delamere Jr. The Boston native, 19, was paralyzed in a car accident in 2013, on the third day of his freshman year of high school.

Like Barnes, he thought he would never walk again. Like Barnes, with the help of a robotic exoskeleton, he did. Unlike Barnes, though, he has an exoskeleton at home.

But for two of his teenage years, he sat in a wheelchair while his family filed claims and appealed denials.

They dont really classify these things with the purpose of you getting better, because they think the injury is never going to change, his father, Mark Sr., said.

Eventually, though, Mark Jr. got approved by his insurance company and received the ReWalk, which he uses for at-home therapy and just to walk around the house and the neighborhood, up and down the street. Asked to describe the feeling, he was at a loss for words.

Its kind of crazy, he said. It just feels kind of I dont really know. It feels so different.

They dont always work

But his story is rare. People are paying out of pocket or fundraising for exoskeletons, said Dan Kara, research director for robotics at ABI Research, a technology analysis and consultant company.

The price of the devices exceeds their value in the eyes of insurers, which want to be able to prove they actually improve quality of life and utility, said Howard Forman, a Yale professor of diagnostic radiology and public health. Utility means that an exoskeleton would provide a medical benefit beyond simply helping people move around and complete daily tasks.

Virginia Tech researchers found that these devices, by getting otherwise immobilized people to move around, can help them manage spasticity a continuous contraction of muscles, which can be quite painful and improve bowel function. Barnes said when she was training with the exoskeleton, tending to her bowels took about 20 minutes each day, not the customary hour.

One major concern is how relatively untested the technology is outside the controlled environment of a rehabilitation facility. Indeed, they dont always work as planned.

Stacey Kozal, a 42-year-old Ohio resident, was paralyzed from the waist down after what she said was a devastating flare-up of lupus. For more than a year, she fought with her insurance provider, Anthem, in hopes of obtaining Ottobock C-Braces. These devices have bendable knee joints equipped with sensors that measure the current position of the joint every .02 seconds, according to Ottobocks website. A built-in microprocessor adjusts ankle pressure while a hydraulic system moves the knee to help the user place her foot down in the right place.

Eventually, Anthem agreed to cover a C-Brace for each leg, which Kozal used to hike the Appalachian Trail, where limitations revealed themselves. The battery required constant recharging. Rain was problematic because the C-Brace isnt waterproof.

While she plans to wear her C-Braces around the house, shes now hiking the Pacific Crest Trail using old-fashioned braces that lock her legs in place. She uses her core, hips and upper body to swing her legs forward, and she keeps her balance with the aid of forearm crutches. C-Braces are heavier than traditional devices, so when their batteries died on the Appalachian Trail, they made it more difficult for her to move around.

Another major issue for insurers, though, is the price. But Forman said, Though these technologies are incredibly expensive now, we have all kinds of evidence that eventually ... they can become affordable to anyone.

Indeed, some entrepreneurs are working on cheaper solutions. Silicon Valley start-up SuitX created a lightweight model called the Phoenix. While most exoskeletons have motors powering each joint, the Phoenix simply uses two hip motors. Even so, if approved by the FDA, the device would cost $40,000, according to SuitX.

The rehabilitation marketplace is limited by the number of people who have these conditions, Kara said. The exoskeletons are basically handcrafted, which is expensive. If you could up the volume, you could lower the price.

The key would be expanding the user base. One way to do that, he noted, is to sell the devices for purposes other than rehabilitation. Warehouse workers might wear them to assist with lifting heavy loads. Some companies are already testing this idea: Lowes, for example, recently outfitted several of employees with exoskeletons as part of a pilot program.

The worldwide market for exoskeletons $97 million now is expected to grow to $1.9 billion by 2025, according to ABI Research.

Kara compared the prospects for exoskeletons to the growth of LiDAR, which uses pulsed lasers to record topographic features. For years, researchers used LiDAR to create 3-D maps of the Earth, but it was expensive. However, the rise of self-driving cars, which use the technology to navigate roadways, fostered improvements in the technology. As a result, Kara said, the price of LiDAR systems has begun to fall and is expected to drop dramatically, from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of dollars or less.

[A new way to find out what lies beneath]

Waiting for exoskeleton prices to drop is tremendously frustrating, Barnes said. We take so much for granted when we dont have physical problems, she said. Like just being able to reach up and grab something in my laundry cabinet without having to break my neck to get it.

She isnt ready to just accept that she and others who will face these issues might never get a sense of greater normalcy.

My biggest reason for standing up tall to them is I want to do it for all those behind me, she said. The more it gets approved, the more it cant get denied.

Cool tech: Archeologists have new way to find what lies beneath

Silicon Valleys boy genius wants to kick the *!$%! out of cancer

Continued here:

Robotics are helping paralyzed people walk again, but the price tag ... - Washington Post

SoftBank unit buys robotics businesses from Alphabet Inc – Reuters

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Danzig

TOKYO SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) said it would buy two firms that build walking robots from Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), adding to the Japanese company's growing artificial intelligence portfolio.

SoftBank said it would buy Boston Dynamics and Tokyo-based Schaft, which design and manufacture robots that simulate human movement, but did not disclose the terms of the transactions.

Shares of the company rose as much as 7.9 percent after the deal was announced, hitting a 17-year high.

"Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the information revolution, and Marc (Raibert) and his team at Boston Dynamics are the clear technology leaders in advanced dynamic robots," SoftBank Group Chairman Masayoshi Son said in a statement on Friday.

Raibert is CEO and founder of Boston Dynamics.

SoftBank has embarked on an aggressive acquisition campaign to boost its research and development capabilities. The group is backing the $93 billion Vision Fund, the world's largest private equity fund that seeks to invest in technologies expected to grow significantly in the near future, such as robotics and artificial intelligence.

Son, Japan's richest man, describes the fund as essential for setting up SoftBank for a data "gold rush" which he expects to happen as the global economy becomes increasingly digitized.

Boston Dynamics and Schaft could eventually be vested with the Vision Fund, a person familiar with the deal told Reuters

Schaft, a University of Tokyo spinoff, develops bipedal robots designed to negotiate uneven terrain.

"Robotics as a field has great potential, and we're happy to see Boston Dynamics and Schaft join the SoftBank team to continue contributing to the next generation of robotics," an Alphabet spokesperson said.

Boston Dynamics has produced a number of robots that mimic human and animal movement, including Atlas, a humanoid model that co-ordinates motion and balance using its arms and legs and can pick itself up off the ground when knocked over.

It is best known for building robots that look as if they belong in science-fiction movies and are often co-developed or funded by the U.S. military. Its military projects would mean the acquisition is likely to be subject to regulatory approval from Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

The company was acquired by Google in 2013 during a robotics shopping spree led by Android creator Andy Rubin, but the team struggled to find its place within the tech giant after Rubin's departure, former Boston Dynamics employees said.

"They're advancing the state of the art in independent robotics. They are probably the leader in the U.S.," said Arnis Mangolds, a robotics expert who has worked with Boston Dynamics.

"But the problem is it's not ready for prime time, and very few people have a tolerance for that."

(Reporting by Julia Love in SAN FRANCISCO and Makiko Yamazaki in TOKYO, Writing by Sam Holmes in SINGAPORE; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Himani Sarkar)

BRUSSELS EU antitrust authorities opened an investigation on Friday into Qualcomm's $38-billion bid for NXP Semiconductors , ratcheting up pressure on the U.S. smartphone chipmaker to offer concessions to address their concerns.

HONG KONG Asia's competitiveness in fintech is being undermined by the rivalry among the region's financial centers that has created regulatory complexity and uncertainty, a financial lobby group has warned.

Here is the original post:

SoftBank unit buys robotics businesses from Alphabet Inc - Reuters

Select Page ::