National News

Alexandria, Virginia (PRWEB) January 26, 2012

Total Resource Management, Inc. (TRM) today announces a new partnership with The McHenry Management Group (TMMG) to augment their Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) best practices division with sophisticated solutions to deliver Asset Management Performance Optimization programs to current and prospective IBM Maximo? customers.

The ?TRM-TMMG Team? provides a solution set that is unique in the EAM/CMMS industry bringing TRM?s state of the art technology together with TMMG?s innovative maintenance process improvements.

As a premier IBM Business Partner and leading value-added reseller of IBM Maximo, TRM improves operations by delivering the best implementations of IBM Maximo, Maximo enhancements, including the unique configuration control center TRM RulesManager?, and support for over fifteen years. The McHenry Management Group (TMMG) is an Engineering Services firm with an unmatched reputation and experience in development and implementation of Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) and Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) programs on a nation-wide scale.

Chris Wenz, TMMG Director of Maintenance Improvement, commented ?The synergy of data transparency delivered by a correctly configured Maximo system, when combined with expert maintenance solutions provided by TMMG Engineers, enables an organization?s leadership to realize efficiency and consistency across the breadth of their asset management program.?

Ray Brisbane, TRM Chief Strategist added, ?We?re aggressively pursuing the transportation market and TMMG brings top tier qualifications in this space in addition to their sophisticated maintenance engineering services. This teaming enables us to deliver significant return on investment to our clients. Our long time support of maintenance best practices in the utilities and industrial sectors will also benefit from TMMG?s RCM expertise.?

About TRM

Total Resource Management (TRM) is focused on improving the asset and operational performance of organizations through the effective use of information technologies. TRM is an IBM Premier Business Partner with over fifteen years experience delivering asset and service management solutions based upon IBM Maximo. TRM supports clients across a wide range of industries, including government, defense, cities, facilities, energy, utilities, transportation and life sciences.

TRM is based in Alexandria, Virginia and has business centers across the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.trmnet.com or call 703-548-4285

About TMMG

The McHenry Management Group (TMMG) provides senior level maintenance engineering services to commercial and government clients and is a recognized leader in enterprise level program management, change management and process improvement programs. Focused on providing innovative and cutting-edge solutions to challenging program level problems, TMMG brings deep expertise in Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM), Reliability- Centered Maintenance (RCM) and maintenance engineering process improvements. TMMG assists customers (including U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and Amtrak) with the world?s most complex maintenance challenges resulting in significant productivity advancements.

TMMG is located in Chesapeake, Virginia. For more information visit http://www.tmmg.us.com or contact (757) 410-0233.

Asset Management Performance Optimization, AMPO and TRM RulesManager are trademarks of Total Resource Management, Inc.

IBM Maximo and Maximo are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation.

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New York, NY (PRWEB) January 26, 2012

Dr. Pepper Schwartz, national love and relationships Ambassador for AARP, speaks with Nadir Wright on Senior Matters. Schwartz travels the country helping baby boomers and persons 50-plus improve their lives, offering them advice on a range of issues relating to sex, love and relationships. She brings her sought after expertise to the listeners of Senior Matters.

“We are beyond excited to have Pepper Schwartz on the show,” said host Nadir Wright. Senior Matters aims to broach topics that are not always talked about. “Her candid, accessible style makes it easy for people to talk about things that might otherwise prove difficult.” The upcoming show aims to dispel many of the myths relating to older adults and sex. “We want to dispel all these commonly held beliefs that seniors do not and should not have sex. These myths are simply just not true,” according to Wright.

The upcoming show also shines a spotlight on love and relationships. “We want to broach the topic of finding love after 50, because so many people are faced with this prospect”, said Wright. The episode also touches upon the surge in STDs and HIV infection in people over 50.

Senior Matters airs live on Thursday at 7 AM Pacific / 9 AM Central / 10 AM Eastern on The VoiceAmerica Health&Wellness Channel. To access the show, log on at http://www.voiceamerica.com/channel/248/voiceamerica-health-and-wellness. All shows will be available in Nadir Wright’s Content Library on The VoiceAmerica Health&Wellness Channel for on-demand and iTunes as a podcast download.

About Nadir Wright

Nadir Wright is the President of Bright Days Home Care, an agency that provides in-home care to seniors. He has a Masters in Public Health from the Joseph A. Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. His focus was on health promotion and disease prevention, where we examined the determinants to successful health outcomes for people.

About VoiceAmerica/World Talk Radio, LLC:

World Talk Radio, LLC is the world leader in online media broadcasting and the largest producer and distributor of live internet based talk radio and TV, delivering over 1,000 hours of programming weekly on its VoiceAmerica? Network (http://www.voiceamerica.com) and WorldTalk Radio Network (http://www.worldtalkradio.com) as well as live and on-demand video content on VoiceAmerica.TV (http://www.voiceamerica.tv). Featuring more than 200 hosts broadcasting to eight niche community based channels: its flagship VoiceAmerica? Variety Channel, VoiceAmerica? Health & Wellness Channel, VoiceAmerica? Business Channel, VoiceAmerica Sports, 7th Wave Channel, The Green Living Channel, VoiceAmerica Kids Channel and World Talk Radio Variety Channel. VoiceAmerica? TV offers targeted and exclusive video programming channels. World Talk Radio, LLC is one of the pioneers in internet broadcasting, producing and syndicating online audio and video, offering an innovative, effective and comprehensive digital broadcast platform. Digital Publishing through its 10 years of broadcast and media experience along with our seasoned staff of Executive Producers, Production and Host Services Group, World Talk Radio, LLC provides an internet radio and video platform for new, emerging and veteran media personalities to expand and monetize their business and brand in an online digital medium.

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Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) January 25, 2012

Assembly Member Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward) introduced a bill today to create the first lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) specialty license plate for California. AB 1539 would make California the fourth state in the nation?after South Carolina, Indiana, and Maryland? to offer a LGBT-themed license plate.

?This will be an important opportunity for Californians to show their support for the LGBT community and address a major problem that is affecting all youth,? stated Assembly Member Mary Hayashi. ?LGBT youth are at an increased risk for bullying, which can have devastating effects on their health, even leading to suicide. By purchasing this plate, the public can put a stop to bullying and help make a difference for our kids.?

Currently, California has 13 specialty license plates available at the Department of Motor Vehicles, and this would be the first with an LGBT theme. Funds from the sale of the plate will go toward anti-bullying programs at the California Department of Education.

The 2009 National School Climate Survey found that eight in 10 LGBT students had been verbally harassed at school, and four in 10 had been physically harassed. The survey of 7,000 LGBT middle and high school students also found that one in five had been the victim of a physical assault at school. This harassment has placed LGBT teens at risk of suicide and feelings of depression. There have been numerous reports throughout California and across the country of teen suicides related to bullying.

Assembly Member Hayashi is the Chair of the Business, Professions, and Consumer Protection Committee and serves the 18th Assembly District, which includes San Leandro, Hayward, Dublin, most of Castro Valley and Pleasanton, and a portion of Oakland, as well as the unincorporated areas of Ashland, Cherryland, San Lorenzo and Sunol.

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Orlando, FL. (PRWEB) January 25, 2012

Capital Corp Merchant Banking has entered into a $ 135 million funding agreement with a leading American biotechnology company (?The Client?). The funds will be used to develop and commercialize the heavily patented technology that the Client has developed wherein a small molecular binder will be used to enable the active agent within various drugs to work effectively and without the side effects currently produced by the binding bacterial protein and current industry purification standard, Protein A.

The funds will also be used to build a production facility in Germany so as to be able to address not only the U.S. but European market as well. The facility will also have an R&D section where the Client plans to develop other small molecule binders in time. The Client plans to acquire no less than 10% of the Protein A market worldwide by Phase III. Total project costs will amount to USD $ 150 million.

The method by which this project is to be funded is the brainchild of Mr Gilles Herard, Jr. Mr Herard is a seasoned Merchant Banker and has been in the banking industry for 38 years. He worked early in his career at the Toronto Dominion Bank (Canada) and later on joined Manufacturer Hanover (MH) of New York as Senior Credit Analyst. He eventually created his own Firm, Capital Corp Merchant Banking, where he syndicates and structures funding for top companies worldwide, all the while investing his own firm?s funds into the projects. As the head of Capital Corp Merchant Banking, Mr Herard has become a leading figure in international middle-market project financing and engineers all funding structures for projects at Capital Corp. Mr Herard has received numerous awards for his work and other contributions including being appointed to the Presidential Business Commission, Honorary Co-Chairman of the Business Advisory Council, nominated as Executive of the Year by the internationally acclaimed National Register?s Who?s Who, and having received the Senatorial Medal of Freedom, among many others.

About Capital Corp Merchant Banking: Capital Corp Merchant Banking offers quality Merchant Banking services for a variety of projects worldwide. Capital Corp Merchant Banking has developed close working relationships with groups of Professionals: Specialists in Finance, Commercial Risks Insurance and Re-Insurance, International Accounting Firms and Law Firms, and the largest Valuation Firm in the world. Capital Corp Merchant Banking is solution-oriented and known for being the most flexible Funding Source on the Market in creating handcrafted investment structures to meet the needs of the different constituent groups in each individual transaction. Capital Corp Merchant Banking offers many services: Project Financing, Consulting, Due Diligence, Evaluation of a Business, Negotiating Services, Acquisitions, Investment Approach, and Presentation Reports as well. For further information, please visit our website.

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Tampa, Florida (PRWEB) January 25, 2012

superDimension i-Logic, an innovative and far less invasive bronchoscopy technique for detecting and diagnosing lung diseases and lung cancer at earlier stages for easier treatment, is now available through Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay. ????

The superDimension? option does not carry the risks and complications associated with traditional bronchoscopies or CT guided needle biopsy. The new i-Logic? procedure uses electromagnetic navigation technology similar to GPS (global positioning system) to guide the physician much more deeply into a patient?s airways to take tissue samples in areas previously inaccessible via traditional techniques. Electromagnetic sensors guide a catheter to the exact location where suspicious tissue resides and where a sample is taken and sent to a lab for cancer diagnosis.

This minimally invasive technology also can be used for earlier detection of benign or malignant lesions even among patients who suffer from poor lung function.

According to Dr. Dragos Zanchi of Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay, ?superDimension is particularly valuable in the Tampa Bay area, where pulmonary conditions arising from smoking addiction and exposure to radon residues from phosphate production are prevalent.”

His associate, Dr. Rafael Martinez adds, “With this technique, we can diagnose much earlier, more quickly, and much more safely on an out-patient basis to design the best possible treatment plan.?

To save patients from the anxiety and stress induced from multiple office visits to varying locations for the many steps required in diagnosis and treatment, the electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopies are performed at Brandon Regional Hospital as an outpatient procedure. Screening and diagnosis and quick referral to surgeons, radiology oncologists and other specialists are available in one convenient location. Patients are then treated at one of Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay?s comprehensive lung clinic locations: 311 Noland Drive, Brandon; 1907 Alexander Street, Plant City; or 4900 North Habana, Tampa.

For more information, visit http://www.pulmonaryandsleephealth.com or call 813-654-8100.

About Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay

Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay is a premier regional medical group providing comprehensive and innovative treatment for pulmonary diseases and sleep conditions. The specialists and staff at three convenient locations in Brandon, Plant City, and Tampa have the extensive training and modern equipment to evaluate symptoms, recognize causes, and provide ongoing solutions that promote a healthier life. They specialize in a full spectrum of such sleep and pulmonary disorders as lung cancer, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, and pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay is the only practice offering screening for lung cancer in at-risk patients, as well as advanced techniques including electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy, also known as superDimension, and endoscopic bronchial ultrasound. Pulmonary & Sleep of Tampa Bay is the only non-hospital medical organization in the area to have earned The Joint Commission national quality approval for its compliance with rigorous national performance standards that promote safe and quality health care. For more information, visit the web site at http://www.pulmonaryandsleephealth.com.

About superDimension

superDimension, Ltd. is a privately-held Israeli company which operates through its wholly owned subsidiary superDimension, Inc., a Minneapolis-based company that develops and markets catheter based devices for use in the minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of early stage lung cancer and other diseases, using the patient?s natural airways to avoid surgery. For more information, please visit http://www.superdimension.com.

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Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) January 24, 2012

Cenegenics? Medical Institute launched a unique Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention Program this month that sets a new benchmark for preventive health, announced the age management medicine global leader. Partnering with three cardio-diagnostic leaders?Panasonic Healthcare Group, Berkeley HeartLab and Cleveland HeartLab??Cenegenics created the most advanced program, combining the best aspects of the nation?s top laboratories who screen for cardiovascular disease. No other practice does that.

Cardiovascular disease claims more lives ever year than all cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer?s or accidents, per the AHA?s 2011 Heart Disease/Stroke update. Cenegenics is targeting the disease head on with next generation medicine and an innovative program designed by four experts in the field: Dr. Robert D. Willix, Jr., a former cardiovascular surgeon and Cenegenics? Chief Medical Officer; and three cardiologists, Dr. George Shapiro (Cenegenics New York City), Dr. Cesar Pellerano (Cenegenics Miami) and Dr. Ernst Schwarz (professor of Medicine, UCLA?s David Geffen School of Medicine).

?Up until now, Cenegenics has focused entirely on age management medicine and proactive health. Our new Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention Program with an advanced screening technology is our first endeavor to not only target an illness, but show how our Cenegenics program can reduce the development of disease,? Willix said.

Cenegenics? Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention Program is available to everyone, patient or not, and is recommended for a wide age group.

????Critical for future health?if you have a family history of heart disease or stroke
????Avoid future events?if you?ve had cardiovascular disease or had bypass surgery, heart attack or stroke
????Life saving?for everyone regardless of age, from 13 to 60 or older

?Can you prevent premature death, a heart attack or stroke? Yes, but you?ve got to know the warning signs. Cenegenics helps you do that with our unique Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention Program, which includes genetic screening, advanced lipid panels, laboratory markers for plaque formation and assessments for inflammatory markers?a cause of cardiovascular disease leading to tissue damage, organ destruction, shift in the cellular matrix as well as potential blood clots and heart attacks,? Willix said.

Learn more about Cenegenics? Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention Program by calling 888.412.8769.

Visit Cenegenics? Facebook Fan page, follow them on Twitter and get patient celebrity blogs, health tips and news on their portal site, CenegenicsPost.

For more information about Cenegenics, please visit them online, where you can register for quick access to the online Cenegenics Healthy Aging Kit: informative Guide to Healthy Aging, Executive Summary and media excerpts.

Physicians can learn more about age management medicine directly by calling Cenegenics: Dr. Michael Resnick at 702.953.1574 or Dr. Tim Patel at 702.953.1577. Or visit the Cenegenics physician site to learn more about Cenegenics? highly regarded, CME-accredited Physician Training & Certification in Age Management Medicine program.

To schedule an interview, please contact Ann Castro, Cenegenics Director of Media Relations: 702.953.1588.

About Cenegenics

Cenegenics? Medical Institute has forged a paradigm shift in medicine, developing a proactive medical approach for optimized health hailed as ?next generation medicine? and garnering worldwide media attention. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Cenegenics serves over 20,000 patients globally?2,000 are physicians and their families. Cenegenics has 19 centers with others opening in the near future: Las Vegas, Nevada; Charleston, South Carolina; Boca Raton, Florida; Dallas, Texas; Arlington, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Beverly Hills, California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Washington, DC; New York City, NY; Tulsa, OK; Jacksonville, FL; Atlantic City, NJ; Houston,TX; Denver, CO; Scottsdale, AZ; Boston, MA. Cenegenics also offers CME-accredited physician training and certification opportunities in age management medicine via the nonprofit Cenegenics Education and Research Foundation (CERF).

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Denver, CO (PRWEB) January 24, 2012

Intuitive Surgical, makers of the da Vinci Surgical System, has announced that Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology Doctor Susan Trout is being commended for her expertise in using minimally invasive robotic surgery to treat women?s health and reproductive issues. Trout is the only reproductive endocrinologist in Denver to be given such a distinction.

This recognition is only given to doctors who have completed extensive training with the da Vinci robot, along with demonstrating advanced surgical skills and completing a large number of robotic surgical procedures.

?This technology is changing the face of surgery, and soon it will become the new norm,? Trout said. ?As a doctor, I always try to embrace anything that will make life easier for our patients.?

Dr. Diane Woodford, reproductive endocrinologist and practice partner at CRE said robotic surgery is, ?a major leap in technology for our patients? wellness. It is the perhaps the biggest advancement in surgery in decades.?

To use the da Vinci robot, a doctor sits at a console and looks through magnified lenses while operating foot, hand and thumb controls which manipulate tiny, ultra-precise instruments that perform the surgery on the patient.

?The robot doesn?t do anything our hands aren?t controlling,? Woodford said. ?It is precise and extremely comfortable to use which is a big advantage. We always prefer to send patients home to recover after surgery instead of having them spend the night in the hospital, minimally invasive surgery helps us do just that.?

The advantage of having an operation with the da Vinci robot is that patients can avoid more invasive open surgical techniques in favor of minimally invasive ones. This can mean shorter recovery times and less pain or scarring.

Shelby Burnette, a patient of Trout who underwent a tubal ligation reversal when she decided to have a third child at age 40 said, ?I did a lot of online research about how they do robotic surgery and everything out there seemed to indicate that you had a better recovery time. I was encouraged by that. Once I got into the recovery room and everything was fine, they sent me right on my way home.?

According to the Los Angeles Times, use of the da Vinci system has ?quadrupled in the last four years, and the machine now helps with incisions and sutures in 2,000 hospitals around the world.?

?I had my son October 14th,? Burnette adds. ?We call him the miracle baby because really it was kind of against all odds.?

Led by doctors Susan Trout LINK(http://coloradofertility.com/about-cre/dr-susan-trout/) and Diane Woodford LINK(http://coloradofertility.com/about-cre/dr-diane-woodford/), along with CRE?s multidisciplinary team, Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology has provided personal, individualized care to thousands of couples in Denver and along the Colorado Front Range. The CRE lab, operated by embryologist Jonathan Van Blerkom PhD, was once named by U.S. News and World Report as one of the nation?s top-ten laboratories dealing with advanced reproductive technologies. For more information, contact Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology at 303-321-7115, or visit our website at http://coloradofertility.com.

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Bensalem, PA (PRWEB) January 23, 2012

On February 4, 2012 at Parx Casino, the Philadelphia/Delaware Valley Chapter of the Crohn?s & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) will host its third Zumba Fundraiser for Crohn?s & colitis. All money raised at the event will benefit the Bucks County Take Steps walk, the nation?s largest annual walk dedicated to finding cures for Crohn?s disease and ulcerative colitis, two painful, unpredictable diseases of the digestive tract.

The public is welcome to dance, workout and have fun while raising crucial research dollars and awareness of Crohn?s and colitis. The program is being led by certified Zumba instructors but is run by CCFA, whose mission is to cure these diseases, and to improve the quality of life of children and adults affected by these seldom-discussed diseases, bringing better therapies and prevention only a few steps away.

?All day I work on Take Steps to help raise money and awareness to cure IBD. After work I take Zumba classes at my local gym. I figured what could be better than combining two of my passions. The Zumba events have raised over $ 15,000 towards a cure for IBD, and I?m absolutely thrilled that Parx Casino has generously donated their 360 Lounge for our third Zumba fundraiser. My goal is to bring our total to over $ 25,000 towards a cure!? says Carly Mangel, CCFA Walk Manager, and the staff contact for the event on February 4th.

The two hour event is $ 25 to participate and participants who raise $ 100 or more will receive an event tank-top. For more information please visit online.ccfa.org/buckscountyzumbathon or contact the Philadelphia/Delaware Valley Chapter of the Crohn?s & Colitis Foundation at 215-396-9100.

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(PRWEB) January 21, 2012

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) last Thursday unveiled the WADA accredited anti-doping laboratory which will operate during the London 2012 Games.

LOCOG, laboratory service providers GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and laboratory operators King?s College London, welcomed Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics for a tour of the facility which is based in Harlow, Essex.

Over 6250 samples will be analysed throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games, up to 400 each day which is more than at any other Games. The laboratory, which measures the size of seven tennis courts, will be in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Over 1,000 LOCOG staff will work within the Anti-Doping process and a team of more than 150 anti-doping scientists will carry out the testing at the laboratory, led independently by Professor David Cowan from the Drug Control Centre at King?s College London.

The facility, which has been provided by pharmaceutical company GSK, will be operated by leading anti-doping experts from King?s College London and supported by scientists from around the world.

Paul Deighton, London 2012 Chief Executive, said: ?Today is an important milestone in the countdown to the Games. Working with one of the world?s best pharmaceutical companies and one of the country?s leading universities we have been able to create a facility to successfully and efficiently process 6,250 tests during the Games which has never been done before. As we unveil the anti-doping lab we recognise the importance of a robust testing system and continue to show that London is ready to stage a successful Games.?

Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: ?We are doing all we can to ensure that there is no place to hide for drug cheats at London 2012. Our message to any athlete thinking about doping is simple ? we?ll catch you. This lab, from GlaxoSmithKline and King?s College London, is at the forefront of the fight against doping. It will be populated with scientists at the top of their field during the Games who will carry out an exhaustive testing process.?

Sir Andrew Witty, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline said: ?As a science based organisation, GSK is well placed to help deliver the scale and cutting edge technology required to run an operation like the anti-doping facility for London 2012. We have worked with King?s to put systems in place to enable this laboratory to test more samples than any previous Games and at the same time developing a blueprint for doping operations at future Games.?

Professor David Cowan, Director of King?s College London?s Drug Control Centre said: ?These laboratories are the most high-tech labs in the history of the Games, analysing more samples than ever before. We have developed, with GSK support, super-fast and super-sensitive technologies to be able to detect use of prohibited substances. Our role is to ensure the efficient and effective operation of the lab to deliver robust anti-doping testing for the Games.?

The Anti-Doping process during the London 2012 Games will create a legacy of knowledge about operations and processes. In July 2011, GSK signed an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to share information about its medicines in development, while LOCOG will debrief on all processes.

Further information:

Statistics:

???? Up to 6250 samples will be tested during Games time ? more than any other Games
????The Anti-Doping workforce at the Games will be over 1,000 people
????Up to 1 in 2 athletes will be tested at the Olympic Games including every Olympic medallist
????The laboratory will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
????Up to 400 samples will be tested every day
????The shortest test turnaround time will be 24hrs (some tests will take longer)
????The laboratory is 4400 square metres in size ? the same size as 7 tennis courts
????A team of more than 150 anti-doping scientists will carry out the testing during Games time, led by Professor David Cowan from the Drug Control Centre at King?s College London.

To download animations of a sample being processed through the lab please visit; https://crystalcg.sharefile.com/d/sb3d94565e1d44149

Images are available at the following link:

http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/locog?nav=pr161763690

Notes to editors:

For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office

London 2012 Games partners:

The Worldwide Olympic Partners who support the London 2012 Olympic Games and the National Olympic Committees around the world are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonald?s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.

LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners – Adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters ? Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers ? Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.

There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury?s and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Supplier, Otto Bock. The London 2012 Paralympic Games also acknowledges the support of the National Lottery.

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Falls Church, VA (PRWEB) January 20, 2012

Saturday, Jan. 21, marks the one year anniversary of a Securities and Exchange Commission staff report to Congress recommending a fiduciary duty for broker-dealers and their registered reps. The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors has been involved from the beginning in the fiduciary issue debate and remains committed to working with the SEC to ensure that the final fiduciary rule does not hurt the ability of middle-market investors to receive advice and services.

When the fiduciary proposal arose during the drafting of the Dodd-Frank bill, NAIFA strongly advocated that any SEC fiduciary rule should not threaten the ability of advisors to receive commissions or sell proprietary products. Fortunately, safe harbors in the final Dodd-Frank law preserve these aspects of the business model that currently allows advisors to assist in the financial well-being of 75 million American families.

The original SEC study was completed within a congressionally imposed timeframe. SEC Commissioner Troy Paredes and then-Commissioner Kathleen Casey immediately issued a dissenting statement raising concerns about the study. Several members of Congress have since voiced similar concerns. Fortunately, the SEC has decided to give the issue more study and conduct a robust cost-benefit analysis before proposing a rule.

?An SEC fiduciary rule has the potential to bring so many unintended consequences it shouldn?t be rushed into,? said NAIFA President Robert Miller. ?We?re pleased that the SEC is apparently working to address some of the unanswered questions left by the original study.?

One of NAIFA?s leading concerns is that a poorly drafted rule could increase compliance and litigation costs for advisors, which in turn would force higher costs for their base of middle-market clients. Modest investors could be left to their own devices, without access to affordable advice.

?Our biggest worry is that a rule designed to help consumers could wind up doing a lot of harm if it makes the cost of doing business untenable for advisors working with Main Street investors and everyday people saving for retirement,? said Mr. Miller. ?NAIFA is encouraged by recent signals that the SEC is taking a deliberate approach and performing a detailed cost-benefit analysis on the proposed fiduciary rule. We?ve seen signs that the commissioners have begun to understand the important role NAIFA members play in protecting the financial well-being of millions of Americans.?

The SEC is expected to issue a request for public comment to assist in the cost-benefit analysis and NAIFA officials have expressed a willingness to help.

?At times during this debate, NAIFA has been painted in very broad strokes by people implying we?re opposed to any and all regulation,? Mr. Miller added. ?That couldn?t be further from the truth. We favor intelligent regulation that serves a definite consumer-protection purpose and that preserves the ability of American families to obtain affordable financial services and advice.?

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