Tour DaVita Raises $900,000 for Bridge of Life—DaVita Medical Missions

DaVita®, a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners, Inc. (DVA) and a leading provider of kidney care services announced that its annual charity bike ride, Tour DaVita®, raised $900,000 to support Bridge of Life—DaVita Medical MissionsTM in 2012.

The proceeds from Tour DaVita will help fund nine medical missions taking place in 2013 where Bridge of Life volunteers will be able to install or repair 112 dialysis machines. Through these missions, Bridge of Life will bring dialysis treatment to more than 600 people in communities that otherwise would not have access to this life-sustaining care.

“Tour DaVita participants collectively rode 70,000 miles, which means that for every four miles a rider completed Bridge of Life can provide a dialysis treatment to someone at one of our partnering clinics – someone’s loved one will receive a second chance at life,” said Lori Vaclavik, executive director for Bridge of Life—DaVita Medical Missions. “We are proud of all the riders and sponsors who made this gift possible. Because of them, people will live.”

More than 470 participants each pedaled approximately 250 miles over the course of three days in Iowa Sept. 16-18. The ride kicked off in scenic Wilder Park in Allison, Iowa, continuing on through the rolling hills of the American Heartland – all in the effort to raise awareness and funds in the fight against CKD.
Since it started in 2007, Tour DaVita has helped raise nearly $5 million in the fight against kidney disease. Participants have collectively ridden 420,000 miles over the years, challenging themselves and their fellow riders to go as far as possible.

DaVita thanks the sponsors who made this gift of life possible, including ASD Healthcare, Cigna, Baxter, NxStage, Office Depot, Golden Construction, Henry Schein, Promotional Images, KPMG, Pentec Health, and Tata Consultancy Services.

Life-saving dialysis is not available in most of the developing world. Currently there are 112 countries that do not have resources for dialysis or kidney transplants, which directly results in the death of more than one million people a year from kidney failure. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognize CKD as a major public health problem that not only reduces the quality and length of life, but is also expensive to treat.

Bridge of Life—DaVita Medical Missions an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to reach people who are disproportionately affected by CKD and live in developing countries abroad and disadvantaged communities in the U.S. Kidney disease is reaching epidemic proportions not only in the United States, but worldwide.

For more information about the 2012 Tour DaVita, please visit www.tourdavita.org.
For more information about Bridge of Life—DaVita Medical Missions, please visit www.bridgeoflifemm.org.
DaVita and Tour DaVita are registered trademarks of DaVita Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Life Technologies Launches QuantStudio Dx in Europe with Quidel C. Diff Assay

Life Technologies has received CE IVD marking for its Applied Biosystems QuantStudio Dx platform and launched the instrument in Europe.

In addition, Life Tech is introducing for use on the platform a CE marked Clostridium difficile assay, developed with partner Quidel, and said that the companies plan to introduce assays for several other infectious diseases in 2013.

The QuantStudio Dx is an in vitro diagnostic version of Life Tech's QuantStudio 12K Flex instrument, which the company launched for research use only in October 2011 (PCR Insider, 10/31/2011).

The two platforms have more similarities than differences, but the QuantStudio Dx has several distinct features that make it more amenable to developing and running in vitro diagnostic tests based on real-time PCR.

"In brief, the RUO model offers maximum flexibility that researchers want, whereas the Dx model is focused to the specific needs of diagnostic laboratories," a Life Tech spokesperson told PCR Insider in an email.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the systems is that the QuantStudio 12K Flex is capable of running real-time PCR in nearly any consumable format, including digital PCR. The Flex accepts five interchangeable blocks, from 96-well plates to the OpenArray format with about 12,000 data points per run.

The QuantStudio Dx, on the other hand, accommodates 96- or 384-well plates, "which are typical for diagnostic runs," as well as qPCR microfluidic cards, which can perform 48 tests on eight samples simultaneously, the company said.

In addition, the Dx version has several features to make it easier to use, including touch screen operation, reagent and sample tracking, and LIMS interface; and "sample loading options were simplified and optimized for the clinical lab customer," the spokesperson said.

Two software options are available: QuantStudio Dx software, which runs IVD tests in a secure mode with pre-set run and analysis parameters; and QuantStudio Test Development software, which enables the development of custom tests and supports clinical research projects.

Life Tech noted that customers can use its 8-by-48 microfluidic cards to design and implement custom molecular diagnostic assays, and that Life Tech is currently using the format to develop diagnostic tests in house.

In general, the platform can perform a variety of diagnostic applications, including pathogen detection, gene expression analysis, SNP genotyping, copy number analysis, mutation detection, microRNA and other non-coding RNA analysis, and high-resolution melt analysis.

"We recognize that clinical laboratories have multiple needs," Ronnie Andrews, president of medical sciences at Life Tech, said in a statement. "Accuracy and reliability are paramount when running diagnostic tests for physician reporting. In addition, medical research labs need instrumentation that supports experimental work. The QuantStudio Dx instrument addresses both these needs."

News of the QuantStudio Dx's development first leaked in July, with the company advertising that it would offer a preview of the platform to attendees of July's American Association of Clinical Chemistry in Los Angeles (PCR Insider, 7/26/2012).

Around that time, clinical diagnostics firm Quidel disclosed in an earnings call that it had signed an agreement with Life Tech to develop and commercialize real-time PCR assays for the QuantStudio Dx. The companies already had an agreement in place under which Life Tech is marketing Quidel's PCR-based assays for use on the ABI 7500 system in Europe.

Life Tech said this week that the QuantStudio Dx platform would launch in Europe with the Quidel Molecular Assay for C. difficile, with Life Tech serving as distributor of the test.

More Quidel tests for the QuantStudio Dx are currently under development and will be available in 2013. These include assays for influenza A and B, human metapneumovirus and respiratory syncytial virus, herpes simplex virus 1 and 2, and varicella zoster virus.

Life Tech said that it plans to submit the QuantStudio Dx for 510(k) clearance to the US Food and Drug Administration in December.

Discovered in Antarctica: Ancient life under 60 feet of ice

Lake Vida is devoid of light and oxygen. That hasn't stopped life from finding a way
Lake Vida, a salty lake buried under a 60-foot-thick sheet of ice in Antarctica, has renewed scientists' hopes of finding alien life in space, even in the most inhospitable places. The lake, which has been completely sealed off from the rest of the world for thousands of years, is surprisingly teeming with microbial life. "By seeing what the boundaries of life are on Earth, that helps us when we go out and look for examples elsewhere," says Peter T Doran, a professor at the University of Illinois’ Earth and Environmental Science department. Here, a guide to this mysterious lake:

Where exactly is Lake Vida?
Victoria Valley in Antarctica. The lake is covered year-round by the thickest non-glacial ice on earth, measuring at least 60 feet deep. This layer of ice has isolated the lake from the surface for 2,800 years, and as a result, the water contains no oxygen or light. It is seven times saltier than average sea water, which keeps the lake water from freezing completely despite its extremely cold temperature of roughly 8 degrees Fahrenheit.

But scientists discovered life there?
They sure did. After taking samples from the core of the ice, researchers were surprised to find previously unknown species of bacteria. The lake contains about one-tenth the amount of microbial life found in freshwater lakes.

How could this bacteria possibly survive in this lake?
Researchers aren't completely sure, but they suspect a chemical reaction between the salt water and the rocks below is producing hydrogen, which could serve as a fuel source. Whatever the answer, "the fact that things are alive in Lake Vida at all further extends the idea that where there is water, there is life," says Colin Schultz at Smithsonian. 

What does this have to do with alien life?
If life can survive in Lake Vida's harsh conditions, imagine what that means in the hunt for life elsewhere in our solar system. "This provides us with new boundary conditions on the limits for life," says Doran.

New York Life Promotes Michael Del Secolo to Senior Vice President

New York Life announced today that Michael Del Secolo has been promoted to senior vice president and chief technology officer, reporting to Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Sue Ericksen.

Mr. Del Secolo now serves as chief technology officer and has oversight of technology strategy. He is responsible for guiding the development of the company’s technical strategy, research and innovation. Mr. Del Secolo joined New York Life in 2010 as vice president of architecture. In 2011 he added responsibility for engineering, leading the management of IT architecture and engineering for the company.

Prior to joining New York Life, Mr. Del Secolo worked at Automatic Data Processing (ADP), where he held positions of increasing responsibility including vice president of IT engineering, vice president of Internet and network services, and vice president and chief information security officer, where he was responsible for designing and implementing infrastructures for ADP’s Web hosting and Software as a Service (SaaS) initiative. Before that, he held progressively more responsible roles at Sea-Land Service, Inc., Salomon Brothers, Inc., and RAV Communications.

Mr. Del Secolo is a graduate of Pratt Institute with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree. He resides in Marlboro, New Jersey, with his wife and son.

New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States* and one of the largest life insurers in the world. New York Life has the highest financial strength ratings currently awarded to any life insurer by all four of the major credit rating agencies.** Headquartered in New York City, New York Life’s family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance. New York Life Investments*** provides institutional asset management and retirement plan services. Other New York Life affiliates provide an array of securities products and services, as well as institutional and retail mutual funds.

Allergy-Friendly Help From Enjoy Life Foods Provided to Victims of Hurricane Sandy

Enjoy Life Foods, a leading manufacturer of gluten-free and allergy-friendly products in North America, and one of the few companies that produces its products in a dedicated nut and gluten-free facility, has donated product that will feed close to 6000 families whose lives have been upended due to the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.

After the recent devastation caused by the violent and deadly Hurricane Sandy, thousands of people were left without shelter and food. Although donations have already been made by many organizations and individuals, families with food allergies and intolerances, or those requiring gluten-free foods have continued to struggle, as most food donations made thus far have not taken their special needs into consideration. In an effort to alleviate some of their struggles, Enjoy Life Foods has donated product that will help serve this need. The donations will be divided among various food banks throughout New York and New Jersey, to ensure that all victims requiring special diets are able to access the foods.

“Our hearts go out to all the victims of the hurricane and the resulting floods,” said Joel Warady, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Enjoy Life Foods. “In particular, we understand the challenges facing those people in the community who live their everyday life with food intolerances, and hope this donation offers some relief as they deal with the aftermath.”

Life imprisonment means jail term for entire life: SC

Life imprisonment implies a jail term for the convict’s entire life, the Supreme Court has held, clearing a misconception on this sentence.

The apex court also said that its Constitution bench’s landmark judgement of 1980 on criterion for imposing death penalty needs a “fresh look” as there has been “no uniformity” in following its principles on what constitutes “the rarest of rare” cases.

“It appears to us there is a misconception that a prisoner serving a life sentence has an indefeasible right to be released on completion of either fourteen years or twenty years imprisonment. The prisoner has no such right.

“A convict undergoing life imprisonment is expected to remain in custody till the end of his life, subject to any remission granted by the appropriate government,” a bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Madan B. Lokur said.

The bench, however, clarified that under remission the appropriate government cannot reduce the period of sentence less than 14 years for a life convict.

“In the case of a convict undergoing life imprisonment, he will be in custody for an indeterminate period. Therefore, remissions earned by or awarded to such a life convict are only notional. In his case, to reduce the period of incarceration, a specific order under Section 432 of the CrPC will have to be passed by the appropriate government. However, the reduced period cannot be less than 14 years as per Section 433-A of the CrPC,” the apex court said.

The apex court order also seeks to put an end to the practice of en-masse release of the convicts by various governments on “festive” occasions and said each release requires a case-by-case basis scrutiny.

As Prison Life Deteriorates in Portugal, Some Stay

Life inside Portugal’s prisons has become intolerable, as budgets cuts render them overcrowded, short of necessities and rife with abuse — and that is the view of the prison guards. So it was a surprise to Júlio Rebelo, the president of one of the guards’ unions, that some prisoners did not seem to want to leave.

“We’re in a situation of such austerity that many prisoners don’t even apply for prison leave because at least their meals are paid inside,” Mr. Rebelo said. “It’s the first time I’ve seen this, but it seems families just don’t have the means to welcome prisoners back at home.”

Indeed, much of the reason for the deteriorating conditions inside Portugal’s prisons is the deteriorating conditions outside. Government cuts and mounting hardship have added dangerous new burdens to a system that guards and prisoners alike warn is already stretched beyond its limits. Things are so bad, Mr. Rebelo said, “We have to bring our own toilet paper to work these days.”

Approaching its fifth year of economic crisis, Portugal is increasingly feeling the bite but perhaps nowhere more sharply than in its prisons. The crisis has sent petty crime soaring. Thefts in the second quarter this year rose almost 14 percent, and were up 22 percent from the same time in 2008.

So hard pressed are many Portuguese that they can no longer afford to pay fines even for drunk driving or traffic violations and instead spend three or six months in prison, helping swell the population 10 percent beyond capacity.

Let alone toilet paper, budget cuts have coincided with the new burdens to leave the system wanting everything from guards to cells to more prisons, which have been put on hold as the government chops away at spending to meet the targets set by its international creditors.

Before Portugal was forced to request a €78 billion, or $102 billion, international bailout last year, the government had planned to build 10 new prisons, at a cost of €750 million. Now the government is building just one, in the Azores.

The surge of prisoners has made life “completely chaotic for the inmates and for those who work there,” said Jorge Alves, the president of another guards’ union.

Portugal’s prison authorities would not grant a reporter and photographer access to one of its prisons, and the justice ministry declined a request for an interview. But early this year, Portugal’s justice minister, Paula Teixeira da Cruz, recognized that conditions inside some prisons had become “shameful” and promised a €31 million overhaul of the system.

Prison guards, social workers and lawyers say those plans have fallen far short of what is needed, adding room by 2015 for just 1,137 more prisoners — less than the overpopulation of prisons in Portugal as of June. Portugal’s most recent official statistics indicate that its prisons had an occupancy rate of 110 percent, amounting to a surplus of 1,413 prisoners. The total number of inmates rose to 12,344 at the end of June from 11,099 in 2009.

In terms of overcrowding, Portugal ranks 13 out of 56 countries in greater Europe, including central Asian states like Azerbaijan, according to a study by the U.K.-based International Center for Prison Studies.

For his part, Mr. Alves works at the Custóias prison, which is built for 700 inmates. In the two months to mid-October, the number of prisoners there rose from 800 to 1,034, he said.

Mr. Rebelo, the other union leader, accused the government of manipulating statistics to play down the overcrowding problem. In Mr. Rebelo’s prison, Sintra, the number of inmates is set to rise to 753 from 630 under a plan to add bunk beds. Sintra, one of Portugal’s newest prisons, was built in 2004 to hold 600 inmates.

“They’ve changed their calculations for available space from square to cubic meters, so that bodies can basically be piled up while keeping ratios officially unchanged,” he said.

 The one thing the guards and the inmates can agree on is that conditions are terrible. “Guards are now working under the worst conditions that I’ve seen — so I’ve got some sympathy for that — but the real problem is that when guards are in such a bad state of mind, their response is unfortunately to pile on the abuses and violence,” said Carlos Santos, a former inmate.

Mr. Santos knows Portugal’s prison system only too well. He was released this year after 18 years in jail, spent in five different prisons for crimes that included homicide, drug trafficking and theft.

Mr. Santos said he spent his last year sharing a two-person cell with five other inmates. In September, inmates staged a strike to denounce beatings by guards, as well as worsening food and sanitary conditions, including having to share cells with inmates diagnosed with infectious diseases.

Former inmates claim basic items like shampoo and detergents, previously distributed for free, must now be bought, with guards in turn overcharging inmates and pocketing the difference. “In a crisis, corruption takes whatever little money is available out of the system,” Mr. Santos said.

Portugal’s prison guards insist the country’s economic crisis has made their situation even more intolerable than that of the inmates. They complain of crumbling infrastructure and delays of six months to replace damaged security cameras. Meanwhile, the maintenance company that handles the prison fleet is refusing to repair any more vehicles until it gets paid for previous work.

After the guards already went on strike for several days last November, the government agreed to hire 240 new guards. The guards, however, say that 800 new recruits are needed to maintain order in overcrowded jails. “It would be a big mistake to underestimate what prison guards can do when they are put under intolerable pressure,” Mr. Rebelo said.

While prisoners are complaining about more physical abuse by guards, Mr. Rebelo claimed that the number of assaults against guards had climbed as much as 200 percent in the past three years, in part because of the overcrowding.

The prospects for those who leave jail are gloomier as well. After spending 15 years in jail, Jorge Montero, 35, was released in 2009, just as joblessness started to rise. Unemployment is now almost 16 percent.

Unable to find work in Portugal, he said he had managed to avoid sinking into poverty only by traveling regularly to Switzerland, where he has family, and working there as a carpenter on short-term contracts.

“If you come out of jail in Portugal now, you’ve got almost zero chance of not going straight back in,” he said, “because there’s just nothing for you to do except sit around and stay poor and depressed.”

Life in the Gaza Strip

After eight days of conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement in Gaza in which five Israelis and over 150 Palestinians died, a ceasefire is taking hold and some semblance of normal life is returning.

Home to 1.6 million people, Gaza is just 40km (25 miles) long and 10km wide, an enclave bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, Israel and Egypt.

Originally administered by Egypt which retains control of Gaza's southern border, the area was captured by the Israelis in 1967 during the Six Day War.

In 2005, after 38 years during which Israeli settlements were a constant source of tension, Israel withdrew its troops and settlers.

A year later the Islamist militant group Hamas won elections in Gaza. In June 2007, Hamas took complete control of the strip, ousting the more moderate rival Fatah faction of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas which runs parts of the West Bank.

The Israelis swiftly tightened a blockade on Gaza, restricting the transit of goods and people into and out of the territory.

With Israel's blockade choking off opportunities to trade with the outside world, Gaza is largely dependent on external aid and the shadow 'tunnel' economy.

Gazans are, on average, worse off than in the 1990s. Unemployment is around a 30% climbing to 58% for those aged between 20 and 24 years.

Farming has an important but limited role due to lack of access to water and the buffer zones imposed by Israel along the border.

Fishing for Gaza's 3,000 fishermen is also restricted. Ten years ago, they could fish out to 12 nautical miles from the coast. That is now limited to three nautical miles.

The only part of the economy that could be said to be booming is the tunnel economy. Hundreds of these have been built under the border with Egypt, allowing the movement of goods in and out of the territory. The tunnels are also used to bring weapons into Gaza.

Iyad Tah is a software engineer, who graduated about three months ago. He is currently working as a youth volunteer.

"There is no work. Unemployment rates are very high here in Gaza," he told BBC online.

Despite this, he says his family can afford their basic needs.

"We are very happy when everything is safe and we are living a normal life...I had the opportunity to move abroad a long time ago but every time I come back, because this is where I belong," he said.

Gaza's school system is under pressure. The UN which runs many of the territory's schools says an additional 440 schools are needed by 2020 to cope with the expected growth in the population. More than half the population in Gaza under the age of 18

As it is a majority operate a double shift system to accommodate all its pupils. Classes are large, anywhere between 40 to 50 in each. This means shorter school days and enrolment is lower in the secondary system. Training and vocational opportunities are few and far between.

That said, official figures for literacy are high; 93% for women, 98% for men.

Najla is an aid worker in Gaza. She says there is a shortage of schools and not enough space to build any new ones. There are some limited work creation programmes, but even the funding for these has dried up recently.

Najla said: "There are colleges and universities in Gaza, there are about five or six, but it's so limited because there are so many graduates without jobs so the market is over-saturated."

Gaza's population is expected to grow from the current 1.64 million to 2.13 million by the end of the decade.

This will also result in an increase in the population density which is already one of the highest in the world. On average, some 4,505 people live on every square kilometre in Gaza. That's expected to rise to 5,835 people per square kilometre by 2020.

The ratio of young people between the ages of 15 and 29 to the total over-15 population is exceptionally high, at 53%. This leads to a high dependency rate.

Should the economy pick up there will be plenty of young people of working age, but if not, there is the potential for social tension, violence and extremism, according to the UN.

Director Ang Lee takes on the 'unfilmable' 'Life of Pi'

Published in 2001, Yann Martel’s Booker Prize-winning novel “Life of Pi” was instantly deemed unfilmable. And so, like that other “unfilmable” novel, “Cloud Atlas,” it has, of course, been turned into a movie – with rather happier results.

The reason for the trepidation is obvious: Much of the action takes place on a 27-foot lifeboat inhabited by a teenage Indian boy and a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Since, as one of the film’s producers has put it, they didn’t want their leading man eaten during production, a team of CGI wizards have fashioned what must be the most realistic computer-generated animal ever seen.

Ang Lee, directing from a script by David Magee, is extraordinarily versatile. “The Ice Storm,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “The Hulk,” “Brokeback Mountain” – the only common linkages here are Lee’s contemplative sensibility. In that sense, the 3-D “Life of Pi” isn’t all that much of a leap for Lee, except technologically.

The 50 best movies of all time

There’s plenty of downtime aboard that raft in which to dramatize the meaning of life, not to mention how to avoid becoming tiger bait.

Piscine, or Pi, as he dubs himself, grows up in India in the paradisiacal former French colony of Pondicherry, where his father operates a zoo. When hard times hit, the decision is made to decamp to Canada and sell the animals, but a violent storm upturns the cargo ship en route and all are lost – animals, family – save Pi (played as a teenager by newcomer Suraj Sharma) and an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena, and that tiger, to whom Pi gives the name Richard Parker.

Life of Pi: 5 reasons it's an enormously risky film

The spiritual epic has a no-name cast, cost $120 million to produce, and implausibly promises to reveal the existence of God.

Life of Pi, which opens in theaters Wednesday, tells the fantastic (and, of course, fictional) story of a shipwrecked young man forced to journey across the Pacific Ocean in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. The movie is earning very strong reviews, but even its most fervent supporters concede that the film is a hard sell. "It's the biggest gamble I've ever taken," says Elizabeth Gilbert, the 20th Century Fox executive who oversaw the film's production. (Watch the trailer for Life of Pi below.) On the eve of Life of Pi's release, there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about its chances at the box office. Here are five:

1. It cost $120 million to make
Much of the buzz surrounding Life of Pi's troubled production came down to its enormous $120 million budget — an expense that almost got the film canceled before filming could begin in 2010. (Director Ang Lee finally convinced executives to trust his vision for the film.) Much of the budget went to computer-generating the film's animals, which include a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, and a tiger. The production crew also built a 1.7-million-gallon water tank in Taiwan to replicate Pacific storms in a controlled environment.

2. It's extremely difficult to market
Unlike most of Hollywood's biggest contemporary releases, Life of Pi isn't a sequel and isn't based on a comic book, video game, or other franchise property. Though Yann Martel's 2001 novel sold 9 million copies worldwide and won the Man Booker Prize for fiction, its unusual, surreal narrative is difficult to explain to the uninitiated in a 2-minute film trailer — and all but impossible to break down in a 30-second commercial spot.

3. Its story is overtly spiritual
Life of Pi begins with the promise that Pi's story will reveal the existence of God — an unusual conceit for a Hollywood blockbuster, which only becomes more complicated when the young Pi embraces Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam simultaneously. By setting such a lofty philosophical and spiritual goal, Life of Pi threatens to alienate a large portion of its audience and makes a promise difficult for even the greatest of films to fulfill.

4. It has no movie stars in its cast
Hollywood wisdom holds that it takes a famous name on a marquee to sell most films — particularly a film as idiosyncratic as Life of Pi. But Life of Pi stars Suraj Sharma, a 17-year-old first-time actor, who anchors an international cast of unknowns. At one point in its production, the cast included Spider-Man's Tobey Maguire, who was set to play the writer interviewing the film's protagonist, but Ang Lee opted to recast the role after deciding that Maguire was "too jarringly recognizable."

5. It faces fierce competition from other movies
This week's new releases include Silver Linings Playbook, a crowd-pleasing romantic comedy and early Oscar favorite; Hitchcock, a drama aimed squarely at adults; and Rise of the Guardians, an animated movie sure to draw families. Each of those new films takes a bite out of Life of Pi's potential audience, and with upcoming competition including films like The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Les Miserables, competition will only get fiercer.

New York Life Continues Strong Sales Growth Through Third Quarter Led by 11% Growth of Whole Life Insurance

New York Life, America’s largest mutual life insurer, today announced very strong third quarter gains in sales of life insurance, annuities and mutual funds, as well as a solid increase in agent new hires in the first nine months of 2012. New York Life agents recorded an increase of 11% in sales of recurring premium whole life insurance over the third quarter of 2011.

The company also announced that its dividend payout to participating policyholders will increase by $100 million in 2013, an 8% rise over the 2012 payout. Even in the face of unprecedented low interest rates, the company had strong operating performance and was able to enhance both its surplus and dividend through the divestiture of certain international businesses. The company also has had better than expected persistency as policyholders maintain their policies in force despite the challenging economy, which speaks to New York Life’s top ratings for financial strength.

“The continued strength of whole life insurance sales speaks to the value that Americans put on safety and security when it comes planning for their loved ones. During these times of economic unsteadiness, the company’s financial strength and stability offers the peace of mind many are seeking,” said Executive Vice President Mark Pfaff.

In addition to growth in life insurance, the company’s annuity sales increased 16% and mutual fund sales increased 10% compared with the third quarter 2011. Annuity sales in the quarter were driven by income annuity sales, which are up 17%, and variable annuity sales, up 5% compared with the same period a year ago. Mutual fund sales are being driven by consistent investment performance from the company’s investment boutiques in both income oriented and capital appreciation funds, which remain in high demand from customers.

New York Life has recorded a 4% increase in agent recruitment over the same period in 2011, with 2,396 new agents hired through September 30, 2012. The full year 2012 goal for agent recruitment is 3,700. In addition, 79% of the new agent hires in 2012 have been either women or individuals representing cultural markets.

“As our country’s population changes, so does New York Life’s career agent force, with more women and minorities representing New York Life today than at any time in our history,” Mr. Pfaff said.

New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States* and one of the largest life insurers in the world. New York Life has the highest possible financial strength ratings currently awarded to any life insurer from all four of the major credit rating agencies: A.M. Best (A++), Fitch (AAA), Moody’s Investors Service (Aaa), Standard & Poor’s. Headquartered in New York City, New York Life's family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance. New York Life Investments*** provides institutional asset management and retirement plan services. Other New York Life affiliates provide an array of securities products and services, as well as retail mutual funds. Please visit New York Life’s Web site at www.newyorklife.com for more information.

Life returns to service sector

The service sector breathed back into life during October, according to the BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI).

The PSI for September was 57.4. This was up 7.5 points from September, and the highest result since November 2011 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining).

Compared to previous October results, the 2012 value was the second highest recorded since 2007.
BusinessNZ chief executive Phil O’Reilly said that there were certainly some notable reasons to raise a glass for the current results.

"Both activity/sales and new orders/business were either struggling or heading in the wrong direction in recent months, so a strong turnaround for both to lift the overall result has come at the right time. Comments from respondents also provide a telling story. In September, only 47% of comments were positive, which rose to 62% in October.

"Last month we asked whether the Xmas/seasonal effect would help steer the sector back into positive territory. Looking at those who provided positive comments, this seems to be the case, along with various growth stories outlined citing a larger customer base, improving business efficiency and winning tenders."
BNZ economist Doug Steel said, "In the context of some horrible economic indicators for the third quarter, the big bounce in the October PSI is very welcome. While one needs more than one month’s data to be sure of genuine bounce in activity, it is a first step to suggesting a reasonable rebound from a soft patch earlier in the year."

The seasonally adjusted BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Composite Index or PCI (which combines the PMI and PSI) for October showed the two options for measuring the PCI back in healthly expansion. The GDP-Weighted Index (56.9) increased 7.7 points from September, with its highest result since March 2010. The Free-Weighted Index (54.9) also showed a pick-up, rising 5.9 points from September. The major influence for both indices was the strong service sector result.

All five main sub-indices were in expansion during October. Activity/sales (64.2) led the way with its highest result since the survey began in 2007.

Likewise, new orders/business (62.7) recorded its highest value since November 2007, although almost on par with its result in May this year. Employment (52.1) returned to activity levels last seen in July, while supplier deliveries (54.7) also bounced back from three months in contraction. Finished stocks (51.0) was the only sub-index to experience a fall in expansion levels during October, although consistent with results over the last six months.

Three of the four regions were in expansion during October. In the North Island, the Northern region (60.7) continued its upwards momentum, with its highest value since November 2007. In contrast, the Central region (48.8) showed almost no change from the previous month. In the South Island, the Canterbury/Westland region (56.0) displayed its highest result since June, while the Otago/Southland region (55.6) managed to break the shackles of five consecutive months of contraction to show growth in October.

Life Insurance Costs for UK Women Likely to be 15% Higher by the End of 2012

Not all the decisions made by the EU have a tangible impact on consumers here in the UK, but the recent changes made to the rules in terms of gender neutral insurance surely will. Many of the experts are advising that those in search of life insurance act fast in order to avoid bearing the brunt of the amendments made in Europe.

A gender neutral approach to insurance premiums will come into effect across the entire industry from 21st December 2012. This is a key date for consumers because it is likely to bring with it a rise in premiums, particularly for women who were previously given a better deal on insurance products, including car insurance and life insurance.

The team at Lifebroker is keen to stress that those searching for suitable life insurance cover will continue to see the benefits of individually-tailored policies until that date arrives. This means that women on the lookout for an appropriate life insurance policy may be able to seek out a better deal for the next few weeks only.

After the 21st December, women will be subject to the same rules as men when it comes to life insurance. This means that they will no longer receive favourable premiums and any quotes given after the all-important date are likely to be around 15% higher than those given out beforehand.

Many in the industry are advising proactivity. Consumers are encouraged to learn about what gender neutral premiums mean for them and to do so quickly if they have designs upon securing a policy at a favourable rate. The team at Lifebroker has already seen a high number of inquiries from consumers in recent weeks and months concerned about the premiums they may be subject to after the EU rule change comes into effect.
Those interested in speaking to an expert about obtaining the right cover quickly can visit the Lifebroker where they will have access to specialist advice and guidance.

The new rules are expected to affect policies for men as well as women, which is why consumers eager to explore their life insurance options are urged to take the matter up with the professionals as soon as possible.

Aptitude Life to Introduce Healthy Kids Beverage in December

Aptitude Life Ltd (OTC Pinksheets: SUNB), an energy and health drink company based in the UK, plans to introduce a healthy kids beverage to the market this December. The company has identified the growth of the healthy beverage market as a significant opportunity, and the kids drink rollout will be shipping in time for the holiday season.

Aptitude Life Ltd's, Mr. David Foote, a spokesman for Aptitude Life commented, "Aptitude Kids was created to be a healthy and refreshing beverage for children without being laden with fructose corn syrup and other unhealthy ingredients.  We believe that there is a real opportunity in the beverage industry for healthy kid's drinks that don't contain high sugar content but still taste great and have widespread appeal for consumers.  We developed a kid-friendly refreshing beverage offering a healthy alternative to more commonplace sugary beverages that neglect the nutritional requirements of active, growing children."
According to Mr. Foote, the tasty kid-friendly Aptitude Kids blend is a healthy "go-to" solution for parents who are perplexed about what to provide their children to quench their thirst with a taste that kids will crave. The Kids blend is created with 100% natural ingredients and doesn't contain one single drop of sugar or fructose corn syrup. He thinks kids will love its naturally refreshing flavor.

Aptitude Life plans to aggressively roll out their new brand of health and energy products to the North American Market, which has been growing by nearly 20% annually for the past 5 years.  The company believes that the high margin and growth in the healthy beverage market is a significant opportunity, as consumers seek out healthier drinks over conventional soft drinks.

LEVEL Life's "FUEL A Cure" Diabetes Contest

To celebrate World Diabetes Day, LEVEL Foods LLC is launching a nationwide contest to find their next LEVEL Life glucose gel flavor. This diabetes nutrition business has committed to donate $1 of every sale from their "Fuel A CURE" Glucose Gels back to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

At LEVEL Life, they believe in making great products to support people living with diabetes. They are committed, in the mission of the ADA and JDRF to find a cure for diabetes.  Founder, Ethan Lewis says   "We've combined these two passions — a great product fueling important research — in our new 'Let's Fuel a Cure' Contest. It's a great way to get the community involved in raising diabetes awareness."

LEVEL Life's "Fuel A Cure" Contest will run through February 13, 2013 and will let consumers choose the company's next Glucose Gel flavor. LEVEL Life fan's can visit the company's Facebook page to submit their new flavor idea and story of how diabetes has inspired them to live life to the fullest.

However, it's no ordinary flavor, $1 from each sale of the newly created and community inspired product will be donated to support diabetes research. The winner of the contest will receive Free LEVEL Life Glucose Gel for one year — and have their name and inspiring story featured on every LEVEL Life "Fuel A CURE" package! 

LEVEL Foods LLC is committed to giving back to the diabetes community in an effort to raise awareness and help fund a cure for the disease which affects more than 26 million people in the US alone.

Alliance Life Sciences Issues Free Study Supporting Deep Modeling Method for Predicting Price Change Percentages Post-FDA Approval

Alliance Life Sciences Consulting Group (ALSCG), an innovative management and technology consultancy, announces the release of “Predicting Price Changes of Oncology Drugs in the United States,” a study presented by Bruce Wang, director, ALSCG, at the ISPOR 15th Annual European Congress. The study demonstrates how statistical modeling can predict the percentage change in price of prescription drugs post-Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, and if the probability of a price change depends upon the timing.

“The ability to determine this type of information is extremely valuable to policy-makers, pharmaceutical companies, and investment firms because it enables more informed insights and decision-making through predictive modeling and analytics on the lifecycle of a drug,” says Mohan Purushothaman, executive vice president, ALSCG. “As a result of our pricing, contracting and market access capabilities, ALSCG is able to offer this level of deep modeling within pharma commercial operations.”

To perform predictions, ALSCG applied Cox Proportional Hazard Models -- a class of survival models in statistics -- to a set of oncology drugs in the US. Survival models relate the time that passes before an event occurs to one or more variables that may be associated with it. In this case, ALSCG observed the events leading up to a price change in order to predict the timing and percentage of that change.

“This model showed that for each additional month since FDA approval, the ‘risk’ of a price raise increased by 0.7 percent,” Purushothaman adds. “Similarly, there was a second order effect showing this risk diminishing over time. This kind of deep modeling capability can significantly benefit the Life Sciences industry in terms of forecasting price change.”

Early end-of-life talks tied to less aggressive care

Terminally-ill cancer patients are less likely to get aggressive end-of-life treatment, such as chemotherapy in the last two weeks of life, when they talk with their doctors early on about how they want to die, according to a new study.

Treatment aimed at keeping those patients alive at the end is often expensive and may not improve patients' quality of life or comfort. Such therapies usually involve more time in the hospital rather than at home or in hospice care.

"Aggressive care at the end of life for individual patients isn't necessarily bad, it's just that most patients who recognize they're dying don't want to receive that kind of care," said Dr. Jennifer Mack, the study's lead author from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

"We should at least consider having these discussions soon after diagnosis if we know that a patient has incurable cancer," she told Reuters Health.

Her team's analysis involved 1,231 people with advanced lung or colon cancer who died over a 14-month period during a larger cancer study. Researchers interviewed patients or their caregivers about whether and when the patients had discussions with their doctors about end-of-life care.

Mack and her colleagues also checked medical records for signs of those discussions and for any treatment and hospitalizations cancer patients had in their last month of life.

They found that most patients - 88 percent - had end-of-life discussions, but more than one-third of those took place less than a month before the patient died, when their health was likely already deteriorating. Close to two-thirds of the talks happened while patients were in the hospital.

Almost half of study participants received aggressive, life-prolonging care, Mack's team reported Monday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Those who'd had end-of-life discussions more than a month before dying were 50 to 60 percent less likely to get that extra treatment than patients who put off those talks or didn't have them at all.

Patients (and their caregivers) who reported having the discussions with doctors were almost seven times more likely to end up in hospice than those who didn't recall end-of-life talks.

"A lot of patients don't want (aggressive treatment), but they don't recognize that they're dying or that this is relevant for them," said Dr. Camilla Zimmermann, head of the palliative care program at University Health Network in Toronto.

But, she told Reuters Health, "The earlier you discuss these things, the more options you have. If you wait too long, you end up having these discussions with someone you don't know, that you just met, in an inpatient setting," instead of with your primary doctor.

Mack agreed.
"If we start these conversations early, then patients have some time to process this information, to think about what's important to them (and) to talk with their families about that," she said.

Aggressive end-of-life care is also expensive. According to data from the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, 32 percent of total Medicare spending goes to caring for very sick patients in their last two years of life, often because those people are in and out of the hospital. In the early 2000's, that spending was equal to about $46,000 per chronically-ill patient.

Zimmermann, who wasn't involved in the new research, believes it's never too early for doctors, patients or caregivers to initiate discussions about end-of-life preferences - even if it can be an uncomfortable topic.

"There are many opportunities while that incurable illness is still being treated… to also focus on what happens if this doesn't work," she said.

"I think people are afraid that bringing up these discussions is going to make them die. Bringing up these discussions is really going protect them from an outcome they don't want in the end."

Campbell proud of sobriety, Royal's role in his life

Next week will bring two momentous milestones for Earl Campbell, the Tyler Rose.

Tuesday, Campbell will attend a memorial service in Austin for the late University of Texas football coach Darrell Royal, who Campbell says saved his life by plucking him from the rose fields of Smith County and setting him on the path to stardom in college and the NFL.

Friday, he will celebrate three years of sobriety from the mixture of beer and painkillers that, combined with the physical toll of 14 seasons of high school, college and pro football, had slowed his walk to a crawl and his life to a standstill.

Both milestones were very much on Campbell's mind Friday as he addressed the fall luncheon of the Council on Alcohol and Drugs Houston at the Hilton Americas.

Neither, however, was a source for depression. As Campbell talked about Royal's leadership and friendship, he also celebrated his sobriety.

And, for good measure, as he croaked his way with a sore throat through his remarks, Campbell informed his audience about an East Texas home remedy with which most were most likely unfamiliar: his late mother Ann Campbell's "cow chip tea," a concoction of dried cow manure, boiled and strained through several layers of cloth, and castor oil, that Campbell said will cure what ails you.

His remarks, his demeanor and the laughter he drew from listeners were celebrations of a new outlook and new energy that had been absent prior to his 2009 entry into an addiction rehab program.

"I really enjoy life," he said. "I'm having a great time. ... I'm having so much fun now. I thought I was having a good time being Earl Campbell when I was doing all that. But when I got sober, now I really have a lot of fun."

Campbell said his wife, Reuna, encouraged him to get help, but he only agreed to do so in 2009 at the urging of his sons, Christian and Tyler.

"The thing that got me was when they said, 'Dad, did you see what happened to Michael Jackson? You keep doing this, that's going to happen to you,'" Campbell said.

Even so, he said he wasn't prepared to compare his mixture of beer and pills to other addicts who abused cocaine or heroin. It took 44 days in a 28-day rehab stint, he said, to face his addiction and to accept the challenge of living sober.

"Ever since that day, I've tried to be different," he said. "I know I'm a better father. I try to be a better husband. I'm a better man, and I pray to God every night to be a better Christian. I pray every day and every night that I can help another alcohol and drug addict like me."

Tyler Campbell, who works with his father's food service company in Austin, said Campbell is living a message that he taught his children.

"We learned that we're all human and all vulnerable to mistakes, and it's not about the mistake you make, it's about how you go about trying to fix the mistake and now allowing it to happen again," he said.

"My dad faltered, but we stood by him as a family, and it's good to hear his story. We knew we would be able to impact people. I think for the first time, he is really enjoying life."

Campbell has had knee replacement surgery and requires a walker, but neither he nor his sons express regret about the punishment he took playing football.

"My dad knew he was blessed with athletic ability," Tyler Campbell said. "He played the game for what it was worth and knew it wasn't going to be for long. That's why he gave it everything he had on every down."

Many of those lessons about facing responsibility, Campbell said, were learned during the three years he played for Royal at Texas.

"He took an 18-year-old kid from Tyler, Texas, and brought him to the university," Campbell said. "It was right in the middle of me learning to be a man. I'm not sure I've got it all yet, but I'm trying.

"He taught me so much: how to be a father, how to try to be a husband, how to do education and be successful, and I learned all that from him."

As a child of the Depression, he said, Royal could relate to a poor East Texas family of the 1970s.

"When he came to visit us in Tyler, my mother said to him she wasn't proud of that little house she raised us in, and he said, "Ann, you don't need to be ashamed,'" Campbell said. "My mom said, 'It's not the best,' and he said, "It's a hell of a lot better than where I grew up in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl.'"

Campbell visited Royal twice in the days before his death Wednesday, and he spoke Thursday with Royal's widow, Edith. Both, he said, had been supportive during his rehab efforts.

"I owe all this to my family and to the good Lord and to a lot of great friends," he said. "Anything I've set out to accomplish, I've been able to do that. And when my boys talked to me about getting help, I accepted it. I didn't want to at first. I thought I was bigger than that. But after I looked at myself in the mirror and decided this was what I needed, I got with it."

In addition to his work with Earl Campbell Foods, Campbell is working with former HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg on a documentary, produced in association with NFL Films, that will air in December on the NBC Sports Network.

Allianz Life Reports Strong Year-to-Date Profit

Minneapolis-based Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life®) posted operating profit of $559 million through the third quarter of 2012 compared to an operating profit of $379 million through the same period in 2011. The strong operating performance reflects solid underlying results driven by diligent pricing, spread management and expense discipline. Additionally one-off gains on the disposal of bonds have also contributed to the increase in operating profit.

Total assets under management reached $103.3 billion at September 30, 2012, representing a 12% increase from $92.4 billion at September 30, 2011. Strong returns on investments helped fuel this growth.

Persistent low interest rates continue to challenge sales volumes. Allianz Life reported premiums of $7.4 billion through the third quarter of 2012, compared to $8.3 billion through the third quarter 2011. Fixed annuity premium of $4.2 billion was down 16% year-to-date compared to $5.1 billion in 2011 and variable annuity premium of $2.7 billion was down 6% from $2.9 billion in 2011. Life insurance sales hit $48 million through the third quarter, up 109% from $23 million for the same period in 2011.

“The year-to-date operating profit is strong, but challenges posed by low interest rates are significant and demand innovative and sustainable product offerings to achieve future success,” said Allianz Life President & CEO Walter White. “We are actively managing the current environment and have launched new products and enhanced our existing products to lay the groundwork for continued growth in current and new markets.”

In October 2012, Standard &Poor’s affirmed the company’s financial strength rating as AA (very strong) with a negative outlook. S&P’s AA rating is the third highest out of 21 possible ratings. S&P based its rating on several factors including, Allianz Life’s sound operating results, market leadership standing in fixed and fixed index annuities and the quality of its investment portfolio.

Life Wireless Donates to American Red Cross to Support Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts

Life Wireless™, a cellular provider offering free phone service to income-eligible customers through the federal Lifeline program, has made a donation to the American Red Cross to help victims of Hurricane Sandy.

"The American Red Cross is on the ground providing assistance to communities affected by this devastating storm," said Jim Carpenter, a senior vice president with Life Wireless. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to those families trying to rebuild their lives."

Life Wireless provides telephone service to low-income customers in nine states and Puerto Rico, including two states – Maryland and West Virginia – hard-hit by the storm. Life Wireless has a history of helping communities following natural disasters. In recent years, the company offered service upgrades to victims of floods in Minnesota and a tornado in Joplin, Mo.

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. Reports Q1, Fiscal 2013 Results

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. (BNC.TO) (BNC.AX), a research-based, technology-driven Canadian biopharmaceutical company, today announced financial results for the first quarter of its 2013 fiscal year (ended September 30, 2012).

"The Company continues to invest in several late-stage development projects and in facilities where commercial products will be made," said Mr. Graeme McRae, President & CEO of Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. "We are nearing commercialization of some important products in the next 12 to 18 months and this requires an intensive resource allocation. Once these products reach the marketplace, we expect the new revenues will neutralize the corporate burn rate."

Further to the Company's news release of Monday, November 5, 2012, the Company continues to discuss with its licensing partner, Endo Pharmaceuticals, potential next steps for the Urocidin™ clinical program following the discontinuation of the current Phase III clinical trial in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Urocidin™ remains a valuable asset and the Company is committed to ensuring that this valuable product becomes commercialized.

Fiscal 2013 First Quarter Financial Results Highlights
Revenues from the sale of Animal Health products increased by $0.5 million in the quarter, offset by a decrease in collaborative research revenue of $0.6 million. Animal Health revenues out of Canada, which includes sales into South America, declined by 17% compared to the same quarter last year due to the timing of sales orders. Sales in the United States increased 30% over the same quarter last year primarily from the introduction of new products. Sales in Australia and Europe also saw modest increases. Consolidated revenues for the quarter were $6.7 million, as compared to $6.8 million in the same period in Fiscal 2012.

The cost of sales related to product sales in the Animal Health business unit has decreased by 2% in Q1, Fiscal 2013 from the same quarter in Fiscal 2012. This decrease is directly related to increased sales from new products. Gross margins were 54.2% in Q1, Fiscal 2013, compared to 49.8% in the first quarter of last year.

The Company generated Earnings (Loss) Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) - before research and development expenses - of ($107,000) for Q1, Fiscal 2013, as compared to ($242,000) for the same period in Fiscal 2012.

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments amounted to $14.4 million at September 30, 2012, as compared to $9.6 million in the same period last year and $20.0 million at June 30, 2012. A further $14 million was available to the Company at September 30, 2012 through trade and other receivables and inventories. In the same period last year, $14.6 million was available through these sources.

At September 30, 2012, the Company's net working capital totalled $21.2M as compared to working capital of $27.5M at June 30, 2012, reflecting the decrease in cash primarily used to invest in late-stage development and commercialization activities.

The Company's cash flow used in operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 was $5.0 million, as compared to cash used in operations of $3.9 million in the same period in Fiscal 2012. As a result, the average monthly burn rate for Q1, Fiscal 2013 was $1.8 million, vs. $1.2 million for the same quarter in Fiscal 2012.

"The Company remains committed to reducing the average monthly burn rate progressively throughout the year as it completes the development and commercialization of several new products," said Mr. Brian Ford, Chief Financial Officer of Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. "The Company's goal is to neutralize its burn rate and develop sustainable cash flows in Fiscal 2014."

The value of the Company's Property, Plant and Equipment has increased to $40.2 million at September 30, 2012, compared to $40.1 million at June 30, 2011. This increase reflects an ongoing investment in the Animal Health and Food Safety Vaccine Manufacturing Centre at the Company's corporate headquarters in Belleville, Ontario. This facility is undergoing validation to meet global GMP production standards.
Administrative expenses were $2.3 million in Q1, Fiscal 2013, as compared to $2.5 million in the same quarter last year. Marketing, selling and distribution expenses were $1.8 million in Q1, Fiscal 2013, as compared to $1.8 million in the same quarter last year. The additional expenditure in this category is related to increased staffing to support the launch and distribution of several new Animal Health products.

Research and development (R&D) expenditures for Q1, Fiscal 2013 were $4.3 million, as compared to $4.8 million in the same quarter last year. R&D resources are focused on the advancement of certain development programs in Animal Health and Food Safety. Additionally, there is continued investment in the staffing and infrastructure associated with the GMP production of the Company's UrocidinTM bladder cancer treatment. Further, until such time as the Company's Vaccine Manufacturing Centre in Belleville is making commercial product, the carrying costs associated with this facility are also accounted for under R&D.

The Company incurred financial expenses of $1.5 million (including non-cash financial expenses of $737,000) during Q1, Fiscal 2013 as a result of its US$20 million debt financing with Capital Royalty Partners. This compares to financial expenses of $0.2 million in the same quarter of Fiscal 2012.
The basic and fully-diluted net loss per share for Q1, Fiscal 2013 is ($0.06), as compared to a net loss per share of ($0.04) in the same period last year. Total Common Shares outstanding at September 30, 2012 were 103,738,712, as compared to 102,375,477 at September 30, 2011.

The Company has incurred significant losses and has an accumulated deficit of $125.5 million as at September 30, 2012, including a current loss of $6.7 million for the first quarter of Fiscal 2013. The Company's committed cash obligations and expected level of expenditures for the next twelve months exceed its committed resources of funds and funds available as at September 30, 2012.

The Company expects to finance its future expenditures by obtaining additional financing and the exploration of new partnering agreements on technologies under development. If the Company is unable to accomplish either of these initiatives, which are outside of management's control, the Company will be required to curtail its development activities and operations.

More information on the Company's year-end financial results is provided in the Company's Q1, Fiscal 2013 Management's Discussion and Analysis dated November 7, 2012.

S&P Affirms Rating for Allianz Life

Minneapolis-based Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) today announced that the rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P)* recently affirmed the company’s rating as AA (very strong) with a negative outlook which continues to be in-line with Allianz SE, the parent company’s overall rating. S&P’s AA rating is the third highest out of 21 possible ratings. S&P based its rating on several factors including Allianz Life’s strong competitive position and market leadership particularly with fixed index annuities.

“Our financial strength continues to be strong due to the sound risk management approach we follow in this challenging market environment,” said Allianz Life Chief Financial Officer Giulio Terzariol. “Allianz Life is positioned to support the long-term retirement goals for the millions of baby boomers retiring each year.”

In June 2012, A.M. Best affirmed Allianz Life’s rating with an A (Excellent), the third highest of 16 possible ratings. Earlier in February 2012, Moody’s also affirmed Allianz Life’s rating with an A2 (Good), the sixth highest of 21 possible ratings.

About Allianz Life
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, one of FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2012, has been keeping its promises since 1896. Today, it carries on that tradition, helping Americans achieve their retirement income and protection goals with a variety of annuities and life insurance products. As a leading provider of fixed index annuities, Allianz Life is part of Allianz SE, a global leader in the financial services industry with 142,000 employees worldwide. More than 78 million private and corporate customers rely on Allianz knowledge, global reach, and capital strength to help them make the most of financial opportunities.

In New York, life insurance and annuities are issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of New York, New York City.

*For a full description of how Standard & Poor's® Insurer Financial Strength Rating categories are assigned and to obtain current ratings refer to www.standardandpoors.com.

A Standard & Poor's Insurer Financial Strength Rating is a current opinion of the financial security characteristics of an insurance organization with respect to its ability to pay under its insurance policies and contracts in accordance with their terms. Insurer Financial Strength Ratings are based on information furnished by rated organizations (or obtained by Standard & Poor's from other sources it considers reliable). Insurers rated AA have Very Strong financial security characteristics.

Established in 1906, A.M. Best is the oldest independent insurance analyst in the country. The company assigns a rating to an insurance company based on financial information (results) and qualitative evaluations (management objectives and strategies). The quantitative financial evaluation includes an extensive analysis of reported financial performance in the areas of profitability, leverage, and liquidity. The qualitative evaluation reviews performance in such areas as quality of assets, reserve adequacy, reinsurance, business strategies, market leadership, parent company support, and management competency. A is the third highest rating assigned by A.M. Best.

Moody's has been rating insurance companies since 1986. It is one of the two agencies outside the insurance industry most frequently recognized with respect to financial ratings. Moody's financial strength rating reflects the insurance company's ability to fulfill senior policyholder obligations and claims. The analysis focuses on a company's business fundamentals, including financial factors, franchise value, management, and organizational structure/ownership. In evaluating capital adequacy, Moody's attempts to assess the capital necessary to absorb a number of risks, including asset default, pricing adequacy, and interest rate risk. Insurers rated A2 offer good financial security. However, elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment sometime in the future.

All guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing company.

Exercise Boosts Life Expectancy, Study Finds

Regular, moderate physical activity such as brisk walking can increase life expectancy by several years, even for people who are overweight, a new large study shows.

While higher levels of activity were linked to even longer life expectancies, moderate activity was beneficial, according to the study of people ages 40 and older. The benefit of exercise was seen regardless of people's weight, age, sex and health conditions such as heart disease and cancer.
For example, obese participants who did moderate exercise for 150 minutes a week lived an average of 2.7 to 3.4 years longer, depending on how obese they were, than those who were obese and did not exercise.
Those who were overweight (but not obese) and did 150 minutes of moderate exercise weekly lived 3.9 years longer those who were overweight and did not exercise.

Normal-weight people who exercised for 150 minutes or more weekly lived about 4.7 years longer than normal-weight people who did not do regular moderate exercise.

"Many individuals in the U.S. are overweight or obese," and find that reducing their weight is difficult, said study researcher I-Min Lee, a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Our study shows that by being physically active, even overweight or obese people can increase their life expectancy, compared to someone of the same weight who is not active."

The researchers say this is the first study to estimate years of life lost due to physical inactivity and body mass index (BMI).

When the researchers considered all study participants, they found that those who did 75 minutes of moderate-intensity activity weekly lived 1.8 years longer, on average, compared with people who did no physical activity.

Greater amounts of physical activity were associated with additional life expectancy gains. At the highest level of activity — 450 minutes per week — the gain was 4.5 years.

"This finding provides further evidence that there is a clear, direct dose-response relationship between volume of physical activity and years of life gained," said Mark Tremblay, director of the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group at the University of Ottawa, Canada.

The researchers used data gathered during six previous studies, including a total of nearly 640,000 men and women ages 40 and over. Over a follow-up period of about 10 years, about 82,500 of these participants died.

Normal-weight individuals who exercised at a moderate level for at least 150 minutes weekly lived about 7.2 years longer, on average, compared with people who were inactive and obese.

The study was limited in that it relied on self-reported physical activity and height and weight, said Stuart Olshansky, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois who was not involved in the work.

Still, Olshansky said, "the authors have provided us with a very convincing argument that exercise is about the only equivalent of a fountain of youth that exists today."

The study is published today (Nov. 6) in the journal Public Library of Science (PLOS) Medicine.
Pass it on: As little as 75 minutes of brisk walking a week can increase life expectancy even for those who are overweight.

Battery life battle royale: Nexus vs. iPad

With all the hoopla about the relative graphics performance of the fourth-generation iPad and the Nexus 10, it's easy to forget another important performance metric: battery life.

Battery life dictates how long you can actually use the unit before it requires a recharge, so I'd say it's pretty darn important. So important in fact that it gets its own blog post. Here I pit the last two generations of iPad, the iPad Mini, the Nexus 7, and the Nexus 10 against each other in a take-no-prisoners battery blood bath! Or acid bath I guess.

How we tested battery life
I evaluated battery life the same way I do for all tablets: by continually running a movie file until the tablet's battery dies.

I set each tablet to Airplane Mode and adjusted their respective brightnesses to 150 candelas per square meter (cd/m2) or as close to that number as possible. The iPads were running version 6.0.1 of iOS; the Nexus 10 ran Android 4.2, while the Nexus 7 was running Android 4.1.2.

I ran the 720p iTunes iPad version of the recent "Avengers" movie on the iPad and the Google Play version of the same movie on the Nexus 10 and Nexus 7, each movie playing through the tablet's native default video players.

The final score is an average of two full runs on each tablet, with the two numbers coming within 5 percent of each other.

Crimson Life Sciences Offers Cost-Saving Technology Solution for Chinese Regulation 276

Crimson Life Sciences, a division of TransPerfect and the only ISO 13485 and ISO 14971 certified translation provider, has introduced an advanced XML labeling solution to help manufacturers cope with the effects of changing regulatory requirements such as French Decree No 2012-743 of May 9, 2012 and China’s medical device Regulation Number 276 (unofficial translation and analysis available upon request from info@crimsonlanguage.com). The regulatory changes, prompted in part by healthcare scandals such as the PIP breast implant recall, require device companies to make substantial content updates. Crimson’s XML-based publishing solution enables manufacturers to automate labeling updates, eliminate formatting costs, and realize savings up to 40% over traditional methods.

Changing Regulations Drive Labeling Costs
A raft of new and revised medical device regulations, including France’s Decree No 2012-743 of May 9, 2012 and China’s updated Regulation Number 276, will create significant compliance challenges for many manufacturers in 2013. That’s the prediction of Marc Miller, President of Crimson Life Sciences: “Labeling mistakes are the number one cause of product recalls and these new regulations will affect tens of thousands of IFUs and marketing pieces industry-wide.”

In fact, recent research from Crimson indicates that the “Total Cost of Content” for device makers, including updates imposed by changing regulations, amounts to $1 billion per year (research memo available upon request from info@crimsonlanguage.com). According to Miller, “Most manufacturers operate with a document-based system for their labeling and marketing materials – working in applications like Word, InDesign, or Illustrator. In order to make updates, each individual document must be opened and modified. For large manufacturers with hundreds or even thousands of products, each small change can take weeks or even months to implement and comes with enormous cost and error risk.”

A Cure for the $1 Billion Industry Headache
As labeling updates become more frequent due to changing regulatory requirements and corporate rebranding, manufacturers are exploring new ways to achieve cost and time savings. Crimson’s solution is based on industry-standard DITA XML publishing strategies and proven, mature technologies to help manufacturers safely reduce labeling costs by as much as 40%. Explains Miller, “Not only does XML publishing make sense for manufacturers who want to reduce the cost of labeling, it also opens up a whole range of opportunities for content reuse in other channels, such as the web and tablet-based multimedia apps.”

Through the development of a custom “Information Model,” Crimson works with manufacturers to convert their content to XML format for storage and automated retrieval in the same Component Content Management system used by device makers industry-wide (and developed by sister company, Astoria Software). Publishing is then automated through the use of document templates. Any content changes made by the user are automatically propagated to all documents where the designated change occurs. Says Miller, “Thanks to the many cost-cutting efforts underway in the device industry, XML publishing based on the DITA standard is quickly becoming the labeling strategy of choice for global, multi-product manufacturers. We are pleased that we could develop this solution in partnership with Astoria Software—the recognized leader in DITA-based XML publishing systems.”

Why Mars Life Hunt Targets Methane

The hunt for life on Mars took a new turn today (Nov. 2), with the news that NASA's Mars rover Curiosity detected no methane in its first few sniffs of Red Planet air.

The search for Red Planet life has long been intertwined with the search for methane, which is why so many scientists and laypeople alike were probably disappointed by the initial atmospheric readings from Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars instrument, or SAM.

"Everybody is excited about the possibility about methane from Mars, because life as we know it produces methane," SAM co-investigator Sushil Atreya, of the University of Michigan, told reporters today.
A possible biosignature

At least 90 percent of the methane in Earth's atmosphere is biologically derived, Atreya said. As a result, many researchers regard Martian methane as a possible indicator of Red Planet life.

Further, scientists think the gas disappears rapidly from the Martian atmosphere, meaning any methane swirling there today was likely produced in the recent past.

"The conventional destruction mechanism of methane is photochemistry, as on Earth, and that results in a several-hundred-year lifetime of methane on Mars," Atreya said, adding that some of the gas is probably absorbed by the Red Planet surface as well.

But detecting lots of methane on Mars would not be convincing evidence of life by any stretch. The gas can also be produced by abiotic processes, such as the degradation of interplanetary dust particles by ultraviolet light and interactions between water and rocks. Comet strikes may also deliver methane to Mars, Atreya said.

An evolving story
Other research teams using several different ground-based and space-based instruments have detected methane in Mars air. The observed concentrations have been very low, between 10 and 50 parts per billion or so.

SAM's initial readings don't necessarily invalidate these previous measurements, researchers say. But the rover's results do highlight the need to better understand the sources and sinks of Martian methane.
Toward that end, the Curiosity team plans to keep hunting for methane over the course of Curiosity's two-year mission, which aims to determine if the Red Planet could ever have supported microbial life.
"At least for now, the sinks seem to be winning over the sources," Atreya said. "But that also could change with time."