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Taleo Appoints Shail Khiyara as Chief Marketing Officer

April 3, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

DUBLIN, CA, Apr 02 (MARKET WIRE) —
Taleo (NASDAQ: TLEO), the leading provider of on-demand talent management
solutions, today announced that Shail Khiyara, a global technology
executive with more than 15 years of experience, has been appointed
Taleo’s Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.

Khiyara brings rich executive leadership expertise to Taleo. He has
demonstrated success in sales and marketing, strategy and corporate
development across domestic and international SaaS markets.

“Taleo is at an inflection point in our company’s history in terms of
market leadership, growth and potential,” said Michael Gregoire, Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer at Taleo. “We have in place a full suite of
innovative products, a blue-chip customer base and healthy business
fundamentals. We’re in a unique position now to invest in sales and
marketing to drive exponential growth in our own business, as we help
businesses worldwide drive their own growth through better talent
management. Shail’s broad-based strategic and operational expertise
extends Taleo’s ability to catalyze and scale our expansion efforts. We
are extremely pleased to add him to our management team.”

Before joining Taleo, Khiyara was Senior Vice President and General
Manager at i365, the cloud services business unit of Seagate. There he
drove innovative product positioning and marketing, put a successful
channel strategy in place and achieved 40% revenue growth in 12 months.
Previously, Khiyara was Managing Director at VeriSign where he
established the European go-to-market strategy and managed Verisign’s
brand and product positioning, sales, marketing and operations in Europe.
His prior experience includes leadership roles at Autodesk and Bechtel.
Khiyara is also a founding member of the Cloud Security Alliance, which
promotes best practices for providing security assurance within Cloud
Computing. Khiyara holds an MBA from Yale University, completed the
Strategic Leadership Program from Harvard Business School and has an MS
in Engineering.

“Taleo has built a formidable business by delivering the industry’s first
on-demand, integrated talent management suite that serves thousands of
global businesses of all sizes,” said Khiyara. “The need for companies to
turn their workforce into a competitive asset creates extraordinary
potential for Taleo. I am thrilled to be part of a business that has laid
a fantastic foundation upon which to build our sales and marketing
efforts and is poised to expand its leadership position globally, in a
rapidly evolving space.”

Taleo has headquarters in California and offices in the UK, France,
Netherlands, Australia and Singapore. Taleo was recently named as a
talent management market leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide
Integrated Talent Management 2010 Vendor Analysis report and as the
revenue and market share leader in the Bersin & Associates Talent
Management Systems 2010 report.

About Taleo
Taleo (NASDAQ: TLEO) is the leader in on-demand unified
talent management solutions that empower organizations of all sizes to
better understand and engage their best talent for improved business
performance. More than 4,400 organizations use Taleo for talent
acquisition, performance and compensation management, including 47 of the
Fortune 100 and over 3,600 small and medium sized businesses across 200
countries and territories. Known for its strong configurability and
usability, Taleo runs on a world-class infrastructure and offers 99.9%
availability. Taleo’s Talent Grid harnesses the resources of the Taleo
community of customers, candidates, and partners to power the talent
needs of companies around the world.

Forward-looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking
statements, including statements regarding the demand for Taleo’s
solutions, market growth, results from use of Taleo’s solutions and
general business conditions. Any forward-looking statements contained in
this press release are based upon Taleo’s historical performance and its
current plans, estimates and expectations and are not a representation
that such plans, estimates, or expectations will be achieved. These
forward-looking statements represent Taleo’s expectations as of the date
of this press announcement. Subsequent events may cause these
expectations to change, and Taleo disclaims any obligation to update the
forward-looking statements in the future. These forward-looking
statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that
may cause actual results to differ materially. Further information on
potential factors that could affect actual results is included in Part I,
Item 1A of Taleo’s Annual Report on Form 10K, as filed with the SEC on
March 11, 2010, and in other reports filed by Taleo with the SEC.

Media Contact:
Jaime Spuhler
Tel: 904.520.6251
E-mail: jspuhler@taleo.com

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Meet Prince Charles and Camilla, the ‘wedding planners’!

September 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 20 (ANI): Prince Charles and wife Camilla are turning wedding planners and “loaning out” their country retreat of Highgrove House to wannabe brides and grooms.

And included in the package will be the royal couple’s shared “expertise”.

Like Charles and Camilla did at their Windsor wedding four years ago, couples will be encouraged to “keep it simple”, say reports.

As per rumours, the first pair to enjoy a “Charles and Camilla wedding” are TV babe Jenni Falconer and her actor fiancé James Midgley, reports The Daily Star.

A royal source said: “Obviously with it being their house they would want control of the event. But they also recognise what a great opportunity it would be to showcase their home.

“Highgrove is an absolutely fantastic building and would make a wonderful venue for a wedding and reception.”

The nine-bedroom country house on a 37-acre estate near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, was bought for Charles in 1980.

A source said: “Charles is hugely proud of Highgrove. It’s a wonderful property and he has spent thousands of pounds on the gardens and grounds. I’m sure by holding weddings there Charles would take great pleasure being the host.

“And he could use them to promote the Duchy Originals organic products he’s involved with.” (ANI)

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Army hosts yacht training camp for school children

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Nainital, Sep 18 (ANI): With an aim to revive yacht sailing in the country, a 15-day camp is being organised in Nainital district of Uttarakhand where in school children are being trained in yacht sailing.

Over 40 school students from the various parts of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are taking part in the camp, which is being conducted under the aegis of Indian Army’s Central Command.

The Lucknow based Central Command is conducting such adventure camps for school children from over a decade.

The participants are receiving guidance in the yacht sailing by a team of 11 Army instructors.

“This yacht sailing is a great sport because these days it’s becoming extinct. Most of the people do not want to take part and people of Nainital are also not taking so much interest in yacht sailing. But I feel it’s a very adventurous sport and a great sport,” said Karel Caprini, a participant.

Many of the participants also feel that the training would open up new job opportunities for them.

“We have come here to revive this sport and as far as I can say it’s a very good sport and there is a lot of job opportunity in it. If we do well and learn the technique, we can make our career in the sports,” said Deep, another participant.

According to the Chief instructor of the camp, Mahip Singh the main motive behind the camp is to popularise the dying sport among youth.

“Basic purpose is that sailing is an international sport and the facilities available in Uttaranchal especially, which comes under the central command. We have got our sailors, who have participated in international levels and we got the expertise. So to give the young building up generation a chance to gain knowledge and finally if they have the interest, so excel in the sport. That’s why we have organised the camp,” said Singh.

Despite being considered as a sport at the international level, yacht sailing in India is still at its nascent stage. (ANI)

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Now, computers become lawyers!

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 13 (ANI): European researchers have created a legal analysis query engine that combines artificial intelligence, game theory and semantics to offer advice, conflict prevention and dispute settlement for European law.

European law is complex, many layered and expanding. There are thousands of regulations, so many that compliance is difficult, time-consuming and expensive.

While harmonization is underway, the process itself demands that individuals, companies and law firms often have to relearn the system.

Meanwhile, areas like intellectual property rights (IPR) and digital rights regulation that seek to combat piracy are becoming evermore complex to understand and apply consistently across Europe.

Now, the ALIS Project has developed a computerized platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI), game theory and semantic technologies to ‘understand’ and track the regulations in a large, and expanding area of expertise – in this case IPR.

ALIS sought to develop a working system in IPR to tackle the fundamental technological challenges before expanding it to more areas later on.

The system is much more than a simple database of relevant legal regulations.

It uses insights from game theory to help contentious parties come to an amicable agreement, either through conflict prevention or dispute resolution, and it can assist lawmaking as well.

Game theory looks at how strategic interactions between rational people lead to outcomes reflecting real player preferences.

It can be used to develop algorithms that find equilibria in games, markets, computational auctions, peer-to-peer systems, security and information markets.

Now, with ALIS, it is available for legal systems too.

This concept of equilibria supports conflict prevention, dispute resolution and offers decision support for lawmaking.

A key factor in the system is its test for regulatory compliance.

This is very powerful. It can help citizens, companies and lawyers quickly scan the relevant legal corpus to discover if they are compliant. It is a key factor for the other roles in the ALIS system as well.

For conflict prevention, dispute resolution and lawmaking, the ALIS first establishes if the parties, or the proposed legislation, are compliant with current law.

Once compliance is established, the system can present a series of options based on an analysis of the potential conflict or dispute, or it can provide information to further assist lawmakers to formulate policy.

Similarly, the tool aims to rapidly speed up the work done by lawyers, helping to resolve relatively straightforward cases faster, so they can concentrate on more complex problems. (ANI)

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Soon, ‘robobees’ that mimic bees’ behaviour

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 13 (ANI): A Northeastern University neurobiologist is collaborating with Harvard University researchers to develop micro flying robots that will emulate the bees’ brain, body and collective behaviour.

Biology professor Joseph Ayers would create robots, called the robobees, which would mimic the communal feeding behaviour of bee colonies.

The project will draw on the knowledge of computer scientists, engineers, and biologists to construct an electronic nervous system, a supervisory architecture and a high-energy source to power the innovative robots.

“This project will integrate the efforts and expertise of a diverse team of investigators to create a system that far transcends the sum of its parts. We expect substantial advances in basic science at the intersection of these seemingly disparate disciplines to result from this effort,” said Ayers.

Inspired by the biology of the bee and the insect’s colonial behaviour, the project aims to advance miniature robotics and the design of compact high-energy power sources.

The project would also spur innovations in ultra-low-power computing and electronic “smart” sensors that mediate biomimetic control.

In addition, it would refine coordination algorithms to manage multiple, independent machines.

Ayers is widely known for his work in biomimetics- the science of adapting the control systems found in nature to inform design of engineered systems to solve real-world problems-including the development of RoboLobster and RoboLamprey.

The autonomous, biomimetic underwater robotic models emulate the operations of the animals’ nervous systems using an electronic controller based on nonlinear, moving models of neurons and synapses.

“Animals have evolved to occupy every environmental niche where we would hope to operate robots, save outer space. They provide proven solutions to problems that confound even the most sophisticated robots, and our challenge is to capture these performance advantages in engineered devices,” said Ayers. (ANI)

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Biocon limited, Amylin pharmaceuticals enter global development agreement

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bangalore/ California Sep 11(ANI/Business Wire India): Biocon, Limited (NSE: BIOCON) and Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMLN) announced today that they have entered into an exclusive agreement to jointly develop, commercialize and manufacture a novel peptide therapeutic for the potential treatment of diabetes.

Amylin and Biocon will collaborate to develop the therapeutic potential of the compound and share development costs. Research will center on Amylin’s “phybrid” technology. A phybrid is a peptide hybrid molecule that combines the pharmacological effects of two peptide hormones into a single molecular entity.

Under the terms of the Development and Commercialization Agreement, Amylin will provide expertise in peptide hormone development, particularly in the area of phybrid technology, as well as metabolic disease therapeutics. Biocon will utilize its expertise in recombinant microbial expression to manufacture the compound and also leverage its experience in pre-clinical and clinical development of diabetes products.

“This agreement fully leverages the synergistic capabilities of the two companies,” said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon, Ltd. “Amylin’s knowledge of peptide therapeutics and their leadership in the diabetes market, paired with Biocon’s capabilities in process development, manufacturing and clinical development, provides this global program with the potential to effectively bring a novel therapy to patients living with diabetes.”

“This program could unleash the potential of cutting-edge peptide science to transform the lives of patients with diabetes,” said Daniel M. Bradbury, President and Chief Executive Officer, Amylin Pharmaceuticals. “We are pleased to work with Biocon, a biologics innovator and world-class manufacturing expert, and look forward to collaborating with them on this exciting program.”

Amylin Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company committed to improving lives through the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative medicines. (ANI)

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Researchers make bacteria to produce useful proteins

September 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 7 (ANI): Researchers at the University of British Columbia have turned the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus into a protein production factory by adapting a single protein on its surface, thus making useful proteins that can act as vaccines and drugs.

C. crescentus is a harmless bacterium that has a single protein layer on its surface.

Led by Dr. John Smit, the researchers adapted the system that secretes this protein, which self-assembles into a structure called the “S-layer”, to secrete instead many proteins that are useful for vaccines and other therapeutic purposes.

In other words, by keeping the S-layer protein intact and genetically inserting new things inside it, they produce a very dense display of useful proteins on the cell surface.

The researchers are now hoping to use the entire bacterium in a therapeutic application.

Bacteria are commonly used in biotechnology to produce useful protein products.

If the bacteria secrete the protein rather than keep it contained within the cell, purification costs are greatly lowered.

The researchers have developed a commercially available kit based on this technology, which could be especially useful in developing countries as it might be used to manufacture HIV-blocking agents very cheaply and with little specialist expertise.

“This S-layer system is very efficient at producing and secreting proteins – we can make the bacterium into a protein pump, secreting over half of all the protein it makes as engineered S-layer protein,” said Smit.

He added: “Applications of S-layer display that we are currently developing include anti-cancer vaccines, an HIV infection blocker and agents to treat Crohn’s and colitis, and diarrhoea in malnourished populations”.

Smit presented the findings at the Society for General Microbiology’s meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. (ANI)

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Iran’s ‘wanted’ defence minister warns Israel not to attack its N-facilities

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Jerusalem, Sep. 4 (ANI): Iran’s controversial new Defence Minister Ahmad Vahid has warned Israel not to attack the country’s nuclear facilities.

“Every move from the Zionist entity against Iran will be met with a harsh and powerful response from Iran,” The Jerusalem Post quoted him, Vahidi saying.

Vahidi also said that the overwhelming support he had garnered in the parliamentary vote on his appointment “attested to the anti-Zionist spirit of the Iranian parliament and people.”

Vahidi is a wanted by Interpol for masterminding the Buenos Aires Jewish centre bomb blast in 1994 that claimed 85 lives.

Buenos Aires has called General Vahidi’s inclusion in Ahmadinejad’s new Cabinet “an affront to Argentine justice and to the victims of the brutal terrorist attack”.

US President Barack Obama has termed Vahidi’s inclusion in the Cabinet as “disturbing”.

Vahidi gained support earlier this week when lawmakers said they would not bow to foreign pressures to reject him.

The chairman of the Iranian foreign policy committee, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said the allegations “will not have any negative impact on the assessment” of General Vahidi’s suitability for the job.

“Rather, it may increase his vote,” he noted.

Ahmadinejad has faced questions about the experience and expertise of some of the choices for his 21-seat cabinet. But on Thursday, he managed to win approval for many key posts that included the foreign, interior, intelligence ministries and Ahmad Vahidi as defense minister.

The parliament also backed Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi as health minister, making her the Islamic republic’s first female minister since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. (ANI)

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Oz Deputy PM opens International Centre for Muslim-non-Muslim Understanding

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep.2 (ANI): Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ms Julia Gillard, today announced in New Delhi that the International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding, located at the University of South Australia, will step up its cooperation with Indian partners.

Inspired by former Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, the new research centre was announced at the University of South Australia (UniSA) in 2008 at a special ceremony attended by the former PM.

The Centre is dedicated to research that seeks to define, understand and transcend the divide between Muslim and non-Muslim cultures and has already attracted $10 million (Rs40 crore) in funding support from the Australian Government and the South Australian State Government.

Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the launch of the Centre in India would help to encourage more of the world’s top researchers and thinkers to engage with its important research agenda.

Ms Gillard said “faith and culture have been paramount in the development of India; one of the world’s largest and most linguistically and culturally diverse democracies. Holding the international launch of the Centre here in Delhi is appropriate because India is a nation that lives with difference on a grand scale and thrives.”

She said “There is expertise here and in many countries across the Asian region that we can learn from. The goal is to build a worldwide community of outstanding scholars with a commitment to understanding and exploring the cultural and sociological factors that influence Muslim and non-Muslim relationships,”

She said the Centre would emphasise international engagement, with an international Advisory Board and a Council of Distinguished Scholars (including Indian representatives). Former Australian PM the Honourable Bob Hawke is an ex-officio member of the board.

UNESCO Chair in Transnational Diasporas and Reconciliation Studies and UniSA Pro Vice Chancellor and Vice President for Education Arts and Social Sciences, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, who is leading the foundation of the Centre, said the research agenda goes far beyond religious differences.

“We also want to build the Centre as a place of engagement, so that the work we do is accessible to governments and societies. This supports a guiding principle of the research Centre – to analyse effective rapprochement between Muslim and non-Muslim communities informed by principles of social justice and reconciliation.”

Ahluwalia said the 10 international PhD scholarships, worth more than Australian dollars 26, 000 (Rs10 lakh) each plus relocation expenses would help to attract some of the brightest minds to the Centre.

“I am hoping to welcome strong applications from India that can build long lasting bilateral research relationships between Australia and India in this vital area.”

Ms Gillard is also Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion. (ANI)

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US to ensure ‘highest standards of accountability’ for Pak aid : US official

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Aug.29 (ANI): The United States would like to ensure the ‘highest standards of accountability’ in utilization of aid being provided to Pakistan by the Obama administration in order to make sure that the funds are being utilized exactly for the purpose it is allotted for, a top US official has said.

Interacting with media persons at the US embassy here, the US Coordinator for Economic Development and Assistance to Pakistan, Robin Raphael, said ensuring transparency in the utilization of assistance would be a key benchmark.

“We want to ensure highest standards of accountability. We want to be clear where the money is going and how it is going,” The Daily Times quoted Raphael, as saying.

Commenting on the huge amount of administrative costs which is likely to be incurred, Raphael said every effort would be made to minimize the high intermediation charges.

She, however, highlighted that Washington would need foreign technical expertise in certain areas while working to lower the administrative costs.

According to an estimate, Pakistan would receive only the half of the actual monetary assistance promised by the United States, as a huge amount of money is likely to be deducted for administrative costs.

Commenting on the increasing energy needs of Pakistan, Raphael said US is considering investing hugely in the energy sector, including hydel power generation, to help the county overcome its energy crisis.

When asked about the reconstruction opportunity zones (ROZs) programme, she said America was also working to expand the area for ROZs, which were previously planned only for the war ravaged Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). (ANI)

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USTDA grant promotes development of India’s helicopter sector

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug.28 (ANI): U.S. Ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer today awarded a grant of Rupees 24 million (501,849 dollars) to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Government of India.

This technical assistance grant is designed to help update India’s standards and regulations governing helicopter operations and facilitate the expansion of safe and reliable helicopter services throughout India.

This grant highlights the expanding partnership between the Indian and U.S. aviation sectors that will lead to new exchanges of technology and best practices in the development and implementation of aviation safety standards.

Today’s grant is the fifth bilateral partnership under the U.S.-India Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP).

Ambassador Roemer noted after the signing, “Today, the U.S.-India Aviation Cooperation Program expands into a new area. The signing of the Helicopter Aviation Safety Technical Assistance project, led by Bell Helicopter, will provide expertise to improve India’s expanding helicopter sector and will expand opportunities for increased trade between our two countries.”

USTDA advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. USTDA’s strategic use of foreign assistance funds to support sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries creates an enabling environment for trade, investment and sustainable economic development. In carrying out its mission, USTDA gives emphasis to economic sectors that may benefit from U.S. exports of goods and services. (ANI)

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CIA operated drones from two Pakistan air force bases: Experts

August 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug.21 (ANI): The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is alleged to have operated Predator drones out of two bases in Pakistan.

According to the New York Times and The Guardian newspapers, the CIA had in 2004 hired outside contractors from the private security contractor Blackwater USA as part of a secret program to locate and assassinate top operatives of al-Qaida.

Current and former government officials have reportedly confirmed that remotedly drones were moved out of a remote base in Shamsi and an air base in Jalalabad with the help of Blackwater.

From a secret division at its North Carolina headquarters, Blackwater assumed the role of Washington’s most important counter-terrorism program.

The division’s operations were carried out at hidden bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the company’s contractors assemble and load Hellfire missiles and 500-pound laser-guided bombs on remotely piloted Predator aircraft, work previously performed by CIA employees.

They also provide security at the covert bases, the officials said.

The role of the company in the Predator program highlights the degree to which the C.I.A. now depends on outside contractors to perform some of the agency’s most important assignments.

A spokesman for the C.I.A. declined to comment for this article.

CIA officials, however, said that the spy agency did not dispatch Blackwater executives with a “license to kill.” Instead, it ordered the contractors to begin collecting information on the whereabouts of Al Qaeda’s leaders, carry out surveillance and train for possible missions.

“The actual pulling of a trigger in some ways is the easiest part, and the part that requires the least expertise,” said one government official familiar with the canceled CIA program.

“It’s everything that leads up to it that’s the meat of the issue,” he added.

Any operation to capture or kill militants would have had to have been approved by the C.I.A. director and presented to the White House before it was carried out, the officials said.

The agency’s current director, Leon E. Panetta, canceled the program and notified Congress of its existence in an emergency meeting in June.

The extent of Blackwater’s business dealings with the C.I.A. has largely been hidden, but its public contract with the State Department to provide private security to American diplomats in Iraq has generated intense scrutiny and controversy.

The company lost the job in Iraq this year, after Blackwater guards were involved in shootings in 2007 that left 17 Iraqis dead. It still has other, less prominent State Department work. (ANI)

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Origins of ancient Chinese civilization under reconsideration

August 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 21 (ANI): Recent archaeological discoveries from far-flung corners of China are forcing scientists to reconsider the origins of ancient Chinese civilization.

A group of articles by Science news writer Andrew Lawler have explored how, over several millennia, China evolved from a much wider array of peoples and cultures than once imagined.

Lawler crisscrossed China recently for three weeks, traveling from the country’s steamy southeastern plains to the rugged westernmost province of Xinjiang, interviewing dozens of archaeologists at a host of sites.

This special news package puts a spotlight on how the various archaeological findings of the past decade are challenging what the Chinese people once thought about their country and themselves.

The wealth of these recent archaeological discoveries demands a re-write of some history books – and young scholars are even now questioning the existence of a legendary Chinese dynasty, the Xia.

Less willing to take ancient texts at face value than their predecessors, this new generation of Chinese researchers is relying on physical data – and more “Western” methods – in their attempts to accurately retrace Chinese history.

“The exciting discoveries made recently across China, coupled with the country’s fast-paced development, make this an opportune time to dig into new questions about China’s origins, the state of its threatened ancient sites, and the increasing expertise of its archaeologists,” said Lawler, author of the Science news package.

Lawler’s special news package on Chinese archaeology covers the accidental discovery and later excavation of Jinsha, an ancient site located near downtown Chengdu in Sichuan, and about 600 miles (1000 kilometers) from the traditional center of Chinese civilization along the Yellow River.

Long assumed to have been a cultural backwater, researchers have only recently gleaned the real history of Sichuan’s surprisingly ancient and rich culture, which is thousands of years older than they had once believed.

These recent discoveries have led Chinese researchers to acknowledge significant outside influence on their ancient culture, breaking an old taboo put in place when China was largely closed to the outside world. (ANI)

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Scary metaphors can affect public health

August 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 8 (ANI): Using scary metaphors for any kind of natural disaster or health scare can not only make people notice it, but it can also spread panic or cynicism among populations, according to a study.

“Such terms can make people sit up and listen, but they can also lead to panic or cynicism,” said Professor Brigitte Nerlich, who led the research.

She added: “Recent advice on swine flu has centred on basic hygiene, which makes people feel they can do something practical, instead of being mere victims of so-called “superbugs” or “killer viruses”. But obviously this is easier to do when a disease is relatively benign.”

She pointed out that easier Internet access might also help people to feel in control-an issue that emerged from a previous ESRC project on foot and mouth disease carried out in Nottingham.

These days, especially in the context of swine flu, “email, Twitter, and public health sites all give information and advice which can be useful to worried individuals and may dampen down panic. ‘But more research needs to be done in this area,” she said.

The research focused on MRSA along with avian flu and was conducted by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in nursing, the social study of health and illness, environmental studies and linguistics.

The study compared the language of biosecurity, hygiene and cleanliness used in policy documents and media coverage with the language used by hospital matrons and poultry farmers dealing with the realities of MRSA and avian flu.

“We found that the way people communicate about a threat largely determines how they understand it and behave towards it. Additional findings established that media coverage of hygiene and cleanliness in hospitals tended to portray doctors and nurses engaged in a heroic “battle” against “intelligent super bugs.This was personified by the modern matron wielding the weapon of “cleanliness,” said Nerlich.

After conducting interviews with hospital matrons, the researchers found that a gap between the media portrayal and the reality on the wards.

Matrons said that the limitations in their authority over contractors, and time constraints made it impossible for them to spend even half their time as a “visible presence” on the wards.

“This was another example of the control issue. Modern matrons have limited powers to limit the spread of infection or improve hygiene. For instance, they can’t hire extra nursing staff for barrier nursing or deal with problems with cleaning contractors. Our findings highlight the need for policy messages to be translated more accurately into practice,” said Nerlich. (ANI)

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Online prescription drug purchase may endanger your health, warns expert

July 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 12 (ANI): An expert at The University of Texas at Austin warns that prescription drugs’ purchase via the Internet, though more convenient, may endanger the buyer’s health.

“There’s a big problem with rogue Web sites,” says Dr. Marv Shepherd, the Klinck Centennial Professor in the College of Pharmacy and director of the Center for Pharmoeconomic Studies at the university.

“It’s very difficult to determine whether a Web site represents an authentic pharmacy or a counterfeit drug pharmacy. You can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys,” adds Shepherd, whose research and expertise on drug importation and drug counterfeiting has been featured on CNN, NPR and in Newsweek, Time, U.S. News and World Report, the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today, among others.

Shepherd reports that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) surveyed Canadian pharmacy Web sites, and found 11,000 Web sites claiming to be Canadian sites selling pharmaceuticals.

However, according to the researcher, closer analysis revealed that only 214 pharmacies in Canada sell pharmaceuticals over the Web.

As regards the other 10,000-plus sites, he said that they included website in Pakistan, Southeast Asia, Mexico and even Washington State.

He warned that consumer ordering pharmaceuticals from them might receive counterfeit drugs with incorrect dosage, false labeling, no pharmaceutical benefit or worse.

“For many counterfeit products, it is difficult to distinguish the genuine product from the counterfeit product without a forensic test. They may have the brand name on them, but they aren’t the brand name product,” Shepherd says.

He says that people can avoid the risk by confirming if a pharmacy is licensed in the state, by checking the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) for links to their state board.

He says that people can also look for the Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites seal on the site. By clicking on the seal, he adds, a visitor is linked to a site where information about the pharmacy is maintained by the NABP. (ANI)

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Chinese netizens criticize their medical emergency hotline

June 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Beijing, June 30 (ANI): The emergency call made by Michael Jackson’s doctor after finding him unconscious has unexpectedly prompted Chinese netizens to criticize their country’s emergency medical system.

Netizens praised the American 911 dispatcher who handled the Jackson emergency call and criticized differences between the Chinese and American emergency services on popular Internet portals.

“China’s emergency medical service is not as careful as its American counterpart. The Chinese emergency medical sector should learn from the American emergency medical experience to better serve its citizens,” China Daily quoted Zhang Han, a Beijing blogger, as writing on Sina.com.

In a transcript released of the 911 call, the cool-headed operator asks Jackson’s age, address and condition and then instructs the caller to put the singer on the floor and pump his chest.

“From their conversation, I can see American medical staffs’ devoted attitude to the job and their expertise,” a netizen said on club.kdnet.net.

Zhang Weihong, from central Shanxi province, said that she was dissatisfied with the emergency 120 service after calling an ambulance for her husband when he collapsed suddenly a few weeks ago.

“The ambulance came 10 minutes later but only a driver and a doctor were on board. I was forced to ask neighbours to help carry the stretcher to the ambulance,” she said.

Li Jianren, a doctor with Beijing Emergency Medical Center (BEMC), said that China should adopt the US system, in which non-professional emergency staff are on hand to assist the patient.

“North American countries have an emergency medical personnel accreditation system, which we don’t have,” Li said. (ANI)

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Masterline Telebiz, a leading SIM card-manufacturer in India

June 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mohali, June 19 (ANI): The telecom revolution in India has proved to be a boon for the related firms of this sector.

One such company is Mohali-based Masterline Telebiz, which is producing mobile recharge cards for most of the mobile telecom operators in India. It is now foraying into mobile telephone SIM cards for international players too.

Masterline Telebiz has revolutionized the phone card industry by positioning itself among the leading SIM card-manufacturers in India.

Naresh Nanda, an electrical engineer from Punjab Engineering College Chandigarh, started the company with a small team in Chandigarh and began supplying recharge cards at Rs. 17 a card to telecom service providers.

Today, the same card fetches him 60 paise i.e. almost a cent per card. It’s still viable for the company, as the volume have grown manifold.

Nanda tells that his company deals with all leading mobile operators who have head on competition for survival. Today, call charges have fallen drastically. They have to compress their operational costs and that pressure comes on us.

“We have to learn from their example so I have a lot of competition. We are the first movers in these industry. We have learnt a lot and still manages survival better than the new entrants because there is advantage of skill sets. There is the advantage of length in these business and plus the expertise know how with the vendors who support us. Now, going forward, the recharge cards hold big growth potential. It is not being fully supported by the numbers of vendors who lack experience and lack professional deliverance. So we have looked them very prospectively about the card business,” said Naresh Nanda, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Masterline.

Masterline has in-house Artwork Studio, which offers expert advice and guidance for the project, right from initial concept through to the finished product.

As the revenue sharing propositions are better with the players in South America and America, Masterline prefers a partnership with global players to offer value added services for 3G Spectrum.

The financial meltdown, according to Nanda came as a blessing as it led to compression in costs.

“The services and the products which we try to sell are necessity based products and I think necessity is quite safeguarded from any recession and the second for our advantage is that the telecom industry which have tremendous growth potential. And, having said that with these potential still lying there, we see a lot of room for us vis-a-vis the competition is concerned competition. Competition is in every line of business but it is the intelligence of every manufacturer to be able to steer his way through the competition by re-engineering the product the concept you can put in the product,” says Nanda.

As the financial markets in India are improving, the company expects the SIM card business to touch two million dollars.

Besides, the company is also in the process of getting a separate trademark for supplying integrated state-of-the-art security systems in Indian market. It has plans to import a range of security equipment from Italy, Spain, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. By Sunil Singh (ANI)

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India and UAE agree on security cooperation

June 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, June 19 (ANI): The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to sign the agreement on security cooperation between India and United Arab Emirates.

The agreement, once signed, will establish an institutional framework for cooperation between India and UAE in their fight against terrorism in all its forms.

To this end, it shall facilitate initiatives to curb activities of terrorist. It also help to coordinate the approach to combat international terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking, illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition, explosives, radioactive and nuclear material, human trafficking, counterfeiting of currency and official documents.

It will also provide for mutual technical assistance including exchange of professional expertise and training of security and law enforcement personnel and organizing seminars and conferences. (ANI)

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Wooden ornaments of Jorhat

May 28, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Jorhat (Assam), May 28 (ANI): Fifty-year-old Jadab Mahanta in Assam’s Jorhat district is drawing attention from all over India for his skills in traditional arts, crafts and wooden ornaments.

Hailing from a small village in Assam, Mahanta carves fascinating wooden ornaments, masks and wooden craftwork at his home in Bor Alengi Village of Jorhat.

Mahanta creates facemasks for different characters of traditional dramas. By putting material like bamboo, wood, gray clay, cow dung and natural color paints to good use, he creates the wonderful masks.

Mahanta’s wooden ornaments are not just popular in India but abroad as well.

“My products are exported outside the country to Denmark, Thailand, USA. In India, it goes to Delhi, Kolkata and all over the country. I made different designs of lockets, pendants, chain, ring and bangles,” said Jadab Mahanta.

His skill and creativity in mask-making has earned him recognition by the Assam State Museum, Jorhat Museum and National Museum, New Delhi.

His work is quite popular in north eastern India and people from different districts of Assam come to him for placing their orders.

“I always help him (husband) in making mask and wooden ornaments. Though, it’s a time consuming work, lots of demands pour in from outside the state (specially wooden ornaments) and as well as from the state. For this (wooden ornaments) my husband is very popular in the region. Through this additional income, we look after the needs of our children’s studies,” said Reenu Mahanta, his wife.

“I was an unemployed youth. I realized that learning these arts would give benefits in future, so I requested him to train me. He readily agreed. Through him, my life has changed into a productive youth and now I am permanently engaged in painting and making of mask in our Satra (Vaishnavite Temple). I am regularly saving some amount from my income for my future,” says Porag Jyoti.

Mahanta says that he has used his expertise to preserve Sanchipat, a sheet made of bark from Agar tree. It was used in Assam for writing purposes, before the advent of paper.

With ‘Look East’ policy bringing the South East Asian market closer to north east; craftsmen like Mahanta will be able to find bigger markets for their products.

He is today a source of inspiration for the youth in the state who want to create a niche for themselves in the world. By Vaschipem Kamodang (ANI)

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Somali Britons trained by al Qaeda pose serious threat to UK

May 23, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, May 23 (ANI): Al Qaeda’s franchise in East Africa, and notably Somalia, has become a greater focus of attention for the international counter-terrorist agencies, as a growing number of young Somali Britons who have received “global jihad” training pose a terrorist risk to the United Kingdom.

“Somalia has some of the characteristics of Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001 – a country of ungoverned space which AQ can exploit,” The Times quoted a senior Whitehall official, as saying.

For Britain, the evidence of spreading Qaeda training camps in Somalia is particularly alarming because of the large Somali community in the UK. About 70,000 live in London, 10,000 in the borough of Tower Hamlets.

Jonathan Evans, the Director-General of MI5, has emphasised that three-quarters of the agency’s international counter-terrorism resources still have to be devoted to Pakistan because of the 400,000 Pakistani-Britons who travel back and forth to Pakistan every year.

Most of the terrorist plots uncovered since 9/11 were connected in some way to Pakistan, the paper reports.

Somalia has moved up the agenda and is viewed increasingly as a terrorist haven and growing resource for AQ’s global ambitions.

Although it is believed that the motivation for young Somali Britons may principally be to receive instruction so that they can fight in Afghanistan or join jihad in Somalia, Whitehall officials accept that some might decide to use the expertise they have acquired in the camps to return to Britain and start planning attacks. (ANI)

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