Militants in Thailand's Muslim-majority south carried out a wave of coordinated attacks Friday, wounding several soldiers and hoisting the Malaysian flag across the restive region, officials said.
August 31 marks Malaysia's independence from British rule and commemorates the founding of Bersatu -- the umbrella organisation for militants in Thailand's southernmost provinces believed to want greater autonomy.
Three military rangers and two marines were wounded in bomb blasts, an army spokesman said, adding that more than one hundred "symbolic attacks" took place across the southern provinces of Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.
"There were altogether 124 symbolic attacks such as planting small bombs, burning tyres or the Thai national flag and planting fake bombs," Major General Prawut Thavornsiri, deputy national police chief told AFP.
"Insurgents hoisted or tied the national flag of our neighbours and our officials have collected them," he said.
Deputy prime minister Yutthasak Sasiprpa said the attacks were a publicity stunt to mark the founding day of Bersatu 23 years ago, adding the militants intended "to show they are still active".
A complex insurgency, without clearly stated aims, has plagued Thailand's far south near the border with Malaysia since 2004, claiming thousands of lives, both Buddhist and Muslim, with near-daily bomb or gun attacks.
Analysts say they have become increasingly well organised and Friday's attacks show a sophisticated ability to co-ordinate actions across the southern region.
It is unclear why the insurgents chose to hoist Malaysian flags, although many of their senior leaders are rumoured to live across the Thai border.
Yutthasak said he had asked the Thai foreign ministry to speak to Malaysia about the incident amid fears the militants may be trying to trigger tensions between the two countries.
When Hsu Chung-hsin went to university three decades ago he became part of a small elite in Taiwan. Now virtually everyone can enter higher education. That, he thinks, is deplorable.
"It's become so easy. As long as you're willing to pay the tuition, you can go to university. That's no good," said Hsu, a legislator with a PhD in law from Cambridge.
"It doesn't influence the top universities. It's the low-end universities that are affected. Their quality is low. The teaching is not so serious and the students are not so hard-working."
Declining birth rates and an explosion in the number of universities -- there are more than 160 for a population of 23 million -- mean the vast majority of high school students gain entry to higher education.
Taiwan had a total of 1.35 million university students at the end of June 2012, according to Ministry of Education figures.
But the boom has serious downsides for Taiwan -- with a polarised system resulting in many people receiving a sub-standard education that does not meet the overall needs of the economy.
The standard university entrance exam -- once a dreaded rite of passage -- has become little more than a formality. In 2011, the latest year for which figures are available, 90.4 percent of applicants gained admission.
That compares starkly with 1975, when just over a quarter of people made it past the exams, ensuring a Darwinian struggle for survival where the cream rose to the top.
Now the pressure is off and operators of the island's cramming schools preparing teenagers for the entrance exam report a relaxed atmosphere in their classrooms.
It means the archetypal hardcore Taiwanese high school student who burned the midnight oil in an effort to secure perfect grades is probably already in a minority.
"Some high school students take it really easy. If you just want to make it to university, any university, you'll be fine no matter what," said Abby Yao, a 24-year-old psychology student at Fu Jen Catholic University.
"It's totally different from our parents' generation. Back then it was, like, one in four who could get into university."
Kuo Wen-chung, a senior manager with the Yu Da Education Institution, a popular cramming school, agrees that youngsters now take it easier.
"Definitely the students are less competitive than earlier generations, even though their parents have lavished more money on them," he said.
There are still people who study as hard as ever. They are the ones striving to make it into the top universities, which educate roughly one third of the student body.
But the other two-thirds risk ending up on the wrong side of an increasingly polarised education system, with the good, mostly state-run, universities on one hand and the not-so-good. mostly private, ones on the other.
Many people enter university even though it might not be in their own long-term interests, according to Kenneth Lin, an economist at National Chung Cheng University.
"The private universities just take the ones with low exam scores, because if they don't have enough students, they'll go bankrupt," said Lin.
"But the students face poor job opportunities when they leave, and in fact they would be better off going to a vocational school and then getting a job in manufacturing."
According to legislator Hsu, from the small opposition party Taiwan Solidarity Union, a university system divided into two distinct tiers is the opposite of what Taiwan needs right now.
Taiwan should give more people a vocational education, as it did in the early post-war years, he said.
"Although they had no degree, they had a special expertise, whether it was as a mechanic or an architect," he said.
"That was the basis for Taiwan's economic miracle from the 1960s to the 1990s. It provided a sufficient labour force for our industry."
Now the educational system does not necessarily produce the people the economy needs, and as a result Taiwan is in the paradoxical situation that it struggles with unemployment at the same time as industry cannot find workers.
Taiwan's jobless rate hit 4.31 percent at the end of July. The non-agricultural sector had an unmet demand of 202,000 workers in February, according to the most recent figures.
The island needs to take a U-turn, Hsu argued. Part of the reason for the plethora of universities is that many are upgraded vocational colleges, and he believes the process needs to be reversed.
But turning them back into institutions that produce highly skilled workers will not be easy in a society obsessed with education.
"The parents are the major difficulty. We have to persuade them not to hope that everyone of their children can become a lawyer or a doctor," Hsu said.
"In fact, carpenters and butchers with special skills may end up having better lives. And anyway, not everyone in a society can become president. Only one."
Source: www.nytimes.com --- Thursday, August 30, 2012 Two weeks after the police fired on workers engaged in a wildcat strike at a platinum mine, killing 34 people, prosecutors are charging the workers themselves. ...
Home > News > Expo for new business innovation held at Republican Convention
Photo Credit: Fred Lambert
By Fred Lambert / flambert@valenciavoice.com August 30, 2012 Filed under News, Uncategorized
With Republicans rallying behind party leaders this week, many forums and expos on local and national business have been held in blocks surrounding the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
In conjunction with a forum named ?What is Working,? held by the Huffington Post, Microsoft, and other companies, an Entrepreneurship Expo for up-and-coming businesses was held Wednesday afternoon in the bottom levels of the Cuban Club in historic Ybor City, Fla.
Entrepreneurs from across the country were invited to display creative business models that are making innovation and job growth a reality. Attendees filled the Cantina Room where lines of tables with laptops and presentation boards advertised the varying businesses, while representatives explained concepts.
You Can Learn Inc. was one such business. They are a developer of educational applications for mobile devices in the Tampa Bay area.
Theresa Wolds, a University of South Florida student, who was receiving her master?s degree in mass communications that very night, edits the apps.
?Our lessons are customizable based upon user input and user needs, so it doesn?t over-teach or under-teach the student,? she said, explaining that the company is currently working in conjunction with USF and their incubator program, as well as starting an outreach program in Hillsborough County to begin pilot programs implementing iPads into classroom methodology.
?We?re across the nation, but because it?s electronic software, there?s no need to be based in every single city where your applications might be implemented,? Wolds said. ?You can communicate with everyone now, that?s the beauty of educational technology.?
One of the stands in the corner advertised bottle openers made from shiny .50 caliber rifle shells.
This was an implement from Bullets2Bandages, a company founded by Erik Spalding and Cole Evans, two former U.S. Navy explosive ordnance disposal officers. Former Marine infantry officer Eric Montgomery, who first met Spalding and Evans at the United States Naval Academy, spoke about the company.
?The whole company was started up to support veteran charities,? he said; 15 percent of all of Bullets2Bandages? profit goes to veteran-related charities. ?That?s what we do, by donating a portion of our profits, by doing cooperating ventures with them, and just helping to raise money and raise awareness for what they do.?
Montgomery said, ?Now in terms of our marketplace, that?s going to be geared primarily toward veteran-owned small businesses, but also pretty much anything else that?s made in American small businesses.?
All of the materials for their bottle-opening bullet are authentic and manufactured in the U.S.
Brass shell casings are bought from the Department of Defense, who polices them from ranges after being fired, and the projectiles are purchased from a company in St. Louis, Mo. named High-Tech Ammo. Other tasks, like machining the projectile into the shell, are handled by small businesses in San Diego.
The veterans sell merchandise through their website primarily (www.Bullets2Bandages.org,) but also at brick and mortar stores like Navy and Marine Corps post exchanges and Urban Outfitters. The National Rifle Association recently bought 400 of the bottle openers.
Bullets2Bandages also sells items to two charities, who in turn sell them through their websites.
Montgomery said that the company has a mission to help veterans with small-business start-ups.
?We help by using our storefront marketplace to assist people in finding their message and help them get traction,? he said. ?Because that?s definitely something we struggled with in the beginning; was just getting traction and finding the mentorship and advice we needed to get started.?
The Supertrees at Singapore's Gardens by the Bay are made with Holcim high strength green concrete for a reduced carbon footprint. Image: Eco-Business.
The construction industry is scrambling to find sustainable building materials for Asia?s booming cities, and companies are now competing for industrial waste to replace some of the natural resources they consume, say experts.
In Singapore, the lack of natural resources and growing demand for green buildings are driving the hunt for alternative building materials, and several concrete manufacturers have turned to a limited supply of recycled materials and industrial by-products.
One manufacturer that has done so is Holcim Singapore, a subsidiary of the Swiss-headquartered Holcim Group.
?We look for win-win solutions that offer immediate value and provide a commercial advantage,? said managing director Sujit Ghosh in an interview at the firm?s recently opened Centre of Excellence.
Holcim established the new centre with support from Singapore?s Economic Development Board. Its aim is to take products at the research and development stage and turn them into commercial products saleable in Asian market.
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Holcim is no stranger to using recycled materials in its products. In 2007, prompted by the sand crisis (see sidebar), Holcim started using waste collected from Singapore?s shipping industry in the making of its concrete. But first, it had to convince the regulator, Building and Construction Authority (BCA), that such material was safe enough to be allowed in building codes, noted Dr Ghosh.
The new concrete, called Holcim Green, was made from recycled granite from old buildings. Part of the sand needed in the process was also replaced with processed copper slag used by shipyards to clean ships.
Holcim obtained its copper slag by setting up a joint venture with local waste processing firm ecoWise in 2008, but the 400,000 tonnes that Singapore?s shipyards discard annually is only enough for about one month of the manufacturer?s concrete production.
The company produces about 1.5 million cubic metres of concrete each year, of which 5 to 10 per cent is certified green concrete.
Now that copper slag and other alternative materials- such as debris from building demolitions ? have been approved by building regulators, competition for those resources is increasing, said Dr Ghosh.
The firm is currently finalizing plans to use waste materials from Singapore?s waste incinerators, known as incinerator bottom ash.
This waste, of up to half a million tonnes each year, would otherwise end up in the Republic?s only landfill. Semakau Landfill is located off-shore and is currently under expansion so that it can continue to receive waste through at least 2045.
Home-grown Samwoh Group, which specializes in road building and also makes certified green ready-mixed concrete, is another manufacturer recycling waste back into building supplies.
The firm has two plants in Singapore that recycle asphalt and concrete from construction projects.? In 2010, it also built the Samwoh Eco-Green Building following a joint study with BCA and Singapore?s Nanyang Technological University to prove the safety of buildings using high percentages of recycled content. The building was the first in the region to use 100 per cent recycled ingredients for the concrete aggregate, which is the material added to cement and water to make the final product.
A shortage of waste
Holcim?s Dr Ghosh said that if there was an unlimited supply of recycled materials and by-products, the industry could easily replace half of the virgin materials it consumes without affecting the quality of the concrete. However, the available supply of copper slag, construction debris and incinerator bottom ash combined provides only a fraction ? about 10 per cent ? ?of the material Singapore?s building industry needs for concrete, he noted.
?Asia is not going to decrease its insatiable demand to build, so we need to figure out how we can do more with less,? said Dr Ghosh.
To reduce the demand for concrete from the construction industry, Holcim developed an eco-friendly high strength concrete that can decrease the amount of material needed for building projects by up to 50 per cent.
Two years ago, Holcim again worked with BCA to amend building codes that allow the use of high strength concrete, which was already used in Europe and Japan.
Since then, the firm has seen increased interest from builders that want to lower their carbon footprint and increase available floor area by using less bulky concrete structures, noted Dr Ghosh.
He predicted that over the next five years, the company?s high strength concrete could grow to 20 to 30 per cent of its overall production now that BCA is encouraging the use of such materials to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings.
While green concrete and green building designs are important to reducing the building industry?s environmental impacts, they are only part of the solution, he said.
The industry has done a good job focusing on design and energy efficiency, but has only just begun to map out the overall environmental impacts of the construction process, he explained.
He has seen some progress, including growing emphasis on productivity and sustainable materials, and better sorting of demolition debris. Three years ago, contractors sent stones from demolition sites to the landfill with the rest of the debris, but now they are all reused, he noted.
However, Dr Ghosh said building developers will need a bigger push, possibly in the form of a carbon price, to fully address the impacts of a project from start to finish.
Republican vice presidential contender Paul Ryan delivered his speech at the Republican National Convention Wednesday, promising he and his running mate Mitt Romney would lead America out of the economic crisis.
By John Whitesides and Matt Spetalnick,?Reuters / August 29, 2012
Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. gestures during a walk through ahead of his delivering a speech at the Republican National Convention Wednesday.
Mary Altaffer/AP
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Republican vice presidential contender Paul Ryan promised on Wednesday that he and running mate Mitt Romney would lead America out of the economic doldrums by making tough choices that would generate jobs and strengthen the middle class.
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Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, will accept his assignment as Romney's No. 2 at the Republican convention with the biggest speech of his political career - one designed to fire up conservatives while reaching out to independents still uncertain about the Republican team.
"We will not duck the tough issues - we will lead. We will not spend four years blaming others - we will take responsibility," Ryan will say later on Wednesday, according to excerpts of his speech released by Romney's campaign.
Ryan will join many of his fellow Republicans in criticizing President Barack Obama, promising he and Romney will repeal Obama's healthcare overhaul if elected.
"Obamacare comes to more than 2,000 pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees and fines that have no place in a free country," he said in the excerpts.
Republicans hope to use the convention in Tampa, Florida, to show a softer side of Romney, who has had trouble connecting with voters, while focusing on his plans for an economic turnaround and criticizing Obama for lingering high unemployment and exploding deficits.
A Reuters/Ipsos online survey on Wednesday showed Romney already gaining a boost from the gathering. In the four-day rolling poll, Romney and Obama were deadlocked among likely voters at 43 percent each. That was an improvement for Romney from Obama's two-point lead on Tuesday and four-point lead on Monday.
"The convention is being seen and heard," said Julia Clark of Ipsos. "We can credibly say the slight change in the numbers can be attributed to the convention."
Romney's selection of Ryan, chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, energized the party's core conservative supporters. They love his plan to rein in government spending and shift portions of Medicare, the popular health program for seniors, to a voucher system.
"I accept the calling of my generation to give our children the America that was given to us, with opportunity for the young and security for the old - and I know that we are ready," Ryan said in the excerpts. "Our nominee is sure ready. His whole life has prepared him for this moment - to meet serious challenges in a serious way, without excuses and idle words."
Ryan helps make a battleground of Wisconsin, which has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan in 1984. A Romney victory there could alter the electoral map in a way that could hurt Obama's hopes for re-election.
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) ? Chile's Supreme Court has rejected plans to build a $4.5 billion coal-fired power plant and port to serve northern Chile's copper mines, ruling that the project's Brazilian and German investors failed to prove they can protect the surrounding environment.
Critics said the Castilla project developed by Sao Paulo-based MPX Energia SA would have been one of the most polluting in Latin America. Former President Michelle Bachelet's government turned it down, but after lobbying by Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, her successor Sebastian Pinera allowed to go forward.
MPX had promised $575 million to mitigate pollution from the plant, which would have produced 2,100 megawatts by 2020, increasing Chile's electricity capacity by more than 10 percent. The court ruled Tuesday after MPX failed to persuade Chileans they could live with the contamination.
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FILE - This Oct. 1, 2011 file photo shows Seth MacFarlane in Los Angeles. NBC announced Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012, that Seth MacFarlane will host?Saturday Night Live" for its 38th season premiere on Sept. 15. Musical guest will be Frank Ocean. The multitalented MacFarlane created the Fox series ?Family Guy? and serves as writer, producer and voice artist on the show. He recently directed his first feature film, ?Ted,? and furnished the voice for its teddy-bear title character. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)
FILE - This Oct. 1, 2011 file photo shows Seth MacFarlane in Los Angeles. NBC announced Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012, that Seth MacFarlane will host?Saturday Night Live" for its 38th season premiere on Sept. 15. Musical guest will be Frank Ocean. The multitalented MacFarlane created the Fox series ?Family Guy? and serves as writer, producer and voice artist on the show. He recently directed his first feature film, ?Ted,? and furnished the voice for its teddy-bear title character. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)
NEW YORK (AP) ? NBC says the big guy behind the cartoon comedy "Family Guy" will guest host the season's first "Saturday Night Live."
The network announced Wednesday that Seth MacFarlane will be presiding when "SNL" begins its 38th season Sept. 15. Musical guest will be Frank Ocean.
The multitalented MacFarlane created the Fox series "Family Guy" and serves as writer, producer and voice artist on the show. He recently directed his first feature film, "Ted," and furnished the voice for its teddy-bear title character.
Future guest hosts on "SNL" this fall include actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Daniel Craig.
For the fourth year in a row, Oprah Winfrey is the highest-paid celebrity in Hollywood. The real question is whether she can hold that title for a fifth year, though.
People walk past by banners advertising Samsung and Apple's smart phones at a mobile phone shop in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. Samsung will offer three different choices to people interested in buying a desktop computer equipped with a redesigned version of Windows. The PCs ? previewed Tuesday at a technology conference in Germany ? are set to hit the market Oct. 26. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
People walk past by banners advertising Samsung and Apple's smart phones at a mobile phone shop in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. Samsung will offer three different choices to people interested in buying a desktop computer equipped with a redesigned version of Windows. The PCs ? previewed Tuesday at a technology conference in Germany ? are set to hit the market Oct. 26. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? A U.S. jury's $1 billion verdict against Samsung for what rival Apple claimed was the illegal copying of its iPhone and iPad designs signals a turning point for the South Korean electronics giant known for its prowess in adapting the innovations of others and nimbly executing production.
The verdict not only jolted the world of global gadgetry but also likely sparked some soul-searching in Suwon, South Korea, where the family-run Samsung conglomerate is based.
The world's top seller of smartphones finds itself in the post-iPhone reality, where the decades-long practice of industry mimicry now can mean a bruising legal challenge.
And so Samsung finds itself in a position of having to recreate itself as an innovator, not an imitator. But the switch, experts say, will be much more challenging and time-consuming than the shortcuts Samsung used to take.
"The case shows that Samsung is still inadequate in soft(ware) area, such as designs and patents," M.S. Hwang, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Samsung Securities, said in a commentary.
Samsung Electronics Co. has a top-heavy command structure that centers on the founding family. At the apex is 70-year-old Lee Kun-hee, who inherited the mantle from his father, Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull, in 1987.
The strict hierarchy has enabled speedy and bold investment and swift execution. That, plus the ability to build on the innovations of others, like Sony Corp. ? has helped Samsung become the world's largest maker of televisions, memory chips, liquid crystal display panels and now smartphones.
Its path is reminiscent of many Japanese companies, like Canon Inc. and Nikon Corp., which started out by copying European designs and then became innovators and pace-setters in the 1960s and 70s.
"It is impossible to be an innovator from the beginning," said Chang Sea-jin, a professor at National University of Singapore. "If you don't have a technology, imitating more advanced companies is the easiest way to catch up."
Samsung has long been regarded as a "fast follower" ? imitating or licensing technologies and then competing by lowering costs, improving quality and adding functions.
It overcame its belated entry into the memory chip business in 1983 with efficient mass production and investments. Today, Samsung supplies about 30 percent of the chips that go into electronic gadgets.
In the early 2000s, Samsung claimed leadership in the global television industry.
But when Apple released its cutting-edge iPhone in 2007, Samsung employees were likely too pressed to catch up to scrutinize possible patent encroachments. South Korea's idea of intellectual property is also less strict than that in the U.S., Chang said, and speedy execution is highly valued at Samsung.
Still, Samsung outsold Apple this year in smartphones by offering more variety, including low-end phones for price-conscious consumers.
Last Friday, a jury in San Jose, California, ruled that Samsung went too far in copying the iPhone and the iPad. It awarded Apple $1.05 billion, while a judge considers whether to ban sales of eight Samsung products in the U.S. Samsung has vowed to appeal.
Samsung's stocks plunged 7.5 percent in Seoul on the first trading day after the verdict, costing $12 billion in market value. Samsung has vowed to appeal, but unsuccessful legal battles against Apple in a host of other countries means that Samsung has few choices other than to create its own design identity.
In the past few years, Samsung has been investing in design, not only in mobile phones, but also in televisions and home appliances. But the results were not near the level of revolutionizing the look and feel of a consumer electronics product or the way consumers interact with technology.
Bill Fischer, a professor at International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, says Samsung still has not breached the divide between itself and consumer electronics companies such as Apple and Sony.
"They tend to take bigger risks regarding products brought to market, and they try to become creators of revolutionary new technologies," such as iPods, smartphones and Sony's Walkman music player, Fischer said in an email to The Associated Press. "This is a different mentality."
The choices that Samsung has made so far "are not choices conducive to growing the sort of design and customer-centricity that has long made Apple unique," he said.
That does not necessarily mean that Samsung must become another Apple. Samsung, which supplies mobile processors that work as a brain in the iPhone and the iPad, as well as displays and memory chips to Apple, reaches far and deep into the areas that Apple does not ? especially in electronics hardware manufacturing.
"Innovation does not necessarily mean an entire change. Doing better than the present and doing better than others are also innovation," said Lee Myoung-woo, who once led Samsung's consumer electronics businesses in the U.S. and is a professor at Hanyang University in Seoul.
"Even if other companies are not breaking away too far from the rules that Apple made with the iPhone, other companies can come up with product innovation in the areas that Apple didn't see," Lee said.
He cited the Galaxy Note as an example, a smartphone with an overblown screen that became popular.
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At the Daytona 500 race, Mitt Romney's <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/26/mitt-romney-nascar-team-owners_n_1303029.html" target="_hplink">attempt to connect with voters went awry</a> when he admitted that he didn't follow racing as closely as "some of the most ardent fans."
"But I have some friends who are NASCAR team owners," he added.
At the same event, he told a group of fans wearing plastic ponchos, "I like those fancy raincoats you bought. Really sprung for the big bucks."
Romney later <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/01/mitt-romney-garbage-bag-rain-gear_n_1313499.html" target="_hplink">defended the comment</a>, saying, "Look, I have worn a garbage bag for rain gear myself."
Loving The Height Of Michigan's Trees
Romney campaigned through Michigan ahead of the state's GOP primary in March, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/mitt-romney-michigan-trees_n_1299937.html" target="_hplink">frequently making mention</a> of its foliage.
<blockquote>Mitt Romney's last few Michigan stump speeches have included an unusual plank -- his appreciation for the apparently perfect height of the state's trees.
"I love this state," he told an audience Tuesday. "The trees are the right height."
On Friday afternoon, Romney reprised the comment, saying, "This feels good, being back in Michigan. You know, the trees are the right height."</blockquote>
Of course, those comments were just the latest examples of Romney professing his love for the Wolverine State's trees. For more, read the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/mitt-romney-michigan-trees_n_1299937.html" target="_hplink">rest of the story</a>.
Romney Likes Grits, Y'all
At a March stump speech in Mississippi, Romney <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/09/mitt-romney-i-like-grits-learning-to-say-yall_n_1334935.html?ref=elections-2012" target="_hplink">explained to primary voters</a> that he had been making attempts to solidify his Southern credentials.
<blockquote>Campaigning in Mississippi on Wednesday, Mitt Romney attempted to win over local voters by invoking a beloved regional delicacy.
The former Massachusetts governor said during a speech in Pascagoula, Miss., that he is turning into an "unofficial Southerner." He also joked, "I'm learning to say 'y'all' and I like grits. Strange things are happening to me."</blockquote>
Packzi Problems
Romney tried to connect with a Michigan crowd by providing 35 dozen paczkis, Polish jelly doughnuts traditionally eaten on Fat Tuesday, with flavors including strawberry, rose-hip and prune.
But as <em>The Washington Post</em> reports, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/two-michigan-rallies-reveal-romney-santorum-flaws/2012/02/21/gIQA5Sz9ZR_print.html" target="_hplink">the gesture went awry</a>:
<blockquote>The Comeback Kid walked out smiling, wearing a button-down shirt and jeans.
And immediately messed something up.
"By the way, how was the paczkis this morning? Yeah, yeah! That was very good," Romney said. His message: We are not so different, you and I. We have both just eaten the same food! But then Romney began talking about the powdered sugar on the paczki.
There was no powdered sugar. The doughnuts were glazed and bare.
"Reminded me of what's going on outside," Romney said, comparing the falling snow to a doughnut that people had not eaten. (Had he not really eaten one of the paczki, after all? Had Romney's campaign given the naked doughnuts to the crowd, while Romney was eating upgraded, sugar-dusted ones backstage?)</blockquote>
Passing out baked goods is apparently something of a Romney hallmark, per this pool report of his <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/21/sc-primary-mitt-romney-ha_n_1220447.html" target="_hplink">foisting Panera on reporters</a> during a flight.
A Couple Of Cadillacs
Mitt Romney tried to woo voters in Michigan when he off-handedly listed the American cars he and his wife owned, but may have instead ended up painting himself as out of touch.
"I like the fact that most of the cars I see are Detroit-made automobiles," Romney <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/mitt-romney-cadillac_n_1299740.html" target="_hplink">said during an economic policy address</a>. "I drive a Mustang and a Chevy pickup truck. Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs actually. I used to have a Dodge pickup truck, so I used to have all three covered."
Ann Romney's SRXs, retail new for $35,485 to $54,525.
$10,000 Bet
During a December debate, Mitt Romney tried to make a point by challenging rival Rick Perry to a bet over the content of his book, "No Apology."
"You've raised that before, Rick, and you're simply wrong," Romney <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/10/mitt-romneys-10000-bet-rick-perry_n_1141387.html" target="_hplink">said</a>. "Rick, I'll tell you what: 10,000 bucks?"
He may have been right, but it was the dollar amount that raised eyebrows. $10,000 is <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/WestWingReport/status/145696946579972097" target="_hplink">three months' salary</a> for many Americans.
Pink Slips
During the New Hampshire primary, Mitt Romney <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/09/new-hampshire-primary-romney-rivals-final-appeals_n_1193570.html" target="_hplink">told an audience</a> at a campaign stop that he understood the fear of being fired, and that "there were a couple of times when I was worried I was going to get pink-slipped."
Then-opponent Rick Perry mocked the statement, saying, "I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips - whether he'd have enough of them to hand out."
Oh, My Goodness!
At a campaign stop this spring in Derry, New Hampshire, Mitt Romney pulled a gag that raised eyebrows. While posing for a photo with his arms around the waitresses at Mary Ann's Diner, Romney suddenly jumped forward, acting as if someone had pinched his hind quarters."Oh, my goodness gracious!" he exclaimed.
The GOP presidential candidate later said he was "just teasing" and the gag is "kind of fun to do."
Chrome For The Hollandaise
During a Granite State visit, Mitt Romney stopped off at Blake's Restaurant in Manchester. On the way out he met with the diner's owner <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2011/06/14/mitt_romney_vs_diners.html" target="_hplink">and cracked this egg</a>:
<blockquote>I saw a young man over there with eggs benedict. He had the eggs benedict with a hollandaise sauce and the eggs, there. And I was going to suggest to you that you serve your eggs with hollandaise sauce and hubcaps. Because there's no plates like chrome for the hollandaise!</blockquote>
<em>Get it!?</em>
The owner laughed politely.
Corporations Are People
At an August rally in Iowa, Mitt Romney attempted to school a heckler by telling him that "corporations are people."
"Corporations are people, my friend... of course they are," Romney said, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/11/mitt-romney-heckled-iowa_n_924426.html" target="_hplink">answering a question about entitlement reform</a>. "Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do you think it goes? Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People's pockets. Human beings my friend."
Know Each Other?
Trying to make small talk with patrons at a New Hampshire diner, Romney asked a married couple sitting in a booth together, "You know each other?"
Other Romney conversation nonstarters, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-day-of-awkwardness-with-mitt-romney/2011/06/14/AGApq6UH_story.html" target="_hplink">via The <em>Washington Post</em></a>:
<blockquote>To a man wearing a "Joe Gauci Landscaping" T-shirt: "You do some landscaping work?" To two older women who just came from the gym: "Are your knees, hips doing okay?" ... Romney seemed to be auditing one man: "What's happened to your financials the last couple of years?"</blockquote>
'I'm Also Unemployed'
On the campaign trail in Florida, Romney and a small group of voters discussed unemployment and how to find a job in the struggling economy. The GOP presidential candidate worth more than $200 million chimed in, "I should tell my story. I'm also unemployed." The crowd laughed and asked if he was on LinkedIn. "I'm networking," Romney said, "I have my sight on a particular job."
Who Let The Dogs Out?
In the now-infamous video from Romney's 2008 presidential bid, Mitt is seen meeting with voters at a Martin Luther King Day parade in Florida. After nervously approaching a crowd of youngsters and awkwardly weaving his arm into the huddle, he randomly <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/22/mitt-romney-who-let-the-d_n_82486.html" target="_hplink">blurted out</a>, "Who let the dogs out? Whoo Whoo!"
For the full effect, watch the YouTube video above.
Anyone Over 100?
At a town hall event at a senior center in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney asked the elderly audience if anyone was over 100 years old. The exchange, <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2011/08/25/romneys-awkward-senior-moment/" target="_hplink">via the Daily Caller</a>:
<blockquote>"Anybody here over 100 years old?" Romney asked.
Crickets.
"Not yet, but we're getting there, right? We're on our way," continued Romney.
"We're hopefully going to get there soon."
"Well, not so soon. We hope to get there safe and sound."</blockquote>
Airplane Scuffle With LMFAO Rapper
In February 2010, Mitt Romney got into a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/15/mitt-romney-threatened-on-plane_n_463322.html" target="_hplink">scuffle on an airplane</a> traveling back from the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. A Romney spokesman initially told reporters that a passenger became "physically violent" after Romney asked him to move his seat upright for takeoff. Rapper "Sky Blu from the group LMFAO later identified himself as the passenger, saying Romney loudly told him several times to straighten his seat. When Romney reached forward and grabbed Blu's shoulder, the rapper knocked Romney's hand away.
<a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1632218/lmfaos-sky-blu-was-other-man-mitt-romneys-plane-fight.jhtml" target="_hplink">From MTV</a>:
<blockquote>If Romney had asked nicely, Blu said he might have put his seat up, but since he was so rude ... Well, next thing you know, Blu said Romney reached out and put his hand on his shoulder and asked him again to put his seat up. </blockquote>
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/18/mitt-romneys-fight-with-a_n_468407.html" target="_hplink">Blu said</a>, "And I didn't take it any further than that. I just wanted the man not to touch me; that's it."
Only $100s
At a campaign stop in Colorado, Romney mingled with patrons at a Mexican joint in Denver. From <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-sharpens-attack-on-dodd-frank-financial-regulations/2011/06/20/AGPbUwdH_story.html" target="_hplink"><em>The Washington Post</em></a>:
<blockquote>At one table, a boy offered Romney a $1 bill that he had folded origami-style for good luck. The candidate happily accepted it, but then rifled through his wallet looking for money to give the boy in return. Romney had a $100 bill, but evidently did not want to give that away. An aide handed him a $1 bill, but Romney said that wasn't enough.
Then, deep inside his leather billfold, Romney found a $5 bill. "We'll give you an Abraham Lincoln back," he said, handing it to the boy.</blockquote>
A 'Product'
Mingling with voters at a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mitt-romney-reaches-out-but-often-lacks-common-touch/2011/10/21/gIQAkUVc7L_story.html?hpid=z3" target="_hplink">campaign stop in Iowa</a>, Romney ordered a plate of fried chicken, corn and baked beans. While chatting with the market's owner, Romney, ever the business executive, curiously referred to the meal as a "product."
Politicians Get Recognized
<a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/59002.html#ixzz1biat38lC" target="_hplink">Courtesy of Politico</a>, this video shows Romney trying his hand at comedy during a campaign stop in New Hampshire. Romney talks to the crowd about how his four years in politics compare to his 25 years in the private sector, and how politicians get recognized in public.
<blockquote>I was in the Newark airport, flying to Boston, and I was reading my newspaper and I heard someone shriek and I looked up and she was pointing at me. She had on a cowboy hat, cowboy boots; she was a Chinese exchange student. I knew she wasn't Texan because she had her jeans tucked into her boots. She pointed at me and she said, 'You're John Kerry!" And I said, "I sure am."</blockquote>
For the full act, and the audience non-response, check out the video above.
Aloof Plane Flight
Mitt Romney displayed some particularly aloof behavior when a passenger sitting next to him on a fight to Boston tried to strike up conversation, <em>The New York Times</em> reported Nov. 6. <a href="http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/in-flight-romney-is-aloof-with-fellow-passengers/" target="_hplink">From the <em>Times</em></a>:
<blockquote>According to Ms. McClanahan, about an hour into the flight -- which Mr. Romney mostly spent reading <em>USA Today</em> and using an iPad while wearing headphones -- she told him her idea for improving the American health care system: slashing overhead costs by switching to an electronic billing system.
"He looked at me blankly and said, 'I understand,' then put his iPad headphones in and kept reading," she said.</blockquote>
When another passenger asked Romney for a restarauant recommendation in Boston, he told her "I can't give you any .. You'll have to ask someone else," according to the article.
Perspired Heavily
For 15 years Mitt Romney ran the private equity group Bain Capital. The successful financial company earned him millions. <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2007/dec/16/nation/na-mittbain16" target="_hplink">An <em>Los Angeles Times</em> article</a> about Romney's career at Bain painted a picture of the businessman under strain. "In tense meetings, he sometimes perspired so heavily it became an office joke. Or he nervously flapped his tie and said, "Oooohhh, what do we do now?" former colleagues told the paper.
The Decision
When Romney entered the 2008 presidential race, he released a <a href="http://www.myspace.com/video/mittromney/the-decision/16602414" target="_hplink">13-minute video </a>of his family aimed at humanizing him. The video, titled "The Decision," went viral, but not for the reasons Romney wanted. The short film is narrated mostly by his wife Anne Romney, who comes across as charming, personable and engaging, while the rest of the scene gives off a cloying whiff of privilege, cloister and artificiality.
Mitt sits down with his family to discuss the pros and cons of running for president, although Anne had already admitted that the decision had basically been made earlier, undermining the conceit of the filmed family gathering. Mitt, apparently unable to behave informally even with his family, whips out a white legal pad to take notes on his family's discussion. "Let me ask: How do you minimize the downsides?" the business executive asks his sons and daughters.
Tagg Romney, who suggests he runs, has one warning for his pop: "The country may think of you as a laughing stock."
?All workplaces should be safe and not hazardous to the worker?s health and safety but unfortunately that is not always the case. Employers and employees have the responsibility to make sure the workplace is a safe environment and the hazards should be controlled immediately.
As a business owner, the responsibility lies on your shoulders and you should conduct ?risk assessment? to evaluate and prioritize the hazards. The best way to deal with occupational hazards is to deal with them before they become occupational accidents.? Here are some things you can do to assess the risks:
Observe the workplace and identify potential hazards. Most of them are regulated by federal and state laws, but??safthere are some that might have slipped through.
?Have a safety plan, specific to the physical space of the business. Where are the exits, where is the ventilation, what?? are the procedures for shut-offs?
?Have those safety measures clearly posted where workers can see them.
?Stress the importance of health and safety in the workplace.
?Have an open door policy in regards to health and safety issues.
?Survey your employees or co-workers about their health and safety concerns.
? Examine the sickness figures. Is a pattern emerging?
After you?ve identifies the safety issues, there are five ways to deal with occupational hazards:
Eliminate the hazard by removing it completely. This is by far the most effective method of control but it is not always applicable. If the work process is still in its development stages it is easier to correct.
Substitution ? Replacing one process with another to eliminate the risk. Changing chemicals to less harmful ones, replacing machines, adding air-condition units etc. Substitution also means changing work processes and equipment to do the job in a less harmful manner.
?Engineering control ?Solving the problem in an engineering way like adding protective enclosures to the machine to prevent contact with dangerous moving parts. Controlling the dust by keeping a clean work environment and preventing it from spreading in the air is another form of engineering control. ?Adding safety measures as automatic shut offs, interlocking guards or operating the machine by remote control are also good examples.
Administrative control ? Limiting access to a certain area for only a handful of employees or limiting the number of hours workers can be in that place. Changing work schedules to allow more rest or shorter shifts.
Personal protection equipment ? providing your workers with protective gear to protect their eyes, ears and respiration. ?Adding protective clothing or footwear also falls into this category.
Some methods are more efficient than others, but it is a fact that a combination of the methods works the best. Employees are entitled to have a safe and healthy work environment that enables him/her to?perform his/her work without risking their health or their lives.
About the Author:
Patrick Del Rosario is part of the team behind Open Colleges. It is one of Australia?s pioneer and leading providers of http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/business-management-courses/business-management.aspx?, advanced Business management courses and ?http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/business-management-courses/certificate-iv-in-human-resources-course.aspx? great Human resources courses.? When not working, Patrick enjoys blogging about career and business. Patrick is also a photography enthusiast and is currently running a photography studio in the Philippines.
After surviving a brutal machete attack by an ex-boyfriend, it seemed things were looking up for Maria Del Carmen Gomez, until she received some more bad news -- a cancer diagnosis.
The 53-year-old woman was diagnosed with metastatic uterine cancer and recently had surgery to remove the cancerous cells in her colon, diaphragm and lymph nodes. Doctors also removed her uterus and ovaries.
Though Gomez will still needs extensive chemotherapy her physicians are hopeful.
"If anybody can make it, she can," Dr. Nick Spirtos, medical director of the Women's Cancer Center of Nevada, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "She was remarkably positive going into surgery. She showed me the scars on her head and her hands from the machete and said, 'This cancer isn't going to get me either.' She has an incredible spirit."
In March, Gomez was the victim of a horrific attack by her former flame, 49-year-old Armando Vergara-Martinez, who used a 18-inch blade to assail his ex in a grocery store parking lot in North Las Vegas. Gomez was struck several times in the head and her hands were severed at the wrists. Police discovered the gruesome scene, finding both Gomez and Vergara-Martinez on the ground, covered in blood. Vergara-Martinez reportedly cut his own neck after attacking Gomez with the machete.
Following the incident, Gomez sought to shed light on the case in hopes of highlighting the need for tougher laws governing punishments for domestic violence perpetrators.
"He premeditated everything," Gomez told FOX 5 News. "[Those] kind of people should be in prison. [It would be] safer if they were in there."
Gomez joined a domestic violence fundraising walk for Safe Faith United in April and told her story to other women.
"I hope they listened to what I had to say," she told the Review-Journal. "I told them to never let yourself be around someone who hurts you. Those kind of men never get better, only worse."
Despite earlier reports, Vergara-Martinez later plead not guilty to attempted murder. Doctors were able to successfully reattach Gomez's hands, but her recovery is far from over -- especially now that Gomez has a new battle to face.
While Spirtos, who headed Gomez's surgical team, said the malignant disease was at an advanced stage, he believes it is curable with at least six months of chemotherapy.
As for Gomez, who was recovering from her surgery in the hospital this past week, she appears to be more concerned with her brother's well being than her own. "I hope Victor doesn't have another stroke worrying about me," she told her visting friend Rebeca Ferreira, who also founded Safe Faith United. "He's already had two."
However, bedridden Gomez does have to worry about paying her monthly rent, car payment and insurance, the vast majority of which is being covered by the donations-based Safe Faith United.
"I've got money for your car and insurance," Ferreira said while holding Gomez's hand, according to the Review-Journal. "I don't want you to worry about that. And somehow I'll get your rent money. Don't worry about Victor; he's fine. Think about getting yourself better."
Watch the video above to see an earlier news report following the attack.
The Japan Media Arts Festival is a comprehensive festival of Media Arts that honors outstanding works in the four divisions of Art, Entertainment, Animation, and Manga, as well as providing a platform for appreciation of the works that have won awards. The 15th Festival received a record 2,714 works from 57 countries and regions around the world, demonstrating its continuing evolution as an established annual international festival.
The Four Divisions (Art, Entertainment, Animation, Manga)
Art Division
Works created with new media and digital technologies. Interactive art, media installations, video works, digital photographs, graphic art, web-based works, media performances, etc.
Entertainment Division
Entertainment works created with digital technologies. Games (video games, online games, etc.), video works (music videos, advertising films, computerized special effects videos, etc.), gadgets (including figurines), websites (including advertisements), application software, etc.
Animation Division
:Animated feature films, animated short films, animated TV series, animated series or films released in home-video formats, etc.
Manga Division
Comics published in book form, comics published in a magazine (including works still being serialized), comics published online (for computer or mobile), self-published comics, etc.
Eligibility
Works must be completed or released between Friday, September 23, 2011 and Thursday, September 20, 2012.
Please check to see if the work fits the above timeframe.
Works that were renewed, changed, completed, presented or released during the above time period are eligible for submission.
While there is no limit on the number of submissions made, the same work may not be submitted to multiple divisions.
The entrant must hold the copyright to the submitted work. If the work is submitted by a representative, permission from the copyright holder is required.
By submitting their work, the entrant is deemed to have accepted the ?Entry Rules and Regulations? as stated by the organizer.
Each entrant must read, understand, and accept the ?Entry Rules and Regulations? before submitting work.
Awards
Grand Prize
Certificate from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology;
Trophy; 600,000 Japanese Yen
Excellence Award
Certificate from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology;
Trophy; 300,000 Japanese Yen
New Face Award
Certificate from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology;
Trophy; 200,000 Japanese Yen
Special Achievement Award
Certificate from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology;
Contact: Juliette Merchant jmmerch@emory.edu 404-778-1503 Emory University
Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke, usually caused when a clot blocks an artery that supplies blood to the brain. Now the results of two multicenter studies published online in The Lancet on August 26 are giving physicians new innovative tools proven to better remove these clots that block blood flow.
The TREVO 2 clinical trial, (Thrombectomy Revascularization of Large Vessel Occlusions in Acute Ischemic Stroke) showed that the Trevo Retriever, a clot-removal device, performed significantly better at restoring blood supply to the brain than the FDA approved predecessor Merci Retriever. The study, conducted at 16 U.S. sites and one in Spain, was led by neurointerventionalist Raul Nogueira, MD, professor of neurology at Emory University School of Medicine.
Nogueira also served as a member of the steering committee for the SWIFT (Solitaire With the Intention For Thrombectomy) clinical trial, which tested the efficacy of the flow restoration device Solitaire compared to the Merci Retriever at 18 U.S. sites and one in France.
"The results of our studies show these next-generation devices (e.g. stent-retrievers) are superior at achieving restoration of blood flow to blocked arteries and were associated with better neurological outcomes as compared to the previously available technology," says Nogueira, who serves as director of the Neuroendovascular Division at the Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center at Grady Memorial Hospital.
"These devices truly refine treatment and represent another great stride in the evolution of stroke care. I'm excited about their potential and the opportunity to offer this cutting edge treatment option to patients at Grady and Emory."
Nogueira enrolled patients at the Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Located in the region known as the nation's stroke belt, Grady recruited the TREVO 2 study's largest number of patients, enrolling 31 participants. Rishi Gupta, MD, Emory associate professor of neurology, served as the primary investigator at Grady.
Nationwide, researchers randomly assigned 88 patients to the Trevo Retriever group. The remaining 90 patients received the procedure with the Merci Retriever, a predecessor to the Trevo Retriever. Patients treated with the Trevo Retriever scored better on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, experienced shorter hospital stays and had significantly higher rates of functional independence 90 days post-stroke.
In the double-blind, randomized SWIFT trial researchers compared the performance of the Solitaire flow restoration device to the MERCI retriever in a total of 112 patients. Researchers found the blood clot was removed much more commonly with the Solitaire - a self-expanding stent retriever as compared to the Merci retriever. Additionally, more patients had a favorable neurological response with Solitaire than Merci.
The standard of treatment for acute ischemic stroke is an intravenous injection of the clot buster drug tissue plasminogen activator tPA which dissolves the blood clot. However, Nogueira notes limitations such as a short treatment window, risk of bleeding, and failure to dissolve the larger blood clots that often cause the more disabling strokes.
"In this patient population, rapidly restoring blood flow to the brain is critical. Patients who have had large vessel blockage strokes but are ineligible for or fail to respond to intravenous t-PA should be treated with the Trevo or Solitaire device," says Nogueira.
"We have traditionally seen poor outcomes for patients with large vessel occlusion strokes. This new generation of mechanical thrombectomy devices provides us with a highly effective tool for revascularising large vessel strokes and improving overall quality of care in patients with severe and potentially debilitating strokes if they can get to a comprehensive stroke center quickly for treatment."
The Trevo System was developed by Concentric Medical, Inc. and acquired by Stryker. Covidien is the manufacturer of Solitaire. Both devices are now approved in the U.S. and Europe.
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Contact: Juliette Merchant jmmerch@emory.edu 404-778-1503 Emory University
Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke, usually caused when a clot blocks an artery that supplies blood to the brain. Now the results of two multicenter studies published online in The Lancet on August 26 are giving physicians new innovative tools proven to better remove these clots that block blood flow.
The TREVO 2 clinical trial, (Thrombectomy Revascularization of Large Vessel Occlusions in Acute Ischemic Stroke) showed that the Trevo Retriever, a clot-removal device, performed significantly better at restoring blood supply to the brain than the FDA approved predecessor Merci Retriever. The study, conducted at 16 U.S. sites and one in Spain, was led by neurointerventionalist Raul Nogueira, MD, professor of neurology at Emory University School of Medicine.
Nogueira also served as a member of the steering committee for the SWIFT (Solitaire With the Intention For Thrombectomy) clinical trial, which tested the efficacy of the flow restoration device Solitaire compared to the Merci Retriever at 18 U.S. sites and one in France.
"The results of our studies show these next-generation devices (e.g. stent-retrievers) are superior at achieving restoration of blood flow to blocked arteries and were associated with better neurological outcomes as compared to the previously available technology," says Nogueira, who serves as director of the Neuroendovascular Division at the Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center at Grady Memorial Hospital.
"These devices truly refine treatment and represent another great stride in the evolution of stroke care. I'm excited about their potential and the opportunity to offer this cutting edge treatment option to patients at Grady and Emory."
Nogueira enrolled patients at the Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Located in the region known as the nation's stroke belt, Grady recruited the TREVO 2 study's largest number of patients, enrolling 31 participants. Rishi Gupta, MD, Emory associate professor of neurology, served as the primary investigator at Grady.
Nationwide, researchers randomly assigned 88 patients to the Trevo Retriever group. The remaining 90 patients received the procedure with the Merci Retriever, a predecessor to the Trevo Retriever. Patients treated with the Trevo Retriever scored better on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, experienced shorter hospital stays and had significantly higher rates of functional independence 90 days post-stroke.
In the double-blind, randomized SWIFT trial researchers compared the performance of the Solitaire flow restoration device to the MERCI retriever in a total of 112 patients. Researchers found the blood clot was removed much more commonly with the Solitaire - a self-expanding stent retriever as compared to the Merci retriever. Additionally, more patients had a favorable neurological response with Solitaire than Merci.
The standard of treatment for acute ischemic stroke is an intravenous injection of the clot buster drug tissue plasminogen activator tPA which dissolves the blood clot. However, Nogueira notes limitations such as a short treatment window, risk of bleeding, and failure to dissolve the larger blood clots that often cause the more disabling strokes.
"In this patient population, rapidly restoring blood flow to the brain is critical. Patients who have had large vessel blockage strokes but are ineligible for or fail to respond to intravenous t-PA should be treated with the Trevo or Solitaire device," says Nogueira.
"We have traditionally seen poor outcomes for patients with large vessel occlusion strokes. This new generation of mechanical thrombectomy devices provides us with a highly effective tool for revascularising large vessel strokes and improving overall quality of care in patients with severe and potentially debilitating strokes if they can get to a comprehensive stroke center quickly for treatment."
The Trevo System was developed by Concentric Medical, Inc. and acquired by Stryker. Covidien is the manufacturer of Solitaire. Both devices are now approved in the U.S. and Europe.
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Public release date: 26-Aug-2012
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