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At age 18, Lauren Stinson faced the typical issues of people her age — social life, educational choices, finding a career. But Stinson, who has cerebral palsy, also faced another challenge — adapting to life without a medical support team.
As a child, Stinson had a host of medical and social services professionals working to manage her health. But B.C.'s pediatric medical system cuts people loose at age 18 and there is no adult equivalent in B.C. to that team-based pediatric system.
Stinson, now 24, was born two months prematurely after being deprived of oxygen in the womb. She was diagnosed with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy at birth, a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects her entire body.
"I couldn't do a sit-up to save my life," said Stinson, an art and culture major at Simon Fraser University. "I also have poor control over how much pressure I put on my joints. I love to use pastels for my art — sometimes when I focus too hard I snap them."
Cerebral palsy is a neurodevelopmental disorder that occurs when the developing brain is damaged during pregnancy, delivery, or in the first several years of a child's life. Symptoms range from mild to severe, and include impairment with muscle tone, fine motor functions, reflexes, and balance.
Depending on the severity of the disability, people with cerebral palsy can have a wide range of health challenges: dislocated hips, scoliosis, gastrointestinal issues, arthritis and pain, which may require numerous surgeries and extensive rehabilitation.
One in 500 children are born with cerebral palsy in B.C. In total, it affects about 10,000 people in the province.
As a result, the province developed a strong system of medical care based in the pediatric system and facilities at BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver. Pediatric support teams may include physicians, nutritionists, orthopedic surgeons, and occupational and physiotherapists.
But the health care system has not kept up with these children as they become young adults, with adult interests in such things as jobs and relationships. At age 18, they must transition to the adult health care system and find, on their own, a new team of support workers and doctors — or not. Provincial government funding for children with disabilities, the At Home Program, is simultaneously cut off.
The transition does not always go smoothly, Lauren said.
"I remember the last meeting we had (with my doctor)," she said. "He looked at my latest X-rays and said they were fine. But I don't remember him saying anything about the future, nothing like, 'come back in three years' or anything."
This differs dramatically to the organized, team-based pediatric system that keeps on top of patients' needs and schedules, says Lauren's mother Carol Stinson, secretary for the Cerebral Palsy Association of British Columbia.
"Lauren's transition — well, there wasn't one," she said. "Basically we just muddled through. Services for adults with cerebral palsy are quite minimal."
There is no cure for cerebral palsy, and the physical deterioration tends to increase with age. When this coincides with a reduction in health care services, loss of physical mobility can be even swifter. Some adolescents who rely on crutches are forced to use a wheelchair within a few years.
"I love art," said Lauren, flipping through a pile of her pastel sketches. "I'm worried about arthritis as I age; I want to be able to draw throughout my life. And to think that I might not be able to use my crutches when I'm 30 scares the shit out of me."
Dr. Richard Beauchamp, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at BC Children's Hospital, has been working with patients with cerebral palsy for 37 years. He has seen many of his young patients struggling as they leave the pediatric system.
"I think there's a lot of anxiety on behalf of the patients, the parents and the caregivers," he said.
The provincial government estimates over eight per cent of British Columbian youth will require transition services for some condition. A series of cross-ministry 'best practices' are in place to assist young adults as they leave the pediatric system, according to the B.C. minister of Children and Family Development, Stephanie Cadieux.
But there is no single ministry that organizes the transition, with multiple ministries collaborating during the process.
"If you looked at the policy of the Ministry of Children and Family Development, there's a lot about how transitions will be supported and blah, blah, blah," said Carol Stinson.
"But what they say is not at all what they do. It's words on the page more than anything else."
Beauchamp agrees there is a deficit in the system. There is growing need for services more specific to young adults with cerebral palsy, such as life skills education, he says.
"Many young adults with cerebral palsy have been sheltered a lot their whole adolescence and now suddenly they're on their own," said Beauchamp.
"And they're fairly poor spokespeople for themselves. They really haven't had the opportunity to develop these skills and they really can't always stand up for themselves."
So few specialized services for adults with cerebral palsy exist that Beauchamp often tells his "graduating" patients — Lauren included — to contact him with concerns. He receives numerous emails and phone calls a week from adults with cerebral palsy.
Beauchamp said the time has come to develop specialized clinics that supply a range of services to adults with cerebral palsy, much as the GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre does. But there is no one centre that covers the full spectrum of needs for adults with cerebral palsy — medical, physical, emotional, financial, and life skills.
"I think a solution would be begin the process of transitioning them from our (pediatric) facility earlier," said Beauchamp. "Or to have a transitional facility available where these adult issues can be addressed through a multidisciplinary clinic. It's been a long time coming."
Other countries have also struggled — and found solutions — to the transition process.
In 2006, frustrated with the lack of services available to young adults with cerebral palsy in the Netherlands, Dr. Wilma van der Slot and colleagues started the young adult team at Rotterdam's Rijndam Rehabilitation Centre and Erasmus MC university hospital. Their goal was to create a place where physicians could refer their young adult patients with a variety of brain injuries — predominantly cerebral palsy.
"There's a lot of health care when you're a child — but it doesn't stay that way," said van der Slot. "If I see adults who have not had a doctor since age 18, they come with many problems because they've waited for years to seek help. We want to see them earlier, before it's out of hand."
Besides medical treatment, the Dutch young adult team also offers life skills teaching in areas such as managing one's life, independent living, dating and sexual relationships, and finding and keeping a job. This program, The Young Adult Team of TransitieNet, has been so successful that other rehabilitation centres across the Netherlands adopted it.
Most of the life skills training is paid for with health care dollars. Job coaching, in the treatment module, At Work, is paid for directly by government, which believes training young adults with cerebral palsy to find work is both ethically important and far less costly than paying social services to unemployed adults.
"They fund it because they want people to have a job," said van der Slot. "They want to keep the costs low instead of paying social support, and to stimulate participation in society."
Timothy dos Santos, a 22-year-old who describes himself as an "outgoing and spontaneous guy," has spastic bilateral cerebral palsy. He found his transition to the adult health care system at the Rijndam Rehabilitation Centre relatively seamless.
"When I turned 18, I came here right away," he said. "At first, I felt out of my safety zone. But they recapped what I was doing in pediatrics, so it didn't bother me at all. I thought, OK, so I have to come here? Let's continue.'"
A smooth transition from childhood rehabilitation services into adulthood is exactly what van der Slot and her colleagues aim for. They offer continuity of rehabilitation care while promoting the ultimate goal of autonomy and independence in society.
"In rehabilitation we help both with the medical part, and we try to teach life skills," van der Slot said. "You need normal skills, because then you are accepted better in life and gain autonomy. I think we can still do a lot, but I am also happy."
Another issue adolescents with cerebral palsy face is a lack of public knowledge about their disorder.
"I've had people twice now come up to me downtown and bless me — I'm not joking," said Lauren, shaking her head. "And three or four times I've had some people come up to me in the hallway at school and ask, 'what's wrong with you?'"
As children with cerebral palsy reach adulthood, wanting to fit into Canadian society is a natural milestone. It's also an ethical imperative. This is not always easy for people living with a physical disability.
"I've only met one person that has exactly the same level of CP as me," said Lauren.
"There's a very wide range, and that can make it hard for other people to understand." While most people are accepting of her disability, Lauren says people treat her differently when she uses her crutches compared to when she is sitting in her power wheelchair. Some friends prefer her to use crutches instead of her chair because she appears more 'able-bodied'.
This is indicative of Canadian society's desire to "fix" people with physical disabilities, Lauren said.
"There's this preconception that we're broken, and that we need to be fixed," she said, becoming more serious. "As someone who has a disability with no medical cure, that kind of makes me feel like shit. It's this weird misconception that people have about people with disabilities."
Misunderstandings about cerebral palsy are not restricted to Canada.
Young adults living in the Netherlands, one of the more progressive countries in the world for cerebral palsy treatment and transitions, also experience societal misconceptions.
Melani Prieto, 22, lives in Rotterdam and loves to play tennis. Her talent is evident — she is ranked No. 4 within her league — but her love of the game stems from something deeper.
"When I play, people don't see my disability," said Prieto. "But in normal life they do."
Off the tennis court, her condition is noticeable: She walks with a limp.
While she feels generally accepted by Dutch society, Prieto wishes people understood more about cerebral palsy. A common misconception is that physical disability equates mental disability, she says.
"I have a girlfriend who also has CP, and she can't walk. If I go with her to the cinema or something, they ask me all the questions they would ask her. It's a lack of education."
Having been with her boyfriend for the past four years, Prieto would like a family of her own someday. Cerebral palsy is not a genetic disorder, but she worries about how Dutch society might react.
"I do want children, but I'm scared of what people are going to say because of my disability," she said. "If I have a child maybe people will think, 'Why are you doing that, when you are handicapped?' I don't know if people would understand."
The Ministry of Children and Family Development offers financial assistance to many children living with disabilities such as cerebral palsy through the At Home Program. This covers most treatments, rehabilitation and transportation costs, if deemed necessary by a health care provider. Like many of the services available for children with cerebral palsy, funding ends at age 18.
With the high cost of medications and equipment fees — some power wheelchairs alone can cost up to $10,000 — the end of childhood financial support is a problem that confuses Lauren.
"I don't know why it's like this," she said. "Cerebral palsy is not the kind of disability that gets better. It stays the same or gets worse because you're aging."
Vancouver resident Manpreet Virdi, 29, lives with spastic cerebral palsy, which affects her muscle tone and requires her to use a power wheelchair for daily living. Her experiences as an adult seeking funding in the health care system differ dramatically from her experiences as a child.
"The health care system for me is a very touchy subject — it's hit and miss," she said. "I was fortunate (as a child) to get everything I needed. But now that I've gone into adulthood, it's a lot tougher to get things approved."
Feri Dehdar, a director at the Cerebral Palsy Association of British Columbia, says the search for adult funding can be a nightmare.
"When it comes to funding, it gets really ugly and complicated," said Dehdar. "Some organizations cover funding for equipment, but you have to really seek them out. The problem is that not all the money is coming from one source — you have to get it from many different sources. It shouldn't be that complicated."
Virdi credits her team of support workers for helping her to fight the numerous funding rejections. Given the severity of her cerebral palsy, she was eligible for some specialists upon entering the adult health care system, including an occupational therapist, a physiotherapist, a dental hygienist and a nutritionist.
"They're a good bunch of people," she said. "I've been happy."
The Cerebral Palsy Association of B.C. is the main source of education and support for the disorder in the province. Programs for young adults include yoga therapy, educational bursaries, a book lending program and public education services.
Around 30 per cent of the funding they receive comes from provincial government gambling revenue — and according to Carol Stinson, that money is slowly decreasing.
The B.C. organization has an annual budget of $250,000 compared to a $1.2 million budget for its Alberta counterpart.
"There's a real worry in the disability community that the Liberals feel they have a mandate to cut these programs," she said. "That's what they were doing before the election — and they got re-elected."
Community Living British Columbia, an organization funded entirely by the provincial government, offers programs and financial assistance for adults with cerebral palsy (and other conditions) — as long as they meet the criteria of having "significantly impaired intellectual and adaptive functioning."
But only one-third of people with cerebral palsy have significantly impaired intellect, meaning the Community Living BC standards exclude many people who seek assistance.
David Hurford, director of communications for Community Living BC, says transitioning young adults provide a challenge for the health care system.
"We have about 600 transitioning youth every year with developmental disabilities," he said. "That's a tremendous demand pressure for us. Our role is to follow the legislation that the provincial government gives us. And the provincial government will review these regulations from time to time and make adjustments as needed."
Some young adults who are not eligible for Community Living funding may be eligible for Person With Disability assistance from the provincial government. The maximum monthly amount is $906.
Living off this income can be a challenge in expensive cities such as Vancouver.
"Lack of funding is the main issue for adults with cerebral palsy," said Dehdar. "If you don't work you only get $900 a month for disability benefits. And there are a lot of people who want to work, but it's quite challenging for adolescents with cerebral palsy to find a job. It's really, really hard."
Virdi expertly manoeuvres her power wheelchair around a desk at the Cerebral Palsy Association of B.C., where she volunteers each week.
Since she graduated from the University of B.C. in 2012 with a degree in the social sciences, Virdi has been searching for a job with little success.
"Many employers don't want to take on the challenge of hiring a person with cerebral palsy because it becomes a liability issue for them," she said. "I want to work — but they hesitate."
B.C.'s Human Rights Code aims to protect people with disabilities from being treated unfairly due to their handicap. It is illegal to deny someone work if the person is able to do the job — a code that can be hard to enforce.
"Most of the places I've applied for, I haven't gotten an answer back," said Virdi. "Some of the places did call me back. They don't go into detail about why they didn't choose me — they just say they have stronger candidates."
Virdi's story is not unique in the cerebral palsy community.
"It's quite challenging for adolescents and adults with cerebral palsy to find a job," said Dehdar, "even for people who graduated from university and have lots of skills. There are no employers really willing to hire them because of the slower speed they work at."
Beauchamp thinks society still has a ways to go before people with a handicap are treated as equals.
"I think there's still a fairly large bias about dealing with handicapped kids and handicapped adults," he said. "And there's a lot of discrimination. A lot of times young adults don't want to admit they have a disability because they feel once there's a name put on it, someone will discriminate against them."
Dehdar believes the provincial government should focus less on social assistance for people with disabilities and more on creating jobs and employment opportunities. A job is more than a source of income, she says, it's also a form of social inclusion.
"One of these days it's going to hit the government," said Dehdar. "One of these days they will realize they have to do something about it. It's too sad."
This article was produced under a summer internship funded by MITACS, a Canadian research organization that co-ordinates industry-university research collaborations, and NeuroDevNet, a Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence focused on children's brain development. The National Core for Neuroethics at the University of British Columbia, in partnership with NeuroDevNet, supervises the intern's research.


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Next year, some manhole covers in New York City will double as wireless-charging stations for electric vehicles equipped with wireless receivers.
Also in 2014, Toyota plans to test a wireless charging Prius in Japan, Europe and the U.S.
Auto electronics giant Delphi has partnered with WiTricity, the first company to create wireless vehicle charging pads, and is developing technology for hybrid and fully electric vehicles (EVs) that could be used industrywide.
As hybrid and electric vehicles gain popularity, consumers also want them to be as simple to power up as gas-fueled cars and trucks. One way to do that is to remove the charging wires and have the vehicles recharge simply by parking over a wireless charger. Imagine, for example, delivery trucks that never need to refuel because there are "green zone" parking spaces that offer automated wireless charging.
According to research firm IHS Automotive, fast-charging technologies, such as those at WiTricity and New York City-based HEVO, are driving the growth of the electric vehicle charging market.
The number of wireless charging stations established worldwide is expected to climb by a factor of more than 100 from 2012 to 2020, according to IHS Automotive. Fast-charging stations for EVs are set to reach 199,000 locations globally in 2020, up from just 1,800 last year.
"The number of these stations, meanwhile, is anticipated to rise more than threefold in 2013 to 5,900 and then nearly triple to 15,200 in 2014. Overall growth will continue at a rapid pace through 2020," IHS stated in its report.
HEVO's manhole cover chargers
New York's wireless charging manholes—technology from the city's own startup HEVO Power—are part of a pilot project that will be rolled out in the Washington Square Park area in early 2014.
HEVO, which stands for hybrid and electric vehicle optimization, partnered with New York University, and will use two wirelessly equipped Smart Fortwo electric cars to test the practicality and efficiency of the manhole chargers.
HEVO, however, is focused on the bigger business of powering commercial electric fleets owned by companies such as Frito-Lay and Pepsi.
What HEVO's wireless-charging manhole parking spaces may look like in New York City. (Photo: HEVO Power)
Like all wireless charging technology for automobiles, HEVO's manhole covers work via electromagnetic resonance, which makes a magnetic connection between a charging coil to a car equipped with a wireless charging coil.
HEVO has also garnered interest from the cities of Santa Monica, Calif., and San Francisco for tests in early 2014, but there have been no commitments yet, according to Gregory Stahl, HEVO's chief marketing officer.
HEVO did not disclose the cost of its wireless charging manhole covers, but said the technology will be competitive with other systems already on the market at prices ranging between $3,500 and $5,000.
One major stumbling block to widespread EV adoption is the length of time it takes to recharge vehicle batteries.
While it takes a few minutes to refuel a gas-powered vehicle, the recharge time for EVs is about four hours for a 24 kilowatt-hour (kWh)-capacity battery using a 6.6 kW on-board charger, according to Alastair Hayfield, associate research director at IHS Automotive. Such a battery would work on a standard size economy car, such as the Nissan Leaf.
"If EV auto manufacturers could overcome this obstacle, it could lead to a high rate of adoption from environmentally minded consumers as well as those seeking to cut gasoline expenses. That's where fast charging comes in," Alastair said in a recent IHS report.
HEVO units are comparable to Level 2 charging plug-in stations used by EV fleets, which typically take eight to 12 hours per day to charge, according to Stahl. "We can charge up to three times faster than many wireless competitors at up to three times the distance," he said.
"Regardless of battery capacity, these figures remain the same," Stahl said in an email reply to Computerworld.
WiTricity's charging technology offers up to 25kW, with the company's systems for passenger cars outputting from 3.3kW to 6 kW while systems for fleets and small buses are in the 10kW to 25kW range.
WiTricity claims it takes the same amount of time to charge a vehicle wirelessly as it would plugging it in, which in a passenger car with a dead battery is nominally four hours.
However, one emerging technology is fast-charging systems, which offer a high-voltage DC charge instead of a slower AC charge. With a fast charging station, a vehicle can be fully charged in as little as 20 minutes, according to Hayfield. "This could be a major step toward EVs becoming generally equivalent to (gas-powered) vehicles when it comes to refueling," Hayfield said.
One fast-charging standard designed for electric vehicles is CHAdeMO. The major proponents of the technology are Japanese automakers, including Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Japanese industrial giants such as Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and Tokyo Electric Power Co. to name a few.
Worldwide adoption
According to IHS Automotive, there are as many as 2,445 CHAdeMO fast chargers in operation and more than 57,000 CHAdeMO-compatible EVs around the world, which accounts for 80% of all EVs on the road. The highest concentration of EVs comes from Japan in the form of the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi i-MiEv and Honda Fit EV among others.
Hayfield pointed out that fast charging and wireless charging are two distinctly different technologies.
"Beyond the longer charge time with wireless... there are many other factors which make its adoption a long term trend," Hayfield said of wireless charging.
Among the obstacles that wireless charging must overcome is that it's currently not in production; it must be added aftermarket. Also, the magnetic coil charging system adds weight and cost the the vehicle, Hayfield said.
"Public trials are really only just beginning now. There are safety and interference issues that must be tested in the real world," she added.
Additionally, while wireless charging is supposed to add a level of convenience for EV owners, "plugging in is not a major problem for most," Hayfield said.
Efficiency is key, size matters
Another drawback to wireless charging is power loss. Transferring electricity through the air between two copper coils means some power will dissipate.
HEVO's wireless charging devices have a power transfer efficiency of more than 85% at 12 inches of separation, according to Stahl.
Eric Giler, WiTricity's CEO, said anything under 90% end-to-end efficiency should not be acceptable.
"Think about it. If you're transferring 10,000 watts, and if you're at 85% efficiency, you're continually wasting 1,500 watts of electricity. Even at 90%, you're still wasting 10,000 watts. That's a lot of energy to waste," he said.
HEVO's Power Station technology comes in three parts: a power transmitter—a coil that can be embedded in the pavement or an object; a receiver in a vehicle and a smartphone app. The app can be used to find wireless charging parking spaces, and can also tell the driver when the vehicle is aligned properly for charging.
HEVO's Power Station transmits at 220-volts with up to 10 kilowatts of power for charging a vehicle. The larger the copper coil, the more power that can be transferred.
WiTricity, originally a research project at MIT, was formed in 2007 after scientists demonstrated they could use two copper coils to create a magnetic field and power a 60-watt light bulb wirelessly. To date, the company has garnered more than $40 million in venture capital funding, the last round being led by Toyota.
Today, the company licenses its technology to equipment makers in the consumer, healthcare, industrial and automotive markets. By far, Giler said, the largest markets are consumer and automotive. Along with Delphi and Toyota, Mitsubishi has also partnered with WiTricity to develop charging pads.
WiTricity's 3,300 watt wireless charging pad (Source: WiTricity).
Mobile technology company Qualcomm has also announced that its Halo wireless charging technology will be used in tests to charge EVs around London and to recharge safety vehicles working on the Formula E car racing circuit.
Qualcomm's Halo pads would charge a car as long as a driver pulls to within eight or nine inches of the charging pad. An indicator on the vehicle's dashboard signals when the charger is engaged.
Along with Qualcomm, Delphi and Siemens are in partnerships to develop inductive charging technology, including mats that can be placed in garages or parking spaces.
Siemens estimates the installation cost of both the charging mat and in-vehicle charging coil would run about $2,000, about twice the cost of a corded charger.
How wireless charging works (Image: WiTriCity)
Competing standards
As with any nascent industry, there are competing standards and their consortiums.
Currently, the wireless charging industry is divided into three standardization camps, each headed by market leaders competing for dominance.
Qualcomm and Samsung, for example, are founders of the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), which competes with the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) and the Power Matters Alliance (PMA). Companies, however, are hedging their bets and are sometimes members of one alliance while still using technology from another. For example, the WPC supports the widely adopted Qi (pronounced "chee") standard used in Nokia, Samsung and LG products.
There are two forms of wireless charging: magnetic induction, which is the most prominent, and magnetic resonance.
Both charging techniques use the same basic technology. Alternating current in a transmitter coil generates a magnetic field, which induces a voltage in the receiver coil.
Magnetic induction charging techniques, however, require that the device being charged is in contact with a charging surface, such as a charging pad. That leads to greater power transfer efficiency. The leading charging pad supplier has been Duracell's Powermat technology.
Magnetic resonance charging, like WiTricity's or HEVO's, allows an enabled device to be placed up to several feet away from a power source for charging. However, the closer the receiver and transmission coils are to each other, the better the charging efficiency.
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WiTricity has created more than a half-dozen prototypes for its wireless charging technology. The tech can be used to charge smartphones, TVs, entire rooms of equipment and even electric cars at relatively long distances.
This story, "Juicing electric cars though manhole covers among new wireless charging experiments" was originally published by Computerworld.

subset: commoncrawl


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HK Army Paintball Gear Bags – HK Army started off selling paintball tshirts and headbands, but now has a complete line of paintball equipment including paintball gear bags. The HK Army Gear Bag is a rolling Hardbody design. This is possibly the largest paintball gear bag in production! If you're looking for a weekend paintball bag you may want to check out their HK Army Gator Skin or Slate Backpack (in Grey and Black color scheme).
GI Sportz Paintball Gear Bags – The GI Sportz paintball gear bags were first introduced in the summer of 2014. They have a Hidr backpack, a 21" Flight Bag, a 28" Roller gear bag and a large 34" Tankr roller paintball gear bag. The Hikr Backpack is a proven favorite of the Pro and Tournament Paintball Players - in two stylish colors: Red/Black and Camo/Red.
TradeMyGun - Trademygun is doing it right with the best paintball gun bag on the market at the very best price! In conjunction with Exalt Paintball, Trademygun rolled out a brand new universal soft gun bag that is perfect for new paintball guns and used paintball guns. The bag is compact yet it will hold most electronic paintball guns being sold with plenty of room for extra paintball barrels, parts and tools.
New Paintball Guns – We have the largest supply of paintball guns online and offline at our paintball field. We carry paintball guns from all the major paintball companies including: Azodin paintball guns, BT paintball guns, Dye paintball guns, Dangerous Powers paintball guns, Invert paintball guns, Eclipse paintball guns, Spyder paintball guns, Kingman paintball guns, Empire paintball guns, Proto paintball guns, Tippmann paintball guns, Bob Long paintball guns, MacDev guns and more. Not only do we carry all these new paintball guns but we also sell used paintball guns from the sale companies. Some of the latest markers are now available on TradeMyGun.com - Planet Eclipse ETEK 5 Ego, GTEK Geo, GEO CS1 and LV 1.1. Dye Matrix also put out an amazing new marker called the Dye M2 - this is one of the most advanced markers to ever hit the market and you'll be amazed at the bright OLED board that Dye finally put on their high end paitnball gun.
When picking a paintball gun it is important to first decide if you are looking for a Tactical paintball gun or a Tournament paintball gun. Tactical paintball guns are great for the following styles of paintball game play: woodsball, recball, Scenario play and Big Game paintball play. Tournament paintball guns are generally used for speedball games but can also be used for woodsball and scenario play. Tournament paintball guns are great because they are super quiet and extremely air efficient.
Paintball guns range in price from $50 to $2,000. A Tactical paintball gun will generally cost you between $50 and $250. A Tournament paintball gun will normally cost you between $250 and $1500. In addition to the cost to buy a paintball gun, you also will need to buy a paintball tank and a paintball loader for your paintball marker. Normally a tank and loader will cost under $100 for a Tactical gun and will cost over $100 for a tournament gun.
The most popular Tactical guns are produced by Tippmann paintball. Other great tactical paintball guns are made by: Spyder, BT Paintball and Valken Paintball.
Tournament paintball guns can be split into Beginner paintball guns, Intermediate paintball guns and Advanced paintball guns.
Beginner Tournament Paintball Guns: Price Range of up to $350
Invert Mini Paintball Gun: The invert mini paintball gun is made by Empire paintball and has been in production for several years. It is simple to use and has great performance and reliability. A new invert mini marker sells for $325.95. Used invert mini paintball guns sell for $200 to $225. The Invert Mini is our top pick for a beginner Tournament level paintball gun.
Planet Eclipse Etha Paintball Gun: The Eclipse Etha paintball gun is made by Planet Eclipse. The Etha marker includes a 2-piece paintball barrel and comes with a nice hard paintball carry case. For $350 you will own a paintball gun from the top paintball company in the United States. The Eclipse Etha Paintball Gun is our 2 nd pick for the beginner speedball player.
Proto Rail Paintball Gun: The Proto Matrix Rail (PMR) paintball gun is made by Dye paintball. The PMR paintball marker is a nice gun for a player just getting into paintball tournaments. Priced at only $250 you get a lot of features for your money. The Proto PMR paintball gun is our 3 rd pick in the beginner tournament level category.
Valken Proton Paintball Gun: The Proton Paintball Gun is made by the Valken paintball company. The Proton marker is very light weight and comes in a nice array of colors. This paintball marker competes with the Invert Mini Gun, priced at $325.
Dangerous Powers G5 Paintball Gun: The DP G5 paintball gun is made by Dangerous Powers. This paintball gun also competes with the invert mini marker. The DP G5 marker is great in performance but does not have the reliability that you will get with the invert mini gun.
Intermediate Tournament Paintball Guns: Price Range of $350 to $800
Empire Axe Paintball Gun - The Empire Axe Paintball Gun is your very best choice if you have less than $1,000 to spend on a paintball gun. The Axe marker is used by beginner and pro paintball players. For $459 you get a high quality, accurate, air efficient and reliable paintball gun. The Empire Axe has a single down fall: The short one piece paintball barrel. The Empire axe uses an autococker thread paintball barrel. The first paintball gun upgrade you will want to make is a better paintball barrel. From years of experience shooting every gun made (new and used), our number one endorsed paintball barrel is the Dye UL barrel (dye ultralite barrel).
Eclipse Etek 4 Paintball Gun – The Planet Eclipse Etek 4 Paintball Gun comes in two models. The Etek 4AM sells for $699 and features an all metal frame. The Etek 4LT sells for $599 and features a composite frame. Both paintball guns will shoot the same. The Etek 4 paintball marker comes with a nice paintball gun case and features a good quality 2 piece paintball barrel. The Etek marker used poppet technology which give you great air efficiency (you get more shots for a single fill of air in your paintball tank). The downside of a Poppet paintball gun is the high recoil of the shot and the loud noise made from this paintball gun. The Etek 4 is our 2 nd pick for an Intermediate Tournament Level Paintball Gun.
Planet Eclipse ETEK5 Etek 5 Paintball Gun - The 2015 / 2016 edition of the solid performing EGO paintball gun line. The Etek 5 sells for $549.95 and has a easy OLED board upgrade that can be purchased for an additional $69. This paintball gun is tournament legal and can be found at hundreds of paintball fields across the world. If you're looking for a easy to maintain, accurate, air efficient marker this is the gun for you.
Planet Eclipse GTEK Paintball Gun - Finally Planet Eclipse released a spool valve marker that sells at the intermediate price point. The GTEK comes in several colors and shoots similar to the ETEK 5 but is much quieter. The new bolt system allows the paintball player to shoot better quality paint without having paintball break in your breach. This gun is a great way to get into the PE GEO line of markers without breaking your piggy bank. Included with the GTEK paintball gun is a nice case, manual, parts kit, lube, tool kit and barrel sock.
Proto Matrix Reflex Rail Paintball Gun – The Proto Reflex Rail Paintball Gun is made by the Dye Matrix paintball company. The Reflex Rail markers uses spool valve technology which requires more maintenance than the Etek 4. However, when properly serviced this paintball marker will be more accurate than the Eclipse Etek. The increased accuracy is achieved by a complex spool valve paintball bolt system. This comes at a cost of getting less air efficiency. The Proto Reflex Paintball Gun is our 3 rd pick for this level gun.
Top of the Line - High End Tournament Paintball Guns: Price Range of $700 to $1800
Dye Matrix has been long known for their DM line of paintball guns. These guns are used by series tournament players from beginners to PRO skill level. Their products are produced with superior quality controls and are blessed with having a Paintball Gun Service center that is second to none located in California. In 2008 Dye moved their production from the United States (or Canada) to Taiwan. It took a year or two but today they have one of the best quality and most respected paintball guns in the industry.
2015 Dye Matrix DM15 Paintball Gun - Originally priced at $1399.95 can now be purchased for under $900. The DM15 comes stock with the amazing Billy Wing Bolt Kit that will increase your Air efficiency by at least 2 pods. This marker is the most accurate gun made assuming you provide the gun with the proper maintenance. You get the award winning 2 piece Dye UL barrel that will ensure a straight shooting ball that gets out of your paintball gun and finds it's target with speed and accuracy. Like all DM markers, you get a nice carry case, manual, lube, tool kit and paintball parts kit. The gun comes with a 1 year warranty from the time of purchase serviced by Dye Precision in California.
2016 Dye Matrix M2 Paintball Gun - This is the most amazing release by DYE since the 2006 DM6. The entire paintball gun was redesigned to be a much smaller profile plus you get a bright color OLED screen - the first in Dye's history. The M2 paintball gun comes with 2 DYE UL paintball barrel backs and 1 DYE UL barrel tip. You get a redesigned paintball gun case, manual, parts kit, lube and tool kit to make sure your new marker continues to shoot laser beams for a long time to come. If you've tried the DYE DM paintball guns in the past - you need to get your hands on the M2 Paintball Gun and see what they have been developing. The gun is being used by the most infamous PRO paintball teams in the World - The Ironmen.
Planet Eclipse is dominating the high end Tournament paintball scene with two technologies: The 2016 GEO CS1 (and GEO 1, GEO 2, GEO 2.1, GEO 3, GEO 3.1, GEO 3.5 paintball guns) Spool Valve paintball gun and the 2015 EGO LV1 (and LV1.1, 11 EGO, 10 EGO, 9 EGO, 8 EGO, 7 EGO paintball guns) poppet valve paintball gun. They product their paintball markers in the UK and service their paintball guns on the East Coast in Rhode Island.
2016 Planet Eclipse GEO CS1 Paintball Gun - All we can say is - WOW! Priced at $1,600, this marker compares to the Dye M2 but it is much easier to maintain. The CS1 paintball gun shoots flawlessly in cold and hot weather and can shoot any grade paintball that is made. This is a well balanced paintball marker that has a flat straight shooting shot. A perfect choice for the Mid to Front paintball player due to it's ball on ball accuracy with minimal velocity variation.
2015 Planet Eclipse GEO 3.5 Paintball Gun - Originally priced at $1,500 can now be purchased new for under $1,000. Trademygun makes a point of buying large quantities of a previous model of the Planet Eclipse GEO paintball guns. Everyone is on a budget which makes this the paintball marker of choice if you need a quiet, accurate, air efficient marker for your NXL or PSP paintball play. This gun is not only used by the tournament players, it is perfect for Big Paintball Games like the Oklahoma D-Day or ION Skirmish paintball events. Because it is light weight and so air efficient, you can shoot over 1,000 paintballs on a single tank of HPA or N2.
2015 Planet Eclipse LV1 or LV1.1 EGO Paintball Gun - Originally priced at $1,400 can now be purchase new for under $1,000. The PE Ego markers will never be the same since the inception of the LV1. The LV1 utilizes a new Lever Valve that makes the older style Ego's (2011 and older) sound like canons. This Lever Valve makes the LV1 ego paintball gun shoot smoother (virtually no recoil) and quieter than any Ego ever made before. You will get more shots per paintball tank of air with the EGO than with the GEO. The LV1 also has a shot trajectory that is "arched" - this is great for dropping a paintball into a bunker. Because of the shot trajectory, this is the paintball gun of choice for back players.
DLX LUXE 2.0 Paintball Gun - Originally priced at $1,500 can now be purchase new for under $800. The Luxe 2.0 builds off the older Luxe 1.0 and Luxe 1.5 platform by introducing a better spring loaded bolt system and a newer board that still talks to you. This paintball gun uses spool valve bolt technology that is second to none. The Luxe is super gentle on paint and is one of the most quiet paintball guns ever made.
DLX LUXE OLED Paintball Gun - Originally priced at $1,500 can now be purchase new for under $1,000. The Luxe OLED is exactly the same as the Luxe 2.0 except you will finally get a OLED board (and a talking board) with your paintball gun purchase. Luxe also went away from the hard Luxe paintball gun case and introduced a nice hard back paintball gun case that fits much easier in your paintball gear bag.
DLX LUXE ICE Paintball Gun - This gun coming out in the spring of 2016 will be priced in the high end range of $1,500. The paintball community is anticipating a major redesign from one of the most innovative companies in the world - DLX Technologies. Keep an eye on Trademygun.com as we'll be the first on the scene during the paintball extravaganza and plan to share what we find with all our loyal customers.
SP RSX Shocker Paintball Gun - This gun coming out in the fall of 2015 introduced the first high end paintball gun at a mid-level price point - retail of just $799. SP, we think standing for Smart Parts, is a new paintball company that brought back the old Shocker but with huge technology advancements. This paintball gun has no macro line, has a OLED board, and shoots like butter with complete accuracy. The team behind DLX Luxe made this marker and boy did they hit the nail on the head. This is one of the most popular paintball guns ever made - it is quickly taking the paintball world by storm. Visit Trademygun.com for a huge slection of RSX Shockers - Standard color RSX Shockers, Limited Edition Splash RSX Shockers, and HK Arms RSX Shockers.


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by Richard Branson
When you're launching a startup, one of your first tasks is to identify potential customers and learn about their needs.
This may seem very different from the goals I have described in previous columns about defining your business's greater purpose and helping to tackle some of the big problems our society faces today, but in fact they are related. Getting involved in volunteer efforts may help you to find customers and grow a business with deep roots in the community, which may be integral to its long-term success.
When my friends and I were starting up Virgin Records in the early 1970s, we backed a student advisory center in London close to our headquarters, which provided guidance for young people on everything from dealing with depression to getting a job. This may not have led directly to record sales, but our work there did help us to keep in touch with our audience's concerns and the problems they faced at a time when the culture was changing very quickly.
Over the years, businesses in the Virgin Group have taken part in a number of local projects, though "local" now means close to our offices, stores and other locations around the world. Experience has taught us that during our Virgin Records days, we might also have looked at lending some of our equipment, manpower and other resources to local school music programs and other music-focused community groups.
What ideas can you think of for your business? Are there groups in your community in need of support, perhaps in terms of mentorship or equipment? Are there skills you could offer to teach? How would your team like to get involved? Just a few hours a month can make a big difference in people's lives and help with your company's development.
This has been seen at other companies than Virgin. A well-known example is Ben & Jerry's Homemade, an ice cream company based in South Burlington, Vt., which in its early years invested a great deal in its relationships, hiring everyone from dairy farmers to artists from the local community. (In fact, when the company went public in 1984, the founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, offered the people of Vermont priority when buying stock, in order to reward them for their early support.) Building on those relationships, the company advocated for good causes that came to its attention, promoting organizations such as Farm Aid to support family farmers; after a few years Ben and Jerry's began to donate 7.5 percent of its annual pre-tax profits to community-oriented projects.
While the company became part of the multinational consumer goods company Unilever in 2000, it still retains its local connection, its mission and its reputation. And in today's global and fiercely competitive market, this makes the Ben & Jerry's brand stand out from the crowd – a very valuable asset.
Seeing this process at work can be a powerful experience. On a recent trip to South Africa I visited Virgin Active, our health club business, and got an update on some of its local community activities. The team at our flagship club in Soweto amazes me with their focus on helping people to live healthier, more productive lives. Working with the government, they recently launched a youth development program called Future Crew, which helps local high schools to get physical activity back on school curriculums, as many schools in South Africa do not have adequate sports facilities and many students are not active.
Virgin Active piloted the program at Lavender Hill Senior Secondary School, which is in the heart of one of Cape Town's poorest areas, and where, against the odds, the school's headmaster, Faseeg Manie, has created a better and safer learning environment. We opened a new gym and launched after-school sports programs, and within days, a steady stream of students were joining exercise classes and using the equipment.
Lavender Hill has seen great results, and so we plan to pair up our other clubs with other schools. Our Active staff is training both teachers and pupils, and over time we will open these relationships up to members, so that they can help us to raise money for school equipment and volunteer to mentor or coach the students.
The point of such activities is not to make money – although, as Ben & Jerry's has shown, sometimes this can be an indirect result. Through the relationships you build by doing such work, your business will become a hub for the community, supporting and fostering the people around it. It will help you to build a stronger culture within your company, better relationships with your customers and staff, and ultimately a more successful business.
Take a look around. What can you and your team do?


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|Biosequences .. Software .. Molbio soft .. Network News .. FTP
Contents of the current weekly edition of SCIENCE-WEEK (April 3, 1998) (Now available at http://scienceweek.com) ------------------------------------------------------ 1. PRESTIGIOUS MEDICAL JOURNAL OPPOSES BAN ON HUMAN CLONING 2. ETHICS OF PLACEBO-CONTROLLED 3RD WORLD STUDIES REVISITED 3. NO LARGE US COMMERCIAL MARKET FOR CANCER GENE TESTING 4. SIMULATION OF CLUMPY STAR-FORMING REGIONS IN HIGH Z GALAXIES 5. ON THE LIFE HISTORY OF BARE VISCOUS BUBBLES 6. ON LATTICE EFFECTS IN MAGNETORESISTIVE MANGANESE PEROVSKITES 7. ON QUANTUM THEORY OF CHEMICAL REACTION DYNAMICS 8. ON LASER CONTROL OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS 9. SOLUBILIZATION OF FULLERENES BY GIANT BLOCK-COPOLYMER MICELLES 10. REDESIGN OF ENZYME TOPOLOGY BY DIRECTED EVOLUTION 11. TOTAL SYNTHESIS OF A POTENT MARINE ORGANISM NEUROTOXIN 12. A DROSOPHILA HOMOLOG OF RX VERTEBRATE HOMEOBOX GENE 13. DENDRITIC CELLS AND THE CONTROL OF IMMUNITY 14. A NEUROPEPTIDE THAT BLOCKS NOCICEPTIN ACTION 15. IDENTIFICATION OF THE INDUCER OF MOSQUITO MALARIA DEVELOPMENT 16. ON POST-POLIO SYNDROME 17. EVIDENCE THAT BREAST CANCER GENE IS APOPTOSIS COACTIVATOR 18. APPARENT DECLINING MORTALITY IN ADVANCED HUMAN HIV INFECTION Book Notes Product and Service Notes Notices - Positions Available Notices - Miscellaneous ----------------------------------------------------------------- SCIENCE-WEEK is a free weekly Email digest of the news of science read each week by 50,000+ people in the scientific community in more than 40 countries. News briefs from the major journals are amplified with enough background material to make them intelligible to nonspecialists: the biology is detailed for physicists and chemists, and the physics and chemistry are detailed for biologists. Each issue contains 15 to 20 news reports, annotated listings of new books in the sciences, a Positions Available section, and other notices of interest to science professionals. The SW complete weekly news reports are available free at URL: <http://scienceweek.com>. There is also an Email edition. The Email edition is an ASCII transmission of the weekly web posting, and is suitable for both plain text file readers (and Email software) and web browsers. You can subscribe to the Email edition at: <request at scienceweek.com>. A Daily Science News edition of SCIENCE-WEEK is also available free at URL: <http://scienceweek.com/daily.htm>. The daily edition has a broader coverage of science news than the weekly edition, and the reports are usually much shorter. Many, but not all, reports in the daily edition appear in forthcoming weekly editions with added explications and background material. The free daily edition is not available via Email. SCIENCE-WEEK is a free retransmission educational resource, which means this headline notice and each weekly issue of SCIENCE-WEEK itself can be retransmitted if intact by any installation. All back issues of SCIENCE-WEEK are available at the SW website. The Editors SCIENCE-WEEK A Free Weekly Digest of the News of Science editors at scienceweek.com http://scienceweek.com


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The criminal world's best and brightest minds have targeted the advisory business as worried investors in the current low interest rate climate fall prey to scams that promise high returns, Financial Serial Killers co-author Tom Ajamie said Thursday at the annual meeting of the Financial Planning Association's New York chapter.
"These financial scams are a quick way to make a lot of money and more profitable than knocking over an old lady with a purse," Ajamie warned several hundred FPA advisors in his keynote address. "You don't have to get your hands dirty, and the criminal element attracted to these scams are very intelligent."
Ajamie, managing partner of the Houston law firm Ajamie LLP, wrote his book, Financial Serial Killers: Inside the World of Wall Street Money Hustlers, Swindlers, and Con Men, after winning a $429 million arbitration award against a former PaineWebber broker in 2001. The Wall Street Journal cited it as the largest award ever handed down by a New York Stock Exchange arbitration panel.
Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, not surprisingly, came in for a drubbing from Ajamie. One of Ajamie's clients was a victim who lost a $5 million investment to Madoff even though he never met the man and Madoff's office was unresponsive after cashing the victim's check.
"When I called Madoff's office, they never took the calls," Ajamie's client told him.
"Well, how did they get their money?" Ajamie asked.
"I wrote out a check for $5 million and sent it to them," the client answered.
In short, Ajamie framed the typical con as follows: The victim meets a guy who knows another guy on the board of a university or a religious institution, and the guy says he invests billionaires' money, but he won't name the billionaires for reasons of confidentiality.
"There was nothing extraordinary about how Bernie Madoff pulled it off," Ajamie said. "He belonged to the right country clubs, and if you get the endorsement from that country club, and 'Bill says it's good,' it flows from there. That's how people find their advisors."
Con artists have made it essential for legitimate advisors to have a candid conversation with their clients about any fears they may have, Ajamie said. "Your clients really do need your advice, so recognize the fear and confront it," he said. "It's actually an opportunity for your business."
Here are Ajamie's recommendations for what that talk between advisors and clients should cover:
"Guaranteed" high returns. Advisors are seeing more pressure from yield-hungry clients to invest their money in overly risky securities, Ajamie said. "Reaching for return is often an invitation to disaster," he said, noting that advisors must judge investments in terms of suitability, age appropriateness and whether a client has sufficient intelligence to understand the product.
Questionable new products. The boom in new products has given the criminal element an opportunity to create phony products, many of which fall into less regulated asset classes such as private placements and real estate investment trusts.
Transparency. Remind your clients that they can check you out online with sites such as FINRA's broker check and your ADV forms. Be sure they understand the importance of segregated accounts rather than pooled accounts, and encourage them to Google you because you have nothing to hide.
Susan Kimmel, a CPA and CFP from Ridgewood, N.J., who attended the FPA conference said Ajamie's speech was timely because she is increasingly worried about her aging client base, who are more vulnerable to scams.
"As clients get older, fraud gets to be more of an issue. I like to get the adult children involved, and I've had some success with that," Kimmel said. "There are plenty of wonderful advisors, but unfortunately there are a lot of financial frauds out there."
Read Dementia and Due Diligence: Why Clients' Cognitive Function Is Your Concern at AdvisorOne.
Read California Agent Arrested on Charges of Financial Elder Abuse at our sister site LifeHealthPro.


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Tiny transplant patient's new heart going strong
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The new heart began beating on its own for the first time over the weekend, just a week after it was implanted in Natalie Davis' tiny body.
"I think she did it just for Mother's Day," an elated Jane Davis said. "We could not ask for things to be better."
Diagnosed with a rare life-threatening condition in January that caused her to suffer heart failure, the 5-year-old Greenville girl was put on the transplant waiting list nearly three months ago. She received her new heart on May 3 at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Given a pacemaker at the time of the transplant because the new organ couldn't yet beat for her, her doctors are now talking about removing the device, Davis said.
"The heart is pumping on its own now. And she looks like a totally different kid," she said. "We're just so blessed."
Natalie's condition, dilated cardiomyopathy, left her listless and short of breath after the slightest exertion. Small, pale and fragile, she couldn't keep her food down as her heart continued to weaken.
After the transplant, there were a few tough days as Natalie began breathing on her own and was hurting from the incision, which runs the length of her chest.
But in the past few days, her color has been returning, she's had visits from therapy dog Lucky, and she's been walking, too.
"She can get off and on the bed by herself and she's doing some (physical therapy)," said Davis, who with husband, Dick, adopted Natalie and her 2-year-old sister, Kayla, last year.
"It's just amazing to me a week out," she said. "I've never seen anything like it in my life."
Another sign of Natalie's continued recovery is her desire for clean hair kept just so, Davis said.
But the plucky child still needs to recover her appetite, must take 10 medications every day — some that taste awful, her mother said — and is being watched closely for any signs that her body may be rejecting the new heart.
The Davises, who have been staying at the local Ronald McDonald House, will spend the next six weeks in Charleston keeping vigil at Natalie's bedside as the medical team continues to care for her.
Still, things have been looking up enough so that Kayla could join them on Saturday.
"It was a good Mother's Day," Jane Davis said. "It's just like a miracle to me."


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WASHINGTON — The U.S. federal government's budget deficit widened in November compared to October, a sign that the nation is on a path to its fifth straight $1 trillion-plus deficit.
The budget gap rose to $172 billion in November, up from $120 billion in October, the Treasury Department said Wednesday. The November deficit was also 25 percent higher than the same month last year. Last month's deficit was pushed higher by a calendar quirk that pulled about $33 billion in benefits payments into November from December.
The government finished the 2012 budget year with a deficit of $1.1 trillion. President Barack Obama and Congress are under pressure to curb the deficit as part of a budget deal to prevent tax increases and deep spending cuts from kicking in Jan. 1.
With the economy and hiring improving a bit, the government is receiving more tax receipts. Overall tax revenue rose 10 percent in the first two months of the budget year to $346 billion. But spending has risen faster, up $87 billion or 16 percent.
The deficit, in simplest terms, is the amount of money the government has to borrow when revenues fall short of expenses. Last year's deficit was lower than the previous year but still painfully high by historical standards. The budget year ends Sept. 30.
Obama's presidency has coincided with four straight $1 trillion-plus deficits — the first in history and a record he had to vigorously defend during his re-election campaign. He had promised in February 2009 to cut the deficit in half by the end of this first term.
This year's deficit is closely tied to what happens with the fiscal cliff. Economists fear that the $671 billion in higher taxes and spending cuts, if left in place all year, would push the economy into a recession.
The two sides have traded proposals for an alternative budget deal. Obama has called for $1.4 trillion in new revenue over 10 years, partly by raising taxes on the wealthiest two percent of taxpayers. He has also recommended $400 billion in spending cuts over a decade.
House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, has offered $800 billion in new revenue and is calling for $1.2 trillion in spending cuts. House Republicans want to raise the revenue by closing loopholes rather than raising tax rates, as Obama is demanding.
The government has run annual deficits for more than a decade and hit a record $1.41 trillion in 2009, Obama's first year in office. That was largely because of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Tax revenue plummeted during the downturn, while the government spent more on stimulus programs.
The budget gaps in 2010 and 2011 were slightly lower than the 2009 deficit as a gradually strengthening economy generated more tax revenue.
President George W. Bush also ran annual deficits through most of his two terms in office after he won approval for broad tax cuts and launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The last time the government ran an annual surplus was in 2001.


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Patents dancing in the spring
All the hard work I invested in 2012 to rescue the Eurozone with biotechnology has reaped a new reward in 2013, as the European Parliament and Council finally approved the European patent in December. We can now look forward to a revolution in the commercialisation of innovation, as a unified Europe opens the doors to lower cost and wider impact patents. Many accuse the EU of over-caution, like an old lady wrapped up warm on a summer's day, but this is a glorious example of Europe going a bit mad and dancing naked in the street. Metaphorically, of course. It's far too cold for that in reality right now.
My friend Steven Zeman can give you the formal overview of what the unified patent means for Europe (as he actually knows what he is talking about) so I will just relax and enjoy the feeling of freedom that the patent gives to technology in Europe.
I am intrigued to know how Europe will score on innovation rankings worldwide now, as universities can afford to protect more great science and SMEs don't have to sell their grandmothers to bring their precious technology to an investable stage. We can expect to see far more patented innovations from collaborative research and people bold enough to take risks, as you have to do in biotechnology. We can also expect to see many technologies hitting the market at an earlier stage. Now you don't have to hide it in your pocket for 10 years until you can finally afford that patent, or know for sure that it will do something.
Will this help to liberate Europe from its traditionally cautious approach to early-stage businesses? Let's hope so. I would love to see European entrepreneurs seize the day and investors take early-stage opportunities more seriously. We yearn for the bold investments seen on the other side of the Atlantic. But money talks very quietly on this side of the pond, often because it is still muffled in the pockets of VCs who, in the face of early-stage companies, increasingly resemble me when my children describe the latest 'must-have' game or gadget, without which they will surely die.
This is not just about the point of purchasing patents. It's also about the fact that it changes the whole value chain of innovation, and makes a serious statement from Europe as a whole. And that statement is that there might be a defragmentation of finance through the unfortunate situation of there being no money out there, but there has now also been a defragmentation of innovation because that is the right and glorious thing to do. Europe should be very proud of itself. Vive la revolution!


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AUSTIN, Texas, July 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Vermillion, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRML), a leading molecular diagnostics company, today announced positive results from a new prospective, multi-center clinical study of its ovarian cancer diagnostic OVA1®. The study, referred to as OVA500, was led by Dr. Robert E. Bristow, director of Gynecologic Oncology Services at UC Irvine Healthcare in Orange, CA, and deputy editor of the journal Gynecologic Oncology.
OVA1 is a blood test for pre-surgical assessment of ovarian tumors for malignancy using a unique multi-biomarker approach. As the first protein-based, in vitro diagnostic multivariate index assay cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, OVA1 represents a new class of software-based diagnostics.
The OVA500 study confirms and extends the pioneering work of Dr. Fred Ueland published last year. It was a prospective, multi-institutional, blinded study with a new cohort of 494 patients representing the intended use population for OVA1: female patients who were scheduled to undergo surgery for an adnexal mass, enrolled from non gynecologic oncology practices via 27 study coordination centers.
All adnexal tumor types were included in the statistical analysis of test performance. The primary objective was to assess the performance of OVA1 in the intended use population with a focus on two particularly challenging subgroups: women with early-stage ovarian cancer, where approximately half of patients have a normal CA125 level, and pre-menopausal women, where the incidence of ovarian cancer is low and incidence of benign cysts is high.
Top-line data from the study are as follows:
Overall Performance of OVA1
Performance in the Pre-menopausal Population
Performance for Early-Stage Ovarian Cancer (I and II)
OVA1 as a Risk Stratification Test (OVA1 score versus cutoff, independent of physician assessment)
"The data are a significant validation of the clinical trial from 2009, and these exciting new results, along with previous clinical data, support the continued efforts to expand our ovarian cancer franchise and create a new approach to treating this deadly disease," said Gail S. Page, CEO of Vermillion. "Ovarian cancer is an area of medicine where there continues to be a significant need for novel approaches. A key goal of the study was to investigate the challenging pre-menopausal setting, where benign cysts have a high incidence and early-stage cancer often goes undetected. OVA1 showed outstanding performance in this population, which clearly addresses an unmet need for physicians and patients alike."
"OVA1 sensitivity and negative predictive value in the OVA500 study met or exceeded the levels reported in the pivotal trial, and confirmed the ability of OVA1 to detect a broad range of ovarian cancer subtypes," said Page. "Detection of a broad range of cancer subtypes is essential in triage, since it directly increases overall sensitivity and decreases the likelihood of finding a malignancy in patients with a low-risk assessment."
Further details from the study have been submitted for peer-reviewed publication and presentation. Vermillion plans to utilize important findings like these as a tool to continue driving adoption and reimbursement of OVA1.
This latest work brings the total number of prospectively enrolled patients in OVA1 clinical studies to more than 1,000, with a total of 259 malignancies. Combined, the studies included 84 early-stage ovarian malignancies of which OVA1 correctly identified 78, for a combined risk stratification (stand-alone) sensitivity of approximately 93%. This key statistic confirms the unrivaled sensitivity of OVA1 for early-stage adnexal malignancies in the critical population of pre-menopausal women, which may aid in pre-surgical detection, referral and prevention of second surgeries.
"These new results point to the possibility of a standardized triage protocol using OVA1, with high sensitivity for all ovarian malignancies including the most curable early-stage cases and a broad range of subtypes," noted Dr. Bristow. "We are especially excited that the sensitive detection of ovarian cancer was paired with the classification of most benign masses as low-risk, and greater than 95% confidence that a negative test will result in a benign pathology finding. Thanks to diagnostic advances like OVA1, there is real hope that the majority of women with ovarian cancer will undergo surgery by a qualified gynecologic oncologist, which is one of the most powerful determinants of survival."
Dr. Bristow is an internationally recognized expert in the surgical management of advanced gynecologic cancer including ovarian, fallopian tube, primary peritoneal, and endometrial cancers. He is the author of four books on ovarian cancer and has published extensively in the field of ovarian cancer research. He is also an experienced minimally invasive surgeon with special expertise in robotic hysterectomy and surgical staging for endometrial cancer and cervical cancer, and was recently named as one the Best Doctors in America for gynecologic cancers by Best Doctors, Inc.
For additional information about Vermillion, contact Liolios Group at 949-574-3860 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
About Vermillion
Vermillion, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRML) is dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel high-value diagnostic tests that help physicians diagnose, treat and improve outcomes for patients. Vermillion, along with its prestigious scientific collaborators, has diagnostic programs in oncology, cardiology and women's health. Additional information about Vermillion can be found at www.vermillion.com.
Forward-Looking Statement:
Certain matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding Vermillion's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. These forward-looking statements are based on Vermillion's current expectations. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for such forward-looking statements. In order to comply with the terms of the safe harbor, Vermillion notes that a variety of factors could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to materially differ include but are not limited to: (1) uncertainty as to Vermillion's ability to protect and promote its proprietary technology; (2) Vermillion's lack of a lengthy track record successfully developing and commercializing diagnostic products; (3) uncertainty as to whether Vermillion will be able to obtain any required regulatory approval of its future diagnostic products; (4) uncertainty of the size of market for its existing diagnostic tests or future diagnostic products, including the risk that its products will not be competitive with products offered by other companies, or that users will not be entitled to receive adequate reimbursement for its products from third party payors such as private insurance companies and government insurance plans; (5) uncertainty that Vermillion has sufficient cash resources to fully commercialize its tests and continue as a going concern; (6) uncertainty whether the trading in Vermillion's stock will become significantly less liquid; and (7) other factors that might be described from time to time in Vermillion's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). All information in this press release is as of the date of this report, and Vermillion expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in Vermillion's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, unless required by law.
This release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Copies are available through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval system (EDGAR) at www.sec.gov.
Investor Relations Contact:
Liolios Group
Scott Liolios or Ron Both
Tel 949-574-3860
|SOURCE Vermillion, Inc.
Copyright©2012 PR Newswire.
All rights reserved


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This was not some Wolverines fan with disposable income tweaking their in-state rivals by putting "Go Blue" in skywriting above Spartan Stadium before last weekend's MSU game. This was Michigan's athletics office, paying "thousands" to put the message in the skies. And it sort of backfired.
Michigan State's athletic director called the message an "irritant," but everyone assumed it was just the usual bit of fan fun. That is until MLive tracked down the skywriting company hired to put it up before the Spartans' game against Youngstown State.
Suzanne Asbury-Oliver says she's not from the area and didn't quite grasp the effect the message would have, but she confirmed that she was hired by Michigan's athletics office for the "multi-thousand-dollar job." A spokesperson from UM confirmed it was their doing, but somewhat implausibly claimed Spartan Stadium wasn't specifically targeted.
"We hired the skywriters to canvas southeast Michigan with slogans and numbers prior to our game last Saturday," he said in a statement. "There were no locations targeted."
Sure, whatever. UM's expensive, sanctioned trolling may not have produced the desired effect, though. Michigan State alum Scott Westerman, a pilot himself, saw the message and thought it was a waste of money. So he went online and challenged fellow alumni to donate to the Michigan Ovarian Cancer Alliance. As of today, they've donated more than $27,000.
Photo by Rod Sanford/Lansing State Journal


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Are Blog URLs important?
I had an interesting e-conversation with Rob Howard and Scott Watermasysk today. I had noticed recently that a number of blogs I'd visited had things like _2D00_ and similar codes in their URLs. There was a forum post a while back (July of 2006) that asked about things like hyphens getting encoded in some builds of CS2.1.
There were a bunch of posts on http://www.asp.net that had URLs like: .../2006/09/07/Startup-doesn_2700_t-always-mean-venture-capital... where the 2700 was a single quote or .../2006/09/05/Should-tags-be-moderated_3F00_... where 3F00 was a "?". The non-latin characters in these cases were being encoded in the URL with their Unicode Code Point. This was a bug in a beta of CS that was quickly fixed, but it got me thinking about URLs in blog engines and more generally. These particular URLs and their untidiness really irked me.
Different Ways to Get to the Same Place
Personally I like URLs that use Pascal Casing, like the one for this post, for example, is:
Although URLs are technically supposed to be case sensitive, and you used to see that a lot when URLs belied the underlying case -sensitivity of the file system, they aren't in our case. The only thing that would make it better, IMHO, is the removal of the .aspx extension. More on that later.
Years ago DasBlog had really lame URLs and Jeff Atwood picked on us. ;) These urls live on in some comments pages within DasBlog in some cases, unfortunately.
We started using the blog title to general the URL. This, of course, has problems when you change a title after a pile of folks link to the original URL, but unless you want the engine to keep track of every title a post has ever had and 301 to the "final URL," you've got a nasty problem. Anyway...
There's a number of options in DasBlog that affect your URLs, although DasBlog canonicalizes URLs internally and will always accept any of these formats without breaking your URLs. That is, you can change your URLs scheme and you won't be penalized.
There's options to use a + for a space, as well as including the date, so any of these are potentially valid:
- http://www.hanselman.com/blog/AreBlogURLsImportant.aspx
- http://www.hanselman.com/blog/Are+Blog+URLs+Important.aspx
- http://www.hanselman.com/blog/2007/04/06/AreBlogURLsImportant.aspx
- http://www.hanselman.com/blog/2007/04/06/Are+Blog+URLs+Important.aspx
Is One URL Format more Search Engine Friendly?
A number of folks have said they preferred hyphens over pluses, specifically that it helps Google. Rob mentioned during our email discussion:
The hyphens, however, are something you guys should investigate using for DasBlog. Search engines actually look at the URL for keywords. The hyphen is considered a word-break indicator, i.e. HelloWorld to Google appears as "HelloWorld" whereas Hello-World is "Hello" and "World". The underscore is also considered a word-break, but given less points.
I'm wasn't sure about this, and initially was skeptical, but it he's right - mostly. However, it seems to matter less and less, as Google seems to have added some smarts.
If you Google for "happybirthdaytomiiwiireview" all-one-word, you'll get my post on the Nintendo Wii with the URL highlighted. You'll also get that post if you Google for "Happy Birthday to Mii" as a list of words, or as a phrase with surrounding quotes because it also happens to be the title.
ASIDE: Oddly, if you Google for the phrase with hyphens (which is odd, in itself) as in happy-birthday-to-mii you'll get less results than if you do it with quotes. Not that there's any reason to do that.
Notice in the screenshot below how the word "Mii" appears bold in the URL. Not in the title, in the URL. That implies to me that Google either cares about casing, in this case the Pascal Casing of my blog's URL, or that it picked "Mii" up as a fragment and really cares about fragments of things in URLs.
Let's see which it is. If we search for "Happy Birthday to Mi" with just one i in "Mii" - where "Mi" is a fragment of "Mii" - we don't see my post anywhere at all, which implies, to me at least, that Pascal Casing in a Blog Post is likely as effective from Google's perspective in delimiting spaces as is a hyphen, so from a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) perspective, hyphens versus Pascal Casing versus whatever is pretty much a moo point.
Not moot, rather, "moo" like a cow's opinion. It just doesn't matter. It's moo.
So, pick the URL style that makes you feel good, I say.
Many Options for URLs
Scott Water has used ISAPI_Rewrite to completely remove the .aspx extension from his site, and he has nice clean URLs like http://scottwater.com/blog/archive/url-rewriting-via-isapi-rewrite/. He also has nice "hackable" URLs like http://scottwater.com/blog/search/hanselman/ which is pretty sweet. You too can remove the .ASPX extension from your ASP.NET site using ISAPI_Rewrite.
Here's some example URL styles I've seen out there in Blog Land:
- Subtext .../blog/archive/2007/02/11/Subtext_v1.9.4_quotWindwardquot_Edition_Released.aspx
- CS with ISAPI_Rewrite .../blog/archive/twitter-for-windows/
- Typo - .../articles/2007/03/27/microsoft-technical-summit
- DasBlog .../weblog/StringFormattingFun.aspx
- DasBlog with Dates - .../2007/03/27/Abschlussbericht+Zum+NET+Wintercamp+2007.aspx
- Radio Userland .../2007/04/05/itsNotTheCoverOfRollingSto.html
- MovableType - .../blog/archives/000093.html
- Blogger - .../2007/04/mulan.html
- Drupal - .../node/133257
- Blogware - .../blog/_archives/2006/8/18/2242665.html
Yes, there's 1,000 blogging engines out there, each with its own URL style, and yes, this is not an exhaustive list.
The Trailing Slash in a/an URL and removing Technology from your URL
Note that in ScottWater's case, the URLs are lower-case and include the trailing /.
There's a lot of controversy about the Trailing Slash. I've always felt that the trailing slash implied we were visiting a directory, while no slash implied we were visiting a page. Simon Willison seems to advocate for the trailing slash as in his comment at http://jessey.net/archive/2004/05/31/rewritten/.
Personally, I like the trailing slash only for the home page of this blog and set it up that way earlier this year. At least I picked one, as these things matter.
What I'd really like to do is remove the Technology from my URLs. I could remove the .aspx extension from my blog's URLs by:
- Making it output Permalink URLs with out .aspx
- Adding a ISAPI_Rewrite rule to add the .aspx before the request gets to ASP.NET
- Add some magic dust in ASP.NET 1.1 or A Form Control Adapter in ASP.NET 2.0 to change the HTML FORM Action in the case of a Post Back.
Of course, I'd need to do this without invalidating all the existing permalinks out there. The idea being that once you've put a permalink out there, it's out there. Forever. Only Feed Readers and Search Bots will respect a 301 and update their record of those links. All that static HTML out there cares not about your pretty URLs.
It's probably too late for me, Dear Reader, but perhaps not for you and your URLs. Pick a scheme and be excited about it, for these are religious issues that will never be solved.
I don't think ScottWater will mind me quoting him directly from a private email, in this case, to end this blog post:
What I meant is that if the goal is SEO, nice URLs are well…nice, but there are way better things you can do, such as writing relevant content. - Scott Watermasysk
It's true! I should stop now.
About Scott
Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.
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It's been a long wait for Terrell Suggs to exact his revenge on the New England Patriots, and when the Ravens' 28-13 win was complete Sunday, he let loose.
"Tell them to have fun at the Pro Bowl," Suggs said after the game to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports! about the Patriots. "Shut them out in the second half. Arrogant [expletive]. These are the most arrogant [expletive] in the world starting with [coach Bill] Belichick on down."
The Patriots beat the Ravens last year in the AFC championship game, 23-20, but lost the Super Bowl to the New York Giants. Suggs didn't play in the Ravens' 31-30 win over the Patriots on Sept. 23 because he was recovering from surgery on his torn Achilles.
"That's funny, ever since SpyGate they haven't been able to win," Suggs told Wetzel.
Suggs, who is playing with a torn biceps, later softened his stance, saying "All BS aside they are a hell of a ball club ... They have the right to be arrogant."
He finished with seven tackles (two solo and five assists) and no sacks against the Patriots on Sunday.
But after the game, he certainly was back to being T-Sizzle.


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Tiburcio Tapia was a rancher in southern California in the early 1800s. According to legend, he buried a treasure to safeguard it against thieves. Some say it was a chest of gold coins, buried beneath the roots of a great tree. His treasure was never recovered.
Tapia's Gold brings to life the music of past ages, a treasure for today's world. We specialize in the music and musical instruments of the European Renaissance and Middle Ages, with forays into the music of early California and other periods. We appreciate historical authenticity, but are not bound by it, for the past touches the present in many ways.
© 2000 by Tapia's Gold


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by Margarita
Expatriate Alphabet: G is for GRATITUDE
Put simply gratitude is just another perspective on life. Just like different color lenses allow us to see the world in different ways, the perspectives we hold at any point of time influence our views and feelings. Dr. Wayne Dyer once said "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change."
Gratitude is the perspective that makes everything immediately better. Think about it: let's say you lost your job or your business isn't going as well as you had hoped or someone in your family is sick or… the list can go on and on. You can choose to bask in your sadness/frustration/anger/etc or you can turn around and think about what's right with your life at that moment. What's going well for you? What can you be grateful for?
You'd be amazed at how quickly the feelings of despair get replaced with feelings of hope when you employ gratitude. And that's why I think GRATITUDE takes the letter G in the Expatriate Alphabet.
What are you grateful for now?
Expatriate Alphabet: H is for HUMOR
When I think of the importance of humor while an expat, one story always pops up in my memory. When we were living in one country, we once went out to a restaurant with a group of friends. There were about six of us and, when a waiter brought only one menu to the table, we politely inquired after a few more copies. He looked at us as if we were crazy and said: "Why? They are all the same."
We still laugh today when we remember this story. Since then there have been many more stories and times when looking at things through the lens of humor was essential to staying sane. And that's why I chose HUMOR for an H in the Expatriate Alphabet.
Humor makes frustrating and stressful situations a lot easier to handle. It almost creates an instant vacuum effect where all your anger and stress get sucked out of you and replaced with a feeling of lightness and a belief that it'll all work out somehow. Since exasperating situations tend to happen a lot more often when we live in a foreign-to-us culture, humor can become a tool to use on a regular basis.
So next time you find yourself in a frustrating place, think of your favorite comedian/comedienne. What would he/she laugh about here?
I conclude with another story told by a close friend – a story that still leaves tears in my eyes because I laugh so hard every time I hear it.
A friend of mine was living in another country and at one time desperately needed to buy a pair of sandals. She spent days looking around for a pair she'd like and finally she came across something that looked promising. As customary, the store only had one sandal on display, the one for her left foot. She tried it on, liked the way it looked on her, and asked the sales girl for the second one.
"We don't have the second one. We only have this one," said the sales girl.
My friend stared at her. "Come again? You don't have the second one?"
The sales girl shook her head.
My friend, exhausted after several days of search and annoyed that this time it didn't result in a purchase either, said "Why would you display it if it's not a pair?!" She didn't really expect an answer.
The sales girl stood there quiet for a moment and then said: "So, are you going to take it?"
What have been your stories when you were able to treat frustrating situations with humor? Share them please!
Expatriate Alphabet: I is for IDENTITY
To quote the movie Fight Club (1999): "You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. … " … Who are you then?
Losing one's identity is one of the premier worries expats have when they face a decision of moving abroad. Who am I going to be there? What am I going to do with my time (for those who accompany their working spouses)? What will I relate to… if anything? What relationships will I form with people? And what about financial independence? This list of concerns can go on and on and, if you look closely, you'll see that a lot of these questions relate to who we see ourselves as – and to how we preserve that in unfamiliar environments.
So how do we keep our identity and how do we feel good about ourselves wherever we may end up? I believe the key here is our relationship with ourselves. All too often moves and transitions produce feelings of doubt in our own abilities; feelings of guilt, feelings of low self-esteem; and feelings of "not being good enough, smart enough, etc." No matter what we call these feelings, they are all about the same thing — we stop liking and set out to criticize ourselves. What kind of relationship is that? How much do we damage this most important relationship in our lives — the relationship of us with us?
The regular criticisms and nagging also create the recurrent feelings of "I am losing myself", "I am no longer who I was before", "my identity is slipping away" and so on and so forth. The self-critical mode takes over and it's no wonder that we feel that our identity is no more.
Your thoughts?
These ABCs form part of the A to Z of Successful Expatriation™ Guide and Workbook which is available as a free download on our main site. This Guide and Workbook doesn't only discuss the expat alphabet but also offers activities and exercises you can do to improve your expat life. Sign up for Expat VIP list and get this free download here (right hand column).