Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Facebook favours advertisers' flexibility over one-size-fits-all
 Facebook has said it is committed to offering advertisers flexibility when it comes to video viewability metrics, arguing this is more valuable to brands than a one-size-fits-all currency.

Speaking at Facebook’s IAB Upfronts event on Monday (2 October) the social network’s head of communications planning, Ian Edwards also reiterated to advertisers that video on Facebook should be seen as something that works in "synergy" with TV campaigns, not as a direct competitor.

Video is the single biggest consumer trend Facebook is seeing on its platform since the shift to mobile, said Edwards. Who added that Facebook is currently seeing over 100m hours of video being watched every day on its platform, and predicting that 75% of all mobile data traffic will be video by 2020.

“Our philosophy with video is the fact that there are 2 billion plus smartphones in the world means that there are 2 billion creators."

It’s why Facebook recently rolled out a TV-like platform, Watch, which solidified its efforts to move into the original content production space, and why it’s been striking deals with sports rights holders and broadcasters to keep eyeballs on its platform and take advantage of the lucrative advertising opportunities afforded by video.

The social network also unveiled an open source camera platform similar to that of Snapchat's at its F8 conference this year to advance its skills in augmented reality, and has seen a three-times increase in the amount of video that is captured and shared on that platform, Edwards said.

There's no such thing as a common currency

The rise of video also brings with it a debate around viewability standards, which Facebook has found itself in the centre of after admitting last year it had been inflating video views, forcing the social platform to bolster its third-party measurement partnerships - which now includes 24 partners.

Edwards said there are elements of viewability that Facebook “totally agrees” with the industry on, including the need for video to be fully viewable on screen and viewed by humans rather than bots - claiming that over 99.3% of ads served on Facebook adhere to these standards.

Where it believes the industry needs to have a debate is around what counts as a view. Earlier in the year, P&G’s chief brand officer Marc Pritchard said the FMCG giant only wanted to trade on the MRC standard for video that is two-seconds with 50% of the pixels in view.

However, Edwards believes that while that standard might drive value to their business, it wouldn’t necessarily be the right currency for a luxury brand like Chanel, for example, where the premium to get someone to watch for 10-seconds may be worth paying. On the flipside, direct response advertisers “buy as cheap as they possibly can” on an impression basis, and don’t care about view duration but about business outcome, the executive added.

Instead, he believes it is “crucial” to give advertisers the flexibility to trade and buy video on the platform “in the way that delivers value to their business”, rather than create one trading currency.

“As you put constraints into viewability and view duration your price will rise. The longer someone views the more expensive that view will be. We are committed to giving advertisers the flexibility to buy durations that matter to them,” he said.

What’s more, Facebook data shows that there is an almost perfect correlation between age and scroll speed - as its users get older, their scroll speed slows down. This means view duration will bias your audiences towards older audiences, Edwards said.

He also gave an example of a campaign that used an ad pinned to the right-hand side of the desktop app that was in full view as users scrolled through, and the same campaign that was inserted in the mobile news feed that was in view for 2-3 seconds. The mobile ad in news feed delivered 200X more clicks than the ad that was pinned to the right hand side.

“What we need to do is start to recognise view duration as a metric, not an objective,” Edwards said. “When an objective becomes a measurement is stops being a good objective. View duration in isolation is not necessarily a great predictor of business outcomes.”

Better together

While the use of video has been increasing, so has the knowledge gap for marketers when it comes to planning video campaigns on different platforms.

“We also know that as an industry it creates a lot of confusion,” Edwards said, addressing a room of advertisers and agencies at Facebook’s IAB Digital Upfronts session yesterday (2 October).

“The term video and the way it is used is actually quite misleading,” he said. “Video is used as a catch-all term - we talk about video on Facebook, Instagram, TV, cinema, digital panels. They represent incredibly different things.”

As marketers prepare for the holiday season - and the opportunities to drive spend at key retail dates like Black Friday - Edwards wanted to set the record straight on where Facebook sits in the video ecosystem.

“I want to put [to rest] this idea that video on Facebook is anything like video on TV - it is not. Facebook is not 'Channel 6', it is a different media channel entirely, and we have to think about how we use video on Facebook to fit within the context of that platform. It is not enough just to put your videos on Facebook for them to work and be effective,” he said.

Since it first started contemplating a standalone video product for its platform last year, Facebook has been looking to prove to broadcasters it wants to share rather than steal media budgets, with Nicola Mendelsohn likening the two to “really happy bedfellows”.

It stepped up this pitch yesterday by highlighting to advertisers how adding Facebook to a TV campaign can boost incremental reach by 16.1%, according to data from Nielsen Total Ad Ratings.

Kantar Worldpanel also showed that TV and Facebook produced a greater likelihood to purchase when delivered together; on their own TV’s derived likelihood to purchase is 8%, while Facebook’s is 13%. Together they represent a 29% likelihood in driving purchase.

Edwards called this a “synergistical multiplier effect”.

Output: Facebook has argued that flexibility in video viewability metrics is more important to advertisers than a one-size-fits-all standard. Speaking at its IAB Upfronts event in London this week, its head of communication planning, Ian Edwards, said Facebook "totally agrees" with certain industry-backed standards, such the MRC viewability measure of two seconds with 50% of pixels in view. But he argued that some brands buy as cheaply as possible on an impression basis and care about business outcome rather than view duration. It is vital to give brands flexibility to buy video in a way that "delivers value to their business", he added.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Texo unveils world's first ultrasonic thickness integrated UAV system
 Texo Drone Survey and Inspection (UKCS), the dedicated Oil & Gas services division of Texo DSI - owner-operator of the world’s most comprehensive and dynamic fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles is pleased to announce the deployment of the world’s first UT (Ultrasonic Thickness Testing) integrated UAV system.

The system has been designed to undertake a wide range of thickness measurement applications and is able to ascertain precise measurements on both flat and curved surfaces.

This UAV integrated UT payload has been deployed across a wide range of sectors, including both offshore and onshore wind turbine structures, telecoms and maritime assets.

With the ability to indicate, via a unique spot identification system, all UT missions are precise in acquisition and instantaneous in capture and delivery.

All UT UAV operations are overseen by Texo’s accredited and certificated NDT payload technicians, ensuring accurate data set capture and validation of acquired measurements.

Inspection data is combined with a precise photogrammetric visual overlay of the completed survey, pinpointing exact measurement locations on the structure/surface to an accuracy of sub 10 mm - therefore providing clients with verified inspection data.

John Wood, Chief Operations Officer, Texo Drone Survey and Inspection Ltd said: “This is a major development in the field of inspection engineering. Client feedback has been indicating that this is an area of huge demand and we have worked tirelessly to bring this to the market.”

John added: “We offer an enhanced UT thickness measurement service to our clients, combined with increased safety to personnel and efficiency of data delivery. Like all our class-leading payloads, they are safer than traditional rope access and scaffolding methods and data acquisition can be twenty times faster than by traditional methods – representing significant efficiencies for clients.”

Output: Texo DSI has revealed the world's first ultrasonic thickness (UT) integrated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system. The system can produce a range of thickness measurements, on both flat and curved surfaces, and has been used in a range of sectors, including offshore and onshore wind turbines and maritime assets. Measurements are overseen by Texo's accredited technicians, ensuring accurate data sets are captured.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Gene therapy may offer cure for end-stage retinal degeneration
 Sign up for a full digest of all the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

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The most common form of blindness in young people could be at least partially cured using gene therapy, a new study in mice suggests.

Researchers managed to restore sight to mice affected by retinitis pigmentosa after reprogramming their remaining retinal nerve cells.

These were not light-sensitive but were altered by the technique to give the mice a degree of vision.

A separate study, also in mice, found gene editing could be used to stop the progress of glaucoma and the scientists said the same technique might work in humans.

One of the researchers in the retinitis pigmentosa study, Dr Samantha de Silva, of Oxford University, expressed optimism about the implications of their work.

“There are many blind patients in our clinics and the ability to give them some sight back with a relatively simple genetic procedure is very exciting,” she said.

“Our next step will be to start a clinical trial to assess this in patients.”

A paper in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) said the results of the mice trials “suggest that this approach may be clinically useful in vision restoration in patients with end-stage” retinitis pigmentosa.

“We demonstrate ... restoration of visual function, indicating that this therapy could be stable and efficacious in the treatment of patients with end-stage retinal degenerations,” it added.

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A number of tests were used to work out how much vision had been restored to the mice, including “light avoidance”.

“Wild-type animals with functional rods and cones [eyes] show aversion to bright light,” the paper said.

“Treated mice spent less time in the bright chamber compared with control mice, which showed an apparent preference for the bright chamber.

“This may be due to an inability of control mice to detect the difference in brightness between the two chambers resulting in exploration being guided primarily by nonvisual cues, for example, subtle differences in temperature, auditory, or olfactory cues.”

Professor Alan Boyd, president of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine in the UK, said the use of gene therapy to treat blindness had seen “significant success in recent years”.

He said a US company, Spark Therapeutics, had already applied for its gene therapy technique to be approved to treat children’s eye diseases in the US and European Union.

However, such methods did not work on people with advanced blindness.

“In contrast, in this new work ... they [the scientists] have identified a possible approach to treating end-stage retinal degeneration using a gene therapy that produces a natural photosensitive protein in the eye, called melanopsin, which does not rely on the presence of rods or cones to be active and could help restore the lost sight in a patient with end-stage retinal degeneration,” Professor Boyd said.

“The work performed to date with melanopsin has only involved mice and it will probably take another two to three years at a minimum before a clinical study in humans could be undertaken.

“These results are very encouraging and could lead to a potential treatment for end-stage blindness in humans.”

In the glaucoma study, researchers used the Crispr-Cas9 gene editing technique to stop glaucoma from getting worse in mice.

Genetic mutations can lead to a build-up of toxic proteins in the eye, increasing the pressure inside and leading to glaucoma, they wrote in the PNAS journal.

“Primary open-angle glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible vision loss worldwide, with elevated intraocular pressure a major risk factor,” they wrote.

They said they had used Crispr-Cas9 in mice and also in cultured human cells to “knock down” the expression of the mutant genes.

This reduced the pressure in the eye and “prevents further glaucomatous damage”.

Output: Scientists have used gene therapy to restore sight in mice affected by retinitis pigmentosa, a treatment that offers hope of a cure for the most common cause of blindness in young people. An article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describes how researchers used the technique to produce a natural photosensitive protein that helped in the restoration of visual function, concluding it could be "efficacious in the treatment of patients with end-stage retinal degenerations". A separate experiment used the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technique to halt the progress of glaucoma in mice.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Personal lines to gain most from back office automation: report
 Insurers Direct Line, RSA, Allianz, AXA, Legal & General and Aviva could have the most to gain from robotic process automation (RPA), a report by investment bank RBC Capital Markets says.

RPA is software that can be used to perform rules-based tasks such as reconciliation processes and data entry. The technology is already readily available and some insurers are already using it. For example, US insurer Lemonade uses software in its claims process and has paid out a claim within three seconds.

The report suggests that due to decreasing costs of RPA and increased digitisation within the insurance sector, now would be a good time for insurers to take advantage of it. Personal lines insurers could stand to benefit the most from RPA, with those with new systems and more efficient digital platforms likely to find it easiest to begin using the software.

The use of RPA could eliminate the need for employees to perform repetitive tasks and cut costs. Other potential benefits include increased process speed, better accuracy and improved operational efficiency.

The areas of business most susceptible to automation, according to EY estimates quoted by RBC, are HR (50-60% of tasks could potentially be automated), supply chain (30-40%) and sales and marketing (25-35%).

Cost of robots vs human employees

Source: Capgemini Robotic process automation – the next revolution of corporate functions

In one scenario, RBC calculated the savings that could be made by a hypothetical non-life insurer operating with a combined ratio of 95%. The number of staff working in back office functions fell 20%, while earnings improved by 36.9%.

EY estimates that the cost of one ‘bot’ is around 30% of that of an offshore worker, with the running costs decreasing to around 10-15% of this per annum. It generally takes around 6-8 weeks to fully implement a bot.

However, the use of RPA could also lead to job losses, reduced staff morale and increased stress levels. RBC suggests that the use of this technology will lead to companies and organisations boosting the skills of some workers, but if a business’s main aim is to cut costs then it unlikely that all employees will reap the benefits of this.

Output: Insurers providing personal lines of coverage could stand to benefit the most from adopting robotic process automation (RPA), according to a report from RBC Capital Markets. As the cost of using RPA comes down, businesses that have begun to digitise their operations should be in a good position to benefit from it and could make big savings as well. In a scenario in which a provider of personal lines cover adopts RPA, the cost of backroom staff could fall by up to 20%, according to RBC's report. RPA is suited to routine-based tasks, such as accounting reconciliations and data entry.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Chubb loses out in NY Sandy case
 A federal judge in New York on Friday ruled in favor of a CNA Financial Corp. subsidiary in a case of a Brooklyn, New York, shopping center that had electrical equipment damaged during Superstorm Sandy but refused to dismiss a separate case against a Chubb Ltd. subsidiary involving damage to the same plaintiff’s building.

The disputes arose in the aftermath of the massive storm that made landfall in New York and New Jersey on Oct. 29, 2012 and involves damage sustained by a shopping center located at 7001 E. 71st St. in Brooklyn.

The shopping center was insured by various policies, court documents said, including a $3 million commercial policy issued by Chubb subsidiary Chubb Custom Insurance Co. that insured the building, and a $5 million policy issued by a CNA subsidiary Continental Casualty Co. that covered equipment in the building, including electrical equipment in the walls and basement.

After the storm, the owner of the shopping center, 7001 E.71st Street L.L.C., filed claims for lost profits and property damage, maintaining the damage was caused by rainwater entering the building through the openings in the roof caused by the storm.

Both insurers denied coverage, and the owner sued for breach of contract in 2013. The two insurers moved for a summary judgment, citing their respective policies’ exclusions for flooding, and Continental also cites its exclusions in its policy for wind, corrosion, and fire.

Chubb also argued that the plaintiff could not prove the rainwater caused the damage and could not show the cost to repair the shopping center or the cost of its business interruption loss.

In his ruling in 7001 East 71st Street L.L.C. v. Continental Casualty Co., U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie wrote: “The Court concludes that because Continental’s policy excluded coverage for damage caused by wind and flooding, and that the damage to electrical equipment insured by Continental was at least partially attributable to these hazards, Continental’s policy excludes coverage. As such Continental’s motion for summary judgment is granted.”

Judge Dearie wrote that “because an excluded event, wind, contributed sequentially to the event that caused the covered equipment to break down, the damage is not covered by the Continental Policy.”

However, in his ruling in 7001 East 71st Street L.L.C. v. Chubb Custom Insurance Co., the judge found that the Chubb’s policy excluded coverage for flooding but does not exclude coverage for wind or rainwater.

“Because a fact finder could reasonably attribute some damage solely to a covered hazard,” Judge Dearie wrote, “there are lingering issues that make summary judgment inappropriate. Chubb’s motion for summary judgment is therefore denied.”

A spokesperson for Chubb declined to comment.

Output: Chubb has been ruled against by a New York federal judge in a case relating to damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The insurer was disputing a claim made by CNA Financial, which said that a shopping centre it owned was damaged by wind and rainfall during the storm. Chubb argued that the policy it provided to CNA excluded flood damage. While the judge agreed, it was decided that damage caused by rainfall was not excluded from the policy.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Catastrophe losses could lead to 20% hike in reinsurance rates
 Reinsurance rates are likely headed higher at year-end renewals as the market digests a string of catastrophe losses.

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria will all hit reinsurers, in addition to two separate earthquakes in Mexico and storms earlier this year, observers say.

While loss estimates are still being calculated, the most recent catastrophe losses will be substantial and likely will top $50 billion in total — and could be significantly higher, according to modeling firm estimates.

While reinsurers have had relatively low catastrophe losses since Superstorm Sandy hit New York and New Jersey in 2012 and while there is plentiful capacity in the market, the 2017 losses will hit traditional and nontraditional reinsurance programs and will likely drive up prices for some accounts, observers say. However, renewal discussions have just started, and it’s unclear how widespread any increases will be if reinsurers succeed in pushing them through, they say.

Hurricane Irma, which is likely to be the largest loss so far this year, hit while reinsurance executives were gathered in Monte Carlo, Monaco, at the RendezVous de Septembre reinsurance meeting. The event traditionally marks the beginning of year-end renewal discussions as executives from reinsurers and reinsurance brokers hold numerous small meetings around the cafes and hotel lobbies of Monte Carlo to get a feel for market trends.

This year, the meeting started on a Saturday, Sept. 9, when Hurricane Irma was still threatening Miami and reinsurers were potentially looking at a $100 billion loss. By the following Tuesday, the storm had made landfall along Florida’s west coast, and it was clear that the loss would not be as devastating as feared.

At the time, it was unclear whether Harvey, Irma and other losses would affect reinsurance renewal rates. However, in the days and weeks that followed the Rendez-Vous, and after Hurricane Maria carved through parts of the Caribbean and a powerful earthquake struck central Mexico, reinsurers and reinsurance brokers became more convinced that rates would increase.

In addition, several insurers and reinsurers warned that their quarterly earnings would be hit by the catastrophes.

The combination of catastrophe losses will likely lead to increased reinsurance rates for North American property risks at year-end renewals, said Albert A. Benchimol, president and CEO of Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. in New York.

“Whatever the losses turn out to be, it will be a meaningful amount. And given the many years of intensive price competition on property and catastrophe rates, at least on a regional basis, we would expect to see some increases,” he said.

Even though there is plentiful capacity in the market, rates should still increase, Mr. Benchimol said.

“There’s capital in the market, but the capital needs to be appropriately compensated … pricing needs to reflect loss costs,” he said.

It remains unclear whether increases will extend to non-U.S. accounts and other lines of coverage, but insurers that experience reinsurance rate hikes likely will try to pass the costs on to policyholders, Mr. Benchimol said.

The storms, including Cyclone Debbie in Australia and tornadoes in the United States earlier this year, already have triggered market activity, with some insurers and reinsurers with single-event and aggregate coverage looking for backup coverage, said Mike Krefta, Hamilton, Bermuda-based CEO of Hiscox Re, a unit of Hiscox Ltd.

At year-end, “from a reinsurance point of view, I would be shocked if we don’t see material increases in pricing,” he said.

Even though Hurricane Irma was not as calamitous as feared before landfall, the cumulative losses during the year will likely push rates higher, Mr. Krefta said.

“When you tot up the end-of-year bill, the focus will be on aggregate losses,” he said.

It’s still unclear how much prices will increase, but reinsurers are pressing for rate increases at year-end, with some underwriters saying 10% to 20% increases will be needed for North American risks, said Steve Hearn, CEO of Ed Broking Group Ltd. in London.

“We are starting to see some rate coming through on the aggregation of Harvey, Irma and the Mexican earthquake,” he said.

Paddy Jago, global chairman of Willis Re in London, said it’s still too early to predict the level of losses, particularly as Hurricane Maria followed a similar path to Irma in the Caribbean.

“That will make claims from an insurance and reinsurance viewpoint challenging,” he said.

Output: This year's glut of catastrophes is likely to lead to reinsurance rate increases when the renewal period comes up in January. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, earthquakes in Mexico and storms in Australia and the US in 2017 may well necessitate the raising of premiums, particularly for policies concerning North American property, although the effects of Irma were not as bad as feared. Reinsurers are pushing for rate hikes of 10% to 20% for North American risks, according to Steve Hearn, the CEO of Ed Broking Group in London. It is not yet clear if non-American rates will be affected.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Premium-financing insurtech PremFina raises $33m to expand
 UK insurance premium financing and software company PremFina has raised USD33 million in equity and debt. The funds will be used to help PremFina expand into new global markets and meet high demand in the UK. PremFina is fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Talis Capital participated in the oversubscribed round, which included Japan’s Rakuten Capital and the UK’s Draper Esprit led, alongside global investors Thomvest Ventures, Emery Capital and Rubicon Venture Capital.

PremFina promotes financial inclusion within the insurance industry by eliminating the financial strain of an upfront lump-sum payment. PremFina funds the upfront payment of an insurance premium to an insurer, on behalf on an insured party. The insured party then repays PremFina via monthly instalments, including a finance fee. To better enable insurers to offer this option, PremFina provides insurers with a standalone, white-labelled software solution.

PremFina is the first premium finance company in the UK to receive venture funding. PremFina’s white label premium finance solution greatly improves brokers’ efficiency and profitability, through greater control of their premium finance offerings and customer relationships.

“The participation of a suite of investors in our oversubscribed round highlights the vast opportunity ahead for PremFina,” says Bundeep Singh Rangar, CEO of PremFina. “Premium financing is an industry that has been crying out for innovation. The incumbents have remained largely unchallenged due to age-old barriers to entry, such as the funding required to finance insurance premiums, and the regulatory compliance and technological capability needed to meaningfully enter the market. Consequently, insurtech has lagged behind other areas of fintech in terms of innovation. We are delighted that PremFina has overcome these barriers, and we look forward to working with our new investors.”

“Bundeep and the team have built a compelling proposition for the premium finance market, which is a significant market dominated by a handful of incumbents. We look forward to supporting their growth both in the UK and internationally,” says Vasile Foca, Managing Partner at Talis Capital.

Output: UK-based insurtech PremFina is planning global expansion having raised $33m in a recent financing round. The financing consists of both debt and equity investments with UK-based Draper Esprit leading the round. PremFina aids insured parties by paying their premium upfront to insurers. The insurtech then charges policyholders a monthly rate for the paid-for policy. It also provides incumbent insurers software enabling them to participate in this arrangement with greater ease.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Actually, a Health Care Deal Is Possible
 The Republican leadership seems to have thrown in the towel on repealing the Affordable Care Act, at least for now. That’s one piece of good news. Here’s another: Two senators of different parties have resumed negotiations that offer a more productive path, one that could preserve the best of Obamacare while offering adjustments that both parties can accept.

The talks between Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, and Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, might not succeed, of course. Republican leaders scuttled a previous attempt by the two senators because they wanted another shot at repeal, an effort that failed ignominiously last week. Mr. Alexander and Ms. Murray hope to offer Congress a way out of the morass with a modest bill that could help strengthen the A.C.A.’s individual insurance markets, which are used by about 10 million people, without overhauling the whole system in ways that could deprive millions of people of subsidized care.

Mr. Alexander is a Senate veteran and former governor, and Ms. Murray an accomplished legislator. They have worked well together in the past. They could soon reach a deal that would guarantee appropriations for subsidy payments to insurers that President Trump has threatened to stop. The payments compensate insurers for selling policies with lower deductibles to low-income people. If Mr. Trump got rid of them, the government would actually end up spending more money to subsidize premiums, which companies would jack up to make up for the lost revenue.

The senators’ compromise would also offer states more freedom than the A.C.A. now allows to attract insurers; some rural states are down to just one insurer in their marketplaces, and premiums have jumped. Democrats have resisted such changes before, fearing that any waiver from federal rules would be exploited by states to reduce mandated services like those for maternity care, cancer and pre-existing conditions. Ms. Murray is said to be insisting, as she must, that any new flexibility for states does not become a back door for watering down protections.

Output: The Republican leadership seems to have thrown in the towel on repealing the Affordable Care Act, at least for now. That’s one piece of good news. Here’s another: Two senators of different parties have resumed negotiations that offer a more productive path, one that could preserve the best of Obamacare while offering adjustments that both parties can accept.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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States rush to preserve children's health coverage
 While states won’t run out of money immediately, at least 10 will deplete funds by the end of the year, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. If Congress doesn’t approve funding by then, some state officials say they expect to terminate enrollment in the beginning of next year or shift eligible kids to other government insurance programs with potentially less federal support.

“This is a terrible situation for everyone who relies on CHIP to be a functioning program,” said Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper.

Without getting new funding from Congress soon, Minnesota is considering tapping into its unspent federal allotment for 2017, which would fund the program for about nine months. Doing so, however, would come with a federal penalty of $10 million to the state.

“It would carry us forward, but it would be a financial strain to the state’s budget,” Piper said.

CHIP, now in its 20th year, is jointly funded by the federal government and the states. Historically, the federal government has provided an average of 71 percent of the funding, but a provision in the Affordable Care Act boosted federal funding to the states by 23 percentage points over the past two years.

Lawmakers say they are still planning to fund CHIP this year, though they haven’t acted with urgency so far. The Senate last month unveiled a bipartisan measure, S. 1827 (115), that funded the program for five years and preserves Obamacare’s funding raise for two years before it’s gradually phased out. The bill was overshadowed by the GOP’s last-ditch failed effort to dismantle Obamacare, but lawmakers are expected to mark it up in committee this week.

The House, meanwhile, is also expected to hold a markup on a CHIP measure this week but has not yet released a bill, which is expected to be drastically different than the Senate’s. Sources say the House is unlikely to keep the enhanced Obamacare funding for more than one year. Its bill is also expected to include funding for community health centers and other health programs, which could make it hard to pay for.

State officials say the funding uncertainty is already causing logistical headaches.

“Even if Congress comes back and gives them all the money in the world, it’s very distracting and destabilizing,” said Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors.

Like Minnesota, Utah is considering moving eligible children to Medicaid if the money runs out, said Utah Medicaid Director Nate Checketts. The state is also considering moving some kids to the Obamacare insurance marketplaces, where they can get subsidized coverage. However, officials are still working through the logistics.

Colorado is also looking at Obamacare’s marketplaces as a fallback option. The state’s CHIP program, which is expected to run out of money by the end of January without action from Congress, plans to notify families in mid-December that coverage may be terminated, triggering a qualifying event that allows them to purchase Obamacare coverage through the state’s exchange. More than 75,000 children and nearly 800 pregnant women are currently enrolled in Colorado’s program.

“Families want to know as soon as their coverage is potentially threatened,” said Colorado Medicaid Director Gretchen Hammer. “Families know that they have coverage through January, and they want to know what their options are.”

California’s Department of Health Care Services said it’s still business as usual for the state’s CHIP program, which receives more than $2 billion a year and covers about 1.3 million children and pregnant women. The program is expected to run out of funding in December.

“Right now, it is a tough balance between the reality of a true urgency facing state CHIP programs and not wanting to create panic for families whose children depend on CHIP coverage,” said Kristen Golden Testa, director of the California health program at The Children’s Partnership.

In Texas, funding is expecting to dry up in January or February for a program covering nearly 400,000 children and 36,000 pregnant women in the state. Texas budget writers estimated Texas would receive $3.2 billion in federal funding for CHIP over 2018 and 2019.

“With so many families across the coast impacted by Hurricane Harvey, CHIP and Medicaid help families maintain coverage,” said Lou Fragoso, president of Texas Children’s Health Plan, which covers 430,000 people in Texas, about 15 percent of whom receive CHIP. “This is critical, especially for those in communities devastated by the recent storm and flooding.”

The Texas health department has warned that it would begin winding down the CHIP program after funding runs out early next year. But close observers say the state hasn’t made serious preparations because Congress is widely expected to continue funding the program.

Victoria Colliver, Rachana Pradhan, Renuka Rayasam and Joanne Kenen contributed to this report.

Output: States are scrambling to shore up the government health insurance program that covers 9 million low-income kids after Congress failed to meet the deadline to renew its funding over the weekend.


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American College of Physicians Says Medicare Advantage Should Increase Transparency, Align, and Reduce Burden
 Washington (October 2, 2017)—Increased transparency in and greater alignment across Medicare Advantage plans would help the program to reduce administrative burdens on physicians, the American College of Physicians (ACP) said in a new policy paper, Promoting Transparency and Alignment in Medicare Advantage. The paper explores the quality of care, utilization, and cost of services in the Medicare Advantage program in comparison to traditional Medicare.

The Medicare Advantage (MA) program is an option where Medicare beneficiaries can receive their benefits through a private insurance plan, rather than the typical fee-for-service Medicare program. MA plans are designed to enhance care coordination and quality of care as well as provide supplementary benefits, including dental coverage, vision coverage, and wellness plans. The MA program has long been a subject of debate among policymakers and the health insurance industry over the balance between promoting beneficiary choice, maintaining quality of care, providing access to MA plans, and setting the cost of these private plans.

“As enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans increases there is a growing interest in understanding the differences in care delivery, quality, resource utilization, and cost between MA and traditional Medicare,” said Jack Ende, MD, MACP, president, ACP. “If MA plans were to increase transparency that would give the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services the opportunity to examine them more closely and promote alignment, thus lessening the administrative burden associated with clinician participation in these plans.”

The paper outlines three recommendations for how to address concerns about the current Medicare Advantage program:

ACP supports current policies to ensure that MA plans are funded at the level of the traditional Medicare program and that at least 85% of that funding goes to actual beneficiary care.

ACP urges Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) to be transparent in their processes, policies, and procedures for how they develop and administer their MA plans and portfolios for all key stakeholders to ensure program integrity. Moreover, MAOs administering MA plans must collaborate with all relevant stakeholders to streamline and align varying policies, procedures, and contracting arrangements with physicians to further promote transparency and reduce excessive and burdensome administrative tasks.

ACP calls for more research on how federal payments to the MA Program are utilized by MAOs. Specifically, ACP calls for further research on the types of payment models used and prices paid by MAOs to contracted physicians, hospitals, and other clinicians compared with the models used and prices paid by traditional Medicare and commercial health insurance plans.

Reducing administrative burdens on physicians is a goal of ACP’s Patients Before Paperwork initiative. ACP has long identified reducing administrative burdens as a priority and the initiative seeks to reinvigorate the patient-physician relationship by challenging unnecessary practice burdens. Requiring transparency in and alignment across the MA program is essential to reducing unnecessary burdens and also confusion for patients.

“As Medicare moves away from its traditional fee-for-service and toward the Quality Payment Program linking physician payment to high-value care, it is a critical time for the MA program to make improvements,” concluded Dr. Ende. “The relief from administrative burdens that our recommendations would provide to clinicians is an important component of promoting high-value care for all Medicare beneficiaries.”

***

About the American College of Physicians

The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 152,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter and Facebook.

Contact: Jackie Blaser, (202) 261-4572, jblaser@acponline.org

Output: Increased transparency in and greater alignment across  Medicare Advantage plans would help the program to reduce administrative burdens on physicians, the American College of Physicians (ACP) said in a new policy paper, Promoting Transparency and Alignment in Medicare Advantage.


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Laser treatment keeps perovskite in conductive state for longer
 Artist impression of laser writing technique. The laser beam locally heats the perovskite surface, making it change from the yellow delta to the black alpha state. Credit: Julian Steele

Most of today's technology in solar energy, telecommunications and microchips is constructed using silicon-based materials. However, in recent years, a new family of semiconducting materials, perovskites, has burst onto the scene, offering promise for new and better technologies. The properties of these materials rival many of the well-established commercial options, while remaining far cheaper and easier to make.

Perovskite is the general name for a material consisting of three chemical components A, B and X, arranged in a specific molecular crystal structure ABX 3 . One of these perovskites currently being investigated by researchers is formamidinium lead iodide [HC(NH 2 ) 2 PbI 3 or FAPbI 3 ], which holds the world record performance for a perovskite-based solar cell, rivaling silicone-based ones.

Important challenges, however, remain to be resolved regarding the stability of perovskite crystals under real-world conditions. At room temperature, for example, FAPbI 3 arranges itself in the yellow coloured delta phase, with little practical value for technological applications. But when heated above 150° C, the material rearranges itself into a different black structure, called the alpha state, before reverting to the delta phase after a few days under ambient conditions. It is this dark alpha state of FAPbI 3 that is most interesting for researchers and technology. Until recently, researchers have tried to access the high-temperature alpha state by heating the material and stabilising it at room temperature using surface and chemical treatments.

KU Leuven researchers from the Roeffaers Lab and the Hofkens Group have now discovered a new, easier way to create the sought-after dark alpha-phase perovskite. They used direct laser writing (tuned intense laser light) to locally heat the perovskite surface, making it change from the useless delta state to the highly desirable alpha state. Furthermore, they also found that the material now remained in this state for many weeks, even at room temperature, without further need of a stabilising treatment. The KU Leuven scientists further managed to use the laser beam to rapidly micro-fabricate complex patterns of the dark FAPbI 3 state.

The researchers recently published their discovery in the high-impact nanotechnology journal ACS Nano (Steele et al. 2017).

"These findings are a big step forward in locally tailoring the structural, electrical, and optical properties of an important new class of materials and provides an avenue for making customised optical devices, all on demand."

More information: Direct Laser Writing of δ- to α-Phase Transformation in Formamidinium Lead Iodide"; Julian A. Steele, Haifeng Yuan, Collin Y. X. Tan, Masoumeh Keshavarz, Christian Steuwe, Maarten B. J. Roeffaers, and Johan Hofkens, ACS Nano, 2017, 11 (8), pp 8072–8083, pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsnano.7b02777 Journal information: ACS Nano

Output: Researchers from the Roeffaers Lab and the Hofkens Group have used lasers to turn useless "delta-phase" perovskite into conductive "alpha-state" material that maintains its formation at room temperature for a number of weeks. Previously, researchers have tried to sustain the high-temperature alpha state by heating the material and stabilising it at room temperature using surface and chemical treatments. The experiments were carried out on a type of perovskite called formamidinium lead iodide, which holds the world record performance for a perovskite-based solar cell, approaching silicone-based ones.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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77 percent of Medicare members have used digital health tools
 According to a new survey of 500 Medicare plan members, 77 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have used digital health tools. Yet just nine percent of respondents indicated that their health plan integrated data from those tools.

Looking specifically at the 70 percent of beneficiaries with one or more chronic conditions, just eight percent said digital health tool data was used by their health plan.

But according to Healthmine CEO Bryce Williams, the data is more reflective of poor communication to members than it is of slow digital adoption.

"Actual health plan data shows that more Medicare members have connected digital health tools than this data indicates," he said in a statement. "This survey data are the perceptions of plan members. It indicates that plans can improve communication with members, so members know that their plan is connected to digital tools."

Healthmine also asked those surveyed what sorts of tools in particular they had used. The most-used device by a wide margin was the connected blood pressure monitor, which 49 percent of respondents said they had used. Eighteen percent had used a glucometer and 17 percent had used an activity tracker.

The other tools asked about were electronic medical records, medication adherence tracking tools, heart rate monitors, food and nutrition trackers, and sleep monitors. All of those were reportedly used by less than 10 percent of those surveyed.

Outside of Medicare, HealthMine asked the same questions in a separate 750-person survey of private plan users. They found that 83 percent had used digital health tools and 22 percent thought their health plan was integrating or utilizing that data.

Last month, HealthMine released additional data from the 500-person Medicare survey around telemedicine adoption; they found that 57 percent of seniors told HealthMine they didn’t know whether their plan offered telemedicine, 31 percent said they were sure their plan didn’t, and just 12 percent offered an unqualified affirmative.

Output: According to a new survey of 500 Medicare plan members, 77 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have used digital health tools. Yet just nine percent of respondents indicated that their health plan integrated data from those tools.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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How the Elderly Lose Their Rights
 For years, Rudy North woke up at 9 A.M. and read the Las Vegas Review-Journal while eating a piece of toast. Then he read a novel—he liked James Patterson and Clive Cussler—or, if he was feeling more ambitious, Freud. On scraps of paper and legal notepads, he jotted down thoughts sparked by his reading. “Deep below the rational part of our brain is an underground ocean where strange things swim,” he wrote on one notepad. On another, “Life: the longer it cooks, the better it tastes.”

Rennie, his wife of fifty-seven years, was slower to rise. She was recovering from lymphoma and suffered from neuropathy so severe that her legs felt like sausages. Each morning, she spent nearly an hour in the bathroom applying makeup and lotions, the same brands she’d used for forty years. She always emerged wearing pale-pink lipstick. Rudy, who was prone to grandiosity, liked to refer to her as “my amour.”

On the Friday before Labor Day, 2013, the Norths had just finished their toast when a nurse, who visited five times a week to help Rennie bathe and dress, came to their house, in Sun City Aliante, an “active adult” community in Las Vegas. They had moved there in 2005, when Rudy, a retired consultant for broadcasters, was sixty-eight and Rennie was sixty-six. They took pride in their view of the golf course, though neither of them played golf.

Rudy chatted with the nurse in the kitchen for twenty minutes, joking about marriage and laundry, until there was a knock at the door. A stocky woman with shiny black hair introduced herself as April Parks, the owner of the company A Private Professional Guardian. She was accompanied by three colleagues, who didn’t give their names. Parks told the Norths that she had an order from the Clark County Family Court to “remove” them from their home. She would be taking them to an assisted-living facility. “Go and gather your things,” she said.

Rennie began crying. “This is my home,” she said.

One of Parks’s colleagues said that if the Norths didn’t comply he would call the police. Rudy remembers thinking, You’re going to put my wife and me in jail for this? But he felt too confused to argue.

Parks drove a Pontiac G-6 convertible with a license plate that read “CRTGRDN,” for “court guardian.” In the past twelve years, she had been a guardian for some four hundred wards of the court. Owing to age or disability, they had been deemed incompetent, a legal term that describes those who are unable to make reasoned choices about their lives or their property. As their guardian, Parks had the authority to manage their assets, and to choose where they lived, whom they associated with, and what medical treatment they received. They lost nearly all their civil rights.

Without realizing it, the Norths had become temporary wards of the court. Parks had filed an emergency ex-parte petition, which provides an exception to the rule that both parties must be notified of any argument before a judge. She had alleged that the Norths posed a “substantial risk for mismanagement of medications, financial loss and physical harm.” She submitted a brief letter from a physician’s assistant, whom Rennie had seen once, stating that “the patient’s husband can no longer effectively take care of the patient at home as his dementia is progressing.” She also submitted a letter from one of Rudy’s doctors, who described him as “confused and agitated.”

Copy link to cartoon Copy link to cartoon Shop Shop

Rudy and Rennie had not undergone any cognitive assessments. They had never received a diagnosis of dementia. In addition to Freud, Rudy was working his way through Nietzsche and Plato. Rennie read romance novels.

Parks told the Norths that if they didn’t come willingly an ambulance would take them to the facility, a place she described as a “respite.” Still crying, Rennie put cosmetics and some clothes into a suitcase. She packed so quickly that she forgot her cell phone and Rudy’s hearing aid. After thirty-five minutes, Parks’s assistant led the Norths to her car. When a neighbor asked what was happening, Rudy told him, “We’ll just be gone for a little bit.” He was too proud to draw attention to their predicament. “Just think of it as a mini-vacation,” he told Rennie.

After the Norths left, Parks walked through the house with Cindy Breck, the owner of Caring Transitions, a company that relocates seniors and sells their belongings at estate sales. Breck and Parks had a routine. “We open drawers,” Parks said at a deposition. “We look in closets. We pull out boxes, anything that would store—that would keep paperwork, would keep valuables.” She took a pocket watch, birth certificates, insurance policies, and several collectible coins.

The Norths’ daughter, Julie Belshe, came to visit later that afternoon. A fifty-three-year-old mother of three sons, she and her husband run a small business designing and constructing pools. She lived ten miles away and visited her parents nearly every day, often taking them to her youngest son’s football games. She was her parents’ only living child; her brother and sister had died.

She knocked on the front door several times and then tried to push the door open, but it was locked. She was surprised to see the kitchen window closed; her parents always left it slightly open. She drove to the Sun City Aliante clubhouse, where her parents sometimes drank coffee. When she couldn’t find them there, she thought that perhaps they had gone on an errand together—the farthest they usually drove was to Costco. But, when she returned to the house, it was still empty.

That weekend, she called her parents several times. She also called two hospitals to see if they had been in an accident. She called their landlord, too, and he agreed to visit the house. He reported that there were no signs of them. She told her husband, “I think someone kidnapped my parents.”

On the Tuesday after Labor Day, she drove to the house again and found a note taped to the door: “In case of emergency, contact guardian April Parks.” Belshe dialled the number. Parks, who had a brisk, girlish way of speaking, told Belshe that her parents had been taken to Lakeview Terrace, an assisted-living facility in Boulder City, nine miles from the Arizona border. She assured Belshe that the staff there would take care of all their needs.

“You can’t just walk into somebody’s home and take them!” Belshe told her.

Parks responded calmly, “It’s legal. It’s legal.”

Guardianship derives from the state’s parens patriae power, its duty to act as a parent for those considered too vulnerable to care for themselves. “The King shall have the custody of the lands of natural fools, taking the profits of them without waste or destruction, and shall find them their necessaries,” reads the English statute De Prerogative Regis, from 1324. The law was imported to the colonies—guardianship is still controlled by state, not federal, law—and has remained largely intact for the past eight hundred years. It establishes a relationship between ward and guardian that is rooted in trust.

In the United States, a million and a half adults are under the care of guardians, either family members or professionals, who control some two hundred and seventy-three billion dollars in assets, according to an auditor for the guardianship fraud program in Palm Beach County. Little is known about the outcome of these arrangements, because states do not keep complete figures on guardianship cases—statutes vary widely—and, in most jurisdictions, the court records are sealed. A Government Accountability report from 2010 said, “We could not locate a single Web site, federal agency, state or local entity, or any other organization that compiles comprehensive information on this issue.” A study published this year by the American Bar Association found that “an unknown number of adults languish under guardianship” when they no longer need it, or never did. The authors wrote that “guardianship is generally “permanent, leaving no way out—‘until death do us part.’ ”

When the Norths were removed from their home, they joined nearly nine thousand adult wards in the Las Vegas Valley. In the past twenty years, the city has promoted itself as a retirement paradise. Attracted by the state’s low taxes and a dry, sunny climate, elderly people leave their families behind to resettle in newly constructed senior communities. “The whole town sparkled, pulling older people in with the prospect of the American Dream at a reasonable price,” a former real-estate agent named Terry Williams told me. Roughly thirty per cent of the people who move to Las Vegas are senior citizens, and the number of Nevadans older than eighty-five has risen by nearly eighty per cent in the past decade.

In Nevada, as in many states, anyone can become a guardian by taking a course, as long as he or she has not been convicted of a felony or recently declared bankruptcy. Elizabeth Brickfield, a Las Vegas lawyer who has worked in guardianship law for twenty years, said that about fifteen years ago, as the state’s elderly population swelled, “all these private guardians started arriving, and the docket exploded. The court became a factory.”

Pamela Teaster, the director of the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech and one of the few scholars in the country who study guardianship, told me that, though most guardians assume their duties for good reasons, the guardianship system is “a morass, a total mess.” She said, “It is unconscionable that we don’t have any data, when you think about the vast power given to a guardian. It is one of society’s most drastic interventions.”

After talking to Parks, Belshe drove forty miles to Lakeview Terrace, a complex of stucco buildings designed to look like a hacienda. She found her parents in a small room with a kitchenette and a window overlooking the parking lot. Rennie was in a wheelchair beside the bed, and Rudy was curled up on a love seat in the fetal position. There was no phone in the room. Medical-alert buttons were strung around their necks. “They were like two lost children,” Belshe said.

“If we can’t find all the ingredients, we’ll just make something horrible.” Copy link to cartoon Copy link to cartoon Shop Shop

She asked her parents who Parks was and where she could find the court order, but, she said, “they were overwhelmed and humiliated, and they didn’t know what was going on.” They had no idea how or why Parks had targeted them as wards. Belshe was struck by their passive acceptance. “It was like they had Stockholm syndrome or something,” she told me.

Belshe acknowledged that her parents needed a few hours of help each day, but she had never questioned their ability to live alone. “They always kept their house really nice and clean, like a museum,” she said. Although Rudy’s medical records showed that he occasionally had “staring spells,” all his medical-progress notes from 2013 described him as alert and oriented. He did most of the couple’s cooking and shopping, because Rennie, though lucid, was in so much pain that she rarely left the house. Belshe sometimes worried that her father inadvertently encouraged her mother to be docile: “She’s a very smart woman, though she sometimes acts like she’s not. I have to tell her, ‘That’s not cute, Mom.’ ”

When Belshe called Parks to ask for the court order, Parks told her that she was part of the “sandwich generation,” and that it would be too overwhelming for her to continue to care for her children and her parents at the same time. Parks billed her wards’ estates for each hour that she spent on their case; the court placed no limits on guardians’ fees, as long as they appeared “reasonable.” Later, when Belshe called again to express her anger, Parks charged the Norths twenty-four dollars for the eight-minute conversation. “I could not understand what the purpose of the call was other than she wanted me to know they had rights,” Parks wrote in a detailed invoice. “I terminated the phone call as she was very hostile and angry.”

A month after removing the Norths from their house, Parks petitioned to make the guardianship permanent. She was represented by an attorney who was paid four hundred dollars an hour by the Norths’ estate. A hearing was held at Clark County Family Court.

The Clark County guardianship commissioner, a lawyer named Jon Norheim, has presided over nearly all the guardianship cases in the county since 2005. He works under the supervision of a judge, but his orders have the weight of a formal ruling. Norheim awarded a guardianship to Parks, on average, nearly once a week. She had up to a hundred wards at a time. “I love April Parks,” he said at one hearing, describing her and two other professional guardians, who frequently appeared in his courtroom, as “wonderful, good-hearted, social-worker types.”

Output: For years, Rudy North woke up at 9 a.m. and read the Las Vegas Review-Journal while eating a piece of toast. Then he read a novel—he liked James Patterson and Clive Cussler—or, if he was feeling more ambitious, Freud. On scraps of paper and legal notepads, he jotted down thoughts sparked by his reading.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

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Ways to prepare your home for aging in place
 Most adults want to grow old in the home they live in now and not in a nursing home or assisted living facility.

A 2016 HomeAdvisor study found 61 percent of people over the age of 55 plan to stay in their homes indefinitely.

Older adults, or their children, looking to modify a home for aging in place can expect the process to get expensive — but there are lower-cost options to get started.

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While doing most things listed in this article would cost a minimum of $75,000, research by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said making modifications to stay in one’s home could be significantly cheaper than moving into assisted living.

Experts say the first place to start is the bathroom, followed by the front door.

Here are a few things you can do to prepare to age in place.

Bathroom grab bars

One of the most basic additions to an aging adult’s house is usually the first thing to put in. Grab bars near a toilet or shower can assist in getting from a wheelchair to the toilet or can prevent a slip. All Home Medical Supply, based in San Diego, sells simple wall grab bars for $15 to $24. Security poles, which connect to the floor and attach to the ceiling, range from $169 to $209.

Nonslip flooring

More than one-third of older adults injure themselves in the bathroom, says AARP, making nonslip flooring a priority for many aging-in-place remodelers. Slip-resistant rugs can run $10 to $15 a piece, and rubber flooring options are typically less than $3 per square foot, said AARP.

Shower design

In addition to nonslip flooring, showers can be modified to include a seat (or shower stool), grab bar and handheld shower head. Ideally, the shower should have a low threshold for easy access. There are hundreds of shower seats on the market, but the most basic stool with suction cups and adjustable legs is around $40.

Walk-in bathtubs

Walk-in tubs are designed to prevent slips and to help people who have difficulty getting in and out of normal tubs or showers. Costs range from $15,000 to $35,000, said Safe Step San Diego sales representative Brady Kosen. Why is it so pricey? Sometimes plumbing needs to be redone or an entire section of the bathroom needs to be rebuilt to accommodate the tub.

Toilet riser

Common additions are toilet safety frames, which allow the user to lower themselves onto the seat, and toilet seat risers that reduce the distance the user needs to bend down. Seat risers can cost as little as $24 at Walgreens and there are toilet safety rails for $20 on Amazon.

Widened doorways

Wider doorways make it easier for occupants in a wheelchair to move around the house, but wider doorways are also popular with home remodelers because they make homes look bigger. Much of the cost will likely come from labor, although there are many do-it-yourself guides on the Internet. The online Remodel Cost Guide estimates $75 to $500 for materials. In general, remodelers recommend 36-inch-wide doorways.

Outside ramp

An outside ramp helps occupants in a wheelchair, or those with other walking challenges, get into their home. Materials for the project can cost from $500 to $2,000, said the Remodel Cost Guide. A simple steel ramp is also an option for homes that only have a small porch. Susan Mack of Homes for Easy Living in Murrieta suggests a subtle design that will not alert potential criminals that there is someone in the house who may be vulnerable to easy theft.

Stair lift

Ensuring a house with several floors doesn’t become a trap, several companies offer mechanical chairs that attach to stairwells and securely transport someone up a floor. Carlsbad’s Access to Freedom sells Stannah brand chairs that go straight up the stairs ($2,500 to $4,100), a version for curved stairs ($11,200 to $16,500) and for outdoor stairs ($5,500 to $6,000). It also has a rental program that, for $1,895, will put in a straight-line chair and remove it after three months.

Kitchen remodel

Aging-in-place experts say the most important room to remodel is the bathroom, but after that, the kitchen is a good place to start. Anne Kellett, owner of San Diego-based A Kinder Space, said a low-end kitchen remodel could cost $45,000 but would be much more for a total makeover. Some changes include: Adjusting counter heights to make them easier to reach; adding more drawers than cabinets; arranging space so appliances are easier to reach; and using different colors throughout the house — using a different color on flooring, walls and cabinets — to help those with depth-perception issues. Kellett said some changes are simple, such as putting dishes right next to the dishwasher.

Wheelchair accessible sink

When washing dishes or using a bathroom sink, it helps to have one that people in wheelchairs can roll under. It can be a simple job to install, compared to other aging-in-place projects, but can get expensive if an individual is looking for a top-of-the line product. Kohler sells enameled cast iron sinks for around $1,129. Swedish company Granberg sells an electronically raised and lowered wash basin so different members of a household can use it. (No price provided. You have to call the company for a quote.)

Lighting

Older adults may need stronger lighting, or dim lighting, depending on their eyes and vision. Additionally, it can be helpful to install motion-sensor lights for those with limited movement, says the AARP HomeFit Guide. It suggests increasing lighting on stairs and pathways, which can be done cheaply with nightlights. Other suggestions include light switches that glow in the dark, lighting over work areas in the kitchen, lights in places that might not already have them (like closets) and halogen bulbs to reduce glare.

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phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1891 Twitter: @phillipmolnar

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Output: Most adults want to grow old in the home they live in now and not in a nursing home or assisted living facility. A 2016 HomeAdvisor study found 61 percent of people over the age of 55 plan to stay in their homes indefinitely. Older adults, or their child


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Australian student accommodation yields to fall as class matures
 "It is at this stage that the assets offer the greatest attraction to investors who seek stabilised assets with lower occupancy risk and a proven operational platform.

"As such, we expect to see PBSA yields continue to sharpen over the next three years of the development and operational cycle to levels equivalent to office sector yields, anticipated to be around 5.5 per cent in 2020."

Sydney and Melbourne will have the sharpest yields on student dorms, ranging between 5.5 per cent and 6.25 per cent, according to JLL.

Yields in Adelaide and Brisbane are forecast to fall between 6.75 per cent and 7.25 per cent.

Performance

Among the factors the JLL analysis considered is the performance of the PBSA sector in other countries – including Europe, Britain and the United States – where it is regarded as a sustainable investment-grade asset class.

"Initially, PBSA yields offered a premium of around 25 to 100 basis points," Ms Wild said.

"But a trend is emerging showing PBSA yields coming more into line with core property markets."

A wave of development is under way in Australia, with players including Scape Student Living, Blue Sky Private Real Estate and its joint-venture partner Goldman Sachs, Dubai-based student accommodation provider GSA and South Africa's Redefine Properties all pursuing major projects.

Output: Yields on Australian purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) are predicted fall into line with core property markets as the class matures. In the past year, only one transaction of more than AUD400m ($311m) has been completed due to the lack of available assets. But Noral Wild, head of social infrastructure at JLL, predicted that transactions will increase over the next three years as PBSA assets complete building, start operations and stabilise occupancy. Wild said PBSA yields would fall towards those in the office sector, estimated to be about 5.5% in 2020.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Era of ultra-low UK mortgages rates predicted to be nearly over
 Mortgage rates have never been lower but repeated warnings of an imminent interest rate rise from the Bank of England are likely to push them up - and soon.

Experts are warning homeowners to lock in to rock-bottom rates sooner rather than later, with research firm Capital Economics forecasting the average rate will be back above 3 per cent by the end of 2019.

At the moment, it's still possible to fix below 1 per cent for two years if you have a sizeable deposit; five-year fixed rates come as cheap as 1.55 per cent.

Lenders are continuing to offer fiercely competitive mortgage deals but it may not last

For now, lenders are continuing to offer fiercely competitive deals with Yorkshire Building Society launching a new best buy rate of 1.55 per cent last week, with a £1,495 fee for both remortgage customers and home buyers who have a 35 per cent deposit or equity stake.

The society has also launched a best buy 0.99 per cent two-year fixed-rate mortgage for borrowers with up to a 25 per cent deposit with a £1,495 fee and free standard valuation.

However, it's pulling the 0.99 per cent two-year fix for those with just a 20 per cent deposit that was first offered through the lender's broker arm, Accord Mortgages, just 10 days ago.

Santander has launched a new two-year fixed-rate mortgage, priced at 1.74 per cent for those borrowing up to £550,000 at 85 per cent loan-to-value with no product fee.

And Leeds Building Society has also reviewed its range and now offers a two-year fixed rate at 1.55 per cent for those borrowing up to £500,000 at 65 per cent loan-to-value with a £999 fee.

But rock-bottom rates may not be around much longer. Minutes from September’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting struck an increasingly hawkish note, prompting some economists to forecast a rise in Bank rate at November’s meeting.

Repeated hints to this effect from Bank of England governor Mark Carney have already started to push up funding costs for mortgage lenders.

Two and five-year swap rates, an important determinant of mortgage pricing, have jumped by roughly 30 basis points since the minutes were released.

It has already prompted some lenders to raise rates.

Nationwide hiked its two-year fixed rates by 0.25 percentage points across 60 per cent and 75 per cent loan-to-values and 0.1 percentage points at 80 and 85 per cent LTVs this week, while Skipton Building Society confirmed its rates are set to rise soon.

Ed Stansfield, chief property economist at Capital Economics, said: 'By the end of 2019 we expect Bank rate to sit at 1.75 per cent. Accordingly, it seems almost certain that mortgage interest rates are now approaching a turning point.'

Output: The Bank of England has hinted that the cheapest ever mortgage rates of 1.55% or lower may soon be about to go up. However, lenders are continuing to offer competitive low-rate deals. Recently released minutes from September’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting at the Bank prompted analysts to suggest that a rise in interest rates may not be far off, and some lenders have already raised their rates. Research firm Capital Economics has predicted that the average mortgage rate will be above 3% by the close of 2019. The firm's Ed Stansfield said: "By the end of 2019 we expect Bank rate to sit at 1.75%."


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Trriple mobile wallet to cash in on $19bn UAE remittance market
 With a booming economy and an expat population of about 90 per cent, the UAE is one of the world’s largest remittance-sending countries in the world, topping USD 19 billion per year, according to a recent report by Nimmök Consulting. The World Bank has ranked the UAE among the top 10 countries for outward remittance to emerging markets.

However, the process of remitting funds outside the UAE can be incredibly inconvenient for the average UAE resident, according to the UAE-based financial technology start-up Trriple. Recently, Guardian Wealth Management, on online currency trading firm estimated that the average expatriate in the UAE spends an average of Dh6,000 per year on money transfers, besides enduring long queues resulting in loss of several man-hours per year.

Addressing this issue, a new mobile wallet service is set to launch during Gitex, which has been developed by digital payments enabler Trriple.

As an open platform, Trriple’s mobile wallet can connect to any bank, Trriple user, or Point of Sale (POS), which essentially means that Tripple’s mobile wallet can receive funds directly from bank account, from other Trriple users, or from the merchants where user can provide the cash to the merchant to get funds in his/her wallet. As a result, Trriple users can make peer-to-peer transfers, top up their mobile credit on du or Etisalat networks, pay for goods at merchants and send cross-border remittances using Trriple mobile wallet.

“UAE residents sending remittances no longer want to stand in long queues holding cash, pay high fees, or wait days for transfers to clear. A mobile wallet and digital payments can cut through the delays, and enable people to send money instantly, securely, and from the convenience of their mobile devices,” said Paolo Gagliardi, Chief Executive Officer, Trriple.

“GITEX Technology Week is an ideal global platform for Trriple to demonstrate how digital payments platform can enable the UAE’s and the region’s cashless economy, helping the government, merchants, and consumers save time and money. At GITEX, Trriple aims to expand our investor and channel partner ecosystem to fuel our growth,” added Mr Gagliardi.

Output: United Arab Emirates (UAE) start-up Trriple will launch its mobile wallet service during this year's GITEX Technology Week event in Dubai. The company is targeting the large number of expats in the UAE who spend an estimated average of AED6,000 ($1,633) per year to transfer $19bn overseas, aiming to make the process faster and more secure. The mobile wallet can connect with any point of sale, bank or other Trriple user and supports peer-to-peer transfers, payment for goods and services as well as cross-border transactions.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Robot learns martial arts nunchuck skill as if it was human
 In an era of heightened fears about killer robots, teaching them martial arts may seem unwise. But researchers have now shown a robot how to flip nunchucks to demonstrate an intuitive approach for teaching complex manual tasks. The group built a bionic hand and a motion-capture glove that can be used to teach the robot by demonstration, a popular method for skills requiring dexterity. But that's like learning from a silent teacher, the engineers say in research uploaded to the arXiv preprint server, so they devised an approach closer to how humans are taught. First, the teacher explains each step of the trick using an intuitive symbolic flow chart called a Petri net. Then, they demonstrate the trick and evaluate their own performance after every attempt, creating data the robot uses to learn the movements required at each step and develop criteria for self-evaluation as it practices. It took the robot a matter of hours to learn how to spin the nunchuck around the back of its hand and catch it again. But the approach is not task-specific, so the researchers say it could help teach all kinds of complex, dynamic motor skills now beyond robots, particularly those dealing with partly soft, partly rigid objects. That could include assembling car interiors or fruit picking. Or more advanced nunchuck tricks, of course.

Output: Researchers from the New Jersey Institute of Technology have taught a robot how to use a pair of nunchucks in just a few hours via a more human, intuitive approach. Researchers built a bionic hand and motion-capture glove. They then used an approach whereby the teacher first explained the nunchucks trick step by step, using an intuitive symbolic flow chart. The teacher then demonstrated the trick, evaluating his own performance after each attempt. This created data the robot could learn from as well as use for criteria for self-evaluation as it practised.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
Tesla is overvalued, says Danish environmental investment fund
 Tesla is overvalued, according to a climate fund that has beaten 97 percent of its peers.

"We don't see upside," Thomas Sorensen, who manages the Nordea Global Climate and Environmental Fund, said by phone on Thursday. "What's needed in cash flow generation to get to the current valuation -- we don't see that happening."

With more and more climate-friendly products and services coming to market, investors are having a hard time valuing new technology. Tesla's 60 percent share rise so far this year is testament to investor enthusiasm even as it reported losses in both the first and second quarter.

"We don't see upside," Thomas Sorensen, who manages the Nordea Global Climate and Environmental Fund. AP

But the turmoil created by the electric car's rise that roiled traditional carmakers now means greater risk for all manufacturers.

"It's going to be a race to the bottom for the whole industry," he said. "In this big transition period, it's very tough to point out the winners and the overall profitability of the sector. The risks are too high."

Output: Copenhagen-based Nordea Global Climate and Environmental Fund has taken a negative view of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla's prospects, saying that the firm is overvalued and it saw no upside. "What's needed in cash flow generation to get to the current valuation. We don't see that happening," said fund manager Thomas Sorensen. Instead, he said the fund, which has outperformed 97% of its peers over the past five years, was focusing on "mid-cap companies with a unique solution, unique product that can be taken global. That's our sweet spot." Tesla's share price has risen by 60% this year.


Instruction: create a high quality summary of the given input

Input:
China closes gap on US creation of billion-dollar unicorns
 In 2010, almost every new billion dollar company that entered the market called US or Europe home. Times are changing.

China is now closing the gap with the US (and rocketed past Europe in 2015) when it comes to minting new $1 billion startups, reports the investment advisory firm Scenic Advisement which analyzed financing data from CB Insights.

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So far this year, 12 of the 33 such companies created around the world are in China. That’s the latest milestone in a long-term trend. More than a quarter of new unicorns have been created in China since 2010. The rise comes as a flood of private capital has lifted startup valuations around the world, and China’s economy begins to mature (paywall) into a more advanced service economy.

It’s too soon to know the “true” value of many of these companies. While flush with venture capital, only a few have faced the scrutiny of public investors.

But the trend is clear. The number of new billion-dollar startups in China is now tracking their counterparts in the US quite closely: 34 unicorns have arrived in China since mid- 2015 compared to 39 in the US. Although the US still holds an advantage in the total number of such companies (it’s home to 100 unicorns created in the US since 2010, compared to 56 in China), the advantage may fade.

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That bi-polar world has already arrived, says Duncan Logan, CEO of the global technology accelerator RocketSpace, citing Tencent (versus Google), Didi (versus Uber) and WeChat (versus Facebook). China has shown a willingness to shut out foreign competitors, and its economy has roared along with 7% GDP growth in recent years, compared to 1% to 2.5% growth in the US. The country is on track to become the world’s largest economy by 2030 or sooner. It also has an unrivaled set of local markets for startups: The US has 11 cities with more than a million people, while China has more than 100.

Silicon Valley remains the center of the world’s top technical talent, capital, and people willing to fund risky ideas, but soaring housing prices and salaries in the Bay Area are leading companies to leave for less expensive cities. Chinese nationals studying abroad are now returning to China in greater numbers, reports The San Francisco Chronicle, citing the hostile environment in the US and opportunities back home. Last year, 432,500 of this returning cohort, known in Chinese as haigui or sea turtles, made the trek back home, an increase of 58% over 2012.

“You’re starting to see serial entrepreneurs move out of the Valley and go to other cities and try to hire people and start up something elsewhere,” says Veronica Wu, managing director of Hone Capital who has helped set up operations for Motorola, Tesla, and Apple in China. “I definitely think it’s a threat, but right now [Silicon Valley] is still hard to replicate anywhere else.”

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Correction: A previous version of this post referred to Hone Ventures. It is Hone Capital.

Output: China is fast catching up with the US as a global provider of billion-dollar unicorns, Scenic Advisement said. A dozen of the 33 that emerged this year were created in China as a flood of private capital increased start-up valuations globally and as China's economy matures. The trend is being hastened by greater numbers of Chinese overseas students returning home after their studies. China's tally passed Europe's in 2015. Although Silicon Valley remains the primary area for global top tech talent and where people are most willing to fund risky ideas, rising house prices and salaries are encouraging serial entrepreneurs to create start-ups further afield.