The rigors of medical training sharpen a doctor's ability to diagnose and treat a wide variety of human afflictions. However, drug abuse and addiction are often insufficiently covered in medical school curricula, despite the fact that drug use affects a wide range of health conditions and drug abuse and addiction are themselves major public health issues.

To improve drug abuse and addiction training of future physicians, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, today unveiled a series of new teaching tools, through its Centers of Excellence for Physician Information Program (NIDA CoEs), at the Association of American Medical Colleges 2009 Annual Meeting's "Innovations in Medical Education" Exhibit in Boston.

The new NIDA CoE curriculum resources provide scientifically accurate information on substance abuse, addiction and its consequences to help meet the educational needs of medical students, residents and medical school faculty. The first seven curriculum resources include lectures, problem-based case studies, a faculty workshop, and a web module, any of which can be incorporated into existing medical curricula.

"Physicians can be the first line of defense against substance abuse and addiction, but they need the resources and the training," said NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow. "Our long term goal is for doctors to incorporate screening for drug use into routine practice like they currently screen for other diseases; to help patients that are abusing to stop; and to refer more serious cases to specialized treatment."

Three themes have emerged in this first wave of CoE offerings: the importance of communication in the doctor-patient relationship, particularly around sensitive issues; the recognition that substance abuse may play an integral role in many disorders physicians treat, even when not the presenting condition; and the crucial part physicians can play in both identifying substance abuse in their patients and reducing their risk of developing a substance use disorder.

For example, several CoE resources address prescription drug abuse among chronic pain patients, which presents special issues for physicians, who must balance adequate treatment with the risks of addiction.

"Our goal is to improve the quality of pain treatment and the safety of prescribing opioids by increasing the knowledge and skills of medical providers early in the educational process," emphasized Dr. Jeffrey Baxter of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, developer of one of the CoE resources.

By pairing substance abuse expertise with innovations in medical education, these curriculum adjuncts can enhance substance abuse medical education, help to remove the stigma associated with substance abuse, and ultimately improve patient care.

The NIDA CoE program was created through a partnership with the American Medical Association's medical education research collaborative, Innovative Strategies for Transforming the Education of Physicians and includes the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, the Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Health Alliance, the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Creighton University School of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Drexel University College of Medicine.

The NIDA CoE program is part of NIDAMED — NIDA's ongoing commitment to the medical community to provide scientifically accurate and useful resources for addressing substance abuse in their patients. NIDAMED offers a variety of tools, including an online interactive screening tool to help doctors accurately assess their patient's substance use.

More information on the NIDA CoE resources can be found at: www.drugabuse.gov/coe.

Information on the NIDAMED program can be found at: www.nida.nih.gov/nidamed.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

— WebWireID107230 —

SALVADOR, Brazil - After three days of seminars, teacher exhibitions and judging by an internationally renowned panel of education experts, today Microsoft Partners in Learning announced the winners of the 2009 Worldwide Innovative Teacher Awards at the Worldwide Innovative Education Forum. Partners in Learning recognizes and rewards teachers who demonstrate exemplary use of technology in the classroom to improve student learning. The 14 winning teachers — awarded first, second and third place in four categories — were chosen from among the 250 at the Forum representing more than 60 countries.

The Best Practice winners in the four main competition categories are Mandeep Atwal of England, Innovation in Community; Mark Sparvell of Australia, Innovation in Collaboration; Autumne Streeval and Harriet Armstrong of the United States, Innovation in Content; and Moliehi Sekese of Lesotho, Educators Choice. The 2009 Worldwide IEF award ceremony, held tonight in Salvador, Brazil, was attended by 400 educators, school leaders, government officials and others from more than 60 countries.

'The Innovative Teacher Awards exemplify the dedication and imagination of the world's most forward-thinking educators,' said Michael Golden, corporate vice president of Education at Microsoft. 'The energy and entrepreneurism of the winning teachers demonstrate the infinite possibilities that technology can create to improve learning opportunities and inspire future generations toward greater academic achievement. Microsoft remains committed to supporting the community in this quest. I'd like to extend warm congratulations to everyone who participated in this and the regional events that led up to today's celebration.'

The following are the top three finalists in each category, in finishing order:

Innovation in Community
• Best Practice: Mandeep Atwal (England), 'Young Voices'
• First Runner-Up: Ollie Bray (Scotland), 'Thinking outside the XBOX'
• Second Runner-Up: Lucrecio Filho de Oliveira (Brazil), Projeto 'Barreiro'

Innovation in Collaboration
• Best Practice: Mark Sparvell (Australia), 'Connecting Hearts Heads and Hands'
• First Runner-Up: Karina Batat (Israel), 'The Traveling Mascot'
• Second Runner-Up (Tie): Myreia Gussinye (Mexico), 'Tolerant'
• Second Runner-Up (Tie): Xiaoyong Tang (China), 'Exploration of Ant Behavior'

Innovation in Content
• Best Practice: Autumne Streeval and Harriet Armstrong (United States), 'US Industrial Revolution Tic Tac Toe'
• First Runner-Up: Damien Lebegue (France), 'Differentiated/adapted Teaching in PE'
• Second Runner-Up: Alex Vieira dos Santos (Brazil), 'Fontes De Energia'

Educators Choice
• Best Practice: Moliehi Sekese (Lesotho), 'Indigenous Plants'
• First Runner-Up: Janjira Phongchoo (Thailand), 'MS Excel Game Building Techniques'
• Second Runner-Up: Isabel Schapdryver (Belgium), 'Secondhandshop'

'Winning the Educators Choice award is certainly a great honor,' said Moliehi Sekese of Lesotho who won for her project Indigenous Plants. 'Just being here and seeing how teachers from all over the world are enriching the lives of students is ultimately even more rewarding.'

Since 2003, the Partners in Learning award competition has been recognizing individuals with the Worldwide Innovative Education Awards for excellence in teaching. Teachers participate in country-level and regional events. Winners move up to the Worldwide competition.

The judging community includes education experts from all over the world. At the event 36 judges representing 23 countries spend nearly 20 hours talking to the teachers and learning about their projects; then in a private room they discuss, debate and share with one another until the winners are finally selected.

'Every year the submissions seem to get better and better, and this year is no exception,' said Judge Eduardo O.C. Chaves of Brazil. 'The level of sophistication of these entries shows that teachers are continuing to innovate and expand the ways they use technology to help students all over the world realize their potential.'

Next year's Innovative Teacher Awards results will be announced at the 2010 Worldwide IEF, which will take place in Cape Town, South Africa. Country- and regional-level competitions will take place beginning in November 2009. Interested teachers should contact their local Microsoft office for more information or look online at http://www.microsoft.com/education/pil/partnersInLearning.aspx.

At the event, school leaders from 12 Mentor and 30 Pathfinder Schools also participated in a three-day workshop and were recognized for their leadership in driving system-level educational reform.

About the Innovative Education Forum

The Innovative Education Forum is an annual worldwide event. Regional forums are held around the world to create communities of teachers who can share ideas and best practices with their peers and facilitate the creation of collective knowledge. Subsets of regional forum participants are selected to represent their country at the Worldwide Innovative Education Forum.

About Microsoft Education

We believe that technology can expand the power of education and unlock the potential of students, educators and schools. Microsoft partners with education communities around the world to deliver relevant solutions, services and programs that focus on improved personalized learning outcomes.

About Unlimited Potential

Microsoft, through its Unlimited Potential vision, is committed to making technology more affordable, relevant and accessible for the 5 billion people around the world who do not yet enjoy its benefits. The company aims to do so by helping to transform education and foster a culture of innovation, and through these means enable better jobs and opportunities. By working with governments, intergovernmental organizations, nongovernmental organizations and industry partners, Microsoft hopes to reach its first major milestone — to reach the next 1 billion people who are not yet realizing the benefits of technology — by 2015.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq 'MSFT') is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft's corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft's Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.

— WebWireID107227 —

— WebWireID107158 —

Teens are ready to take on the world. Their urge to achieve objectives independently is also evident when it comes to earning their living. There are many agencies which assist in providing part time job vacancies for students and teens. Many companies, agencies and small scale industries offer internships, part time and seasonal jobs targeted to students during vacation times.

Teen Job Section's Press Contact, Sara Carter, said: 'Teen Job Section offers a wide range of part time jobs where you will find a suitable placement depending on your area of interest. Its main objective is to offer appropriate job opportunities for each and every teen. It is important to find a job which gives job satisfaction and adequate training and experience. The jobs are offered for individuals who seek experience and insight into the world of business.' Teen Job Section also offer teen jobs by criteria such as time lines, age and jobs that are available in plenty during a certain time of the year such as for the festive season or during the summer vacation.

Carter added: 'Teen Job Section also provides supportive information and tips on how to construct a resume, or how to prepare and present oneself during an interview.' Details on labor laws that are applicable to teens and individuals in that work space, steps on how to conduct an employer search and reference material that every teen must be aware during a job search are available.

The student jobs section caters to first time internship and job seekers. It offers tips and important information for find the right first job. Such information helps students to enjoy their first job experience and gather valuable experience rather than be disillusioned and frustrated with a mundane task that may wrongly interfere with the student's career objectives.

About Teen Jobs Section
Teen Jobs Section helps students and young professional to climb the corporate ladder with a deeper insight of their career objective. The multiple sections on the website offer a wide portfolio of career opportunities.

— WebWireID107148 —

The annual NASA project provides near space access for 12 undergraduate and graduate student experiments to be carried by a NASA high-altitude research balloon. The flights typically last 15 to 20 hours and reach an altitude of 23 miles. Experiments may include compact satellites or prototypes.

The experiments are flown aboard the High Altitude Student Platform, or HASP, a balloon-born instrument stack launched from the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility's remote site in Fort Sumner, N.M. The goals of the project are to provide a space test platform to encourage student research and stimulate the development of student satellite payloads and other space-engineering products.

HASP seeks to enhance the technical skills and research abilities of students in critical science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines. The project is a joint effort between NASA and the Louisiana Space Grant Consortium.

NASA's HASP houses and provides power, mechanical support and communications for test articles and instruments. It can support approximately 200 pounds of student payloads. Since 2006, the HASP program has selected 44 payloads for flight, the work of more than 200 students from across the United States.

A question-and-answer teleconference for interested parties will be held Nov. 13 at 11 a.m. EST. The deadline for applications is Dec. 18. NASA is targeting fall 2010 for the next flight opportunity. NASA expects to make selections in January 2010. Teleconference dial in information, application materials and technical details are available in the Call for Proposals document at:

http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp

Information about NASA's scientific balloon program is available at:

http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code820

More information about NASA's education programs is available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

— WebWireID107202 —

The molecules — called 'antibody-recruiting molecule targeting HIV' (ARM-H) and 'antibody-recruiting molecule targeting prostate cancer' (ARM-P) — work by binding simultaneously to an antibody already present in the bloodstream and to proteins on HIV, HIV-infected cells or cancer cells. By coating these pathogens in antibodies, the molecules flag them as a threat and trigger the body's own immune response. In the case of ARM-H, by binding to proteins on the outside of the virus, they also prevent healthy human cells from being infected.

'Instead of trying to kill the pathogens directly, these molecules manipulate our immune system to do something it wouldn't ordinarily do,' said David Spiegel, Ph.D., M.D., assistant professor of chemistry and the corresponding author of both papers.

Because both HIV and cancer have methods for evading the body's immune system, treatments and vaccinations for the two diseases have proven difficult. Current treatment options for HIV and prostate cancer — including antiviral drugs, radiation and chemotherapy — involve severe side effects and are often ineffective against advanced cases. While there are some antibody drugs available, they are difficult to produce in large quantities and are costly. They also must be injected and are accompanied by severe side effects of their own.

By contrast, the ARM-H and ARM-P molecules, which the team has begun testing in mice, are structurally simple, inexpensive to produce, and could in theory be taken in pill form, Spiegel said. And because they are unlikely to target essential biological processes in the body, the side effects could be smaller, he noted.

'This is an entirely new approach to treating these two diseases, which are extraordinarily important in terms of their impact on human health,' Spiegel said.

HIV is a global pandemic that affects 33 million people worldwide, while prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among American men, with one out of every six American men expected to develop the disease.

Funding for this research was provided by the National Institutes of Health.

— WebWireID107192 —

The study, published online in Cancer Prevention Research, is the first to examine green tea as a chemopreventative agent in this high-risk patient population. The researchers found that more than half of the oral leukoplakia patients who took the extract had a clinical response.

Long investigated in laboratory, epidemiological and clinical settings for several cancer types, green tea is rich in polyphenols, which have been known to inhibit carcinogenesis in preclinical models. Still, clinical results have been mixed.

"While still very early, and not definitive proof that green tea is an effective preventive agent, these results certainly encourage more study for patients at highest risk for oral cancer," said Vassiliki Papadimitrakopoulou, M.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, and the study's senior author. "The extract's lack of toxicity is attractive - in prevention trials, it's very important to remember that these are otherwise healthy individuals and we need to ensure that agents studied produce no harm."

In the Phase II dose-finding study, 41 M. D. Anderson oral leukoplakia patients were randomized between August 2002 and March 2008 to receive either green tea extract or placebo. Participants took the extract, an oral agent, for three months at one of three doses - 500 per meter squared of body mass (mg/m2); 750 mg/m2 or 1,000 mg/m2 - three times daily. To best assess biomarkers, participants also underwent a baseline and 12-week biopsy, an important component in the design of the study, the researchers say.

"Collecting oral tissue biopsies was essential in that it allowed us to learn that not only did the green tea extract appear to have benefit for some patients, but we pointed to anti-angiogenic effects as a potential mechanism of action," said Anne Tsao, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, and the study's first author. "While preliminary because our patient population was so small, this gives us direction for further study."

Of those taking green tea at the two highest doses, 58.8% had a clinical response, compared with 36.4% in the lowest extract dose and 18.2% in the placebo arm. At an extended follow-up with a mean of 27.5 months, 15 participants had developed oral cancer, with a median time to disease development of 46.4 months.

Although not statistically significant, the green tea extract also improved histology and trended towards an improvement in a number of biomarkers that may play a vital role in predicting cancer development.

Another important finding, say the researchers, was that that the extract was well tolerated. Side effects, including insomnia and nervousness, were mostly seen in the high-dose group but produced no significant toxicity.

"While these are encouraging findings, much more research must be done before we can conclude that green tea may prevent oral or any other type of cancer. It's also important to remind people that this trial enrolled very few participants who, at the highest dose levels took the equivalent of eight cups of green tea three times a day," said Papadimitrakopoulo. "We need to further understand if green tea offers longer-term prevention effects for patients."

Papadimitrakopoulo and Tsao think that future studies with green tea in this high-risk population should focus on participants being exposed to the supplement for a longer time period. The researchers also stressed that the green tea extract studied in this trial was never sold over-the-counter and/or the Internet, both of which are not highly regulated. Rather, the compound was exclusively developed as a pharmaceutical.

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 35,720 are expected to be diagnosed with oral and/or pharynx cancer and the five year survival rate is less than 50%.

The study was funded by Ito En, the company that produced the green tea extract.

In addition to Papadimitrakopoulou and Tsao, other M. D. Anderson authors on the study include: Waun Ki Hong, M.D., professor and chair of the Division of Cancer Medicine; Jack Martin, D.D.S., professor in the Department of Dental Oncology; Li Mao, M.D., adjunct professor, and Xi Ming Tang, M.D., Ph.D., research scientist, both of the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology; Adel El-Naggar, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pathology; Iganacio Wistuba, M.D., professor in the Department of Pathology-Research; Kirk Culotta, Phar M.D., Department of Pharmacy pharmacology research; Ann Gillenwater, M.D., professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery; J. Jack Lee, Ph.D., professor, and Diane Liu, both of the Department of Biostatistics. Other authors include Yuko Sagesaka of Ito En, Ltd. 11/05/09

— WebWireID107184 —

Marlborough, MA – November 5, 2009 – Throughout the month of October, St. Mary's Credit Union hosted a video contest for local high schools. Called the '4Reel Video Project,' the challenge was open to each school's art/media/film clubs, and gave them the chance for some real-world experience, bragging rights, and cash for their school.

Students from each participating high school animated a 90-second video about credit unions from the perspective of young people. At the end of October, the schools submitted their videos and each will be posted on the St. Mary's Credit Union website for voting by the public. The winning video is to be posted on YouTube and St. Mary's website, www.abettercreditunion.com – in addition, the winning animation will serve as an artistic template for a series of informational videos that St. Mary's is producing.

St. Mary's Credit Union will award a $1,500 cash prize to the school with the winning team and a $1,000 prize to all other participants. While the schools will have flexibility to use the cash however they wish, the hope from St. Mary's is that the funds will help each school purchase animation software for the respective clubs. Jack Caulfield, President and CEO of St. Mary's Credit Union said, "We're very excited to be a part of the 4Reel Video Project,' He added. 'St. Mary's has put together a wonderful challenge that will give participating students valuable experience and insights about animation, finances, and marketing that will help them prepare for the real world. We're looking forward to seeing the great animations that these students are sure to produce.'

About St. Mary's Credit Union
For nearly 100 years, St. Mary's Credit Union has been the community-focused financial institution in Massachusetts. Based in Marlborough with branches in Marlborough, MA, Northborough, MA and Hudson, MA, St. Mary's Credit Union has more than $400 million in assets and 35,000 members. Membership in St. Mary's Credit Union is open to everyone living or working in Middlesex or Worcester counties. For more information, go to: www.stmaryscu.org

— WebWireID107140 —

SANTA CLARA, Calif.— NVIDIA Corp. today recognized the University of Tennessee, Knoxville's (UTK's) Innovative Computing Laboratory (ICL) as a CUDA Center of Excellence, noting its adoption of the CUDA programming model in its curriculum, as well as its pioneering research into the development of linear algebra libraries for the high-performance computing community.

UTK joins a select group of seven universities and research organizations in the U.S. and abroad, including Harvard University, Cambridge University and National Taiwan University, that are designated as a CUDA Center of Excellence. More than 200 universities worldwide teach the CUDA programming model within their curriculum.

CUDA is NVIDIA's computing architecture that enables its GPUs to be programmed using industry standard programming languages and APIs, opening up their massive parallel processing power to a broad range of applications beyond graphics.

"This award of a CUDA Center of Excellence underscores ICL's commitment to continue our work at the forefront of high performance, scientific computing, " said Jack Dongarra, ICL's director. 'We are very proud of this award and excited by the opportunity it affords to pursue our research on NVIDIA's ground breaking platform."

Mathematical algorithms are an essential component used by computers to perform linear algebra computations, and ICL's years of experience in developing open source, mathematical software packages and systems such as LAPACK, ScaLAPACK, ATLAS, and PLASMA will be extended by the establishment of this new center. In particular, ICL's work on Matrix Algebra for GPU and Multicore Architectures (MAGMA), whose goal is to create a new generation of linear algebra libraries that dramatically cut processing times using hybrid GPU-CPU co-processing systems, will be an area of focus.

"NVIDIA technologies are now well established in the forefront of general purpose, parallel computing. Our work on the development of Linear Algebra Libraries for CUDA-based Hybrid Architectures will further enable and expand these technologies in the general area of high-performance scientific computing. MAGMA, a subset of LAPACK for CUDA-based Hybrid Architectures, is only a first step in this direction,' added Dongarra.

The potential size of the communities impacted by the success of this new CUDA Center of Excellence is significant. A partial listing of the peta-scale ready applications that rely on the kind of dense and sparse linear algebra that the MAGMA libraries will encode includes: quantum chemistry, multi-physics supernova simulation, nano-materials, geophysics, computational mechanics, electronic structure of matter and fluid dynamics.

— WebWireID107120 —

Print USB (www.PrintUSB.com) will place any company logo or personal message on its variety of flash drives giving businesses a new way to reach customers and people a new way to keep in touch with family and friends. In addition, Print USB can place a company's data on the flash drives, such as multi-media presentations, giving businesses a unique way to market their services and products.

Colleges and universities, motion picture studios including Miramax Films, large and small businesses, as well as private citizens are customizing flash drives and using them to market products and store important data in a safe, convenient method.

The customized flash drives aren't only for marketing businesses and products. Anyone can customize a flash drive with a special message on the outside and store their pictures, videos and other data on the inside and send them to family and friends all over the world.

Flash drives carry much more data than many e-mails services allow, giving corporations and private citizens the ability to send large files of pictures and videos, all on a customized flash drive.

Print USB uses only high quality materials and their flash drives have a lifetime guarantee. They come in a variety of shapes and styles, including: memory sticks, keys, pens, and thumbs. The company recently introduced its 'green' product line of flash drives made from sustainable wood.

For more information, go to: www.PrintUSB.com.

— WebWireID107078 —

(Silver Spring, Md.) Global media leader and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey will narrate Discovery Channel's all-new 11-part series LIFE, set to premiere in March 2010. The series reveals the most spectacular, bizarre and fascinating behaviors that living things have devised in order to thrive. Many of these were captured for the first time using the latest in state-of-the-art high-definition filming techniques.

As one of the most influential voices of our time, Winfrey will lend her talent to some of the most compelling imagery ever captured on film. From strange creatures, such as the star-nosed mole that hunts underwater using bubbles to smell its prey, to epic spectacles, including millions of fruit bats darkening the Zambian sky, each episode tells mind-blowing stories of survival with drama, humor and suspense.

"We are honored to have Oprah Winfrey tell the story of what is already a visual masterpiece," stated John Ford, President and General Manager of Discovery Channel. "The stories capture your imagination, curiosity and emotion as you see animals and plants up close and personal - each story more amazing. Ms. Winfrey will be the perfect complement to this blue-chip natural history television event."

More than four years in the making, filmed over 3,000 days, across every continent and in every habitat, this is life as no one has ever seen it before.

LIFE is produced for Discovery Channel by the BBC. Mike Gunton is the executive producer for the BBC. Susan Winslow is the executive producer for Discovery Channel. Discovery Channel and the BBC also created the award-winning natural history series PLANET EARTH and BLUE PLANET.

For additional press information about LIFE, please visit: http://press.discovery.com

About Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (DSC) is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which reaches 98.1 million viewers in the US, can be seen in over 170 countries, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres including, science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world.

About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world's number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries. Discovery empowers people to explore their world and satisfy their curiosity through 100-plus worldwide networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Planet Green, Investigation Discovery and HD Theater, as well as leading consumer and educational products and services, and a diversified portfolio of digital media services including HowStuffWorks.com. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.

— WebWireID107016 —

Dallas, Texas.- AT&T* today announced the winners of its second annual Big Mobile On Campus Challenge, a national higher education contest for mobile application development. The contest illustrates the ability to take extremely innovative ideas and develop them into mobile applications.

Prizes will be awarded to the grand prize winners at the Higher Ed Board of Advisors meeting today, and the winners will demonstrate their winning application during the EduCause Annual Conference on November 3-5, 2009, in Denver, Colorado.

The grand-prize winner is a team of full-time students from Harvard University. Alex Bick, Joy Ding, Drew Robb, Cameron Spickert and Winston Yan won for their 'Rover' platform. They will split a $10,000 scholarship, and each team member will receive a mobile device of choice and a trip to the EduCause Annual Conference in Denver. 'Rover' connects students with each other, their school and community. The core of Rover is a guidebook, enhanced by location-awareness and social networking features to inform students of what is happening in their campus through local deals, events, news and transportation. 'Rover' is unique in having a live feed of deals that connects local businesses with students, creating interactions that allow for greater integration of students into the local community and vice versa.

The runners-up are Michael Hanley, Jennifer Palilonis, Suzy Smith and Vinayak Tanksale, staff members from Ball State University, and Erica Simone, a full-time student from Northeastern University.

The Ball State team is recognized for their interactive news and advertising application that allows students to create and deliver news stories, videos, interactive graphics and advertisements on a breaking news or weekly basis. The team members will share $5,000 in cash and receive a mobile device of choice each.

Ms. Simone of Northeastern University is recognized for a comprehensive and personalized mobile application, 'UpperClass'. This application connects students, faculty, alumni and parents to key systems while on the go as well as popular social networking systems, such as Facebook and Twitter, to provide an immersive experience. She will receive a $5,000 scholarship and a mobile device of choice.

'The quality of submissions to our Big Mobile on Campus Challenge this year was outstanding, and it is clear that real-time access to information is more important than ever before for higher education students and staff,' said Chris Hill, vice president, mobility product management, AT&T Business Solutions. 'The goal of our Big Mobile on Campus Challenge is to encourage students and staff to participate in the mobile evolution, and be innovators, not just consumers, of mobile applications. The winners this year clearly demonstrated undeniable ingenuity with their next-generation mobile applications. Their ideas will enhance education, community vitality and information access. AT&T congratulates each of the winners of the contest.'

The Big Mobile On Campus Challenge for full-time college students and staff was established in 2008 to recognize innovative and creative mobile applications that enhance academic performance, build campus community and help to improve campus operations.

— WebWireID106964 —

DENVER – Even as businesses embrace it with zeal, Enterprise 2.0 is often derided as a buzzword enveloped in ivory-tower abstractions that obfuscate as much as enlighten.

That's why NewsGator (www.newsgator.com) today launched a new blog from the trenches of Enterprise 2.0 – yes, there are trenches – called 'Everyday Enterprise 2.0,' authored by Christy Schoon, the company's director of Enterprise 2.0 consulting. Read it at http://blogs.newsgator.com/everyday_enterprise_20/.

'I work with real businesses every day that use Enterprise 2.0 to generate concrete results,' says Schoon. 'My customers don't want to argue about what Enterprise 2.0 is, whether it's the right term, or whether it even exists. They want to know how other companies have succeeded, what they themselves can do to achieve the same benefits, and most importantly, how to do it. So I'm going to write in plain English about everyday Enterprise 2.0 from my own on-the-ground perspective working with living, breathing social computing champions at Fortune 500 companies.'

Everyday Enterprise 2.0's first and second posts are: 'Why this blog?' and 'Pimp my site.' Upcoming posts will focus on:
• Training 2.0
• Proofs of concept
• Insights from the upcoming Enterprise 2.0 Conference
• Community manager preparation, and
• The notion of 'adoption for adoption's sake.'

Schoon welcomes comments and links to other practical resources so the blog can become a community for sharing real-world enterprise social computing experiences among peers.

Schoon has 16 years of experience in Internet, business and IT, with stops at InfoWorld, CNET and Intuit before NewsGator. The company has one million paid users of its enterprise social computing software, Social Sites, and Schoon works directly with thousands of them. Businesspeople frequently ask her where to start on Enterprise 2.0, and she has three standard recommendations: 1) read Ross Dawson's sensible, plainspoken book 'Implementing Enterprise 2.0' http://fwd4.me/1qI; 2) read the Nielsen Norman Group's report 'Enterprise 2.0: Social Software on Intranets' ($298, http://fwd4.me/1qJ); and 3) if your company has at least 10,000 employees, join the 2.0 Adoption Council http://fwd4.me/1qK.

About NewsGator Technologies, Inc.
NewsGator Technologies helps enterprises and media companies leverage social computing solutions to deliver real business value. The company's enterprise social networking and widget services are in use by hundreds of the world's most recognized brands, including Biogen Idec, CBS, CNN, Discovery, National Geographic, Procter & Gamble and USA Today. NewsGator Social Sites and Enterprise Server give enterprises better ways to collaborate, share content, expand employee knowledge and improve productivity. For more information, visit www.newsgator.com.

— WebWireID106957 —

'We are very excited to partner with edCetra Training. We believe our current and future clients will benefit from their experience in developing training solutions that effectively impact business needs,' said Dan Medakovic, VP of Partner Programs for Operitel Corporation. 'We are also very impressed with their capability in the areas of mobile learning.'

'We are extremely excited to be working with Operitel Corporation to offer their LearnFlex™ LMS to our clients,' said Reuben Tozman, CLO for edCetra Training. 'Operitel's proven ability to develop a best of breed learning platform that can deliver not just mobile, but all modes of content for our clients, is a great enhancement to our current offerings.'

About Operitel
Operitel Corporation, producer and distributor of the award winning LearnFlex Learning Management System, is an educational technology company that specializes in building adaptive web-based enterprise-level applications. Since 2001, Operitel personnel have built and deployed applications for many clients in the high tech, financial, educational, and transportation sectors. Operitel is committed to supporting organizations in the acquisition, creation, and transfer of information and knowledge - the essential ingredients for success in a rapidly changing global economy. Operitel is located in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. For more information on Operitel, please go to http://www.operitel.com. For more information on the LearnFlex learning management system, please go to http://www.learnflex.com.

About edCetra Training
edCetra Training is a custom learning service provider, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. edCetra Training has been using innovative approaches to designing and developing learning solutions since its inception in 2002. edCetra Training works with corporate, educational and not-for-profit clients on a variety of different projects with varying scope. edCetra Training has pioneered the use of structured content authoring in the eLearning industry and has become a regular contributor to eLearning research and publications. For more information please visit www.edcetratraining.com

— WebWireID106939 —

Sneeze into your sleeve, wash your hands and 'keep you fingers outta your eyes, mouth and nose, cuz that the places H1N1 goes,' DocRock sings in the 30-second H1N1 Rap video. And while the lyrics and tune are catchy and fun, the message is very serious.

'According to the Centers for Disease Control, H1N1 is going to sicken millions this flu season, and kids need to know how to protect themselves,' said Dr. Jeffrey Kang, chief medical officer for CIGNA. 'Several studies have shown that music helps children learn better than many other forms of teaching, so DocRock's H1N1 Rap is a powerful tool to get the message to stick with kids. This video gives the H1N1 Rap even more power.'

Dr. Seibel is a board-certified physician who teaches at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. As DocRock, he is an award-winning composer and performer of songs that help teach kids healthy behaviors through his HealthRock program.

'If you can sing about a health issue, you can talk about it, and talking about it helps change behavior. Getting kids to sing about steps to avoid H1N1 helps them follow those steps,' Dr. Seibel said. 'I'm happy to team with CIGNA to get this video made so we can help kids avoid getting H1N1 and the regular seasonal flu too.'

Along with DocRock's H1N1 Rap, people will find more health information on www.youtube.com/cignatv including 'Healthful Tips,' lessons on how health care works, how to get the most from a person's health care benefits, and more.

— WebWireID106872 —

Philadelphia, PA. – ARAMARK, a global provider of professional services, has received the 2009 Theodore Roosevelt Workers' Compensation and Disability Management Award for its employee safety and claims management programs.

The award is given by Risk & Insurance magazine, a leading publication in the risk management industry, to honor organizations for their efforts to reduce the frequency and severity of injuries to workers. The magazine recognizes only one company, one nonprofit organization, and one federal agency annually. This is the 16th year the awards have been given.

ARAMARK employs approximately 260,000 people who provide food, facility and uniform management services to thousands of organizations in millions of locations globally. Consistent with its long history of caring for its people, the company initiated a new approach to employee safety, workers' compensation and disability management in 2004. Since then, ARAMARK has reduced the number of employee injury claims – as well as the number of days its people lose because of injuries – by 50 percent.

'At ARAMARK, our vision is to provide a work environment in which no one gets hurt,' said Debbie Rodgers, vice president of global risk management for ARAMARK. 'Not only do we feel our approach is the right thing to do, we believe it is essential to creating a company where the best people want to work. We are honored by this recognition, which is a testament to our commitment to our people.'

ARAMARK has instituted a holistic approach to employee safety and risk management, in which all elements of safety, workers' compensation, disability management, risk management, and return-to-work are managed centrally. This award-winning approach comprises:

* A continued commitment from the company's leadership team to work toward an environment in which no one gets hurt.
* A portfolio of education and recognition programs to encourage managers and employees to maintain a safe environment.
* Integrated data and communications technology to allow a thorough analysis of when and why accidents happen, so that they can be prevented in the future.
* A triage process to allow the company to respond to reports of employee injuries quickly.
* Easy-to-understand literature to educate injured employees about resources available to them.
* Education and support for both supervisors and employees to speed up employees' recovery and ability to return to work.

ARAMARK has been recognized as an employer of choice by several organizations. It has been listed as one of the Best Places to Launch a Career by BusinessWeek, one of the Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles by the National Business Group on Health, and as a top employer in many regions nationally. The company also ranked first in its industry on FORTUNE magazine's 2009 list of "World's Most Admired Companies," and it is consistently on the Global Outsourcing 100, a list of the world's most prestigious outsourcing service providers.

— WebWireID106870 —

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - NVIDIA today announced that it is now accepting applications for its ninth annual NVIDIA Fellowship Program, to fund work that helps to solve complex visual computing challenges. Grants of $25,000 for each selected project will be announced in Spring 2010.

The program is open to applicants worldwide from today through Feb. 3, 2010. Eligibility criteria include completion of the first year of Ph.D. level studies in the areas of computer architecture, computer science, electrical engineering, high-performance computing, scientific computing, or a related area. In addition, applicants must hold a current membership on an active research team. For further information on eligibility and how to apply, please visit: http://www.nvidia.com/page/fellowship_programs.html or email: fellowship@nvidia.com.

'The Fellowship Program aims to provide funding to Ph.D. students who are researching topics that will lead to major advances in the graphics and high-performance computing industries,' said Bill Dally, chief scientist at NVIDIA. 'Award recipients will not only receive crucial funding for their research. They will also be able to conduct groundbreaking work with access to NVIDIA products, technology and some of the most talented minds in the field.'

Since its inception in 2002, the NVIDIA Fellowship program has awarded more than $1.8 million in funding to over 75 Ph.D. research students.

About NVIDIA Research
NVIDIA Research has a variety of initiatives and programs aimed at advancing visual, parallel and mobile computing. These include funding and board donations for university research projects through professor partnerships and graduate fellowships; working with faculty to develop curriculum, providing access to developer forums, pre-released tools and drivers through NVIDIA's Developer Relations Program; and providing free online access to some of NVIDIA's award-winning books and coursework. Current work being done by the group spans many domains that include: realistic rendering, ray tracing, physical simulation, scientific computing, computational photography, programming languages and systems, computer architecture, and VLSI circuits. NVIDIA Research is led by the company's chief scientist, Bill Dally. For more information, please visit www.nvidia.com/research.

About NVIDIA
NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA) awakened the world to the power of computer graphics when it invented the graphics processing unit (GPU) in 1999. Since then, it has consistently set new standards in visual computing with breathtaking, interactive graphics available on devices ranging from portable media players to notebooks to workstations. NVIDIA's expertise in programmable GPUs has led to breakthroughs in parallel processing which make supercomputing inexpensive and widely accessible. Fortune magazine has ranked NVIDIA #1 in innovation in the semiconductor industry for two years in a row. For more information, see www.nvidia.com.

— WebWireID106860 —

'Our judges, which include stalwarts such as our resident expert Joe Huber and the staff of Philadelphia's Science Leadership Academy, put dozens of entries through their paces. To come out with their seal of approval is a testament to the product,' said Kevin Hogan, Editorial Director for NewBay Media's Tech & Learning Group.

Tech & Learning's Excellence Award recognizes both the "best of the best" and creative new offerings that help educators in the business of teaching, training and managing with technology. All entries are given a rigorous test-driving by qualified educators in several rounds of judging. Products are also carefully screened by the T&L editorial team. Evaluation criteria include the following: quality and effectiveness, ease-of-use, creative use of technology, and suitability for use in an educational environment.

'We are honored to be recognized as one of the best education offerings by Tech & Learning, which has an impressive reputation and long-standing history within education,' said Shawn Eldridge, vice president of marketing and products, DeepNines. 'We feel this award continues to validate our innovative and comprehensive approach to security and furthers our desire to push the envelope and set new standards.'

Detailed descriptions and judges' comments will be showcased in the Tech & Learning December Awards Issue and will be featured online at www.techlearning.com.

For more information on DeepNines and its solutions, please visit: www.deepnines.com.
About Tech & Learning
For nearly 30 years, Tech & Learning has been -- and continues to be -- the leading resource for K-12 leaders. Its publications, websites and events provide factual and evaluative information on trends, products, and strategies to educators who purchase technology products in their districts and schools. Tech & Learning delivers the highest quality content and essential resources to manage, train, and teach technology. For more information, visit www.TechLearning.com.

About DeepNines
DeepNines Technologies is a leader in network security, providing real-time, identity-based network defense for content and applications. Since 1999, DeepNines has provided business, education, health care and government customers with innovative network security that is affordable and easy-to-use. By inventing and patenting unified threat management technology, DeepNines' products enable unparalleled protection and control of ports, protocols, users, applications and content at firewall speed. DeepNines' gateway products leverage the power to protect, control and manage inbound and outbound Internet traffic, empowering enterprises and institutions to secure their networks deep-into-the-nines. To learn more about DeepNines, please visit www.deepnines.com. DeepNines products are protected by one or more U.S. Patents Nos. 6,930978, 7,380,272, 7,058,976; Foreign Patent Nos. 95182 (W002/100039), 106027 (W02003/073724), 1282954; Patents Pending.

©2009 Deep Nines, Inc., all rights reserved. DeepNines Technologies, Security Edge Platform, Security Edge System, Sleuth9 Security System, Sleuth9, ForensiX Capture System, Holistic Management Console, and Zero Footprint Technology are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Deep Nines Inc. All other brands and products are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

— WebWireID106807 —

'There has been a great deal of research into the use of manufactured carbon nanomaterials in various products, but there are still a lot of questions about how these materials will interact with biological systems,' says Dr. Nancy Monteiro-Riviere, a professor of investigative dermatology and toxicology at the Center for Chemical Toxicology Research and Pharmacokinetics at NC State and lead investigator of the study. 'There is a crucial need to understand how these manufactured carbon nanomaterials will act once they are in the body – particularly where environmental or occupational exposure can occur.'

The two-year research project, which is being funded by NIH at approximately $658,000, has several specific goals. First, the researchers will determine how and whether the size and surface charge of four fullerenes – or specifically shaped carbon nanoparticles – effects how the fullerenes interact with the body. 'Our hypothesis is that the size and charge of these fullerenes will dictate how the nanoparticles are absorbed by the body, how they are distributed within the body, how the body metabolizes the nanoparticles and – ultimately – how and whether the body can eliminate the nanoparticles,' says Monteiro-Riviere.

A second goal is to determine how fullerene size and surface charge affect the distribution of the nanoparticles in the body's organs and plasma, when the fullerenes are injected intravenously. This component of the study will be performed in animal models that are well understood, and where the findings can then be extrapolated to humans. Researchers will also identify any adverse health effects resulting from acute exposure to the nanomaterials.

Finally, the researchers will assess how the body absorbs fullerenes when exposed to the nanomaterials orally or through abraded skin – two routes of exposure that are particularly relevant to real-world scenarios, such as exposure in the workplace.

'The work being done in this project will not only improve our understanding of how nanomaterials behave in the body, but will also help us identify in vitro assays, which can be performed in a laboratory, that predict how the nanomaterials will behave in the body,' says Monteiro-Riviere.

NC State's research team working on the project includes Drs. Nancy Monteiro-Riviere, Jim Riviere, Burroughs Wellcome Fund Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and director of the Center for Chemical Toxicology Research and Pharmacokinetics, Xin Xia, research assistant professor of pharmacology, and Keith Linder, assistant professor of pathology.

— WebWireID106851 —

In presenting the award, Maine State Chamber of Commerce President Dana Connors noted that Rodrigue's entrepreneurial spirit had manifested itself in several successful and divergent initiatives.

'While this award could reflect a lifetime of entrepreneurial spirit by Rod, it attempts to recognize two, quite unrelated, yet very significant success stories occurring right here in our state,' Connors said. 'To me, the greatest expression of Rod's entrepreneurship has been what he and his wife Marion established just four years ago in Morrill, Maine. It's called the Ironwood Therapeutic Boarding School and located on 500 acres of countryside purchased on the edge of Frye Mountain. Ironwood is committed to helping families in crisis with troubled teens.'

Ironwood Therapeutic Boarding School offers therapeutic, clinical and educational services helping teens to adopt proactive behaviors necessary to lead a productive life as a contributing family member and community citizen.

'Ironwood Therapeutic Boarding School is carefully designed to assist families in crisis and turn around the behavior of troubled teens by developing self-respect, values and effective communication skills. In less than four years, it has become a nationally recognized model facility for troubled teens. To see it is to believe it – a truly inspirational success story,' Connors concluded.

About Ironwood Therapeutic Boarding School

Ironwood Therapeutic Boarding School is a formidable program committed to helping families in crisis with troubled teens. We trust the teens and families we treat to share our commitment to generating successful, rewarding outcomes. Ironwood's aim is to assess and treat the causes of unruly behavior, while providing self-esteem building activities and life-enriching experiences along with academic studies. Ironwood strives to work with parents and youth through clinical therapy, discipline, hard work, and shared experiences in a safe, secure, and therapeutic learning environment. For more information on the program call 877-342-2463 or go to www.ironwoodmaine.com.

— WebWireID106802 —