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.

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The warning letters directed the companies to cease the marketing and sale of these products immediately or to take other appropriate action to bring the products into compliance with the law. Failure to do so may result in additional regulatory actions such as seizure or injunction. In addition, FDA requested a written response from each of the companies within 15 days outlining the corrective actions taken.

Enforcement of the flavored cigarette ban is FDA's effort to remove cigarettes that contain certain candy or fruit flavors from the marketplace. Removal of these products from the market will assist in the prevention of children and adolescents from starting to smoke and in the reduction in death and disease caused by smoking.

'FDA takes the enforcement of this flavored cigarette ban seriously,' said Lawrence R. Deyton, M.S.P.H, M.D., director of FDA's Center for Tobacco Products. These actions should send a clear message to those who continue to break the law that FDA will take necessary actions to protect our children from initiating tobacco use.'

The Tobacco Control Act, which was passed by Congress and signed by the President in June 2009, specifically called for a ban on cigarettes containing certain characterizing flavors. On Sept. 14, 2009, FDA sent a letter to regulated industry reminding them that the ban would go into effect on Sept. 22, 2009. FDA also stated in the letter that any company who continued to sell such products after the Sept. 22, 2009, effective date may be subject to FDA enforcement actions.

Since the effective date of the ban, FDA has examined products offered for import and searched the Internet to identify illegal products. As a result, FDA issued several warning letters to companies and Web sites that continued to market and sell these illegal products over the Internet to consumers in the United States. The warning letters were the result of Internet searches conducted by FDA's Office of Enforcement and the Center for Tobacco Products.

FDA posted the warning letters that detail the offending websites and flavored cigarette products on the agency's Web site. Review warning letters issued by FDA:
http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/default.htm

Report possible violations of the flavored cigarette ban:
www.fda.gov/flavoredtobacco

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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

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Patients hospitalized with 2009 H1N1 influenza are evaluated to determine if antiviral drugs will be useful; some patients are not able to take the drugs that are currently available as pills or liquid and may benefit from intravenous antiviral medications.

To help meet the potential need for IV medications to combat the H1N1 virus, HHS ordered 10,000 treatment courses each from BioCryst, Roche and GlaxoSmithKline, totaling $31.5 million. The contracts allow HHS to place additional orders of up to 30,000 treatment courses with each manufacturer over two years. Roche manufactures Tamiflu; GlaxoSmithKline, Relenza, and BioCryst manufactures Peramivir.

Because there are no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved antiviral medications that can be administered intravenously to treat influenza, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization on Oct. 23 to allow use of intravenous Peramivir, an investigational antiviral drug in the class of drugs known as neuraminidase inhibitors.

The HHS orders for intravenous oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and intravenous zanamivir (Relenza), also neuraminidase inhibitors, are predicated on FDA emergency use authorization for these medications.

FDA has not issued emergency use authorization authorizing the use of intravenous Tamiflu or Relenza. Orders for Tamiflu and Relenza are based on anticipated need of emergency use authorizations for additional IV drugs in the future. Tamiflu and Relenza are FDA-approved in the form of pills or liquid, and studies are ongoing into the use of these two drugs intravenously for hospitalized H1N1 flu patients.

The emergency use authorization for IV Peramivir allowed doctors to prescribe the drug to treat certain adults and children hospitalized with confirmed or suspected 2009 H1N1 infections. Specifically, IV Peramivir is authorized only for hospitalized adult and pediatric patients for whom therapy with an IV drug is clinically appropriate.

To authorize emergency use of any product, the FDA commissioner must determine that in an emergency, based on the totality of scientific evidence available, it is reasonable to believe that the product may be effective in diagnosing, treating, or preventing the serious or life threatening disease or condition; that the known and potential benefits of the product outweigh the known and potential risks of the product in the emergency situation, and that there is no adequate, approved, and available alternative to the product for diagnosing, preventing, or treating such serious or life threatening disease or condition.

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) will manage the contracts. BARDA supported the advanced development of IV Peramivir beginning in 2007 as part of a larger HHS initiative to develop promising new influenza medications and vaccines.

For more information on the emergency use of IV Peramivir authorized by FDA, including information for health care providers on patient eligibility, see http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/eua/. Healthcare providers can also call 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636). Additional information about BARDA contracts is available at https://www.medicalcountermeasures.gov/announcements.aspx

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Pasadena, CA

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) between 8,000 and 18,000 people are hospitalized in the U.S. each year due to Legionnaires' disease. This number may be just the tip of the iceberg as it is believed by many experts that most cases are not diagnosed or reported.

The disease caused by Legionella, Legionnaires' disease, got its name after a 1976 outbreak at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia that sickened 221 people and caused 34 deaths. There is a milder form of the illness, known as Pontiac Fever, whose symptoms typically diminish and clear up without treatment.

The transmission of Legionella occurs via aerosols, when mist containing the bacteria is inhaled. Legionella can be found in nature in environments such as lakes and streams, but most human infections occur from manmade sources involving cooling towers or hot water systems.

Those infected by Legionella may take up to two weeks before they begin to show symptoms. Early on it may manifest its presence with flu-like and fever symptoms which can escalate into problems with nausea, nervous system issues and pneumonia. The CDC reports that 5% to 30% of cases can cause death.

As one of the largest environmental laboratories in the country, and an expert resource for Legionella analysis, EMSL Analytical and its affiliate LA Testing have developed a number of ongoing initiatives to educate environmental professionals and the general public about the organism that causes the disease. A dedicated website with more information can be found at www.LegionellaTesting.com.

'The collective expertise that EMSL and LA Testing have created over the years developing testing procedures for Legionella has made the company a rich source of information,' reported Ben Sublasky, National Director of Client Services for LA Testing and EMSL Analytical. To learn more about Legionella and other environmental services please visit www.LATesting.com, email info@LATesting.com or call (800) 755-1794.

About LA Testing and EMSL Analytical, Inc.
LA Testing and EMSL Analytical are providers of environmental testing services and products to professionals and the general public. The companies have an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies.

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Westmont, NJ

Recently a contractor from Washington was fined tens of thousands of dollars by environmental regulators in Oregon for violating asbestos regulations during an abatement project. The contractor has appealed the fine according to reports from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

The Clean Air Act and the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants require contractors to follow certain steps during projects that involve asbestos. These requirements include actions that must be taken before work commences, during renovations and to ensure proper waste disposal.

The contractor has been accused of multiple violations related to an asbestos abatement project the contractor was involved with at a retirement facility. According to the DEQ the contractor did not complete all the required documentation and removed containment materials before sampling the air quality. This is the second time this year this contractor has faced fines from the DEQ over asbestos violations.

Asbestos can be found in a wide range of common building materials from insulation, flooring, ceilings, roofing, siding to even fire coating materials. During abatement projects asbestos can be easily aerosolized which creates a dangerous environment for workers and building occupants. Without the proper safety precautions asbestos can easily be inhaled during renovation projects which could increase one's chance of developing lung cancer. Cancers associated with asbestos exposure can take up to decades to appear.

EMSL Analytical, one of the nation's largest asbestos testing laboratories, has been providing asbestos testing services since 1981. 'EMSL strongly encourages contractors to have suspect building materials tested before any renovations or abatement projects begin,' reported Joe Frasca, Executive Vice President for EMSL Analytical. 'It is a quick and cost effective way to ensure materials are handled safely to protect workers, building occupants and to prevent costly fines,' Frasca continued.

To learn more about asbestos testing or other testing needs please visit www.EMSL.com, email info@EMSL.com or call (800) 220-3675.

About EMSL Analytical, Inc.
EMSL Analytical is a nationally recognized and locally focused provider of consumer product, environmental, industrial hygiene, food and materials testing services and products to professionals and the general public. The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies.

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The Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging spacecraft, known as MESSENGER, flew by Mercury on Sept. 29. The probe completed a critical gravity assist to remain on course to enter into orbit around Mercury in 2011. Despite shutting down temporarily because of a power system switchover during a solar eclipse, the spacecraft's cameras and instruments collected high-resolution and color images unveiling another 6 percent of the planet's surface never before seen at close range.

Approximately 98 percent of Mercury's surface now has been imaged by NASA spacecraft. After MESSENGER goes into orbit around Mercury, it will see the polar regions, which are the only unobserved areas of the planet.

"Although the area viewed for the first time by spacecraft was less than 350 miles across at the equator, the new images reminded us that Mercury continues to hold surprises," said Sean Solomon, principal investigator for the mission and director of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Many new features were revealed during the third flyby, including a region with a bright area surrounding an irregular depression, suspected to be volcanic in origin. Other images revealed a double-ring impact basin approximately 180 miles across. The basin is similar to a feature scientists call the Raditladi basin, which was viewed during the probe's first flyby of Mercury in January 2008.

"This double-ring basin, seen in detail for the first time, is remarkably well preserved," said Brett Denevi, a member of the probe's imaging team and a postdoctoral researcher at Arizona State University in Tempe. "One similarity to Raditladi is its age, which has been estimated to be approximately one billion years old. Such an age is quite young for an impact basin, because most basins are about four times older. The inner floor of this basin is even younger than the basin itself and differs in color from its surroundings. We may have found the youngest volcanic material on Mercury."

One of the spacecraft's instruments conducted its most extensive observations to date of Mercury's exosphere, or thin atmosphere, during this encounter. The flyby allowed for the first detailed scans over Mercury's north and south poles. The probe also has begun to reveal how Mercury's atmosphere varies with its distance from the sun.

"A striking illustration of what we call 'seasonal' effects in Mercury's exosphere is that the neutral sodium tail, so prominent in the first two flybys, is 10 to 20 times less intense in emission and significantly reduced in extent," says participating scientist Ron Vervack, of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, or APL, in Laurel, Md. "This difference is related to expected variations in solar radiation pressure as Mercury moves in its orbit and demonstrates why Mercury's exosphere is one of the most dynamic in the solar system."

The observations also show that calcium and magnesium exhibit different seasonal changes than sodium. Studying the seasonal changes in all exospheric constituents during the mission orbital phase will provide key information on the relative importance of the processes that generate, sustain, and modify Mercury's atmosphere.

The third flyby also revealed new information on the abundances of iron and titanium in Mercury's surface materials. Earlier Earth and spacecraft-based observations showed that Mercury's surface has a very low concentration of iron in silicate minerals, a result that led to the view that the planet's crust is generally low in iron.

"Now we know Mercury's surface has an average iron and titanium abundance that is higher than most of us expected, similar to some lunar mare basalts," says David Lawrence, an APL participating mission scientist.

The spacecraft has completed nearly three-quarters of its 4.9-billion-mile journey to enter orbit around Mercury. The full trip will include more than 15 trips around the sun. In addition to flying by Mercury, the spacecraft flew past Earth in August 2005 and Venus in October 2006 and June 2007.

The spacecraft was designed and built by APL. The mission is managed and operated by APL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

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ARMONK, N.Y.- Over three quarters of the world's oil and gas companies surveyed believe inevitable climate change could impact their business: increasing downtime, system failures and safety; but only 19 percent are taking action, says a new Acclimatise report backed by IBM (NYSE:IBM).

"The Oil and Gas industry is an important contributor to our society and economy, so if anything impacts the industry it could well impact people at home, at work, on the move, or even their personal finances," said Allan Roberts, IBM's Industrial Strategy & Change Leader, IBM Global Business Services, UK & Ireland. "While oil and gas companies are typically well run and have systems for monitoring risks, they have been exposed to problems with their major projects and operations in the past. Evidence in the report shows companies may not be fully appreciating the risks posed by climate change or have in place responses which are robust."

The report titled "Global Oil & Gas - The Adaptation Challenge" is based on the Carbon Disclosure Project's annual request for investor information that was sent to the world's largest 128 oil and gas companies globally (based on market capitalisation). Analysed using the Acclimatisation Index™.( )Methodology, the report identified the top five impacts of climate change and the industry implications.

Top Five Industry Impacts of Climate Change

Increased pressure on water resources: Concerns over changing rainfall patterns, water shortages, poor water quality, drought and flooding is significantly increasing the demand for water. Growing competition for available resources could create operational problems for companies which rely heavily on water for oil and gas production. The demand may also create conflicts with local communities and other water users throughout the world changing the risk landscape for oil and gas companies. Nearly all companies surveyed did not appear to recognise the risk landscape is changing - only 6% reported knowledge of potential civil and geo-political risks and 3% identified adverse risks for local communities.

Physical asset failure: The report revealed that many existing plants and equipment have been designed on the basis of historic climatic conditions and may not withstand changing environmental conditions. Fluctuating temperatures can affect efficiency and performance of physical assets leading to transport disruption, damaged buildings and increased operational delays and costs. Only 6% of respondents indicated they were taking actions to manage disruptions to off-site utilities (energy, communications, water and waste treatment).

Employee health and safety risks: Volatile working conditions in extreme environments and physical assets which are potentially not suitable for the changing climatic conditions have the potential to impact the health and safety of employees. However only 1.5% of respondents reported to incorporate climate change considerations into their health and safety risk assessments. Employer and public liability insurance cover may be compromised if companies fail to take climate change into account during health and safety risk assessments.

Drop in value of financial assets: To meet the growing demand for energy, oil and gas companies need to continue securing investment for new exploration, production and manufacturing. Potential investors and stakeholders are placing greater importance on the business impacts of climate change as the risks impact cost and revenue drivers. Insurance costs could potentially rise because of greater chances of physical plant damage due to weather events, an issue only recognised by 10% of respondents. The current reported value of proved reserves may also be affected by companies failing to take into account the full impact of climate change. This could result in changes to the disclosed value of reserves which has major financial implications.

Damage to corporate reputation: As knowledge and awareness of climate change grows, any failure to monitor and report the impacts of climate change on social and ecological resources is increasingly likely to harm a company's reputation. Contractual relationships that do not adequately foresee and manage risks driven by climate change, may damage the company's reputation with stakeholders as the risk of parties turning to litigation increases.

"It is difficult to justify the position taken by any company that fails to assess the vulnerability of existing and future assets to acute and chronic changing climatic risks, given the information we now have," said John Firth, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, climate change adaptation specialists Acclimatise. "Companies that develop an integrated approach, recognising that we no longer have a stable climate, will be the winners. This is not merely an environmental issue, it is about bottom line consequences and the future viability of oil and gas companies."

Drivers for Change

Given the Oil and Gas industry's ability to innovate there is no reason why it will not continue to be a major contributor to society and the economy of the future. There are a number of drivers for change that will influence the level and rate of innovation.

Cost/revenue drivers - Operating costs at refineries could increase in response to changes in asset efficiency and resilience with higher ambient air temperatures. Disruptions to transport links due to permafrost thaw are already having significant impacts with companies having to hold and maintain larger on-site spare parts and materials stores. Operational costs could increase in response to changes in design standards for offshore platforms.

Stakeholder pressure - Investors and other stakeholders, including market and financial analysts, governments and regulatory agencies, research institutions, consumers, local communities and NGOs - are already starting to place greater pressure on oil and gas companies to address climate risks and opportunities.

New regulatory landscapes - Although new regulatory policies are being developed in many countries there remains a great deal of uncertainty regarding the scope, content and format of future legislation on emissions. Greater certainty about the future regulatory landscape is required to encourage companies to invest in alternatives to fossil fuels and develop cleaner and sustainable energy sources.

In the United Kingdom the Climate Change Act 2008 gives the government an adaptation reporting power that requires oil and gas companies to assess and disclose the impacts climate change might have on their business. The UK Government recently updated the Petroleum Act, tightening the laws on decommissioning, making it compulsory for companies to take the impacts of climate change into account.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission ask publicly-listed companies to disclose climate threats to their bottom lines in annual reporting.

Opportunity to Improve

Acclimatise and IBM have jointly prepared a set of 10 Prepare-Adapt questions to help oil and gas executives take informed steps towards building corporate resilience to inevitable climate change.

To start, a company should undertake a high-level assessment of how climate change could impact their business model. The next step is to analyse the individual areas that could have the greatest material impact on performance - two areas of consideration could be Non-Market Strategy and Asset Lifecycle Management. Finally companies need to adapt reporting and performance management to incorporate risks arising from climate change.

Paul Simpson, Chief Operating Officer, Carbon Disclosure Project, said, "This report shows how important it is for the oil and gas sector to plan for a changing climate. Issues such as water shortages and changing weather patterns and temperatures will impact infrastructure, operations, revenues and costs. As a result, investors want to know how oil and gas companies are dealing with these risks and planning for them in the future. This report helps answer those questions."

For a full copy of the report: http://www-05.ibm.com/uk/green/cdp2009/oil_and_gas.pdf

Methodology

The analysis has been undertaken using our Acclimatisation Index™ methodology. This enables a semi-quantitative analysis of the responses recognising the scope of the questions.

The Index can take into account information from other sources to provide a more comprehensive analysis if needed. The Index also allows a relative score for each company to be calculated, although these scores are not available as part of this project.

The Acclimatisation Index™ has been used to analyse the resilience of global oil and gas companies to climate change in response to questions contained within sections 1 and 4 of the Carbon Disclosure Project questionnaire. It describes how global oil and gas companies understand the risks and opportunities they face as a result of the changing climate, and how they plan to adapt to them.

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Working together with An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland, the organizations are collecting and analyzing large amounts of complex environmental data from Ireland's coastline and lakes on water quality, tides, weather forecasts and more. That information is then made easily available to the general public at an online portal, Splash. Currently live in Ireland with plans for global expansion, Splash has already benefited thousands of visitors from nearly 40 countries.

'Our collaboration with IBM and An Taisce is paving the way for smarter water quality management at our beaches and lakes,' said Dr. Mary Kelly, EPA Director General. 'It is a good example of how smart green technologies can be deployed to provide easily accessible and useful information to the public. The Splash portal is just the beginning of what we hope to accomplish.'

The system also enables more efficient reporting by local government authorities and state agencies. Prior to the Splash portal, public reports such as water samples and compliancy with standards were not available until the year after they were collected and created. With Splash, this information is available immediately, in map-based format, and adhering to the requirements of the European 2006 Bathing Water Directive. Ireland is the first of the 27 EU member states to implement this online smarter solution for beach water quality reporting.

'Though the total amount of water on the planet has never changed, the nature of the water has,' said Sharon Nunes, vice president, Big Green Innovations, IBM. 'Everything from where rain falls to the chemical makeup of the oceans is in flux, and it continues to change in real time. By providing near-real-time access to water conditions, we're enabling environmental agencies and citizens alike to make smarter decisions about everything from how to handle changes in water quality to where to plan their next vacation.'

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65% imageNearly two thirds (65 per cent) of people surveyed across the globe believe a new international deal to cut emissions is 'very important', according to the annual Climate Confidence Monitor released today. The 12 country study, commissioned by the HSBC Climate Partnership, sends a clear message to governments preparing to attend the UN climate change summit in December to agree on a policy framework to tackle climate change.

The third Climate Confidence Monitor reveals a global consensus on emission reduction targets. 79 per cent want to see a commitment to 'meet or significantly exceed' a 50-80 per cent cut in emissions by 2050. This demand for commitment to reduction targets is highest in Mexico (91 per cent), Brazil (90 per cent), Hong Kong (84 per cent) and China (82 per cent) and lowest in India (75 per cent), UK (71 per cent) and the US (66 per cent).

Despite the deepening of the global recession since last year's survey was conducted, seven in 10 people (69 per cent) agreed that addressing climate change is at least as important, if not more important than supporting their national economy during the downturn. Respondents to this question were asked to prioritise spending public money on healthcare, crime, national defence, education and supporting the national economy during the downturn.

Lord Stern, adviser to HSBC on economic development and climate change said: "With just over a month to go before Copenhagen, this is a clear call from the global population for a strong and effective deal. Rich and developing countries must act together to create an agreement that will lay the foundations for a future era of dynamic low-carbon growth."

The Climate Confidence Monitor 2009 also revealed:

Emerging v Developed Markets: For the third year running, the Climate Confidence Monitor shows that there is a stronger desire for action in emerging economies than in the developed world. In Brazil, 86 per cent and in Mexico, 83 per cent believe it is very important that a deal in Copenhagen is reached. Globally only two per cent of people feel a new climate deal isn't important at all.

Stephen Green, Group Chairman HSBC Holdings plc said: "We know that the impacts of climate change will particularly affect the emerging markets and clearly the people of those countries are concerned. We look to the Copenhagen meeting to create a framework for a low carbon economy that will allow emerging
markets to prosper and create attractive investment opportunities for businesses worldwide."

Climate Change v other global issues: In a year that brought media headlines of pandemic flu and economic meltdown, a third of all respondents (34 per cent) believe climate change is one of the biggest issues they worry about today. They were asked to rank climate change as an issue compared to global economic stability, terrorism, violence, pandemic disease, global poverty, natural disasters and social breakdown. In Mexico, 22 per cent of respondents ranked climate change as the number one issue.

Personal commitment to low carbon choices: Commitment to reduce personal impact on climate change by adapting lifestyle choices rose four percentage points from 2008 to 36 per cent this year. In particular, France and Mexico show increases in commitment of at least 15 percentage points in the past 12 months. The most popular steps people are taking to reduce their carbon footprint are recycling, turning off electronic equipment and using energy-saving light bulbs. People living in China, Hong Kong, India and France claimed to be most active in making low-carbon lifestyle choices.

Steve Howard, Chief Executive of the Climate Group commented on this trend: "World leaders must agree a deal in Copenhagen that unlocks low carbon jobs and growth, and enables the rest of us to make smarter, greener choices about the ways we heat our homes, fuel our cars and power our businesses."

The Climate Confidence Monitor is part of the HSBC Climate Partnership's aim to raise awareness of climate change issues and to facilitate action to address them. For more information on the results of the research, visit www.hsbc.com/climateconfidencemonitor

Media enquiries to:

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"Today is exceptionally historic because we are delivering A08-135 from the same Hangar 278 where Deeper Maintenance work on the first F-111 began 35 years ago," said John Duddy, vice president and managing director, Boeing Defence Australia. "We take pause to honor and recognize every RAAF serviceperson and Boeing employee who has contributed toward maintaining this platform. Because of you, the F-111 today remains the fastest and longest-ranging combat aircraft in the Asia-Pacific region."

The Deeper Maintenance program began in 1974 with the RAAF and transitioned to Boeing in 2001 for a total 500,000-plus work hours. The RAAF will retire the F-111 at the end of 2010 to make way for 24 replacement Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets.

"The maintenance systems introduced with the F-111 aircraft have been a mainstay of defense and industry's high-tech support capabilities for well over 35 years," said Air Commodore Roy McPhail, Director General of Aerospace Combat Systems, RAAF. "Today's completion of the F-111 Deeper Maintenance program will ensure the F-111 fleet remains fully capable until the replacement F/A-18F Super Hornets come on line."

Boeing is contracted to perform light maintenance activities until the F-111 fleet's withdrawal from service.

"Although this is the end of Boeing's F-111 Deeper Maintenance activities, fortunately, it's not the end of a great partnership," said Group Capt. Peter Lloyd, Officer Commanding – 82 Wing, RAAF. "Boeing's technical and engineering expertise will remain fundamental to 82 Wing's ability to generate F-111 air combat power."

Deeper Maintenance was performed on F-111s after 525 hours of flight time. It included activities such as removal of wings, engines, the undercarriage and other major components for servicing and/or replacement as required.

Boeing Defence Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company and a business unit of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, is a leading Australian aerospace enterprise. With a world-class team of nearly 2,000 employees at 13 locations throughout Australia and two international sites, Boeing Defence Australia supports some of the largest and most complex defense projects in Australia.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32 billion business with 70,000 employees worldwide.

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The bad news continues with pricing. Although there was a modest increase of 3 percent in weighted average price in the detached sector, the 'substantial boost' in average home size caused the detached value ratio, 'a better measure of actual home value', to fall more than 13 percent. ResidentialTrends™ Housing Market Overview also reports that this value is the lowest since the first quarter of 2003.

The only real bright spot in the region is inventory. This quarter's detached inventory saw a 23 percent decline. Since the end of last year, close to 4,000 units have been removed from inventory as projects have eliminated future phase inventory entirely, moved units into rentals, or left the market altogether. Also, the supply of homes that have been offered for sale yet remain unsold dropped nearly 62 percent this quarter. At current sales rates this available supply would last less than one month.

MarketPointe™ Realty Advisors, Inc. provides new housing market statistics throughout California via its ResidentialTrends™ new-home database and its LandTracker™ proposed development database, as well as site specific, tailored housing market research and consulting services. Comprehensive 'Housing Market Overviews' providing new home sales, pricing, housing inventory trends, future housing supply, and new and leading developments are available for regions across California by going to www.marketpointe.com/landing. Phone San Diego at 619-233-3781, Orange County at 714-528-2554 or Sacramento at 916-710-1396; url:www.marketpointe.com.

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NEW YORK – A federal district court ruled today that patients and scientists can challenge patents on human genes in court, allowing a lawsuit challenging patents on two human genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer to move forward.

The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), a not-for-profit organization affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. The groups charge that the patents are illegal and restrict both scientific research and patients' access to medical care, and that patents on human genes violate the First Amendment and patent law because genes are "products of nature."

"We hope this challenge is the beginning of the end to patents on genes, which limit scientific research, learning and the free flow of information," said Chris Hansen, a staff attorney with the ACLU First Amendment Working Group. "No one should be able to patent a part of the human body."

The lawsuit, Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, et al., was originally filed on May 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of breast cancer and women's health groups, individual women, geneticists and scientific associations representing approximately 150,000 researchers, pathologists and laboratory professionals. The lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as well as Myriad Genetics and the University of Utah Research Foundation, which hold the patents on the BRCA genes. The defendants asked the court to dismiss the case but today's ruling allows the lawsuit to proceed.

Because the ACLU's lawsuit challenges the whole notion of gene patenting, its outcome could have far-reaching effects beyond the patents on the BRCA genes. Approximately 20 percent of all human genes are patented, including genes associated with Alzheimer's disease, muscular dystrophy, colon cancer, asthma and many other illnesses.

The court noted the significance of this case. The court's opinion stated, "The widespread use of gene sequence information as the foundation for biomedical research means that resolution of these issues will have far-reaching implications, not only for gene-based health care and the health of millions of women facing the specter of breast cancer, but also for the future course of biomedical research… The novel circumstances presented by this action against the USPTO, the absence of any remedy provided in the Patent Act, and the important constitutional rights the Plaintiffs seek to vindicate establish subject matter jurisdiction over the Plaintiffs' claim against the USPTO."

"We look forward to proving in court that human gene patents should never have been granted in the first place," said Daniel B. Ravicher, Executive Director of PUBPAT and co-counsel in the lawsuit. "Companies should not able to own the rights to a piece of the human genome. Specific tests or drugs can be patented, but not genes themselves."

The specific patents the ACLU is challenging are on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Mutations along the BRCA1 and 2 genes are responsible for most cases of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. Many women with a history of breast and ovarian cancer in their families opt to undergo genetic testing to determine if they have the mutations on their BRCA genes that put them at increased risk for these diseases. This information is critical in helping these women decide on a plan of treatment or prevention, including increased surveillance or preventive mastectomies or ovary removal.

The patents granted to Myriad give the company the exclusive right to perform diagnostic tests on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and to prevent any researcher from even looking at the genes without first getting permission from Myriad. Myriad's monopoly on the BRCA genes makes it impossible for women to access alternate tests or get a second opinion about their results and allows Myriad to charge a high rate for their tests.

"The patents on BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 restrict women's access to genetic testing and interfere with their medical care," said Sandra Park, staff attorney with the ACLU Women's Rights Project. "We hope that at the conclusion of this lawsuit, the court declares the patents unconstitutional and invalid."

Several major organizations, including the American Medical Association, the March of Dimes and the American Society for Human Genetics, filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the challenge to the patents on the BRCA genes.

Attorneys on the case include Hansen and Aden Fine of the ACLU First Amendment Working Group; Park and Lenora Lapidus of the ACLU Women's Rights Project; and Ravicher of PUBPAT. Tania Simoncelli, the ACLU's science advisor, provides expert guidance on the case.

More information about the case, including an ACLU video featuring breast cancer patients, plaintiff and supporter statements and declarations, today's decision and the legal complaint, can be found online at: www.aclu.org/brca

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The five men featured in the video were all held at Guantánamo for years without any meaningful opportunity to challenge their detention. They were denied their due process rights, which might have established the lack of evidence against them much earlier and spared them years of torture, abuse and imprisonment. The men were eventually released, and as they explain in the video, are now attempting to put their lives back together.

"I experienced sadness in a state that I have never had, cruelty in a depth that I'd never seen in my life," Omar Deghayes tells the camera. He had graduated from law school in England and was studying the legal system in Afghanistan when he was captured and sent to Guantánamo for nearly six years. "You will not leave a similar person anymore. You will leave as broken, physically broken, psychologically broken."

Ruhal Ahmed and Shafiq Rasul grew up together in England. They went to Pakistan for a friend's wedding and took a short trip to neighboring Afghanistan where they were captured. It would be two and a half years before they could go home.

"Guantánamo Bay was hell for us," Shafiq says. But Ruhal says their friendship helped them survive the brutal experience: "Anything that happened to me I could relate to somebody that was very close to me. Being friends from a young age – who else would you want in that kind of situation?"

Back home in England, Shafiq and Ruhal say the American leaders who allowed the injustices of Guantánamo should be held accountable. But they do not hold a grudge against the American people.

"The drinks we drink, Coca Cola – it's American. We still drink it," Ruhal says. "We still go to the movies. So we don't hate Americans as American people."

Omar says he feels the same way, but he wants Americans to know exactly what happened at Guantánamo: "I want the people themselves, the people in America, the good people – which I met many of – to realize what ugly things were done to others in their names."

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Los Alamitos, CA

Regional water monitors in California recently announced that farmers in parts of the state will soon be required to finance all, or part, of the cost to monitor agricultural pollutants in area surface water. The California Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted the new rules in 2007 and they will go into effect in the next few years.

Runoff from farms and cropland can cause fertilizers, animal waste, pesticides and other toxins to pollute area water. According to the EPA, 'Agricultural nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is the leading source of water quality impacts to rivers and lakes.' Pollutants to be monitored will likely include nitrates, bacteria, phosphates and other contaminants.

The program requires farmers with more than $1,000 in gross crop sales to pay to sample the water quality in area lakes and streams. The San Diego region, which is also comprised of parts of Riverside and Orange counties, is included in this new regulation. According to some reports as many as 100 bodies of water in that region have suffered for various reasons, including agricultural pollutants.

San Diego County is composed of more small farmers than anywhere else in the state. The additional cost to them for this program could be a hardship on some small farmers following rising water costs and current low commodity prices. LA Testing and EMSL Analytical, leading environmental testing laboratories in the area, have been on the forefront of providing affordable water testing solutions for all types of pollutants.

'Both laboratories have a long history of providing these types of testing services in California to help protect people and the environment,' reported Ben Sublasky, National Director of Client Services for LA Testing and EMSL Analytical. 'Our water testing laboratories are an important resource for government agencies, farmers, industry and the general public,' Sublasky continued.

To learn more about water testing and other environmental services please visit www.LATesting.com, email info@LATesting.com or call (800) 755-1794.

About LA Testing and EMSL Analytical, Inc.
LA Testing and EMSL Analytical are providers of environmental testing services and products to professionals and the general public. The companies have an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies.

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'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

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National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is now reviewing details of the 1,990 page House bill, but the early indications are that the legislation is extremely positive on a range of top NAMI concerns.

As the debate over health care reform moves towards its final stages, NAMI will continue to advocate for a bill that meets the needs of individuals and families affected by mental illness NAMI will continue efforts to ensure that expanded health coverage for the uninsured and underinsured integrates equitable benefits for mental illness treatment.

An initial review of the House bill (HR 3962) reveals three key components critical to people living with mental illness:

1. Medicaid expansion for childless adults up to 150% of the federal poverty level (about $16,200 in annual income for individual), including individuals living with serious mental illness who currently do not qualify for Medicaid coverage in their state. These individuals are currently more likely to be uninsured and most likely to be without any health care insurance coverage at all. The House bill would insure access to lifesaving medical care for this vulnerable group.

2. Expanded coverage for the uninsured through the new health insurance "Exchange" would be required to have mental health benefits and cover those benefits at parity. This would expand the 2008 federal parity law into the individual and small group market in many states.

3. New protections for individuals that already have insurance coverage or are at risk of losing coverage. Insurance reforms included in the House bill would ensure that people with mental illness could not be denied health insurance benefits on the basis of a preexisting condition or could not be dropped from existing coverage due to their medical condition.

NAMI is encouraging voters to contact the U.S. House of Representatives and ask their Representative to support the HR 3962, the Affordable Health Care of America Act. Representatives can be reached by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Learn more by reading NAMI's overall principles for health reform or visit www.nami.org/policy/healthreform for more information.

About NAMI:
The National Alliance on Mental Illness is a non-partisan organization with 1100 state and local affiliates, dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. Dedication, steadfast commitment and unceasing belief in NAMI's mission by grassroots advocates have produced profound changes.

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"To all the activists, all the organizers, all the people who helped make this day happen, thank you for your years of advocacy and activism, pushing and protesting that made this victory possible," said Obama during the ceremony. "You know, as a nation we've come far on the journey towards a more perfect union. And today, we've taken another step forward. This afternoon, I signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act."

The act, part of a defense spending bill, gives the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence in instances where the perpetrator has victimized a person based on his or her actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability, in addition to race, color, religion, and national origin which are currently covered.

"I think God was smiling and moving with every stroke of the pen as Obama signed this legislation," Caldwell said. "I think passage of this legislation gives the country the opportunity to press the pause button to say enough is enough. No more violence."

Not long after Caldwell became bishop he was asked to preside at Shepard's funeral. Shepard had served as an acolyte in the Wyoming diocese and was a member of the University of Wyoming Canterbury Club, a Christian university group, at the time of his torture and murder in 1998.

Shepard's murder brought international attention to the limitations of U.S. hate crimes statutes at the local, state and federal levels. In 2007, Congress passed bills to reform existing hate crimes law to allow state and local governments more control and accountability over such cases. But the bill, added as an amendment to the Defense Reauthorization Bill, was dropped when former U.S. President George W. Bush said he would veto the defense bill if it included the amendment.

James Byrd, Jr., an African American, was brutally murdered in Jasper, Texas, in 1998, in what was termed a "lynching," by three white men, two of whom received the death penalty and the third was sentenced to life in prison for the crime.

In addition to including sexual and gender identity, the legislation also gives the Justice Department greater oversight of state and local criminal investigations where bias is involved, and makes grants available to fund training, prevention campaigns and to assist in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.

The FBI reported 7,624 single-bias hate crime offenses in 2007. Of those, 51% were race-based. Ranked second and third were those based on religion (18%) and sexual orientation (17%) in its most recent report on hate crimes.

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Westmont, NJ

During the last year there have been numerous media reports about imported Chinese drywall causing unpleasant odors, damaging building materials and causing illnesses. On Sunday an expert on building inspections announced at a conference in Orlando that the defective drywall is also full of bacteria and fungus.

According to some reports the defective drywall is in as many as 100,000 homes nationwide. Up until now most drywall problems were related to the presence of iron disulfide (FeS2 pyrite). Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbonyl sulfide, sulfur dioxide (SO2), and carbon disulfide (CS2) have also been suspected as culprits.

The building expert reported that the bacteria in the drywall is most alarming and isn't found in drywall manufactured elsewhere. According to the speaker the bacteria is feeding on organic matter in the drywall and that in return is producing the sulfur gases that have been reported to cause health problems and material corrosion in homes across the country.

EMSL Analytical, one of the nation's premier environmental and materials testing laboratories, has been actively involved in testing suspect drywall. EMSL Analytical developed a procedure that can accurately compare certain sulfur gasses contained in suspect drywall samples versus control samples. The laboratory can also provide complete bacterial and fungal analysis of any drywall samples to determine if microorganisms are present.

'This latest report of additional problems with Chinese drywall should make homeowners take notice,' reported Joe Frasca, Senior Vice President at EMSL Analytical. 'If you suspect your home was constructed with the defective material we suggest you have the drywall tested to determine if it is causing problems in your home,' he continued.

EMSL Analytical is a national leader in materials and indoor air quality testing services. For more information about drywall testing or other testing needs please contact EMSL Analytical at (800)220-3675, visit www.EMSL.com or email info@EMSL.com.

About EMSL Analytical, Inc.
EMSL Analytical is a leading, national provider of environmental and materials testing services and products to professionals and the general public. The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies.

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