Throughout its 121-year history, National Geographic has encouraged conservation of natural resources and raised public awareness of the importance of natural places, the plants and wildlife that inhabit them and the environmental problems that threaten them. In the past four years, 54 articles in National Geographic magazine have been photographed by iLCP members. Photographers whose work has appeared in the magazine and who are scheduled to present at WiLD SPEAK include Michael Nichols, Brian Skerry, Paul Nicklen, Steve Winters, Tim Laman, Christian Ziegler, Frans Lanting, Jack Dykinga, Tom Peschak, Klaus Nigge and James Balog.

Tim Kelly, president of National Geographic Global Media and president/CEO of National Geographic Ventures, and Frank Biasi, director, conservation and special projects, National Geographic Maps, will speak at WILD9.

"We are excited to be part of WILD9 -- a vital forum that is closely aligned to our own mission to inspire people to care about the planet," said Kelly. "It speaks to our ongoing commitment to environmental storytelling across all of our media platforms. We constantly challenge ourselves to take these kinds of stories and find fresh ways to share them with our many audiences. It's an honor to have supported some of the conservation photography showcased at WILD9 and WiLD SPEAK, and we look forward to future collaborations with iLCP."

"This year's congress greatly expands our focus on the visual and written media professions as catalysts and influencers to raise awareness of environmental issues and on their role in achieving conservation outcomes," said WILD Foundation President Vance Martin. "National Geographic is an ideal sponsor of WILD9 by virtue of its commitment to conserving nature and traditional communities, and success in bringing issues, emotion and information to audiences regarding the beauty and fragility of our planet."

WILD9's principal theme is the key role that wilderness conservation plays in mitigating climate change and conserving biodiversity and other ecosystem services critical to human well-being.

Please send requests for images to media contacts below.

WILD9 is a partnership between The WILD Foundation and Unidos para la Conservación and relies on the support and participation of many partner organizations.

The National Geographic Society (www.nationalgeographic.com) The National Geographic Society is one of the world's largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Founded in 1888 to "increase and diffuse geographic knowledge," the Society works to inspire people to care about the planet. National Geographic reflects the world through its magazines, television programs, films, music and radio, books, DVDs, maps, exhibitions, live events, school publishing programs, interactive media and merchandise. National Geographic magazine, the Society's official journal, published in English and 32 local-language editions, is read by more than 35 million people each month. The National Geographic Channel reaches 310 million households in 34 languages in 165 countries. National Geographic Digital Media receives more than 13 million visitors a month. National Geographic has funded more than 9,200 scientific research, conservation and exploration projects and supports an education program promoting geography literacy.

iLCP (www.ilcp.com) Its mission is to further environmental and cultural conservation through ethical photography. iLCP is a project-driven organization, with a vision to translate conservation science into compelling visual messages targeted to specific audiences. iLCP works with leading scientists, policy makers, government leaders and conservation groups to produce the highest-quality documentary images of both the beauty and wonder of the natural world and the challenges facing it. From poaching to global warming, from habitat loss to cultural erosion, from sustainability to biological corridors, the work of conservation photographers covers the range of threats to biodiversity and is a critical component in the conservation toolbox.

The WILD Foundation (www.wild.org) Founded in 1974, WILD is the only international organization dedicated entirely and explicitly to wilderness protection around the world. WILD works to protect the planet's last wild places and the wildlife and people who depend upon them, because wilderness areas provide essential social, spiritual, biological and economic benefits. We believe that intact wilderness areas are an essential core element of a healthy modern society.

Unidos para la Conservación (www.unidosparalaconservacion.org) Founded in 1992, Unidos is a nonprofit Mexican conservation organization that has actively promoted the concept of wilderness conservation in Mexico. Its working strategy combines the establishment of alliances with government, nonprofit and corporate partners with the promotion of a conservation culture through publications and films in a search of conservation solutions through specific action.

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WASHINGTON - The first people to paint their nails were the Chinese, around 3,000 B.C. The earliest typewriters were the size of pianos. The bathing suit first appeared during the Greco-Roman era, then disappeared, resurfacing in the late 19th century. Queen Elizabeth l owned more than 2,000 pairs of gloves. These and a myriad other facts are to be found in a new book from National Geographic, publishing this fall, that gives the intriguing story behind hundreds of customs, events and everyday objects.

AN UNCOMMON HISTORY OF COMMON THINGS (National Geographic Books; ISBN: 978-1-4262-0420-3; Nov. 17, 2009; $40; hardcover), by Bethanne Patrick and John Thompson, is a wide-ranging compendium that reveals the curious origins and far-reaching implications of things we take for granted every day. Who invented underwear? The sandwich? Sneakers? What ancient society came up with time-release deodorant, glitter eye shadow and pregnancy tests? Where did we get the custom of handshaking — and why did George Washington disdain it? Which tool was the first one added to the Swiss Army knife — and what particular need did it fulfill?

This delightfully different reference book blends entertaining text, colorful illustrations, handy timelines and peerless research to explore a wide range of subjects, from holidays and health to food and footwear to toys and transportation. Would you believe that indoor plumbing dates at least as far back as 2600 B.C.? That we can thank medieval scribes for punctuation, capital letters and the handy space between written words? Did you know the American front porch is an architectural tradition from Africa...that an early version of pizza was baked on ancient warriors' shields...and that the word "ketchup" comes from the Chinese "ki-tsiap," meaning "fish sauce"?

Many of the book's revelations run counter to widely held beliefs: For instance, Viking burials typically did not involve a ship set ablaze at sea...tall buildings were not the first structures to be called "skyscrapers"...the original wearers of "loafers" were anything but lazy...and fax transmissions were possible before the American Civil War.

The foreword is by Henry Petroski, author and civil engineering professor at Duke University. "In all the artifacts we read about in this book, we can see the creativity and ingenuity of our human ancestors. Everything was created, invented, and developed for a purpose: Everything is the result of a kind of everyday engineering.

"With its wealth of information and a great deal of food for thought, this is a book that will reward the reader with old memories of things past and with new knowledge of things of today. And like any book worth reading, it will change the way we look at the world and the people who inhabit it and how they themselves have changed it," Petroski writes.

AN UNCOMMON HISTORY OF COMMON THINGS is a lively and rich read for history buffs, pop culture lovers and all seekers of trivia or little-known lore. Whether dipped into at random or read from cover to cover, this quirky reference book will inform, amuse, astonish — and make one look at everyday things and traditions with a fresh eye.

Bethanne Patrick is a freelance writer and book critic who blogs about publishing as the Book Maven. She also hosts an online interview show for PBS affiliate WETA. She has written for The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, The Writer and People magazines and has authored several children's history readers. She lives in Arlington, Va.

John Thompson is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including "Dakotas," "Almanac of American History," "America's Historic Trails" and "Wildlands of the Upper South." His assignments have taken him to almost every U.S. state and have covered a wide range of natural and historical subjects. He lives in central Virginia.

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Mandeep R. Mehra, MBBS, FACC, FACP, Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation observes, "Nowhere is the threat of H1N1 more real than in cardiopulmonary transplantation. The ISHLT's Infectious Disease Council has developed what is assuredly the most comprehensive and clinically relevant direction for prevention and management of H1N1 flu in donors, recipients, care providers and family members."

Recognition of the novel 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, aggressive diagnosis and early treatment need be paired with active preventative measures to stem the impact of infection in the transplant population. This special advisory addresses issues relevant to cardiothoracic transplant candidates, selection of donors, recipient management and patients with mechanical circulatory support devices. Since transplant recipients are treated with anti-rejection drugs, the advisory provides clear directions for specific dosing of antiviral drugs and management of the background immunosuppression. Specific guidelines for evaluation and management of post-surgical transplant patients are also given, as well as recommendations for how and when to administer vaccines. On the donor side, the advisory provides guidelines for how to evaluate and treat donors so that organs can be safely used and not wasted. Finally, it provides specific guidelines for the healthcare teams managing such patients.

Writing in the article, Lara A. Danziger-Isakov MD MPH, Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital, states, 'Interaction with organ procurement organizations for organ selection must take into account emerging data on the use of organs from patients infected and treated for the novel 2009 H1N1 Influenza virus. Improved diagnostic testing with shorter turnaround times is needed in donor evaluation. Individual patient education, prevention measures and treatment strategies will also require attention to the local patterns of infection, availability of the novel 2009 H1N1 Influenza virus vaccination, and emerging patterns of antiviral resistance. Finally, efforts to contain and prevent the novel 2009 H1N1 Influenza virus from spreading within the cardiothoracic transplant setting can be accomplished through infection control measures.'

'This article is an initiative of the Infectious Disease (ID) council of ISHLT to provide timely practical guidance for cardiothoracic transplant programs facing a winter pandemic of novel 2009 H1N1 influenza,' comments Dr Margaret M Hannan, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Chairman of ID council for ISHLT. 'Evolving diagnostic testing with limitations due to prolonged turnaround time and availability are considered in donor and recipient management. Ensuring that the most accurate diagnostic tests are being carried out in a timely and systematic manner will allow cardiothoracic transplant surgeons to make informed decisions in 'real time' and avoid waste of usable organs.' Education of staff and patients in infection control and prevention is fundamental to successful management of this virus in the transplant recipient population.

The article is 'The Novel 2009 H1N1 Influenza Virus Pandemic: Unique Considerations for Programs in Cardiothoracic Transplantation' by Lara A. Danziger-Isakov MD MPH, Shahid Husain MD MS , Martha L. Mooney MD FACP, Margaret M. Hannan MD for the ISHLT Infectious Diseases Council. DOI 10.1016/j.healun.2009.10.001. Following advance online publication on October 23, 2009, the article will appear in The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, Volume 28, Issue 12 (December 2009) published by Elsevier.

Notes to Editors:
Full text of the article is available upon request; contact l.gruner@elsevier.com.
To obtain additional information from the ISHLT regarding the new novel 2009 H1N1 flu advisory for cardiopulmonary transplantation or to arrange an author interview, please contact:
Margaret Hannan, MD
Mater Misericordiae University Hospital
Dublin, Ireland
+353 87 917 4000 (mobile)
mhannan@mater.ie
margarethannan102@hotmail.com

OR

Martha L. Mooney, MD
Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
Norfolk, VA USA
+1 757-446-8999
mooneyml@evms.edu

Authors
Lara A. Danziger-Isakov MD MPH, Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital, Cleveland, OH, USA
Shahid Husain MD MS, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Canada
Martha L. Mooney MD FACP, Sentara Norfolk Transplant Center: East Virginia Medical Center, Norfolk, VA, USA
Margaret M. Hannan MD, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

Key points Regarding Novel 2009 H1N1 Influenza Virus
Vaccination

* Vaccination for both seasonal trivalent inactivated influenza and novel 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine should be given as soon as they become available.
* Live attenuated seasonal trivalent influenza virus vaccine (nasal flu vaccine) should be avoided in transplant candidates, transplant care providers and transplant recipients.
* Both seasonal trivalent inactivated and novel 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine can be given simultaneously in transplant recipients but ideally when vaccine is given separately there should be a month between vaccine administration.
* Both seasonal trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine and novel 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine can be given soon after transplant. However, the immune response of early vaccination post transplantation may only be partially protective.
* Vaccine should be administered as per manufacturer recommendations.

Donor Evaluation

* All potential donors should have nasopharyngeal swab and throat swabs done for novel 2009 H1N1 influenza virus testing prior to organ procurement.
* rRT-PCR is the preferred assay to diagnose influenza infection including novel 2009 H1N1 influenza virus infection.
* Negative rapid influenza detection assay does not exclude the diagnosis of novel 2009 H1N1 influenza virus infection.

About The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation
A forum that includes all aspects of pre-clinical and clinical science of the failing heart and lung

The Official Publication of the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation, The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation brings readers essential scholarly and timely information in the field of cardiopulmonary transplantation, mechanical and biological support of the failing heart, advanced lung disease (including pulmonary vascular disease) and cell replacement therapy; Importantly, the Journal also serves as a medium of communication of pre-clinical sciences in all these rapidly expanding areas.

About The International Society For Heart & Lung Transplantation (ISHLT)
The International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the science and treatment of end-stage heart and lung diseases. ISHLT was created in 1981 at a small gathering of about 15 cardiologists and cardiac surgeons. Today, ISHLT has over 2200 members from over 45 countries, representing over 10 different disciplines involved in the management and treatment of end-state heart and lung disease. Despite their differing specializations, all ISHLT members share a common dedication to the advancement of the science and treatment of end-stage heart and lung disease.

This multinational, multidisciplinary mix is one of the biggest strengths of the Society. It brings greater breadth and depth to ISHLT's educational offerings and provides an exceptional environment for networking and exchanging information on an informal basis.

About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

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But that claim has never been fully squared with the historical record, says R. M. Douglas, a historian at Colgate University. According to Douglas's research, forthcoming in the December issue of The Journal of Modern History, no such incident ever occurred.

Allegations of chemical bombings by the British erupted into the public sphere during the run up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Iraq's history of chemical weapons did not start with Saddam Hussein's gas attack on the Kurds, scholars and critics asserted. It was Great Britain when it controlled the region under League of Nations mandate in the 1920s that first used chemical weapons in the region to quell Arab uprisings. Many scholars went so far as to root Arab distrust of the West in Britain's brutal chemical attacks.

Douglas, however, finds that these claims - oft repeated in books, newspapers and political speeches - rest on very shaky foundations.

The first blunt assertion of British chemical weapons use in Iraq comes from a 1986 essay by historian Charles Townshend. In his essay Townshend refers to a 1921 letter penned by J.A. Webster, an official at the British Air Ministry. In Townshend's description, Webster wrote to the British Colonial Office, the overseer of the Mesopotamian occupation, that tear gas shells had been used against Arab rebels with 'excellent moral effect.'

Douglas's research, however, reveals that Webster was wrong. The army had asked permission to use gas shells, but had not yet employed them in the field. And contrary to Townshend's description of the letter, Webster's much-quoted reference to an 'excellent moral effect' represented 'the Air Ministry's estimation of what gas bombs dropped from aircraft, if used, could be expected to achieve, rather than what gas shells had already achieved,' Douglas writes.

In fact, shortly after receiving Webster's letter, the Colonial Office sought clarification of the bombing claim from Army General Headquarters in Baghdad. General Headquarters reported, contrary to Webster, that 'gas shells have not been used hitherto against [Iraqi] tribesmen either by aeroplanes or by artillery.'

Despite the evidence Webster's letter was wrong, it still became the basis for claims of British chemical use. From there the story mutated and spread.

'In some versions, the Royal Air Force is alleged to have dropped gas bombs from aeroplanes against rebellious Iraqis, in the course of what was euphemistically known as 'air policing,'' Dr. Douglas writes. 'In others, the British Army is held to be the responsible party, employing gas-filled artillery shells.'

Though the specifics differed, each allegation treated the incident as a matter of unassailable fact. Douglas's research suggests it is anything but.

THE WILL, BUT NOT THE WAY

Perhaps lending a measure of credence to allegations of British chemical use in Iraq is the fact that there were high-profile British ministers who very much wanted to use them.

But wanting to use them does not mean they did.

'[T]here had been two brief periods in 1920-21 during which the use of tear gas in the course of military operations had been the stated policy of the British Government,' Douglas writes. 'In both cases practical difficulties rather than moral qualms …prevented their use.'

Before 1920, the British War Cabinet had expressly denied requests by field commanders to use tear gas in occupied Mesopotamia. That changed in June 1920, when an organized Arab rebellion erupted. Winston Churchill, then War Secretary and a vocal advocate of nonlethal gas use, gave commanders in the field permission to use 'existing stocks' of tear gas artillery shells.

But at that time, there were no existing stocks of such weapons in Mesopotamia. The nearest supply was in Egypt and needed to be transported to the region. By the time they arrived, the rebellion was over and the shells went unused.

Anticipating renewed hostilities, a Royal Air Force commander sought permission in 1922 to convert the unused artillery shells into bombs that could be dropped from aircraft. Churchill signed off on the request, but was forced to rescind his permission just days later when the Washington Disarmament Conference passed a resolution banning the use of tear gas. The shells, again, went unused.

There is little doubt had the timing of these events been slightly different—had the 1920 rebellion lasted longer or if there had been time to convert the shells to aerial bombs—that British forces would have used their chemical ordnance. And that, says Douglas, may have vastly changed the course of history. Churchill had given authorization to use chemical agents without consulting his colleagues in the Cabinet, most of whom would have vigorously objected. Moreover, public sentiment against using chemical agents remained strong in the wake of German mustard gas use in World War I.

'[A]ny actual employment of these weapons would have triggered a public and political storm that might well have brought an abrupt end to Winston Churchill's career,' Douglas writes.

Despite faulty evidence, claims of British chemical attacks on Iraqis became a popular anti-war rallying cry 80 years after the alleged incidents took place. War critics often drew parallels between Britain's alleged gas attacks and Saddam Hussein's gassing of Kurdish separatists in 1988.

'The symmetrical appeal of history faithfully repeating itself no doubt accounts for much of the public and scholarly credence accorded to claims that the British used chemical weapons in mandatory Iraq, their inconsistency and implausibility notwithstanding,' Douglas writes.

The Journal of Modern History is recognized as the leading American journal for the study of European intellectual, political, and cultural history. The Journal's geographical and temporal scope-the history of Europe since the Renaissance-makes it unique: the JMH explores not only events and movements in specific countries, but also broader questions that span particular times and places.

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Biological Psychiatry is now publishing an article in which researchers evaluated and identified childhood risk factors for the development of future substance use disorders (SUD).

Dr. Shirley Hill and her colleagues recruited children with either high or low familial risk for developing alcohol dependence and followed them annually over an eleven-year span. During this time, they repeatedly evaluated a series of thirteen predictors that are thought to influence familial risk, including educational achievement scores, personality variables, self-esteem, and anxiety, along with specific neurobiological variables (P300 amplitude, a brain neuroelectric potential, and postural body sway).

They found that children with increased body sway and reduced P300 amplitude had an 8-fold increase in their likelihood of developing a substance use disorder by young adulthood, indicating that neurobiological variables are among the most important in predicting outcome. 'The P300 is a brain signal that is associated with the significance of events in our environment and may reflect an individual's ability to make optimal use of such information to guide future behavior. It is both interesting and important that the long-term risk for developing alcohol dependence can be connected to this relatively basic feature of brain wiring,' explained Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry.

Dr. Hill commented that these results are important 'in showing that risk markers for alcohol dependence and other substance use disorders can be identified long before individuals develop symptoms of these disorders. Better and earlier identification of those at highest risk makes it possible to develop targeted intervention/prevention efforts for these children, possibly enabling them to avoid [this] outcome.' In addition, uncovering these childhood risk markers aids in the search for genes associated with the development of substance use disorders.

# # #

Notes to Editors:
The article is 'Childhood Risk Factors for Young Adult Substance Dependence Outcome in Offspring from Multiplex Alcohol Dependence Families: A Prospective Study' by Shirley Y. Hill, Stuart R. Steinhauer, Jeannette Locke-Wellman, and Richard Ulrich. The authors are affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Steinhauer is also affiliated with the Veterans Affairs (VA) Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The article appears in Biological Psychiatry, Volume 66, Issue 8 (October 15, 2009), published by Elsevier.

The authors' disclosures of financial and conflicts of interests are available in the article.

John H. Krystal, M.D. is Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and a research psychiatrist at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. His disclosures of financial and conflicts of interests are available at http//journalselsevierhealthcom/webfiles/images/journals/bps/Biological_Psychiatry_Editorial_Disclosures_08_01_09.pdf.

Full text of the article mentioned above is available upon request. Contact Jayne M. Dawkins at ja.dawkins@elsevier.com to obtain a copy or to schedule an interview.

About Biological Psychiatry
This international rapid-publication journal is the official journal of the Society of Biological Psychiatry. It covers a broad range of topics in psychiatric neuroscience and therapeutics. Both basic and clinical contributions are encouraged from all disciplines and research areas relevant to the pathophysiology and treatment of major neuropsychiatric disorders. Full-length and Brief Reports of novel results, Commentaries, Case Studies of unusual significance, and Correspondence and Comments judged to be of high impact to the field are published, particularly those addressing genetic and environmental risk factors, neural circuitry and neurochemistry, and important new therapeutic approaches. Concise Reviews and Editorials that focus on topics of current research and interest are also published rapidly.

Biological Psychiatry is ranked 4th out of the 101 Psychiatry titles and 14th out of 219 Neurosciences titles on the 2008 ISI Journal Citations Reports® published by Thomson Scientific.

About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

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Heidelberg/Milan - Springer and the WINFOCUS Society are founding a new publication, the Critical Ultrasound Journal. This international, peer-reviewed journal will serve as the official publication of WINFOCUS (World Interactive Network Focused on Critical UltraSound). Volume 1, Number 1, will be published in October 2009.

The Critical Ultrasound Journal is designed for clinicians and health professionals using point-of-care ultrasound for possible critical decisions, interventions or diagnoses. It intends to reach clinical practitioners and scientists interested in broadening their knowledge in the fields of ultrasound practice, research, education, technology and networking. Addressing the global needs of patients, institutions, and communities living in out-of-hospital and in-hospital critical scenarios, the journal will publish reviews, original articles, short communications and case reports. Professor Michael Blaivas, editor-in-chief, will be supported by a global team of experts.

Springer Executive Editor of Medicine Journals in Italy, Carlotta d'Imporzano, said, 'The Critical Ultrasound Journal enriches our clinical medicine offering, adding a new international review to our well-established publishing program. The journal will be a comprehensive resource for all clinical practitioners and scientists working in critical scenarios and with critical patients. We are especially pleased to have the opportunity to work with an international board of leading experts and to partner with the WINFOCUS Society on this challenging project.'

Michael Blaivas, President of WINFOCUS as well as editor-in-chief, said, 'By reaching audiences around the world through Springer's strong marketing and distribution channels, we anticipate that the Critical Ultrasound Journal will play a key role in bringing ultrasound to the patient's point-of-care. This particularly applies to critical scenarios, such as disaster or remote settings, where this technique can make the greatest difference.'

Critical Ultrasound Journal will be published quarterly at Springer both in print and electronically on Springer's online information platform www.springerlink.com. The journal will include Online First™, Cross Reference Linking, and Alert services. All Critical Ultrasound Journal authors, via the Springer Open Choice™ program, will have the option of publishing their articles using the open access publishing model.

WINFOCUS is a leading scientific organization committed to developing point-of-care ultrasound practice throughout in-hospital and out-of-hospital critical scenarios. Its aim is to improve overall community healthcare by developing and fostering, on a global and multidisciplinary basis, ultrasound education, technological development, evidence-based research and international teamwork.

Springer is a leading global scientific publisher of books and journals, delivering quality content through innovative information products and services. It publishes close to 500 academic and professional society journals. Springer is part of the publishing group Springer Science+Business Media. In the science, technology and medicine (STM) sector, the group publishes around 2,000 journals and more than 6,500 new books a year, as well as the largest STM eBook Collection worldwide. Springer has operations in about 20 countries in Europe, the USA, and Asia, and more than 5,000 employees.

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The app takes NME's iconic rock photography to iPhones for the first time, allowing music fans to view and own some of the best exclusive photos to have appeared in the pages of NME on their mobile.

The app features a Kings of Leon gallery of 20 captioned images of the band taken by NME photographers backstage, on exclusive shoots and at festivals.

From the app, users can download the pictures as wallpapers to decorate their iPhones, upload thumbnail versions immediately to their Facebook profiles or save the images to their phones to keep or send to friends.

Anthony Thornton, editor-in-chief, IPC Ignite digital says: 'NME has long been renowned for its iconic rock photography. This iPhone app allows us to take those shots from the pages of the magazine to music fans' phones for them to use and pass on. This, coupled with NME's fantastic access to some of the biggest bands means the app will offer the very best music photography on mobile.'

Miles Ross, IPC Media's head of mobile development, adds: "NME has always innovated and experimented with new technology. The iPhone and iPod Touch are key platforms for music consumption, the Apple AppStore has extended this into content, and it is only right that NME be there to deliver to music fans on mobile."

The app costs 59p and has been developed by Umee using their unique Umee Mobile for iPhone platform.

Andrew Hawkins, CEO and co-founder of Umee says: 'We're excited to be showcasing the capabilities of the Umee Mobile for iPhone platform, and believe the NME app fills a great niche for music lovers in the iTunes store.'

The announcement follows the launch of the NME Radio app earlier this year. The app – which features an immediate purchase and download facility of music played on the station – reached number two in the UK iTunes (paid for) music app chart, the highest such chart position of any UK radio station app.

About NME
NME is the longest published and most respected music weekly in the world. Every week it gives its readers the most exciting, most authoritative coverage of the very best in contemporary music.

About Umee
Umee provides software and services to media businesses, making possible new forms of content distribution across social media and mobile platforms such as the iPhone. Since being founded in 2006 leading businesses from radio, Television, and publishing have selected Umee to share and distribute their content via iPhone, Google Android, Facebook and Twitter. For more information please visit www.umee.tv.

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Oxford UK – Elsevier, a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services announced today the launch of a new peer-reviewed scientific journal, Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology. The first issue was published in September 2009 and will be a primary forum for academics and scholars in the growing fields of graphical information systems, epidemiology, exposure science, and spatial statistics.

Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology will publish a broad range of topics relating to geospatial health methodology. The journal focuses on answering epidemiological questions where spatial and spatio-temporal approaches are appropriate to help advance our understanding of infectious and non-infectious diseases in humans. Veterinary topics will also be included. The journal places special emphasis on spatio-temporal aspects of emerging diseases (e.g., avian flu, SARS), development of spatial statistical and computational methods, and novel applications of geospatial technology (e.g., GPS, GIS) for shedding insights on exposure and disease processes.

The Editorial Board will be led by the internationally recognized scholar Professor Andrew B. Lawson, Division of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, USA.

'Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology is the premier vehicle for novel developments and advances in the area of geospatial health methodology,' commented Professor Andrew B. Lawson, 'In this outlet we hope to attract state of the art papers describing the latest advances in methodology in application to spatial and spatio-temporal epidemiology.'

Jane Ma, Executive Publisher at Elsevier commented, 'H1N1 is one of the world's greatest challenges for public health. It requires experts from a number of specialties to ensure this challenge is dealt with effectively. Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology uniquely draws together key research from across the medical, social science and statistics disciplines to address key health issues such as H1N1, Avian 'flu and cancer clustering in an effort to provide a more holistic approach to epidemiological questions and how space and time impact on these.'

# # #

About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

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RED BANK, NJ – October 14, 2009 - Exhibit Surveys, Inc., the leading provider of research, measurement, and consulting services exclusively for the exhibition and event industry announced today that Ian Sequeira, executive vice president, will lead conference sessions at EXHIBITORFastTrak, Atlanta, GA.

November 11, 2009, 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Selecting the Right Shows: The Critical Decision

Determining your event mix strategy is critical when making decisions regarding your show and event participation. This session will outline the process to help you make the right decisions. Specifically, you will learn how to:
• Develop your strategy around corporate objectives
• Identify the markets that represent the most potential to you
• Obtain key information from your customers and prospects
• Develop a universe of potential shows
• Obtain and analyze data that will optimize your participation
• Use a free ROI estimator developed for the trade show industry

November 11, 2009, 1:15 p.m. – 2:55 p.m.
Using Surveys to Measure Your Performance in Trade Shows and Events

Your CFO, CMO and Purchasing Officer are all demanding more than anecdotal information. Providing event performance metrics is now a MUST. This session will focus on post-event surveys that give you the data to make sound strategic and tactical decisions. You will learn to provide the return on objectives that your executives seek. Plus, you'll get questionnaire samples you can use right away. We'll cover:
• The benefits of measuring
• A typical measurement planning process
• Research techniques
• Measuring by Objectives: Map surveys to objectives
• Post-show attendee and lead surveys
• Understanding exhibit performance metrics
• Trade show norms (by industry)
• Solutions to problems determined via case studies

EXHIBITORFastTrak Atlanta 2009
MC2 Learning Facility
Lithia Springs, GA
http://www.exhibitoronline.com/exhibitorshow/fasttrak/atlanta09.asp

About Exhibit Surveys, Inc.
Established in 1963, Exhibit Surveys, Inc. specializes exclusively in conducting market research, measurement, and consulting for the exhibition and event marketing industry. The company has conducted research on more than 3,000 exhibitions and events and measured over 10,000 individual exhibits in all major segments of commerce on six continents. Its clients represent all segments of the event industry, including exhibition organizers, exhibitors, private events organizers, suppliers, CVBs and convention facilities. Be a knowbody® and visit www.exhibitsurveys.com or call 732-741-3170.

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Exhibit Surveys, Inc. and the Exhibit Surveys logo are trademarks and Be a Knowbody is a registered trademark of Exhibit Surveys, Inc. in the United States and other counties. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated.

Note to editors: To arrange an interview with Mr. Sequeira, please contact Marilyn R. Kroner, Kroner Communications, marilyn@kronercommunications.com or 303-478-3044.

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"The Complete National Geographic" will provide users new ways to explore the rich treasury of original reporting and stunning photography from one of the world's most iconic and best-loved magazines. In this archive, from October 1888 through December 2008, every printed page, including advertisements, has been digitally scanned, allowing users to leaf through electronic pages, search, zoom, scroll and print at a high-resolution level that captures the clarity and quality of the original publications. "The Complete National Geographic" can be ordered at www.completenatgeo.com or by calling (888) 225-5647.

Besides one-of-a-kind photography, the archive brings together more than a century of groundbreaking, unbiased coverage that has introduced millions of people around the world to the wonders of science, cultures and nature. Features of "The Complete National Geographic" include:

-Intuitive and user-friendly navigation that permits users to search by keyword, date, contributor and topic, and to browse all articles, illustrations, photographs and advertisements; a new Geobrowse function powered by Bing Maps that allows users with Internet access to search nearly 5,000 locations on a globe that are featured in the magazine's archive of articles and maps.

-Hundreds of the magazine's classic maps — consistently one of the most popular offerings to readers — digitized as part of the magazine's archive for the first time.

-Special "readlists," that compile favorite articles of National Geographic editors as well as some of its stars: Titanic discoverer Robert Ballard recommends specific articles by early underwater explorers that inspired him, and National Geographic photographer Michael "Nick" Nichols points to articles by field pioneers Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. Users will be able to upload and share their own "readlists" with "The Complete National Geographic" community online.

-A trivia game with more than 300 questions that test players' knowledge of subjects, including exploration, biology, botany, archaeology, the environment, conservation, geography, history, cultures, science, technology and weather. At the conclusion of each 10-question quiz, the user receives a score and links to articles that relate to the quiz questions.

-Bonus DVD featuring videos documenting the history of the National Geographic Society and National Geographic magazine.

"The Complete National Geographic" users will be able to add to their archive after purchasing the DVD-ROM or hard drive product by downloading annual updates on a subscription basis from www.completenatgeo.com.

This electronic archive has been designed and developed by user experience agency EffectiveUI using Adobe AIR technology to produce a highly engaging, intuitive and immersive application that encourages exploration and improves user navigation, browsing and content filtering.

Six-DVD-ROM Set ($69.95, TOPICS Entertainment Inc., ISBN: 978-1-4262-9635-2)
Hard Drive ($199.95, TOPICS Entertainment Inc., ISBN: 978-1-4262-9637-6)

About National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic magazine has a long tradition of combining from-the-field reporting with award-winning photography to inform people about life on our planet. In 2009 it won a National Magazine Award for Photojournalism and was nominated as a finalist in four other categories, including General Excellence for a magazine with a circulation over 2 million. In 2008 it won three National Magazine Awards, for General Excellence, Photojournalism and Reporting. In 2007 it won two National Magazine Awards, for General Excellence and Photography. Its Web site, ngm.nationalgeographic.com, won a 2008 Webby Award for best magazine Web site.

The magazine is the official journal of the National Geographic Society, one of the world's largest nonprofit educational and scientific organizations. Published in English and 32 local-language editions, the magazine has a global circulation of around 8 million. It is sent each month to National Geographic members and is available on newsstands for $5.99 a copy. Single copies can be ordered by calling (800) NGS-LINE, also the number to call to apply for membership in the Society.

About EffectiveUI
Founded in 2005, EffectiveUI is an award-winning, user-centered design and development agency that specializes in the creation and implementation of custom Web, mobile and desktop applications. Leveraging innovative technologies with expertise in user-experience strategy, design and development, EffectiveUI helps today's most respected brands deepen customer engagement through more exceptional software experiences that deliver competitive advantages, increase customer satisfaction and loyalty and produce measurable results. EffectiveUI has developed ground-breaking applications for organizations including National Geographic, eBay, GE Health, NBC Universal, Viacom and Discovery Channel and has earned the distinction of being named an Adobe Gold Partner and a member of Microsoft's Global 20 Agency Partners. www.effectiveui.com

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WASHINGTON -- In her latest book, published by National Geographic, world-famous marine scientist Sylvia Earle, a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, tells how 50 years of destructive -- and ever increasing -- oceanic change is threatening the very existence of life on Earth.

In THE WORLD IS BLUE: How Our Fate and the Ocean's Are One (National Geographic Books; ISBN: 978-1-4262-0541-5; Sept. 15, 2009; $26; hardcover), Earle portrays a global ecosystem on the brink of irreversible environmental crisis unless we act immediately. Time is running out, she warns, and nowhere is this clearer than in the seas, which cover three-quarters of the planet's surface -- a vast, unexplored water world upon which every living thing depends.

Weaving together anecdotes of her years of ocean exploration with the latest findings about the state of the seas, Earle shows how, since the mid-20th century, we've done untold damage to a vital system that has evolved over 3.8 billion years. For millennia the sea has seemed like an inexhaustible resource, but overexploitation has driven many species to the edge of extinction. Destructive and wasteful fishing techniques, pollution and global warming threaten everything from tiny but indispensable microorganisms to magnificent creatures like whales, tuna and swordfish.

-In the past 50 years, hundreds of millions of tons of ocean wildlife have been removed from the sea, while hundreds of millions of tons of waste have been poured into it.

-Ninety-five percent of some species, including bluefin tuna, Atlantic cod, American eel and certain sharks have been killed.

-Destructive fishing techniques -- trawls, longlines, rockhopping dredges -- not only continue to take too much, they have destroyed habitats and killed millions of tons of animals that are simply discarded. Each year, industrial fishing wantonly kills hundreds of thousands of marine mammals, seabirds and turtles and hundreds of millions of fish.

-Half the world's shallow coral reefs are gone or in a state of serious decline. In much of the Caribbean, 80 percent are dead. Deep coral reefs, thousands of years old, are being destroyed by new deep trawling technologies.

-More than 400 oxygen-deprived "dead zones" have formed in coastal areas in recent decades, and the number is increasing, reflecting changes in ocean chemistry.

-The ocean's pH is changing as a result of so much carbon being released into the atmosphere, causing seas to become acidic and corrosive.

"What is most troubling, perhaps," writes Earle, "is the profound, widespread ignorance about the ocean and its vital importance to everyone, everywhere, all the time. It is not just the fact that less than 5 percent of the ocean has been seen, let alone explored. Even what is known to scientists is not widely appreciated by the public, and certainly not by most policymaking officials."

Fortunately, we have not yet passed the point of no return in saving this vital resource. In this persuasive and passionate book, Earle offers solutions, actions we can take now to stem or reverse the damage before it's too late, because what we do -- or fail to do -- in the next 10 years, she says, may well resonate for the next 10,000.

The ultimate goal, Earle argues, is to find responsible, renewable, sustainable strategies that will restore the health of our blue world. These include smart aquaculture and smart seafood choices; plans of action to protect biodiversity and to mitigate and recover from the impacts of climate change, new technologies to map, photograph and explore the 95 percent of the ocean we have yet to see; and -- Earle's wish -- a global network of marine protected areas, "hope spots large enough to save the ocean, the blue heart of the planet." At present, less than 1 percent of the total area of the sea is protected.

"My wish is a big wish, but if we can make it happen, it truly can change the world and help ensure the survival of what is actually my favorite species, human beings," Earle writes.

About the Author
Called "Her Deepness" by The New Yorker and The New York Times and a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress, Sylvia Earle is an oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer. She is leader of the Sustainable Seas Expeditions, chair of the Advisory Councils for the Harte Research Institute and for the Ocean in Google Earth. Earle is a 2009 recipient of the coveted TED Prize for her proposal to establish a global network of marine protected areas. She has authored more than 175 publications and lectured in over 70 countries.

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