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Elias Mossialos: The...
Elias Mossialos: The politics of R&D
Observations BMJ Confidential
BMJ 2017; 358 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j3756 (Published 16 August 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;358:j3756
Elias Mossialos, 56, is professor of health policy at the London School of Economics (LSE) and Imperial College London, inaugural head of LSE's new department of health policy, and founder and director of LSE Health, a research centre with 60 staff that last year won a major role in a pan-European project on using big data to improve health outcomes. He has developed the Options Market for Antibiotics, an incentive scheme to stimulate research and development (R&D), and his recent research on cancer drugs found that one in three licensed in 2003-13 produced no overall survival benefit. Unusually for an academic policy expert, Mossialos has experience at the sharp end, having served as minister of state for the Greek government of George Papandreou in 2011.
What was your earliest ambition?
To study economics and politics. I ended up doing medicine first, but I eventually came back to them by combining my academic interests.
Who has been your biggest inspiration?
The late Brian Abel-Smith, who taught me not to get lost in the detail but always to keep it simple and see the big picture. And his contemporary, Walter Holland, who is still academically active in his late 80s and has encouraged me to ensure that my academic and policy work always has the potential to bring real change.
What was the worst mistake in your career?
Getting too close to the political processes we academics should criticise. However, I've learnt that what could initially be considered a compromise, if it isn't prolonged, can become an advantage in terms of learning how politics works in practice.
What was your best career move?
Apart from joining the LSE and Imperial, it was helping to establish the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, an organisation to bridge the gap between science and health policy in Europe.
Who is the person you would most like to thank, and why?
My parents, for never opposing my life and career choices and always encouraging me. I try to do the same for my daughter.
To whom would you most like to apologise?
My family, for being away so much, particularly when working for the Greek government.
If you were given £1m what would you spend it on?
Half on scholarships for Syrian child refugees, and half split between the Childhood Trust and the Child Poverty Action Group.
Where are you happiest?
Watching the sun set over the sea somewhere in the Mediterranean, with family and friends.
What single unheralded change has made the most difference in your field in your lifetime?
The big data revolution. It poses social, ethical, policy, and medical challenges that, coupled with the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning, are forcing us to find new ways of thinking about the future of medicine.
Do you support doctor assisted suicide?
Yes: I believe that patients should have as much control as possible over decisions on death—care, treatment, and place. Not tackling issues of patient control with empathy and engagement leads to a loss of dignity, which increases requests for assisted suicide.
What book should every doctor read?
Night, by Elie Wiesel. One of the most poignant books I've ever read, it illustrates that—like medicine—books can "invite sorrow, others joy, some both."
What music would you like mourners at your funeral to hear?
Either Chopin's polonaise in A-flat major (Op 53) or Rachmaninoff's piano concerto no 2 in C minor (Op 18).
What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Eating a chocolate éclair in a cafe by the Seine.
What television programmes do you like?
I enjoyed The Fall and the recent French series Spin and The Bureau, and I never miss a Nordic noir.
An Omega watch, which my father bought in 1949 when he was released after being imprisoned for his political views.
What, if anything, are you doing to reduce your carbon footprint?
Not enough, because of extensive travel, but I recycle everything I possibly can.
What personal ambition do you still have?
Three main ones: firstly, to continue to make a convincing case for investing in stimulating R&D for antibiotics: despite the proliferation of initiatives, we still see significant fragmentation, limited funding, and dominance of national perspectives. Secondly, I'd like to establish a fully funded masters course for African policy makers, as I believe that capacity building is key to improving health systems. Finally, I'll continue to make the case for better medicines regulation, as markets and governments are both failing to tackle unmet therapeutic needs. Many big drug companies still spend more on advertising than on meaningful R&D.
Summarise your personality in three words
I'm an Optimist who sees the Opportunity in every Difficulty.
Where does alcohol fit into your life?
Usually after a bad day, rather than in celebration!
What is your pet hate?
Professional critics (particularly anonymous ones).
What would be on the menu for your last supper?
The menu doesn't matter as long as it's in Santorini, overlooking the caldera; or in Cape Town, up the mountain.
Do you have any regrets about becoming an academic?
I'm fortunate enough to have been a doctor, an academic, a politician, and a health expert—leaving no room for regrets.
If you weren't in your present position what would you be doing instead?
While it's tempting to think about "what ifs," I prefer to focus on the next project.
See other articles in issue 8118
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from nearly limitless possibilities of colors, sizes and materials to customize their rug.
the world of fashion design. The colors, choices, patterns and possibilities inspired her.
Temidra Willock, has a long-standing family history within the design and textile industry. She is a 4th generation seamstress and the first in her family to follow her passion all the way to Los Angeles, CA where she attended college for an artistic expression she so desperately loved.
VIVID Blueprint founder Temidra Willock. She spent 2 years as an associate designer before deciding it was time to leave and begin her vision, VIVID Blueprint in 2012. In the coming years, her designs were featured in several prestigious magazines including British Vogue, LUXE, and Hampton's Cottages and Gardens (HC&G). In the summer of 2016, VIVID Blueprint was the distinguished recipient of the people's choice "Innovation in Design" award by HC&G for her "Deep Sea Koi" rug design.
VIVID Blueprint has been a dream in the making both literally and figuratively. What began as a blurred vision has become something visual, something real, something VIVID.


Five design teams have been named to receive $15,000 grants to revitalize Syracuse's Near Westside neighborhood as part of the "Movement on Main: Designing the Healthy Main Street" competition. The initiative, sponsored by Syracuse University, plans to redesign the area around Wyoming Street to once again make it an important agent of the community's social and recreational life.
Stoss Landscape Urbanism (Boston, MA) with Höweler + Yoon Architecture, LLP, Nitsch Engineering, Inc., and Dr. Angie Cradock, Sc. D.
From the competition brief: "Wyoming Street is located within Syracuse's Westside, one of the first residential neighborhoods in the city. Through the efforts of the Near Westside Initiative (NWSI), a non-profit community development corporation, this neighborhood is being transformed from one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in the region into a thriving creative, healthy, mixed income community. The NWSI's mission is to combine the power of art, green technology and innovation with neighborhood values and culture to revitalize the neighborhood now known as the SALT district.
Syracuse University provided the leadership and $10 million in seed funding to get the project off the ground. To date 52 faculty from 5 Colleges and over 1000 students have been directly engaged in the neighborhood's revitalization. Home Headquarters, Syracuse's Neighborworks Corporation, works to revitalize the housing stock and increase home ownership in the SALT District. The Syracuse COE focuses on the district as a test bed for green technologies. The Syracuse University School of Architecture's UPSTATE: Center for Design, Research and Real-estate provides neighborhood planning and design services. The Gifford Foundation, a small private charitable trust, has been instrumental in ensuring proper community engagement and resident ownership of this revitalization process. Lastly, the SU office of Community Engagement and Economic Development manages the overall Near Westside Initiative with its vice president acting as the NWSI board president and employing the executive director."


I don't remember why my spoon collection started or which one was my first, but I have a thing about small Japanese spoons.
Some are cute, others are stylish and some I just had to have but I can't explain why.
I didn't even realise I had a thing for small spoons until my husband suggested I use them as the design for my new business card. So I entrusted my collection of spoons to a local designer and she created the most beautiful image, one that is commented upon almost every time I hand over my card.
What I do know is that I have a strict morning ritual when it comes to my coffee and my spoons! It's a short black (or espresso to the rest of the world outside of Australia) with half a sugar and I can only use one of my lovely teaspoons to stir and they mustn't be put in the dishwasher.
My collection isn't enormous and I don't seek them out nor do I buy every one that I see, but I do love my spoons. Sadly my lovely red teaspoon is starting to shed its lacquer – I have a sneaking suspicion someone has been putting it in the dishwasher!


Minimum of 4 skinless boneless yellowfin tuna steaks in a protective ice glaze.
Once defrosted consume within 24 hours.
(For conventional electric ovens adjust time and temperature to suit).
2. Remove required amount from all packaging.
3. Wrap loosly in foil.
4. Place on baking tray near the middle of the oven for time stated.; Shallow Fry - From Defrost. Defrost in a refrigerator for a minimum of 12 hours.
1. Pre-heat a little oil in a frying pan.
2. Remove all packaging and place the steak in the pan.
3. Fry over a medium heat for 4-6 minutes.
4. Turn occasionally, reduce heat if necessary.
Yellowfin tuna steaks (Thunnus albacares) in a protective ice glaze.
Although every effort is taken to remove all bones, some may remain.
Environmentally friendly and delicious, it thaws quickly and cooks up well, very tender and not dry.
I read a review and defrosted these and seasoned with pepper. Fried them and they were delicious. Very succulent and tasty. U do need the whole pack for 2 people though as they arent very big but very good value.
you get about 4 in a pack (individually wrapped) and each weighs about 100g. cooked them in a dry pan took about 3 minutes. Tasted fine and were dry.
This fresh, tasty salad is really versatile. It serves up nicely with the seared tuna we've used but if you're not a fish fan, grill up some chicken instead!
Put a twist on tuna steaks with this simple yet flavoursome chilli and lime butter.


In recent weeks we've heard a lot about the rising cost of tuition for Canadian post-secondary education and the enormous mental and financial burden facing post-secondary students.
Many reports suggest that upwards of 90 per cent of post-secondary students face high levels of stress and anxiety, mostly related to their finances, getting a job, personal relationships, and getting better grades. In fact, 55 per cent of students have anxiety about three or more of these issues and over 50 per cent of these students feel hopeless when it comes to solving their problems. Almost two thirds feel alone and have nowhere to turn.
Clearly, students need help and feel there's no one providing it.
We can all agree that youth are important to the future of our country: they are our future leaders, producers and consumers that will drive our economy and standard of living. However, there is also a tremendous double bottom line opportunity for organizations that choose to step up and help a generation of overburdened and stressed-out students.
In a recent survey conducted through our Uthink Market Research panel, we learned that a staggering two out three students will be loyal to brands they perceive as helping students.
This means that there are roughly 1.3 million Canadian post-secondary students who are willing to support a brand if that brand is willing to authentically show they are interested in helping them.
Helping students is now the number one engagement opportunity for brands who are trying to gain students as consumers or recruit them as employees. Investing in our youth in a genuine manner is an opportunity to create a true win-win-win relationship.
I want to emphasize the importance of building a genuine relationship with this demographic - students are smart and savvy, and are bombarded by thousands of messages every day. Brands must build trust with their audiences and be willing to support them in a genuine, meaningful way in order to build brand attraction and retention.
This can be accomplished by finding ways to give youth a voice/opinion about their preferences, providing meaningful scholarship opportunities or special offers tailored to their needs.
Organizations that step up and attract young customers in a meaningful way will help attract more business and more talent interested in working for them. Students win by getting the help they so desperately need, and we all win by helping our future talent build confidence and make a seamless transition into the workforce.


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Nike's new jerseys spawn a love/hate reaction
By Tess QuinlanJan 25, 2012, 7:51 PM EST
See these jerseys? Chances are you either love them or hate them.
And chances are you knew Nike was behind them.
The company's latest apparel splash in college hoops seems to have the same effect on people as the floor that bears the name of its owner's son. It's either love or hate, no in-between.
The Hyper Elite Platinum jersey will be worn by nine former national champions – Arizona, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, North Carlolina, Syracuse, the Baylor women and both UConn teams – in the next month or so, starting with UConn for its Sunday game against Notre Dame. They'll wear 'em once, then be done with 'em.
Nike basketball's global creative director, Tracy Teague, spun the new jerseys as sharp ("It creates a great canvas to then come in and embellish things") and cutting edge ("We don't push [new styles] fast enough") for today's kids.
Despite some irritated fans, Teague may have a point. The players don't mind the new look. From the AP:
"We definitely get excited about it. I think players care about the way they look," North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall said. "I know if I played football, Oregon would be in my top five no matter who I was."
Syracuse players had split opinions on their uniforms. Guard Dion Waiters is already a fan of bright colors, the only player on the team to wear orange socks.
"It's different. I like the 'CUSE' (on the front) and I like the big S on the back," he said. "It's kind of hot, the orange and the gray."
Forward Kris Joseph had only seen them on the Internet but didn't like his first impression.
"It's a different type of gray, but everyone went gray on us," he said. "I guess it's something new. I would rather wear the navy blue."
Maybe I'm trying to skew younger, but I like 'em. Everyone's gone gray lately, but the uniforms do look sharp, especially with the elbow sleeves.
Now I just wonder how they'd look on Oregon's court or any of these…
If Oregon's court spawned imitators, they might look like this
Heels, Spartans sport camo gear at Carrier Classic
Even Oregon's student section has its own Nike shoe

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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October 2, 2020 | Via Sky News
Trump and Melania Test Positive for Coronavirus
Donald Trump and his wife Melania have tested positive for coronavirus. The US president confirmed on Twitter that he and the first lady have contracted COVID-19, saying: "We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!" Mr Trump is now expected to self-isolate for two weeks while facing treatment for the disease, with his diagnosis coming just one month before the US election on 3 November.
October 2, 2020 | Via BBC
Lebanon Seeks Arrest of Beirut Blast Ship Pair
Lebanon has requested the arrest of the foreign owner and captain of the ship which brought material which blew up at Beirut port causing devastation. The judge leading the probe into the blast has asked international police organization Interpol to detain the two men without publicly identifying them. Some 190 people were killed when the improperly stored ammonium nitrate cargo exploded on 4 August.
October 2, 2020 | Via Al Jazeera
Indian Police Detain Key Opposition Leaders
Indian police imposed emergency laws on Thursday in a village where a Dalit woman was allegedly raped and killed, barring gatherings of more than five people after clashes erupted following her cremation. Opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who were on the way to Hathras district to meet the victim's family, were detained by the police.
October 2, 2020 | Via Reuters
Daughter of Belgium's Former King Wins Long Battle to Become Princess
A Belgian artist who has fought a seven-year legal battle to prove that Belgium's former King Albert II is her father secured a literally crowning success in court on Thursday when she officially became a princess. Belgium's appeals court granted Delphine Boel the title "Princess of Belgium" after the former monarch's DNA test proved that he was her father, Boel's lawyers said in a statement, adding Boel was "fully satisfied" with the ruling.
October 2, 2020 | Via CBS News
Subway Bread isn't Bread, Ireland's Supreme Court Says
Ireland's Supreme Court has ruled that bread sold by the fast food chain Subway contains so much sugar that it cannot be legally defined as bread. The ruling came in a tax dispute brought by Bookfinders Ltd., an Irish Subway franchisee, which argued that some of its takeaway products — including teas, coffees and heated sandwiches — were not liable for value-added tax.


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We would like you to prayerfully consider participating in our upcoming discernment process to join the Our Lady of Grace Parish Pastoral Council. Volunteering your time to serve on the Parish Pastoral Council is a generous way to serve our church community and wonderful opportunity to grow in depth of faith as you use your gifts of leadership and prayer for His work at OLG.
Over the past couple of years, the Parish Pastoral Council has adapted both the process for joining the council as well as the framework of the council to improve how we use the gifts and talents of the members of our parish. Please see the reverse side of this paper for an overview of the discernment process for joining Parish Pastoral Council, as well as a description of the role of Parish Pastoral Council member.
Please feel free to reach out to the Parish Pastoral Council Chair, Ginny Ogle, with any questions at 612-940-1273 or ginny.w.ogle@gmail.com.
Each spring the OLG community replaces several of its Parish Pastoral Council members who have completed their terms of service. In years past this has occurred through parish elections. Beginning in 2016, OLG started using a prayerfuldiscernment process like many other archdiocesan parishes. Discernment involves prayer and discussion among present council members and interested candidates, during which both groups learn more about one another, the role of the Parish Pastoral Council and the needs of the parish. Prayerful discernment helps candidates, the Parish Pastoral Council and the Pastor make informed and spirit-filled decisions in the best interest of the candidates and the parish.
Those will be asked to fill out a short, thoughtful application to help pray and reflect on the commitment to serving.
Finally, the OLG Parish Pastoral Council invites all who may be interested in serving on the council to attend a prayerful discernment session on May 16, 2017, at 6:30 PM in the OLG Dining Room. At the session, all interested candidates meet with current council members to learn more about their specific roles and responsibilities. They also will have an opportunity to share how they believe their talents can best serve OLG. Additionally, the spiritual process of discernment will help candidates develop a better sense of whether or not they are called to serve in this ministry.
What is a distinctive gift in our community that can serve the greater good of the broader church?
What in our parish community fosters your growth in faith?
What are you most grateful for at Our Lady of Grace?
The OLG Parish Pastoral Council, along with two parish trustees and the Associate Pastor, serves as aconsultative body to the pastor to further the parish pastoral mission. OLG's pastoral mission is to create a Catholic community centered on Jesus Christ present in the celebration of the Eucharist; a community that is guided by the Holy Spirit and apostolic teaching authority and traditions of the universal Catholic Church. The Parish Pastoral Council and the pastor work together to identify and evaluate the pastoral initiatives and policies best suited to grow OLG's four pillars of hospitality, formation, prayer and service.
The ideal Parish Pastoral Council includes a range in age, experience, parish tenure and talent. Candidates should be registered parishioners, faithful Catholics, willing to honor diverse opinions and able to compromise as well as think critically about a variety of issues.
Each member serves a 3-year term during which they act as a representative of the parish community as a whole.
Parish Pastoral Council meets, as a whole, 5 times per year from September through June.
Each council member serves one of two sub-committees to focus specially on important mission and ministry, as well as strategy of the parish. These committees may meet as needed between the larger Parish Pastoral Council meetings.
Mission Statement: To make Jesus Christ known and loved among Our Lady of Grace parishioners through an increased awareness of the value of prayer and conversation with God.
Objective: This sub-committee is responsible for helping the Pastor and Parish Pastoral Council provide the Parish and Parishioners with individual and communal opportunities for spiritual growth, through the development of a 1-3 year strategic plan and engagement of other OLG committees (i.e. evangelization, stewardship, staff, and liturgical).
Mission Statement: To facilitate the continued growth and sustainability of the parish through supporting the strategic planning and visioning of the Pastor and his leadership team.
Objective: This sub-committee is responsible for supporting the Pastor and Parish Pastoral Council in developing a 5-year strategic plan focused on celebrating the legacy of Our Lady of Grace parish as well as supporting growth and change which will allow OLG to flourish in the years to come.


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Q: Using php to count the number of uppercase letters in a string Using PHP, I need to determine if a string contains "more than one" uppercase letter.
The sentence above contains 4 uppercase letters: PHP and I
The count of how many uppercase letters is what I need. In the above sentence, that count would be 4.
I tried the preg_match_all below, but it only lets me know if any uppercase letters were found, even if the result is only one, or any number of occurrences.
if ( preg_match_all("/[A-Z]/", $string) === 0 )
{
     do something
}

A: Borrowed from https://stackoverflow.com/a/1823004/ (which I did upvote) and modified:
$string = "Peter wenT To the MarkeT";

$charcnt = 0;
$matches = array();
if (preg_match_all("/[A-Z]/", $string, $matches) > 0) {
  foreach ($matches[0] as $match) { $charcnt += strlen($match); }
}

printf("Total number of uppercase letters found: %d\n", $charcnt);

   echo "
from the string: $string: ";

foreach($matches[0] as $var){
   echo "" . $var . "";
}

Will output:
Total number of uppercase letters found: 5
from the string: Peter wenT To the MarkeT: PTTMT

A: if(preg_match('/[A-Z].*[A-Z]/', $string)){
  echo "there's more than 1 uppercase letter!";
}

A: You can do something like this:
if(strlen(preg_replace('![^A-Z]+!', '', $string)) > 1){
    echo "more than one upper case letter";
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Home > Long Term Care Insurance > 8 long-term care insurance myths
Find Affordable Health Insurance Now!
Please enter valid Zip Code.
Please enter valid date.
Do You Qualify for ACA Plans?
You may be eligible for a government subsidy if your household income is under:
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) offers subsidies based on your household income, family size, and Qualifying Life Events.
You may qualify if...
One of the life events below has happened to you in the past 60 days:
I got married or divorced
I had a baby
A member of my family died
I moved to another state
i lost my job
I started a new job
I lost my health insurance coverage
Your income is under:
$45,960 - Individuals
$62,040 - Family of 2
8 long-term care insurance myths
Barbara Marquand - Last updated: May. 23, 2012
Chances are about 70 percent that you'll need long-term care sometime after age 65, according to the nonprofit Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE). And it won't come cheaply.
The median cost of a full-time nursing home room is $81,030 per year, according to the Genworth 2012 Cost of Care Survey. The national median hourly rate for a licensed home health aide is $19, which would total $55,480 a year for eight hours a day of care.
Statistics like those make long-term care insurance sound like a no-brainer, but misunderstandings still abound.
Here are eight myths about long-term care insurance -- and the truth.
Myth No. 1: I don't have to worry -- I've got Medicare
Of all the misconceptions, this is one of the biggest, says Steve Casto, founder and president of Strategic Wealth Solutions Inc. in Omaha, Neb., and author of "Is Your Retirement Headed in the Right Direction?"
Generally, health insurance -- including Medicare -- pays for hospital and doctor bills but not for custodial care when you have a long-term disability or illness. Custodial care includes help with such daily tasks as eating, getting out of bed, toileting, bathing and remembering to take medications. Casto says he counsels clients not to expect a dime from Medicare for long-term care.
Medicaid will pitch in for long-term care expenses, but only after you've depleted your assets.
Myth No. 2: My spouse will take care of me
"A lot of people tend to be in denial," says Wendy Spencer, a Certified Financial Planner with Spencer Capital Strategies Co. in Arvada, Colo.
Although you may be able to depend on your spouse, it's something of which you can't be sure. What if you outlive your partner? What if you develop Alzheimer's disease and need around-the-clock supervision? What if you become physically disabled and need more help than your spouse alone can provide?
Myth No. 3: Everybody should buy long-term care insurance
For many people, long-term care insurance is simply out of reach.
"Typically, long-term care insurance is for middle-income people," Casto says.
Poor people generally can't afford the premiums, and the very wealthy may prefer to pay for their care out of pocket. If assets, other than a home, are less than $30,000 for single people and $80,000 for married people, they probably can't afford long-term care insurance, according to the LIFE organization.
If you lack adequate assets, you'll have to spend your own money and then rely on Medicaid, the federal and state program for low-income families and elderly and disabled adults, to cover your long-term care.
If you have assets to protect, you should consider purchasing long-term care insurance, unless you've done a thorough financial analysis and determined that you can self-insure.
Myth No. 4: The premium will never go up
No company guarantees premiums on long-term care policies will remain the same, says Charles Matt, a financial adviser with Sapient Financial Group in San Antonio. Insurance companies reserve the right to increase premiums through the life of the policy, depending on overall claim costs and investment earnings.
Myth No. 5: I should put off applying for long-term care insurance until I'm ready to retire
Many people wait until they approach retirement to apply for long-term care insurance, thinking it's best to put it off as long as possible. But Matt has seen this backfire for some clients. By the time they applied for coverage, they had developed conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, which disqualified them for the best rates for their age or made them ineligible for coverage, period.
"I make a concerted effort to get clients to start looking at long-term care insurance at age 50," Matt says.
Myth No. 6: It's nursing home insurance
Although long-term care insurance covers care in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, most of the claim dollars today are spent on home health care, Matt says.
Myth No. 7: The elimination period is a waiting period
Most policies have an elimination period, typically 90 days, before the policy will pay for services.
"People think this is a waiting period when you sit around and twiddle your thumbs," Spencer says.
But it works more like a deductible. The elimination period begins when you meet the policy's terms for qualifying for benefits and you start paying for services from a qualified provider.
Typically to qualify for coverage you must be unable to perform two out of six "activities of daily living" on your own. Those are:
Transferring (for example, from a bed to a wheelchair)
Maintaining continence
In many cases, you also can qualify if you suffer from a severe cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer's disease, that puts your health and safety at risk.
You can't just sit out the elimination period and rely on neighbors and relatives to help out, and then expect the insurance company to pay for services once the 90 days are up, Spencer says. You have to pay for health care services from providers approved by the insurance company through the elimination period. Then the insurance company will start paying.
Myth No. 8: The quote is too high. I can't afford it
Long-term care policies have lots of variables you can tweak to bring the premium down. For instance, you can reduce the daily benefit amount, the number of years of coverage or the inflation rider. Work with a good financial adviser to adjust the policy to provide the best combination of features for you.
"It's not an all-or-nothing situation," Matt says.
Covered California Enrollment 2020 -- Know its dates, eligibility, qualification and how it works
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0 Responses to "8 long-term care insurance myths"
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Ask The Health Insurance Expert
Can I still buy COBRA health insurance if I move out of state?
Yes, you may continue to buy health insurance under COBRA, but if health plan requires you to use a certain network of doctors, you'll be stuck with the old network...
Do I have to tell health insurance company that my wife is pregnant?
No, you don't need to contact your health insurance plan ...


text:
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Minted by the New Zealand Mint, these are Fiji's official silver Bullion Coins, with a $10 face value.
The Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata bissa), or locally named Taku, is one of two main turtle species of the South Pacific island nation of Fiji. Although they have a wide distribution throughout the world's tropical regions, Hawksbill Turtles are considered critically endangered due to human fishing practises. Taku grow up to a metre in length and a weight of 80 kg, although the heaviest on record weighed 127 kg.
The obverse of the coin features the coat of arms of Fiji, denomination, year and name of the country.
The reverse features a Taku with a stylized shell pattern swimming through the waters of the Pacific Ocean along with an engraved heading and the coin's metal quality and weight.
Country NZ
Manufacturer New Zealand Mint
Obverse Taku (Hawksbill turtle) with a stylized shell pattern swimming through the waters of the Pacific Ocean along with an engraved heading and the coin's metal quality and weight
Reverse Fiji 2013 - Fiji coat of arms - Ten dollars
Diameter (mm) 63.75
Legal Tender NZD 10
Taku (Hawksbill turtle) with a stylized shell pattern swimming through the waters of the Pacific Ocean along with an engraved heading and the coin's metal quality and weight
Fiji 2013 - Fiji coat of arms - Ten dollars
5 oz 2013 Fiji Taku Silver Coin Minted by the New Zealand Mint, these are Fiji's official silver Bullion Coins, with a $10 face value. The Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata bissa), or locally named Taku, is one of two main turtle species of the South Pacific island nation of Fiji. Although they have a wide distribution throughout the world's tropical regions, Hawksbill Turtles are considered critically endangered due to human fishing practises. Taku grow up to a metre in length and a weight of 80 kg, although the heaviest on record weighed 127 kg. The obverse of the coin features the coat of arms of Fiji, denomination, year and name of the country. The reverse features a Taku with a stylized shell pattern swimming through the waters of the Pacific Ocean along with an engraved heading and the coin's metal quality and weight.
1-10-11 Shiba Daimon Minato Ku
10F Shiba Daimon Centre
Tokyo Kantō


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Home Daily News Google Maps Gives 'Spin Tours' of Businesses on Mackinac Island
Google Maps Gives 'Spin Tours' of Businesses on Mackinac Island
Izzi Bendall
Visitors no longer need to take a ferry to visit the many unique and interesting shops on Mackinac Island. As of this week, 80 percent of the island's businesses can now be viewed with 360-degree virtual tours on Google Maps.
To create the "spin tours," Mackinac's Tourism Bureau collaborated with Novi-based LunaTech 3D, which sent three employees to capture more than 10,000 photos of the interior of participating businesses and along a 1.5-mile stretch of Main Street, between the ferries and the Grand Hotel.
"The plan was to help businesses update Web content to be more interactive," says Tim Hygh, executive director of Mackinac's Tourism Bureau. "We are excited to see businesses start to include these tools on their own websites in addition to the work LunaTech 3D has done with Google."
Among the 72 participating businesses were the Grand Hotel, The Original Mackinac Island Butterfly House, Pink Pony Deck, and JoAnn's Fudge.
Douglas Willett, CEO of LunaTech 3D, began working with the Google Business Views, previously called Google Business Photos, three years ago. His portfolio spans the state, with projects for businesses including Andiamo Detroit Riverfront, Zehnder's Splash Village in Frankenmuth, and Port Huron Music Center.
"This is a visual way to show (potential customers) exactly what you have to offer," Willett says. "With one click, a person can virtually be inside your restaurant or store."
While this particular project was on a larger scale than most of his projects — it took three days to shoot — at least one aspect of the island simplified the editing process. "We have to blur faces and license plates, (the latter of) which isn't really an issue on Mackinaw Island," says Willett, laughing.
Willett says he will return to Mackinaw Island this October to develop additional tours for businesses who have contacted him since the company's first visit and plans to expand the project to other Michigan cities in the future.
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DBUSINESS CONTACTS
Editor: R.J. King
Associate Editor: Jake Bekemeyer


Most elements of communication have moved in the digital direction. Video conferences that once took an abundance of cords and slow, unreliable dial-up connections to coordinate now can be done just by Skyping or FaceTiming someone at the touch of a button.
Businesses have had to adapt to the dynamics of this ever-evolving technology landscape, and many have found that their willingness to adopt video elements as a larger part of their marketing strategy pays big dividends.
The statistics don't lie. According to Forbes Insights, at least 75 percent of executives watch work-related videos on business websites at least once a week.
• Greet them where you meet them. If a potential customer or new hire is interested in your company, they likely are going to head to your website to find more information about you. Often, businesses have too many words on their home pages, undervaluing their most important online real estate, as well as the time of the person perusing the site.
Create a short, one- to two-minute video to explain who you are, what you do and why you matter, and post it to your homepage to tell your story. You can bet that video is going to make a much bigger impact on the person who viewed it than words on a page.
• Increase open rates with video. Chances are, if you have ever created and distributed an e-mail through an e-marketing platform such as MailChimp or Constant Contact, you know the value of open rates and click-throughs. You may have spent weeks compiling the content for your e-newsletter, only to find out that less than 15 percent of those who you sent it to actually opened it.
According to video marketing platform Vidyard, e-mails with a video call-to-action had a 53 percent higher click-to-open rate on average over those with no obvious mention of video. What's more, viewers were significantly more likely to buy the product or service highlighted in the video. Video works. Even a 30-second animated spot or live-action video shot from your mobile phone can make a huge impact on getting people to open and view your e-mail marketing messages.
• Spice up your trade show booth with elements of video. As with the other marketing strategies mentioned above, video tends to lure people to take a look at what you're doing. Even on a busy trade show floor – with distractions and noise galore – video can turn heads.
When designing your booth for the next round of trade shows, consider integrating an elevated display or even a computer screen with video that plays on a loop or can be cued for one-on-one interactions with booth visitors. Video often can explain what your company does in a clear, concise and personable format, setting the perfect foundation for lengthier in-person conversations.
• Pitch investors with video. Do you think you're sitting on the next big idea? Whether part of your start-up strategy involves knocking on the doors of investors you know or turning to the web to generate support through crowd-funding, a brief, well-produced video can provide the critical elements of your pitch for you and have people lining up to be a part of your company's initial growth.
Fifteen years ago, companies were trying to figure out how to establish their place on the web. Five years ago, they were integrating Twitter into their marketing strategies, and today, video is a key component they cannot ignore. The tips above offer easy-to-implement video tactics that any business can integrate into their overarching marketing strategies in no time at all.


Prepping for the SAT and ACT? Ace college entrance exams the first time with these easy tips and tricks!
• Use a tutor to help you target your weakest subject.
• Make sure you bring a watch, and don't linger on one question longer than two or three minutes.
• Answer the easier questions first and go back to answer the hard ones last.
• Use the process of elimination to give yourself better odds on each question. If you know two answers aren't right, that gives you a 50% chance of getting the right answer instead of only 25%.
• If you have to guess, the answer with the most information is usually correct.
• Never leave an answer blank. You should at least guess one of the options, because leaving it blank guarantees that you get it wrong.
• If you read the question and come up with the answer before reading the multiple choice options, this will help you avoid getting confused by "all of the above" or "none of the above" type of situations.
• Trust your first instinct—it's usually correct!


Having Eco tours in the National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries besides visiting the heritage sites is a worth enjoying activity. The Eco Tours in Ranthambore National park and Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary / Keoladeo Ghana National Park are very enjoyable and remarkable. Here you can come face to face to some of the spectacular elements of wildlife and Eco Tourism. Your trip will be memorable with some exciting experiences. Entertainment in natural environment is the mantra of Rajasthan Eco Tours.


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Unintentional injury in men: Trends and risk reduction
Nadir Zaidi
Bilal Chughtai, MD
In 2016, unintentional injuries were the third most common cause of death in men above the age of 20, ranking just behind heart disease and cancer (www.cdc.gov). Further, unintentional injuries are the number one cause of death among people between ages 1 and 44 years and cost over $70 billion a year. For urologists, decreasing risk for unintentional injuries is one of the most impactful moments of a patient visit.
Unintentional injuries are generally preventable and fall into two categories: nonfatal or fatal (www.hhs.gov). Men are about twice as likely as women to die from an unintentional injury, with the most common causes of fatal injuries being overdose, motor vehicle accidents (MVA), and falls. By contrast, the most common causes of nonfatal injuries are falls, inadvertent strike, and overexertion. We review the rates and trends of unintentional injury in men and provide simple recommendations for urologists—many of whom see a disproportionate number of male patients—to implement in their practice.
Yearly, an estimated 11 million men are treated in the emergency department for nonfatal unintentional injuries. The rate of nonfatal injury in adult men remained steady at between 9% and 10% from 2001 to 2015. Younger men had the most drastic decreases in nonfatal injuries, while men above the age of 45 experienced an increase in nonfatal injury rates, due to a number of causes including falls. This represents a large area for urologists to make an impact, as elderly patients are commonly seen for conditions such as nocturia, which is a risk factor for falls.
By comparison, increases in drug-related deaths resulted in an increase in the rate of fatal injury in adult men nearly every year from 2009 to 2016, when 98,462 men died secondary to unintentional injury. The rate of fatal unintentional injuries in men from 2001 to 2016 increased.
The rate of occupational injuries has steadily decreased since 2003, with overexertion and falls being the most common causes of nonfatal injury leading to disability. The industries with the highest rates of nonfatal occupational injury in 2016 were health care, construction, public safety, and manufacturing, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov). Industries with the highest rates of fatal occupational injuries include agriculture, construction, transportation, and warehousing. Occupational injury deaths were most common in the 45- to 54-year-old and 55- to 64-year-old age groups.
Men are more likely than women to use nearly every illicit drug and, as such, screening is vital (www.hhs.gov). Moreover, overdose is the number one cause of unintentional home death in almost every male age group (www.cdc.gov). Overdose deaths were most likely to be caused by opioids, heroin, and cocaine (www.cdc.gov). Rates of death were highest in Caucasians, followed by Native Americans and African-Americans (www.cdc.gov).
Next: Motor vehicle accidents
GU Cancers Symposium
AUA Annual Meeting
Malpractice Consult
Evolving Treatment Approaches for Advanced Prostate Cancer
Optimizing Treatment Decisions in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Filling the gap in BPH care
Nocturia: A Nighttime Condition With Daytime Consequences
Jan 15, 2020 Vol 48 No 1


Hackers target supply chains – don't be shackled with insecurity - Clark IT | Cyber Security. Cloud Services. IT Support.
Risks associated with this kind of attack have never been higher, given attackers have more resources and tools at their disposal than ever before.
Reports have indicated that over half of cyberattacks are delivered in the form of a supply chain and claim that over 60% of cyberattacks originate from entities that are part of the extended supply chain, or by external parties exploiting security vulnerabilities within the chain itself.
20% of businesses who responded to a recent survey confirmed they do not communicate with suppliers when testing their cybersecurity recovery process. But this could just be the tip of the iceberg and I suspect the true figure to be even higher.
We've seen time and time again that hackers seek out the weak spots and vulnerabilities to cause havoc. They are targeting business supply chains as the supply chain can prove be the weakest link and a way of making inroads into an organisation.
A good example, and a well referenced case, was Target in the USA. There, attackers backed their way into Target's corporate network by compromising a third-party vendor. The number of vendors targeted is unknown. However, it only took one, and that happened to be a refrigeration contractor.
This kind of example shows the reasons behind Central Government adopting Cyber Essentials as an entry benchmark for all suppliers of the public sector, including MoD, the Government, NHS and others.
The Scottish Government is leading by example on cyber resilience has ruled that all 200 public bodies across Scotland have to become Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus certified by October, which will trickle down to supply chains.
Businesses must perform the necessary due diligence when integrating a new provider into their supply chain.
Considering the risk associated with a supply chain attack, conducting a cybersecurity audit of your supply base should not be a box-ticking exercise.
Ask yourself this - has your business ever rejected a supplier on the basis of audit findings? Are you confident in your supplier's due diligence?
The assessment of cybersecurity procedures should be a vital part of any contractual agreement and organisations will need to ensure that they have insurance to cover their supply base.
Without these measures in place, cyber criminals could use suppliers as a stepping stone to gain access to their ultimate target - your business.
Have robust procedures to withstand the scrutiny of tougher security audits from clients, with the risk of fines under GDPR a particularly strong reason for firms to ensure a partner's security is in good shape.
Build security declarations into vendor/supplier agreements – Although suppliers aren't employees, you're sharing important information and data with them and very often this is over email. While you may be able to trust your own security set up, can you rely on someone else's? A data security policy should be part of a supplier agreement.
Use endpoint protection for devices – ensure that staff are only using devices that have been checked and approved.
Staff awareness – Provide cyber security training to all staff to ensure employees understand and identify possible threats. Obtaining the Cyber Essentials certification is a good way to get started.
Encryption – Ensure all business hard drives are encrypted.
Update – Ensure your businesses automatic updates are turned on to reduce the risk of running on an unsupported or out of date system that hold vulnerabilities.
Back up – See that your business has secure back up and disaster recovery service in place as do your partners that have any access to your business data.


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Q: How can I use a gradient as background in a Bokeh chart? I am trying to create with Bokeh a chart similar to the dark style chart in Excel. It seems to be lighter in the center and then getting darker.
To set the color of the background in Bokeh, you can do the following, found in the relevant Bokeh documentation:
from bokeh.plotting import figure, output_file, show

output_file("background.html")

# create a new plot with a title
p = figure(plot_width=400, plot_height=400)
p.background_fill_color = "beige"
p.background_fill_alpha = 0.5

p.circle([1, 2, 3, 4, 5], [2, 5, 8, 2, 7], size=10)

show(p)

Also, in the Bokeh documentation mentions the ways you can specify color:

Colors properties are used in many places in Bokeh, to specify the
  colors to use for lines, fills or text. Color values can be provided
  in any of the following ways:
- any of the 147 named CSS colors, e.g 'green', 'indigo'
- an RGB(A) hex value, e.g., '#FF0000', '#44444444'
- a 3-tuple of integers (r,g,b) between 0 and 255
- a 4-tuple of (r,g,b,a) where r, g, b are integers between 0 and 255 and a is a floating point value between 0 and 1

Based on the above it seems you can only set one color for the background.
Is there a way to set a gradient as the background color in a Bokeh chart ?

A: As of Bokeh 0.13.0 this is not supported. Background fill color can only be a single color.

A: As @bigreddot mentioned, the available solution at the moment for creating a gradient background in bokeh is to do it manually. Your example becomes:
from bokeh.plotting import figure, output_file, show
from bokeh.models import LinearColorMapper
import numpy as np

output_file("background.html")

# create a new plot with a title
p = figure(plot_width=400, plot_height=400, x_range=[0.8, 6], y_range=[1.8, 8.2])

# gradient background
x = np.linspace(1, 0, 256)
y = np.linspace(0, 1, 256)

xArray, yArray = np.meshgrid(x, y)
plotArray = xArray + yArray

color_mapper = LinearColorMapper(palette="Greys256", low=0, high=1)

p.image(image=[plotArray], color_mapper=color_mapper, dw=5.2, dh=6.5, x=[0.8], y=[1.8])

p.circle([1, 2, 3, 4, 5], [2, 5, 8, 2, 7], size=10)

show(p)

The output is the following: