Aircel, Apollo JV to bring healthcare on mobiles

Through the 'Aircel Apollo Mobile HealthCare' service, users can get medical consultation over phone for Rs 45.

"Aircel will launch by Diwali this year for its users in Chennai and Tamil Nadu circles, and later expand it to other parts of the country," Aircel Chief Operating Officer Gurdeep Singh told reporters here.

Through Tele Triage, which is one of the service under the initiate, Aircel subscribers can call the Apollo physicians and paramedics to seek medical help round-the clock.

The companies, however, declined to comment on the revenue-sharing agreement between Apollo and Aircel. "This initiative with Apollo Hospitals Group, will bring a revolution in healthcare as it provides the best in medical care on mobile phones anytime," Singh said.

Aircel and Apollo will also offer tele-medicine facility (which allows patients to consult physicians over video for immediate health care) through Aircel Retail outlets and other retail stores from the first quarter of next fiscal.

Aircel has a subscriber base of over 45 million. "This first-of-its-kind initiative will help in taking healthcare services to the masses," Apollo Hospitals Group Chairman Prathap C Reddy said.

Health Officials Ready For Flu Season

Last year, there were two shots available — one for the seasonal flu and one for the H1N1 virus. This year's vaccine protects against H1N1 plus the H3N2 virus and Influenza B strains.

And unlike last year, experts aren't expecting any delays in the vaccine's availability. This year, 165 million doses are expected to be ready nationally, compared with the 114 million last year.

Vincent Sacco, immunization program manager for the state Department of Public Health, said the state should receive 1.3 million doses of the vaccine this season. He doesn't know how much has been shipped to Connecticut so far but says it is available widely in the state.

"There was really a push to get the seasonal vaccine out as early as possible this year," Sacco said. He recommends getting immunized as soon as possible. "It's important to get it before the disease starts to be transmited."

Besides the shot, a nasal spray is also available that protects against the same three strains. Unlike the shot, which is made from a killed virus, the nasal spray consists of a live virus. The CDC says the nasal spray is safe for anyone between the ages of 2 and 49.

International buyers see deals in Florida real estate

Well, at least Florida's struggling real estate market has been good for some.

Apparently, plummeting values combined with a weak U.S. dollar is making Sunshine State real estate a little more desirable for international buyers, according to a survey from the Florida Realtors.

Two out of every three Realtors in the state had at least one international transaction within the past year, and that's helped offset declines in home sales.

The National Association of Realtors and the Florida Realtors recently conducted a survey of Florida agents. A total of 936 responses were received about their experiences with International buyers.

Here are some of the highlights:

•Sixty-five percent said they worked with an international client in the past 12 months. One in five worked with two international clients, and 18 percent working with three or more.

•Half of the respondents said international clients accounted for 25 percent or less of their business; 15 percent said international homebuyers accounted for more than half of their business.

•One in three said that international clients were an increasing share of their customers in the past two years, while just under half noted that their share of international clients stayed about the same.

•Canada had the largest share of buyers, accounting for 36 percent of recent sales. Buyers from the United Kingdom accounted for 15 percent, and the rest of Western Europe accounted for an additional 14 percent.

Latin America, defined for the report as Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America, accounted for 16 percent. Specific countries with a small but significant share of sales included Germany (5 percent), Venezuela (3 percent), Brazil (3 percent) and France (3 percent).

Health Department Encourage Early Flu Shots

It's the first full day of autumn and flu season is fast approaching. Health experts say it's not too early to start making plans to get your flu shot.

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department says this year's version of the flu vaccine will protect against three different strains, including the H1N1 virus.

And they encourage you to get vaccinated as soon as you can because it takes time for the antibodies to build up in your system to offer you full protection.
Even if you had a flu shot last year, you'll need another one this year, health experts say.

Retail pharmacies like Walgreens and Walmart are already offering flu shots. Public health departments will also begin offering flu clinics soon.

Women's Health Research Improves, but Not Enough

A dramatic boost in research into women's health issues over two decades has helped reduce the effects of such life-threatening conditions as breast cancer, cervical cancer and cardiovascular disease in women, according to a study released Thursday.

The U.S. government-sponsored report also highlights some progress in reducing the effects of depression, HIV/AIDS and osteoporosis on women.

But there's also bad news. The study shows little progress on such health issues as lung cancer, which remains the leading cause of cancer death in women in the U.S. and still has relatively few screening and treatment options. The report also highlights unintended pregnancy, alcohol and drug addiction, autoimmune diseases and dementia as other women's health issues where little progress has been made.

Additionally, the study finds that, in general, research into life-threatening diseases has grown, but there's been less progress on conditions that aren't necessarily associated with high death rates but still negatively impact a woman's quality of life.

The report, conducted by the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, gives a mixed review regarding the state of women's health research. It also makes the case that while there have been significant improvements in women's health research over the past 20 years, more work needs to be done.

"Significant boosts in research on women's health issues have yielded measurable progress in reducing the toll of several serious disorders," said Nancy Adler, a University of California, San Francisco, medical psychology professor who led the committee that evaluated the status of women's health research. "Unfortunately, less progress has been made on conditions that are not major killers but still profoundly affect women's quality of life."

The study also highlights ongoing racial disparities. For instance, it notes that more white women than black women get breast cancer, but more black women die from the disease. The data suggests a need to boost women's health research on certain populations, the study said.

The study notes that, historically, researchers included fewer women than men in clinical studies because of concerns that women could become pregnant and that hormones fluctuations would complicate studies. Historically, researchers also held an inaccurate assumption that the symptom of diseases in men would closely correspond to what happens in women, said the report.

Health Department Flu Shots Include H1N1 Vaccine

his year's seasonal flu shot, scheduled to be available to the public in October through the Bernards Township Health Department, will include a vaccination against H1N1, popularly known as Swine Flu, eliminating the need for a separate shot, according to the township health department.

The federal Center for Disease Control is distributing this year a flu vaccine containing three strains of flu virus expected to be most prevalent through the upcoming flu season, said Cheryl Komline, health educator for the township health department.

The department has scheduled four clinics for locations where the vaccine will be administered by nurses from the Visiting Nurse Association of the Somerset Hills. The vaccine will be available for those age 18 or older.

Clinics are scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 13 at St. James Church; Thursday, Oct. 14, at the Chester Field House at Grove Street Park, Chester; Friday, Oct. 22 at Peapack-Gladstone Borough Hall, 1 School St. Peapack; and on Saturday, Oct. 23, at the Bernards Township Community Center, 289 S. Maple Ave., Basking Ridge.

The cost for residents of member towns is $20, and $30 for those who do not live in the department's member communities of Bernards, Bernardsville, Long Hill Township, Mendham Township and Borough, Chester Borough and Peapack-Gladstone.

Those interested in the vaccine are asked to consult with their physicians before receiving the shot. There is no charge to those with a valid Medicare Part B card.

Another change this year is that the CDC is recommending that anyone above the age of six months receive the flu shot, since H1N1 last year was more virulant in younger people, Komline said. However, those younger residents should seek to receive the vaccine from a private physician or other health care provider, Komline said.

Lose Weight with The Doctors Count-by-Fives Fitness Plan

Eat 5 meals a day

Research has shown that you increase your metabollism when you you eat 5 small meals a day, about every 2 to 3 hours, to keep your metabolism burning. It is important to control your portion size on these meals, a rule of thumb is that the entree is the size of your fist. When you control what goes into your body, you can control how you look and feel. Paired with exercise, you'll be fitting into your skinny jeans in no time and more importantly, feeling great.

10 Minutes of Warm Up

Cold muscles are more susceptible to injury and strain. Ten minutes of warm up and stretching can prepare your muscles for the workout.

15 Reps with Weights

If your goal is better muscle tone and more lean muscle tissue, you want to do around 15 reps of each exercise. Adjust your weights accordingly so that you can complete 15 reps without straining.

20 Minutes of Cardio

For many of us this is the hardest component of fitness, cardio is often boring and repetitive. However, this is where the rewards come in later and is a very effective way to burn calories and improve your health. According to the fitness trainer Nik Herold, alternating between high-intensity workouts and moderate levels will jump start metabolism and push muscles while offering recovery which will ensure maximum results. The interval cardio presented on The Doctors showed 1 minute of intense cardio and then backing off for 2 minutes at a more moderate pace... continuing the process for a total of 20 minutes.

“Twenty minutes of [high-intensity] interval cardio training is nine times more effective at burning fat than if you did an hour of cardio training,” Nik says.

Health Reform - The Early Benefits

Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau reported the number of people without health insurance shot up by another 4.4 million for a total of 50.7 million people. That's the biggest jump in a year ever, and it's a dramatic reminder of why we need health reform.

But the news also reminds us that we now have a new health reform law that is currently helping people get coverage and providing some important new protections. The next wave of reforms is coming up this week on September 23, the six-month anniversary of the law's passage.

Though it's far from perfect, the health reform law points us in the right direction. If you examine what's really in the law, there are many good provisions that help a lot of people. Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about:

Health insurers have a new set of rules. And it's high time. They won't be able to cancel your coverage if you get sick, impose financial barriers to emergency care, put a lifetime dollar limit on your coverage, or deny coverage to children under age 19 who have pre-existing conditions. They also have to begin to tell you in plain English what's covered and not covered, what they'll pay for specific services, and what rights you have to appeal their decisions. And, already, there are new tools that let you compare health plans and policies in every state in ways you couldn't (and insurers didn't want you to) in the past. You can check out these comparisons at healthcare.gov.

The law preserves job-based coverage. If you get health insurance through your job, your coverage will likely remain pretty much the same, except for some added consumer protections. For example, over time, insurers have to improve the procedures by which you can appeal coverage denials. At the same time, some small businesses get a leg up. Starting this year, those with up to 25 full-time workers and average wages under $50,000 per worker are eligible for tax credits of up to 35% of premium costs for two years. Big businesses get help, too. Those that provide coverage to early retirees aged 55 to 64 can get a government subsidy if they preserve that coverage until 2014.

Cedar Shopping Centers buys 5 properties

Cedar Shopping Centers Inc. and RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust will buy five properties in three states for roughly $92 million.

The deal, made under an existing joint venture between Cedar and RioCan, will be funded with a mix of loans and cash.

Four of the properties are anchored by Giant Food Stores supermarkets. Three of the properties are located in Pennsylvania, one is in Maryland and another is in Virginia.

Dean Graziosi Creates New Breed of Real Estate Entrepreneurs

The collapse of the real estate market is creating a new way of thinking for real estate entrepreneurs across the United States. The money is no longer going to "real estate investors." It's going to a new breed of entrepreneurs called- "real estate marketers."

Many entrepreneurs are learning this new investment strategy from books written by real estate investor, Dean Graziosi, or from "Dean's Real Estate Success Academy." The new class of entrepreneurs are practicing a simple approach in an industry that was once extremely complex.

The latest property statistics show that roughly 30 percent of all real estate sales involve cash deals. Many of these new real estate investors are professionals, like dentists, lawyers and working mothers who no longer want to invest in the stock market. "Real Estate Marketers" are helping these cash buyers find the best properties at the best prices in cities across America, and profiting along the way.

Carol Stinson enrolled in "Dean's Real Estate Success Academy" two years ago after her husband's business began failing. At the time, her family was close to losing their home to foreclosure. Since then, Carol has rehabbed two properties and closed on 22 deals. She's expected to close on four properties in October 2010, earning more than $100,000 in only two years.

Healthcare Costs to Increase by 10.5-11% in 2011, Partly Due to Reform

Health insurers expect healthcare costs to increase by 10.5-11 percent, with the health care reform law projected to add 2-5 percent over the next three years, according to a survey by Aon Consulting.

To adapt to the long-term cost impact of health reform, many employers are taking about strengthening employee wellness and prevention programs and adopting best practices in care delivery, Aon Consulting said.

In the survey, costs are projected to increase by 10.5 percent for HMOs, 10.6 percent for point of service plans, 10.7 percent for PPOs and 11 percent for consumer-driven plans. These findings are slightly higher than the year before.

Prescription drug costs are expected to rise by 8.4 percent, compared to 9.3 percent in the spring of 2009, and specialty pharmacy rates by 14 percent, versus 13.2 percent a year ago.

Increases for seniors are projected to be 7.5 percent for Medicare supplement plans and 6.7 percent for Medicare Advantage plans, up from 6.6 percent and down from 7.3 percent, respectively, in the year before.

Teachers Retirement System of Texas Joins USAA Real Estate Co. in the US Government Building Fund, LLC

USAA Real Estate Company is pleased to announce the closing of Teachers Retirement System of Texas ("TRST") into the US Government Building Fund, LLC. This commitment together with USAA and other investments by large foreign and domestic pension plans and insurance companies now brings the total equity commitments for the Fund to $546 million.

US Government Building Fund, LLC has begun to assemble a geographically diverse portfolio of properties and provides attractive, risk-adjusted returns generated by the acquisition and operation of buildings leased to federal and state governments. The Fund continues to target Class A core assets across the U.S. with the total size of the Fund expected to exceed $1 Billion.

"We are very pleased to have TRST as a co-investment partner. Together with TRST and our other partners, we have pooled our resources to generate a very large and significant portfolio which we feel provides excellent risk adjusted returns," states Pat Duncan, Chairman and CEO of real estate operations and investments for USAA Real Estate Company. "This commitment by TRST marks the second investment with USAA in the past few years and we look forward to more opportunities in the future."

Shopping is 'like watching porn'

Consumers offered discounts or or other promotions on a range of consumer goods showed a mental response resembling that of sexual arousal, the researchers found

Having wired up 50 volunteers, the scientists from the University of Westminster monitored their eye movements and emotional responses to the products and graded them on a scale of one to ten.

A high of ten is the equivalent to severe trauma which is rarely seen and could be dangerous. But a score of between five and seven is the kind of excitement a body has to erotic images such as pornography. One Marmite promotion, to get a free audiobook featuring the children's character Horrid Henry, registered a scored of up to 5.8 among the consumers.

Others including a discount couple for Cravendale milk and a Wallace & Gromit free gift with Kingsmill bread also scored particularly highly among the early results.

The research has been commissioned by The Institute of Promotional Marketing and is yet to be completed, it was revealed in trade journal The Grocer.

But the early results suggest the ones which get shoppers most excited in the tests have also been among the most successful commercially.

Colin Harper of the Institute said: "It's early days but these results indicate a correlation between high emotional response and sales uplift."

But the problem has often been to get consumers to buy a product after the promotion has ended, he added, and the research hopes to find out why that happens.

Shopping is 'like watching porn'

Consumers offered discounts or or other promotions on a range of consumer goods showed a mental response resembling that of sexual arousal, the researchers found

Having wired up 50 volunteers, the scientists from the University of Westminster monitored their eye movements and emotional responses to the products and graded them on a scale of one to ten.

A high of ten is the equivalent to severe trauma which is rarely seen and could be dangerous. But a score of between five and seven is the kind of excitement a body has to erotic images such as pornography. One Marmite promotion, to get a free audiobook featuring the children's character Horrid Henry, registered a scored of up to 5.8 among the consumers.

Others including a discount couple for Cravendale milk and a Wallace & Gromit free gift with Kingsmill bread also scored particularly highly among the early results.

The research has been commissioned by The Institute of Promotional Marketing and is yet to be completed, it was revealed in trade journal The Grocer.

But the early results suggest the ones which get shoppers most excited in the tests have also been among the most successful commercially.

Colin Harper of the Institute said: "It's early days but these results indicate a correlation between high emotional response and sales uplift."

But the problem has often been to get consumers to buy a product after the promotion has ended, he added, and the research hopes to find out why that happens.

U.S. Rebukes Health Insurers

The Obama administration on Thursday told health insurers that it will track those who enact "unjustified" rate increases linked to the health overhaul and may block those companies from a new marketplace for insurance coverage.

Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, issued the warning in a letter to Karen Ignagni, the insurance industry's top lobbyist.

Ms. Sebelius said some insurers were notifying enrollees that their insurance premiums will increase next year as a result of the law's new benefits.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that some carriers are asking for total premium hikes topping 20% starting this month, and the carriers are attributing one to nine percentage points of the increases to new benefit mandates in the law.

"There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases," Ms. Sebelius wrote. "We will not stand idly by as insurers blame their premium hikes and increased profits on the requirement that they provide consumers with basic protections."

Equity One buys 3 Fla. shopping centers for $64.7M

Equity One has purchased three Florida shopping centers for $64.7 million, the company said Thursday.

Equity One Inc. said the acquisitions fit with its plan to invest in certain markets with low rents.

The shopping mall developer and operator said it bought Country Walk Plaza in Miami Dade-County for about $27.8 million and West Bird Plaza, also in Miami Dade, for $17.6 million. Pablo Plaza, in Jacksonville, Fla., was acquired for $19.3 million.

Equity One owned or had interests in 185 properties, including 171 shopping centers, as of June 30.

Pediatrics Group Urges Flu Shots for All Health-Care Workers

A group representing America's pediatricians is urging that flu shots be mandatory for all U.S. health-care workers in order to protect patients.

While many organizations have used voluntary programs in an effort to improve coverage, flu vaccination rates among health-care workers remain unacceptably low, said the members of the Committee on Infectious Diseases at the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"Mandatory influenza immunization for all health-care personnel is ethically justified, necessary, and long overdue to ensure patient safety," they wrote in the AAP policy statement, which will appear in the October issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Immunization rates of 80 percent or higher are needed to achieve the "herd immunity" required to have a major impact of flu transmission by health-care workers, but current rates of flu vaccination for this group remain near 40 percent, the authors said.

They noted that mandatory immunization for health-care workers is not unusual. For example, many medical facilities require specific vaccines and a tuberculin skin test as conditions of employment or to be allowed to work in specific areas of an institution.

Medical and religious exemptions to mandatory flu vaccination can be granted on an individual basis, the statement authors suggested.

They offered a number of examples of the effectiveness of mandatory flu vaccination policies. The Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle achieved a 99 percent compliance rate after it made influenza vaccination mandatory in 2005. The compliance rate was 100 percent after the U.S. National Institutes of Health Clinical Center made flu vaccination mandatory for employees who had contact with patients.

Swine flu less severe, but still around

A Severna Park school got big headlines and a thorough cleaning after a family fell ill. Drug companies scrambled to create a vaccine, and health workers rushed to give people the shot.

Before all but disappearing this spring, swine flu claimed 45 lives in Maryland, and accounted for 1,100 hospitalizations.

But now, swine flu is practically a distant memory.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization declared an end to the global pandemic of the virus, which officially is called H1N1.

"The new H1N1 virus has largely run its course," Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO's director-general, said in making the announcement on Aug. 10.

But, she warned, that doesn't mean H1N1 is gone for good.

It turns out that H1N1 may be turning into yet another strain of flu that circulates during flu season.

"It's kind of run its course. Since we have some immunity in the population, it turns into any other seasonal influenza," said Dr. Kelly Russo, acting deputy county health officer.

The flu vaccine for the upcoming flu season combats three strains of flu, one of which is H1N1, said Frances B. Phillips, deputy secretary for the state Department of Health and Human Services.

H1N1 is one of the strains making people sick right now in the Southern Hemisphere, which is currently in its flu season, Phillips said.

The H1N1 strain is still worrisome for the same reasons it freaked out so many people when it showed up last year: It hits young children the hardest.

"This is a virus that affects young people more severely," Phillips said.

That's why it's important for children and adults alike to get vaccinated against the flu, either through a shot or the nasal spray, she said.

For the first time, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that every American - of all ages, whether healthy or with medical problems - should get the flu vaccine.

Also, children ages 6 months to 8 years should get two flu shots the first year they're vaccinated. Kids who got only one shot last year and didn't get the H1N1 vaccine should get two shots this year, according to the CDC.

Parents unsure of their child's previous shot status should go ahead and get two shots this year, Russo said.

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust Tops $31.72: Enters New Trading Range (WRE)

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust traded in a range yesterday that spanned from a low of $31.66 to a high of $32.19. Yesterday's high of the day pierced the 3-day high of $31.72 on volume of 381,000 shares.
Shares of Washington Real Estate Investment Trust have been range bound for the past 3-days between a high of $31.72 and a low of $30.39 and have traded with a 30-day average daily volume of 496,000 shares.
Look for shares of WRE to trade within a new higher trading range with support at $31.72 and move along with its peers in the REIT- Diversified SmarTrend industry.
SmarTrend is bullish on shares of Washington Real Estate Investment Trust and our subscribers were alerted to Buy on July 26, 2010 at $30.16. The stock has risen 6% since the alert was issued.

How spas promote sleep health programs

IN OUR fast-paced world, we try to squeeze in too much in a day that we lose sight of the importance of getting enough sleep. Healthy sleep is just as important as good nutrition and exercise
that is essential to our well-being for optimal daily performance both mentally and physically.

Lack of sleep is a major health concern, it can adversely affect the brain and cognitive function. Other effects of sleep deprivation include migraines, chronic pains and the obvious tie-in to obesity as chronic sleepiness makes rigorous physical activities unlikely. Not to mention being cranky and irritable.

We all assume that sleeping just comes naturally. Not so for many.

According to the survey published by Spa Finder: 80 percent of the people surveyed have trouble sleeping; Only 20 percent said they get eight hours of sleep; 27 percent, six hours or less; and 12 percent, five hours or less.

It is disturbing to note that 52 percent of the respondents even use prescribed and/or over-the-counter sleeping pills.

When asked to name the primary reason for their sleep problems, the largest bloc of respondents cited stress. Among other reasons are poor sleep habits and busy schedule.

Tiger Woods Buys Real Estate in Jupiter Island, Florida with help from $54 Million Mortgage

Pro Golfer Tiger Woods, has been rumored to be looking at real estate in New York City and parts of Florida since his divorce settlement with Swedish Supermodel Elin Nordegren was resolved on August 22nd.

It looks as though the new bachelor has found the ultimate bachelor’s pad in Jupiter Island, which is a town in Southeast Florida. The new piece of real estate that Tiger has purchased, will partially be paid for with a $54 million mortgage that he filed for on August 27th. Tiger plans on paying off the mortgage by 2016 according to reports.

Jupiter Island, Florida is a very small town with a population under 800. It is on a barrier island, and is known as a place where a lot of wealthy people reside. The per capita income is the 2nd highest out of any other place in the United States.

Also living in Jupiter Island are fellow golfers Nick Price and Gary Player. They are joined by other notable names such as Celine Dion, Nelson Doubleday, Alan Jackson, and Burt Reynolds. Whether Tiger will make this his main home, or just a seasonal place to stay is not known.