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Business, Electronics, Technology

Fulham Introduces Universal Voltage Version of Integrated DirectAC LED Engine and Retrofit Kit

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New Universal Voltage DirectAC LED Features Integrated Driver and is Suitable for Open and Closed Luminaires With or Without Lenses.

Hawthorne, CA, USA — Fulham Co., Inc., a leading supplier of lighting sub-systems and electronics for commercial and specialty applications, today announced the release of universal voltage versions of its DirectAC direct-drive LED units. The DirectAC LED Engines were released earlier this year in a 120V and with this product release, the same low-profile, self-contained LED engine with integrated driver is now available in a new unit that can support power ratings from 120 to 277 volts.

The DirectAC LED Engine was designed with the driver integrated on the circuit board, resulting in a cost-efficient, highly reliable lighting solution suitable for use in wall sconces or ceiling luminaires, either as new lighting installations or retrofits. The integrated LED driver makes for an extremely low profile, and now with universal voltage support, the same unit can be installed in virtually any setting. The Universal DirectAC LED Engine is suitable for open and enclosed luminaires, and luminaires with plastic and glass lenses.

“More of our customers are working on large construction and retrofit projects with multiple luminaire types, so we are seeing more demand for one-size-fits-all LED light kits,” said Edwin Reyes, Product Director, LED Light Sources, for Fulham. “The Universal DirectAC LED Engine is designed to provide a single, self-contained, low-profile lighting solution that can be installed anywhere in five to 10 minutes.”

The DirectAC LED Engines are available in 10, 15W, 23W, and 34W round configurations as well as a 15W, 4 by 7-inch rectangular configuration. The DirectAC LED Engines offer a lumen maintenance of L70>54,000 hours, with a color consistency of 3 SDCM and a variety of color temperatures with an 80 CRI up to 90 CRI, making them ideal for replacing fluorescents. The units are leading/trailing edge dimmable from 100 to 10 percent. To reduce flicker, the DirectAC Engines have additional circuitry for use with 50/60 Hz power lines; flicker is below 30 percent when operated at line voltage meeting the CEC requirement for low flicker.

All units are suitable for installation in dry and damp locations, indoor or outdoor. The units are cURus, cULus Classified and ENERGY STAR® Luminaire 2.0 listed so they qualify for most rebate programs.

The Universal DirectAC LED Engines are available from Fulham locations worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.fulham.com.

About Fulham
Fulham Co., Inc. is a leading global provider of intelligent, socially-conscious sustainable commercial lighting components, sub-systems, and electronics for use in commercial general lighting, parking structure, signage, horticultural, UV and other applications. The company develops and manufactures a variety of award-winning LED and emergency products, as well as legacy products across multiple lighting platforms. Fulham sells its lighting solutions worldwide through original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and electrical equipment distribution channels. Headquartered in Hawthorne, Calif., the company has sales and/or manufacturing facilities in the Netherlands, China, India and the UAE. For more information, visit http://www.fulham.com.

Media Contact:
Andy Firchau
Marketing Manager
Fulham Co., Inc.
Phone: +1 (323) 779-2980, ext. 1252
afirchau@fulham.com

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Healthcare

Landmark Asthma Study Demonstrates Device Choice Determines Asthma Control

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Monaghan Medical Corporation understands that for those with asthma, particularly children, choosing the device that best delivers their medication is an important consideration.

Plattsburgh, NY, USA — Monaghan Medical Corporation understands that for those with asthma, particularly children, choosing the device that best delivers their medication is an important consideration. Research has shown that even when using the same metered-dose inhaler (MDI), not all valved holding chambers perform equally well.[1]

A landmark real-world study involving more than 18,000 asthma patients has demonstrated superior asthma control with the AEROCHAMBER PLUS® FLOW-VU® antistatic Valved Holding Chamber (VHC) compared with other chamber devices.[2] According to the study, published in Pulmonary Therapy, use of the AEROCHAMBER PLUS® FLOW-VU® antistatic chamber resulted in delayed time to first exacerbation, fewer asthma-related emergency department visits, and lower exacerbation-related costs than control chambers.

Asthma is a common respiratory condition that affects an estimated 24.6 million people in the United States. Almost half of them, including nearly 3 million children, experience one or more asthma attack in a year.[3]

As opposed to systemic medications, inhalation is the recommended way to administer asthma medications because it directly targets the drug to the lungs while reducing potential side effects. Inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators administered by MDIs are the mainstay of long-term asthma treatment, the goals of which are to improve symptoms and prevent the occurrence of exacerbations.[4]

Poor inhaler operation by users is common, resulting in less of the delivered drug reaching the lungs. Instead, much of it is deposited on the back of the throat (oropharyngeal deposition) and then swallowed.[5] Research shows that between 28% and 68% of patients do not use inhalers well enough to benefit from prescribed medication.[6] In addition, 25% of costs associated with inhalers is wasted due to poor inhaler technique.[6]

Chambers are designed to reduce oropharyngeal deposition by changing the particle size distribution of the inhaled aerosol, and by holding the aerosol in the chamber until the patient is ready to inhale, which reduces the need for good coordination between inhalation and inhaler actuation.[7] Effectiveness of these devices can be adversely affected by the design, including the chamber electrostatic charge, a commonly reported cause of inconsistent medication delivery.[8]

Global respiratory guidelines recommend the use of chambers to improve MDI drug delivery.[4] American Thoracic Society and American Association for Respiratory Care Clinical Practice Guidelines state that the addition of a chamber is recommended and helpful.[9,10] Research also indicates that patients who use a chamber with an MDI have better asthma control than those using an MDI alone.[11]

In this new study, Dr. Chakkarin Burudpakdee (QuintilesIMS, Fairfax, VA, USA) and colleagues compared the effects of the antistatic AEROCHAMBER PLUS® FLOW-VU® aVHC and control chambers on treatment outcomes, resource use, and healthcare costs in a real-world asthma population.[2] More than 18,000 patients were included from an adjudicated claims database containing medical and pharmacy claims for more than 150 million U.S. health plan members.[2]

The analysis showed that among patients with at least 30 days of follow-up, those using the AEROCHAMBER PLUS® FLOW-VU® antistatic VHC experienced a delay in the time to first exacerbation and had fewer asthma-related emergency room visits. In addition, exacerbation-related costs were lower when compared to those using the control (non-antistatic) chambers.[2] A trend toward lower exacerbation rates per patient for the AEROCHAMBER PLUS® FLOW-VU® aVHC was sustained throughout the 12 months of the study.[2]

“This landmark study using a large volume of real-world evidence generated from thousands of patients shows the value of optimizing drug delivery in asthma management and further supports that chambers are not interchangeable,” said co-author Dominic Coppolo, MBA, RRT, FAARC, Vice President Clinical Strategy and Development. “The reduction in exacerbation incidents among users of the AEROCHAMBER PLUS® FLOW-VU® chamber is particularly notable because experiencing an exacerbation is a risk factor for future exacerbation events-and minimizing exacerbation risk is a key goal of treatment.”

“The European Medicines Agency recommended in 2009 that development of a MDI should include the testing of at least one specific, named chamber, and that any substitution must be supported by appropriate in vitro or clinical data demonstrating equivalence,” he said. “We presented laboratory data at the recent Respiratory Drug Delivery Europe meeting[2] that confirmed that not all chambers perform equally well with the same MDI, which underlines the importance of recognizing the impact and potential risks of substituting one device for another.”

About Monaghan Medical Corporation
Monaghan Medical Corporation (MMC) offers leading aerosol drug delivery devices and respiratory management products including AeroEclipse® II BAN, AeroChamber Plus® aVHC and the Aerobika® device exclusively in the United States. MMC’s strength lies in product development around core capabilities in mechanical design complimented by collaboration with a state-of-the-art aerosol research laboratory. MMC focuses on developing cost-efficient, outcome-based solutions for its customers. (http://www.monaghanmed.com)

About AEROCHAMBER® brand valved holding chambers, including the AEROCHAMBER PLUS® FLOW-VU® anti-static chamber
Developed in 1983 to address the needs of asthma and COPD patients having difficulty in taking their MDI medications correctly, the AEROCHAMBER® brand of chamber has innovated continuously to improve patient ease of use and quality of life as well as clinical outcomes and healthcare system savings.

• The AEROCHAMBER PLUS® valved holding chamber is the leading global chamber brand, with safety and efficacy validated in numerous third-party clinical evaluations among various patient populations. It is the chamber most recommended by leading MDI pharmaceutical companies.
• AEROCHAMBER PLUS® FLOW-VU® chamber is an antistatic chamber designed to deliver the intended prescribed dose via the MDI, similar to using an MDI with perfect technique. An additional feature is the incorporation of the FLOW-VU® inhalation indicator for the caregiver to observe effective inhalation. A recent study showed that caregiver quality of life improved almost four-fold when using the AEROCHAMBER PLUS® chamber with FLOW-VU® indicator versus the same chamber without the indicator.[12] The FLOW-VU® indicator provides real-time feedback confirming an effective inhalation and that there are no leakages of ambient air into the space between facemask and face, which could prevent medication delivery altogether. (http://www.monaghanmed.com/AeroChamber-Plus-Flow-Vu-aVHC2)

About the study
Data for more than 18,000 patients with an asthma diagnosis were analysed from the QuintilesIMS Real-World Data Adjudicated Claims Database (PharMetrics Plus) between 1/2010 and 8/2015-9,325 using the AEROCHAMBER PLUS® FLOW-VU® antistatic VHC and a propensity-matched comparison cohort of 9,325 non-antistatic VHCs. Exacerbation incident rates (IR), time to first exacerbation using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, occurrence of exacerbations, and healthcare resource use and costs were compared.

• Exacerbation IR/100 person-days (95% CI) was significantly higher in the control device cohort than the antistatic chamber cohort (0.161 [0.150-0.172] vs.0.137 [0.128-0.147]); more patients in the antistatic chamber cohort remained exacerbation free.
• 4,293 patients in each cohort were followed up for (greater than or equal to)12 months, during which there was a trend for patients in the antistatic VHC group to be less likely (10-12%) to experience an exacerbation. Fewer patients using the antistatic VHC had an ED visit compared with those in the control group (10.8% vs. 12.4%).
• Exacerbation-related costs for the antistatic VHC cohort were 23%, 25%, 20%, and 12% lower than the control device cohort at 1, 6, 9, and 12 months, respectively.

For clinical inquiries, please contact:
Dominic P. Coppolo, MBA, RRT, FAARC
Vice President Clinical Strategy and Development
Monaghan Medical Corporation
1-800-343-9071

Words or phrases accompanied by ® are trademarks and registered trademarks of Monaghan Medical Corporation or an affiliate of Monaghan Medical Corporation. © 2017 Monaghan Medical Corporation.

References

1 Nagel MW, Suggett JA. Equivalence evaluation of valved holding chambers (VHCs) with albuterol pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDI). Respiratory Drug Delivery Europe; April 25-28, 2017, 2017; Nice, France.

2 Burudpakdee C, Kushnarev V, Coppolo D, Suggett J. A retrospective study of the effectiveness of the AeroChamber Plus® Flow-Vu® Antistatic Valved Holding Chamber for asthma control. Pulmonary Therapy. 2017. http://doi.org/10.1007/s41030-017-0047-1. Accessed July 14.

3 Asthma Facts. United States Environmental Protection Agency. EPA-402-F-04-019. May 2017.

4 Global Initiative for Asthma: Global strategy for asthma management and prevention, 2017. Available from: http://ginasthma.org/2017-gina-report-global-strategy-for-asthma-management-and-prevention Accessed November 2017.

5 Price D, Bosnic-Anticevich S, Briggs A, et al. Inhaler competence in asthma: common errors, barriers to use and recommended solutions. Respiratory Medicine. 2013;107(1):37-46.

6 Fink JB, Rubin BK. Problems with Inhaler Use: A Call for Improved Clinician and Patient Education. Respir Care 2005;50(10):1360-74.

7 Lavorini F, Fontana GA. Targeting drugs to the airways: The role of spacer devices. Expert opinion on drug delivery. 2009;6(1):91-102.

8 Mitchell JP, Coppolo DP, Nagel MW. Electrostatics and inhaled medications: influence on delivery via pressurized metered-dose inhalers and add-on devices. Respiratory care. 2007;52(3):283-300.

9 Chung KF, et al. International ERS/ATS guidelines on definition, evaluation and treatment of severe asthma. European Respiratory Journal 2014 ;43:343-373.

10 Ari A, et al. Aerosol Delivery Device Selection for Spontaneously Breathing Patients:2012. Respir Care 2012;57(4):613- 626.

11 Levy ML, et al. Asthma patients’ inability to use a pressurized metered-dose inhaler (pMDI) correctly correlates with poor asthma control as defined by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) strategy: a retrospective analysis. Prim Care Respir J. 2013; Dec;22(4):406-11.

12 Ammari WG, et al. Evaluation of asthma control, parents’ quality of life and preference between AeroChamber Plus and AeroChamber Plus Flow-Vu spacers in young children with asthma. J Asthma 2015; 52(3):301-7.

Software, Technology

Graphic Inspector Now Supports macOS High Sierra: Image, Vector Checkup

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Zevrix Solutions announces Graphic Inspector 2.4, a compatibility update to company’s quality control solution for images and Adobe Illustrator files. Graphic Inspector can quickly locate documents with specific resolution, color, spot channels, fonts and other attributes. The app can is the only tool on the market that can check both images and vector files. With the new version Graphic Inspector is upgraded to 64-bit architecture and introduces support for the upcoming macOS 10.13 High Sierra.

Toronto (ON), Canada — Zevrix Solutions today announces the release of Graphic Inspector 2.4, a compatibility update to company’s quality control solution for images and vector graphic files. Graphic Inspector can check entire folders of documents for potential problems according to specific workflow requirements. The app is the only tool on the market that lets graphics industry professionals inspect both raster images and Adobe Illustrator documents.

The new version introduces support for the upcoming macOS 10.13 High Sierra and is offered as a free update to licensed customers. Graphic Inspector is now also upgraded to 64-bit architecture, which improves the app’s performance and reduces the likelihood of memory-related errors when working with large images.

“I’m surprised no one else thought of it before: to display every bit of useful information about vector or raster graphic files and flag the ones that match rules you define,” writes Jay Nelson in Layers magazine. “With its combination of price, utility, and thoughtful design, Graphic Inspector is a rare gem.”

Graphic Inspector is designed to help users of any trade, whether it’s print, prepress, web design, electronic publishing or digital photography. For example, users can quickly locate files whose color mode is CMYK, format – TIFF, resolution is below 300 dpi, ICC profile isn’t “US Web Coated” and so on.

Graphic Inspector offers the following key features:

–Check multiple images and vector files
-Customizable checkup presets
-Common checks such as resolution, color mode, ICC profile and file size
-Professional prepress checks: spot colors, fonts in vector files, image compression and more
-Complete EXIF, IPTC and GPS metadata

Pricing and Availability:
Graphic Inspector can be purchased from the Zevrix web site for US$19.95, as well as from authorized resellers. Graphic Inspector is free with purchase of PDF Checkpoint or InPreflight Pro for Adobe InDesign. Trial is also available for download. The update is free for users of version 2 ($10 to upgrade from version 1). Graphic Inspector requires macOS 10.7-10.13.

About Zevrix Solutions
Located in Toronto, Canada, Zevrix Solutions provides productivity solutions for Adobe Creative Suite software, PDF and graphic file diagnostics, file delivery, and Microsoft Office on Mac OS. Zevrix is dedicated to help professionals increase their profits through automating everyday tasks, producing error-free documents, saving disk space and cutting production costs. For more information, visit http://www.zevrix.com.

Contact:
Leo Revzin
Owner
Zevrix Solutions
105 McCAUL St, Suite 301
Toronto Ontario M5T 2X4 Canada
858-206-0607
media@zevrix.com

Solutions for Adobe InDesign & the Graphics Industry

Software, Technology

InPreflight for Adobe InDesign Now Supports Creative Cloud 2018

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Zevrix Solutions announces InPreflight Pro 2.11.28, a compatibility update to its document preparation solution for Adobe InDesign. Described as “delightfully simple to use” by Macworld magazine, InPreflight is an all-in-one solution to check InDesign documents for errors, automatically collect multiple files for output and ship them to final destination. The new version makes InPreflight compatible with the 2018 release of InDesign CC featured as part of Adobe Creative Cloud.

Toronto (ON), Canada — Zevrix Solutions today announces the release of InPreflight Pro 2.11.28, a compatibility update to its document preparation solution for Adobe InDesign. InPreflight is a powerful all-in-one solution to check InDesign documents for errors, collect them for output and ship to final destination. InPreflight helps graphics and print professionals prevent costly mistakes by uncovering hidden problems, save disk space through smart batch-packaging and reduce production time and costs.

The new version makes InPreflight compatible with the recently announced 2018 release of InDesign CC, featured as part of Adobe Creative Cloud. The update is offered free of charge to InPreflight users. The same version of InPreflight can be used with any version of InDesign from CS3 and later.

“InPreflight is very simple, it provides excellent display of document’s elements with full control over preflighting and file collection,” says Michael Anikst of Anikst Design in London, UK. “I am designing very big books on art, and InPreflight lets me keep all my documents in perfect order.”

InPreflight Pro provides a robust, affordable, reliable and easy-to-use solution for printers, service providers, ad agencies and publishing houses. It offers the following key features:

Batch-packaging:
–Package multiple InDesign documents automatically.
-Collect all shared links into one folder, saving gigabytes of disk space and hours of production time.

Quality control:
-Quickly check InDesign fonts, colors and links for common errors.
-Create preflight presets for different projects.
-Uncover hidden issues such as image compression, embedded fonts and illegal link locations.

Graphic preflight reports:
–Print graphic reports and save them as PDF.
-Detailed paragraph styles report for typography professionals.

Pricing and Availability:
InPreflight Pro can be purchased from Zevrix website for US$99.95 (Studio version: $39.95), as well as from authorized resellers. Trial version is available for download. Update is free for licensed users of version 2, and $50 from earlier versions. InPreflight requires macOS 10.7-10.13 and Adobe InDesign CS3-CC 2018.

About Zevrix Solutions
Located in Toronto, Canada, Zevrix Solutions provides productivity solutions for Adobe Creative Suite software, PDF and graphic file diagnostics and Microsoft Office on Mac OS. Zevrix Solutions is dedicated to helping professionals achieve more while doing less through automating their everyday tasks, producing error-free documents, saving disk space and cutting production costs. For more information, visit http://www.zevrix.com.

Contact:
Leo Revzin
Owner
Zevrix Solutions
105 McCAUL St, Suite 301
Toronto Ontario M5T 2X4 Canada
858-206-0607
media@zevrix.com

Solutions for Adobe InDesign & the Graphics Industry

Business, Media, Security, Technology

GLDNAcademy.com Kicks off The Cybersecurity Workshop for Today’s Strategic Leaders in Stockholm

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How executives in Stockholm, Brussels, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Kuala Lumpur, Abu Dhabi, Seoul and Hong Kong can build the proper foundation to address today’s information cybersecurity and risk management challenges.

New York City, NY, USA — The Cybersecurity Workshop for Today’s Strategic Leaders will bring the most comprehensive review of what proactive organizations around the world are doing to protect their intellectual property, customers and employee’s information from hackers, competitors and foreign governments. Attendees to these 2-day workshops organized by GLDNAcademy.com in Stockholm, Brussels, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Kuala Lumpur, Abu Dhabi, Seoul and Hong Kong will:

• Gain a comprehensive understanding of cybersecurity and its key aspects
• Get to grips with various cybersecurity testing methods
• Master the cybersecurity framework and its five core functions
• Discover how to establish or improve your cybersecurity program
• Gain an overview of cyber network defense
• Transform the “weak human link” into the organization’s greatest strength
• Look at the four components of the cyber preparedness continuum

The Cybersecurity Workshop for Today’s Strategic Leaders will provide insights into the current and future state of affairs for cybersecurity, with particular emphasis on what organizations can do today to prevent cyberattacks from compromising their information and reputation.

ABOUT THE CYBERSECURITY WORKSHOP FOR TODAY’S STRATEGIC LEADERS
Despite the ongoing cyber threat that is witnessed through news reports almost on a daily basis, firms are still neglecting proper cybersecurity planning. As information technology becomes ever more complex and Internet of Things applications progressively widespread, cybersecurity is becoming an increasingly important and business-critical field. Unfortunately, a recent study from security solutions provider Resilient Systems and market research firm Ponemon broke down key areas of continued failure for organizations.

The study found that 66% of IT and security professionals surveyed said their firms were unprepared to recover from a cyber attack, and 75% lacked a formal incident response plan. A key example of this unpreparedness is that fact that many of the companies impacted by the WannaCry ransomware attack had not installed patches in their Windows infrastructure that were released by Microsoft months before. Vulnerabilities in commercial software are common; the only solution is to stay abreast of manufacturer’s releases.

In order to help businesses in their cybersecurity planning, the Cybersecurity Framework released in February 2014 following a collaborative process involving industry, academia and government has been widely adopted by many types of organizations around the world, quickly becoming the de facto standard by which cyber security is going to be measured.

GLDNAcademy.com’s The Cybersecurity Workshop for Today’s Strategic Leaders will bring leaders up to speed on the most recent and battle-tested approaches to protect their companies’ valuable information and intellectual property from prying eyes of hackers and competitors. Attendees to the program will learn how to apply the Cybersecurity Framework in their organizations and erect strong defenses for their valuable customer and employee data and intellectual property.

ABOUT GLDNACADEMY.COM
GLDNAcademy.com invites CEOs, board members, managers, leaders and professionals to expand their horizons:

• To engage with an experienced faculty that exhibits the deepest knowledge across the most practical and challenging matters that really matter for businesses today
• To meet fellow leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, managers, investors and regulators looking for the industry insights that will move the needle in their organizations
• To become part of the most engaging professional network of leaders in the world

GLDNAcademy.com offers seminars in dozens of industries and functional areas. Each and all of these programs incorporate the following:

• State-of-the-art workshops that incorporate hundreds of hours delivering the best
• Relevant programs offered in the top business capitals of the world
• Pre-program questionnaires that provide key information that permeates our offerings
• World-class faculty with access to the top echelons of the world’s most innovative organizations
• Thousands of satisfied attendees from all over the world

Media Contact:
Melania Pulitzer
Managing Director
GLDNAcademy.com
+1-414-FORUMS0
mjp@gldnacademy.com
http://www.gldnacademy.com

Software, Technology

Output Factory for Adobe InDesign Now Supports Creative Cloud 2018

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Zevrix Solutions announces Output Factory 2.2.1, a compatibility update to company’s output automation solution for Adobe InDesign. Output Factory automates printing, exporting and post-processing from InDesign and offers batch processing, export as single pages, variable file names, layer versioning, preflighting, detailed history and more. The new version makes Output Factory compatible with the recently released InDesign CC 2018 and improves the reliability of multi-format workflow output.

Toronto (ON), Canada — Zevrix Solutions today announces the release of Output Factory 2.2.1, a compatibility update to company’s solution to automate printing, exporting and preflighting from Adobe InDesign. Output Factory automates and simplifies workflows of printers, prepress bureaus, ad agencies and publishing houses worldwide by offering batch processing with powerful and time-saving output options.

The new version makes Output Factory compatible with the recently released InDesign CC 2018 and is offered free of charge to licensed users. The same version of Output Factory can be used with any version of InDesign from CS5 and later. The update also addresses an issue in which Output Factory could stall when running sequences of multi-format output workflows.

“When every second counts Output Factory is a life saver!” says Glen Saville of Glen Saville Design studio, Hornchurch, UK. “It’s a sublime beast that saves a lot of time. I just drag my files into the job list, set them up as I want and then sit back and watch the computer do its stuff.”

Output Factory supports printing as well as exporting to PDF, PostScript, EPS, Flash, IDML, EPUB and several image formats. It offers the following key features:

–Batch printing and exporting of InDesign files
-Output as single pages
-Create custom workflows for different job targets
-Output files to multiple formats with one click
–Variable output file names
-Layer versioning: output layer combinations as single files
-Preflight InDesign documents and skip the ones with errors
-Split InDesign files into single pages
–Preflight final PDF files
-Keep track of jobs, output files and errors

Pricing and Availability:
Output Factory can be purchased from Zevrix website for US$169.95 (Lite version $119.95), as well as from authorized resellers and Adobe Exchange. Trial is also available for download. The update is free for the users of Output Factory 2.x, and $84.97 to upgrade from BatchOutput and Output Factory 1.x. Output Factory requires macOS 10.7-10.13 and Adobe InDesign CS3-CC 2018.

About Zevrix Solutions
Located in Toronto, Canada, Zevrix Solutions provides productivity solutions for Adobe Creative Suite software, PDF workflows, graphic file diagnostics, file delivery and Microsoft Office on Mac OS. Zevrix is dedicated to help professionals increase their profits through automating everyday tasks, producing error-free documents, saving disk space and cutting production costs. For more information, visit http://www.zevrix.com.

Contact:
Leo Revzin
Owner
Zevrix Solutions
105 McCAUL St, Suite 301
Toronto Ontario M5T 2X4 Canada
858-206-0607
media@zevrix.com

Solutions for Adobe InDesign & the Graphics Industry

Entertainment, Healthcare, Marketing

FED Publishing Releases New Book, “My Journey, A Victory Over Cancer Through Alternative Methods” by Valarie Hendriks

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My Journey, A Victory Over Cancer Through Alternative Methods, by Valarie Hendriks, is a story about one courageous woman’s journey and victory over cancer through alternative methods.

Oakland Township, MI, USA — Valarie Hendriks’ My Journey, A Victory Over Cancer Through Alternative Methods is a book that will make you laugh, make you cry, inspire you and motivate you. However, most of all it will help you in battling one of the most dreaded diseases plaguing mankind, cancer.

Valarie Hendriks grew up in the Midwest part of the United States. After college she got a job in the Optical field and is currently working as a Manager and ABO Certified Optician. Along the way she got married to her spouse of twenty five years. Her hobbies are tennis, horseback riding and Ball Room Dancing. She competed in Ball Room Dancing and won several competitions over her career. Then one day she was diagnosed with cancer. At this point in her life she thought her entire world was falling apart. However, she was determined to defeat this dreaded disease.

Her book My Journey, A Victory Over Cancer Through Alternative Methods is a book that Valarie wrote that outlines how she beat cancer. In her book she provides all of the information that she learned through two years of research so that she could help other people in their battle against cancer without going through the trauma of traditional cancer treatments. Her book is uplifting, inspiring, and motivational. It will make you laugh and it will make you cry but most of all it could help you to defeat one of the most dreaded diseases in the world, the disease that we call cancer.

Genre – Cancer, Cure, Alternative Methods, Alternative Medicine, Cancer Cure, Inspiration, Treatment, Motivational

The ebook version of My Journey, A Victory Over Cancer Through Alternative Methods ISBN 9781506903477, published by First Edition Design Publishing (http://www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com), is available on-line wherever ebooks are sold. The 194 page print book version, ISBN 9781506903460, and ISBN 9781506903453 hardback, are published by First Edition Design Publishing and distributed worldwide to online booksellers.

Media Contact:
Valarie Hendriks
+1(941)921-2607
monty-nbf@att.net

Healthcare

Significant Cost Reduction in COPD Care With Simple, Drug-free Device

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Aerobika® OPEP device proves to be a cost-effective treatment option in the management of post-exacerbation COPD patients.

Plattsburgh, NY, USA — The Aerobika® Oscillating Positive Expiratory Pressure (OPEP) device (Monaghan Medical Corporation) is a cost-effective treatment option in the management of COPD exacerbations, according to a study published October 20th in the International Journal of COPD.[1] This study, which used data from the published literature and national fee schedules to model the cost-effectiveness of the Aerobika® OPEP device, shows that it provides both clinical benefit and direct medical cost savings in a post-exacerbation care COPD population.

COPD is a major (and growing) source of morbidity, mortality and healthcare utilization, with hospitalization for acute exacerbations being the biggest cost driver.[2] Once a patient experiences an exacerbation, the risk of further exacerbation is increased two- to four-fold[3], and many patients experience two or three exacerbations every year.[4] As many as one in five patients discharged from hospital following an exacerbation are re-admitted within 30 days.[5]

The economic burden on the healthcare system associated with COPD is significant; in the US alone, the cost of COPD in 2010 was estimated to be US $50 billion; $30 billion in direct healthcare expenditure, with the remainder accounted for by indirect costs such as productivity losses and costs to families.[6] Approximately half of the direct costs could be accounted for by hospital care for COPD exacerbations,[6] which supports the GOLD guideline treatment goals of minimizing the negative impact of exacerbations and preventing recurrences.[2] Healthcare systems in many countries acknowledge the problem, and policies are now being put in place to try to address it; the US Medicare Hospital Readmission Reduction Program penalizes hospitals for excess 30-day, all-cause readmissions after a hospitalization for an acute exacerbation of COPD.[7]

The Aerobika® OPEP device is a drug-free, handheld mechanical oscillating positive expiratory pressure (OPEP) device that has been designed to address the structural and functional challenges in the airways of patients with COPD. When the patient exhales through the device, it helps to expand the airways, loosen and expel mucus from the lungs and may also enhance drug deposition. It has been shown to improve lung function, exercise capacity and quality of life in COPD patients,[8] and a recent real-word study showed that the device reduced exacerbation rates in patients during the critical 30-day post-exacerbation period.[9] Using data from the latter study to provide real-world input, the authors of this current analysis showed cost savings ($553 per patient) and improved outcomes (equivalent to 6 fewer exacerbations per 100 patients per year) with the Aerobika® OPEP device compared with no OPEP/PEP use, and concluded that the device provides cost-effective treatment for post-exacerbation COPD patients.

The authors also used various scenarios to investigate the likelihood of the benefit continuing over a full year, and predicted further clinical and cost benefits (21 exacerbations per 100 patients per year; cost savings of $1,952 per patient). Author Dominic Coppolo, MBA, RRT, FAARC, Vice President Clinical Strategy and Development noted, “Our model provides evidence of clinical and cost benefits of the Aerobika® OPEP device in that critical 30-day period following an exacerbation. Given the high burden of COPD – in particular, costs relating to exacerbations – in the US population, we would expect that even a small benefit would have a significant impact on the healthcare system”. He went on to say that, although further studies would be needed to validate the long-term effectiveness, these data also give a good indication that the benefits will be sustained with long-term use.

“With the increasing pressure to improve care and reduce hospital admissions, the previously-published real-world study showing exacerbation reductions in the critical 30-day post exacerbation period gave us useful insights into the benefits of integrating the Aerobika® OPEP device into standard clinical practice”, noted Dr Jason Suggett (Group Director of Global Science and Technology, TMI). “This new analysis now gives us clear evidence that such clinical benefits would be translated into cost-effectiveness in this post-exacerbation population. In addition, new data presented at CHEST 2017 demonstrating that the generation of the proprietary pressure/oscillation pattern of the Aerobika* device efficiently generates oscillations throughout a high percentage of each exhaled breath, and with consistently high pressure amplitudes. The Aerobika* device demonstrated efficient and effective performance related to therapeutic effectiveness nearly twice that of other devices tested.”[10]

About Monaghan Medical Corporation (MMC, USA)
MMC offers leading aerosol drug delivery devices and respiratory management products including AeroEclipse® II BAN, AeroChamber Plus® aVHC and the Aerobika® device (http://www.monaghanmed.com/aerobika) exclusively in the United States. MMC’s strength lies in product development around core capabilities in mechanical design complimented by collaboration with a state-of-the-art aerosol research laboratory. MMC focuses on developing cost-efficient, outcome-based solutions for its customers.

About the Aerobika® device
The Aerobika® OPEP device (http://www.monaghanmed.com/Aerobika-OPEP) is a hand-held, robust, easy-to-use, drug-free oscillating positive expiratory pressure (OPEP) device designed to help expel mucus from the lungs, expand airways and enhance drug deposition. When the patient exhales through the device, intermittent resistance creates a unique pressure-oscillation dynamic, which expands the airways, helps expel the mucus to the upper airways where it can be coughed out. The Aerobika® OPEP device is designed to function independent of angle of use or flow rate, and allows for a direct aerosol pathway for patients using a nebulizer for medication delivery. The Aerobika® OPEP device has been shown to significantly improve forced vital capacity (FVC), 6-min walk distance (6MWD), and St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) score in COPD patients.[8] The Aerobika® OPEP device is available in the US via Monaghan Medical Corporation (http://www.monaghanmed.com), and in Canada, Mexico, and select European countries including the UK and Germany through Trudell Medical International (http://www.trudellmed.com).

About the study
A one-year Markov model was used to estimate the cost-effectiveness of the Aerobika® OPEP device in patients who had experienced an exacerbation in the previous month, or a post-exacerbation care population, with input data from the published literature and national fee schedules. Using a base-case assumption that the benefit of the Aerobika® OPEP device would last 30 days, cost-savings ($553 per patient) and improved outcomes (ie, 6 fewer exacerbations per 100 patients per year) were demonstrated when compared with no OPEP/positive expiratory pressure use. Assuming a scenario with effect beyond the conservative 30 day time frame, the Aerobika® OPEP device continued to show benefit (21 exacerbations per 100 patients per year; cost savings of $1,952 per patient). One-way sensitivity analyses were conducted for all input variables, increasing or decreasing the effect by 20%, to determine the impact of change on costs and health effects; the results supported the robustness of the base-case conclusions.

For clinical inquiries, please contact:
Dominic P. Coppolo, MBA, RRT, FAARC
Vice President Clinical Strategy and Development
Monaghan Medical Corporation
1-800-343-9071

Words or phrases accompanied by ® are trademarks and registered trademarks of Monaghan Medical Corporation or an affiliate of Monaghan Medical Corporation. © 2017 Monaghan Medical Corporation.

1. Khoudigian S, Kowal S, Suggett J, D. C. Cost-effectiveness of the Aerobika* oscillating positive expiratory pressure device in the management of COPD exacerbations. International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 2017;In Press.
2. Global strategy for the diagnosis, management and prevention of COPD, Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) 2017.
3. Khakban A, Sin DD, FitzGerald JM, et al. The Projected Epidemic of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Hospitalizations over the Next 15 Years. A Population-based Perspective. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2017;195(3):287-291.
4. Puhan MA, Chandra D, Mosenifar Z, et al. The minimal important difference of exercise tests in severe COPD. Eur Respir J. 2011;37(4):784-790.
5. Guerrero M, Crisafulli E, Liapikou A, et al. Readmission for Acute Exacerbation within 30 Days of Discharge Is Associated with a Subsequent Progressive Increase in Mortality Risk in COPD Patients: A Long-Term Observational Study. PLoS One. 2016;11(3):e0150737.
6. Guarascio AJ, Ray SM, Finch CK, Self TH. The clinical and economic burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the USA. Clinicoecon Outcomes Res. 2013;5:235-245.
7. Shah T, Press VG, Huisingh-Scheetz M, White SR. COPD Readmissions: Addressing COPD in the Era of Value-based Health Care. Chest. 2016;150(4):916-926.
8. Svenningsen S, Paulin GA, Sheikh K, et al. Oscillatory Positive Expiratory Pressure in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. COPD. 2016;13(1):66-74.
9. Burudpakdee C, Seetasith A, Dunne P, et al. A real-world study of 30-day exacerbation outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patient managed with Aerobika OPEP. Pulmonary Therapeutics. 2017.
10. Meyer A and Suggett J. A Laboratory Assessment into the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Different Oscillating Positive Expiratory Pressure Devices by Means of Patient Simulated Expiratory Waveforms. Presented at CHEST 2017.

Business, Technology

Deep Learning Consultant in Mission to Bring Artificial Intelligence Expertise to Millions of Firms

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Edgar Perez, author of The AI Breakthrough, How Artificial Intelligence is Advancing Deep Learning and Revolutionizing Your World, and former strategy consultant with McKinsey, partnering with Terrapinn Training in 3-Day Masterclass in Deep Learning in London, Dubai, New York and Singapore.

New York City, NY, USA — According to Jeff Dean, Senior Fellow at Google, no more than a few thousand companies today have the right talent for building Artificial Intelligence, but many more have the necessary data. For Edgar Perez, author of The AI Breakthrough, Knightmare on Wall Street and The Speed Traders, the urgent goal today is to take A.I. from thousands of organizations solving deep learning problems to millions, as soon as possible.

The impact of Artificial Intelligence cannot be underestimated. Millions of jobs will be radically transformed across hundreds of thousands companies around the world. Tasks that still require a heavy human component will be automated, leaving former employees with few options: upgrade your skills or go unemployed. For those who decide to acquire new skills, the sudden increase in productivity will bring a new wave of opportunities that will create jobs we can’t even imagine as of today.

Today firms can deploy Deep Learning frameworks like Caffe, Theano or TensorFlow and not require an army of PhD-educated employees to undertake these efforts. These different frameworks are doing essentially the same thing: allowing firms to write less code to accomplish meaningful tasks. Some of these frameworks are more general than others, but as long as employees can specify the architecture in a framework of their choice, they will be able to get a working model.

“In addition to the required expertise in Artificial Intelligence, companies will need to consolidate data currently available as well as conceive innovative ways to start collecting new data. The strength of their models will be supported by the availability of data representative of the real world,” says Perez. He is a well-known international futurist, Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning keynote speaker who currently offers the world’s first Deep Learning workshop for Fortune 500 firms and private equity groups.

RECENT TESTIMONIALS
• “Thanks for the great work training our employees. You really made a difference!” Global Chief Information Security Officer
• “After working with a number of vendors, we found your team to be in a qualitatively different level. By that I speak to your deep expertise and exemplary professionalism.” Divisional Chief Information Officer
• “The team that Edgar has assembled is top-notch. There are no words to express our satisfaction with your high-quality delivery.” Member of the Board of Directors
• “The program provides a comprehensive approach for any organization to lead in technology readiness.” IT Coordinator

ABOUT THE AI BREAKTHROUGH
Artificial intelligence has been referred as the general ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings. The term has indeed been frequently applied to the project of developing systems endowed with the intellectual processes characteristic of humans, such as the ability to reason, generalize, discover meaning, or learn from past experiences. Since the development of the digital computer in the 1940s, it has been demonstrated that computers can be programmed to carry out very complex tasks with great proficiency. Still, despite continuing advances in computer processing speed and memory capacity, there are as yet no programs that can match human flexibility over wider domains or in tasks requiring much everyday knowledge.

In 1945, British logician and computer pioneer Alan Turing predicted that computers would one day play very good chess. Just over 50 years later, in 1997, Deep Blue, a chess computer built by IBM beat the reigning world champion, Garry Kasparov, in a six-game match. Since then, a number of programs have attained the performance levels of human experts and professionals in performing certain specific tasks, so that artificial intelligence is now found in applications as diverse as medical diagnosis, computer search engines, and voice or handwriting recognition.

Indeed, deep learning has enabled many practical applications of machine learning and by extension the overall field of artificial intelligence. Deep learning breaks down tasks in ways that makes all kinds of machine aids seem possible, even likely. Driverless cars, better image recognition, even better movie recommendations, are all here today. Artificial intelligence is the present and the future.

The AI Breakthrough, How Artificial Intelligence is Advancing Deep Learning and Revolutionizing Your World, will provide a comprehensive review of the artificial intelligence breakthroughs of today and tomorrow and how these advancements will impact businesses and the human race in general for years to come.

ABOUT EDGAR PEREZ
Mr. Edgar Perez is a published author, keynote speaker, business consultant for billion-dollar private equity and hedge funds and Council Member at the Gerson Lehrman Group, Guidepoint Global Advisors, Research International and Internal Consulting Group, with subject matter expertise in artificial intelligence and deep learning, cyber security and financial regulation (Dodd-Frank Act).

He is author of The AI Breakthrough, How Artificial Intelligence is Advancing Deep Learning and Revolutionizing Your World (2018), Knightmare on Wall Street, The Rise and Fall of Knight Capital and the Biggest Risk for Financial Markets (2013), and The Speed Traders, An Insider’s Look at the New High-Frequency Trading Phenomenon That is Transforming the Investing World, published in English by McGraw-Hill Inc. (2011), Published in Mandarin by China Financial Publishing House (2012), and Investasi Super Kilat, published in Bahasa Indonesia by Kompas Gramedia (2012).

Mr. Perez has been interviewed on CNN’s Quest Means Business, CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Worldwide Exchange, Cash Flow and Squawk Box, FOX BUSINESS’s Countdown to the Closing Bell and After the Bell, Bloomberg TV’s Market Makers, CNN en Español’s Dinero, Petersburg – Channel 5, Sina Finance, BNN’s Business Day, CCTV China, Bankier.pl, TheStreet.com, Leaderonomics, GPW Media, Channel NewsAsia’s Business Tonight and Cents & Sensibilities. In addition, Mr. Perez has been featured on Sohu, News.Sina.com, Yicai, eastmoney, Caijing, ETF88.com, 360doc, AH Radio, CNFOL.com, CITICS Futures, Tongxin Securities, ZhiCheng.com, CBNweek.com, Caixin, Futures Daily, Xinhua, CBN Newswire, Chinese Financial News, ifeng.com, International Finance News, Finance.QQ.com, hexun.com, Finance.Sina.com, The Korea Times, The Korea Herald, The Star, The Malaysian Insider, BMF 89.9, iMoney Hong Kong, CNBC, Bloomberg Hedge Fund Brief, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Dallas Morning News, Valor Econômico, FIXGlobal Trading, TODAY Online, Oriental Daily News and Business Times.

Mr. Perez has presented to the Council on Foreign Relations, Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University (Kiev), Quant Investment & HFT Summit APAC (Shanghai), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Washington DC), CFA Singapore, Hong Kong Securities Institute, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, University of International Business and Economics (Beijing), Hult International Business School (Shanghai) and Pace University (New York), among other public and private institutions. In addition, Mr. Perez has spoken at a number of global conferences, including Cyber Security World Conference (New York), Inside Market Data (Chicago), Emerging Markets Investments Summit (Warsaw), CME Group’s Global Financial Leadership Conference (Naples Beach, FL), Harvard Business School’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference (Boston), High-Frequency Trading Leaders Forum (New York, Chicago), MIT Sloan Investment Management Conference (Cambridge), Institutional Investor’s Global Growth Markets Forum (London), Technical Analysis Society (Singapore), TradeTech Asia (Singapore), FIXGlobal Face2Face (Seoul) and Private Equity Convention Russia, CIS & Eurasia (London).

Mr. Perez has addressed thousands of top executives around the world through keynote speeches and corporate training programs on artificial intelligence, deep learning, cybersecurity and financial trading. He has presented in Beijing, Chicago, Hong Kong, Kiev, Kuala Lumpur, Lima, London, Miami, Naples, New York, Santiago, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Stockholm, Taipei and Warsaw, among other global capitals. He contributes to The New York Times and China’s International Finance News and Sina Finance.

Mr. Perez was a vice president at Citigroup, a senior consultant at IBM, and a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Co. in New York City. Previously, he managed Operations and Technology for Peruval Finance. Mr. Perez has an undergraduate degree in Systems Engineering from Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima, Peru (1994), a Master of Administration from Universidad ESAN, Lima, Peru (1997) and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School, New York, with a dual major in Finance and Management (2002). He belongs to the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society. Mr. Perez is an accomplished salsa and hustle dancer and resides in the New York City area.

Media Contact:
Julia Petrova
Media Relations Coordinator
The Speed Traders
+1-414-FORUMS0
jpetrova@thespeedtraders.com

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Embrace the Fear Revolution Women’s Conference Will Give the First Louise Hay Award

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The Embrace the Fear Revolution Women’s Conference will be held on Thursday, March 8, 2018 from 7:30am until 8pm at the Embassy Suites Scottsdale Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Phoenix, AZ, USA — Embrace the Fear Revolution Women’s Conference held on International Women’s Day, will celebrate fearless women of every generation. The revolution is a time for women to stop playing small, harness their power, and feminine brilliance to set women up for even greater success.

During the lunch portion of the conference, an amazing pioneer from our community will win the first Louise Hay Award. We created this award to honor the late Louise Hay and keep her amazing accomplishments alive. Through Louise Hay’s healing techniques and positive philosophy, millions of women have learned to create more of what they want in their lives-more wellness in their bodies, minds, and spirits.

“Louise Hay has had such an impact on so many lives” and “What is more powerful than to receive the first Louise Hay award?” says Linda Michaels, Conference Director. We will honor her memory and all of the amazing accomplishments. Louise Hay said best, “I now free myself from destructive fears and doubts.”

The Embrace the Fear Revolution Women’s Conference will be held on Thursday, March 8, 2018 from 7:30am until 8pm at the Embassy Suites Scottsdale Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. This is going to be one celebration that you won’t want to miss! Space is limited, so please RSVP to http://www.EmbracetheFear.me.

Please send Press inquiries to: info(at)embracethefear(dot)me

Media Contact:
Linda Michaels, Conference Director
Embrace the Fear Revolution
16401 S. 46th Pl.
Phoenix, AZ 85048-0138
480-510-7921
info@embracethefear.me
http://www.embracethefear.me