July 26, 2012 - By Deborah Brooks

With the heat of summer upon us, proper hydration is essential for sports and fitness performance.

The cooling of elevated core temperature during exercise results in fluid loss in the form of sweat on the skins surface. It is a natural and healthy response to rising body temperature. As a general rule, the more fit we become the more we sweat as our body becomes an efficient cooling machine. We must replace the lost fluids from sweating during exercise to:

Maintain proper body temperature

Lubricate the joints

Transport nutrients to the tissue

Rid the body of toxic waste built up during exercise

Along with water, sodium, potassium and other electrolytes are lost from the body in this process. Replacing lost fluid and electrolytes is the key to peak performance, endurance and injury prevention.

The big questions are what, how much and when should we be drinking?

More here:
Personal Best: Proper Hydration for Peak Sports and Fitness Performance

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6fb7ns/trend_and_opportun) has announced the addition of the "Trend and Opportunities in the Italian Personal Accident and Health Insurance Industry to 2016: Market Profile" report to their offering.

In terms of gross written premium, the Italian insurance industry is the fourth-largest insurance industry in the European region behind the UK, France and Germany. From 2008 to 2010, the French, German and Italian insurance industries all expanded rapidly, as poor overall economic performance encouraged consumers to seek the financial security associated with insurance products.

The Italian government is planning to introduce discounts to consumers who are ready to submit their vehicles for inspection by insurance companies. The discount rate will be increased if the consumer opts to install a black box which will record the vehicle's activity and help to determine the cause of accidents. In addition, the government also introduced open competition into the category. Indeed, article 34 indicates that agents marketing car insurance must provide the customer with three different quotes from three different companies.

Scope

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the personal accident and health insurance market in Italy, including:

- It provides historical values for the Italian personal accident and health insurance market for the review period (2007-2011) and forecast period (2012-2016)

- It offers a detailed analysis of the key sub-segments in the Italian personal accident and health insurance market, along with market forecasts until 2016

- It covers an exhaustive list of parameters, including written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, combined ratio, frauds and crimes, total assets, total investment income and retentions in the Italian personal accident and health insurance market

- It analyses the various distribution channels for personal accident and health insurance products in Italy

More here:
Research and Markets: Trend and Opportunities in the Italian Personal Accident and Health Insurance Industry to 2016 ...

Dinesh WEERAWANSA reporting from England

Sri Lankas ace swimmer Heshan Unamboowe said that he will make every effort to better his personal best at the forthcoming Olympic Games swimming competition which begins on Saturday.

Sri Lanka national champion Unamboowe, who has been on a training cum competition stint in Melbourne for over an year is in good shape and is roaring to set a new Sri Lanka record in mens 100m back stroke. He is due to compete in the first round qualifiers of his pet event on Sunday (29).

In an exclusive interview with the Daily News at Athletes Village of the London Games, Unamboowe said he has been training hard for the last several months. I am looking forward to set a new Sri Lanka record in my event and the chances are pretty good, he said.

Unamboowe said the level of competition is very high but will do his best to come out with a notable performance and better his own Sri Lanka record. The atmosphere is great and all of us are enjoying the true spirit of Olympics. We are looking forward to make our presence felt, he added.

Besides Unamboowe, who clocked his personal best timing of 57.47 seconds during the FINA World Championships in Shanghai, China last year, the only other Lankan swimmer to be seen in action during the London Olympics is Reshika Udugampola who too is determined to set a new Sri Lanka record.

Unamboowe is housed in the same room at the Athletes Village with the overall captain of the Sri Lanka contingent Niluka Karunaratne. Sri Lankas undisputed mens singles badminton champion arrived here yesterday from Warsaw, Poland where he honoured the final leg of his competition cum training series abroad. Karunaratne is keen on improving his world rankings and hopes to get into the top ten in the world within the next two years. Hurdler Sonali Christine Merril arrived here from United Sates to join her team at the Athletes Village. Sri Lanka marathon runner Anuradha Indrajith Cooray, who has been training aborad, is yet to join the team in London.

Cooray, the senior most competitor in the Sri Lank contingent, represented Sri Lanka at the Athens 2004 Games in Greece. He will be seen in action in mens marathon on the final day of the Games - August 12.

Meanwhile, the mens football tournament of the London Olympics begins on Thursday with Honduras meeting Morocco in the curtain raiser game. There are seven other first round qualifiers down for decision in the same afternoon.

The pick of Thursdays eight games will be the be the game between Mexico and South Korea which will be followed by the third match for the day between Spain and Japan.

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Unamboowe aims personal best

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 25, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Choosing a web browser can be the single most important security decision you make for your computer, so it's vital that the browser you choose not only delivers in performance but also provides top-notch security. The Personal Technology Experts at Support.com (SPRT), a provider of technology services and software for consumers and small businesses, took a closer look at Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer, and identified seven great security features all users should take advantage of, no matter which browser they use:

Consider the security features listed above and choose the web browser you like the most. We also recommend having multiple browsers installed on your computer so you can take advantage of the best each has to offer and use them accordingly.

About Support.com Support.com, Inc. (SPRT) provides technology services and software for consumers and small businesses. Support.com(R) Personal Technology Experts provide a quick, cost-effective and stress-free technology support experience over the Internet and the phone using the Company's advanced technology platform. Support.com also offers a wide range of easy-to-use software products that detect and repair common computer problems and optimize performance and security. Support.com offers programs through many of the nation's leading retailers, broadband service providers and technology companies, and provides software to over a million consumers and small businesses. For more information please visit us at: http://www.support.com, http://www.facebook.com/support.com, or http://twitter.com/support_com.

Support.com, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. For more information, visit http://www.support.com/about/careers.

The Support.com, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=11893

Copyright (C) 2012 Support.com, Inc. All rights reserved. Support.com and Personal Technology Experts are trademarks or registered trademarks of Support.com, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Internet Explorer is a trademark or registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Firefox is a trademark or registered trademark of Mozilla Foundation in the U.S. and other countries. Google and Chrome are trademarks or registered trademarks of Google, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

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Personal Technology Experts(R) at Support.com Discuss Seven Ways to Improve Browser Security When Using Chrome(R ...

PCs are often expensive pieces of equipment that we want to use for all of our electronic activities. It wasn't so long ago that we were prepared to invest 1000's on the right machine. But these days budget laptops can be bought for just a few hundred, this is especially true now we have netbooks.

Nevertheless, those that want a machine that is optimized for gaming may be prepared to part with anything up to 2000. In comparison, consoles are usually an investment of a few hundred, but their performance can often be far better for the latest sports games.

It used to be the case that computers offered vastly impressive specifications to consoles, but that has changed somewhat in recent years. The latest consoles now come with their own processors, hard drives, and the ability to connect to the internet.

The thing about owning a console such as an Xbox360, PlayStation 3, or Wii is that you know it will work with any game designed for that particular system. However, PC sports games are always a bit of a lottery, unless you have an expensive system designed for gaming.

The problem usually stems to the fact that most low-cost systems and the majority of laptops use a shared graphics card. This means the amount of power available for gaming, depends on what the computer is using for other tasks.

If you happen to have a system with a dedicated graphics card, then you are likely to receive much better performance from the latest sports games. The graphics card problem is a bigger issue for owners of laptops than those that have a desktop system. This is because a dedicated graphics card can be installed in a desktop PC to solve these problems.

Unfortunately, the problems do not necessarily end with getting the game to run, because many users may receive lagging game play, which makes certain sports games impossible to play. So, playing games on a PC can certainly produce a big challenge.

However, that doesn't mean that consoles are for everyone and PC gaming still certainly has its place. One of the main reasons for this is the way the console gaming industry is going. I personally think the more active style of gaming that was first introduced by the Nintendo Wii is great and has opened up video games to many more people.

But it may not be for everyone, especially avid gamers that aren't used to it and prefer to play the traditional way. In the future, PC gaming may be the only way to remember how gaming used to be, and it still appeals to a lot of people. The debate between gaming on PC or via console systems is really one of personal choice; although, many people may ultimately decide on a combination of the two.

James Kent is a fan of many sports as well as a keen player of sports video games. Follow James on Twitter and Facebook.

Read this article:
Personal Experience: Are Sports Video Games Better Enjoyed on PCs or Consoles?

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The year listed in the fifth graph, third sentence of release should read: 2001 (sted 2011).

The corrected release reads:

SIGNATURE BANK RANKS IN TOP FIVE ON BANK DIRECTOR MAGAZINES 2012 BANK PERFORMANCE SCORECARD

Signature Bank is One of Only Two Banks in the U.S. to Place in Top Five of Three Prestigious 2012 Bank Rankings

Signature Bank (SBNY), a New York-based full-service commercial bank, today announced that it ranked fifth on Bank Director magazines 2012 Bank Performance Scorecard, in the category of banks with assets ranging from $5 billion to $50 billion.

Bank Director magazines 2012 Bank Performance Scorecard is a comprehensive ranking of all banks and thrifts traded on the NYSE or NASDAQ exchanges. This years ranking was divided into four asset categories. As in past years, the ranking was based on performance across a combination of areas, including profitability, capital strength and asset quality.

The Bank Director ranking comes on the heels of Signature Bank being named 4th in ABA Banking Journals list of Top Performing Banks (April 2012), in the large bank category, meaning those public banks and thrifts with total assets of more than $10 billion; and Forbes 2012 list of Americas Best Banks (December 2011) where it ranked fifth. Forbes used eight metrics regarding asset quality, capital adequacy and profitability of the 100 largest publicly traded banks and thrifts to determine results.

Signature Bank is one of only two banks in the nation that placed in the top five in all three of these publications recent rankings.

The Bank Director ranking, as well as the many other prestigious lists that recognize Signature Banks performance and growth, validates our team-based client-centric model. Without ever advertising, Signature Bank attracts both bankers and clients by remaining dedicated to our distinctive single-point-of-contact approach -- where our private client banking teams are the central contact for meeting all client needs. Our focus on providing unparalleled relationship banking has continually generated consistent growth since the Banks inception in 2001, noted Signature Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph J. DePaolo.

Read the original here:
CORRECTING and REPLACING Signature Bank Ranks in Top Five on Bank Director Magazine’s 2012 Bank Performance Scorecard

The Irish Times - Wednesday, July 25, 2012

A group of leading classical musicians tell MICHAEL DERVANtheir personal favourites, offer advice and reveal some tricks of the trade

CAROL McGONNELL

Irish clarinettist

Who do you regard as the greatest living clarinettist?

I guess Id have to say my former teacher, Charles Neidich. What hes capable of doing on the instrument goes beyond anything Ive heard anyone else do. His perspective on standard repertoire, his understanding of a piece in relation to the rest of a composers output, and his grasp of harmony are really outstanding.

The greatest performance you ever heard on clarinet?

Theres a busker at Union Square station in New York, on the N and R line, who plays saxophone and clarinet. What he does on clarinet is so fascinating, Ill get off at the stop just to see if hes there. Its utterly unique. I have no idea how he achieves the sounds that he makes. And David Krakauer doing Klezmer at the now defunct East Village Tonic Club on Sunday mornings.

The best advice you were ever given about the clarinet or clarinet playing?

One of the things I always remember is Brian ORourke, former principal clarinettist of the NSO and my teacher at the time, telling me years ago not to be too concerned about what other clarinettists are doing, to put my head down, do my own thing, and not to worry about it.

Read more:
Listen - it's all about the music

LONDON (SHARECAST) - The doorstep lender International Personal Finance (IPF) is to return a pile of cash to shareholders after reporting a big rise in customer numbers and underlying profits at the half year stage.

The company provides credit for households who may struggle to borrow money through conventional channels. The key for Leeds-based IPF is its focus on emerging markets; it makes its money in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Mexico.

In the six months to the end of June the group had 2.46m customers, up from 2.29m at the same point last year. Combined, those clients had taken out loans worth 409.3m. On a constant currency basis thats a 12.2% increase on 2011.

Foreign exchange (FX) movements were a big problem, though, for International Personal Finance, which last year had to issue a profit warning as the pound strengthened and the currencies in which it generates revenues weakened. It is this currency effect which is partly to blame for underlying profits before tax coming in at 31.4m, down on the 35.7m seen at the same point of 2011.

IPF also struggles when people pay their debts early, the so-called early settlement rebate. Stripping out both the FX and rebate issues, the profits before tax figure showed growth of 7.5m.

To reflect the underlying performance and with cash flowing in to strengthen an already healthy balance sheet, IPF has announced an interim dividend of 3.23p per share, a rise of 7.5% on the prior year, plus a 25m into a share buyback programme.

These two moves pushed the share price up nearly 7% in morning trading, although IPFs stock is still 26% down over the last 12 months.

Chief Executive Officer, Gerard Ryan, commented: "We are on track to perform well for the year as a whole, aim to deliver stronger growth and make our balance sheet work harder, and we have the strategy in place to do this."

BS

Excerpt from:
Confident Intl Personal Finance hikes divi

Transocean and BP, trade associations, and U.S. regulators largely judged the safety of offshore facilities by focusing on routine personal injury and fatality data such as dropped objects and trips and falls when they should have been more focused on managing the potential for catastrophic accidents, a federal report on the Gulf oil disaster says.

Investigators with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) who examined the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf said that timely checks on safety critical equipment and response to well control events would provide a better assessment of the health of safety management systems.

These type of indicators may be precursors to the kind of tragedy that took 11n lives on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig following the Macondo well blowout on April 20, 2010, the CSB said in a report released in Houston today that tracks with previous recommendations of the board.

A number of past CSB investigations have found companies focusing on personal injury rates while virtually overlooking looming process safety issues like the effectiveness of barriers against hazardous releases, automatic shutoff system failures, activation of pressure relief devices, and loss of containment of liquids and gases, said CSB Chairperson Dr. Rafael Moure-Eraso. Furthermore, we have found failures by companies to implement their own recommendations from previous accidents involving, for example, leaks of flammable materials.

In its investigation of the Macondo disaster, the CSB found that BP and its contracted drilling rig operator, Transocean, were focused on personal safety issues such as worker injury rates, rather than broader safety issues involving the process of drilling for oil using a complex rig.

Citing what the report says was a lack of sustained focus on process safety, CSB investigator Cheryl MacKenzie described an eerie resemblance between the 2005 explosion at the BP Texas City refinery of March 2005 and the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon in 2010.

At the BP Texas City refinery on March 23, 2005, contract workers had just returned to temporary trailers at the plant after attending a celebratory lunch commending an excellent personal injury accident record. Shortly after lunch, an explosion occurred during process startup, killing 15 and injuring 180 others. At Macondo, BP and Transocean officials were in the process of lauding operators and workers for a low rate of personal injuries on the very day of that tragedy. Company VIPs had flown to the rig in part to commend the workforce for zero lost-time incidents.

The emphasis on personal injury and lost work-time data obscures the bigger picture: that companies need to develop indicators that give them realistic information about their potential for catastrophic accidents. How safety is measured and managed is at the very core of accident prevention, MacKenzie said. If companies are not measuring safety performance effectively and using those data to continuously improve, they will likely be left in the dark about their safety risks.

A BP spokesman told the Associated Press that the company stepped up and developed more rigorous safety indicators following the accident.

The safety board said when BP looked at offshore endeavors it focused on financial risks, not process safety risks. And after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, the companys own accident investigation report recommended requiring hazard reviews of BP-owned and contracted rigs, the safety board said.

Link:
Oil Firms, Regulators Miss Major Accident Indicators: Gulf Spill Report

WD 2go Mobile App Combines Collaboration Benefits of Dropbox with Performance, Security and Capacity of WD Personal Cloud Solutions

THAILAND, Bangkok July 25, 2012 WD (NASDAQ:WDC), a world leader in external storage and connected home solutions, today introduced powerful new collaboration and file management features, including Dropbox integration, in the next generation of its popular WD 2go mobile app for their personal cloud products, the My Book Live and My Book Live Duo.

WDs personal cloud products provide shared storage on the home network, letting customers centralize their important documents, photos, videos and music in one place as well as automatically backup all the computers in their home. With the WD 2go app customers can access and share that content from outside the home on their mobile devices.

The new version of WD 2go lets customers move, copy and share content between their mobile device, their Dropbox and their WD personal cloud combining the benefits of personal and public cloud storage into one, easy-to-use app. For example, if a user has a small number of photos they want to share with their friends, they can copy them from their personal cloud into their Dropbox using the WD 2go app. But if they have a very large number of photos, or files that are too big for their Dropbox, they can use WD 2go to send a secure link to the files via email. WD 2go is available for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch or Android compatible mobile devices.

WD is committed to providing consumers with secure storage of digital content and access to it on any screen, on-the-go or at home, said Jim Welsh, executive vice president for WD's branded products and consumer electronics groups. By combining access to Dropbox and personal cloud storage into a single intuitive mobile app, WD is empowering consumers with the flexibility and control of anytime, any-device management of their growing libraries of digital content.

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