Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles
Grapefruit Benefits

UAW To Accept Up To 20% Of GM Stock; Agrees To Concessions On Retiree Health Care Obligations, Labor Rules
United Auto Workers leaders on Tuesday agreed to accept up to 20% of General Motors stock, as well as concessions on labor rules and retiree health care obligations, as the automaker faces a June 1 deadline to restructure or seek bankruptcy protection, the Detroit News reports (Aguilar/Shepardson, Detroit News, 5/27). Under the deal, the voluntary employees" beneficiary association would receive 17.5% of common GM stock, $6.5 billion of preferred shares, a $2.5 billion note and warrants equal to 2.5% of GM"s stock (Reuters/USA Today, 5/27). In addition, the VEBA would receive $585 million annually in interest income on its preferred stock (Detroit News, 5/27). Another concession included in the tentative deal is the elimination of dental, vision and some prescription drug coverage for hourly retirees (Shepardson/Aguilar, Detroit News, 5/26). UAW also would hold a seat on the GM board of directors (Cho et al., Washington Post, 5/27).Because of a proposed deal announced earlier this month, the Treasury Department and UAW, together, are to own 89% of GM"s stock, meaning that if the UAW-GM deal is approved, the Treasury would own about a 70% share of GM"s stock (Detroit News, 5/26). Current bondholders would hold about a 10% stake in the company (Washington Post, 5/27). The remaining 1% would be held by existing shareholders (Detroit News, 5/26).The total 20% is about half of what was anticipated (Higgins, Detroit Free Press, 5/26). The "significant concessions" made by UAW, which was eligible to receive up to 39% of GM"s equity through the VEBA, "could mean that [GM] is attempting to appease unsecured bondholders, who charged that the UAW was getting a better deal," according to the News (Detroit News, 5/27). UAW said the revised agreement with GM was necessary for the automaker to survive, but the deal will leave hundreds of thousands of GM retirees paying higher out-of-pocket medical expenses, the Wall Street Journal reports (Stoll et al., Wall Street Journal, 5/27).UAW members are scheduled to vote on the agreement on Wednesday and Thursday (Detroit News, 5/26). However, "[e]ven with UAW approval, GM is still likely to file for bankruptcy, since bondholders are unlikely to swallow deep concessions," according to the News (Detroit News, 5/27).
generic viagra online
Brazil's Scientific Research On The Rise, Thomson Reuters Study Finds
Thomson Reuters today announced the results of a study documenting Brazil"s steady rise during the last two decades in both the volume and impact of its scientific work. According to Science Watch, these findings underscore Brazil"s standing among the emergent "BRIC" nations. BRIC -- an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India and China -- are the countries possessing the res and economic potential to capture a significant share of the world"s future economic growth.
News of the day
Mortality Linked To Physical Activity Levels In Unfit Individuals
The least-fit segment of the population has twice the mortality risk of even those who are just a bit more in shape, according to a study published in the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Oncology

Ever Shorter Hospital Stays After Orthopaedic Operations Present A Major Challenge To Rehabilitation - Pre-operative Training Can Improve Results

"Rehabilitation medicine is facing a major challenge today," says Dr. Karsten Dreinh̦fer (Head of Department for Orthopaedics and Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical Park Berlin Humboldtm̿hle, Germany) speaking at the EFORT Congress in Vienna. "Not only in Germany but in many other European countries too, the trend is towards the shortest possible stay in an acute hospital after orthopaedic or trauma-related surgery. This means patient care is shifting increasingly to the rehabilitation sector, which must then be appropriately equipped and trained." But demographic developments are also presenting a significant challenge to orthopaedic rehabilitation: with modern surgical procedures, surgery such as joint replacement operations can be carried out on more and more patients, including the elderly and the very elderly, who then require special care and mobilization assistance, says Dr. Dreinh̦fer, who has been appointed to the professorship for musculoskeletal rehabilitation, prevention and health care research at the Charit̩ in Berlin. Broad interdisciplinary cooperation is also necessary, he says. "Multimodal concepts have proven to be especially effective in numerous diseases of the musculoskeletal system," says Dr. Dreinh̦fer, speaking of a further important trend. "This involves orthopaedics working together with other disciplines, such as physiotherapy, psychotherapy and sports sciences, to be able to help effectively such common complaints as back pain." He says it is also important to cooperate across various health sectors. "It is increasingly important to optimise, via treatment pathways, the transition from the pre-inpatient sector, to acute care and to rehabilitation." The Congress of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (EFORT), which is being held from 3 to 6 June, 2009, has brought together over 8,000 participants from around the world. International experts are presenting current trends and important developments from all areas of orthopaedics, with much attention paid to the theme of rehabilitation. Orthopaedic surgical procedures are constantly improving in quality and range - but after the replacement of a knee or hip joint the patient must learn again to move correctly. A series of current studies have investigated the importance of physical training in this connection. Training before an operation improves resilience afterwards Systematic training before an operation can contribute significantly to the success of an orthopaedic procedure, as a new study from Ireland being presented at the EFORT Congress demonstrates. Dr. Gavin McHugh (Dublin) and his team compared the success of rehabilitation of patients who underwent knee joint replacement surgery. One group took part before the operation in a six week special training programme which strengthened the leg musculature. After the operation both groups received standard physiotherapy. Categories such as muscle strength, knee function and the structure of muscle were then measured. The group which underwent training scored better in all categories than the control group. "We were able to demonstrate for the first time in this study that a pre-operative training programme for patients receiving a knee endoprosthesis has advantages for post-operative mobility and resilience," say the study authors. Hip prosthesis: Patients maintain physical activity after revision An investigation by a Dutch group, which is being presented at the EFORT Congress in Vienna, looks at the post-operative physical activity of hip replacement patients. Dr. Martin Stevens (Groningen, The Netherlands) and his team compared patients after a so-called revision - a second operation when for instance a prosthesis has become loose - with those who had received an artificial hip for the first time. One of the surprising results from a survey of 506 patients: although more patients complained of significant physical limitations after a second operation, physical activity was at a comparable level between the two groups. Thus to assess success of rehabilitation, many diverse aspects need to be taken into account, say the study authors. Patients should be motivated to be more active In general, hip replacement patients should be motivated to be more physically active after an operation, as another study shows, which is presented in Vienna by the same research team from The Netherlands. Dr Stevens and his colleagues also examined sports activities of patients with artificial hips. The younger the patient and the lower the Body Mass Index, the more active they are, the survey shows. On average, those who had had hip operations engaged in around 1,500 minutes of exercise a week. "That is in fact the level of the general population," the study authors say. "However a high proportion of patients is not active enough, we should motivate them to exercise more." Abstracts: EFORT 2009 Abstract: McHugh G et al, Pre-operative exercise enhances strength, function and muscle structure post TKA. A randomized trial. EFORT 2009 Abstract: Stevens M et al, Self reported limitations and physical activity after revision of hip surgery: A comparison with primary hip surgery EFORT 2009 Abstract: Stevens M et al, Physical activity behavior of patients one year after primary total hip arthroplasty EFFORT


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009