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Hewitt ousts Lu while Briton Watson makes last eight

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AFP) – Australian Lleyton Hewitt ousted Taiwan seventh seed Yen-Hsun Lu 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) on Wednesday to reach the second round of a 1.32 million-dollar ATP and WTA indoor tournament.

The Aussie veteran booked a date with Frenchman Adrian Mannarino on Thursday for a berth in the quarter-finals opposite either Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic or US top seed Andy Roddick.

Belgium's Xavier Malisse, who became a ninth seed after Frenchman Gael Monfils was forced to withdraw with a left wrist injury suffered last week in San Jose, retired from his match trailing Frenchman Florent Serra 6-2, 1-0.

On the women's side, British qualifier Heather Watson reached the quarter-finals by outlasting French qualifier Stephanie Foretz Gacon 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.

Either US third seed Melanie Oudin or Russian Evgeniya Rodina will meet Watson on Thursday to decide a spot in Friday's semi-finals.

SkillSurvey® Welcomes Orange Regional Medical Center as Client

Hospital Adopts Best-Practice Approach to Checking References

Wayne, PA (Vocus/PRWEB) February 16, 2011

, the inventor and leading-provider of Web 2.0 reference-assessment solutions, has announced thatis now a subscriber to .

The 450-bed institution with campuses in Middletown, New York and Goshen, New York, is using Pre-Hire 360® to assess its candidates prior to the in-person employment interview.The web-based software program gathers reference feedback on job candidates and improves hiring success for organizations.

“Using this reference-checking system allows our recruiters to develop behaviorally-based interview questions that dig deeper into a person’s skill sets, work habits and attitudes,” said Scott Clatur, director of recruitment services at Orange Regional Medical Center.“We can tell from a resume whether a registered nurse is clinically-qualified, but that alone is not predictive of outstanding performance.Using a web-based program for checking references takes us beyond the obvious, and over time, will help us hire more productive employees who uphold our mission and values.”

Pre-Hire 360® automates the process of gathering input from an applicant’s references by using behaviorally-based surveys delivered through email.The surveys delve into a candidate’s strengths and developmental needs, as borne out on the job.Confidential input from managers, peers, subordinates and business partners provides a multi-dimensional view of the candidate’s past performance.The system overcomes the usual reticence of former employers because they are released from legal liability and their feedback is not personally-identifiable.

“We’re delighted to be supporting the Orange Regional Medical Center team with its hiring goals,” said Ray Bixler, president and chief executive officer of SkillSurvey®, Inc.“The medical center aims to offer patient-friendly, efficient and technologically-advanced medical care.We are confident that the competency-based approach within Pre-Hire 360® will help their organization hire top-performers who will further that mission and be successful within the hospital’s culture.”

Orange Regional Medical Center currently employs over 2,400 healthcare professionals.Its medical staff of more than 600 practitioners provides a complete range of acute inpatient services in nearly every medical specialty.The medical center is comprised of two main campuses and five off-site locations.Later this year, Orange Regional Medical Center will consolidate its two existing campuses into a single-site facility, which is currently in construction.Once complete, the new free-standing medical center will be the first of its kind in the state of New York in over 20 years.

The hospital will also be utilizing the exclusive , a database of references participating in the Pre-Hire 360® survey process, who would like to be kept informed of future job openings.An average-size organization that fills 1,000 openings per year and processes five candidates for each position, will amass a leads database of approximately 18,000 passive candidates.

Orange Regional Medical Center joins over 300 hospitals nationwide that rely upon reference-checking solutions from SkillSurvey®, Inc., to help increase effectiveness with sourcing and evaluating job candidates.

For more information, contact Scott Fuhr, director of marketing, at , or at 610-947-6300, ext. 1225.

About SkillSurvey®, Inc.SkillSurvey®, Inc. is the inventor of Web 2.0 reference assessment solutions that improve recruiting efficiency and increase quality of hire.Its online programs allow recruiters and hiring managers to collect feedback from references on a candidate’s behaviors and work performance.The information, all gathered electronically, is used to make better hiring decisions.This patent-pending approach to reference assessments is based on over 30 years of research in job competency modeling.Visit SkillSurvey®, Inc., atand onand .

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Scott FuhrSkillSurvey, Inc.610-947-6300 1225Email Information

Chrysler's 'embarrassing' decision to spend $9 million on a Super Bowl ad

New York – Many critics were inspired by the car company's two-minute defense of Detroit. Others argue that the price is inappropriately high for a company in debt

Chrysler broadcast an epic two-minute commercial during the Super Bowl that was less a traditional car ad than a tribute to Detroit. (See video below.) The commercial — the longest in Super Bowl history — proved a , who connected with its stirring imagery and hopeful message about the struggling city's future. But not everyone was left inspired by Chrysler's paean to the Motor City. A Republican congressman and other conservativesthat Chrysler still owes the government $5.8 billion in bailout money, and that spending millions on an ad is problematic for a beleaguered company in debt. (Chrysler's CEO says the ad cost less than $9 million.) Was the car maker right to splurge on its buzzworthy spot?

The ad was too expensive and misleading: "Chrysler took $15 billion from taxpayers, to which it wasn't entitled," , and made a commercial full of falsehoods. For instance, Chrysler did not "go through the hottest fires," as the ad suggests — unless "hottest fires" means "skipping bankruptcy and asking for a handout toprotect union pensions." This hypocritical ad just goes to show "howthe federal government picks winners and losers. Guess which part thetaxpayers play?"

The commercial was insulting, too: It's bad enough that the U.S. spent billions to rescue Chrysler afterdecades of poor decisions, . Now this ad, coupled with recent complaints from Chrysler's CEO that the government was charging his company outrageousinterest rates, really puts things over the top. This commercial was truly "the most embarrassing gaffe" of the Super Bowl.  

The pay-off has been worth it: Despite "advance criticism of Chrysler for making a $9 million commitment," , this ad has made an almost unprecedented impact. It continues to "live large on the internet." More than 2,000 news organizations have mentioned it, generating more than 200 million web hits. On YouTube, "the video has been viewed more 1.2 million times in less than 24 hours." And the "ad is already proving its value." Web-traffic to the Chrysler 200 site increased more than 1,600 percent in the hours after the ad aired.

Svi Hitovi .Rauhnacht . Reel Kombat .Crayons 2004 (including MV remix) .Merc

Cantor: Eliminating taxpayer funding for abortions top of the agenda

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor told those gathered at a pro-life rally in Washington, D.C. that ending taxpayer funding for abortion was at the “top of the agenda” for the new Republican majority in the House.

Tens of thousands of Americans from across the country — many young, some old — braved the cold, sub-freezing temperatures Monday to protest abortion, euthanasia and taxpayer funding of such initiatives, in the .

On the National Mall, a diverse mix of speakers galvanized the crowd — including the founder and president of the March for Life Nellie Gray, a number of priests, women who regretted their abortions, and Terri Schiavo’s brother Bobby Schindler. Politicians, such as Cantor, Republican Rep. Chris Smith, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus New Jersey,and Texas Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling also were present. The only Democrat politician to speak was Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus.

Cantor did not disappoint the legions assembled for the pro-life cause by pledging to make the pro-life cause a priority in Congress. He also boasted to the crowd that the new Congress had the most pro-life freshman class in memory.

“We know we have an uphill battle in the Senate and in the White House. But I can promise you one thing, the people’s House will stand un-apologetically for life,” Cantor said. “And we will do everything in our power to make sure that our values, that your values, are reflected in the law of the land.”

Smith cheered last week’s introduction of a billto end taxpayer funding of abortion.

“The evidence suggests that when public funding is unavailable the number of abortions dropped dramatically by about 25 percent,” Smith said. “So last week with the full and unequivocal support of Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor and the rest of our leadership team — all of whom are here — more than 135 members in all, including a Democrat, Dan Lipinski, we introduced ‘The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion’ H.R. 3 a government wide prohibition of taxpayer funding of abortion and conscience protection for health care professionals.”

Rally leader Gray addressed President Obama directly, saying that his assertion that Roe vs. Wade was a correct interpretation of the Constitution was more than foolish.

“We are here to tell the President of the United States that intentional killing of the pre-born, aged or anyone else is not an appropriate interpretation of our Constitution,” Gray said to cheers. “We are bringing the message to you Mr. President and we would be glad to work with you. We bring this message to you with love. We are taught to come to our enemies to come to our neighbors with love. Therefore the love we have for you Mr. President, as the president of all of the people, including the pre-born, is that Roe vs. Wade shall be overturned.”

Last Saturday on the 38th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the court decision that legalized abortion nationwide, President Obama issued a statement of support for the landmark ruling.

“I am committed to protecting this constitutional right. I also remain committed to policies, initiatives, and programs that help prevent unintended pregnancies, support pregnant women and mothers, encourage healthy relationships, and promote adoption. And on this anniversary, I hope that we will recommit ourselves more broadly to ensuring that our daughters have the same rights, the same freedoms, and the same opportunities as our sons to fulfill their dreams,” the statement read.

The march took participants from the Verizon Center to the National Mall down Constitution Avenue and to the Supreme Court building.

Read more stories from The Daily Caller

Extra calcium, vitamin D no bone booster for men

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Taking extra vitamin D and calcium doesn't seem to prevent bone-thinning in older men, according to Australian researchers.

However, exercise did boost bone mineral density, a proxy for bone strength, their report shows.

Despite the findings, people still need to get enough calcium and vitamin D to reduce the risk of osteoporosis, or bone thinning, said Dr. Mone Zaidi, an osteoporosis researcher at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, who was not involved in the study.

"It's like the four legs of the stool: vitamin D and calcium, exercise, medications if a person is losing bone, and the fourth leg is telling people how to prevent fractures," Zaidi said.

More than 40 million people in the US are affected by osteoporosis. It's most common in older women, but about seven percent of white men and five percent of black men are affected, according to the American College of Physicians.

In the new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Robin M. Daly from the University of Melbourne, Australia and colleagues randomly assigned men aged 59 to 70 to an exercise program, drinking milk fortified with calcium and vitamin D, doing both, or doing nothing.

They measured the men's bone density before and after the study, which took place over 18 months, but they didn't look at fractures.

At the end of the study, men who exercised had higher bone density than those who had supplemented their diet with 1000 milligrams of calcium and 800 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day.

Adding the supplements to the exercise program provided no extra benefit, hinting that the men already had enough vitamin D and calcium in their diets to be able to boost their bone strength through exercise alone.

The recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 600 IU in adults up to age 70, and 800 IU for older people, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A 6-month supply of vitamin D supplements can be bought for less than $10, and many multivitamins contain the recommended daily dose of vitamin D.

As for calcium, the NIH advises 1,000 mg per day for men ages19-70, and then 1,200 mg per day for men older than 70.

To build bone density, weight-bearing exercise is needed, such as running or weight-lifting, according to the NIH.

In animal studies, a lack of vitamin D has been linked to several diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and some types of cancer. However, there isn't enough data to say if vitamin D can help treat or prevent these diseases, Zaidi said.

To reduce the risk of bone weakening, the NIH recommends not smoking, drinking less alcohol and exercising more.

Zaidi said that both vitamin D and calcium are extremely important for human health, so people should follow the previous vitamin D and calcium recommendations.

"You've got to have it to build a wall," he said. "Adding more might not strengthen the wall, but you have to take enough to keep the wall strong. Otherwise it might fall apart."

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/i4tDqs The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, online January 5, 2011.