Optical diagnosis using high-definition white light and nonmagnified narrow band imaging was accurate for diagnosing polyps sized less than 10 mm and may also be cost-saving.

The findings of this prospective study demonstrated that assessment of small polyps and planning of surveillance using optical diagnosis resulted in the same recommended surveillance interval as indicated by pathological assessment in most cases, according to an accompanying editorial by Douglas K. Rex, MD, professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis.

Researchers examined data from patients with a positive fecal occult blood test or previous adenomas who were under surveillance from June 2008 to June 2009. two expert colonoscopists, one trainee and one specialist nurse performed the procedures.

In 130 patients, 363 polyps sized less than 10 mm were resected. there were 278 polyps that had both optical and histopathological diagnosis. eighty were non-neoplastic lesions and 198 were adenomas.

When using white light alone or white light with narrow band imaging (NBI, Olympus) and chromoendoscopy, optical diagnosis correctly diagnosed 186 adenomas with sensitivity of 94% (95% CI, 0.90-0.97). Diagnosis was also correct for 55 of 62 hyperplastic polyps with a specificity of 89% (95% CI, 0.78-0.95). overall accuracy was 93% (95% CI, 0.89-0.96).

Surveillance intervals using histopathology and optical diagnosis were the same in 80 of 82 patients (98%), according to the researchers. when using optical diagnosis, surveillance intervals would have been identical in 78 of 82 patients (95%) using U.S. guidelines and in 80 of 82 (98%) patients using British Society for Gastroenterology guidelines. Optical diagnosis would have resulted in an overall saving of 77% for the 130 patients.

“The resect and discard approach is poised to become a vast improvement in the cost-effectiveness of colonoscopy,” Rex wrote.

Ignjatovic a. Lancet Oncol. 2009;doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(09)70329-8.

More in the Journals>>

Howare you reading the Nifty’s movement this morning and how would you playthe index?

actually marketswere waiting for one negative news to flow in for them to correct and the Dubaicrisis gave that news for markets to go down, it was more of a knee jerkreaction. most of the Indian companies which have exposure to Dubai markets cameout with clarification as to the extent of losses that they might have tosuffer, which was way below the expectations and we saw that the market bouncedback in the second half and going forward today one thing that will have to waitis around 11:30 Dubai markets would open, we would have to see the reaction inDubai market. For traders that is very important but for investors any fall inthe market is a buying opportunity for longterm.

Right,tell us about auto as a pack because now we are talking about a price hikecoming in mainly because the input side has become dearer for the companies, sostocks like M&M and Tata motors, how would you really playthat?

Definitely if you look atauto sector this is one sector which is exhibiting top line growth unlike othersectors and we have seen that the profits also have seen significant jump andthe cause of concern for most of these auto stocks was the increase in the rawmaterial prices and the commodity prices which will get factored in once theyraise the price of their vehicles. So what they are doing is the rise incommodity prices or rise in raw material prices being passed onto the endbuyers. So all said and done, this is one sector which will benefit and this isone sector which is seeing strong momentum growth and seeing strong top linesales and this will continue for few more quarters tocontinue.

From cautiously advising that man-made, heat-trapping carbon gases would disrupt Earth’s climate system, mainstream scientists are increasingly convinced that the first signs of change are already here. following are the main indicators, reported in the scientific press over past three years:

RISING SEAS: Sea levels have risen in tandem with global warming, according to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The global average sea level has risen since 1961 at an average rate of 1.8mm (0.07 inches) per year, but accelerated from 1991 to 3.1mm (0.12 inches) per year. The IPCC estimated sea levels would rise 18-59 centimetres (7.2-23.2 inches) by 2100. but added runoff from melting land ice is accelerating. according to Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), the global sea level is likely to rise at least twice as much as projected. If emissions are not curbed, “it may well exceed one metre (3.25 feet).”

SHRINKING GLACIERS: Mountain glaciers and snow cover in both hemispheres have widely retreated in the past few decades. one of the most closely-observed sites, the Cook glacier on the southern Indian Ocean island of Kerguelen, has shrunk by a fifth in 40 years. around 1.3 billion people depend on the water that flows down from Himalayan glaciers, which in some places are falling back at up to 70 metres (230 feet) per year. The snows capping Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest peak, could vanish entirely in 20 years, US experts reported this month.

SHIFTING SEASONS: Some species of birds and fish are shifting habitat in response to warmer temperatures. The range of 105 bird species in France moved north, on average, 91 kilometres (56.5 miles) from 1989 to 2006. Average temperatures, however, shifted northward 273 kilometres (170 miles) over the same period, nearly three times farther. Twenty-one out of 36 species of fish in the North Sea migrated northwards between 1962 and 2001 in search of cooler waters. Anecdotal evidence from commercial fishermen says once-exotic species of fish from warmer latitudes now inhabit southern British waters.

OCEAN ACIDIFICATION: The acidity of the seas is rising as oceans absorb more carbon dioxide (CO2), with an impact on coral and micro-organisms, marine biologists say. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, the protective calcium shell of amoeba-like organisms living in the Southern Ocean called foraminifera, a vital link in the food chain, has fallen in weight by a third. “Within decades,” acidification could severely affect biodiversity and fisheries, 150 marine scientists jointly warned last January.

ARCTIC ICE: The Greenland ice sheet has lost 1,500 billion tonnes of ice since 2000, contributing 0.75 mm (0.03 inch) annually to sea levels, according to a study published this month. in 2009, the Arctic summer sea ice pack thawed to its third smallest size on record, confirming a shrinkage trend seen over the past 30 years. Some experts believe the Arctic ice cap will disappear completely in summer months within 20 to 30 years.

ANTARCTIC WARMING: The Antarctic peninsula has warmed by 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in the last 50 years, around six times the global average. in the past 20 years, Antarctica has lost seven ice shelves – huge floating ledges of ice, attached to the shore, that are fed by glaciers.

PERMAFROST RETREAT: Emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane were found to be soaring at sites investigated in 2006 by University of Alaska scientists at lakes in northern Siberia. The reason is thawing of the permafrost, causing the warmed soil to release gas that had been stored for thousands of years. Billions of tonnes of methane, which comes from natural sources such as decomposing vegetation and marshland, are stored in the frozen lands of Siberia, Canada and Alaska.

CHANGED PRECIPITATION: Patterns of rainfall or snowfall increased “significantly” from 1900-2005 in eastern parts of North and South America, northern Europe and northern and central Asia but declined in the Sahel, southern Africa and parts of southern Asia, says the IPCC. “Globally, the area affected by drought has likely increased since the 1970s,” it adds.

STORMS: A mooted link between climate change and extreme events has little scientific consensus. A 2008 study by the Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre at University College London found that warmer seas accounted for 40 percent of a large increase (from six a year to eight a year) in the number of Atlantic hurricanes from 1996-2005. other scientists say it is hard to say whether a drought, flood or cyclone is part of the longer trend which is climate change or simply just a one-off event, or series of them.

SOURCES: IPCC 4th Assessment Report (2007); Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Center (Australia); Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK); Nature; Science; Nature Geoscience; Laboratory for Studying Geophysics and Space Oceanography (France); French National Museum of Natural History; Pen Hadow Arctic expedition; US National Snow and Ice Data Center; British Antarctic Survey (BAS); University of Alaska at Fairbanks.

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the larger model of the DSi, the Nintendo DSi LL, launched in Japan today, Saturday 21st November, and from the lengthy queues being formed to pick up the fancy new model, it looks like it could well be a far greater success than Sony’s PSP-Go.

The Nintendo DSi LL has two whopping 4.2-inch screens and has the following dimensions: 161.0mm / 91.4mm / 21.2mm (comparatively the DS is 148.7mm/84.7mm/28.9mm, the DS Lite is 133.0mm/73.9mm/21.5mm and the standard DSi is 137.0mm/74.9mm/18.9mm). the Japanese model comes in three colours, Wine Red, Dark Brown, Natural White, and also has applications like ‘A little Bit of Brain Training’ and ‘Flipnote Studio’ pre-installed.

According to sources in Japan, the initial shipment is 150,000 units, the same amount that Sony shipped for the PSP-Go. the difference is that Sony is currently struggling to sell more than a third of that shipment so far, whilst Nintendo could be looking at a first weekend sell-out, despite the system selling for 20,000, the equivalent of a Wii in Japan!

Some comparison screens can be seen here.

MUMBAI:Indices were on a firm foot on Wednesday as buying activity resumed across theboard ahead of November series expiry. however volatility later in the daycan’t be ruled out.

At 12:29 pm, Bombay StockExchange’s Sensex was at 17269.62, up 138.54 points or 0.81 per cent. The30-share index hit an intra-day high of 17284.30 and low of 17124.15.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 5123.25, up 32.05 points or0.70 per cent.

“Nifty depicted signs of weakness on shortterm charts with formation of distributive patterns. Short term oscillators havebeen depicting sign of weakness for some time. Despite the divergence the indexso far continued to form higher peaks and troughs. Failure to rally past 5110would lead to increasing weakness in the index. Short term supports are placedat 5050 and below that at 5020 while 5110 remain crucial supply zone. Trenddecider level remains at 4900 and 5185 which may lead for unfolding of a biggermove,” said Edelweiss report.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.77 percent and BSE Smallcap Index gained 0.93 per cent.

amongst thesectoral indices, BSE Oil&gas Index was up 1.76 per cent, BSE Metal Indexmoved 1.33 per cent higher and BSE Auto Index gained 1.10 per cent. BSE RealtyIndex was down 0.22 per cent.

Reliance Industries (1.90%), Mahindra& Mahindra (1.75%), Hero Honda (1.66%), Maruti Suzuki (1.61%) and ITC(1.46%) were amongst the top Sensex gainers.

DLF (-0.86%), NTPC(-0.46%), ICICI Bank (-0.42%), Tata Power (-0.34%) and Wipro (-0.14%) wereamongst the top losers.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with1608 advances and 913 declines.

Following recent comments from Aifa director general Chris Cummings and Conservative Shadow pensions minister Niger Waterson questioning the RDR timetable, it appears certain industry voices have become preoccupied with creating an artificial divide in the adviser community.

To suggest the IFA sector can be neatly segmented between those who have got the required RDR exams or are confident of attaining them and therefore support the reforms and those who have not and do not is to paint and simplistic and unrepresentative picture.

As the level of debate on the Money Marketing website shows, the situation is far more complex. Many advisers who already have the required qualifications or are studying for them are worried about the potential damage to consumers and the industry of strict arbitrary deadlines after which some advisers would be banned from practising.

Many advisers see the huge benefits to their own businesses of increasing professionalism and are on the road to achieving the qualifications but this does not necessarily mean they accept it should be enforced on all other practitioners in a short timeframe.

Money Marketing has been a resolute champion of the drive to increase professionalism in the IFA sector. this week, we publish the second issue of our new publication Adviser Evolution, aimed at helping as many of our readers as possible reach the FSA’s RDR requirements.

But we remain extremely concerned about a sizeable number of experienced advisers, many of whom may only want to remain in the industry for a few years post-2012, who are worried about meeting the new requirements.

Genuine work-based assessments will help the situation and it must be hoped the FSA will listen to the strong representations it has received on this subject from a number of providers and, notably, the Personal Finance Society.

The FSA must also think seriously about Aifa’s proposals to reward advisers who increase their professionalism with regulatory dividends such as less regulatory scrutiny and lower fees, rather than enforcing strict deadlines.

Against this backdrop, the hostile comments made by FSA director of conduct policy division Sheila Nicoll last week about advisers being “in denial” appear misjudged. In fact, the IFA community more than anyone has its eyes wide open to the damage certain parts of the RDR reforms could inflict on consumers. perhaps it is time the FSA stopped such bullying tactics and spent more time listening.

Readers’ comments (3)

• John Blackmore | 26 Nov 2009 9:00 am

  I deny that Q level 4 is needed for 95% of the sales made every day – Product Regulation is required here.

  I deny that Q level 4 is sufficient for the remaining 5% who offer complex Independent Financial Advise. Q level 6 minimum is required here.

  I deny that fee only makes sense. the 95% who really sell for a living should be allowed to continue on commission albeit with maximum levels imposed.

  I deny that a 15 year long stop is not required.

  I deny that TCF should be allowed to over rule the laws of contract.

  Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment

• Anonymous | 26 Nov 2009 11:20 am

  I think anything that makes the life of the so-called IFA as hard as possible is a good thing. most of the mis-selling of all products that have occured in the last 20 years or more are largely down to the likes of IFAs – the sooner they are dealt with properly in the shortest possible time, the better.

  Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment

• Simon Kershaw | 26 Nov 2009 2:44 pm

  That last comment must have been posted by someone at the British Bankers Association, who is a coward to post such rubbish anonymously

  Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment

MUMBAI:Indices were on a firm foot on Wednesday as buying activity resumed across theboard ahead of November series expiry. However volatility later in the daycan’t be ruled out.

At 12:29 pm, Bombay StockExchange’s Sensex was at 17269.62, up 138.54 points or 0.81 per cent. The30-share index hit an intra-day high of 17284.30 and low of 17124.15.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 5123.25, up 32.05 points or0.70 per cent.

“Nifty depicted signs of weakness on shortterm charts with formation of distributive patterns. Short term oscillators havebeen depicting sign of weakness for some time. despite the divergence the indexso far continued to form higher peaks and troughs. Failure to rally past 5110would lead to increasing weakness in the index. Short term supports are placedat 5050 and below that at 5020 while 5110 remain crucial supply zone. Trenddecider level remains at 4900 and 5185 which may lead for unfolding of a biggermove,” said Edelweiss report.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.77 percent and BSE Smallcap Index gained 0.93 per cent.

Amongst thesectoral indices, BSE Oil&gas Index was up 1.76 per cent, BSE Metal Indexmoved 1.33 per cent higher and BSE Auto Index gained 1.10 per cent. BSE RealtyIndex was down 0.22 per cent.

Reliance Industries (1.90%), Mahindra& Mahindra (1.75%), Hero Honda (1.66%), Maruti Suzuki (1.61%) and ITC(1.46%) were amongst the top Sensex gainers.

DLF (-0.86%), NTPC(-0.46%), ICICI Bank (-0.42%), Tata Power (-0.34%) and Wipro (-0.14%) wereamongst the top losers.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with1608 advances and 913 declines.

MUMBAI:Indices were on a firm foot on Wednesday as buying activity resumed across theboard ahead of November series expiry. however volatility later in the daycan’t be ruled out.

At 12:29 pm, Bombay StockExchange’s Sensex was at 17269.62, up 138.54 points or 0.81 per cent. The30-share index hit an intra-day high of 17284.30 and low of 17124.15.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 5123.25, up 32.05 points or0.70 per cent.

“Nifty depicted signs of weakness on shortterm charts with formation of distributive patterns. Short term oscillators havebeen depicting sign of weakness for some time. Despite the divergence the indexso far continued to form higher peaks and troughs. Failure to rally past 5110would lead to increasing weakness in the index. Short term supports are placedat 5050 and below that at 5020 while 5110 remain crucial supply zone. Trenddecider level remains at 4900 and 5185 which may lead for unfolding of a biggermove,” said Edelweiss report.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.77 percent and BSE Smallcap Index gained 0.93 per cent.

Amongst thesectoral indices, BSE Oil&gas Index was up 1.76 per cent, BSE Metal Indexmoved 1.33 per cent higher and BSE Auto Index gained 1.10 per cent. BSE RealtyIndex was down 0.22 per cent.

Reliance Industries (1.90%), Mahindra& Mahindra (1.75%), Hero Honda (1.66%), Maruti Suzuki (1.61%) and ITC(1.46%) were amongst the top Sensex gainers.

DLF (-0.86%), NTPC(-0.46%), ICICI Bank (-0.42%), Tata Power (-0.34%) and Wipro (-0.14%) wereamongst the top losers.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with1608 advances and 913 declines.

Renault has no intentions of upsetting the applecart with Mahindra & Mahindra on the Logan project.

The Logan will continue to be developed with M&M, Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Renault-Nissan, told Business Line during his recent India visit.

However, it is still not clear if there will be any change in the retail strategy for the car. At present, it is showcased with M&Ms Scorpio sport-utility vehicle in the companys showrooms. Renault is clear, though, that it is working on an independent retail strategy for its future India products and it remains to be seen if the Logan will be part of this revised plan.

The only thing that has to be clarified for Renault is how to market and sell our products. this is not an issue with our partner, Nissan because its retail plan is in place. Renault is working on something and is clear about an exclusive identity in the form of showrooms, advertising campaigns and so on, Ghosn said.

M&M and Renault entered into a 51:49 partnership three years ago to manufacture the Logan sedan. The car promised plenty but monthly sales have been at the sub-500 unit level for sometime now and losses last fiscal totalled nearly Rs 500 crore. The Nashik plant has been planned with an installed capacity of 50,000 cars annually.

M&M believes that the way forward is to reduce the length of the Logan to four metres so that it qualifies as a small car in the Indian context and can avail of the lower eight per cent excise duty (instead of the current level of 20 per cent). this is applicable to any car up to four metres long whose engine capacities do not exceed 1.2 litres for petrol and 1.5 litres in the case of diesel.

The excise duty is an issue in India but we need to continue to work on the Logan to adapt it to local tastes. we also need to do it quickly and with a good knowledge of what customers want, Ghosn said.

According to him, the other solution lay in localisation of components which would play a key role in bringing down costs. It now remains to be seen which of these options would be exercised though he was categorical that both parties would work jointly on finding an answer.

We need to do it with M&M as they have shared responsibility on the car and also possess knowledge of the Indian market. we need to decide the solution together, Mr Ghosn said.

It now looks as if the partners are working overtime to get it right. Hopefully, before the Delhi Auto Show kick of in January next year, you could see many things becoming clear in these small, grey areas, he added. It will be interesting to see if some of these initiatives include a new product line-up for the Nashik plant.

Trimming the Logan will help reduce its price tag by at least Rs 50,000 but dealers are not entirely certain if that alone would suffice especially when substantial discounts are already being offered on the car to keep it moving off the shelves.

Ghosn said that the Indian customer is value-driven and wants everything in his car which seems to indicate that Renault may even work on some internal aspects of the Logan in terms of offering more goodies at the same price, or even lower if its length is also reduced. The car, he added, has been a huge success in Russia, Europe, North Africa and Brazil.

We are surprised that it could not be replicated in India. The Logan is important for Renaults future because it is the first product from us in this country, Ghosn said.

Taken from Business Line

Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS), a unit of M&M will bid for defence projects in India worth $3.5 billion over the next seven years, said its chief executive yesterday.

Khutub Hai, head of MDS, a special division set up in New Delhi to oversee the requirements of the domestic defence sector told Reuters in an interview yesterday, ”Most of projects will come from artillery systems and armoured vehicles.”

Hai said that he hopes to increase revenues from the current $21.7 million to $430 million by 2016 through joint ventures.

In March 2009, M&M had sought shareholders’ approval to spin off two divisions of its defence unit into separate subsidiaries by transferring the land systems and naval systems divisions of MDS into separate companies. (See: M&M proposes to spin off land, sea defence units)

MDS is a current supplier of the entire range of light combat / armoured vehicles and their derivatives for defence / security forces. it also is the largest private sector company supplying bullet-proof vehicles and sea mines.

The company has been awarded industrial licenses by the government of India for Light Armoured Multi Role Vehicles, simulators for weapons and weapon systems, mobile surveillance platforms, sea mines, small arms and Up-armoured vehicles