Japan revises Q2 growth
Tokyo: Japan on Friday revised down second-quarter economic growth to 0.3 percent from an initial estimate of 0.4 percent, defying widespread expectations for an upward revision and sending the yen and stocks lower.

Economists said there was little cause for alarm, noting a surprisingly large fall in public investment as the government tries to rein in its ballooning budget deficit.

But looking ahead, some questioned the strength of Japan's economic recovery after having seen softer data for July in recent weeks.

On an annualised basis, gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 1.3 per cent, compared with the initial estimate of 1.7 per cent, the Cabinet Office said. It was the fifth consecutive quarter of growth.

Economic data for July, which will feed into the next GDP report, has shown signs of a slowdown in some key areas that had been behind Japan's robust economic growth over the past year. The government stuck with its forecast of 3.5 per cent growth for the current fiscal year to next March. Japan needs to grow 0.6 per cent in each remaining quarter of the fiscal year to meet the target.

The July-September GDP figures are due out on November 12.
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For cats of one kind - go for the other…
London, UK: New research reveals that to get a cat works wonders to make a man more attractive to the opposite sex. The research, conducted by a psychologist and world expert in animal companion studies, was released to mark the start of Cats Protection Week.

82 per cent of women said that they are attracted to men who like animals: the reason cited by 91 per cent of single women being that men who like animals are 'much nicer'.

And this could actually be so, as the research reveals cats bring out the caring-sharing side of their male owners:

• 82 per cent of single men admit that their puss gives them a 'much-needed cuddle factor'
• 91 per cent say it's not soppy for a man to love his cat, and
• 72 per cent admit that having a cat gives him something to lavish care on.

The findings should come as a pleasant surprise to the UK's 1.28million male cat owners as the survey's male respondents had a limited awareness of how their attractiveness could increase with the presence of a pet. Only 42 per cent of men in a relationship thought that women were more attracted to men who like animals.
But the research also showed that when it comes to pussycat love, a man is willing to make huge sacrifices for his favourite pet - even down to his choice of partner.

Owning a cat can put pay to a blossoming romance, as 66 per cent of single men said that if they had to choose between their pet and a potential partner, the cat would win. Women are just as mad about their cats and scored even higher on this question, with 72 per cent of single women saying the cat would win.

83 per cent of single men and 63 per cent of partnered men said they would go without a holiday in order to keep his cat - and 67 per cent of single men would break friendships if they came between him and his feline. Women were just as likely to make sacrifices: 43 per cent said they would move house to keep their cat and 45 per cent would be willing to go into debt.

Nor were the results idle assertions: more than half of the men and women surveyed had made such sacrifices. The greatest compromise was over holidays where respondents did not want to put the cat into a cattery and the second over house location, where cat-owners would have moved to a less preferred house because it was more 'cat friendly' or not moving at all as the cat was happy where it was.

Women say cats have a way of making friends (66 per cent) and act as a stress buster (86 per cent of single women value the time they and their cat are relaxing together).

When it comes to appreciating their cat, for men it's sensual: more than 70 per cent described the pleasure in stroking their cat as this. Or maybe it could be that a feline is just easier to live with than a female: when asked if 'cats are more wilful than women' - only 30 per cent or single men and 34 per cent of partnered men agreed.
Dr June McNicholas, psychologist and world expert in animal companion studies, said: "Cats are no longer a solely female domain. Modern men are fast getting in touch with their feeling side and enjoy lavishing love and care on their cats as much as women do, if not more."

Dr Scott Miller, TV Vet and celebrity Cats Protection Week supporter, said: "I think women find the presence of a cat in a bachelor pad not only a good indication of character but also that it confirms a man's sensitive side.

'Men have fe-lines too' is the theme of this year's Cats Protection Week which runs from 11-18 September.
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IntelliSPEECH 4.2 advances reliability and usability of Speech-Enabled Technology
Manchester, USA: The System Development Company, Inc. (SDC) has announced version 4.2 of IntelliSPEECH, SDC's speech-enabled call and information handling solution. Designed to further enhance user flexibility, customer self-service, and overall customer satisfaction, IntelliSPEECH 4.2 advances the reliability and usability of speech technology. IntelliSPEECH 4.2 will be demonstrated at SpeechTEK 2004, September 13 - 16 at the New York Marriott Marquis, New York City.

An innovative speech solution, IntelliSPEECH 4.2 provides a comprehensive telephone directory database accessible via the spoken word. Inbound callers may connect their call; initiate a page, or access information via speech.

IntelliSPEECH 4.2 eliminates fifty to seventy percent of routine calls, allowing operators to handle more important tasks and provide the highest level of customer support to callers requiring a personal touch.

Updated features to IntelliSPEECH 4.2 include:

— Emergency Out Calling - Using IntelliDESK Emergency Procedures, IntelliSPEECH 4.2 automates the process of emergency paging and auto-dialing.

— Unique User Identification - Ensures system security by authenticating users before allowing system access or changes. Prohibits users from accessing and modifying information outside their defined user class. Designated users are able to override user class restrictions in order to reach an otherwise protected end point.

— Email Reader - Enables callers to retrieve and reply to emails via speech. This application may be used with any email server that supports POP3/SMTP.

— Custom Greetings - Enables different internal and external greetings. Abbreviated greetings may be programmed for use by internal speech users, while more detailed greetings may be offered to outside callers. In addition, external greetings can be changed on the fly and scheduled as needed from the telephone.

Additional key enhancements and benefits include:

— The ability to leverage existing web-based and/or custom applications

— Enhanced, up-to-date grammars capable of handling the most complex speech recognition tasks

— Improved call reporting to gauge and track effectiveness

— Enhanced systems management and monitoring

— Open standards supported architecture for diverse platform support

— Standards-based deployments based on VoiceXML with a variety of IVR solutions

IntelliSPEECH 4.2 is driven by Newfound Communications Advanced Grammar Management Kit, providing enhanced, up-to-date grammars to handle the most complex speech recognition tasks.

IntelliSPEECH 4.2 also utilizes Vocalocity's VocalOS Voice Gateway, a VoiceXML 1.6 standard. The Gateway provides the coordination of multiple resources including telephony, voice recognition, text-to-speech, audio, media caching, VoiceXML and systems management. In addition, it seamlessly integrates disparate resources, allowing customers to use existing equipment, tie into existing legacy systems, and drive down costs by integrating components that best fit their needs.

SDC is known for its superior solutions, technical support, and customer training and service. Through its IntelliSPEECH and IntelliDESK family of products, SDC provides speech recognition, custom CTI solutions, and PC-based intelligent consoles with on-line directory services for leading customers in the healthcare, public sector, education and corporate industries.
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Non-invasive breast fluid test for breast cancer diagnosis
Louisville, USA: Doctors will soon have a powerful tool - a non-invasive, painless nipple fluid test - in their fight to make breast cancer a more treatable, non-fatal disease.

Within the next couple years, women will be able to go for a routine check-up and receive the test - currently in development at International Medical Innovations (IMI) - that can detect breast cancer in its early, most treatable stage. IMI's breast cancer test identifies a cancer-associated sugar in a sample of nipple aspirate fluid derived from the breast ducts and painlessly expressed through the nipple using a pump.

According to doctors, most breast cancers originate in the breast ducts, so nipple aspirate fluid is a logical sample to target. They say that early results with this test are promising, and they are planning additional studies to confirm and expand their findings.

Widespread screening for early-stage breast cancer could minimize the devastating effect of the disease. Breast cancer, currently the second leading cause of cancer death for women, is nearly 100 percent treatable when diagnosed early, according to the American Cancer Society.

The test is cost effective relative to other current screening options and could one day be a front-line test for this deadly disease, according to the product development and clinical affairs department at the IMI.

Current screening techniques available to women include mammography, clinical breast examination and breast self-examination. But some breast changes that indicate early-stage cancer may not be evident on a mammogram or be picked up by touch.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.2 million people worldwide will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. The American Cancer Society projects an estimated 215,990 new cases among women in the U.S., with an expected 40,110 deaths by the end of 2004.
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