LONDON (Reuters) - J Sainsbury, Britain's No. 3 supermarket chain, met forecasts for underlying sales growth in its first quarter, outperforming major rivals with an outcome driven by growth online and in convenience stores.
"We are well positioned to continue to outperform the market," the firm said on Wednesday, though it cautioned it expected a tough economic environment to persist through 2013.
The group, which trails market leader Tesco and No. 2 player Wal-Mart's Asda by annual revenue, said sales at stores open over a year rose 0.8 percent, excluding fuel, in the 12 weeks to June 8.
That was a 34th consecutive quarter of underlying sales growth and compared to analysts' forecasts of a rise of 0.6 to 2 percent.
Sainsbury's performance compared to a first-quarter like-for-like sales fall of 1 percent at Tesco, a 1.8 percent decline at No. 4 grocer Wm Morrison, and a 1.3 percent rise at Asda, albeit for different trading periods.
However, it did represent a slowdown from growth of 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of the 2012-13 year.
That slowdown mainly reflected comparisons with an extra bank holiday last year to celebrate the Queen's diamond jubilee.
Britain's supermarkets, despite their focus on essential goods, have not been immune to the economic downturn and are battling intensely for market share.
Online and smaller local convenience stores are the two fastest growing areas in the industry as shopping habits change. Consumers are increasingly using the internet to shop and high fuel prices are discouraging trips to town centres and out-of-town malls.
Sainsbury's said online grocery sales rose 16 percent in the first quarter, while convenience store sales increased 20 percent.
The group, whose current grocery market share is at a decade high of 16.8 percent, just behind Asda, has also benefited from the success of a "Brand Match" pricing initiative, growth of own-brand sales and a big push into non-food areas such as kitchen electricals and cookware.
And unlike Tesco and Asda it has not been implicated in the horsemeat scandal, with none of its products testing positive for equine DNA.
Sainsbury's total first quarter sales rose 3.3 percent, excluding fuel.
Last month the firm forecast like-for-like sales growth for the 2013-14 year of 1 percent to 1.5 percent.
Shares in Sainsbury's, up 26 percent over the last year, closed Tuesday at 363.7 pence, valuing the business at 6.9 billion pounds ($10.8 billion). ($1 = 0.6411 British pounds)
(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
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About the Author: Friends call him Margarito Paquin however he does not like when people use his full name. He is presently a workplace supervisor and he will not change it anytime quickly. Minnesota is where he's been living for years and he does not intend on altering it. To fix computers is a thing that he is completely addicted to.He is understood by the name of Tory Foutz and he feels comfortable when people utilize the complete name. For a while he's been in Iowa and his parents live close by. The thing he adores most is to collect kites and he'll be beginning something else along with it. Credit authorising is his profession.
June 12, 2013 ? A research team led by Akihiko Fukui (NAOJ), Norio Narita (NAOJ) and Kenji Kuroda (the University of Tokyo) observed the atmosphere of super-Earth "GJ3470b" for the first time using two telescopes at OAO (Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, NAOJ). This super-Earth is an exoplanet, having only about 14 times the mass of our home planet, and it is the second lightest one among already-surveyed exoplanets. The observational data revealed that this planet is highly likely to NOT be covered by thick clouds.
It is very difficult to measure the radii of exoplenets, so in many cases we have information only about masses. However, if an exoplanet has a particular orbit of "Planetary Transit (Primary Transit)" where it passes in front of the primary star (parent star), we can estimate the radius of the planet. During the transit, the observed brightness of the star slightly drops depending on the size of the planet. So, we can estimate the radius of the planet by measuring the fading rate of light very precisely.
The research team performed highly accurate observations on the transit of exoplanet GJ3470b using the Near-Infrared Imager/Spectrograph (ISLE) camera mounted on the 188cm reflecting telescope and three visible light cameras on Multicolor Imaging Telescopes for Survey and Monstrous Explosions (MITSuME) telescope, all belonging to OAO, simultaneously. They measured the brightness dropping rates of the stars in 4 colors (from visible to near infrared). The observations enabled to estimate each radius by color for the planet. As a result, the radius derived from near infrared radiation (1.3 micrometer wavelength) is about 6% shorter than that from visible light. The difference of radii between colors probably is the reflection of the atmospheric characteristics of the planet. When the light from the primary star is transmitted through the thick atmosphere of the planet, certain wavelengths of light are absorbed or scattered by atmospheric molecules, which could cause the difference of apparent radii for each observation wavelength.
So far, the atmosphere of only two super-Earths including GJ3470b has been studied in detail. Estimation of the radius of an exoplanet is a very difficult task. Generally, the fading rate of the light from the star caused by the super-Earth's transit is extremely low. In the case of GJ3470b, however, the size of the primary star is small, so the planet-to-primary star size ratio is relatively large. Therefore, the fading rate of light from the primary star due to the transit becomes larger so it is measurably observable using ground-based telescopes with a medium size diameter.
The estimated radius of the planet by the near infrared radiation observations this time turns out to be about 4.3 times larger than that of Earth. Moreover, theoretical calculations based on the mass and radius of the planet expected that the planet should have huge amount of atmosphere. Fukui commented, "Suppose the atmosphere consists of hydrogen and helium, the mass of the atmosphere would be 5 to 20% of the total mass of the planet. Comparing that to the fact that the mass of Earth's atmosphere is about one ten-thousandth of a percent (0.0001%) of the total mass of the Earth, this planet has a considerably thick atmosphere."
Because differences in radii by colors were found in this observation, it is safe to say that thick clouds do not cover GJ3470b. If thick clouds covered the planet, no differences in radii by color should exist.
The research team plans to conduct observations of even higher accuracy using the Subaru Telescope or other large telescopes. "GJ3470b's orbit of its primary star is very close, at just 0.036 AU (astronomical units), which is about 28 times less than the distance between the Sun and Earth, and revolves in a short cycle of only 3.3 days. Scientists still don't understand well how such a planet was formed. GJ3470b is really possibly not covered by thick clouds, so we believe the composition of the planet's atmosphere could be detected without being blocked by its clouds. If we find any substance, such as water or methane, which becomes ice at low temperatures, it probably means that this planet was originally formed at a distance (a few astronomical units) from the primary star, where ice could exist, and moved toward the primary star thereafter. In contrast, if such substance cannot be found in the atmosphere, it can be thought to be quite likely that this planet was formed near the primary star. We expect to obtain important clues for figuring out how super-Earths were formed through observations of the atmospheric component of GJ3470b," said Fukui.
The frequently sunny weather in Okayama Prefecture was in our favor in obtaining the observation results. A continuously clear sky over several hours through an expected transit time is crucial to precisely measure the radius of an exoplanet. So it can be said that the "Sunny District" Okayama brought on this finding of the "sunny super-Earth." The researchers will continue observations with the telescopes at OAO, hoping to lead to further progress.
Survey of physicians suggests tablets more useful than smartphonesPublic release date: 12-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Steve Majewski smajewski@acponline.org 215-351-2514 American College of Physicians
AmericanEHR Partners release survey results for mobile phone and tablet usage among EHR and non-EHR users
Philadelphia, June 12, 2013 -- Two reports from AmericanEHR Partners based on a survey of nearly 1,400 physicians suggests that tablets are of greater use for clinical purposes than smartphones.
"Mobile Usage in the Medical Space 2013" and "Tablet Usage by Physicians 2013" reveal that the most common activity of physicians who use an electronic health record (EHR) and use a smartphone or tablet is "sending and receiving emails." The second most frequent activity among tablet users is accessing EHRs (51 percent daily). Just 7 percent of physicians use their smartphone to access EHRs. Among physicians who have an EHR, 75 percent use a smartphone and 33 percent use a tablet, but time spent on tablets is 66 percent higher than time spent on smartphones.
"These two reports provide useful insights into how physicians use technology to interact with patients, physician satisfaction with mobile devices and apps, and the differences of technology use within various user demographics," said Thomas Stringham, co-founder of AmericanEHR Partners, which provides comprehensive information to support clinicians in the selection and use of EHRs to improve health care delivery.
The top market share position is held by Apple, with 55 percent of physicians using smartphones and 54 percent using tablets. Clinical app usage in a medical practice was much higher among smartphone users (51 percent daily) than tablet users (30 percent daily). The top five smartphone apps used in a medical practice were Epocrates, Medscape, MedCalc, Skyscape, and Doximity. The top five tablet apps used in a medical practice were Epocrates, Medscape, Up To Date, MedCalc, and Skyscape.
Only 28 percent of smartphone users and 18 percent of tablet users were "very satisfied" with the quality of apps for their profession.
"As the adoption of mobile devices increases, so do the expectations of clinical users," Stringham said. "The health IT sector and app developers have an opportunity to improve the quality and usefulness of clinical mobile apps."
Additional highlights from the "Mobile Usage in the Medical Space 2013" report include:
Mobile phone usage by physicians who use an EHR: 77 percent use a smartphone, 15 percent use a regular mobile phone, and 8 percent use neither.
About 75 percent of physicians use their smartphone to communicate with other physicians at least once weekly.
About 70 percent of physicians use their smartphone to research medications at least once weekly.
Of the physicians surveyed, about 25 percent who use a regular phone intend on purchasing a smartphone within the next six months.
Additional highlights from the "Tablet Usage by Physicians 2013" report include:
About 33 percent of EHR users and 25 percent of non-EHR users use a tablet device in their medical practice.
Smaller practices, defined as three doctors or fewer, are likely to conduct a broader range of activities on their tablet, such as banking, communicating with patients, or taking photos for clinical purposes.
About 33 percent of EHR users are very satisfied with their tablet device, while 44 percent are somewhat satisfied.
About 33 percent of EHR users use a tablet to research medications daily.
###
About AmericanEHR Partners
AmericanEHR Partners is a free online resource designed to aid the medical community with the selection, implementation, and effective use of health information technology and electronic health records. AmericanEHR Partners was founded by the American College of Physicians and Cientis Technologies and is supported by 16 medical societies and five health IT organizations with a combined membership of more than 720,000 clinicians, representing over 65 percent of physicians in the U.S. It does not endorse any electronic health record vendor. For more information on AmericanEHR Partners, visit http://www.americanehr.com.
About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization and the second-largest physician group in the United States. ACP members include 133,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter and Facebook.
About Cientis Technologies
Cientis Technologies is an international developer of online communities, web-based tools and apps to assist clinicians and their medical practice teams achieve optimal use of health care information technologies (HIT). Cientis conducts syndicated research to provide clinicians, health care consultants, policy makers, pharma, technology professionals and consumers with key insights surrounding health care technology adoption, satisfaction and market share. For more information on Cientis, visit http://www.cientis.com.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Survey of physicians suggests tablets more useful than smartphonesPublic release date: 12-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Steve Majewski smajewski@acponline.org 215-351-2514 American College of Physicians
AmericanEHR Partners release survey results for mobile phone and tablet usage among EHR and non-EHR users
Philadelphia, June 12, 2013 -- Two reports from AmericanEHR Partners based on a survey of nearly 1,400 physicians suggests that tablets are of greater use for clinical purposes than smartphones.
"Mobile Usage in the Medical Space 2013" and "Tablet Usage by Physicians 2013" reveal that the most common activity of physicians who use an electronic health record (EHR) and use a smartphone or tablet is "sending and receiving emails." The second most frequent activity among tablet users is accessing EHRs (51 percent daily). Just 7 percent of physicians use their smartphone to access EHRs. Among physicians who have an EHR, 75 percent use a smartphone and 33 percent use a tablet, but time spent on tablets is 66 percent higher than time spent on smartphones.
"These two reports provide useful insights into how physicians use technology to interact with patients, physician satisfaction with mobile devices and apps, and the differences of technology use within various user demographics," said Thomas Stringham, co-founder of AmericanEHR Partners, which provides comprehensive information to support clinicians in the selection and use of EHRs to improve health care delivery.
The top market share position is held by Apple, with 55 percent of physicians using smartphones and 54 percent using tablets. Clinical app usage in a medical practice was much higher among smartphone users (51 percent daily) than tablet users (30 percent daily). The top five smartphone apps used in a medical practice were Epocrates, Medscape, MedCalc, Skyscape, and Doximity. The top five tablet apps used in a medical practice were Epocrates, Medscape, Up To Date, MedCalc, and Skyscape.
Only 28 percent of smartphone users and 18 percent of tablet users were "very satisfied" with the quality of apps for their profession.
"As the adoption of mobile devices increases, so do the expectations of clinical users," Stringham said. "The health IT sector and app developers have an opportunity to improve the quality and usefulness of clinical mobile apps."
Additional highlights from the "Mobile Usage in the Medical Space 2013" report include:
Mobile phone usage by physicians who use an EHR: 77 percent use a smartphone, 15 percent use a regular mobile phone, and 8 percent use neither.
About 75 percent of physicians use their smartphone to communicate with other physicians at least once weekly.
About 70 percent of physicians use their smartphone to research medications at least once weekly.
Of the physicians surveyed, about 25 percent who use a regular phone intend on purchasing a smartphone within the next six months.
Additional highlights from the "Tablet Usage by Physicians 2013" report include:
About 33 percent of EHR users and 25 percent of non-EHR users use a tablet device in their medical practice.
Smaller practices, defined as three doctors or fewer, are likely to conduct a broader range of activities on their tablet, such as banking, communicating with patients, or taking photos for clinical purposes.
About 33 percent of EHR users are very satisfied with their tablet device, while 44 percent are somewhat satisfied.
About 33 percent of EHR users use a tablet to research medications daily.
###
About AmericanEHR Partners
AmericanEHR Partners is a free online resource designed to aid the medical community with the selection, implementation, and effective use of health information technology and electronic health records. AmericanEHR Partners was founded by the American College of Physicians and Cientis Technologies and is supported by 16 medical societies and five health IT organizations with a combined membership of more than 720,000 clinicians, representing over 65 percent of physicians in the U.S. It does not endorse any electronic health record vendor. For more information on AmericanEHR Partners, visit http://www.americanehr.com.
About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization and the second-largest physician group in the United States. ACP members include 133,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter and Facebook.
About Cientis Technologies
Cientis Technologies is an international developer of online communities, web-based tools and apps to assist clinicians and their medical practice teams achieve optimal use of health care information technologies (HIT). Cientis conducts syndicated research to provide clinicians, health care consultants, policy makers, pharma, technology professionals and consumers with key insights surrounding health care technology adoption, satisfaction and market share. For more information on Cientis, visit http://www.cientis.com.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
In a dramatic reveal on stage at WWDC 2013, Phil Schiller brought forth a new Mac Pro saying to the assembled faithful: "Can't innovate anymore, my ass." This new Intel Xeon machine with up to 12 core configs has a central thermal core and superfast memory support. It is double the performance of the previous Mac Pro generations.
There's a new lunch place down the block, so like you do when the menu looks interesting, I walked in and ordered something mysterious, which for me was the "Red Lentil and Edamame Salad," mostly because I can never remember what edamame is, and because that word suggests doing something slightly frightening, like munching accidentally on one's mother.
How Much Energy Am I Eating? Enough To Power A Flashlight?
What arrived was a bowl of lentils, roasted carrots, raisins, mint and (I'm guessing) edamame beans. I took the bowl to a window seat, and that's when my mind began to wander. My mind doesn't need much to go free. It slips off whenever I let it, when I'm by myself and alone with my thoughts, which, at this moment, were: "So I'm chewing these beans and I'm breaking them into little bits, which will become littler bits in my stomach, (bond-breaking, as the chemists would say) so I'm turning food into energy. But how much energy am I getting? Does a salad produce enough calories or watts or whatever, to light a flashlight? Or run an electric toothbrush for 10 minutes?
(Do you ever do this? I do this all the time.)
After lunch I looked up the answer. I found it in a fine little book by Wayne State Professor Peter Hoffman, called Life's Ratchet: How Molecular Machines Extract Order from Chaos. In it, he says humans will typically eat roughly 2,500 calories a day.
1.5 Million Joules Is ... ?
Professor Hoffman is a physicist. He goes on to make some quick calculations. If one food calorie equals 4,184 joules of energy, at 2,500 calories a day, that means our bodies break down or release 1.5 million joules. Sounds like a lot, no? But if you divide those joules by the number of seconds in a day (86,400), that works out to a rate (where 1 watt = 1 joule per second) of about ? 120 watts a day. In other words, that's all I need to dream, wake, dress, shower, work, walk to a restaurant, order a salad, ask myself how much energy am I using, and then look it up, think about it, and write this essay. I can power all trillion cells (of me) for a day at the same rate that it takes to light one 120-watt light bulb.
That's it?
That's it. Peter Hoffman writes, "Humans talk, write, walk and love using the same amount of energy per second as a light bulb."
I'm humbled. I will now confess that when I got back from the salad place, I diddled, I called friends, yakked with office mates and used up lots of time to avoid writing this, and yet ? down deep, at a cellular level, it turns out I'm a mind-boggling display of energy efficiency. You too, of course.
On certain afternoons, this is a nice thing to know.
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Public release date: 12-Jun-2013
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In a dramatic reveal on stage at WWDC 2013, Phil Schiller brought forth a new Mac Pro saying to the assembled faithful: "Can't innovate anymore, my ass." This new Intel Xeon machine with up to 12 core configs has a central thermal core and superfast memory support. It is double the performance of the previous Mac Pro generations.