LONDON, February 19 /PRNewswire/ --

- Research Reveals the Impact Learning Platforms are Having on Decisions Regarding Content Purchases Within Schools

Over three quarters of ICT advisors in Local Authorities stated that it was very important that the content they purchased or schools' purchased was compatible with learning platforms used, according to new research from Shift Media.

The uptake of learning platforms continues apace in schools across England and Wales. Their implementation is certainly having an impact on the type of content which will be purchased by schools and local authorities, says Shift Media director Jane Powell.

SAN JOSE, California, February 19 /PRNewswire/ --

Atmel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) and SEGGER Microcontroller, a leading manufacturer of middleware for embedded systems, announced today the availability of the real time operating system (OS) embOS for the AVR(R)32 microcontrollers.

The modern AVR32 architecture from Atmel is specially crafted to meet RTOS requirements with its fast multilevel interrupt controller, memory protection unit and the support for nested interrupts. Having an outstanding energy efficiency of 1.08 DMIPS/MHz and delivering up to 83 Dhrystone MIPS (DMIPS) performance at 66 MHz running from embedded flash the UC3 parts are among the highest performance flash microcontrollers in the market today.

ROCKVILLE, Maryland, February 19 /PRNewswire/ --

Pinnacle Biologics, a private, full-service pharmaceutical and biotech solutions company, today announced it has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with MedImmune for Ethyol(R) (amifostine). The agreement, which is scheduled to take effect on June 1, 2008, grants Pinnacle Biologics exclusive Ethyol marketing authorization, certain licenses and distribution rights in Western Europe, Turkey and Israel. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

BERLIN, February 19 /PRNewswire/ --

- Introduction of New European Environmental Communication Programme - 'Product, Process and Planet'

While studying towards his doctorate of philosophy, Anders Jørgensen discovered a previously undescribed species of parasite that infects farmed fish and produces serious disease.

Single-celled parasites of the genus Spironucleus are known to produce serious illness in farmed and aquarium fish. In farmed salmon, these parasites create foul-smelling, puss-filled abscesses in muscles and internal organs. After the first outbreaks of this disease were described in farmed salmon in the late 1980’s, it was assumed that the cause was Spironucleus barkhanus, which is a fairly common parasite in the intestine of wild grayling and Arctic char. In these fish species, however, the parasite is benign.

As oceans warm and become more acidic, ocean creatures are undergoing severe stress and entire food webs are at risk, according to scientists at a press briefing this morning at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston.

Gretchen Hofmann, associate professor of biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has just returned from a research mission to Antarctica where she collected pteropods, tiny marine snails the size of a lentil, that she refers to as the “potato chip” of the oceans because they are eaten widely by so many species. The National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs funded the expedition.

Farmers, food suppliers, policy-makers, business leaders and environmentalists are joining forces to confront the threat of the ‘forgotten greenhouse gas’ by taking part in an influential new forum at the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Launched on February 22, the Nitrous Oxide Focus Group will engage with many influential organisations including the National Farmers Union, Marks & Spencer, British Sugar, Defra, the Country Land and Business Association and Unilever.

GLASGOW, Scotland, February 19 /PRNewswire/ -- A Dundee lass who found herself homeless at aged 15 is one of six young people to be honoured tomorrow (Wednesday 20th February) as a "Scottish Achiever of the Year 2008."

Now a full-time hairdresser, Julie Hardie slept on friends' floors until a local shelter helped her to find a flat. Training charity Rathbone then taught her life-skills and combed job pages until she found work.

Open to all 1300 trainees at Rathbone Centres across Scotland, the Achievers Awards honour those who have made significant progress through learning. They will be presented at a glittering ceremony at the Scottish Parliament.

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut and KORTRIJK, Belgium, February 19 /PRNewswire/ --

- Natural Supplement for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children Fulfills Growing Need Throughout Asia -

RHEI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a fully integrated specialty pharmaceuticals company focused on bringing proprietary medicines to the China market, and MethaPharma, part of then Vemedia Group, today announced that RHEI has licensed from MethaPharma the exclusive right to market and distribute Attental(R) throughout Asia. Attental is a nutraceutical currently commercially available in Europe for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.

NEW YORK, February 19 /PRNewswire/ --

- New Reseller Program Expands Options in WLAN Marketplace

Extricom, provider of enterprise-class wireless LAN (WLAN) infrastructure systems for converged voice (VoWLAN), data, video, and RFID services, today launched its PartnerAdvantage Partner Program. The PartnerAdvantage launch comes as solution providers and Value Added Resellers (VARs) of all sizes are searching for differentiated solutions that will enable them to take advantage of the multi-billion dollar opportunity the wireless LAN (WLAN) market represents.