ROCKVILLE, MD--(Marketwire -07/18/12)- MarketResearch.com has announced the addition of the new report "Personal Protective Equipment in the U.S." to their collection of Manufacturing & Construction market reports. For more information, visit http://www.marketresearch.com/SBI-v775/Personal-Protective-Equipment-7058851/

SBI estimates the U.S. market for personal protective equipment (PPE) will top $13 billion in 2012. As the economy begins to heat up, U.S. PPE sales should exceed $14.1 billion in 2013, which represents an 8.2 percent increase over the 2012 figure. The strengthening global economy should increase the growth rate in 2015 with PPE sales in the U.S. anticipated to hit $16.7 billion.

The Personal Protective Equipment sector is comprised of a group of products that are designed to protect users from occupational hazards, injuries and illnesses. Categories covered include:

The report provides data on shipments, imports and exports for the personal protective equipment market and the four categories within the market. In most cases, historical data are provided for a 10-year period back to 2002. The report also identifies key economic and market trends affecting the industry and profiles key manufacturers, highlighting their strengths, performance, product portfolios and significant recent events. Also included are marketing, distribution and retail overview, outlining aspects of getting the products to market, and an end-user segment analysis.

Report data were gathered from:

For more information, visit http://www.marketresearch.com/SBI-v775/Personal-Protective-Equipment-7058851/

About MarketResearch.com

MarketResearch.com is the leading provider of global market intelligence products and services. With research reports from more than 720 top consulting and advisory firms, MarketResearch.com offers instant online access to the world's most extensive database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends. Moreover, MarketResearch.com's Research Specialists have in-depth knowledge of the publishers and the various types of reports in their respective industries and are ready to provide research assistance. For more information, call Veronica Franco at 240-747-3016 or visit http://www.marketresearch.com.

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Market Research Projects Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market at $13 Billion

BY JIMMY ALLINDER Correspondent

Middlesex County all-stars huddle together for a group cheer during a practice held at East Brunswick High School as they got ready for the July 19 Snapple Bowl. The Middlesex stars will be facing a team of all-stars representing Union County in the game at East Brunswick. ERIC SUCAR staff I f youre going to set goals for yourself and your team, you might as well shoot for the stars.

Timothy Darrar plays basketball for South River High School and he wants nothing more than to help the Rams win division and state sectional titles. His personal ambition is to average a double-double in points and assists.

The way Darrar sees it, achieving his personal objectives will help bring the Rams closer to realizing their teams goals.

He has been a member of the South River varsity team for three years and, while the Rams have flirted with a .500 record as a member of the Greater Middlesex Conference Blue Division, they havent been able to finish above that mark. Darrar believes his leadership at the point guard position, along with the return of most of the teams starters, will be key. One of those returning players is Darrars cousin, Tyler Harris.

Darrar believes in his team and the town where he grew up.

Playing basketball for South River is an honor, he said. Especially playing for my uncle [Tylers father, Rodney]. This is where I was raised and I love this town. I never would have considered playing anywhere else.

The 6-footer started playing basketball as a 9-year-old for the St. Marys CYO team, which was also coached by his uncle. Darrar developed into one of the most reliable ball handlers for the teams quick transition defense to offense.

Darrar played football for a short time, but he admitted, My heart wasnt in it.

In the spirit of putting the team first, Darrar felt strongly that if he didnt give 100 percent to his teammates, he didnt belong on the field.

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Rams’ Darrar aims to improve personal, team performance

SAN RAMON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Watching the Olympic Games can help motivate people to pursue their personal fitness goals, a new club member poll by 24 Hour Fitness suggests. As a proud official sponsor of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and Official Fitness Center Sponsor of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams, 24 Hour Fitness recently polled more than 400 of its members to learn their opinion toward and the effects of the Olympic Games on members fitness lifestyles.

According to the poll, a majority of 24 Hour Fitness members are motivated by the Olympic Games (89 percent) and often turn their inspiration into action, giving their fitness routines a boost. The most popular ways the Olympics Games motivate members include:

The poll also found members are more often inspired when they have insight into an athletes personal journey to the Olympic Games. A majority of respondents (71 percent) find personal stories about Olympic athletes overcoming hardship especially motivating. And, if given an opportunity to have a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the Olympic Games, many would prefer to see an athletes warm-up and training routines, rather than other high-profile, restricted-access events such as medal ceremonies or life in the Olympic Village.

As the Olympic Games draw near, 24 Hour Fitness members, guests and fanswill have a chance to experience how U.S. Olympic athletes train. Proudly partnering with three U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes, known as Team 24 Hour Fitness Athletes, the company will release fitness tips and exclusive signature workouts developed by the elite team, which includes water polo player Tony Azevedo (2008 Olympic silver medalist), Paralympic track & field athlete April Holmes (2004 bronze medalist and 2008 gold medalist) and beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh (2004 and 2008 Olympic gold medalist). Also joining Team 24 Hour Fitness, is 24 Hour Fitness employee and USA Track & Field athlete, Rubin Williams.

The signature workouts, designed to demonstrate what it takes to train like an Olympic athlete and inspire others to achieve their own unique fitness goals, will be made available at 24hourfitness.com/goteamusa. Additionally, 24 Hour Fitness clubs across the nation are offering Team USA Boot Camps, inspired by the training routines of U.S. Olympic athletes now through Aug. 3.

We have been a United States Olympic Committee sponsor since the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games, and through our research we know that the Olympic Games motivate our members to live healthier and exercise more, said Carl Liebert, president and chief executive officer, 24 Hour Fitness. We are proud that our sponsorship not only supports hundreds of Olympic athletes and hopefuls, but also provides our nearly 4 million members with inspiration to reach their own fitness goals.

As an official Olympic sponsor of Team USA, 24 Hour Fitness also worked closely with the USOC to design and outfit the High Performance Training Center (HPTC) a state-of-the-art training facility located in East London where hundreds of our nations top athletes will train and prepare to compete for the gold. 24 Hour Fitness selected 27 of its employees to serve as Fitness Ambassadors to staff the HPTC in support of Team USA.

To learn more about 24 Hour Fitness, its U.S. Olympic Team sponsorship and to view the Team 24 Hour Fitness Athlete Signature Workouts, visit 24hourfitness.com.

About the Member Poll

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Olympic Games Give 24 Hour Fitness® Members Extra Boost to Reach Personal Fitness Goals

Last fall, Florida Office of Financial Regulation Commissioner Tom Grady praised an investigator in the agency's Pensacola office who helped crack a $3million mortgage fraud scheme.

"Thanks to (her) leadership,'' Grady said, "the OFR is doing its part to put bad guys behind bars.''

Even as he touted that success, Grady was paving the way to close the Pensacola office and three others half of OFR's regional offices.

The closings, which took effect this month, were part of Grady's mission to slash costs at the state agency that oversees mortgage brokers, banks and securities firms. The moves come even as a new report shows Florida continues to lead the nation in mortgage fraud.

Grady, now back in the private sector, defended the office closures. He insisted resources devoted to financial investigations actually increased while he cut back in areas already handled by other agencies.

In his six months running OFR, the Naples millionaire and friend of Gov. Rick Scott proved a study in contrasts a fiscal conservative who embraced Scott's cost-cutting ethos yet a liberal spender who:

Charged the state more than $800 to go to Atlanta for a two-day banking conference, but skipped the second day when he left for a week's vacation in Utah.

Spent more than $6,000 on in-state travel, including $296 for a night at the Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota and $240 for a night at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay.

Sought reimbursement for more than $10,000 worth of office furniture, including a $2,482 leather sofa and a $563 floor lamp.

It was a pattern that continued in March when Grady, 54, became interim president of Citizens Property Insurance, charged with drastically shrinking the state-run company. At Citizens, Grady spent more than $10,000 on travel in just two months before losing the permanent job to a Maryland insurance executive, the Tampa Bay Times detailed in a recent story.

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Florida's former financial regulation commissioner was liberal personal spender

Every week I get many e-mails from readers asking me for specific fitness advice. While I am not an expert, one of my goals has been to bring the experts to you to answer your questions. And while the questions I get are very wide-ranging in topic, the number one thing people want to know is how to find a personal trainer.

Since I have never hired a personal trainer, I asked Dr. Adam Naylor, who leads Telos Sport Psychology Consulting and is a clinical assistant professor in Boston Universitys School of Education. He has a decade and a half worth of experiences working with professional and amateur athletes, and has hired and worked with many trainers through the years.

Here's my Q&A with him on what you need to know when looking for a trainer:

Q. What qualifications should you look for in a trainer? What certifications are important?

A. For certifications the National Strength and Conditioning Association (www.nsca-lift.org) and the American College of Sports Medicine (www.acsm.org) are good places to start. For academic degrees, Athletic Training, Exercise Science, and Physical Therapy are strong knowledge bases for personal training. If someone is looking to improve athletic performance Id seek out a NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and/or a certified Athletic Trainer. For general fitness, an ACSM certified professional and/or Physical Therapist should have credible wisdom to share.

Certifications are important because they show some level of professional competence and curiosity. While they do not tell how well someone coaches, there are a fair marker of aptitude and professionalism.

Q. How do you know what kind of person will work well with your personality?

A. By talking to her/him a bit, hearing how your goals resonate with the personal trainer, and by trying a class or session on for size. Having the same personality of you is not always the best for you, as it could lead to an unbalanced approach to exercise and training. A great trainer supports your strengths and complements your areas for development.

Q. Should you interview your prospective trainer? If so,what should you ask them?

A. You should absolutely interview a prospective personal coach. For two reasons: 1. It is an investment of time and money. Investments are most lucrative when we research them a bit, 2. For confidence and commitment. If questions are answered, they do not linger in the back of your head, allowing you to get fully engaged in the workouts ahead of you.

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How to find a personal trainer

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Keynote Systems (KEYN) subsidiary, Keynote DeviceAnywhere, the global leader in mobile application lifecycle management (mALM), has announced that the Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company or VALIC has selected Keynote DeviceAnywheres Test Center Enterprise (TCE) Interactive to enhance and provide ongoing technological support for the VALIC Mobile app.

VALIC engaged Keynote DeviceAnywhere to build an on-premise environment to host dedicated iOS devices behind the companys own firewall for optimum security and reliability. Through Keynote DeviceAnywheres TCE Interactive, VALIC is assuring the quality of the VALIC Mobile app to prevent and address potential issues that may cause downtime, ensuring that customers have access to their financial investment information anytime, anywhere.

TCE Interactive provides organizations with a robust, cloud-based tool for manually testing any mobile app or website, addressing the challenges of device and platform diversity while optimizing manual testing efforts. TCE Interactive enables access to real smart devices connected to live networks not simulated or emulated devices so that businesses can develop and test internal- and external-facing mobile apps and websites. Click here for more information about TCE Interactive.

Mobile is becoming the preferred channel for financial institutions to empower customers to perform transactions and track their financial progress; however, with large sums of money and customers at stake, these organizations must ensure that their mobile apps function faultlessly or else they risk losing money or worse, drive customers to competitors, said Faraz Syed, President, Keynote DeviceAnywhere. By leveraging TCE Interactive, organizations like VALIC are ensuring the consistent quality of their mobile apps by testing them on any device, platform or OS to recognize and address latent issues before they affect customers.

The VALIC Mobile app allows customers to have a holistic view of their investment progress and manage fund portfolios, helping them plan and track their assets. They can leverage the app to view their portfolio summary; plan summary; transaction history; fund inquiry; personal performance; access the savings gap analysis tool; search for financial advisor contact information; receive market updates, and more.

About Keynote DeviceAnywhere

Keynote DeviceAnywhere, a subsidiary of Keynote Systems, Inc. (KEYN), provides the industrys only true enterprise-class, cloud-based platform for testing and monitoring the functionality, usability, performance and availability of mobile applications and websites. The companys suite of mobile application lifecycle management (mALM) solutions assures the quality of enterprise mobile applications and services, helping to extend businesses and brands to the mobile channel. To learn more about Keynote DeviceAnywhere and to sign up for a free trial, visitwww.keynotedeviceanywhere.com.

Interested in our perspective on trends and issues in the mobile marketplace? Visit our blog, and follow us on Twitter.

About Keynote Systems

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VALIC Assures Quality and Performance of Mobile App Offering through Keynote DeviceAnywhere

KENT BLECHYNDEN/Fairfax NZ

SIGNING ON: 'My performances open up a new avenue to show the creative side of sign language,' says burlesque dancer Jepha Krieg.

Her undergarments are bejewelled, her routines are cheeky, but it is what Jepha Krieg does with her hands that sets her aside from other burlesque dancers.

Sign language is a pivotal communication tool for the hearing-impaired and for the 22-year-old Wellingtonian who incorporates it into burlesque, the language is another way to express her creativity.

By taking sign language a step further, she is not only making her mark in the Wellington burlesque community, but she also believes she is the country's first signing burlesque artist.

"Sign language is so expressive and is perfect for performance," says Krieg, whose first show involved signing to Katy Perry's song Peacock, and Born to Handjive by Johnny Otis.

"That was perfect, as deaf people are born to handjive," she says.

Signing is an official New Zealand language and, for Krieg, it is more than just a communication tool.

"My performances open up a new avenue to show the creative side of sign language. It's not just a novelty, or a way for handicapped people to talk."

Through her performances, Krieg hopes to make both the comedy of burlesque and the songs she uses more accessible to the deaf, and to expose sign language to people who would not otherwise experience it.

Link:
Adding a personal touch to burlesque

Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel was delighted with his performance in the Champions League final.

The Nigeria international is proud to begin the new season as a European champion.

"I was very delighted with how the game went for me personally but overall it was a collective team performance and everyone helped me to play well," he told chelseafc.com.

"The whole team worked very hard, we knew we had almost touched it the last time we were in the final and this time we were so determined not to let it go. The performance was just amazing from everyone in the team, even the guys on the bench. The support that they gave to the players just kept lifting you up as you played extra time. It was something we all did well as a team to achieve.

"People still talk about that night everywhere we go but for us now we have done it and we want to build on it.

"We won't relax, we want to keep building and keep winning trophies. We have lost some players and hopefully the guys who come in will bring even more than the guys who have left, but the guys who have left did really well for this team and they will always be remembered."

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Chelsea midfielder Obi Mikel proud of his personal Champions League final

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Location Based Technologies, Inc. (LBAS), a leading service provider of asset, personal and pet GPS locators and devices, today announced the first of a series of sales partner announcements as it expands its retail customer reach to now include the Crutchfield Corporation, a long-time leader in consumer electronics retailing that specializes in consumer electronics. Crutchfield will offer both PocketFinder Personal and Vehicle GPS location devices that allow you to see the current location of your children, pet or vehicle even when you are on the go anywhere, anytime.

The PocketFinder location devices are simple to use and highly mobile with a feature rich interface supported by free iOS and Android Apps or via a traditional computer. The rugged and waterproof PocketFinder Personal Locator fits easily in a pocket, purse or backpack and provides real time information about location of the device, as well as 60+ day location history. PocketFinder Personal devices are ideal for staying connected with young children, teenage drivers, pets, assets, special needs family members and the elderly. The Vehicle device is easy to attach to most any type of vehicle and delivers the ability to know that your vehicle is where it is supposed to be, when it is supposed to be there. This new application of GPS technology changes the way families stay connected and assets are tracked.

This shipment of product to Crutchfield adds to the caliber of retail excellence PocketFinder has enjoyed since its product launch in November with Apple Retail and Apple Online, stated Dave Morse, CEO of Location Based Technologies. Having another great partner, also recognized as one of the countrys great retailers consistently delivering superior customer service, is another important milestone and validation that consumers and retailers alike agree that PocketFinders are terrific products delivering superior performance, added Dave Morse.

The PocketFinder Personal Locator has a best-in-class end user interface, which can be accessed via a web browser or any web-enabled phone. The PocketFinder GPS Mapping Application pinpoints the location of all selected PocketFinder GPS Locators within 10 feet. Users can customize the map application by establishing zones that automatically send alerts if a device enters or leaves a zone. Alerts are sent instantly via email, SMS text and push notification.

As part of its support for LBTs customers, we offer free iOS 5-compatible PocketFinder Personal GPS Locator and GPS Vehicle Locator apps for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch; and Android phones.

MSRP for the PocketFinder GPS Personal Locator is $149 and includes two months of service. Ongoing wireless connectivity charge is $12.95 per month providing customers with near real-time location information.

Crutchfield Corporation

Bill Crutchfield founded his company in 1974 with a strong instinct to connect with his customers and to use their feedback as his compass. Complete information and exceptional customer service are guiding values that define the company culture as it exists today. Crutchfield is a 12 time winner of BizRates Circle of Excellence and has been recognized by TWICE as a Best Consumer Direct Electronics Dealer. They are also the recipient of the STELLAService Elite rating, the highest rating offered by this industry known and independent customer service rating agency. Bill himself has joined Thomas Edison in the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame.

About Location Based Technologies

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Location Based Technologies Expands Retail Outreach for Personal, Pet and Vehicle GPS Devices

Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo has stretched his MotoGP lead at the half-way point in the season, winning round nine at Mugello in Italy. German rookie Stefan Bradl finished fourth, the best result of his career.

The 2010 world champion Jorge Lorenzo took the lead from pole-sitter Dani Pedrosa at the start and never looked back. The Spanish Yamaha rider led the rest of the race and found time to wave to the crowd on the last lap, as he cruised across the line five seconds ahead of his countryman, Pedrosa.

Lorenzo stretches his championship lead to 19 points at the half-way stage in the MotoGP season, ahead of Pedrosa on his Honda. Pedrosa jumped up into second in the overall standings at the expense of his teammate Casey Stoner.

Jorge Lorenzo won at Mugello, the Spaniard is building a hefty overall lead

The reigning world champion, who is competing in his last season before retirement, suffered an off-track excursion at half-distance and could only recover to finish ninth. This poor result, coupled with his last-lap retirement in Germany last weekend, means Stoner now trails Lorenzo by 37 points after leading for much of the season.

Bradl battles for first podium

German rider Stefan Bradl occupied third place for most of the race, but was overtaken by Italian Andrea Dovizioso in the closing laps. Bradl held off a further challenge from Ducati's Nicky Hayden to finish fourth, the best finish of his career in the MotoGP class.

Bradl is in his rookie season, having comfortably won the championship in the Moto2 feeder series on smaller bikes last year. His fifth place finish last week at the Sachsenring near Chemnitz in eastern Germany had equalled his best performance of the season to date, until he topped it at Mugello on Sunday.

Riding on a "satellite bike," a motorcycle operated by an independent customer team rather than a manufacturer, Bradl is an impressive seventh in the overall standings - ahead of two riders, Hayden and Ben Spies, on factory bikes.

Hayden's teammate, multiple champion Valentino Rossi, ultimately rolled in fifth behind Bradl in front of his Italian home fans, with the American nipping at his heels in sixth.

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Lorenzo wins in Mugello, Bradl sets personal best