Tabitha Berg

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Ascentia Biomedical Corporation ("Ascentia") (OTC Pink Sheets: ASCE) today announced that, effective November 28, 2006, it has completed the acquisition of all the outstanding common stock of Fortress Technology Systems, Inc. ("Fortress"), pursuant to a share exchange agreement. Ascentia acquired all of the outstanding shares of Fortress common and preferred stock in exchange for 254,531,004 shares of Ascentia common stock and 8,000,000 shares of Ascentia Series A Preferred Stock.

READING, Pa. -- Millions of Americans report feeling stress and depression during the Holidays. Greg Schweitzer, founder of Stress Reduction Resources, says the biggest sources of stress over the holidays revolve around the "Big Five:" Finances, health, family, time, and gift-giving. Many people let unrealistic expectations rob them of a joyous Christmas.

SANDPOINT, Idaho -- A new book from Logical Expressions, Inc. aims to demystify the often-confusing world of ecommerce. In "Web Business Success: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Web Sites That Work" (ISBN: 978-0-9749245-0-2; LCCN-2006909228) authors James Byrd and Susan Daffron share practical tips and strategies to help business owners make good choices when they put a Web site online.

SEDONA, Ariz. -- On the 10th Anniversary of Native Voices Foundation, the board held an election and celebrated some "phenomenal" progress for Indian youth. As newly elected Co-Chairman, Gary Lake (Shasta Vice Chair) said, "A single tribe cannot get their youth to the Olympics, but together we can." "Thanks to key leaders of Indian Country uniting behind the Indian Olympic Bid, these dreams for their youth are within their grasp," according to re-elected Co-Chair, Suzy Chaffee, an Olympic skier.

DENVER, Colo. -- Denver-based IDEAVIZ, a subsidiary of Artist Rendering, Inc., is making an impact for a diverse range of businesses by using innovative 3D visualization and animation technology to bring new ideas to fruition. Since 2002, Artist Rendering, Inc. has worked with real-estate developers and architects in visualizing their future projects through high-impact 3D renderings and animations.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Gen-9, Inc. announced today that, as a result of a recent Microsoft announcement restricting the use of the 2007 Microsoft Office User Interface to non-competing products, Gen-9 will be no longer be implementing the 2007 Microsoft Office User Interface in NOAH. Gen-9 was one of the first companies to implement the new interface in one of its products. The 2007 Microsoft Office compliant components utilized in NOAH were supplied by one of Gen-9's licensed component vendors.

RESTON, Va. -- nPulse Networks LLC, a leading integrator of hardware acceleration tools for open-source network monitoring and security applications, and Napatech Inc, the world's leading vendor of high-performance, programmable Ethernet network adapters, today announced they are entering into an OEM agreement enabling nPulse Networks to use Napatech adapters in delivering their advanced network appliances to the market.

ATLANTA, Ga. -- M2SYS Technology announced today it has formed a relationship with Kodak's Dental Systems Group to integrate M2SYS' patent-pending fingerprint software into the KODAK ORTHOTRAC Practice Management Software. As a result, Kodak's customers will be able to secure sensitive patient information and comply with HIPAA requirements, while improving productivity and user experience by eliminating the time, hassle, and headache associated with password management.

WHIPPANY, N.J. -- For the first time, health care professionals and consumers can benefit from the comfort and convenience of silicone heel cups and wedges, as well as a complete selection of insoles, constructed with anti-microbial top covers. Together with its newest line of silicone foot orthotics, foot care innovator GEL SMART is introducing Fabric Smart(TM) anti-microbial top covers, which eliminate the odor problems of conventional textiles used in foot inserts.

KIRKLAND, Wash. -- Starting this year, long term care insurance, which enhances the security of longer-living Americans, will indirectly improve lives in AIDS-plagued Africa also. Today LTC Financial Partners LLC, the nation's most experienced long term care insurance brokerage, announced that it would contribute 2% of its profits each year to the Rabuor Village Project, a comeback model for villages throughout Africa.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- GeckoSystems, Inc. (OTC: GKSY) is pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has appointed Mr. Neil T. Wallace to the position of Vice President, Legal and Public Affairs. Mr. Wallace holds a J.D. and an economics degree and has held several senior management positions domestically.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Recognizing the need for another effective medium, H. Lewis Smith, author of "Bury that Sucka" (ISBN: 1413792693), is the founder of a new non-profit organization, United Voices for a Common Cause, Inc. The organization pledges and holds true "to not use the n-word as they strive toward cultural integrity and mutual respect for all Americans."

FREMONT, Calif. -- TeamF1, Inc., the leader in embedded security, today announced that V-IPSecure - its high-performance implementation of IPsec and IKE protocols for IPv4 and IPv6 - successfully passed all the Virtual Private Network Consortium's (VPNC) interoperability tests for IPsec VPN systems. This certification continues the company's long-standing commitment to provide the embedded market with lean and robust security software complying with stringent industry standards.

HOUSTON, Texas -- This year's holiday "Cyber-Monday" showed an unprecedented 26% increase over the same day last year as internet shoppers handed over $608 million to internet sellers. The modern shopping boom is accompanied by interest in modern products, at least in one area where a brand new diamond shape is receiving what we should call "X-plosive" attention over its traditional counterparts, say the folks at Whiteflash.com.

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- So, you want to be a P.I.? Florida Private Investigator, John Krause, has re-released "The Private Investigator's Guide," (ISBN: 0-615-13411-4, printed version; and ISBN: 0-615-12404-6; CD-ROM version) previously published in 1997. "The Private Investigator's Guide" is the most comprehensive guide on the market; it teaches the novice P.I. the tricks of the trade and provides basic information for business start-up.

KANAGAWAKEN, Japan -- KAYAC Co.Ltd. CEO Daisuke Yanagisawa announced that the company has launched a new blog widget "THANKS" from their blog widgets site "BlogDeco." According to Yanagisawa: "This blog widget 'THANKS,' is our fist release targeted abroad, in both Japanese and English versions."

CHICAGO, Ill. -- The LJR Group today announced publication of a revised edition of the book "Our Uncle Sam: The Sam Cooke Story From His Family's Perspective" (ISBN: 1-4120-6498-8, www.ourunclesam.com). Written by Cooke's great-nephew Erik Greene, Our Uncle Sam not only emphasizes Cooke's accomplishments in music history, but gives the reader an inside look on the childhood influences that drove him to excel.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Buying and servicing a boat has become a much easier task for consumers around the country, thanks to Boating Industry magazine's second annual Top 100 Dealers, a ranking of an incredibly powerful group of marine dealers that generated more than $2.88 billion in retail sales, or nearly 8 percent of the entire $37 billion marine market.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The psychological thriller "TO THE BONE" (ISBN: 0-9769688-3-5) by Mark Vann is based on an astonishing medical case history and offers readers a villain like no other in the annals of crime fiction. The strands of the plot are darkly and deftly intertwined like the DNA helix of the killer. In addition, this groundbreaking novel brings to the forefront a subject that has always been considered taboo.

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. -- Looking for the perfect wine for your holiday gifts or dinner parties? Then you shouldn't miss the special episode of W the women's show "Holiday Greetings." Winemaker, Daniel Baron, of Silver Oak and Twomey Cellars will be taking viewers on a tour of the vineyards, tasting rooms, and cellars in both Napa and Sonoma counties that produce award-winning California wines.

KOH KTEAH, Cambodia -- GoldenPalace.com, the Internet casino famous for their unusual and often outrageous advertising campaigns, has done it again by sponsoring Canadian director Matt Frame's record-breaking feat for the world's longest handcuffed swim. Matt made the brutal 5.8 kilometer (3.1 nautical miles) swim from Koh Kteah to Serendipity beach without the benefit of a wetsuit or any help. The Guinness people have officially confirmed this to be a record-breaking swim.

DENVER, Colo. -- Denver-area public companies and their audit committee members are invited to participate in "Governance Update: SOX compliance...and what's next with the SEC," a free seminar offered by RSM McGladrey, one of the top accounting, tax and business consulting organizations in the country. The seminar will be held at the Wyndham Hotel Denver Tech Center on Dec. 6, 2006, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. -- This holiday season, W the women's show will help women learn how to make the most of their printer purchases on its "Holiday Greetings" special. The hit Quorum Productions television program will feature an expert from Dell Computers who will explain how to make buying, owning, and operating a printer an easy task.

DALLAS, Texas -- The Texas Almanac has partnered with the William P. Clements School of Southwest Studies at Southern Methodist University to reproduce their 1936 Centennial Edition.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- A specialty government and economic development consulting firm is extending its reach further into the Midwest as it announced today the opening of an office in Minneapolis. GSP Consulting, based in Pittsburgh, Pa., has announced it will establish its 10th office in Minneapolis. Led by former legislator and leading bioscience advocate Lynne Osterman, the firm will bring to the marketplace its unique brand of government and economic development consulting.