SEATTLE – One in five Americans are completely unaware that they are at risk for the second leading cause of premature death: high blood pressure. In the first ever analysis of awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension for every county, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington revealed significant differences across the US. The study found the largest burden of hypertension in the southeast, the lowest prevalence in Colorado, and differences among genders, ethnic groups and geographies. But despite high prevalence ...

HOUSTON -- (April 5, 2013) -- Rice University physicists on the hunt for the origins of high-temperature superconductivity have published new findings this week about a seemingly contradictory state in which a material simultaneously exhibits the conflicting characteristics of both a metallic conductor and an insulator. In a theoretical analysis this week in Physical Review Letters (PRL), Rice physicists Qimiao Si and Rong Yu offer an explanation for a strange series of observations described earlier this year by researchers at the Stanford Linear Accelerator ...

Scientists have shed light on a common bleeding disorder by growing and analysing stem cells from patients' blood to discover the cause of the disease in individual patients. The technique may enable doctors to prescribe more effective treatments according to the defects identified in patients' cells. In future, this approach could go much further: these same cells could be grown, manipulated, and applied as treatments for diseases of the heart, blood and circulation, including heart attacks and haemophilia. The study focused on von Willebrand disease (vWD), which ...

Chicago (April 5, 2013): Patients faced with the diagnosis of a life-threatening liver disease have to consider the seriousness of having a liver transplant, which can be a definitive cure for many acquired and genetic liver diseases. Among the main considerations are the anxiety of waiting for a donor organ, the risks associated with the transplant operation, and the chance that the transplant procedure will not achieve the desired result. There is also the six-figure cost of the procedure and accompanying patient care, all of which may not be completely covered by health ...

Twenty researchers — more than half of them Simon Fraser University graduates and/or faculty — could become eastern Canada's knights in shining white lab coats. A paper detailing their newly created sequencing of the mountain pine beetle's (MPB) genome will be gold in the hands of scientists trying to stem the beetle's invasion into eastern forests. The journal Genome Biology has published the paper. "We know a lot about how beetle infestations can devastate forests, just as the mountain pine beetle has been doing to B.C.'s lodgepole pines," says Christopher Keeling, ...

One of the most controversial topics in neurology today is the prevalence of serious permanent brain damage after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Long-term studies and a search for genetic risk factors are required in order to predict an individual's risk for serious permanent brain damage, according to a review article published by Sam Gandy, MD, PhD, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in a special issue of Nature Reviews Neurology dedicated to TBI. About one percent of the population in the developed world has experienced TBI, which can cause serious long-term ...

People in their 20s don't have much on their middle-aged counterparts when it comes to some fine motor movements, researchers from UT Arlington have found. In a simple finger-tapping exercise, study participants' speed declined only slightly with age until a marked drop in ability with participants in their mid-60s. Priscila Caçola, an assistant professor of kinesiology at The University of Texas at Arlington, hopes the new work will help clinicians identify abnormal loss of function in their patients. Though motor ability in older adults has been studied widely, not ...

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY'S HAAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS - While teaching a course on financial information analysis, Asst. Prof. Panos Patatoukas observed that capital market participants and policy makers are increasingly turning to accounting earnings data from corporate financial reports for hints regarding the prospects of the aggregate stock market. This observation indicated that, at the aggregate level, accounting earnings data could be relevant for gauging the value of the entire stock market. Patatoukas, Haas Accounting Group, became so intrigued that he ...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A structural biologist at the Florida State University College of Medicine has made discoveries that could lead scientists a step closer to understanding how life first emerged on Earth billions of years ago. Professor Michael Blaber and his team produced data supporting the idea that 10 amino acids believed to exist on Earth around 4 billion years ago were capable of forming foldable proteins in a high-salt (halophile) environment. Such proteins would have been capable of providing metabolic activity for the first living organisms to emerge on the ...

Aluminum salts, or alum, have been injected into billions of people as an adjuvant to make vaccines more effective. No one knows, however, how they boost the immune response. In the March 19, 2013, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences researchers at National Jewish Health continue unraveling the mystery of adjuvants with a report that host DNA coats the alum adjuvant and induces two crucial cells to interact twice as long during the initial stimulation of the adaptive immune system. "Alum makes T cells take a longer look at the antigen, which produces ...

Los Angeles police officers settle sexual harassment claim Article provided by Caskey & Holzman Visit us at http://www.caskeyholzman.com According to the Los Angeles Times, two Los Angeles Police Department officers, one of whom is now retired, accepted a $1.25 million settlement offer in an effort to avoid a trial concerning the officers' claims that they were sexually harassed repeatedly by a supervisor while on the job. The women, who were assigned to the Van Nuys Division at the time of the incidents, claimed that a sergeant who supervised them often ...

What factors can compromise a criminal case? Article provided by Robert J. DeGroot Visit us at http://www.robertjdegrootlaw.com Many defense attorneys often wonder: what makes a criminal case strong? As they uncover the answer to this question with each practicing experience, professionals must also examine the different factors that can hurt a case. Did you know that 10 factors are common to most wrongful criminal convictions? A study, performed by American University in Washington, D.C., identifies the following factors as relevant or common to erroneous convictions: ...

When is a revocable trust right for you? Article provided by Cohen Law Services, LLC Visit us at http://www.cohenlawservices.com Trusts are an estate planning tool that can provide increased financial security, greater privacy protection and tax benefits. Mike Janko, a director with the National Association of Financial and Estate Planning (NAFEP) recently discussed the many benefits of a trust with CNN Money. In that conversation, he noted that the benefits of a trust are available for those with a net worth beginning at $100,000 and up. The estate planning ...

Estate plans: Not just for the rich and famous Article provided by Cohen Law Services, LLC Visit us at http://www.cohenlawservices.com Estate plans are tools that help ensure a person's assets are distributed according to his or her wishes. Although many people consider these financial tools important only for the rich and famous, an estate plan can offer benefits for everyone regardless of their net worth. What is an estate plan? Estate plans provide an action plan for how a person's estate and healthcare issues are handled in the event of a person's death ...

Four tips for using social media wisely during divorce Article provided by Lindsay, Lindsay & Parsons, Attorneys at Law Visit us at http://www.llptx.com/ In an increasingly connected world, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter frequently play a major role in divorce cases. According to a survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, more than four out of five U.S. divorce lawyers say they have seen an increase in the use of social networking evidence in divorce cases. To avoid sabotaging your own divorce with social media, keep the following ...

Workers' compensation claims in Arizona Article provided by Jerome, Gibson, Stewart, Stevenson, Engle & Runbeck, P.C. Visit us at http://www.jeromegibsonlaw.com Workers' compensation laws ensure that employees are not without protection when injured at work. Workers' compensation provides a way for employees to get paid for expenses they have incurred because of their work-related injury. "Medical only" and "time lost" claims Generally, there are two types of workers' compensation claims that can be made. The first kind is a "medical ...

Can a police drug dog legally sniff your house? Article provided by R. Todd Bennett, P.C. Visit us at http://www.rtoddbennettpc.com The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ensures that "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." The case law defining and carving out exceptions to that phrase is ever expanding. Though the Fourth Amendment implications of using drug detection dogs is largely settled, the U.S. Supreme Court could make sweeping ...

Left-behind items more common in surgery than expected Article provided by The Law Offices of Daniel A. Kalish Visit us at http://www.personalinjurylawnewyork.com/ Patients undergoing surgery rightfully expect that the surgeon will perform the procedure competently and without making obvious mistakes. However, according to research carried out by USA Today, surgeons leave surgical objects behind in patents more than a dozen times a day. According to existing government data, this type of surgical error happens about 3,000 times per year nationwide. However, since ...

Design defect in some Ford models may cause unintended acceleration Article provided by Morris, Downing & Sherred, LLP Visit us at http://www.njpersonalinjurylawlawyers.com A recent lawsuit against automaker Ford claims that a design defect in the braking system of some cars may cause sudden, unintended acceleration. The specific models named in the suit include the 2008-2010 Taurus sedan, 2007-2010 Edge crossover, 2004-2010 Explorer sports utility vehicle and 2006-2010 Lincoln MKZ sedan. The suit cites a 2011 report by the U.S. Department of Transportation ...

Divorcing Baby Boomers: Plan for retirement Article provided by Law Office of Douglas C. Smith Visit us at http://www.dcsmithpllc.com Over the past two decades, the number of people over 50 years of age who have gotten divorced has risen steadily. In fact, according to a study conducted by Bowling Green University, from 1990 to 2010, the number of so-called Baby Boomers who got divorced doubled. In 2009, one out of every four divorces in the United States involved individuals at or above 50 years of age -- in total, more than 600,000 people over the age of 50 ...

Truck under-rides less effective in certain types of trucking accidents Article provided by Hoffman Legal Group, LLC Visit us at http://www.hoffmanlegalgroup.com/ When we travel on an interstate highway or other high-traffic road, we know that we need to pay close attention to all of the vehicles that are around us. Some drivers may be aggressive, and make a move that causes others to have to react quickly. If someone is not paying attention, an accident may be unavoidable. These motor vehicle accidents on such busy roadways often collect other drivers as well. ...

U.S. Supreme Court rules on reliability of drug-sniffing dogs Article provided by Law Office of Gerard S. Williams, P.A. Visit us at http://www.gerardwilliamslaw.com For years, law enforcement officers have relied on drug-sniffing dogs to alert them to the presence of illegal drugs. In a traffic stop, a drug-sniffing dog's alert can give police justification to search a suspect's vehicle without a warrant. Many have decried this practice, arguing that drug-sniffing dogs aren't reliable enough to give police legitimate grounds for a warrantless search. They reasoned ...

Appealing a commercial property tax assessment in Pennsylvania Article provided by Hoegen & Associates, PC Visit us at http://www.hoegenlaw.com/ With the commercial real estate market still feeling the effects of the Great Recession, many small business owners in Pennsylvania are choosing to appeal their property tax assessments in the hopes of lowering their tax burdens and improving profitability. In some cases, business owners are able to reduce their tax liability by thousands of dollars as a result of filing a successful appeal of a real estate assessment. Commercial ...

Cary Family Dental is proud to announce that Dr. Allan Acton has been named a Lifetime Qualified Member of the Crown Council, an association of independent dental practices focused on improving patient care, their office, and the world around them. All members of the Crown Council demonstrate a commitment to excellence, but Qualified Members go above and beyond to earn this respected yearly recognition. Lifetime Qualified Members are those who achieve 'Qualified Member' status for five years in a row. Membership in the Crown Council is by invitation only. Lifetime Qualified ...

CMT is hosting the Myanmar Transport & Logistics (MTL) Summit with the Ministry of Transport in Yangon on May 12-15, 2013, in light of the upcoming master plans and investments targeting at the nation's logistics, supply chain and transport infrastructure to cater to the economy's growth and sectorial needs. Other high-level representatives from international companies will front sessions on supply chain management including Managing Partner at EBI Consultancy, Mr Jan-Willem Adrian. He will talk about total logistics solutions, as well as insights on cost effective ...