CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study finds that utilities aren't rewarded for adopting energy efficiency programs, and that reforms are needed to make energy efficiency as attractive as renewables. The article, just published in the current issue of Environmental Law, examines key differences between energy efficiency projects and renewable resources. Author Inara Scott, an assistant professor at Oregon State University, outlines ways to increase the amount of energy utilities save each year through efficiency programs. "Right now, the system actually discourages utilities ...

Philadelphia, Pa. (June 4, 2013) –The last few years have seen the emergence of a new drug problem in so-called "bath salts"—actually "designer stimulants," packaged and sold in ways that skirt drug laws. A review and update on these designer drugs is presented in the June Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. Recent high-profile incidents have drawn attention to "bath salts" as a new and potentially hazardous type ...

Peb­bles and sand scat­tered near an ancient Mar­t­ian river net­work may present the most con­vinc­ing evi­dence yet that the frigid deserts of the Red Planet were once a hab­it­able envi­ron­ment tra­versed by flow­ing water. Sci­en­tists with NASA's Mars Sci­ence Lab­o­ra­tory mis­sion reported May 30 in the jour­nal Sci­ence the dis­cov­ery of sand grains and small stones that bear the tell­tale round­ness of river stones and are too heavy to have been moved by wind. The researchers esti­mated that the sed­i­ment was pro­duced by water that moved at a speed between ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Using a novel genetic 'editing' technique, Duke University biomedical engineers have been able to repair a defect responsible for one of the most common inherited disorders, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, in cell samples from Duchenne patients. Instead of the common gene therapy approach of adding new genetic material to "override" the faulty gene, the Duke scientists have developed a way to change the existing mutated gene responsible for the disorder into a normally functioning gene. The Duke researchers believe their approach could be safer and more ...

A team of researchers including members of the University of Chicago's Institute for Molecular Engineering highlight the power of emerging quantum technologies in two recent papers published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). These technologies exploit quantum mechanics, the physics that dominates the atomic world, to perform disparate tasks such as nanoscale temperature measurement and processing quantum information with lasers. The two papers are both based on the manipulation of the same material, an atomic-scale defect in diamond known ...

Rosemont, Ill. - The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) recently released its revised clinical practice guideline (CPG) on the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee, addressing two key changes. Most of the remaining recommendations provided in the 2009 CPG go unchanged. CPGs are not meant to be stand-alone documents, but rather serve as a point of reference and educational tool for both primary care physicians and orthopaedic surgeons. The original guideline, as well as this revised version, was developed to include only treatments which are less invasive ...

For many older adults, the aging process seems to go hand-in-hand with an annoying increase in clumsiness — difficulties dialing a phone, fumbling with keys in a lock or knocking over the occasional wine glass while reaching for a salt shaker. While it's easy to see these failings as a normal consequence of age-related breakdowns in agility, vision and other physical abilities, new research from Washington University in St. Louis suggests that some of these day-to-day reaching-and-grasping difficulties may be be caused by changes in the mental frame of reference that ...

URBANA, Ill. – Products derived from coconuts and oil palm trees are the primary protein sources in swine diets in parts of Africa, southeast Asia, South America, and Europe. New research from the University of Illinois is helping to establish the nutritional value of these products. "In many countries in the world, and particularly in the tropics, copra and palm kernel products are the main protein sources for livestock. You also see palm kernel products and copra products fed throughout Latin America and in some countries in Europe," said Hans H. Stein, a U of I professor ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Scientists in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University have developed a new, inexpensive and precise way to detect the toxin secreted by Vibrio tubiashii, a bacterial disease that a few years ago caused millions of dollars in losses to the oyster aquaculture industry in the Pacific Northwest. When perfected and commercialized, the new assay should give oyster growers an early warning system to tell when they have a problem with high levels of this toxin and must take quick steps to address it. Findings were just published in the ...

A flash of light from a stellar outburst has provided a rare look at the 3-D structure of material ejected by an erupting nova. Astronomers used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to observe the light emitted by the close double-star system T Pyxidis, or T Pyx, a recurring nova, during its latest outburst in April 2011. A nova erupts when a white dwarf, the burned-out core of a sun-like star, has siphoned off enough hydrogen from a companion star to trigger a thermonuclear runaway. As hydrogen builds up on the surface of the white dwarf, it becomes hotter and denser until ...

PHILADELPHIA (June 4, 2013)— Living in a neighborhood that supports a healthy lifestyle can make a measurable difference in preventing obesity, according to a longitudinal study recently published in the journal Obesity. The five-year study found that significantly fewer people became obese when living in neighborhoods with healthier food environments, compared to those who had fewer healthy food options within a mile of their homes. Previous cross-sectional "snapshot" studies have shown that healthier, less-obese people are more likely to live in neighborhoods with ...

VIDEO: Our understanding of what lies beneath the world's biggest ice sheet has taken another leap forward. This video strips away Antarctic ice to reveal a new, and much more detailed... Click here for more information. A new dataset called Bedmap2 gives a clearer picture of Antarctica from the ice surface down to the bedrock below. Bedmap2 is a significant improvement on the previous collection of Antarctic data—known as Bedmap—that was produced more than 10 years ago. ...

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (May 30, 2013) – The University of Miami's Center for Advanced Supply Chain Management (CASCM), in collaboration with Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business (ALJGSB), recently completed a study to develop the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) for Trinidad and Tobago. Established by the World Bank, LPI measures logistics "friendliness" of the countries for operators trading in and with those countries. According to The World Bank, LPI helps countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their trade logistics performance ...

The emerald ash borer (EAB), a relatively new invasive insect pest, has killed tens of millions of ash trees throughout the eastern United States since it was first detected in 2002 in Michigan and Canada. This insect has the potential to kill an estimated seven billion ash trees in urban and rural forests and could cause tens of billions of dollars in damage. To control the EAB, research on its natural enemies was initiated shortly after its discovery, resulting in a classical biological control program using three parasitoid wasps native to northern China, where the ...

As populations of wild turkeys have increased, the number of complaints about crop damage has also increased. However, a literature review which will be published in the June 2013 issue of Journal of Integrated Pest Management, finds that these claims are mostly exaggerated. The literature review, entitled "Real and Perceived Damage by Wild Turkeys: A Literature Review," was conducted to determine real and perceived damage caused by wild turkeys in North America. The results show that although wild turkeys can cause damage to agricultural crops such as corn, soybeans, ...

ST. LOUIS -- Everyone older than 70 should be checked for frailty, a condition that is both easily treated and potentially deadly, according to an article by representatives from six major international and U.S. medical organizations. "Frailty is extraordinarily common, affecting between 5 and 10 percent of those who are older than 70. Women are more likely to be frail than men," said John Morley, M.D., director of the division of geriatric medicine at Saint Louis University and lead author of the article that appeared in the June edition of the JAMDA. "Over a period ...

CLEVELAND, Ohio (June 5, 2013)—A satisfying sex life is an important contributor to older adults' quality of life, but the sexual pain that can come after menopause can rob women and their partners of that satisfaction. Treatment can help restore it, shows a global survey including some 1,000 middle-aged North American men and women, published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). Sexual pain at this stage in a woman's life is usually the result of the typical drying and thinning of tissues in and around the vagina after ...

American entrepreneurs pray more frequently, are more likely to see God as personal and are more likely to attend services in congregations that encourage business and profit-making, according to a study by Baylor University scholars of business and sociology. Their research, published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion in June, is an analysis of data from the ongoing Baylor Religion Survey. A total of 1,714 adults chosen randomly from across the country answered more than 300 items in the survey, designed by Baylor scholars and administered by the Gallup ...

U.S. regulators expanding probes of bank debt collection cases Article provided by Wages & Benham Visit us at http://www.memphistnbankruptcy.com The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is currently investigating big banks who may have used flawed and error-filled documents in their collection actions against consumers, usually involving credit card debt. The practices under investigation resemble the foreclosure scandal that occurred after the housing crisis of 2008, when big banks tried to foreclose on homes by rubber-stamping documents. The practice ...

NTSB recommends lowering DUI threshold Article provided by Christoph Law Office Visit us at http://www.williamchristoph.com/ The National Transportation Safety Board recently recommended that states should lower their blood alcohol content thresholds from .08 to .05 in an effort to reduce car accidents related to driving under the influence. The NTSB noted that the lower threshold has helped reduce the number of DUI-related deaths in other countries. In European countries, for example, the number of deaths related to DUI offenses dropped by approximately 50 percent ...

Surgical errors more common on the weekend Article provided by Stampfle Law Firm Visit us at http://www.stampflelawfirm.com According to a study published recently in the British Medical Journal, patients who choose to have elective surgery late in the week are more likely to suffer fatal complications due to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.stampflelawfirm.com/PracticeAreas/Medical-Malpractice.asp]medical malpractice[/url] than those who have surgery early in the week. The findings of this study add to other research showing that emergency ...

Do employment contracts put Arizona employees at a disadvantage? Article provided by David C. Larkin, P.C. Visit us at http://www.davidlarkinlaw.com Some Arizona companies require their employees to sign a contract prior to or even after becoming employed. Often a person will sign an employment contract without reading it or having it reviewed by legal counsel, but this can put them at a distinct disadvantage if they leave the company or become dissatisfied with their employer's treatment. To protect yourself from an employment contract that may not in your best ...

Estate planning is important for people of all ages and levels of wealth Article provided by Coffman, Defries & Nothern, P.A. Visit us at http://www.cdnlaw.com Estates valued in excess of $5.25 million -- $10.5 million for married couples -- are subject to federal estate taxation. Although most people will never realize that much wealth in their lifetimes, it is still vitally important to consider estate planning, regard-less of your age or financial situation. Set up an estate plan An estate plan allows you to designate what goes to whom and in what amount ...

An overview of child custody in Colorado divorces Article provided by Patricia A. Riley, LLC Visit us at http://www.patriciarileylaw.com In every divorce in Colorado that involves children, a "parenting plan" addressing child custody issues will need to be created. In some cases, the divorcing couple will be able to work out a mutually acceptable parenting plan with the help of their divorce attorneys. If they cannot, the case will go to court, where a judge will work with the parents to create a parenting plan that is in the best interests of the child ...

Credit Suisse continues its support of some of Cambodia's most impoverished children by donating $75,000 to fund the operation of three schools in Phnom Penh. The schools, run by Cambodian Children's Fund (CCF), were built in 2012 through a separate $90,000 grant provided by Credit Suisse. The satellite schools bring education opportunities where options were once limited. Many children in the impoverished Steung Meanchey community have to work part- or full-time to supplement their family's income. Some have full-time family commitments and many simply can't afford ...