Ever-increasing medical costs, coupled with the nation's high unemployment rate for the last several years - something that has indirectly contributed to the medical debt crisis, as many people lost health insurance coverage along with their jobs - has led many households to the brink of financial ruin. Data released by the American Journal of Medicine and the National Patient Advocate Foundation shows that more than 60 percent of America's individual bankruptcy filings are due to excess medical debt. Interestingly, more than 70 percent of those filers had health insurance, ...

The state of Washington is interested in promoting safe bicycling and offers many resources for bicyclists. It is especially important for children to learn safe bicycling habits, as they are especially likely to get into bicycle accidents. Ready for safety It is important for riders to be properly equipped. A helmet is a necessary accessory for all riders. Lights are required by law at night, a white headlight and a rear taillight or reflector. Riders should dress in bright colors to be more visible to motorists. Using headphones is never a good idea, as they can ...

Now that summer is here, more and more Chicago residents are turning to bicycles to aid in their commutes. Not only is biking healthier and more cost-effective than driving a car, but it is also better for the environment and more fun than sitting in traffic. However, bicycle commuting in Chicago does come with its own risks. Although city leaders have been making active efforts to make roads safer for cyclists, there are still far too many accidents between bikes and motor vehicles. According to data published in the Chicago Sun-Times, there were 43 fatalities and more ...

Delaware courts can make life hard for people who are convicted of DUI. However, responsible drinkers have a new resource to help them avoid a drunk driving arrest in the first place, and first-timers may be able to avoid the harshest DUI penalties. Personal responsibility A new personal breathalyzer consists of a smart phone app used together with a device that plugs into the phone's audio jack. When the user blows into the device, the app displays the result. If the blood alcohol level is over the legal limit, the smart phone screen displays a red signal, indicating ...

A multi-million dollar data company in Florida filed for bankruptcy within months of the death of its founder. At the time of Hank Asher's death early this year, TLO LLC was in the process of a company-wide turnaround. With the loss of its visionary -- a man known as one of the fathers of data mining techniques -- the company floundered financially and corporate officers are seeking to restructure the business by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Chapter 11 bankruptcy Filing for bankruptcy does not always lead to the demise of a struggling business. Company owners ...

People can be injured by a number of things -- motor vehicle accidents, pedestrian accidents and biking accidents. There is, however, a growing concern with the number of dog bite-related injuries and deaths that have occurred in Wisconsin and throughout the U.S. This concern surely hit home for the family of a toddler who lost his life after being attacked by two pit bulls recently. According to WISN 12 News, the police noted that they received a call informing them that two dogs were attacking a female and a 14-month-old boy. Fatalities from dog bites in Wisconsin According ...

The attorneys at the Manhattan personal injury law firm Arye, Lustig & Sassower, P.C., sadly announce the passing of the firm's founding partner. Leonard A. Arye, Esq., died on June 9, 2013. He was 88. Mr. Arye's career as a trial lawyer spanned more than 50 years, during which he developed a respected law practice representing plaintiffs in personal injury cases and achieved a number of significant verdicts and settlements. He was a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. "He had a well-deserved reputation as one of the finest trial lawyers ...

Mark was rear ended at a red light in Seattle. The police arrived at the scene, and he was transported to a local hospital where he was x-rayed and examined. The doctors confirmed a whiplash injury and advised him to rest, and to follow up with his doctor. Following the ER visit, Mark began a course of treatment with a chiropractor and massage therapist. The chiropractor also documented the injury and reported that all of the treatment was accident related. Mark's treatment continued for several months, and even after he was finished, he reported having residual pain ...

This season, Dubin and the Chorale have performed such diverse choral works as Handel's Messiah, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Haydn's Mass in B-flat Major, and this weekend, 20th century composer Benjamin Britten's epic War Requiem. The War Requiem, first performed on 30 May 1962, was commissioned to mark the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which was built after the original fourteenth-century structure was destroyed in a World War II bombing raid on the night of 14 November 1940. It is a powerful and moving testament to the horrors of war. Dubin, who spends ...

Indiana Caverns opens to the public June 15, 2013, joining Squire Boone Caverns and Marengo Cave to create one of the nation's most noteworthy caving destination. In what is among the most significant archeological finds in the US in decades, an Indiana man just discovered a huge cache of Ice Age bones while digging out this portion of the Binkley Cave System. In order to develop Indiana Caverns for visitors, life-long spelunker Gary Robson uncovered Pleistocene-era remains of dozens of animals. The find includes prehistoric black bear, bison, peccary (flat-headed boar), ...

Whether they're seeking spiritual guidance, answers, or just a fun creative experience, Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls guests will enjoy a free Psychic Fair slated for September 22 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The event features the region's foremost mediums, psychics, clairvoyants offering readings, as well as talks and seminars on subjects related to their area of expertise. Chair massages and ionic footbaths will also be available. Billed as an "Expo for Guidance," admission to the Psychic Fair is free, but guests will pay for readings and merchandise. The Inn's Psychic ...

Polaris Financial Technology Limited, a leader in products, solutions and services that enable unprecedented operational productivity for the global Financial Services industry, announced the launch of its new office in Columbus, Ohio. Polaris has had clients in the Columbus area since 2007 and the new office located on Polaris Parkway will strengthen existing client relationships with banks and insurance firms while expanding its reach. Speaking on the occasion, Pranav Pasricha, Global Head, Insurance, Polaris Financial Technology Limited said, "The launch of our ...

Many scientists dream of making a single discovery that provides fundamental insight into nature, may be used to help save human lives, and can assist in the preservation of an endangered species. In new research reported in the journal Cell, a Japanese team is on the verge of accomplishing this nearly impossible feat. Unagi, the sea-going Japanese freshwater eel, harbors a fluorescent protein that could serve as the basis for a revolutionary new clinical test for bilirubin, a critical indicator of human liver function, hemolysis, and jaundice, according to researchers ...

Ottawa—June 14, 2013—Here's a good reason to pay attention in math class. Nature Communications has published a paper from Ottawa researchers today, outlining how advanced mathematical modelling can be used in the fight against cancer. The technique predicts how different treatments and genetic modifications might allow cancer-killing, oncolytic viruses to overcome the natural defences that cancer cells use to stave off viral infection. "Oncolytic viruses are special in that they specifically target cancer cells," explains Dr. Bell, a senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital ...

Milan, 14 June 2013. Lifestyle factors, lack of awareness by both patients and physicians, hesitancy in initiating and intensifying drug treatment, and healthcare structural deficiencies are amongst the reasons for the increasing problem of high blood pressure in Europe, according to new joint Guidelines issued today by the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The Guidelines, which recommend several significant changes to hypertension treatment, are launched* today at the European Society of Hypertension congress in Milan, ...

Cold Spring Harbor, NY – By identifying a protein that acts as a genetic modifier, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have solved the mystery of why some infants are born with a grave syndrome consisting of cleft palate and major deformities of the skin and limbs, while other infants bearing the same predisposing genetic mutation bear little or no sign of the illness, called EEC. EEC stands for "Ectodactyly, Ectodermal dysplasia, Clefting syndrome." It is rare in its full-blown form, although individual aspects of the associated pathology, such as cleft ...

Madrid, Spain, 14 June 2013: Data first presented today at EULAR 2013, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism demonstrate the benefits of a nurse-led programme on patient self-management and the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) co-morbidities. The COMEDRA study was a six-month trial involving patients with RA who attended one of the twenty participating treatment centres in France. Patients were randomly allocated to one of two arms of the trial; the evaluation of nurse-led programmes on patient self-assessment or on the management of co-morbidities. Within ...

Madrid, Spain, 14 June 2013: New study data presented today at EULAR 2013, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, demonstrate a high prevalence of NSAID prescriptions in patients at risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD). Published evidence suggest significant cardiovascular implications of NSAIDs for patients, with an immediate mortality risk demonstrated in patients who had suffered a myocardial infarction (MI, heart attack) even when prescribed treatment duration was less than one week.2 NSAIDs are used to relieve pain and signs of inflammation, ...

Madrid, Spain, 14 June 2013: A new study presented today at EULAR 2013, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, shows that overweight and obese patients are less likely to achieve successful remission in early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA) compared to those of normal weight. Obese and overweight ERA subjects required 2.4 times more anti-TNF therapy throughout the study than normal weight participants without achieving similar remission outcomes. RA is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disease affecting approximately 1 in 100 people worldwide. RA ...

Madrid, Spain, 12 June 2013: Data presented at EULAR 2013, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism, show that novel antibody biomarkers could significantly improve diagnosis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Four candidate biomarkers – UH-RA.1, UH-RA.9, UH-RA.14 and UH-RA.21 – were investigated; as a group they demonstrated 85% specificity for RA, and were present in both early and seronegative disease, with 36% of early RA and 24% of RF- and ACCP -negative patients testing positive. RA is a chronic autoimmune disease characterised by inflammation ...

This news release is available in German. Locating a car that's blowing its horn in heavy traffic, channel-hopping between football and a thriller on TV without losing the plot, and not forgetting the start of a sentence by the time we have read to the end – we consider all of these to be normal everyday functions. They enable us to react to fast-changing circumstances and to carry out even complex activities correctly. For this to work, the neuron circuits in our brain have to be very flexible. Scientists working under the leadership of neurobiologists Nils Brose ...

Scientists who designed GPS tracking collars to study hunting cheetahs in Botswana have miniaturised them to track 50 domestic cats in a Surrey village for a BBC programme. The BBC also deployed cat-cams which were turned on by the collar's activity sensor when the cat was moving. 'The Secret Life of The Cat' is broadcast on BBC Two Horizon on Thursday June 13th 2013 at 21:00. In a first study of its kind the wanderings of our feline friends were recorded, revealing how far they roamed and what they got up to once they leave their owners behind. The team were concerned ...

If you are healthy and plan to start running for the first time, it is perfectly all right to put on a pair of completely ordinary 'neutral' running shoes without any special support. Even though your feet overpronate when you run – i.e. roll inwards. There appears to be no risk that overpronation or underpronation can lead to running injuries through using neutral shoes for this special group of healthy beginners. This is the result of a study conducted at Aarhus University which has just been published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine under the title "Foot ...

Research from the University of Adelaide shows middle-aged women are more likely to suffer depression from a common medical problem that they find too embarrassing to talk about: urinary incontinence. However, help is available for women if they seek medical advice, researchers say. In a study of the experiences of women with urinary incontinence, researcher Jodie Avery found that middle-aged women with incontinence (aged 43-65) were more likely to be depressed than older women (aged 65-89). Speaking in the lead up to World Continence Week (24-30 June), Ms Avery says ...

In a piece of work carried out by the Carbohydrate Metabolism Research Team of the Institute of Agrobiotechnology (a centre jointly owned by the NUP/UPNA-Public University of Navarre, the Spanish National Scientific Research Council-CSIC, and the Government of Navarre), the discovery has been made of the way in which the glgS gene (now renamed as the "surface composition regulator", scoR) acts in bacteria and how the mechanisms involved in bacterial infection can be altered by manipulating this gene, which indirectly affects glycogen production. The finding has been protected ...