Sierra Pacific Mortgage announces the addition of 13 new branches joining its Retail Division in the first quarter of 2013. The addition of these new branches validates Sierra Pacific Mortgage's strategic plan to become a leader in Retail lending nationally, and brings a group of seasoned professionals with successful track records into the Sierra Pacific team. "We are extremely pleased that such a strong group of mortgage bankers and their organizations have chosen to join the Sierra Pacific team" said Mr. Chuck Iverson, corporate VP of Production. "Our ...

Local residents Carol and Sheldon Bernstein are bringing the excitement of TapSnap phototainment to events in the Charlotte, N.C. region. Launched this April at various locations across North America, TapSnap is the photo booth reinvented as an open-concept, high-tech photo system that is instantly connected to social media. "TapSnap is a completely new kind of entertainment for events and parties," said Sheldon. "It creates this interesting dynamic as spectators gather around the giant 42-inch touchscreen watching the antics of the guests as they have ...

With Robin Leach, former host of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous as its spokesperson, GoldMax USA, the largest chain of stores specializing in buying gold and precious metals from consumers in the U.S., continues its expansion in Riverside County, California, with the opening of two stores in Murrieta. GoldMax currently has more than 200 stores open nationwide including more than 55 stores in California. On April 8, 2013, GoldMax will open a store at 40790 California Oaks Road, Suite B and C and at 39209 Winchester Road, Suite 102, both in the City of Murrieta, Calif. ...

To celebrate a football match that divides a city, one of Manchester's central Premier Inns has transformed two of its floors for the upcoming City-United derby - one into red and one into blue. As the city gears up for the match, which will take place at Old Trafford on Monday 8 April, Manchester football fans can head to the Premier Inn Manchester city centre (Piccadilly) on Dale Street to pledge their allegiance alongside other supporters. The hotel has even adorned each room with golden plaques in honour of some of Manchester's footballing greats. United's red ...

A new study from Premier Inn has found the typical Brit hits the snooze button at 6.22am but then has 10 restless minutes sleep before finally climbing out of bed - and that sleepy Brits love their beds so much that 10% hit the snooze button five times to grab 10 precious extra minutes under the duvet every morning. The hotel chain surveyed 2,000 people on their sleeping habits, identifying four distinct early-morning categories: There are the 'Eternal Snoozers' - who just can't get up when the alarm goes off and need to repeatedly hit snooze. One in ten is so reluctant ...

A recent clinical study by the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Washington, DC revealed that neutering animals have negative psychological effects. The study entitled Gonadectomy Negatively Impacts Social Behavior of Adolescent Male Primates revealed " for the first time that neutering animals affects social stimuli which includes behaviorial responses to social cues." The report determined that neutering significantly impairs social dominance in both naturalistic setting and changes reactions to social stimuli in experimental settings. The two year ...

What will you do today, for tomorrow? This is the question being asked in a global initiative seeking ideas to generate positive change in the world. The G Project, powered by G Adventures and its non-profit foundation Planeterra, encourages people to submit ideas that will help solve social and environmental issues at a local level. Submissions will be collated and showcased on the G Project website and the four people with the ideas with the greatest potential will be invited to pitch to a panel of high-profile judges in Costa Rica. The person with the idea the ...

In the most extensive screen of its kind, Texas Biomed scientists in San Antonio have demonstrated the feasibility of repurposing already-approved drugs for use against highly pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The pathogens included emerging diseases and potential bioterror threats ranging from anthrax to the Marburg and Ebola viruses. In testing a library of 1,012 Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs, commonly used for treatment of every-day ailments like diabetes and high blood pressure, the scientists found that ten were active against two or more bacteria and ...

Striking Caribbean sunsets occur when particles in the air scatter incoming sunlight. But a particulate shadow over the sea may have effects underwater. A research team, including staff scientist Héctor Guzmán from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, linked airborne particles caused by volcanic activity and air pollution to episodes of slow coral-reef growth. Like tree rings, long-lived coral skeletons preserve a record of coral growth. Previously, scientists linked coral-growth patterns in the Caribbean to a phenomenon called the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation—fluctuations ...

Stanford scientists have discovered that some purple sea urchins living along the coast of California and Oregon have the surprising ability to rapidly evolve in acidic ocean water – a capacity that may come in handy as climate change increases ocean acidity. This capacity depends on high levels of genetic variation that allow urchins' healthy growth in water with high carbon dioxide levels. The study, co-authored by Stephen Palumbi, a Professor in marine sciences and the director of Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station, reveals previously unknown adaptive variations that ...

Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 504-670-4707 (New Orleans Press Center, April 5-10) 202-872-6042 Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 504-670-4707 (New Orleans Press Center, April 5-10) 202-872-6293 American Chemical Society New evidence that natural substances in green coffee beans help control blood sugar levels NEW ORLEANS, April 9, 2013 -- Scientists today described evidence that natural substances extracted from unroasted coffee beans can help control the elevated blood sugar levels and body weight that underpin type 2 diabetes. Their presentation ...

Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 504-670-4707 (New Orleans Press Center, April 5-10) 202-872-6293 American Chemical Society Spring rains bring life to Midwest granaries but foster Gulf of Mexico 'Dead Zone' NEW ORLEANS, April 9, 2013 — The most serious ongoing water pollution problem in the Gulf of Mexico originates not from oil rigs, as many people believe, but rainstorms and fields of corn and soybeans a thousand miles away in the Midwest. An expert on that problem — the infamous Gulf of Mexico "Dead Zone" — today called for greater awareness of the connections ...

Michael Woods m_woods@acs.org 504-670-4707 (New Orleans Press Center, April 5-10) 202-872-6293 American Chemical Society 'Chemistry of the Bar' symposium focuses on New Orleans' Hurricane Cocktail and more NEW ORLEANS, April 9, 2013 — Call their taste and effects appealing or appalling, no matter. In a city that claims credit for invention of the cocktail, the Hurricane, Sazerac, Pimm's Cup, Bayou Bash, Hand Grenade, Ramos Gin Fizz and other concoctions are the spirits of the French Quarter and its most famous thoroughfare, which happens to be named Bourbon ...

WASHINGTON, DC (April 9, 2013)—Head and neck cancers typically begin in squamous cells that line moist surfaces inside the mouth, nose and throat. Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) is the sixth most common type of cancer in the United States, and it is sometimes preceded by the appearance of changes inside the oral cavity called precancerous lesions. The most common type of change is a white patch known as a leukoplakia. Because it often takes decades for leukoplakias to develop into HNSCC, there is a window of opportunity to recognize and revert precancerous ...

WASHINGTON, DC (April 9, 2013)—A new chemotherapy regimen appears to produce minimal side effects in patients with lung cancer that has not responded to previous therapy, paving the way for additional research to determine if the new regimen also helps shrink tumors, according findings to be presented by Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 on Tuesday, April 9. "I'm very optimistic that we will show this protocol helps lung cancer patients who have run out of other options," says study author Hossein Borghaei, MS, DO, director of Thoracic ...

WASHINGTON, DC (April 9, 2013)—Researchers from Fox Chase Cancer Center have found that omega-3 fatty acids and their metabolite products slow or stop the proliferation, or growth in the number of cells, of triple-negative breast cancer cells more effectively than cells from luminal types of the disease. The omega-3s worked against all types of cancerous cells, but the effect was observed to be stronger in triple-negative cell lines, reducing proliferation by as much as 90 percent. The findings will be presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 on Tuesday, April 9. Omega-3 ...

Charlottesville, VA (April 9, 2013). Neurosurgeons at the University of Texas–Houston and Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital (Houston, Texas) report on the success they achieved when they removed a hypothalamic hamartoma (HH) from a 10-year-old girl to combat hyperphagia (excessive appetite and compulsive overeating) and consequent unhealthy weight gain. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time resection of an HH was performed for this particular reason. Findings in this case are reported and discussed in "Successful treatment of hyperphagia by resection ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Seemingly benign differences in genetic code from one person to the next could influence who develops side effects to chemotherapy, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The study identified gene variations that can predispose people to chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, a condition that is hard to predict and often debilitating enough to cause cancer patients to stop their treatment early. Results of the research were presented today at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2013 in Washington, D.C. The study, which implicates ...

BOSTON (April 9, 2013) – Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), or the formation of scar tissue in the eye, is a serious, sight-threatening complication in people recovering from surgical repair of retinal detachment. PVR is difficult to predict, lacks effective treatment options, and substantially reduces an individual's quality of life. Each year 55,000 people are at risk for developing PVR in the United States alone. A new study carried out by scientists from The Schepens Eye Research Institute/Massachusetts Eye and Ear and the Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard ...

Believe it or not, while researchers have explored which genes are mutated in each type of tobacco-associated cancer, until now no one had thought to look across these types for common genes that might predict patient outcomes. Results presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 show that in lung and bladder cancers, genes related to the regulation of the cell cycle are associated with poor patient outcomes. "We ultimately envision this as a prognostic tool to predict survival rates for people with tobacco related cancers. Recognizing patients with high expression of these ...

Human osteosarcoma samples are hard to come by, making the disease difficult to study. However, K9 bone cancer is genetically indistinguishable from the human form of the disease, and over 10,000 canine patients develop the disease every year. Research from the University of Colorado Cancer Center and the Colorado State University Flint Animal Cancer Center presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 used easily available K9 osteosarcoma samples to discover a novel protein that governs metastasis and chemoresistance in pediatric osteosarcoma. "We have a pediatric osteosarcoma ...

Collaborative research presented by the University of Colorado Cancer Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Harvard Medical School and the University of Pittsburgh, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Conference, shows that the protein receptor Mer is overexpressed in melanoma and that the investigational drug UNC1062 blocks Mer survival signaling in these cells, killing them. "It's exciting in that Mer receptor expression correlates so perfectly with disease progression. It's tiered – you see a bump in expression as you transition ...

Results of a phase 1 clinical trial reported at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual conference show that orally administered Rigosertib is well tolerated in patients with advanced solid tumors. This is the first trial in which orally administered Rigosertib, a dual kinase inhibitor, was studied in solid tumors. Intravenously rigosertib is already in phase 3 clinical trials for myelodysplastic syndrome and pancreatic cancer and oral rigosertib is being studied in a pair of Phase II trials in lower-risk transfusion dependent MDS patients. The drug ...

In order to kill, bladder cancer must metastasize, most commonly to the lung – what are the differences between bladder cancers that do and do not make this deadly transition? Research presented by the Director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 shows that one big difference is a little molecule known as hsa-miR-146a. Messenger RNA or mRNA carries gene blueprints to sites where the plans are read and made into proteins, and to a large degree microRNA or miRNA tells mRNA what to do. Theodorescu's work shows that in 256 samples of ...

In results presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013, researchers from the University of Colorado Cancer Center show that the Six2 homeoprotein, while not involved in primary tumor growth, allows cells to detach from substrate and survive their transition through the bloodstream to faraway sites of metastasis. "Here we show for the first time that Six2 causes breast cancer progression. It's this metastasis, especially to the lung, that can eventually be deadly and so perhaps even more so than affecting the size of the primary tumor, we are especially excited to present ...