One of the more recent technological advancements in the criminal justice world is DNA analysis. More and more frequently, especially in Texas, DNA evidence gathered from a crime scene is used to identify someone who may have been present. It is also used to exclude someone from consideration as a suspect or to save him or her from a wrongful conviction. DNA evidence in criminal cases DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, and DNA is present in almost every cell of the human body. An individual's DNA is the same in many types of cells, such as saliva, blood, skin tissue, ...

For most people, it's not convenient to get a call from a debt collector. That's why federal law places restrictions on when a collections agent may contact a debtor regarding a call, prohibits debt collector harassment, and regulates other aspects of the debt collection industry. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is the primary piece of legislation that regulates debt collection in the U.S. The FDCPA is Title VIII of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, which was added in 1978. The FDCPA has the following objectives: - ...

According to an end-of-year report from the New York City Police Department, 1,306 pedestrians were hurt or killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2012, with 16 deaths. It turns out that this is actually positive news for the city. According to a January 2013 Department of Transportation report, the number of pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries was down significantly since 2001 - by 28 percent. And the reduction becomes more significant if one looks at earlier numbers. For example, the worst years for pedestrian fatalities were between 1920 and 1940. In the decade ...

Social media has become a central part of our lives. It is much more than a way to connect with friends or potential jobs. Twitter "tweets" now make appearances on newscasts and Facebook "likes" sprinkle across the Web. It shouldn't be a surprise, then, that Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other social media outlets are also showing up in the courtroom. Take, for example, a young adult who admitted to drunk driving in a Facebook post by saying: "Drivin drunk.... Classic. ;-) but to whoever's vehicle I hit, I am sorry :P" (published in the ...

The Knoxville bankruptcy professionals at Clark & Washington recognize that even the rich and fabulous can fall from grace at one point or another. Zsa Zsa Gabor, a famous socialite and actress, found the unfortunate truth in this. War of Words Even though she was married nine times, divorced seven and had one marriage annulled, it was a libel lawsuit that made the renowned actress declare bankruptcy, not one of her famous divorces. Her prolonged feud with German-born actress, Elke Sommer, which began in 1984, finally spiraled into a very costly libel suit when ...

On February 2, 2013 Michael Ian Vargo won Playboy TV's newest reality show "The Man" Tournament of Champions Finale! A Playboy TV provocative reality dating show: The Man, where self-proclaimed Casanovas who are convinced they are Gods gift to even the most insatiable women, are put to the real test to prove that they, indeed, should be crowned, The Man. The show consist of three rounds: An introduction kiss, stimulating game, and spending alone time in the bedroom with two gorgeous female judges. After the intimate and final round in the bedroom "the close", ...

Adventure Travels of Pompano Beach announced today the launch of a new River Cruise Division and website; CheapRiverCruises.net to better serve the river cruising market with certified River Cruise Experts and a dedicated website. "The River Cruise market has matured and needs specialized agents. We have created a separate division, and have trained and certified our most experienced agents in the art of river cruising," said Glenda Clark, Vice President of Sales & Marketing. River cruises, a new favorite among seasoned travelers, are a great way to ...

Capsa Solutions, a leading provider of computer and healthcare storage cart products for healthcare facilities, today introduced three new product offerings at the annual HIMSS13 Conference and Exposition in New Orleans. The NEW AX Series Monitor Arms and Wall Mount System expands Capsa's reach into the health IT and point-of-care computing category where they currently offer a wide breadth of mobile computing carts and workstations. "The AX Series line is a natural extension to expand our portfolio of products that enable computing hardware and health IT directly ...

Corcentric, a leading provider of financial process automation solutions for the trucking industry, today announced they will host booth #259 at the 2013 Technology & Maintenance Council's Annual Meeting, which will take place March 11-14 at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Conference Center, Nashville, TN. Corcentric is a leader in financial process automation, specializing in Centralized Billing solutions, and Accounts Payable automation for the transportation industry. By creating a paperless conduit between procurement, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, ...

Genki USA, Inc., maker of America's Skinny Noodles brand shirataki products, is pleased to announce the newest waist- and diabetic-friendly innovation: Skinny Rice Shirataki. Like increasingly popular shirataki noodles, this all natural, pre-cooked, rice-shaped shirataki is gluten-free with no calories, no fat, and no net carbs. Shirataki (Japanese for "white waterfall") is made from the root of the Asian konnyaku or konjac plant, which consists primarily of a dietary fiber called glucomannan. Food products made from the unique root have been consumed in Japan ...

Ubiquity Global Services, an innovative Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) organization, today announced that Ray Iglesias has joined as CEO. The announcement speaks to the aggressive expansion of the business in 2013. Iglesias brings a recognized track record in growing a number of successful companies, and most recently helped manage the integration of payments technology company TxVia into Google. "One of my strengths is recognizing great talent and people who can really lead. When I saw this team and they invited me to join as chief executive officer, it ...

"Broken Mask: My struggle to forgive" was introduced Saturday, March 2, 2013 on station 1680 AM Winter Garden, Florida by Reverend Bryan on his radio show. Kristina Wetzel gave a preview for the next show, Saturday, March 9, to share the purpose of her book aimed at helping struggling girls and women. The interview will stream live on http://tunein.com/radio/WOKB-1680-s23142/ at 6:00 a.m. Wetzel wrote her autobiography to explain how events throughout her life, from childhood circumstances to rape, to workplace sexual engagement with a superior to poor relationship ...

SEAT Ireland has launched the new SEAT Leon on to the Irish market with a 12 model line-up which includes a choice of 1.2-litre TSI petrol (86bhp and 105bhp), 1.6-litre TDI diesel (90bhp and 105bhp), 1.8-litre TSI petrol (180bhp) and 2.0-litre TDI (150bhp and 184bhp) engines. These engines boast low emissions and outstanding efficiency. The model that is expected to be the volume seller, the 1.6 TDI, has emissions of just 99g/km placing it in motor tax band A2 and can return fuel economy of just 3.8 l/100km. making this one of the most fuel efficient cars in its class. The ...

Corcentric has partnered with Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) to provide an automated centralized billing solution for Daimler Trucks North America's customers. Daimler Trucks North America sells and services a full product line of parts and service through a network of more than 600 franchised dealers and distributors across the U.S. Corcentric is a leading provider of workflow automation solutions, specializing in fleet solutions. Developed for DTNA's Pinnacle Fleet Solutions Parts and Service Program, Corcentric's solution supports DTNA's ability to provide complete ...

Admiral has revealed owners of Smarts, BMWs or Maseratis are the most likely to be targeted by thieves and vandals but Bentley drivers might also want to pay special attention to the safety of their vehicles too. Car insurance specialist Admiral looked at over 700,000 claims and found that Smarts were the make of car most likely to have something stolen from them, BMWs were the most likely to be stolen and Maseratis the most likely to be vandalised.* But Bentleys appear to be a risk across the board, appearing in the top five on the lists for having something stolen, ...

Have you ever wondered how we develop new materials or find out what properties we can change in existing materials to improve them? Scientists and researchers at NASA are doing just that through materials science research using the Materials Science Research Rack (MSRR) aboard the International Space Station. Materials science research is the applied study of the properties of matter and substances. This type of research in space benefits from the microgravity environment, and it allows researchers to isolate chemical and thermal properties of materials from the effects ...

Bioplanet today introduced Bike, combining several products into one - a uniquely designed bicycle, an e-bike with a bottom bracket integrated electric motor and pedelec as electric bicycle with power assistance - into one lightweight and distinct electric bicycle. The Bioplanet Bike introduces a new bicycle frame design with integrated electric components which completely redefines what riders can do with their bikes. Bioplanet Bike is a revolutionary product that sets a new era and trends in bicycle and light electric powered vehicles design. "Our Bike is the ...

Springfield, Ill., February 7, 2013 – Home may be where the heart is, but where you live could affect your health. "Regardless of geographic location, women who live in high poverty areas or are uninsured are at greatest risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer at a later stage," said lead author Kevin Henry, Department of Geography, University of Utah. A team of scientists was assembled by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) to examine breast cancer stage at diagnosis among 161,619 women aged 40 years and older diagnosed in ten participating ...

Women who receive strong social support from their families during pregnancy appear to be protected from sharp increases in a particular stress hormone, making them less likely to experience depression after giving birth, a new study by UCLA life scientists indicates. "Now we have some clue as to how support might 'get under the skin' in pregnancy, dampening down a mother's stress hormone and thereby helping to reduce her risk for postpartum depression," said Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, a UCLA National Institute of Mental Health postdoctoral scholar in psychology, a fellow ...

New research has shown that certain Australian native flowers have shifted away from using insects as pollinators and evolved their flower colour to the red hues favoured by birds. In a study published in New Phytologist, biologists from Monash University and RMIT University have shown for the first time that Australian native flowers exclusively pollinated by birds have evolved colour spectral signatures that are best discriminated by those birds. Dr Adrian Dyer of Monash and RMIT said previous studies had shown that flower colour evolved to attract bees as pollinators. "We ...

Bethesda, MD—March 5, 2013 – Listed below are the selected highlights for the March 2013 issue of the Genetics Society of America's journal, Genetics. The March issue is available online at www.genetics.org/content/current. Please credit Genetics, Vol. 193, MARCH 2013, Copyright © 2013. Please feel free to forward to colleagues who may be interested in these articles on cellular genetics; population and evolutionary genetics; genome integrity and transmission; and genome and systems biology. ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS Cellular Genetics: Systems genetics implicates cytoskeletal ...

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found an explanation for why the level of kynurenic acid (KYNA) is higher in the brains of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disease with psychosis. The study, which is published in the scientific periodical Molecular Psychiatry, identifies a gene variant associated with an increased production of KYNA. The discovery contributes to the further understanding of the link between inflammation and psychosis – and might pave the way for improved therapies. Kynurenic acid (KYNA) is a substance that affects several signalling ...

In type 1 diabetes, the immune system destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, but the precise cause has not been clear. A study published by Cell Press on March 5th in Cell Metabolism reveals that a single mutation in the "longevity gene" SIRT1 can cause type 1 diabetes in humans. The findings unearth the role this gene plays in human autoimmunity and disease and also offer new avenues for treating a range of autoimmune disorders. "We describe one of the first single gene defects leading to type 1 diabetes, as well as the first human mutation in the SIRT1 gene," ...

Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) researchers Alfonso Valencia, Director of the Structural Biology and Biocomputing Programme and David de Juan, jointly with Florencio Pazos, from the Spanish National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC), publish a review on the latest computational methods that, based on evolutionary principles, are revolutionising the field of analysis and prediction of protein structure, function and protein-protein interactions, as well as the short- and long-term expectations for the field. "The computational and mathematical analysis ...

Mitochondria, which are probably derived from distant bacterial ancestors incorporated into our cells, have their own DNA. However, we know little about how these organelles, which convert oxygen and consumed nutrients into energy, regulate the expression of their own genes. Jean-Claude Martinou, professor at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, and his team, have discovered the existence of compartments at the heart of mitochondria, consisting of hundreds of different proteins. It is here that RNA molecules (the many copies made from DNA) come together to be ...