Construction crews are hard at work as Taylor Morrison moves forward with plans for its newest model at Channing Park in Lithia. Known as the Hemmingway, the new model is part of the company's Manor Collection of upscale, estate-sized homes featuring four to seven bedrooms and flexible floor plans with multi-purpose spaces. The model is expected to be ready for public viewing by early 2013. With over 4,000 square feet of living space, the two-story Hemmingway offers abundant space. The downstairs is centered around a large open kitchen and family room, separated by a ...

SecurAlarm Systems, the premier security integrator in the West Michigan market, is pleased to announce that they have been named one of the National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. As a part of the process, SecurAlarm was assessed on many Human Resources best practices by the National Association for Business Resources (NABR). Companies with a clear commitment to quality human resources initiatives that align with the employment standards set by the NABR are selected for this designation. As an organization, SecurAlarm Systems has continually strived to ...

U.S. Toy was pleased to take part in World Teacher Appreciation Day by hosting a Teacher Classroom Makeover Project in the month of October. Throughout the month parents, peers and even students nominated deserving teachers for this great honor. Numerous entries were received talking about the dedication of teachers and their constant ability to go over and beyond for their students. U.S. Toy is pleased to recognize eight of those teachers throughout the country: KANSAS CITY AREA WINNER Bryon Autry - Arbor Creek Elementary CHICAGO AREA WINNER Ellen Brenner - Blaine ...

Robert Buhler, president of MMI Public Relations (http://www.mmipublicrelations.com), a full-service public relations firm, has announced that the firm has been named the agency of record for the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association (VVMA) (http://www.vvma.org/). Established in 1894, VVMA is a professional organization of veterinarians dedicated to preserving and enhancing the quality of human and animal life through veterinary medicine. The organization seeks to establish and enhance open communication between members of the association and industry representatives. ...

Myriad Supply LLC, a leading distributor of computer and telecom networking systems has achieved Elite status in the distinguished Juniper Networks partner program. The certification affords Myriad's 12,000 customers better discount pricing on Juniper's extensive line of computer networking hardware. In addition, the Elite Partner status allows Myriad Supply to offer expanded pre-sales engineering support and network design and post-sales support services provided by Myriad's team of enterprise, data center and ISP consulting experts. Myriad Supply has been named four ...

The North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association (www.ncvma.org) has announced the release of a podcast discussing how to best handle pet bone injuries and sprains. Dr. Scotty Gibbs, DVM, owner of Hilltop Animal Hospital in Fuquay-Varina, N.C. and president of the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association, explains ways to recognize a sprained or broken bone and provides tips for caring for injured pets. Additionally, Dr. Gibbs offers insight into the healing process of bone injuries as well as the availability and use of pain medication for animals. The podcast is ...

It is the year of the spoiled pet, and by the start of November, Falls Church animals will be lining up to celebrate the grand opening of Pet Supplies Plus, the nation's most trusted network of community pet retailers for food, equipment, toys and more. Located at 7502 Leesburg Pikein Falls Church,Pet Supplies Plus will hold a grand opening celebration on Saturday, November 10, andSunday, November 11, 2012. The new Pet Supplies Plus will offer Falls Churchresidents a wide variety of pet toys, equipment and a broad range of food from premium items to basic grocery products, ...

Mims Distributing Company (http://www.mimsdistributing.com), a beer distributor that services a nine-county area in and around the Triangle, has announced that it has won the 2012 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Community Appearance in the industrial category. The distributor received the honor Oct. 9 for the positive impact its recently opened warehouse has made on Raleigh's visual environment. The facility, located at 8605 Ebenezer Church Road near Interstates 40 and 540 and RDU International Airport, is approximately 144,000 square feet and occupies 13.5 acres. The high-efficiency ...

Continuing their commitment of support to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), The Preiss Company will be the presenting sponsor of the SPCA of Wake County Santa Paws Competitive 5K. The event will be held on Sunday, November 18th (rain or shine) from 8:00am to noon at Cameron Village in Raleigh. Gerald Owens of WRAL-TV5 will be the event's celebrity Santa. The Preiss Company is a long-time supporter of the SPCA of Wake County and was a sponsor of the organization's 14th Annual SPCA Fur Ball and 2nd Annual Hair O' The Dog Benefit. In addition, ...

Chris Hendricks (http://www.chrishendricksmusic.com), a musician based in Raleigh, N.C., has announced the dates of his November "Breaking Down Barriers" anti-bullying program events at seven North Carolina schools. The "Breaking Down Barriers" schedule for November will include the following locations: -St. Mary's High School on Sunday, Nov. 11 -Ravenscroft High School on Monday, Nov. 12 -Green Hope High School on Monday, Nov. 19 -Millbrook High School on Tuesday, Nov. 27 -Wakefield High School on Wednesday, Nov. 28 -Southeast Raleigh Magnet ...

MoZeus Worldwide, a mobile-marketing and content management software company and developers of the SMART Activator application, is pleased to announce the hiring of entertainment marketing executive Gillian Caine to lead its Los Angeles office. In this role, Caine will focus on developing strategic relationships with marketing agencies and brands based on the West Coast and internationally. Caine has spent her entire career working in the entertainment industry with major brands such as Playboy, VH-1, Sony Records, Warner Bros., MGM Pictures, Universal Music & Video ...

LA JOLLA, CA – Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified a new pathway that appears to play a major role in information processing in the brain. Their research also offers insight into how imbalances in this pathway could contribute to cognitive abnormalities in humans. The study, published in the November 9, 2012 issue of the journal Cell, focuses on the actions of a protein called HDAC4. The researchers found that HDAC4 is critically involved in regulating genes essential for communication between neurons. "We found that HDAC4 represses these ...

PHILADELPHIA — When a virus such as influenza invades our bodies, interferon proteins are among the first immune molecules produced to fight off the attack. Interferon can also play a role in suppressing tumor growth and the effects of autoimmune diseases, and doctors may use an artificial form of interferon to treat patients with certain cancers or multiple sclerosis. But even this approach sometimes fails when patients' bodies reject the foreign interferon or growing resistant to its effects. A study by scientists from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary ...

University Hospitals Case Medical Center's MacDonald Women's Hospital is leading an international trial investigating a first-of-its-kind on-demand drug for pre-menopausal women with sexual dysfunction. Led by Sheryl Kingsberg, PhD, this international Phase II study is one of the largest clinical studies to ever explore a "use-as-needed" treatment, Tefina, for women experiencing orgasmic disorder. Tefina is a nasal gel containing testosterone and is inserted in the nose with an easy to use applicator 1-4 hours before sexual activity. The study, which will involve 240 ...

Pica -- craving and intentionally consuming nonfood substances, such as earth -- and amylophagy, eating raw starches -- are widespread among people around the world, including the U.S. Some 180 species of animals are also known to engage in pica, possibly to rid themselves of toxins. A study appearing Oct. 17 in the online journal Public Library of Science One provides the first population-level data of pica in Madagascar. It is one of only a few studies to assess the consumption of earths, raw starches, chalk, ash and other nonfoods across men, women and children. Study: ...

Children need a minimum of seven minutes a day of vigorous physical activity, demonstrates recently published findings by University of Alberta medical researchers and their colleagues across Canada. "If you watch late-night television, or look in the backs of magazines, you'll see magical ads saying you need just 10 minutes a day or five minutes a day of exercise to stay fit. And for those of us in the medical field, we just rolled our eyes at that. But surprisingly, they may actually be right and that's what this research shows," says co-principal investigator Richard ...

COLLEGE STATION – Can you imagine trying to build a competitive race car with old parts? Chances are, the entry would not fare well at the Indy 500. Very much the same thing might be said about today's crops, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist. "Contemporary crops such as Texas cotton are like finely tuned racing machines — they need high quality parts to perform optimally," said Dr. David Stelly, AgriLife Research cotton geneticist in College Station. "And they constantly need new ones to replace ones that are no longer functional, as well as those ...

COLLEGE STATION – The old adage "you can't see the forest for the trees" might mean more to Dr. Sorin Popescu than most people. Popescu, a Texas A&M University associate professor in the department of ecosystem science and management, uses remote sensing and other advanced technology to make sure he sees both the individual trees and the overall forest. Forests change continually for various reasons – fires, insect defoliation, hurricanes, drought and more, he said. These changes can affect the communities that depend on the forest industry. Popescu monitored the ...

AMARILLO – An accurate estimation of nitrous oxide and methane emissions from beef cattle feedlots is an increasing concern given the current and potential future reporting requirements for greenhouse gas emissions. Dr. Ken Casey, Texas A&M AgriLife Research air quality engineer in Amarillo, is working on an ongoing study to quantify the nitrous oxide and methane emission rates from pen surfaces at two commercial beef cattle feedlots in Texas. This research was supported in part by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant from the U.S. Department of ...

COLLEGE STATION – Fertilizing one's lawn is considered a necessary practice, as is with most agricultural crops. But how many people know about fertilizing a commercial forest, and how that might affect the environment and their investment? Dr. Jason Vogel, assistant professor of forest ecosystem science within the Texas A&M University department of ecosystem science and management, is studying just how much difference fertilization can make to the productivity of the forest and carbon sequestration. Vogel is a part of the Pine Integrated Network Education, Mitigation ...

COLLEGE STATION – A typical landscaped yard consists of lawn area and ornamental plants. If watered properly, homeowners can see the beauty, pocket some green and save some water, according to a Texas A&M University turfgrass professor. Supplemental watering of urban lawns and landscaped areas is required to keep the plants healthy through the typical long, hot and dry summers and falls in Texas, according to Dr. Richard White, Texas AgriLife Research turfgrass management scientist in College Station. White discussed different studies during the annual turf and landscape ...

AMARILLO – Fresh, refrigerated or frozen, colostrum still is the best thing dairy owners can feed newborn calves, according to a joint study by Texas A&M AgriLife Research and the University of Florida. Colostrum is the milk secreted for a few days from a mother, whether human or animal, after giving birth and is characterized by high protein and antibody content. "It is well known that an adequate colostrum feeding is the most important management factor determining calf health and survival," said Dr. Pablo Pinedo, AgriLife Research ruminant animal health scientist ...

November 8, 2012 - Jackson Hole, Wyoming Scientists believe that prior to the advent of DNA as the earth's primary genetic material, early forms of life used RNA to encode genetic instructions. What sort of genetic molecules did life rely on before RNA? The answer may be AEG, a small molecule when linked into chains form a hypothetical backbone for Peptide Nucleic Acids, which have been hypothesized as the first genetic molecules. Synthetic AEG has been studied by the pharmaceutical industry as a possible genesilencer to stop or slow certain genetic diseases. The ...

A comprehensive survey of genital injuries over the last decade involving mishaps with consumer products like clothing, furniture, tools and toys that brought U.S. adults to emergency rooms reveals that such injuries are common and may be preventable, according to doctors at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The study, described this week in The Journal of Urology, was the largest ever to look at major and minor "genitourinary" injuries, which involve the genitals, urinary tract and kidneys. It showed that 142,144 U.S. adults went to emergency rooms ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Resveratrol, a compound found commonly in grape skins and red wine, has been shown to have several beneficial effects on human health, including cardiovascular health and stroke prevention. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has discovered that the compound can make prostate tumor cells more susceptible to radiation treatment, increasing the chances of a full recovery from all types of prostate cancer, including aggressive tumors. "Other studies have noted that resveratrol made tumor cells more susceptible to chemotherapy, and we wanted to see if ...