Cyber Monday, the Monday following the Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S., is the online equivalent of Black Friday. Black Friday - so-called because retailers will finally see a profit on this day, returning their bank accounts to 'black' - is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year in the continental U.S. Following Thanksgiving Day, it marks the start of the holiday shopping season and demand for sales and bargains is massive with many shoppers lining up all night to be first through the door. However, Black Friday only benefits shoppers who are prepared ...

QuarterLine Consulting Services (QuarterLine), a small business specializing in healthcare subject matter expertise to Federal and State Government customers, today announced the appointment of Dave Metcalf as the company's new Chief Operating Officer. The COO job is a new position created to strengthen QuarterLine's long-range planning and business operations in the federal healthcare industry. Metcalf is a well-known business leader within the federal healthcare industry and brings with him more than 25 years of experience, with a specific emphasis on large-scale operations ...

A rare magazine that puts the investigative spotlight on innovative creators and their masterpieces, publishers of EYES IN Magazine announced the release of issue 13 to the Apple Newsstand, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Amazon Kindle. This issue of the highly anticipated monthly magazine features exciting interviews and illuminating photography from the world's top creators in artistic and innovative fields. Creators such as fashion icon Daphne Guinness, cookbook author Elizabeth Bard, Swedish designer Eduard Gray, and health expert Dan Buettner are featured in the latest ...

The November 2012 Conde Nast Traveler, one of the world's most respected travel magazines, published the results of its prestigious 25th annual Readers' Choice Awards. The Pillars Hotel was selected as the number one hotel in Florida receiving an overall score of 93.9 out of 100. This year a record 46,476 readers participated in this unique survey known for its global reach and qualified traveler opinions. Readers gave The Pillars marks of over 90 out of a 100 in all 5 areas. For service the hotel earned a score of 95.7, for rooms 91.3, for design 91.3, for food 90.9 ...

People from US, UK and Canada who can't access quickly other forms of credit are now one step closer to obtain necessary funds by taking a payday cash advance loan. Both new and existing customers of the online cash advance service iPaydayCash.com now benefit from a shorter loan processing time. In its third year of operations, iPaydayCash.com redesigned its online application form so it can be filled faster (at most 5 minutes) thus speeding the cash advance application and approval process. People requesting payday cash advances are doing so because they need the cash ...

CHARLOTTE, NC – Researchers have discovered why plants and animals had a hard time recovering from the largest mass extinction in Earth's history 250 million years ago. The reason: global warming. Because of environmental consequences of rising temperatures, those species that survived the extinction didn't fully recover for 5 million years. The study adds a new chapter to the story of how life was forever altered by giant volcanic eruptions in the Early Triassic period – an event now called the "Great Dying" – and offers clues as to how climate change might impact ...

Boulder, Colorado, USA - Throughout history, people have sought to understand how the world came to be and how it has changed over time. This curiosity has produced a rich legacy of science and philosophy and impacted and influenced religion and theology. In the November 2012 issue of GSA Today, David Montgomery of the University of Washington examines both the history of geology and of biblical views regarding Earth's origins. Montgomery's main premise is that throughout most of the past several hundred years, scientists and theologians engaged in extensive collaboration ...

Boulder, CO, USA – More than a dozen papers to be presented next week at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in North Carolina touch on aspects of uranium mining, environmental contamination, leakage, sorption, geochemistry, and mineral dating. Two studies focus on the Coles Hill uranium deposit in nearby Chatham, Virginia. Another discusses environmental contamination near a uranium mine, while a fourth focusses on potential nuclear repository conditions. The following highlighted papers will be presented on Sunday and Monday at the Charlotte Convention ...

The economic impact of a heart attack and other forms of acute coronary syndrome goes beyond the hospital to the home and workplace, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012. Men and women with acute coronary syndrome face additional economic burdens in lost time and income from work and possible inability to return to work, researchers said. Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is an umbrella term for situations in which blood supplied to the heart muscle is suddenly blocked. It includes heart attack and angina or chest pain. Using ...

People who regularly use cocaine socially have stiffer arteries, higher blood pressure and thicker heart wall muscle than non-users, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012. Australian researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the effects of cocaine in 20 otherwise healthy adults who chronically used the illegal substance. Compared with 20 non-users, cocaine users had higher rates of multiple factors associated with higher risks of heart attack and stroke: 30 percent to 35 percent increase in aortic ...

For the first time, genetically engineered tomato plants produced a peptide that mimics the actions of good cholesterol when eaten, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012. In the study, mice that ate the freeze-dried, ground tomatoes had less inflammation and reduced atherosclerosis (plaque build-up in the arteries). "We have found a new and practical way to make a peptide that acts like the main protein in good cholesterol, but is many times more effective and can be delivered by eating the plant," said Alan M. Fogelman, M.D., ...

An intravenous infusion of good cholesterol could reduce the risk of a subsequent heart attack, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012. In a small, early study, researchers noted that an intravenous infusion of the chief protein in high density lipoprotein (HDL or "good" cholesterol) seems to rapidly boost the body's ability to move cholesterol out of plaque-clogged arteries, In the days and weeks after a heart attack or chest pain, patients are at high risk of another attack. Standard heart attack medications, such as aspirin ...

Two daily doses of a probiotic lowered key cholesterol-bearing molecules in the blood as well as "bad" and total cholesterol, in a study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012. Probiotics are live microorganisms (naturally occurring bacteria in the gut) thought to have beneficial effects; common sources are yogurt or dietary supplements. In previous studies, a formulation of the bacteria, known as Lactobacillus reuteri NCIMB 30242, has lowered blood levels of LDL or "bad" cholesterol. Such treatments are drawing increasing medical attention ...

A whale that is almost unknown to science has been seen for the first time after two individuals—a mother and her male calf—were stranded and died on a New Zealand beach. A report in the November 6th issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, offers the first complete description of the spade-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon traversii), a species previously known only from a few bones. The discovery is the first evidence that this whale is still with us and serves as a reminder of just how little we still know about life in the ocean, the researchers say. The ...

Low levels of vitamin D may be associated with longevity, according to a study involving middle-aged children of people in their 90s published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "We found that familial longevity was associated with lower levels of vitamin D and a lower frequency of allelic variation in the CYP2R1 gene, which was associated with higher levels of vitamin D," writes Dr. Diana van Heemst, Department of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands, with coauthors. Previous studies have shown that low ...

Home blood pressure monitoring may help patients with hypertension and stroke but did not improve blood pressure control for patients who had normal blood pressure at the start or those with disabilities, according to a randomized controlled trial published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "Overall, home monitoring did not improve blood pressure control in an unselected group of patients with hypertension and a history of stroke. However, it was associated with more changes in antihypertensive treatment during the trial, which suggested more active management ...

Overcrowding in prisons — an issue in most prisons in Canada and other parts of the world — negatively impacts the mental and physical health of prisoners, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Bill C-10, Canada's omnibus federal crime bill that will most likely increase prison populations, will have negative health consequences. "Bill C-10 will likely have a dramatic impact on the size of prison populations and the stability of prison environments," write Adelina Iftene and Allan Manson, Faculty of Law, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont. ...

Texas Biomedical Research Institute scientists in San Antonio have developed a faster, less expensive route to screen suitable tests for bioterror threats and accelerate the application of countermeasures. The new process screens for pairs of affinity reagents – molecular magnets that bind to and hold on to their targets, be they toxins, viruses or bacteria. That will enable countermeasures to be selected and utilized much faster than the current practice. "Using crude extracts from E. coli, the workhorse bacterium of the biotechnology laboratory, the new route bypasses ...

SALT LAKE CITY – Some heart attack patients end up back in the hospital just weeks after going home. It can happen for a variety of reasons, but doctors haven't had a reliable way to predict which patients will return — until now. Thanks to a new tool developed by researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City, physicians now have a tool to help identify these patients. This will enable physicians to re-evaluate their treatment plans in the hopes of preventing future admissions. "If you can identify these patients, you have a better ...

CHICAGO – Even in men and women with an optimal cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor profile, the lifetime risk estimate for CVD is greater than 30 percent, and is more than 50 percent for men and women overall, according to a study appearing in November 7 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on cardiovascular disease. The study is being released early online to coincide with the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions. "To date, there have been no published data on the lifetime risk for total CVD (including coronary heart disease [CHD], atherosclerotic and hemorrhagic ...

CHICAGO – In a randomized study that included nearly 15,000 male physicians who were middle-aged or older, daily multivitamin use for more than 10 years of treatment and follow-up did not result in a reduction of major cardiovascular events, heart attack, stroke, or death from cardiovascular disease, according to a study appearing in November 7 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on cardiovascular disease. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions. "Despite uncertainty regarding the long-term ...

CHICAGO – In an examination of the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in the U.S. by race and sex, black men and women had twice the rate of fatal CHD compared with white men and women, with this increased risk associated with a greater prevalence of CHD risk factors, according to a study appearing in November 7 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on cardiovascular disease. The study is being released early online to coincide with the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions. "Although mortality rates for acute myocardial infarction [MI; heart attack] and coronary ...

CHICAGO – In a study that involved more than 16,000 Hispanic/Latino men and women living in the United States, the prevalence of major cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors was high and varied markedly across different background groups; and those born in the U.S. were more likely to report a history of coronary heart disease and stroke and to have multiple CVD risk factors, according to a study appearing in November 7 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on cardiovascular disease. The study is being released early online to coincide with the American Heart Association's Scientific ...

MIAMI – November 5, 2012 -- A new study by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science uses Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data to investigate deformation prior to the eruption of active volcanoes in Indonesia's west Sunda arc. Led by geophysicist Estelle Chaussard and UM Professor Falk Amelung, the study uncovered evidence that several volcanoes did in fact 'inflate' prior to eruptions due to the rise of magma. The fact that such deformation could be detected by satellite is a major step forward in volcanology; ...

Boulder, CO, USA – In communities across the U.S., people are hearing more and more about a controversial oil and gas extraction technique called hydraulic fracturing – aka, hydro-fracking. Controversies pivot on some basic questions: Can hydro-fracking contaminate domestic wells? Does it cause earthquakes? How can we know? What can be done about these things if they are true? A wide range of researchers will address these and related critical questions at the GSA Annual Meeting this week. "When people talk about contamination from hydraulic fracturing, for instance, ...