PASADENA, Calif.—Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) pioneered the study of the link between irregularities in the immune system and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism a decade ago. Since then, studies of postmortem brains and of individuals with autism, as well as epidemiological studies, have supported the correlation between alterations in the immune system and autism spectrum disorder. What has remained unanswered, however, is whether the immune changes play a causative role in the development of the disease or are merely a side ...

PHILADELPHIA (July 17, 2012)— The combination of obesity and vitamin D deficiency may put people at even greater risk of insulin resistance than either factor alone, according to new research from the Drexel University School of Public Health recently published early online in the journal Diabetes Care. Insulin resistance is a major risk factor for Type 2 diabetes, a condition that affects 25.6 million adults and is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. "Vitamin D insufficiency and obesity are individual risk factors for insulin resistance and diabetes," ...

Scientists from Western University in London, Canada and the Children's Health Research Institute, an Institute within the Lawson Health Research Institute, have identified the critical role of a receptor called c-Kit in the development and function of insulin-producing beta cells, making it an exciting therapeutic target for the management of diabetes. The research, led by Rennian Wang, demonstrated that overexpression of c-Kit not only leads to increased insulin production but also counteracts the early diabetic effects of a high-fat diet. The paper and an accompanying ...

Intuitively it simply makes sense: exposure to sexual content in movies at an early age probably influences adolescents' sexual behavior. And yet, even though a great deal of research has shown that adolescents who watch more risky behaviors in popular movies, like drinking or smoking, are more likely to drink and smoke themselves, surprisingly little research has examined whether movies influence adolescents' sexual behaviors. Until now. Over six years, psychological scientists examined whether or not seeing sex on the big screen translates into sex in the real world ...

Santa Barbara, Calif. – As spatial planning is used increasingly to manage fisheries and other ocean resources, researchers are working to determine the best ways to use and refine the various spatial management tools. Among them are marine protected areas (MPAs), one of the most common methods, which limit or entirely curtail fishing in a given area. A new paper published in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) on July 2 describes research in this area conducted by UCSB Marine Science Institute project scientist Andrew Rassweiler ...

Major disparities exist along racial and ethnic lines in the United States for various medical conditions, but guidance is scarce about how to reduce these gaps. Now, a new "roadmap" has been unveiled to give organizations expert guidance on how to improve health equity in their own patient populations. Finding Answers, a national program based at the University of Chicago and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, seeks evidence-based solutions to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities. Its new roadmap, outlined as part of a symposium of six papers published ...

Los Angeles – July 17, 2012 – Cedars-Sinai researchers have linked Kawasaki Disease, a serious childhood illness that causes inflammation of blood vessels throughout the body, with early-onset and accelerated atherosclerosis, a leading cause of heart disease in adults. In a study published in the August 2012 print edition of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, an American Heart Association peer-reviewed medical journal, a team of researchers showed how Kawasaki Disease in young mice predisposed them to develop accelerated atherosclerosis, often called ...

July17, 2012 — (Bronx, NY) — Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have uncovered one of the mechanisms by which aging may compromise the ability of the immune system to fight infections and respond to vaccines. The study, conducted in aging mice, shows that administering antioxidants may help reverse this loss of immune function. The findings were published online this month in the journal Cell Reports. "Aging is known to affect immune function, a phenomenon known as immunosenescence, but how this happens is not clear," said study ...

LOS ANGELES — A team led by a physician-scientist at the University of Southern California (USC) has created an experimental drug that reduces brain damage and improves motor skills among stroke-afflicted rodents when given with federally approved clot-busting therapy. Clinical trials to test the safety of the drug in people are expected to start later this summer. Stroke, which occurs when blood flow to a part of the brain stops, is the No. 4 cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the United States. According to the American Stroke Association, ...

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) is keeping an eye on the rainfall being generated by Tropical Storm Khanun as it moves past Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. The TRMM satellite had an excellent daytime look at Tropical Storm Khanun near Okinawa in the northwestern Pacific Ocean on July 17, 2012 at 0439 UTC (12:39 a.m. EDT/1:39 p.m. Japan). Khanun had estimated wind speeds of over 40 knots (~46 mph) at the time TRMM passed overhead. The storm was compact but well organized and shows possible eye wall formation. The bulk of the strongest precipitation was ...

Southern California's coast is already feeling rough surf from Tropical Storm Fabio, and as the storm draws closer it is expected to bring scattered showers and thunderstorms as well. NASA's Aqua satellite peered into Fabio's clouds to see what power lurks under them, and saw only a small area of heavy rainfall remaining and the cooler waters that Fabio is now moving through. When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Storm Fabio on July 16 at 2135 UTC (5:35 p.m. EDT), the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument captured temperatures of cloud tops and the ...

Our day-to-day lives exist in what physicists would call an electrically neutral environment. Desks, books, chairs and bodies don't generally carry electricity and they don't stick to magnets. But life on Earth is substantially different from, well, almost everywhere else. Beyond Earth's protective atmosphere and extending all the way through interplanetary space, electrified particles dominate the scene. Indeed, 99% of the universe is made of this electrified gas, known as plasma. Two giant donuts of this plasma surround Earth, trapped within a region known as the Van ...

In a new study by ICAP at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, researchers are assessing a novel approach to encourage newly diagnosed HIV positive people to seek care and adhere to HIV treatment. The unique study in the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) gives people who test HIV positive a coupon for a gift card to claim after they complete clinic visits and laboratory tests. Patients who adhere to HIV treatment regularly can decrease the amount of HIV in their blood, leading to viral suppression. Study participants who achieve viral suppression also receive ...

Researchers from Austria have determined that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their doctors differ on perception of RA disease activity. The study now available in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and published by Wiley, reports that RA patients cite joint pain as the reason for their perception of a change in their disease activity. Rheumatologists, however, stressed joint swelling as the major determinant for their perception of change in RA disease activity. RA is a systemic rheumatic disease that causes inflammation, ...

Philadelphia, PA, July 18, 2012 – National data indicate that milk consumption has declined among children while consumption of sweetened beverages of low nutritional quality has more than doubled. Although this suggests that sugar-sweetened beverages may have replaced more nutritious drinks in children's diets, a new study suggests that in fact changes in children's milk consumption are not significantly related to changes in their consumption of sodas and flavored fruit drinks over time. The results are published online today in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition ...

Establishing a more stringent ozone standard in the U.S. would significantly reduce ozone-related premature mortality and morbidity, according to a new study published online July 18 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. "Abundant evidence links exposure to ozone with adverse health effects, including impaired pulmonary function, asthma exacerbations, increased hospital and emergency room visits, and increased mortality, yet the current National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 75ppb is often exceeded," said lead author Jesse Berman, a PhD candidate at Johns ...

Managed relocation—the act of purposely relocating a threatened species, population, or genotype to an area that is foreign to its natural history—is a controversial response to the threat of extinction resulting from climate change. An article in the August 2012 issue of BioScience by Mark W. Schwartz and his colleagues reports on the findings of the Managed Relocation Working Group, an interdisciplinary group of scientists, researchers, and policymakers whose goals were to examine the conditions that might justify the use of managed relocation and to assess the research ...

[EMBARGOED FOR JULY 18, 2012] In a long-term study of people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), researchers found increased deaths from both liver-related and non-liver related diseases in patients with active infections who had not cleared their infection. The study, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases and available online, found increased mortality in patients with chronic HCV infection—that is, with detectable levels of HCV genetic material, or RNA, in their blood—suggesting that chronic HCV infections, even in people who have no symptoms, can lead ...

Fans of Facebook hate groups, while using new media to target President Obama and his family, are relying heavily on old stereotypes of blacks as animalist, evil or shiftless — including depictions of the President as a chimp or sporting a bandana and a mouth full of gold teeth, according to a Baylor University study. More than 20 Facebook groups/pages were analyzed, using the keywords, "hate," "Barack Obama," and "Michelle Obama" to pinpoint them, in a study by Mia Moody, Ph.D., assistant professor of journalism, public relations and new media in Baylor's College of Arts ...

People are more likely to show forgiving behavior if they receive restitution, but they are more prone to report they have forgiven if they get an apology, according to Baylor University research published in the Journal of Positive Psychology. The study underscores the importance of both restitution and apology and of using multiple measures for forgiveness, including behavior, said Jo-Ann Tsang, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences. "One of the main reasons for using behavioral measures in addition to self-reporting ...

California Registration Requirements for People Convicted of Sex Crimes Even after serving one's sentence, many people who have been convicted of a sex offense in California must register with the state as a sex offender. Under the registration law, known as Megan's Law, people convicted of sex crimes may be required to provide their addresses and other personal information to local law enforcement agencies, and some of that information may be available on a publicly available Internet registry. However, the law prohibits the use of a registrant's personal information ...

Modification of Child Custody Arrangements After Divorce If you are a parent who has gone through divorce, your family has likely experienced some changes in dynamics. Your role as mother or father now includes following a child custody arrangement that probably differs from the way you parented before the divorce. The custody plan, which includes legal and physical custody orders, might be judge-created or it could be a product of a court-approved agreement between the parents. Either way, you might think enough has changed from the perspective of your child or your ...

Recent Massachusetts Cases Reveal Breadth of Noncompete Law Employers in many industries must protect themselves from unfair competition that would arise from employees using company knowledge or contacts to create or join a competing business. To prevent this, Massachusetts law has long held that an employment contract can include a provision restricting trade or competition for the employee after the employment ends, if: -The employer needs the restriction to protect its legitimate business interests -The restriction is reasonably limited in time and space -The ...

Attempt to Lower Penalty for Personal-Use Drug Possession Fails A bill that would have reduced penalties for minor drug offenses did not make it through the California Senate, receiving only about half the needed votes. The bill, supported by organizations including the California ACLU and NAACP, called for making possession of drugs for personal use a misdemeanor rather than a felony. Advantages of Changing the Law The proposed legislation would have reduced the potential 3-year jail sentence penalty for possession of small amounts of drugs including marijuana, ...

NC Beautiful has announced that David Cutcliffe will serve as Honorary Chair of the 27th NC Beautiful Golf Classic. The environmental non-profit's fundraiser will be held from July 20-22 at Pinehurst Resort & Spa, one of the world's finest golf resorts located among the Sandhills of North Carolina. Cutcliffe is the Head Coach of the Duke Blue Devils football team. NC Beautiful Executive Director, Steve Vacendak, considers Cutcliffe one of the nation's most accomplished football coaches and says that his presence will add a great deal of excitement to the event. "We're ...