National measures to curb speeding on local roads and interstate highways have proved to be largely ineffective. In fact, the federal government repealed the national speed limit in 1995, prompting some states to raise their limit as high as 85 mph. Despite all the technology to increase automobile safety and measures to make roads safer, speeding contributes to around one third of the 10,000 traffic fatalities each year, according to AutoGuide.com. A 1998 study estimated the annual economic cost associated with deaths, injuries and damage from speeding was $27.7 billion. The ...

African Americans have more severe complications from systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma, than Caucasians. Findings published today in, Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), show that compared with Caucasians, African-American patients were more likely to have antibodies that increased frequency and severity of pulmonary fibrosis, which is associated with decreased survival. According to the ACR there are 49,000 adult American diagnosed with systemic sclerosis—an autoimmune disease where collagen build-ups in the ...

More than a 150 years ago, before Neptune was ever sighted in the night sky, French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier predicted the planet's existence based on small deviations in the motion of Uranus. In a paper published today in the journal Science online, a group of researchers led by Dr. David Nesvorny of Southwest Research Institute has inferred another unseen planet, this time orbiting a distant star, marking the first success of this technique outside the solar system. Using a laborious computational method to assess the effects of gravity, known as gravitational ...

Everyone has heard about them. Whether one has seen them on television or in driver's education classes, every driver is aware that police officers use an Intoxilyzer or other breath test device as a tool to determine if a driver is operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Yet, many drivers have questions about these devices. Are we required to submit to a Breathalyzer test? How do these devices work? How many kinds are there? Are they accurate? People may ponder these questions at one time or another, but they rarely stop to think about the answers. ...

Barcelona, Spain: New findings from a large Danish database of cancer patients suggest that, even though the human papilloma virus (HPV) can trigger throat cancer, patients who are HPV-positive and are light smokers, or don't smoke at all, have a good response to treatment using radiotherapy alone, without the addition of chemotherapy with its consequent toxic side-effects. Presenting her research at the 31st conference of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO 31) [1] today [Thursday], Dr Pernille Lassen, a resident in medical and radiation oncology ...

"Trust me; things will be a lot easier if you cooperate." These words -- or something like them -- are spoken by countless law enforcement officers every day. They're true, but only in part: things will be a lot easier for the police if you give them what they are asking for. However, if you are suspected of a crime, asserting your rights at the early stages of the investigation is the most important step you can take to protect your future. If you suspect that you may be under investigation, be polite, but don't give the police access to any information ...

Barcelona, Spain: Delivering radiotherapy directly to cancer of the cervix using 3-D imaging techniques is effective at controlling the return and spread of the disease and, in most cases, avoids the need for hysterectomies, according to research presented at the World Congress of Brachytherapy [1 & 2] today (Thursday). Dr Renaud Mazeron said that a review of the use of 3-D image guided adaptive brachytherapy (IGABT) after a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy given together (concomitant chemoradiation) in 163 patients treated between 2004-2009 at the Institut Gustave ...

New results from NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) reveal that the bow shock, widely accepted by researchers to precede the heliosphere as it plows through tenuous gas and dust from the galaxy does not exist. According to a paper published in the journal Science online, the latest refinements in relative speed and local interstellar magnetic field strengh prevent the heliosphere, the magnetic "bubble" that cocoons Earth and the other planets, from developing a bow shock. The bow shock would consist of ionized gas or plasma that abruptly and discontinuously ...

Property distribution in divorce is difficult even in simple estates, but complications abound for those with more complex mixes of assets. These high-asset divorce cases often require review of financial portfolios, including stock options. Stock options are often used to lure key employees into high-level positions. A stock option is a contract that allows the holder to purchase a specified amount of stock for a certain price within a set time period. Stock options can be provided as an additional form of compensation and offer an incentive not only to continue working ...

Commercial trucks are -- quite literally -- some of the largest hazards on Oklahoma's roads. A fully loaded semi truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. By comparison, the average passenger vehicle weighs a mere 4,000 to 5,000 pounds. In a collision between the two, the truck almost always comes out on top. This disparity in size makes truck accidents considerably more deadly than other types of motor vehicle collisions. Although large trucks account for just 4 percent of all registered vehicles and 7 percent of all vehicle miles driven, they are involved in 11 percent ...

A team of researchers led by a NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) member based at Southwest Research Institute has discovered evidence that the giant impact crater Rheasilvia on Asteroid (4) Vesta was created in a collision that occurred only about 1 billion years ago, much more recently than previously thought. This result is based on the analysis of high-resolution images obtained with the Dawn spacecraft, which entered orbit around Vesta in July 2011. In addition to creating the crater, the impact is believed to have launched a large number of fragments into space, ...

The recent Supreme Court decision in Lafler v. Cooper addresses the degree to which the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of effective assistance of counsel during a criminal case applies to the plea negotiation process. In Lafler, the defendant received a plea offer from the prosecutor. He rejected the plea on advice of counsel, stood trial, was convicted and sentenced. His sentence was more severe than the plea offer, and he appealed based on ineffective assistance of counsel. A System of Pleas The importance of this issue is underscored by the predominance of the ...

WASHINGTON – A new analysis finds that compared to Caucasians, African-Americans with systemic scleroderma have more antibodies in the blood that are linked to severe complications and an increased likelihood of death. They say this finding, published today in Arthritis & Rheumatism, suggests physicians can use these disease markers to screen and treat scleroderma patients proactively. For the study, Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) teamed up with researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine to examine 35 years of data collected about ...

Bethesda, Md. (May 10, 2012)—This summer's action film, "The Amazing Spider-Man™," is another match-up between the superhero and his nemesis the Lizard. Moviegoers and comic book fans alike will recall that the villain, AKA Dr. Curt Connors, was a surgeon who, after losing an arm, experimented with cell generation and reptilian DNA and was eventually able to grow back his missing limb. The latest issue of the journal Physiology contains a review article that looks at possible routes that unlock cellular regeneration in general, and the principles by which hair and feathers ...

Fibromyalgia is a musculoskeletal ailment characterized by widespread pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Doctors believe that the disease amplifies pain by affecting the way the brain processes pain signals. Essentially, painful sensations are a result of how normal signals are amplified. Normally benign aches would register as debilitating pain. Fibromyalgia is also associated with increased fatigue and sleep disturbances which can further debilitate those with the disease. Fibromyalgia (FMS) awareness has gained significant traction over the ...

PHILADELPHIA—A new study published in Science May 11 is shedding light on the molecular details of PARP-1, a DNA damage-detecting enzyme that when inhibited has been shown to be effective in fighting cancer and other diseases. The investigation led by John M. Pascal, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center, revealed new target sites—including specialized "zinc finger" domains—for drugs aiming to stop PARP-1 activity. The idea for this area of research is ...

In announcing the program, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs explained that the amnesty provides an opportunity for businesses to clear up their tax records. Businesses can do this during the amnesty period without having to pay penalties or interest on any tax reports that should have previously been filed. The amnesty applies to taxes and fees that were due prior to April 1 of this year. It does not apply to underpaid tax returns, nor does it extend the filing periods in a business audit. But Fresh Start does apply to sales taxes, franchise taxes, and other types of state ...

Throughout the nation, laws are moving slowly but invariably towards greater protections for LGBT citizens. Unfortunately, LGBT employees still do not have full protection from discrimination in the workplace, particularly in Ohio. As a result, victims of employment discrimination due to sexual orientation will have no legal recourse in many instances. But that is not always the case. Under certain circumstances, LGBT victims of workplace discrimination can vindicate their rights. There is a growing social and legal trend towards prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination ...

Scientists from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine (IGMM) at the University of Edinburgh have discovered an enzyme that corrects the most common mistake in mammalian DNA. The mistake is the inclusion of individual bits of RNA within the DNA sequence, which the researchers found occurs more than a million times in each cell as it divides. The findings, published in Cell, suggest the RNase H2 enzyme is central to an important DNA repair mechanism necessary to protect the human genome. Each time a cell divides it must first ...

Barcelona, Spain: Patients with head and neck cancer and a low haemoglobin (Hb) level do not respond well to radiotherapy and therefore both control of their tumour and disease-free survival are compromised. Now researchers from The Netherlands have found that the problems caused by low Hb in these patients can be overcome by the use of a treatment known as ARCON therapy, in which accelerated radiotherapy is combined with carbogen (a mixture of carbon dioxide and oxygen) and the water-soluble vitamin nicotinamide [1]. Hans Kaanders, a professor of translational radiation ...

The acronym "ERISA" strikes fear in the hearts of many lawyers, even those seasoned in employment law. Believing it is too complex for all but those who specialize in employee benefits, that it will preempt all other claims, or that it provides no meaningful recovery, lawyers who represent employees often have a knee-jerk aversion to taking a case if ERISA--the Employee Retirement Income Security Act--is involved. It is of course true that ethical and practical considerations proscribe lawyers from taking cases they are not qualified to handle. It is also true ...

The cyclone that brought about the devastating winds that battered the UK in the great storm of October 1987 was exceptional in both its strength and path across the south of the country. This is the finding of a new study which has analysed the places where sting jets – an area that develops in some cyclones and causes strong surface winds – appear in the North Atlantic and how often they do so. Presenting their results today, Friday 11 May, in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, researchers from the University of Reading and Monash University, ...

Chemotherapy is a major first line defense against breast cancer. However a patient's response is often variable and unpredictable. A study published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medical Genomics shows that 'gene expression signatures' for TOP2A and β-tubulin can be used to predict the outcome of chemotherapy. The goal of personalized medicine in cancer treatment is to target therapy to the characteristics of the individual tumor. For example Herceptin treatment is of most benefit to patients whose cancer is driven by HER2 and antiestrogens benefit ...

Deborah Burza has joined Willis Law as a Legal Assistant and will be working from the firm's Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids offices. Deborah earned a B.S., with an emphasis on Organization Administration, in 2011. She also has an A.A.S. and Legal Office certification. Deborah has over ten years of legal experience. She will primarily be supporting the firm's state and federal trial group. Willis Law is a full-service business law firm headquartered in downtown Kalamazoo with offices in Grand Rapids, South Haven and Paw Paw. Our law firm provides representation in several ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- New research from the University at Buffalo suggests that cardiologists may have a new way to identify patients who are at the highest risk of sudden cardiac arrest, and the most likely to benefit from receiving an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD). ICDs are used to prevent sudden cardiac arrest in patients with advanced heart disease, but many patients' devices are never triggered. New research suggests that imaging the loss of nerve function in the heart may identify those patients at greatest risk of developing a life-threatening arrhythmia. That ...