Farmers in the highlands of southern Ethiopia scratch out a subsistence living from the region's volcanic red clay. The soil supports the farms, but fine-grained, volcanic rock particles in the dirt threaten the farmers and their families. Continual exposure of bare feet to the volcanic soil causes 1 in 20 people to develop a painful inflammation of the lower extremities that, over time, leads to foot disfigurement. Doctors call it podoconiosis. The locals call it mossy foot. And those affected suffer social stigma as well as debilitating discomfort. Now, researchers ...

J. Martinez & Company knows gourmet coffee. It is a multi-generational family business as well as a personal passion for owner John Martinez. Over the years, J. Martinez & Company has gotten to know the best coffee in the world. Since most people do not have time to devote their lives to sampling and learning about gourmet specialty coffee, J. Martinez & Company offers a coffee of the month club. There are two offerings available, the Premier Coffee of the Month Club and the Deluxe Coffee of the Month Club. Both options include three half pound bags of premium ...

Amsterdam, The Netherlands -- Many consumers want to increase their intake of heart-healthy n-3 fatty acids, found naturally in fish and fish products, but find it difficult to consume the levels recommended by the American Heart Association. Scientists at Virginia Tech have demonstrated that it may be possible to achieve the suggested daily intake in a single serving of a savory-flavored yogurt, providing an easily incorporated dietary source for these valuable fatty acids. Their work is detailed in the April issue of the Journal of Dairy Science®. "The international ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — If the fight against breast cancer were a criminal investigation, then the proteins survivin, HDAC6, CBP, and CRM1 would be among the shadier figures. In that vein, a study to be published in the March 30 Journal of Biological Chemistry is the police report that reveals a key moment for keeping cancer cells alive: survivin's jailbreak from the nucleus, aided and abetted by the other proteins. The research highlights that a protein's location in a cell affects its impact on disease, and offers clear new leads for the investigation. All ...

The people behind the success of the natural weight loss supplement Healthe Trim know how well it works for losing weight, and they want people to be successful in their 2012 weight loss. Losing weight can be tough; sometimes the body needs a little kickstart to get metabolism fired up and keep someone motivated about losing weight. Burning more calories than are ingested is the key to weight loss. Healthe Trim is a weight loss supplement that suppresses appetite, increases energy and super charges metabolism for quick weight loss results that are difficult to achieve ...

A chromosomal abnormality in children with a deadly form of brain cancer is linked with a poorer chance of survival, clinician scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered. The study led by experts at Nottingham's Children's Brain Tumour Research Centre as part of a European collaboration could potentially lead to a new diagnostic test to allow doctors to identify youngsters who are at the highest risk associated with an ependymoma tumour and may need aggressive life-saving treatments. The research could also help them to decide which children with the ...

Quebec City -- A study by Université Laval's Maurice Doyon and French and American researchers shows that U.S. consumers know surprisingly more about the fat content of the foods they buy than their French counterparts. Paradoxically, the obesity rate is nearly three times higher in the United States (35%) than it is in France (12%). In light of these results, published in a recent edition of the British Food Journal, the researchers cast doubt on the notion that providing nutritional information is an effective way to encourage healthy eating habits. Dr. Doyon of the ...

It may come as a surprise to some, but the experts at Atlanta Hardwood Flooring often recommend installing hardwood floors in Atlanta during the winter. This is not to say that hardwood floors cannot be correctly and successfully installed during the summer months, but the cool dry atmosphere of winter has its advantages. Hardwood flooring is a natural product, and just like the trees that it comes from, it is affected by moisture. Humid summers and dry, cold spells in the winter create a need for Atlanta hardwood flooring contractors to know what they are doing and ...

The new UK alcohol strategy includes a plan to ensure that General Practitioners (GPs) advise heavy drinkers to cut down (The Government's Alcohol Strategy, 23 March 2012, downloadable from http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/). There is good evidence that this can reduce how much people drink. The big question is, what should GPs say to their patients? A new study published online by the scientific journal Addiction analysed the advice given by GPs in all the major clinical trials evaluating this kind of advice, looking for common components linked to the largest ...

VIDEO: David Grand, M.D., a radiologist at Rhode Island Hospital, discusses a recent paper in which he and his colleagues identify a potential health threat of wire grill brushes. Click here for more information. PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island Hospital physicians identified six cases of accidental ingestion of wire grill brush bristles that required endoscopic or surgical removal. The paper calls attention to the need for the public and physicians to be aware of this potential ...

Atlanta moving company A.C. White Relocations is proud to be a part of the environmentally friendly movement, and is one of the few Atlanta movers to have an ongoing green initiative in place. The two main focuses of the Atlanta moving company's efforts to help the environment are transportation and recycling initiatives that help reduce the company's and its employees' environmental footprint. A.C. White Relocations, an Atlanta moving company, is committed to reducing its carbon footprint in regards to transportation. In this vein, they have enacted a "no idling ...

PHILADELPHIA – Patients with end-stage liver disease complicated by the most common type of liver cancer – hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) – are less likely to die or become too sick for a transplant while waiting for a new liver than those with other complications of end-stage liver disease, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The investigators say their findings should prompt a re-examination of the criteria used to prioritize liver transplant candidates. Only three percent of patients with this common form ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Based on a recent study, University of Missouri and Oregon researchers believe a legal definition for what constitutes "cruelty-free" labeled products should be determined and manufacturers should be required to abide by the legal use of the label. Many consumers intentionally buy products manufactured in ways that do not exploit child labor or cause minimal harm to animals or the environment. Many businesses, such as shampoo, cosmetic, fragrance and pharmaceutical companies, use the term cruelty-free to attract buyers, giving consumers the impression that ...

MAYWOOD, Ill. - If a paramedic suspects a patient is having a stroke, the paramedic is probably right, a Loyola University Medical Center study has found. Researchers examined the records of 5,300 patients who were brought to Loyola's emergency room by emergency medical services (EMS). Paramedics were able to identify stroke patients with a 99.3 percent specificity. (In diagnosing disease, a high specificity rate indicates there's a high probability the patient actually has the disease.) "If a paramedic thinks a patient is having a stroke, that should be a reliable indicator ...

Researchers from Emory and the Georgia Institute of Technology have designed a new treatment approach that appears to halt the spread of cancer cells into normal brain tissue in animal models. Treating invasive brain tumors with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation has improved clinical outcomes, but few patients survive longer than two years after diagnosis. The effectiveness of treatment is limited by the tumor's aggressive invasion of healthy brain tissue, which restricts chemotherapy access to the cancer cells and complicates surgical removal of the tumor. The ...

Jumeirah Group, the Dubai-based luxury hospitality company and a member of Dubai Holding, is proud to announce the winner of its second Arts and Culture Award winner, presented at the 16th Annual Luxury Briefing Awards, celebrating the best in the luxury industry and taking place last week at The Corinthia Hotel in London. The Jumeirah Group Arts and Culture Award celebrates leading international enterprises that are supporting artists and advancing artistic practice through innovative creative collaborations in the business arena. The second instalment of the award ...

Cleveland . . . A team of scientists has announced the discovery of a 3.4 million-year-old partial foot from the Woranso-Mille area of the Afar region of Ethiopia. The fossil foot did not belong to a member of "Lucy's" species, Australopithecus afarensis, the famous early human ancestor. Research on this new specimen indicates that more than one species of early human ancestor existed between 3 and 4 million years ago with different methods of locomotion. The analysis will be published in the March 29, 2012 issue of the journal Nature. The partial foot was found in ...

WASHINGTON — The traditional separation between primary health care providers and public health professionals is impeding greater success in meeting their shared goal of ensuring the health of populations, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. Integration of these fields will require national leadership as well as substantial adaptation at the local level, said the committee that wrote the report. The report recommends ways that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) could foster integration ...

The manager of a luxury resort in Shropshire this week offered his advice to jobseekers on how to make themselves stand out. Terence Southward, the general manager at Macdonald Hill Valley Hotel Golf hotel in Shropshire said it was important to show initiative in the current climate. "Our business is about personality, commitment and get-up-and-go so just putting in that little bit of extra effort can make all the difference," he said. Terence, a father of one, started his career at 21 waiting tables at Butlins but is now manager of the luxury hotel ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– A team of physicists at UC Santa Barbara has seen the light, and it comes in many different colors. By aiming high- and low-frequency laser beams at a semiconductor, the researchers caused electrons to be ripped from their cores, accelerated, and then smashed back into the cores they left behind. This recollision produced multiple frequencies of light simultaneously. Their findings appear in the current issue of the science journal Nature. "This is a very remarkable phenomenon. I have never seen anything like this before," said Mark Sherwin, ...

Lebara Mobile, Australia's leading telecoms operator for migrant communities, has launched its new and improved Mega Plan service, providing unlimited standard calls and SMS in Australia as well as 1GB of mobile internet at no extra cost. As before, the Mega Plan continues to include an amount of call credit for low-cost international calls. "We believe this new Mega Plan offers the best value package for customers who make both national and international calls, as well as those who access the internet from their phones." said Warren Hardy, managing director ...

Look at a middle school assembly – during their lifetime one in 50 of these kids will develop melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer that kills 48,000 people every year, worldwide. Now look at these kids again – which are at highest risk? You can't tell, but a study recently published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology shows that UV photography might provide important information about risk, not visible to the naked eye. The amount of sun damage in UV photographs taken of a large cohort of 12-year-old's correlated with known melanoma risk factors ...

A hidden and never before recognized layer of information in the genetic code has been uncovered by a team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) thanks to a technique developed at UCSF called ribosome profiling, which enables the measurement of gene activity inside living cells — including the speed with which proteins are made. By measuring the rate of protein production in bacteria, the team discovered that slight genetic alterations could have a dramatic effect. This was true even for seemingly insignificant genetic changes known as "silent ...

Cache Metals, a leading Canadian based gold and silver bullion wholesaler, announced the launch of phase one of their online property, http://www.cachemetals.com. The new website includes real-time precious metals market news, gold, silver, platinum and palladium live spot charts, historical price charts, as well as bullion investment resources and daily market reports. Clients and investors can continue buy and sell gold, silver, platinum and palladium bullion bars and coins from Cache Metals. The re-design of CacheMetals.com was due to in part to a growing industry ...

Schoolteachers who underwent a short but intensive program of meditation were less depressed, anxious or stressed – and more compassionate and aware of others' feelings, according to a UCSF-led study that blended ancient meditation practices with the most current scientific methods for regulating emotions. Teachers who practiced meditation in a short yet intensive program were more calm and compassionate, according to a new study led by UCSF. A core feature of many religions, meditation is practiced by tens of millions around the world as part of their spiritual beliefs ...