ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Although women continue to lag behind men in pay, the gender wage gap has narrowed considerably since the 1960s. Now a new University of Michigan study is the first to quantify the impact of the pill on women's labor market advances. The study shows that roughly one-third of women's wage gains through the 1990s are due to the availability of oral contraceptives. Published online this week by the National Bureau of Economic Research as a working paper, the study was conducted by U-M economist Martha Bailey and colleagues Brad Hershbein at U-M and ...

University of Alberta researcher Christina Engels has discovered how to extract a compound from mustard seeds that can protect against food spoilage. Engels recovered a particular compound—sinapic acid—from mustard seed meal, which shows antibacterial effects against such strains as Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and Listeria monocytogenes, all of which can cause grave illness and death in humans. Canada is the world's largest exporter of mustard seed. The results published recently in the European Food Research & Technology journal>. Engels' isolation of sinapic ...

Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta Galleria Hotel, a premier Smyrna Georgia Hotel, offers convenient lodging for guests and vendors attending the Spring Jonquil Festival. The event will take place April 28-29, 2012 on the beautiful Village Green in downtown Smyrna, GA. The event will showcase arts and crafts by more than 150 artists/crafters from across the country. It will also feature: - Featured Artist's Market - Live entertainment including country music performer J. Scott Thompson - Children's section with Peter's festival puppet show and inflatable actives - ...

Yesterday, pro football prospect LaMichael James surprised students at Liberty-Eylau High School, his alma mater in Texarkana, Texas, with tools for achieving their best on the field and in life. James and representatives from SKLZ, the athletic training company for which he is a brand ambassador, shared how hard work and dedication can lead to academic and athletic successes. In addition to the words of encouragement, James donated $5,000 of SKLZ training equipment to the Liberty-Eylau High School to help its student athletes elevate their athleticism. "When you're ...

What happens on the day before a colonoscopy may be just as important as the colon-screening test itself. Gastroenterologists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that when patients don't adequately prep for the test by cleansing their colons, doctors often can't see potentially dangerous pre-cancerous lesions. Reporting in the journal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the researchers say that doctors often missed at least one pre-cancerous growth in about one-third of patients who did not properly prepare for their colonoscopy. Those polyps ...

Though the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been steadily climbing— from 6 in 1,000 children in 2002, to nearly 10 in 1,000 children in 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention— little is known about the disorder. But, research with young kids can lead to important insights in how children with developmental abnormalities view the world. This month in the Journal of Visualized Experiments, researchers demonstrate how to use eye-tracking in very young children with autism. "Generally, individuals new to this method often struggle, ...

Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have created a gut-on-a-chip microdevice lined by living human cells that mimics the structure, physiology, and mechanics of the human intestine—even supporting the growth of living microbes within its luminal space. As a more accurate alternative to conventional cell culture and animal models, the microdevice could help researchers gain new insights into intestinal disorders, such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and also evaluate the safety and efficacy of potential ...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M — Sandia National Laboratories is using its Ion Beam Laboratory (IBL) to study how to rapidly evaluate the tougher advanced materials needed to build the next generation of nuclear reactors and extend the lives of current reactors. Reactor operators need advanced cladding materials, which are the alloys that create the outer layer of nuclear fuel rods to keep them separate from the cooling fluid. Better alloys will be less likely to deteriorate from exposure to everything from coolant fluids to radiation damage. Operating a reactor causes progressive ...

BOSTON -- The H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009 underscored weaknesses in methods widely used to diagnose the flu, from frequent false negatives to long wait times for results. Now Boston University researchers have developed a prototype of a rapid, low-cost, accurate, point-of-care device that promises to provide clinicians with an effective tool to quickly diagnose both seasonal and pandemic strains of influenza, and thus limit the spread of infection. Boston University Biomedical Engineering Associate Professor Catherine Klapperich led the team of engineering and medical researchers ...

WASHINGTON -- Helping bridge the gap between photonics and electronics, researchers from Purdue University have coaxed a thin film of titanium nitride into transporting plasmons, tiny electron excitations coupled to light that can direct and manipulate optical signals on the nanoscale. Titanium nitride's addition to the short list of surface-plasmon-supporting materials, formerly comprised only of metals, could point the way to a new class of optoelectronic devices with unprecedented speed and efficiency. "We have found that titanium nitride is a promising candidate ...

Using unique proprietary technology, WTFast accelerates the online connection between gamers and servers, dramatically increasing performance for the world's most popular franchises. WTFast users can see drastic improvements in performance boosting game connection speeds by as much as 70 per cent. This is vital for gamers who live remotely from the host game servers. "Our service gives its users a huge advantage in multiplayer FPS games regardless of where you are in the world," said Rob Bartlett, CEO of WTFast. "In some cases we've seen ping rates drop ...

Your mother had a doctor's appointment for a memory test. The results are conclusive: she presents with the first signs of Alzheimer type dementia. Now, to get to her appointment, your mother, who is no longer used to driving in town, took her car, looked for a parking space for 15 minutes, got lost in a labyrinth of one-way streets, had never used those new electronic parking meters before and is convinced that the "machine" stole her credit card number. Out of breath, she walked 20 minutes looking for the doctor's office and finally arrived late for her appointment, even ...

The Government of Nicaragua recently revealed that the country received US$967.9 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) during 2011, a new record for the country in FDI inflows and a 91 percent growth when compared to the US$507.9 million attracted in 2010. The FDI attracted in 2011 was led mainly by the energy, telecommunications and free zones sectors, which together accounted for 52 percent of total FDI. The development of these sectors has contributed significantly in increasing the country's productive capacity and boosting its economy. Specifically, in the ...

Baltimore, MD -- The University of Maryland released details today of the most extensive full face transplant completed to date, including both jaws, teeth, and tongue. The 36-hour operation occurred on March 19-20, 2012 at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center and involved a multi-disciplinary team of faculty physicians from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a team of over 150 nurses and professional staff. The face transplant, formally called a vascularized composite allograft (VCA), was part of a 72-hour ...

Dementia -- an acute loss of cognitive ability -- can be marked by memory loss, decreased attention span, and disorientation. It occurs in severe disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Despite the fact that the condition is common, especially among older persons, there is still a lack of effective treatment. According to Prof. Jiska Cohen-Mansfield of Tel Aviv University's Herczeg Institute on Aging and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, dementia sufferers are often prescribed psychotropic drugs to mitigate symptoms such as delusions. But this tactic can cause more harm than ...

Corcentric, a leading provider of centralized invoice processing solutions for the automotive aftermarket industry, today announced the appointment of Larry Nemerofsky to the role of Director of Client Integration. Larry brings with him more than 30 years of experience in collaborating with corporate and senior-level decision makers to conceptualize business models, formulate strategies, develop effective cross-functional relationships, and solve business problems. Previously, Larry served as Director, Customer Advocate Team at Cardone Industries, where he was responsible ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- To curb employees' on-the-job substance use and intoxication, bosses need to do more than just be around their employees all day, according to a new study from the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions (RIA). "It's only when employees think their supervisor knows how to detect substance use -- and is willing to do something about it -- that employees' drinking and drug use on the job decreases," explains Michael Frone, PhD, senior research scientist at RIA and research associate professor of psychology. "Contact with a supervisor, ...

DURHAM, N.C. – An anecdotal observation of a possible link between sleep apnea and post-surgical delirium has been measured and confirmed by a team of researchers at the Duke University Medical Center. "The association between sleep apnea and postoperative delirium is big news because it may offer us a way to control postoperative delirium which can be devastating," said senior author Madan Kwatra, Ph.D., who is associate professor of anesthesiology at Duke. The study appears in the April 2012 issue of Anesthesiology. Delirium is not a minor consequence. The condition ...

A new study examining nearly 40 years of satellite imagery has revealed that the floating ice shelves of a critical portion of West Antarctica are steadily losing their grip on adjacent bay walls, potentially amplifying an already accelerating loss of ice to the sea. The most extensive record yet of the evolution of the floating ice shelves in the eastern Amundsen Sea Embayment in West Antarctica shows that their margins, where they grip onto rocky bay walls or slower ice masses, are fracturing and retreating inland. As that grip continues to loosen, these already-thinning ...

HighPoints Learning, Inc. a leader in online math tutoring for the past six years announced today that it is changing the game for online math help for students in grades 2-12. They just reduced the price of achievemath.com, their online guided math practice site from $40 to just $9.95 per month. HighPoints wants to make proven online math assistance available to everyone. "The United States is mired in 26th place among the world's nations in mathematics" said Dennis McLynn, vice president of marketing for Highpoints Learning. "The bulk of the under-performing ...

Boston -- A number of studies have shown that excess insulin circulating in the bloodstream is a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, a new study from Joslin Diabetes Center finds that this condition, called hyperinsulinemia, is itself not a cause of atherosclerosis. In humans, insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin becomes less effective at lowering blood sugar levels, coexists with hyperinsulinemia. Both are associated with atherosclerosis, the buildup of cholesterol in blood vessels that causes coronary artery disease, heart ...

WASHINGTON -- Teaching students of all ages about the value of diversity and the serious mental health impacts of bias and stereotyping will help end widespread discrimination in the United States, according to a new American Psychological Association task force report. "Not only is discrimination wrong from the perspectives of morality and justice, it is ultimately detrimental to our entire country. Diversity increases our strength," said task force Chair James M. Jones, PhD. "To thrive in a global economy within the context of the rapidly changing demographics in the ...

This press release is available in French. Montreal -- With the click of a mouse or touch of a mobile phone screen — in pyjamas or jeans — gambling is now at our fingertips 24/7 with Internet play. With this increased access to gambling, are online gamblers more prone to risky behaviours than offline gamblers? A new study published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, led by Sylvia Kairouz of Concordia University, has compared people who gamble offline only to people who also gamble online in an effort to answer this question. Her results show that ...

This press release is available in German. In the beginning the focus was concentrated on research aimed at encouraging the exploitation of indigenous types of wood, according to Klaus Richter, who headed Empa's Wood Laboratory for many years and who now teaches wood science at the Technical University, Munich. In the early days, for example, new processes for the pressure-impregnation of telegraph poles were developed which significantly increased their useful life. Over time the field of research broadened, but the aim has remained the same, explains Tanja Zimmermann, ...

VueTek Scientific announced today that it has launched Veinsite, which is the only hands free and portable peripheral vascular imaging device. Veinsite is head worn, allowing clinicians' to be hands free in order to place IVs without changing standard clinical practice. In a recent clinical study, clinicians saw on average two additional veins with Veinsite than with the naked eye. The study included subjects who can present challenges to vascular access, including infants, children, elderly, obese and those with dark skin. Veinsite allows clinicians to simply look ...