(Boston) - A recent study done by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) shows that tomosynthesis may be more beneficial in diagnosing knee osteoarthritis than X-ray imaging. In the study, which is published online in the journal Radiology, tomosynthesis detected more osteophytes (abnormal bony spurs) and subchondral cysts (small collection of fluid within the bone) in the knee joint than conventional X-ray imaging . Daichi Hayashi, MD, PhD, research instructor at the Quantitative Imaging Center in the department of radiology at BUSM, is the lead ...

AmeriCheckUSA, specializing in employment and residential background checks has become one of the most trusted names in the background screening industry. Located in south Florida, AmeriCheckUSA is a full-service, licensed and insured agency with services throughout the entire United States and more than 200 countries. Part of what makes AmeriCheckUSA stand out from the competition is the company's extensive experience - more than 15 years experience in the industry, along with: - its competitive pricing, including no set-up fees, no contracts and no monthly minimums, ...

LA JOLLA, CA----Rapidly dividing cancer cells are skilled at patching up damage that would stop normal cells in their tracks, including wear and tear of telomeres, the protective caps at the end of each chromosome. Loss of telomeres forces cells out of the dividing game and into a growth arrest state called "senescence," but cancer cells evade this by employing an enzyme called telomerase to extend eroded telomeres. If telomerase fails to activate, the tumor cells of about 10 percent of all human cancers have a back-up strategy to build serviceable telomeres and keep ...

New Rochelle, NY, March 21, 2012—Healthy individuals who carry a gene variation linked to an increased risk of autism have structural differences in their brains that may help explain how the gene affects brain function and increases vulnerability for autism. The results of this innovative brain imaging study are described in an article in the groundbreaking neuroscience journal Brain Connectivity, a bimonthly peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc (http://wwwliebertpub.com). The article is available free online at the Brain Connectivity (http://www.liebertpub.com/brain) ...

The website has urged organisations to asset tag their property and is keen to promote office security and safety. According to whatishealthandsafety.co.uk, businesses lose money every year due to the theft of valuable office equipment. Many companies go under due to a lack of supplies and are unable to struggle through these difficult economic times. As a result, the site is encouraging people to invest in high-quality, customised asset tags and to review their insurance policies. Matt Hornsby, a spokesman for the website said: "replacing computers, laptops, ...

Below is a news summary of an orthopaedic research study appearing in the March 21, 2012 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS), as well as the issues' full Table of Contents. A Structured, Independent Exercise Regimen Can Reduce the Need for Therapy Following Meniscus Surgery The treatment of meniscus tears in injured workers is associated with less favorable outcomes and higher utilization of clinical services. "Disability, Impairment, and Physical Therapy Utilization in Workers' Compensation Patients after Arthroscopic Partial Meniscectomy," is a study ...

Scientists at USC and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab have discovered a new route by which a proton (a hydrogen atom that lost its electron) can move from one molecule to another – a basic component of countless chemical and biological reactions. "This is a radically new way by which proton transfer may occur," said Anna Krylov, professor of chemistry at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Krylov is a co-corresponding author of a paper on the new process that was published online by Nature Chemistry on March 18. Krylov and her colleagues demonstrated ...

Emerge Medical, Inc., a pioneer in generic orthopedic devices for the healthcare industry, recently announced that it has signed a nationwide agreement with the Premier healthcare alliance. The agreement will make Emerge's orthopedic devices available to Premier's 2,500 hospital members at specially negotiated pricing and terms. Emerge will provide Premier member hospitals with a high-quality, low-cost alternative to traditional medical device suppliers. Emerge manufactures standard orthopedic devices exclusively in the United States and provides them for 40 to 50% ...

ST. LOUIS, MO, March 21, 2012—Twenty million Americans get sick from norovirus each year according to data released last week by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Often called vomiting illness, it can spread rapidly on cruise ships, and in dormitories and hospitals. Recent data from the CDC shows deaths from gastrointestinal infections have more than doubled and have become a particular threat to the elderly. The virus is shed in the stool of the infected individual, has a short incubation period and can spread quickly if proper hand washing and other measures ...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The percentage of electronic waste occupying our landfills has grown at an alarming rate over the last decade, giving rise to concerns about the toxicity of components used in consumer electronics. Researchers at the University of Florida are looking for ways to minimize environmental hazards associated with a material likely to play an increasingly important role in the manufacture of these goods in the future. The results of their most recent studies are published in the March 2012 issue of Nanotoxicology. Carbon nanotubes are already being used ...

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- When the intestines are not able to properly process our diet, a variety of disorders can develop, with chronic diarrhea as a common symptom. Chronic diarrhea can also be inherited, most commonly through conditions with genetic components such as irritable bowel syndrome. Researchers in Norway, India, and at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology have identified one heritable DNA mutation that leads to chronic diarrhea and bowel inflammation. Shawn Levy, Ph.D., faculty investigator at HudsonAlpha said, "Based on the effects seen from this one ...

SEATTLE – March 21, 2012: Anxiety, depression, stress and social support can predict early alcohol and illicit drug use in youth, according to a study from Carolyn McCarty, PhD, of Seattle Children's Research Institute, and researchers from the University of Washington and Seattle University. Middle school students from the sixth to the eighth grade who felt more emotional support from teachers reported a delay in alcohol and other illicit substance initiation. Those who reported higher levels of separation anxiety from their parents were also at decreased risk for early ...

COLLEGE STATION, March 21, 2012 – Unlike their colorful wings, the future of Monarch butterflies may not be too bright and their numbers are expected to be alarmingly down again this year, says a Texas A&M University researcher. Craig Wilson, a senior research associate in the Center for Mathematics and Science Education and a long-time butterfly enthusiast, says reports by the World Wildlife Fund, private donors and Mexico's Michoacan state show that Monarch numbers will be down almost 30 percent in 2012 as they make their annual trek from their breeding grounds in ...

International Logistics Solutions (ILS) has recently been certified as a partner in The Customs-Trade Partnership against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program. By participating in this important Customs and Border Protection Agency initiative, ILS will be making a vital contribution towards helping to secure the nation's borders, as well as ensuring the continued flow of international free trade. As a C-TPAT partner, the role of International Logistics Solutions (ILS) is to make certain that appropriate security measures, based upon risk analysis and consistent with C-TPAT ...

Poverty is bad for your health. Poor people are much more likely to have heart disease, stroke, and cancer than wealthy people, and have a lower life expectancy, too. Children who grow up poor are more likely to have health problems as adults. But despite these depressing statistics, many children who grow up poor have good health. In a new article published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, Edith Chen and Gregory E. Miller of the University of British Columbia suggest a possible reason: some children have ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Parents and adult caregivers of pediatric cancer patients prefer personal consultations with trusted health care providers over online sources for information about their child's illness, according to a University at Buffalo research study. Despite the accessibility of online medical information, the UB study found that parents not only distrusted information found through the Internet, they often feared what types of information they might encounter. "Respondents were telling us they were uncertain of the information online and that they were afraid ...

Hunting in the ocean's murky depths, vision is of little use, so toothed whales and dolphins (odontocetes) rely on echolocation to locate tasty morsels with incredible precision. Laura Kloepper from the University of Hawaii, USA, explains that odontocetes produce their distinctive echolocation clicks in nasal structures in the forehead and broadcast them through a fat-filled acoustic lens, called the melon. 'Studies by other people showed odontocetes have the ability to control the shape of the echolocation beam and it has always been assumed that they are using the melon ...

Tapping out a beat may help children learn difficult fraction concepts, according to new findings due to be published in the journal Educational Studies in Mathematics. An innovative curriculum uses rhythm to teach fractions at a California school where students in a music-based program scored significantly higher on math tests than their peers who received regular instruction. "Academic Music" is a hands-on curriculum that uses music notation, clapping, drumming and chanting to introduce third-grade students to fractions. The program, co-designed by San Francisco State ...

NEW YORK ( March 22, 2012) - Mothers' exposure during pregnancy to a class of air pollutants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) can lead to behavioral problems in their children. PAH are released to air during incomplete combustion of fossil fuel such as diesel, gasoline, coal, and other organic material. The study is the first report of associations between child attentional and behavioral problems among school‐age children and two complementary measures of prenatal PAH exposure: monitored air concentrations of PAH and a PAH-specific biomarker of exposure ...

March 22, 2012, New York, NY—As the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act approaches, a new Commonwealth Fund report finds that 49 states and the District of Columbia have already taken action supporting the law's implementation, such as passing legislation, issuing regulations or other guidance, or actively reviewing insurer filings. Early insurance market reforms in the law include new rules for insurers such as bans on lifetime limits on benefits and dependent coverage for young adults up to age 26. The report, Implementing the Affordable Care Act: State Action ...

AUGUSTA, Ga. – More than 75 percent of fourth-graders in urban and rural settings have measurable levels of a nicotine breakdown product in their saliva that documents their second-hand smoke exposure, researchers report. A study of 428 fourth graders and 453 parents in seven rural and seven urban Georgia schools also showed that the urban children were more likely to be smokers – 14.9 percent versus 6.6 percent. Additionally urban children have the most exposure to smokers: 79.6 percent versus 75.3 percent, according to findings presented to the 15th World Conference ...

The new PIE-1 Alarm IP Encoder from Optex provides the dual functions of PoE power delivery to remote Optex devices and conversion of alarm signals to an IP protocol for delivery to video management systems or network video recorders. The PIE-1 provides support for Optex sensors in security systems using VMS and NVRs through vendor- unique API. The device can be used in a number of ways: - PoE (Power over Ethernet) only: to power remotely the Optex Redscan laser scanner provides IP alarm signals natively and requires no conversion encoding. The PIE-1 supports both ...

"Erik Orsenna, dictator of grammar! Look, you're killing the French language!" the rapidly-becoming viral video went (OK, viral by French not American standards). Then the number 2 magazine group of France called "Le Nouvel Obs" picked up the story as did many literary websites (see attachments on right-hand side of this text.) Some of these press releases start with those very same angry words, the aggressive words pronounced by the author on the video against French grammar. The problem is that the author on the video is in fact an American ...

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (March 18, 2012)—People are living longer with and after a cancer diagnosis, making survivorship clinics and programs—as well as official guidelines and practices governing the care of survivors—an important emerging component of modern cancer care. Many institutions are looking to gather these resources into an easily understandable plan for their survivors. "Cancer survivors face a lot of unique and very specific challenges," says Crystal S. Denlinger, M.D., a medical oncologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center who will present on best practices in cancer ...

A research team led by the University of Melbourne, Australia, has developed a novel technique that tracks diseased proteins behaving badly by forming clusters in brain diseases such as Huntington's and Alzheimer's. The technique published in Nature Methods today is the first of its kind to rapidly identify and track the location of diseased proteins inside cells and could provide insights into improved treatments for brain diseases and others such as cancer. Developed by Dr Danny Hatters and his team of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the ...