A new classification for diagnosing fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) has shown to be as accurate as currently used algorithms, but required no further liver biopsy. The study appearing in the January issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, details a method that synchronously combines two fibrosis tests, providing a non-invasive and more precise fibrosis diagnosis. HCV affects up to 170,000 million individuals worldwide and is a leading cause of chronic ...

Athens, Ga. – Thousands of broken trees line the banks of the Chattooga River. The dead gray stabs were once evergreen monsters offering shade to trout and picturesque views to visitors. These Eastern hemlocks are dying rapidly, and University of Georgia researchers are working to save them. One tiny insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid, is to blame. The Asian insect first appeared in the eastern U.S. in Richmond, Va., in the 1950s. In 2003, it crossed the river from South Carolina and started feeding on Georgia trees. The tiny pests suck up cells from the tree's needles, ...

Movie actress Reese Witherspoon suffered minor injuries after she was struck by a vehicle during her afternoon run in Santa Monica. The Oscar-winning actress was hit while crossing an intersection. The driver, an 84 year old woman, was issued a citation for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The actress received minor injuries and after a brief visit to the hospital is recovering in her home. Although Ms. Witherspoon was jogging in an unmarked crosswalk, the driver is still liable for the injuries caused. Such laws are not unusual and are found here in ...

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) —Greater access to features of high-quality primary care -- comprehensiveness, patient-centeredness and extended office hours -- is associated with lower mortality, according to a new national UC Davis study. Published in the January-February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine, the research is the first to link the availability of three specific attributes of primary care with reduced risk of death. "There are a number of studies that found lower mortality risk in geographic areas with relatively high concentrations of primary-care physicians, ...

For the first time, researchers have analyzed the multitude of microorganisms residing in the human gut as a complex, integrated biological system, rather than a set of separate species. Their approach has revealed patterns that correspond with excess body weight. The collection of microbes inside the human gut is a bustling network of genetic interplays and energy use. By constructing models of these microbial communities, scientists have discovered novel differences between obese and lean people. They were able to detect organizational shifts away from a normal ...

The most recent Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) Analysis released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reveals statistical data that can be used in determining the critical safety issues affecting the transportation industry and information about how to address those issues to make America's roadways safer. The study -- commissioned by the FCMSA and the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA) -- is part of the government's commitment to making highways safer as outlined in the 1999 Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act. The ...

The Business of Mining for Natural Gas According to some reports, the United States is now the world's largest producer of natural gas - and natural gas is a resource that former oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens from Amarillo, Texas, has been pushing for years. Pickens is an advocate of natural gas legislation. His goal is to get America free of foreign oil by way of converting diesel-burning 18-wheelers to natural gas. If achieved, this would be a significant step toward energy independence. And what is playing a very large role in helping Pickens achieve his goal? It's ...

The global recession has had an impact on every one of us. While the economy is showing small signs of improvement, problems still remain. When the economy collapsed, it hit the housing market especially hard. Florida was one of the states that saw foreclosure rates skyrocket. Homeowners statewide were hit with mortgage payments that they could not afford, and home values dropped substantially. The foreclosure process in Florida provided some protection to those who were struggling to make ends meet. Banks and lenders had to follow specific requirements before a foreclosure ...

In 2008 the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency attempted to deport a lawful U.S. citizen as part of an aggressive campaign to deport illegal immigrants with criminal records. The man, who had in actuality been a U.S. citizen since 1975, was arrested during a crosscheck of federal databases and detained for 43 days. His story serves as the backdrop for a national trend in the immigration system that reveals several flaws and opportunities for potentially unlawful questioning and even improper deportation of properly documented citizens. One issue with ...

A variety of defective products or substandard care can cause serious setbacks to people who seek out medical treatment. Defective drugs and medical devices, faulty hip replacement technology, medical malpractice and other negligence present real risks to individuals who are injured or ill and trust that they will receive proper care to remedy a medical condition. One important development in 2011 regarding safety warnings for prescription drugs came out of the US Supreme Court. In PLIVA, Inc. v. Mensing, a narrow majority held that federal labeling regulations applicable ...

PITTSBURGH -- Like the human body, a digital device often suffers a few bruises and scratches within a lifetime. As in medicine, these injuries can be easily detected and repaired (or healed). At other times, however, a digital device may sustain hard-to-pinpoint nanoscale scratches, which can cause the device as a whole to malfunction. In a paper published today, Jan. 10, in Nature Nanotechnology, a team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) propose a "repair-and-go" approach to fixing malfunctions caused ...

In Texas, it is possible to be considered a sex offender and forced to register as such without committing a sex offense. Upon parole, parolees who committed offenses that are defined as reportable convictions or adjudications under Texas law can be forced to register as a sex offender and have other restrictive conditions imposed upon them. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, upholding a trial court ruling, however, held that parolees who were not convicted of a sex offense cannot be labeled and forced to register as sex offenders without a hearing. The court stated ...

Older patients with cirrhosis have significant functional disability, require twice the amount of informal caregiving, and contribute added strain on the health care system, according to U-M research published in Hepatology. Given the increase in obesity and aging of those with hepatitis C (HCV), researchers expect the prevalence of cirrhosis to climb among older Americans.. Cirrhosis is a chronic condition that causes the liver to slowly deteriorate, with scar tissue replacing healthy tissue and impairing liver function. Studies have shown that non-alcoholic fatty ...

Amsterdam, NL -- A number of different immunological mechanisms ensure the successful establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. Imbalance in these mechanisms is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. In a review published in Advances in Neuroimmune Biology, researchers from the Institute of Life Science, College of Medicine at Swansea University in the UK examine the impact of maternal obesity on the inflammatory responses in tissues of both the mother and the child. "While great progress has been made in elucidating the immunological mechanisms that ensure reproductive ...

They are wolves posing as shepherds. Companies that claim they will lead you out of debt quickly and often just want to take your last dollar -- leaving you more exposed to creditors than ever. If the economy weren't so bad, these companies would be more recognizable for what they really are: predators. But debt and desperation have a way of playing tricks with your vision. What seems like a viable way out from a mountain of debt can turn out to be a counter-productive mirage unless you're careful at avoiding fraud and finding the legitimate services you need. Keep ...

Using observations from NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) satellite and the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) radio telescope, an international team of astronomers has identified the moment when a black hole in our galaxy launched super-fast knots of gas into space. Racing outward at about one-quarter the speed of light, these "bullets" of ionized gas are thought to arise from a region located just outside the black hole's event horizon, the point beyond which nothing can escape. "Like a referee at a sports game, we essentially ...

In 2007, the New York Legislature unanimously passed sweeping reforms to the state's workers' compensation laws. Included among the reforms was a requirement that insurers deposit the present value of permanent partial disability awards into the New York Workers' Compensation Aggregate Trust Fund. Injured workers will then be paid by the trust fund instead of by the insurance company. The reform is definitely a boon to injured workers. Prior to the change, insurance companies generally decided how and when a workers' compensation settlement would be paid. Further, ...

New York City's workplaces became more hazardous in 2010, according to recently-released preliminary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of workplace fatalities rose to 68 in 2010, up from 63 in 2009. Included in that number are 13 fatal fall from heights injuries, a nearly three-fold increase from the five that occurred in 2009. The largest number of fatalities occurred in the trade, transportation and utilities sector. Those workers saw 21 deaths in 2010. The deaths also disparately affected the Hispanic community, which accounted for approximately ...

Care for Asian-American heart attack patients improved between 2003 and 2008, according to a study published today in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal. The study found Asian-Americans and whites received about the same level of care, and that differences in care between the two groups decreased over time. The study is significant because little is known about the treatment and outcomes of Asian-Americans who've suffered a heart attack. "When it comes to disparities in cardiovascular care, most research has focused ...

Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have uncovered a cluster of galaxies in the initial stages of development. It is the most distant such grouping ever observed in the early universe. In a random sky survey made in near-infrared light, Hubble found five tiny galaxies clustered together 13.1 billion light-years away. They are among the brightest galaxies at that epoch and very young -- existing just 600 million years after the big bang. Galaxy clusters are the largest structures in the universe, comprising hundreds to thousands of galaxies bound together ...

Illinois is among 19 states that imposes life sentences to juveniles 14 and younger, according to the Los Angeles Times. That could soon change. According to the Times report, the U.S. Supreme Court recently decided to consider whether to limit life sentences for juveniles 14 and younger. Currently, 73 people are serving life sentences with no chance of parole for their involvement in homicides committed at the age of 14 or younger. In fact, a research by the University of San Francisco School of Law found that the U.S. is one of two countries worldwide to sentence ...

January 11, 2012 - The prestigious Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) annual Adrian Awards honored TravelShark with a Gold Award for their social-media-fueled viral video advertising campaign, which announced the company's rebranding from "Swiftrank" to "TravelShark." TravelShark's advertising campaign was built on a razor-thin budget and relied on grassroots social media dissemination for success. The online travel startup was honored alongside more traditional campaigns run by some of largest companies in travel, including ...

GALVESTON, January 10, 2012 – Despite popular belief about women's weight concerns, young women commonly fail to recognize recent gain of as many as 11 pounds – putting them at risk for cardiovascular disease and other obesity-related conditions. Self-perception of weight gain also appears to be significantly influenced by race, ethnicity and contraceptive methods. In a study published online and in the March issue of the Journal of Women's Health, University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) researchers found that a significant number of women evaluated at six-month intervals ...

After more than three years in space, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is extending its view of the high-energy sky into a largely unexplored electromagnetic range. Today, the Fermi team announced its first census of energy sources in this new realm. Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) scans the entire sky every three hours, continually deepening its portrait of the sky in gamma rays, the most energetic form of light. While the energy of visible light falls between about 2 and 3 electron volts, the LAT detects gamma rays with energies ranging from 20 million to more ...

Corcentric, a leading provider of Accounts Payable automation solutions, today announced a new live Webinar: AP Automation 101. This one-hour Webinar will take place on Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST. Justin Kline, National Account Manager for Corcentric, will cover the fundamentals of Accounts Payable automation so that AP professionals can choose the right automation solution for their company. This Webinar will cover the following topics: - Which AP automation options generate the largest ROI - The pros and cons of a SaaS solution ...