New Zealand artist Davina Stephens will showcase some of her most recent works at an exhibition in Bali next month.   Entitled From Bali With Love, the installation at the Ganesha Gallery is set to feature pieces produced using a wide array of media, materials and techniques in an attempt by Stephens to leave the meaning of her art open to interpretation.   Although the true message behind each work is shrouded, they are designed to highlight the joy and relevance of the moment.   Described by the organisers as "intricate storyboards", the pieces tell a ...

The amount of money that hospitals spend on environmental services, such as cleaning and maintenance service is not as important in influencing patient satisfaction scores as the way the money is spent, according to Penn State researchers. "By focusing on improving the efficiency of operations, hospitals can contribute to hospital performance while also getting the most out of the financial investments they make toward support services," said Deirdre McCaughey, assistant professor of health policy and administration, who led the research team. The team, which also ...

Violin virtuoso Nigel Kennedy will make his contribution to this year's BBC Proms on Saturday August 6th.   The classical musician is due to appear at the Royal Albert Hall, where he will perform solo violin works by JS Bach.   With tickets priced from GBP4.50 to GBP19.50, the concert could be the perfect opportunity for London visitors to experience the magic of the Proms.   Running from Friday July 15th to Saturday September 10th, the event is often described as the world's greatest festival of classical music.   The Proms is now in its 117th year and continues ...

The Offspring will bring their vintage punk rock sound to the Zenith de Paris later this summer. Fans of the California-based four-piece have a chance to see them perform in the French capital on Wednesday August 31st and Thursday September 1st. Known for hits such as Self Esteem and Pretty Fly (For a White Guy), the band have recently been holed up in the studio working on their forthcoming new album. Due out in late 2011 or early 2012, the record will be their ninth studio LP and their first since 2008's Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace. In April this year, ...

AUGUSTA, Ga. – A thalidomide analog is shaping up as a safe, worthy opponent of sickle cell disease, Georgia Health Sciences University researchers report. Much like hydroxyurea, the only Food and Drug Administration-approved therapy for sickle cell, pomalidomide increases production of fetal hemoglobin which, unlike its adult counterpart, cannot take on the destructive sickle shape. In stark contrast, pomalidomide also preserves bone marrow function actually increasing proliferation of the cells that make oxygen-carrying red blood cells, GHSU researchers report in ...

Country music legend Dolly Parton is due to perform live at Liverpool's Echo Arena on Wednesday August 31st.   The chart-topping American singer will appear on Merseyside as part of her 39-date Better Day world tour, which gets underway in her home state of Tennessee this month.   Known for classic hits such as Jolene and 9 to 5, Parton is the most successful female country artist of all time.   She released her debut album in 1967 and has since enjoyed 25 number one singles on the Billboard country chart, as well as picking up seven Grammy Awards.   Parton is also ...

The Frankenheim Kino offers people visiting Dusseldorf the chance to watch films in a picturesque open-air setting on the banks of the Rhine.   It promises a unique movie-going experience, with guests invited to enjoy a spectacular view of the city's Altstadt skyline before they settle into their seats.   From Thursday July 21st to Sunday August 21st, the outdoor cinema on the Rheinterrasse will be showing a diverse programme of movies designed to cater to all tastes.   This summer's line-up includes The King's Speech, True Grit, Black Swan, The Hangover 2, Kung Fu ...

WASHINGTON -- People with personality traits of high neuroticism and low conscientiousness are likely to go through cycles of gaining and losing weight throughout their lives, according to an examination of 50 years of data in a study published by the American Psychological Association. Impulsivity was the strongest predictor of who would be overweight, the researchers found. Study participants who scored in the top 10 percent on impulsivity weighed an average of 22 lbs. more than those in the bottom 10 percent, according to the study. "Individuals with this constellation ...

People spending time in Tenby this summer may like to visit nearby Picton Castle for some family activities on Wednesday August 3rd.   The historical attraction is due to host a Family Fun Day with a Cowboys and Indians theme, providing youngsters with the chance to get dressed up and win special prizes.   Children can either turn up as their favourite character or design their costume once they arrive at the castle, where face-painting and balloon modelling will also be on offer.   A fancy dress parade will take place at approximately 15:30 BST and the day promises ...

VIDEO: This video shows time-lapse images of the “electric face” -- dynamic patterns of membrane voltage visible on the surface of the developing frog embryo. Click here for more information. MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass.--For the first time, Tufts University biologists have reported that bioelectrical signals are necessary for normal head and facial formation in an organism and have captured that process in a time-lapse video that reveals never-before-seen patterns of visible bioelectrical ...

Legendary rock vocalist Robert Plant is set to perform live in Berlin as part of his European tour this summer.   The former Led Zeppelin frontman will play the German capital's Zitadelle Spandau venue on Wednesday August 3rd, giving fans a chance to hear tracks from his latest album Band of Joy.   Known for possessing one of the most powerful voices in music, Plant has carved out a successful solo career since the death of drummer John Bonham brought the Led Zeppelin era to a close in 1980.   His recordings have embraced a diverse selection of influences, ranging ...

A nationwide study confirms that binge drinking has reached epidemic proportions in China and argues that efforts to tackle the problem must address the country's unique drinking culture. In this study, published online today in the journal Addiction, binge drinking was defined as consuming 50g or more pure alcohol in one day for men (about five 330ml tins of beer), and 40g or more for women. The study found that of the almost 50,000 people surveyed across China, 55.6% of men and 15% of women were current drinkers, having had at least one drink in the previous twelve ...

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified a key immune system regulator, a protein that serves as a gatekeeper in the white blood cells that produce the "troops" to battle specific infections. Researchers demonstrated the protein, Tsc1, is pivotal for maintaining a balanced immune system and combating infections. Loss of the Tsc1 protein was associated with a reduction in the number of certain immune cells and a weaker immune response. The work appears in the July 17 online edition of the scientific journal Nature Immunology. Scientists found ...

The Red Wing Port Authority continues to lead Southeast Minnesota in online economic development and strategies. As a continuation of their online efforts, Red Wing Port Authority is inviting businesses to visit their newly released website at http://www.redwingportauthority.com. The online economic development strategy for the Port Authority was created by Golden Shovel Agency and launched using the Economic Gateway platform to best meet the business growth goals of the Port Authority. Business growth and new business attraction is a primary goal of Myron White, ...

triCerat Inc., a leading desktop management software company, sponsors the tenth annual BriForum July 19-21 at Chicago's McCormick Place, North America's largest conference center on Lake Michigan. BriForum offers the most knowledgeable IT experts in the industry to talk about the latest VDI technologies, making it the top desktop and application virtualization event. The agenda includes over 40 breakout sessions revolving around virtualization including demo labs and best practices to help you address bringing your own computer (BYOC), application streaming, cloud computing, ...

With people often changing jobs and careers, organizations need to know how to help integrate and engage newcomers in order to retain them. A new University of Guelph study shows that new employees adjust better to their workplace with structured processes, such as orientation training and mentorship programs. "Simply throwing newcomers into a job and letting them fend for themselves results in their being socialized by default rather than design," said Jamie Gruman, an organizational behaviour professor in the Department of Business and the School of Hospitality and ...

The cloud presents a tremendous opportunity for enterprises to increase their agility and cost-effectively deliver new services to employees, customers and partners. However, evaluating, deploying and optimizing technologies in this nascent market can be confusing at best, and worst-case can stall a cloud project in its path. This week, WSO2 (http://wso2.com?071911w) delivers two workshops aimed at helping IT architects and developers to address two top cloud implementation issues: managing data in the cloud and deploying a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) using the 100% open ...

Monday, 18 July, 2011 (Rome, Italy) -- A special press conference at the 6th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2011) will today feature a panel consisting of researchers from the CDC TDF2 study, the Partners PrEP Study and the HPTN 052 study. They will be joined by Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Gottfried Hirnschall, Director of the HIV Department of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Elly Katabira, IAS 2011 International Chair and President of the International AIDS Society ...

A new family of contrast agents that sneak into bacteria disguised as glucose food can detect bacterial infections in animals with high sensitivity and specificity. These agents -- called maltodextrin-based imaging probes -- can also distinguish a bacterial infection from other inflammatory conditions. "These contrast agents fill the need for probes that can accurately image small numbers of bacteria in vivo and distinguish infections from other pathologies like cancer," said Niren Murthy, an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering ...

Adult day care services significantly reduce the stress levels of family caregivers of older adults with dementia, according to a team of Penn State and Virginia Tech researchers. "Family members who care for dementia patients are susceptible to experiencing high levels of stress," said Steven Zarit, professor and head, department of human development and family studies, Penn State. "One way of alleviating that stress is through the use of an adult day care center, which allows them a predictable break from caregiving responsibilities." Not only do caregivers benefit ...

Alexandria, VA - Shipwreck enthusiasts find a bounty of nautical relics preserved in the chilly depths of the Great Lakes. But only within the last decade have explorers and scientists begun to reveal the secrets of a much different - and much more ancient - sunken treasure in Lake Huron: sinkholes. As EARTH explores in its August feature "Great Lakes Geologic Sunken Treasure," researchers have recently begun exploring several mysterious sinkholes in Lake Huron. These pockets of water teem with microbial life similar to that found around deep ocean hydrothermal vents ...

PITTSBURGH, July 18 – Medically treated patients with mild or no symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are at higher risk for developing esophageal cancer than those with severe GERD symptoms, according to a University of Pittsburgh study published in the current issue of Archives of Surgery. Many patients who develop adenocarcinoma, a common form of esophageal cancer, are unaware that they have Barrett's esophagus – a change in the cells lining the esophagus often due to repeated stomach acid exposure. In some cases, Barrett's esophagus develops into esophageal ...

VIDEO: GOES-13 satellite imagery in 15 minute intervals from July 16 at 7:31 a.m. EDT until July 18 at 7:31 a.m. EDT shows Bret developing from a low pressure area in... Click here for more information. The GOES-13 satellite that monitors weather over the eastern U.S. recorded a movie of the birth and strengthening of the Atlantic Ocean season's second tropical storm. Tropical Storm Bret was born in the northwestern Bahamas and continues to strengthen. The Geostationary ...

WASHINGTON – A new report from the National Research Council recommends steps the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies and professional associations can take to ensure that the medical devices and health information technology used in home health care are easy and safe for laypeople to use and that caregivers, whether formal or informal, are well-trained. For many reasons -- including the rising cost of health care, the aging of the U.S. population, and patients' desire to remain in their homes -- health care is increasingly moving from formal medical facilities ...

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified how a gene for a protein that can cause Type 2 diabetes, also possibly kills nerve cells in the brain, thereby contributing to Alzheimer's disease. The gene, called SorCS1, controls the generation of amyloid-beta (Abeta) in the brain. Abeta plays a key role in the development of Alzheimer's disease. The researchers previously linked SorCS1 to Alzheimer's disease and identified where the molecules lived in the cell, but not how they control Abeta. The new data were presented today at the Alzheimer's Association's ...