Halifax has today launched the UK's first smartphone app which offers a 'one stop shop' for UK house hunters. The app combines property search facilities, mortgage affordability calculators, local area information and property buyers' guides. Available to download on iPhone*, the free Halifax Home Finder app uses state of the art technology to revolutionise the way UK house hunters find and secure their dream home. Offering more support to buyers than any other app, the Halifax Home Finder also incorporates the functionality of social media apps. The app allows users ...

Combined legal and market factors may force online companies to offer more flexible contract terms, suggests new research from Queen Mary, University of London. The paper examines how and why companies providing IT services over the internet, also known as cloud computing, have begun to negotiate standard contract terms to better meet cloud users' needs, minimise operating risks and address legal compliance obligations. The research, by the Cloud Legal Project at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at QM, is primarily based on in-depth interviews with global and ...

Golden Riviera Casino has seen sweet winnings lately and are celebrating the success of one of their golden players, M.R. who walked away beaming after winning an outstanding $119,811.57 on a variety of slots. It seemed that the spinning slots shone down upon him with lucky favour when he won $68,050.43 on Reel Gems, $40,005.14 on Retro Reels - Extreme heat and $11,756.00 on Tiger vs. Bear. These games are one of the many mouth watering entree's that the casino serves to players on a golden gaming platter. At Golden Riviera Casino, there are over 600 games to choose ...

Brains that maintain healthy nerve connections as we age help keep us sharp in later life, new research funded by the charity Age UK has found. Older people with robust brain 'wiring' – that is, the nerve fibres that connect different, distant brain areas – can process information quickly and that this makes them generally smarter, the study suggests. According to the findings, joining distant parts of the brain together with better wiring improves mental performance, suggesting that intelligence is not found in a single part of the brain. However a loss of condition ...

University of Granada researchers have developed a 3D imaging system that scans 3D models of historical buildings using data obtained from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)–an aircraft without a human pilot onboard. This is the first 3D imaging system to combine the use of UAVs, image-based 3D modeling technologies, and virtual representation of models to produce a realistic modeling of 3D objects from images. The endpoint of this project is to obtain a 3D model of a historical building façade –as a cathedral–without any human intervention and at a lower cost than other ...

When pursuing a personal injury lawsuit to seek compensation for injuries suffered due to another person's negligence, nothing will make more of a difference than your choice of a personal injury lawyer for your case. Do not be shy in asking questions of any potential lawyer. You may not have much chance during your first contact with a firm--they may dominate the questions--but when you actually get the chance, you need to be unflinching. Areas You Want to Cover When you are actually meeting with a lawyer, they have likely already decided they are interested in ...

A new study at Karlstad University in Sweden shows that phthalates from PVC flooring materials is taken up by our bodies. Phthalates are substances suspected to cause asthma and allergies, as well as other chronic diseases in children. The study shows that children can ingest these softening agents with food but also by breathing and through the skin. Phthalates are a group of chemical compounds that occur in construction materials and a great number of common consumer goods such as toys, cleaning solvents, packaging, etc. Phthalates are suspected of disrupting hormones ...

Malformed desmin proteins aggregate with intact proteins of the same kind, thereby triggering skeletal and cardiac muscle diseases, the desminopathies. This was discovered by researchers from the RUB Heart and Diabetes Center NRW in Bad Oeynhausen led by PD Dr. Hendrik Milting in an interdisciplinary research project with colleagues from the universities in Karlsruhe, Würzburg and Bielefeld. They report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. One defective gene is enough Desmin normally forms stabilizing filaments inside of the cells. Different mutations in the DES ...

Cosmetic dental problems can cause you a great deal of dissatisfaction with they way you look and the way you feel about yourself. Cosmetic dentistry provides an avenue for improving your smile, in a way that is uniquely tailored to your dental problems and smile wishes. Porcelain veneers provide a way to achieve smile improvement in a relatively short amount of time. Instead of receiving orthodontic treatment for several months or even a couple years, porcelain veneers can create a straight, symmetrical smile within weeks. Uses of Porcelain Veneers Porcelain veneers ...

Criminal cases can often only be solved using forensics to piece together physical evidence and reconstruct what happened. Prof. Dr. Helmut Schmitz from the Institute of Zoology at the University of Bonn and Dr. Herbert Bousack from the Peter Grünberg Institut at the Forschungzentrum Jülich went through the same experience. Prof. Schmitz has been researching fire beetles of the genus Melanophila and their sophisticated IR sensors, which these pyrophilous insects use to detect forest fires, for many years. This is a very special ecological niche. "It allows the beetle larvae ...

Your recovery from cataract surgery will depend on factors such as your body's natural healing ability and how closely you follow your eye surgeon's advice. Taking time to carefully follow all postoperative directions will help guard against potential complications and ensure your cataract surgery is successful. Postoperative Considerations Following your cataract surgery, your eye surgeon will provide you with a complete list of things you will need to do to help guarantee a swift and complication-free recovery. This list will include things such as: - Use all ...

People in rural counties who work for themselves may add a boost to local economies, improving income and job growth, according to economists. The share of self-employed workers in non-metro counties significantly predicted personal income and job growth, as well as declines in family poverty levels, said Stephan Goetz, professor of agricultural economics and regional economics, Penn State, and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development. "We often look at self-employment as a stopgap measure, something done out of desperation," Goetz said. "But, ...

PITTSBURGH—When grabbing a coffee mug out of a cluttered cabinet or choosing a pen to quickly sign a document, what brain processes guide your choices? New research from Carnegie Mellon University's Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC) shows that the brain's visual perception system automatically and unconsciously guides decision-making through valence perception. Published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, the review hypothesizes that valence, which can be defined as the positive or negative information automatically perceived in the majority of visual ...

PRK, LASEK, and epi-LASIK are all Laser Vision Correction procedures that involve temporarily removing the topmost layer of the eye, called the epithelium. This sheet of cells rests over your cornea and must be removed in order to reshape the cornea using laser energy. Once the laser surgical procedure is complete, the epithelial sheet is usually placed back over the surface of the eye, and a soft "bandage" contact lens is inserted into the eye to help the flap heal. While these three procedures share basic similarities, they differ in a few key ways that are ...

New research from North Carolina State University shows that a wind-driven "tumbleweed" Mars rover would be capable of moving across rocky Martian terrain – findings that could also help the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) design the best possible vehicle. "There is quite a bit of interest within NASA to pursue the tumbleweed rover design, but one of the questions regarding the concept is how it might perform on the rocky surface of Mars," says Dr. Andre Mazzoleni, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE) at NC State and ...

Recent changes to the commercial driver licensing (CDL) requirements issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will better prepare commercial drivers and help keep roads safe for everyone. In 2011, the FMCSA adopted a new commercial learner's permit regulation and toughened requirements for earning a CDL. It also changed the definition of "tank vehicle," which affected the endorsements on some individuals' CDLs. Even though the FMCSA gives states until July 8, 2014, to implement these changes, Louisiana started citing drivers for violations ...

A class action is a form of civil litigation available for a group of individuals who have been injured in a similar manner, in order to seek compensation as part of a group action. Eligibility for a class action requires that the victim be harmed by the same defendant and received similar injuries from the same product or action as other members of the group or class. Class actions are initiated for many reasons, including: -Employee discrimination or harassment -Unfair employment practices, including unpaid wages -Injuries resulting from defective pharmaceuticals, ...

Biologists Leonard Freed and Rebecca Cann from the University of Hawaii at Manoa have been studying birds at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge for 20 years. Located on an old cattle ranch on the windward slope of Mauna Kea on the Island of Hawaii, it was established in 1985 to protect 8 species of rare and endangered perching birds. The refuge and its volunteers planted over 400,000 seedlings of native koa trees in an abandoned pasture to restore high elevation forest. The once-rare white-eye colonized the restoration area, grew rapidly in it, but then surged into ...

Spring's early arrival in the Twin Cities caused many motorcycle enthusiasts to tune up their bikes and hit the road early this year. Unfortunately, this enthusiasm resulted in the death of a Lake Elmo motorcyclist. This accident prompted the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) to issue a motorcycle accident safety warning on March 16th. DPS Motorcycle Safety Warning The DPS warning is aimed at both motorists and bikers. It encourages drivers to be alert to the presence of motorcyclists around them and to double-check blind spots when changing lanes or making ...

Federal truck-safety regulators released a new, improved program in December 2010 that changes the way the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the part of the U.S. Department of Transportation responsible for heavy-truck and large bus safety, enforces compliance with federal road-safety rules and regulations. The agency's priority is to reduce the rate of commercial-truck crashes and related injuries and deaths. The FMCSA noticed the decreasing rate of truck accidents was dropping at a slower pace and undertook a comprehensive overview of how it could better ...

PITTSBURGH, May 23 – In one of the most comprehensive analyses to date of the cost of robotic-assisted, laparoscopic surgery for prostate cancer, researchers at UPMC found that this now-dominant surgical approach is significantly more costly than standard open surgery, despite little scientific evidence of long-term improved patient outcomes. The results of the study are available online and will appear in the July issue of the journal Urology. In one of the first studies based on actual direct and indirect costs at a single institution—rather than computer models that ...

As we get older, it becomes more difficult to do many everyday activities -- and driving is no different. Despite the challenges associated with driving as a senior citizen, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that 78 percent of people age 70 and above -- about 22 million seniors -- are still driving. We're all familiar with media stories that involve senior citizens driving off the road, and sometimes injuring the unsuspecting people around them. But, statistics show that generally speaking, older drivers are not as much of a harm to others as you might ...

This press release is available in German. Tobacco: actually pretty bad food for leafhoppers Empoasca sp. is not a typical pest of wild tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata). When this plant grows in its natural habitats in North America, however, it is attacked by tobacco hornworm larvae (Manduca sexta). This specialist insect is resistant to the toxic nicotine, which the plant produces as a defense against its enemies. When researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology used particular transgenic plants in field experiments, they noticed that these plants were ...

Prescription drug advertisements have become ubiquitous in United States' media, including television and magazines. Unfortunately, these ads may be ultimately misleading about potential side effects, placing patients at risk. How Drug Marketing Campaigns Portray Side Effects Drug companies use several techniques to downplay the side effects of the potentially dangerous drugs they are advertising. First, a drug company may enlist a celebrity to endorse its product. For example, the anti-inflammatory drug Enbrel is promoted by professional golfer Phil Mikelson. ...

Traumatic brain injury -- often called TBI -- is brain damage that can be caused by a blow or jolt to the head, as well as by an object penetrating the skull. Oftentimes, TBIs are not life threatening and those who suffer from mild injuries experience temporary brain-cell dysfunction -- which results in symptoms such as headaches, sleep-pattern changes, mood alterations and loss of consciousness that lasts for a few seconds to a few minutes. In other cases, TBIs can be quite severe, causing serious damage or even death to the victims. The Causes and Effects of Severe ...