Tropical Depression 03W in the western North Pacific did exactly what forecasters expected over the last twenty-four hours: it became a tropical storm named Sanvu and passed west of Guam on a northwesterly track. On May 22 at 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT), Tropical Storm Sanvu was more than 100 miles west-northwest of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and still over 600 nautical miles south of Iwo To, Japan and headed in that direction. Sanvu's center was located near 15.2 North and 141.9. East. It was still churning up rough surf around Guam. Sanvu has maximum sustained winds near ...

(Phoenix, AZ May 22, 2012) -- Researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center have unveiled how and why the public perceives some magic tricks in recent studies that could have real-world implications in military tactics, marketing and sports. Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD, of Barrow's Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience, and Stephen Macknik, PhD, of Barrow's Laboratory of Behavioral Neurophysiology are well known for their research into magic and illusions. Their most recent original research projects, published in Frontiers in Human ...

Infrared satellite imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite revealed Alberto weakened from a tropical storm to a tropical depression as it appears more disorganized. At 10:30 a.m. EDT on May 21, Tropical Storm Alberto weakened to a tropical depression, and has maintained that status today, May 22. As of 5 a.m. EDT on May 22, Alberto's maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph (55 kph) but he is expected to weaken in 24 hours. Alberto was centered about 220 miles south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, near 32.0 North and 75.5 West. Alberto was moving to the northeast near 15 ...

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- Children born with cleft lip, cleft palate and other craniofacial disorders face numerous medical challenges beyond appearance. Patients can face serious airway, feeding, speech and hearing problems, as well as social and psychological challenges, Laura Swibel Rosenthal, MD, of Loyola University Medical Center and colleagues write in the June 2012 issue of Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America. "The management of patients with craniofacial syndromes is complex," Rosenthal and colleagues write. "Otolaryngologic [ear-nose-throat] evaluation is of paramount ...

This press release is available in French. VIDEO: Stephanie Fulton of Université de Montréal and its affiliated research hospital studies the behavior of mice and their brain chemistry to reveal how humans may act in similar circumstances. Click here for more information. Fat Bastard's revelation "I eat because I'm depressed and I'm depressed because I eat" in the Austin Powers ...

ATS 2012, SAN FRANCISCO –Weight loss improved both metabolic parameters and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in obese children in a new study from researchers in Belgium, confirming links between metabolic dysregulation, SDB and obesity. "SDB is highly prevalent in childhood obesity, and may be a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome. In our population of 224 obese children and adolescents, 30% had SDB, which was significantly correlated with metabolic parameters, including aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT), alanine aminotransferase (ALAT) and HDL cholesterol at baseline," ...

ATS 2012, SAN FRANCISCO –The severity of sleep disordered breathing and nocturnal hypoxemia independently predict both glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), according to a new study. "Because people with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) are often overweight or obese it has been difficult to interpret earlier studies of the relationship between sleep disordered breathing and metabolic disorders," said Brian Kent, MBBCh, research fellow at St. Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin. "We found that obstructive sleep apnea syndrome ...

Oniqua MRO Analytics (www.oniqua.com), the leading provider of analytics-based MRO optimization solutions for asset-intensive organizations, today announced significant enhancements to its Oniqua Standards Dictionary (OSD) database solution. Available on an online subscription basis, OSD is a comprehensive material and catalog standards environment specifically designed, built and optimized for asset-intensive industries. OSD 3.0 maximizes efficiencies in cataloging while minimizing inconsistencies and errors in completed cataloged records. It is designed to assist ...

ATS 2012, SAN FRANCISCO – The number of viral infections during infancy is not associated with wheezing later in childhood, according to a new study from researchers in the Netherlands. While viral illnesses with wheezing in infancy predicted wheezing later in childhood, this association was due in part to decreased neonatal lung function. "Viral infections in infancy, particularly rhinovirus, are thought to be a risk factor for later asthma development, but it is unclear whether this association is due to the viruses themselves or whether rhinovirus-associated wheeze ...

ATS 2012, SAN FRANCISCO – Prior treatment with inhaled corticosteroids in patients with respiratory disorders who develop community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is associated with a lower incidence and severity of parapneumonic effusion, according to a new study from researchers in Spain. A parapneumonic effusion is a type of pleural effusion (excess fluid that accumulates between the two pleural layers, the fluid-filled space that surrounds the lungs) that arises as a result of a pneumonia, lung abscess, or bronchiectasis. "Long-term treatment with inhaled corticosteroids ...

ATS 2012, SAN FRANCISCO – A tiny, resilient metal wire designed to gather and compress diseased lung tissue may offer relief to patients with severe heterogeneous emphysema, a subtype of the disease that involves specific, usually isolated areas of the lungs, according to the results of a multicenter international trial conducted in the Netherlands, Germany and France. The wire, called a lung volume reduction coil (LVRC), can be easily implanted and is designed to take the place of more invasive procedures used to improve the lung function of emphysema patients. The study ...

ATS 2012, SAN FRANCISCO – Researchers in the United Kingdom have determined that azithromycin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic that also has anti-inflammatory properties, can be an effective treatment option for patients suffering from bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), a life-threatening complication that occurs in the majority of patients following lung transplantation. BOS is the leading cause of mortality after the first year following transplantation, and occurs in part when the body repeatedly rejects the transplanted lung tissue. The syndrome causes the airways ...

ATS 2012, SAN FRANCISCO – Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who become infected with the bacterium Pseudomonas aerguinosa are more likely to have worse clinical outcomes and experience more hospitalizations during the course of their disease than COPD patients who are not infected, according to researchers from Buffalo, N.Y. The study will be presented at the ATS 2012 International Conference in San Francisco. Bacterial bronchial infection plays a key role in the course of COPD, causing chronic inflammation as well as acute exacerbations of ...

ATS 2012, SAN FRANCISCO – The expanded use of antiretrovirals, potent drugs used to treat retroviral infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has been linked to significant decreases in hospital mortality rates among severely ill HIV-positive(HIV+) patients nationwide, primarily due to a decrease in opportunistic infections, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University. Despite these encouraging data, the study also revealed that in this population, chronic diseases and bloodstream infections are on the rise. The study results will be presented ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides an indication of a breast tumor's response to pre-surgical chemotherapy significantly earlier than possible through clinical examination, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. Women with breast cancer often undergo chemotherapy prior to surgery. Research has shown that women who receive this treatment, known as neoadjuvant chemotherapy, are more likely to achieve breast conservation than those receiving chemotherapy after surgery. Clinicians track a patient's response to neoadjuvant ...

Researchers at New York University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered new ways neurons work together to ease the transition between sleep and wakefulness. Their findings, which appear in the journal Neuron, provide additional insights into sleep-wake patterns and offer methods to explore what may disrupt them. Their study explored the biological, or circadian, clocks of Drosophila fruit flies, which are commonly used for research in this area. This is because it is relatively easy to find mutants with malfunctioning biological ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic researchers will present findings on prostate cancer risk, screening, treatment and other urological research at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association May 19-23 in Atlanta. Mayo Clinic urologists will also be available to provide expert comment for reporters covering the conference. Mayo Clinic studies that will be presented and their embargo dates include: No negative impact on overall survival from post-prostate surgery hormone therapy Embargoed until 10:30 a.m. ET Monday, May 21 In a first-of-its-kind study ...

A new study finds that transplanting embryonic cells into adult mouse spinal cord can alleviate persistent pain. The research, published by Cell Press in the May 24th issue of the journal Neuron, suggests that reduced pain results from successful integration of the embryonic cells into the host spinal cord. The findings open avenues for clinical strategies aimed not just at treating the symptoms of chronic debilitating pain, but correcting the underlying disease pathology. There are two major classes of chronic pain: inflammatory pain that results from injury to tissue, ...

A new study unravels a link between a protein that can modify cellular metabolism in the brain and seizure susceptibility. The research, published by Cell Press in the May 24th issue of the journal Neuron, may lead to the development of new treatments for epilepsy. Epilepsy is a disorder characterized by seizures, unpredictable and abnormal bursts of electrical activity in the brain. Some cases of epilepsy are resistant to traditional drug treatments but can be improved by a "ketogenic" diet. This type of diet, which is very low in sugars and high in fat, forces neurons ...

As the U.S. presidential election campaigns heat up, the economic debate is dominated by bailouts, austerity and, inevitably, taxation. Now a new study published in Symbolic Interaction asks why tax is such an important issue to voters and explores the moral ideas which underpin their views. Americans are famously hostile to taxes even though they are not heavily taxed in comparison to Canadians and the British. In their study Dr Jeff Kidder and Dr Isaac Martin, from Northern Illinois University and the University of California-San Diego, explore how middle class feelings ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- A Duke University-led study of North Carolina toddlers suggests that exposure to potentially toxic flame-retardant chemicals may be higher in nonwhite toddlers than in white toddlers. The study also suggests that exposure to the chemicals is higher among toddlers whose fathers do not have a college degree, a proxy measure of lower socioeconomic background. Hand-to-mouth activity may account for a significant amount of the children's exposure to the contaminants, according to the study, which appears Wednesday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. ...

The limitations of conventional and current solar cells include high production cost, low operating efficiency and durability, and many cells rely on toxic and scarce materials. Northwestern University researchers have developed a new solar cell that, in principle, will minimize all of these solar energy technology limitations. In particular, the device is the first to solve the problem of the Grätzel cell, a promising low-cost and environmentally friendly solar cell with a significant disadvantage: it leaks. The dye-sensitized cell's electrolyte is made of an organic ...

Lunge feeding in rorqual whales (a group that includes blue, humpback and fin whales) is unique among mammals, but details of how it works have remained elusive. Now, scientists from the Smithsonian Institution and University of British Columbia have solved the mystery. They discovered a sensory organ in the chin of rorqual whales that communicates to the brain. The organ orchestrates the dramatic changes and adjustments needed in jaw position and throat-pouch expansion to make lunge feeding successful. The team's research will be the featured cover story in the May 24 ...

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are molecules produced in the skin to fend off infection-causing microbes. Vitamin D has been credited with a role in their production and in the body's overall immune response, but scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say a hormone previously associated only with maintaining calcium homeostasis and bone health is also critical, boosting AMP expression when dietary vitamin D levels are inadequate. The finding, published in the May 23, 2012 online issue of Science Translational Medicine, more fully explains ...

Leading provider of corporate gifts and customizable incentives Leighmans this week reports that it is on course for GBP1m revenues during the current financial year. Leighmans specializes in innovative corporate gifts and this year has seen demand for products rise despite the continuing economic climate. Customers have been requesting items, from pens to mugs, post-it notes to badges and polo shirts - in increasing numbers. Leighmans has been operating for more than 10 years now and the company has enjoyed steady growth. According to founder Darren Leigh, the company ...