Scientists at the Universities of Birmingham and Warwick have shed new light on how sperm navigate the female reproductive tract, 'crawling' along the channel walls and swimming around corners; with frequent collisions. Research results published today (Tuesday May 8, 2012) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (PNAS) provide fresh insight into how sperm might find their way to the egg that will help to inform future innovation in the struggle to treat infertile couples. Scientists led by Dr Petr Denissenko, of the School of Engineering ...

Television viewing and unhealthy eating habits in U.S. adolescents appear to be linked in a national survey of students in the fifth to 10 th grades, according to a report published in the May issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. The study is part of the Nutrition and the Health of Children and Adolescents theme issue. Television viewing (TVV) by young people has been associated with unhealthy eating and food choices that may track into early adulthood. Young people in the U.S. fall short of recommendations for whole fruit, ...

A study of mothers and their toddlers suggests that mothers of overweight toddlers often had inaccurate perceptions of their child's body size, according to a report published in the May issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. The study is part of the Nutrition and the Health of Children and Adolescents theme issue. Feeding behaviors are influenced by perceptions of a child's body size and misperception of a child's size could lead to inappropriate feeding behaviors, such as encouraging a healthy-weight child to eat more, the ...

Biodiversity hot spots -- the world's biologically richest and most threatened locations on Earth -- and high biodiversity wilderness areas -- biologically rich but less threatened -- are some of the most linguistically diverse regions on our planet, according to a team of conservationists. "Results indicate that these regions (hot spots and high biodiversity wilderness areas) often contain considerable linguistic diversity, accounting for 70 percent of all languages on Earth," the researchers report in this today's (May 7) early online edition of the Proceedings of ...

An Australian school-based obesity prevention program for adolescent girls was not associated with statistically significant differences in body mass index (BMI) and other body composition measures, however the small changes may be related to clinically important health outcomes, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. The study is part of the Nutrition and the Health of Children and Adolescents theme issue. Obesity prevention is a global health priority because obese youth are at an elevated ...

Surveys of U.S. adolescents suggest that the estimated peak risk of using prescription pain relievers for extramedical use, such as to get high or for other unapproved indications, occurs in mid-adolescence, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. Physicians, other prescribing clinicians such as dentists, and public health professionals are aware of recent increasing trends of prescribing pain relievers. Previous research suggests an increased use of these drugs for extramedical use and ...

Cyara Solutions, a pioneer of next-generation premise and cloud solutions for testing, monitoring and simulation of interactive voice response (IVRs) and contact center systems and applications, today announced the recent expansion of their testing capacity with the addition of a U.S. data center in Sunnyvale, CA. The Cyara Solution Suite provides a complete suite of products for testing, monitoring and simulation of contact center infrastructure and applications including IVRs, IP Telephony, SIP deployments, PBXs, reporting, routing, call recording, desktop and CTI ...

Depressive symptoms that are present in midlife or in late life are associated with an increased risk of developing dementia, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, a JAMA Network publication. Nearly 5.3 million individuals in the United States have Alzheimer disease (AD) and the resulting health care costs in 2010 were roughly $172 billion, the authors write as background information in the study. "Prevalence and costs of AD and other dementias are projected to rise dramatically during the next 40 years unless a prevention or a cure ...

Among adults with depression and poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, or both, a collaborative care intervention incorporating a team-centered care approach is associated with improvements in depression-free days and quality-adjusted life-years, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, a JAMA Network publication. "Patients with depression and poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease (CHD) or both have higher medical complication rates and higher health care costs, suggesting that more effective ...

BookWhirl.com gives birth to e-Publishing Revo to take publishing possibilities to a higher level with staple digital publishing packages. The company has been in the online book marketing services for almost five years. Today, BookWhirl.com has finally announced its expansion to the self-publishing industry. The e-Publishing Revo offers many opportunities to writers who want to publish their manuscripts in digital formats. Currently, the e-Publishing Revo offers two types of service packages: (1) e-Pub Lite and (2) e-Pub Pro. Both packages include the necessary elements ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic and University of Oregon researchers have confirmed that a genetic factor called a repeating trinucleotide is a strong predictor of an individual's risk of developing the eye condition Fuchs' dystrophy. The findings were being presented today at the annual conference of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology in Orlando, Fla. Fuchs' dystrophy is an eye condition that occurs when the cells at the back of the cornea deteriorate, causing fluid buildup resulting in swelling and cloudy vision. Fuchs' can be inherited. Until ...

Elinext Group, an alliance of custom software development companies working to deliver software solutions and consulting services to businesses worldwide, has held a presentation devoted to Samsung's Smart TVs. These devices are capable of accessing the Internet, and can be used to download and install applications, surf the web and more. Alexander Zhuk, Senior Software Engineer at Elinext Mobile Department and the speaker, has pointed out the main technical features of the Smart TV platform to the audience. The listeners of the presentation session were represented ...

OAKLAND, Calif., May 7, 2012 – Depressive symptoms that occur in both midlife and late life are associated with an increased risk of developing vascular dementia, while symptoms that occur in late life only are more likely to be early signs of Alzheimer's disease, according to University of California at San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente researchers. The study, which appears in the current issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, is the first to examine whether midlife or late-life depression is more likely to lead to either Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia ...

(CHICAGO) — Greater purpose in life may help stave off the harmful effects of plaques and tangles associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center. The study, published in the May issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, is available online at www.archgenpsychiatry.com. "Our study showed that people who reported greater purpose in life exhibited better cognition than those with less purpose in life even as plaques and tangles accumulated in their brains," said Patricia A. Boyle, PhD. "These findings suggest ...

In May of 2010, Su Roos and Hans Petersen founded Los Angeles Animal Rescue. Although Su and Hans had been championing the animal rescue cause for several years, they had done so as independent rescuers and volunteers for other organizations. They were unable to find an organization completely suited to their philosophy, and henceforth they launched LAAR. This nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization relies mostly on volunteer support and donations to perform the daily acts of caring for and rescuing animals. The mission of LAAR is simple—decreasing the overpopulation of domesticated ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Researchers have forecast the cost savings and rise in obesity prevalence over the next two decades in a new public health study. "Keeping obesity rates level could yield a savings of nearly $550 billion in medical expenditures over the next two decades," according to lead author Eric Finkelstein, Ph.D., associate research professor in the Duke Global Health Institute, as well as deputy director in the Health Services Research Program at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore. The forecasting study also found that 42 percent of the U.S. ...

Exercise can counteract muscle breakdown, increase strength and reduce inflammation caused by aging and heart failure, according to new research in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal. The benefits for heart failure patients are similar to those for anyone who exercises: there's less muscle-wasting, and their bodies become conditioned to handle more exercise. Age of the patients didn't matter, either, researchers found. "Many physicians – and insurance companies – still believe that cardiac rehabilitation does not really help in old age. This study clearly ...

The public is invited to an Open House Grand Opening of Boca East Chiropractic, located in the 500 Plaza at 500 E. Spanish River Blvd., Suite 36. This special event takes place on Thursday, May 10th from 4:30 PM until 7 PM and will include complimentary appetizers, wine bar, door prizes, music and more. Five minute chair massages will be offered free of charge. Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine, Roger Fischel, formerly had offices in Delray Beach and has relocated his practice, opening in Boca Raton two months ago. Boca East Chiropractic specializes in effective, traditional ...

Heart attack survivors who live about 100 meters (328 feet) or less from a major U.S. roadway face increased risk of death from all causes, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation. In the Determinants of MI Onset Study of 3,547 heart attack survivors (average age 62), researchers found: Those living less than 100 meters (328 feet) from the roadway have a 27 percent increased risks of dying over 10 years than those living at least 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) away. Those living 100 to 199 meters (328 to 653 feet) from the roadway ...

After courageously serving their country, many veterans living in Long Beach need in-home assistance in their golden years. Help with day-to-day living allows many elderly veterans to maintain their independence and live in the comfort of their own homes. Many veterans and their families are shocked to discover that Medicaid won't pay for the in home assistance they deserve. Luckily, there are other options available. Although the VA doesn't publicize it widely, a VA program known as the Veterans Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit is designed specifically for veterans ...

WASHINGTON—'When the River Runs Dry' is a familiar song in Australia. Some rivers in the arid center of the continent flow only after a stiff monsoon season, and smaller tributaries all over the country commonly shrink to puddled potholes and dry river beds during the dry season. But rivers also run dry in more temperate climes. Much of the upper reaches and feeder streams of the great rivers of North America, and even the mighty Amazon, dry out seasonally. Dry rivers are more than mere desiccated shells of their robustly flowing incarnations, says Australian ecologist ...

Alexandria, VA —The American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) has released updated Clinical Indicators for the public and physicians. Clinical indicators for otolaryngology serve as a checklist for practitioners and a quality care review tool for clinical departments. The Clinical Indicators are created by the AAO-HNS and its clinical committees. "Clinical Indicators define a basis of medical necessity for a range of procedures…their intent is to help practitioners engage in the best practices, reduce errors and improve value of care received ...

Declining biodiversity may be contributing to the rise of asthma, allergies, and other chronic inflammatory diseases among people living in cities worldwide, a Finnish study suggests. Emerging evidence indicates that commensal microbes inhabiting the skin, airway, and gut protect against inflammatory disorders. However, little is known about the environmental determinants of the microbiome. Ilkka Hanski et al. from the Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, investigated whether reduced human contact with nature and biodiversity influences the composition ...

In A Uniquely Inviting Opera-Pops Duo Concert, Jackie Stotler, A University of Central Florida Sophomore Soprano and Piano Man Peter George, One of Orlando's Elite Entertainers, Join Together in Song in "The Beauty, The Phantom and Music of the Night" at Glenridge Performing Arts Center, 8 pm, on Saturday, May 19th. Fans of the pure voice of youth in lyrical operatic arias and art songs are in for a treat with young artist, Jackie Stotler as the Beauty in "The Beauty, The Phantom and Music of the Night",. She joins with Orlando's Piano Man, Peter ...

A modeling study from the European Alps suggests that population declines to be observed during the upcoming decades will probably underestimate the long-term effects of recent climate warming on mountain plants. A European team of ecologists around Stefan Dullinger from the Department of Conservation Biology, Vegetation and Landscape Ecology of the University of Vienna presents a new modeling tool to predict migration of mountain plants which explicitly takes population dynamic processes into account. Their results are published in "Nature Climate Change". Plant species ...