With the Royal Wedding Bank Holiday falling just after Easter, couples and families hoping to make the most of the extra day off should look to long haul destinations this April, according to Hayes & Jarvis (0871 664 0246). With low living costs and guaranteed sunshine, Brits jetting off to the Far East and Indian Ocean can also take advantage of holiday savings of up to 26 per cent from the worldwide specialist. From beach breaks for couples to fun-packed family holidays, here are two suggestions flying out on Good Friday: INDIAN OCEAN Eliminate the stress of budgeting ...

New York elder abuse lawyer David Perecman commends actor Mickey Rooney for speaking out about elder abuse. "Elder abuse is a genuine problem. The elderly are a particularly vulnerable group and putting a spotlight on this issue, and giving it a human face, may make a real difference in the daily lives of a very vulnerable population," said Perecman. Mickey Rooney was at one time the biggest box-office name in the United States. Two weeks ago he was granted a restraining order against his stepson after accusing him of abuse. This week, the 90-year-old spoke out against ...

Raleigh criminal lawyer Patrick Roberts recently defended a single mother against a felony child abuse charge. In aggressively fighting to protect the rights of the accused, Mr. Roberts was able to preserve her family by negotiating with the prosecutor to arrange supervised visitation with the child. In addition to the negotiated visitation, Mr. Roberts worked out an agreement where the mother was not convicted of child abuse and instead received a Prayer for Judgment Continued. A "Prayer for Judgment Continued" is unique to North Carolina criminal law and it means ...

News stories have highlighted the apparent failure of air bags in head-on car crashes of many vehicles. A TV station in Nashville obtained an internal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) report via a Freedom of Information request that indicated 576 fatalities might have occurred from crashes where air bags failed to deploy between 2001 and 2006. This matches information from a 2007 story from the Kansas City Star, reporting similar numbers of air bags failing to deploy. NTHSA denied a request for an interview by the Nashville reporters, but ...

In 2001, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) issued a report detailing concerns about the growing population of senior drivers, and the potential risks associated with this trend. Older drivers tend to be involved in car accidents more frequently than their younger counterparts. The IIHS report noted that the increase of elderly drivers and the increased frequency with which these drivers were expected to take to the road may cause serious safety problems. These anticipated problems have not yet come to pass. According to an IIHS report issued last year, ...

In 2008, there were 27,732 arrests for driving under the influence (DUI) in Virginia, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Those arrested for DUI face serious consequences to their driving privileges, either administratively through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or through court action. Suspension, Revocation and Disqualification Administrative license suspension occurs immediately upon arrest for a DUI and is not dependent upon a conviction. Driving privileges of first-time offenders are suspended for seven days; upon a second offense, ...

When commercial trucks collide with passenger vehicles, the consequences can be disastrous. The sheer magnitude of heavy trucks makes them a serious threat to other vehicles in the event of an accident. According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 3,380 people were killed in 2009 as a result of collisions with large trucks. In 2008, one out of nine traffic fatalities was the result of a truck accident. Partially because of the dangers that trucks can pose, the federal government strictly regulates heavy trucks used in interstate ...

M&S Money has announced it has introduced a new offer of 0% on all purchases with the M&S credit card for 15 months from account opening for new customers. The M&S personal credit card offers a number of features to its customers including 15.9% APR representative variable and the chance to earn M&S points every time customers shop with the card, with regular bonus offers of extra points on purchases at M&S. It also offers customers M&S travel money purchases on the M&S credit card with no cash advance fee and 55 days interest free credit. M&S Credit Card holders ...

Leaders from New Mexico's Hispanic business, civic and education organizations encourage New Mexico's House and Senate Education Committee to support education options. The Hispano Roundtable of New Mexico (HRTNM) that represents over 50 Hispanic organizations throughout the state with over 50,000 members statewide is leading a call-to-action in support of students throughout New Mexico. The HRTNM has partnered with other prominent Hispanic organizations such as the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) that has 50 councils and more than 4,000 members across ...

Launched on 1st January, 2011, InstantWinGames.org has become the number one resource for players looking for the best free and real money instant win games, prizes and offers on the Internet. Instant win games have rapidly become popular at a range of gaming sites such as Betfair, Ladbrokes, 888 and Jackpojoy. Online instant win games have tons of fantastic prizes including holiday promotions, jackpots, shopping vouchers and player rewards. The payouts and prizes for winning games such as instant win scratch cards are higher than offline games too. The beauty of ...

There comes a time in every man's life when he needs to retire his classic jeans and tee combo, and really start to make his mark on the world. Your first step on the road to success can be easily taken with a wardrobe that looks professional, and Boden's Think Smart range will help you achieve your look, while letting you infuse your outfit with enough individuality that you won't be lost in the ever growing sea of grey men's suits. A simple pair of Slim Fit Chinos can be instantly transformed into an outfit suitable for work, or that all-important client meeting at ...

Swinglifestyle.com, the largest swingers website is giving away a free 1-year membership worth $69. Swinglifestyle has given to natural disaster charities for many years and has been online for over a decade. Swinglifestyle understands the troubled times in the economy and is encouraging Illinois swingers to take advantage of the free limited time offer and spend the extra money in the economy. Swinglifestyle hopes more businesses give back in the economy and hire more people. In order to claim the free 1-year membership, simply register a new account or log in with ...

Even long after it is formed, a memory in rats can be enhanced or erased by increasing or decreasing the activity of a brain enzyme, say researchers supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health. "Our study is the first to demonstrate that, in the context of a functioning brain in a behaving animal, a single molecule, PKMzeta, is both necessary and sufficient for maintaining long-term memory," explained Todd Sacktor, of the SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York City, a grantee of the NIH's National Institute of Mental Health. Sacktor, Yadin Dudai, Ph.D., ...

In nature and engineering, microcompartments — molecular shells made of proteins that can encapsulate cellular components — provide a tiny home for important reactions. In bacterial organelles, for example, microcompartments known as carboxysomes trap carbon dioxide and convert it into sugar as an energy source. These shells naturally buckle into a specialized 20-sided shape called an icosahedron. But now researchers at Northwestern University's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science have discovered and explored new shapes of microcompartment shells. Understanding ...

Graphene – a sheet of carbon atoms linked in a hexagonal, chicken wire structure – holds great promise for microelectronics. Only one atom thick and highly conductive, graphene may one day replace conventional silicon microchips, making devices smaller, faster and more energy-efficient. In addition to potential applications in integrated circuits, solar cells, miniaturized bio devices and gas molecule sensors, the material has attracted the attention of physicists for its unique properties in conducting electricity on an atomic level. Otherwise known as pencil "lead," ...

RENO, Nev. – A new, rapid blood test that could lead to early diagnosis and potentially save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people stricken with fungal meningitis, a leading cause of AIDS-related deaths in developing countries, is getting closer to market with a recent collaboration between the University of Nevada, Reno and Immuno-Mycologics (IMMY) in Oklahoma. "The ability to quickly identify yeast infection in patients is expected to help in significantly reducing cryptococcal meningitis deaths in resource-limited countries such as those in sub-Saharan Africa," ...

A new microscope invented by scientists at Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Research Campus will let researchers use an exquisitely thin sheet of light -- similar to that used in supermarket bar-code scanners -- to peer inside single living cells, revealing the three-dimensional shapes of cellular landmarks in unprecedented detail. The microscopy technique images at high speed, so researchers can create dazzling movies that make biological processes, such as cell division, come alive. The technique, called Bessel beam plane illumination microscopy, is described ...

Washington, D.C. – Gene therapy that boosts the ability of brain cells to gobble up toxic proteins prevents development of Alzheimer's disease in mice that are predestined to develop it, report researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center. They say the treatment – which is given just once - could potentially do the same in people at the beginning stages of the disease. The study, published online in Human Molecular Genetics, demonstrates that giving brain cells extra parkin genes promotes efficient and effective removal of amyloid particles believed to be destroying ...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories researchers are moving into the demonstration phase of a novel gas turbine system for power generation, with the promise that thermal-to-electric conversion efficiency will be increased to as much as 50 percent — an improvement of 50 percent for nuclear power stations equipped with steam turbines, or a 40 percent improvement for simple gas turbines. The system is also very compact, meaning that capital costs would be relatively low. Research focuses on supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) Brayton-cycle turbines, which typically ...

A new carbon model allows scientists to estimate sources and losses of organic carbon in surface waters in the United States. Study results indicate that streams act as both sources and sinks for organic carbon. "Model estimates help managers and researchers track carbon transport in streams, which is information that is ultimately needed to improve our understanding of the fate of rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere," said Dr. Richard Smith, a USGS hydrologist and coauthor of the study. "The study contributes new information on the role of rivers as sources ...

May vaccinations put too much strain on or weaken children's immune systems and are therefore harmful? Roma Schmitz and her colleagues from the Robert Koch Institute investigate exactly this research question in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108(7): 105-11). Their data are based on the results of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS). In their study, the authors compare the occurrence of infections and allergies in vaccinated and unvaccinated children and adolescents. These ...

Analysis of the early data from Understanding Society based on 14,000 UK households found that overall the best sleep was reported by people with higher levels of education and by married people. The type of work a person does also impacts on sleep, with those in routine occupations reporting worse sleep than those in professional occupations. Professor Sara Arber at the University of Surrey who analysed the findings said: "Given the links between sleep, social and economic circumstances and poor health found in this and other surveys, health promotion campaigns should ...

ESA's Mars Express has returned new images of an elongated impact crater in the southern hemisphere of Mars. Located just south of the Huygens basin, it could have been carved out by a train of projectiles striking the planet at a shallow angle. The large Huygens basin (not visible in the main image but seen in the wider contextual image) is about 450 km in diameter and lies in the heavily cratered southern highlands. In this area there are many impact scars but none perhaps are more intriguing than the 'elongated craters'. One of these craters is seen in this new image, ...

Some of the most dreaded diseases in the world such as plague, typhoid and cholera are caused by bacteria that have one thing in common: they possess an infection apparatus which is a nearly unbeatable weapon. When attacking a cell of the body, they develop numerous hollow-needle-shaped structures that project from the bacterial surface. Through these needles, the bacteria inject signal substances into the host cells, which re-program the latter and thereby overcome their defense. From this time on it's easy game for the pathogens; they can invade the cells unimpeded and ...

Biologically targeted BNCT treatment is based on producing radiation inside a tumour using boron-10 and thermal neutrons. Boron-10 is introduced into cancer cells with the help of a special carrier substance (phenylalanine), after which the tumour is irradiated with lowenergy neutrons. The latter react with the boron to generate high-LET radiation, which may destroy the cancer cells. One to two BNCT treatment sessions may be sufficient to destroy a tumour, while keeping the impact of radiation on surrounding healthy tissue to a minimum. A research reactor is currently ...