VIDEO: Sperm from normal male mice bind to female eggs, but sperm from the males lacking PDILT cannot bind to the egg. Click here for more information. Experts from Durham University have identified a new gene that could help the development of fertility treatments in humans in the future. Scientists from Durham University, UK, and Osaka University, Japan, looking at fertility in mice, have discovered for the first time that the gene, which makes a protein called PDILT, enables ...

Contrary to current belief, a new study finds that patients with a history of diabetes are not one of the most at risk for contrast induced nephrotoxicity. Instead, the study found that patients with a history of renal disease, hypertension and/or heart disease are more likely to suffer from renal insufficiency, putting them at greater risk for contrast induced nephrotoxicity. The study, done at Northwestern Memorial Hospital-Northwestern University in Chicago, included 2,404 patients. All patients underwent an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) test immediately ...

Young patients who undergo chest or abdominopelvic CT are more than 35 times more likely to die of their disease than develop a radiation induced cancer, according to an analysis of 23,359 patients, some of whom were scanned more than 15 times. The analysis conducted at three hospitals in Boston, found that in the chest CT group, 575 out of 8,133 patients were deceased after a mean follow-up of about 4 years. "That compares to the 12 cases of radiation-induced cancer that would be expected in this group based on the BEIR-VII method, a commonly used model for determining ...

A tidal wave of healthcare business intelligence (BI) purchases is anticipated to come in the next three years, according to the KLAS report, "Business Intelligence Perception 2012: A Wave is Coming." Energy around healthcare BI is increasing at a frenetic pace; half of providers are looking to buy or replace their BI solutions in the next three years. Providers have adopted a forward-thinking approach to BI. Not only do they want to use their new BI solution for clinical and financial data, but they are also seeking out solutions that have predictive analytics, ...

BOSTON – Despite longstanding recommendations for children with asthma to avoid tobacco smoke, many youths are still exposed to secondhand smoke and their health suffers because of it, according to a study to be presented Tuesday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston. "National asthma guidelines have advised avoidance of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) for patients with asthma for decades, but it is unclear to what degree these recommendations are being followed and what the impact of exposure has been in an era of increased awareness ...

PHILADELPHIA — Postmenopausal women who were overweight or obese and lost at least 5 percent of their body weight had a measurable reduction in markers of inflammation, according to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. "Both obesity and inflammation have been shown to be related to several types of cancer, and this study shows that if you reduce weight, you can reduce inflammation as well," said Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Prevention Center at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, ...

Using a decision support system for ordering chest CT examinations translates into positive examinations three-quarters of the time, a new study shows. The study, conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, of 93,818 chest CT examinations done with the assistance of a decision support system, found that 76% of patients had a positive finding on their CT. "Rising concerns about radiation risks, imaging growth and reimbursement costs has highlighted inappropriate imaging use," said Dr. Supriya Gupta, MD, one of the authors of the study. The decision support ...

The cost and production of fuel are always topics of intense discussion and scrutiny, but recently, they have proven more volatile topics than ever before. Many American families are struggling with high prices at the gasoline pump, even as the prices of natural gas are very low. This has led to intense debate within the energy production industry, something a recent news report makes clear. The debate has even drawn the attention of long-time industry leaders like Frank C. Fisher, a retired Houston attorney and oil and gas professional who responds to the current oil and ...

DARIEN, IL – Children who have learning, attention and behavior problems may be suffering from excessive daytime sleepiness, even though clinical tests show them sleeping long enough at night, a new study reports. Penn State researchers studied 508 children and found that those whose parents reported excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) – despite little indication of short sleep from traditional measurements – were more likely to experience learning, attention/hyperactivity and conduct problems than children without EDS. The culprits? Obesity, symptoms of inattention, ...

DARIEN, IL – Toss out another old wives' tale: Sleeping too much does not make you fat. Quite the opposite, according to a new study examining sleep and body mass index (BMI) in twins, which found that sleeping more than nine hours a night may actually suppress genetic influences on body weight. The study looked at 1,088 pairs of twins and found that sleeping less than seven hours a night was associated with both increased BMI and greater genetic influences on BMI. Previous research has shown that genetic influences include things like glucose metabolism, energy use, ...

In today's online marketing world, advertisers are seeking, more than ever before, to tap into global markets. Asia, South America, and Australia offer a goldmine of convertible online traffic, something that carries tremendous appeal to many top-tier American brands. Accessing those markets can prove difficult and at times costly, however, particularly for online advertisers who lack ties to expansive marketing networks. The #1 performance marketing company Ads Direct is seeking to make this kind of global reach easier for its clients, however; the company has just announced ...

Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) have higher rates of hospitalized bacterial infection than children without JIA according to an observational study appearing in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). The findings show that the risk of infection among JIA patients was significantly increased with use of high-dose glucocorticoids (steroids). Methotrexate (MTX) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) inhibitors were not found to increase infection risk in this pediatric population. ...

May 1, 2012 (Chevy Chase, MD) – Women going through menopause now have a first-of-its-kind interactive guide to help them better understand their menu of treatment options, including whether hormone therapy may be right for them. The Endocrine Society and its Hormone Health Network today released the "Menopause Map," an online tool to help women and their doctors discuss which hormonal and non-hormonal treatment options would be most effective and safe to relieve the sometimes debilitating symptoms of menopause. A new accompanying survey found that the majority of women ...

Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath began his career as a traveling teacher, bringing spiritual insight and instruction to the residents of the Himalayan region of Northern India. Since then, he has come to be a spiritual mentor and revered figure to countless people around the world. He has taught countless students, and even presented his views on the floor of the United Nations. His teachings appear on YouTube, and have garnered thousands of hits. Even so, Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath is preparing to bring his teachings to one of his widest audiences yet; the spiritual leader ...

Blacksburg, Va., May 1, 2012 - Virginia Tech released today the results of its 2012 rating for adult football helmets that is designed to assess a helmet's ability to reduce the risk of concussion. A total of three helmets achieved a "5 star" mark, which is the highest rating awarded by the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings™. In addition to the Riddell Revolution Speed, which was the only helmet to receive 5 stars last year, the Rawlings Quantum Plus and Riddell 360 also earned 5 stars as the best available helmets. The process used for evaluating the head protector involves ...

Oxbridge House, Inc., a buyer and seller of rare metals and precious coins, has recently opened a new retail location on 2115 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco to satisfy the skyrocketing demand for their products and services. With gold prices hovering between $1,500 to as much as $1,900 per ounce over the last six months, consumers and investors have been clamoring for gold bullion. "We see a big rush of people coming in selling and also a big rush of people buying for investment purposes," said Joe Polyak, an account executive at Oxbridge House. "We get ...

The use of a dedicated pediatric imaging department (with dedicated pediatric computed tomography (CT) technologists) for pediatric CT scans significantly reduces the radiation dose delivered to the patient, according to a study in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. When performed and monitored properly, the benefits of CT scans outweigh the potential long-term risk of radiation. To minimize the potential adverse effects of radiation exposure to pediatric patients, it is necessary to reduce the dose of radiation delivered to these patients ...

Access Technology Solutions (ATS) is announcing the launch of its latest low-cost consolidated shipping lane into yet another booming Asia-Pacific market, Australia. By cutting out unnecessary middlemen, ATS is now directly delivering product from the U.S. to Australia in 4 to 5 days, generating a typical savings of 80% compared to common carrier's published rates. In addition, the ATS consolidation to Australia eliminates remote fees, which can be as high as $24.00 for up to 20% of the population in Australia. Another significant benefit to ATS clients using the Australian ...

Air Distributors Company, Inc, a McQuay Parts distributor serving KY, southern IN and southern IL, is offering free shipping on qualified McQuay HVAC parts orders. Due to price increases in service parts, Air Distributors has decided to offer free shipping for McQuay HVAC parts customers. All orders over $500 placed in May will qualify, except compressors and custom coils. "This will help customers save on shipping costs , and maybe offset some of the recent price increases" says Greg McNary, General Manager. "Our current plan is to run this for one month ...

Get Certified 4 Less, a Michigan-based corporation specializing in the sale of money saving vouchers for IT certifications, recently announced the achievement of over 50,000 customers since beginning to sell testing vouchers online in 2002. "Through our association with valued partners such as CompTIA, Pearson VUE, Prometric, Microsoft, Self Test Software and Transcender, we are able to offer our customers money saving vouchers on virtually every major professional IT certification exam," said Danielle Spradlin, Marketing Director at Get Certified 4 Less. "Since ...

Oil and gas are the fuels that drive the world economy. And the state of Texas is a significant contributor to that economy, with giants like the Eagle Ford Shale and the Barnett Shale covering large swaths of Texas. There is money to be made, but Texas landowners must understand their rights when leasing their land to oil and gas companies, so as to avoid an oil lease dispute. As Dianna Wray reports for the Victoria Advocate, Judon Fambrough is a long-time professor of oil and gas law at Texas A&M University. Whether you've already entered into a lease, or ...

Chalk it up to the oil boom. As America seeks to produce more of its own energy, a dominant technology has emerged in an effort to extract oil and gas from our existing plays, like the Eagle Ford Shale and Barnett Shale oil fields in Texas, and both landowners and oil companies (and oil and gas workers) see that there is money to be made. "Hydrofracking," short for hydraulic fracturing, is a process in which drillers combine water and sand and chemicals to fracture tough shale rock layers, getting those fossil fuels to flow. As Matthew Tresaugue and ...

The Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta Airport Hotel (North, I-85) offers nearby lodging to parents and guests attending Georgia State University's Spring 2012 Commencement Ceremony. The Bachelor, Master, and Specialist Commencement Ceremony will take place at 2:00pm on Sunday, May 6 at Georgia Dome. Vicki B. Escarra, President and CEO of Feeding America, will serve as Georgia State University's spring commencement keynote speaker. Feeding America is the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, which provides food to Americans in need through a network of more ...

The Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Columbia SC (Northeast) offers convenient accommodations to parents and guests attending University of South Carolina's spring 2012 Commencement Ceremonies. The Baccalaureate, Master's and Professional Commencement Exercises will take place at 3:00pm on May 4 and 9:30am and 3:00pm on May 5. All ceremonies will take place on at Colonial Life Arena, located on the University of South Carolina campus. General admission is free; doors open two hours prior to the start of the ceremony. Spring commencement is a special annual event for University ...

With the incredibly mild winter the metro Atlanta area had this year, mosquitoes got a head start on expanding their numbers, and they're ready to make going outside a miserable experience well before summer. Atlanta exterminator North Fulton Pest Solutions recommends that Atlanta homeowners receive professional mosquito treatments before populations grow out of control. During a normal winter, mosquitoes are forced to stay close to the ground, go into a suspended state to survive, and many adult mosquitoes are unable to withstand the cold temperatures. However, during ...