A retired Utica, Michigan, teacher who was recently convicted of possession of child pornography has been sentenced in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Michigan in Detroit to 20 years. The sentence was the maximum faced by the man after he pleaded guilty to the federal charge last year. The defendant, who had taught in the community for 32 years, was apprehended as a result of Operation Predator, a federal internet sting operation overseen by federal Homeland Security investigators. He was arrested last March after federal agents found hundreds of thousands of images ...

Estate planning is something most of us don't spend a lot of time thinking about. Even among those of us with estate planning documents in place, updating them often takes a back seat to other, seemingly more pressing concerns. There will be time for that later, right? Unfortunately, there is not always time -- you never know when your estate planning documents will be needed. And, if something has happened in your life since the last time you drafted a will, power of attorney, directive to physicians or other estate planning documents, your family could pay a dire price. Relationship ...

After more than half a decade of decline, the number of Missourians who have lost their lives to motor vehicle accidents is up over the first two and a half months of 2012. This year is the first since 2005 in which fatalities on Missouri roads between January 1 and March 7 did not drop year-to-year. Almost a Third More Motorists Lose Lives Early in 2012 Law enforcement officers are increasingly called out to tragic roadside scenes. Missouri car accident attorneys are seeing more grieving families come through their doors, seeking some small measure of closure. And, ...

Any divorce involving children is inherently complex. Yet, parents of children with special needs face a number of unique challenges when putting their divorce arrangements in place. A Phoenix complex custody lawyer may be your best resource for help in working out a reasonable parenting plan for your special needs child. However, even a brief introduction to some of the distinctive issues you may face can prove beneficial to both you and your child. Visitation, Custody, Child Support and More Must be Individually Tailored The guiding principle behind any custody ...

America's approach to clean energy needs to be reformed if it is to meaningfully affect energy security or the environment, according to two new articles by Stanford writers. The debate over how to fundamentally change the world's massive energy system comes amid taxpayers' $500 million tab for the bankruptcy of Fremont, Calif., solar company Solyndra, the global recession, government budget cuts and plunging U.S. prices for natural gas. Making the change cost-effectively will be crucial, write Jeffrey Ball and Kassia Yanosek, both based at Stanford University's Steyer-Taylor ...

To limit driver distractions and help keep other drivers, passengers and pedestrians safe, Illinois prohibits drivers from texting anytime or using hand-held cellphones while driving through school or construction zones. Further, the state bans drivers under the age of 18 from all cellphone use. Currently, a bill before the state Legislature proposes to prevent even more distracted-driving accidents on Illinois roads. The bill would ban all drivers from using hand-held cellphones for texting, talking or Internet surfing; excluded from the ban would be two-way radios ...

From running errands to a cruise down Interstate 84 outside of Portland, a car accident can happen anywhere -- an unexpected upset to your normal routine. In the aftermath of a crash, you may not be thinking completely clearly. Nonetheless, it is during this vulnerable state, only days or even hours after an accident, when the other driver's insurance company is likely to contact you. Handled incorrectly, a call from the other driver's insurer could be devastating to your ultimate claim for damages; do you know what to say? Innocent Statements Can Come Back to Haunt ...

Confused.com has announced that, according to its recent survey, first-time buyers are becoming more savvy to the cost of cars; looking at the full cost of motoring rather than just the cost of buying a car. Cars are one of the biggest expenses that people make in their life time, with 76% of respondents to the Confused.com survey stating this. However, people are having to compromise on the cars they drive. Big engines and car modifications no longer the new driver's prerogative, due to the cost of insurance and overall rising cost of motoring. According to Confused.com's ...

Prudential has revealed the results of new research which shows the top priority for people intending to retire this year is saving money to ensure they have enough to live on in retirement. Nearly 6 out of 10 people (57 per cent) said saving will be a top priority. The insurer's Class of 2012 study, which looks at the finances and expectations of those planning to retire this year, also found that women are more likely than men to prioritise saving during retirement. 62 per cent of women will make this a priority compared with 52 per cent of men. Although saving ...

Summer vacation season is almost upon us, and while many homeowners think about protecting their home from break-ins while away, few stop to consider the risk of flooding. Flood damage can occur while homeowners are away and can leave them with permanently damaged possessions and costly home repairs upon their return. Superior Restoration, a company with 17 years of experience repairing water damage in San Diego, wants to help homeowners to enjoy peace of mind during their travel time this summer by minimizing the risk of flood-related damage while they are away from ...

Corcentric, a leading provider of Accounts Payable automation solutions, today announced Rob DeVincent will be speaking at the Institute of Financial Operations' 2012 Fusion Conference, the largest conference for AP professionals and professionals working in all areas of financial operations. DeVincent's session titled "Just the Facts: A Look into the Types of AP Automation Solutions," is session #255 in the AP focus discipline. This session, which offers one Business Management and Organization credit to attendees, will take place on Monday, May 14, 2012 from ...

The New Wine Fundamentals program, including the new wine and food principles recently adopted by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, are being taught by Master of Wine Tim Hanni in an internationally available Webinar May 15th and 19th, 2012. "This new approach stresses deepening our understanding of the physical and psychological factors that influence consumer wine preferences over traditional, product-based industry 'wine education'", Hanni said. "The Webinars are designed for wine professionals, educators and the hospitality trade in a 'train the ...

Traumatized people who take a class of common blood pressure medications tend to have less severe post-traumatic stress symptoms, researchers have found. The finding suggests that ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors or ARBs (angiotensin receptor blockers) could be valuable tools for treating or preventing post-traumatic stress disorder. The results were published online May 1 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. "These results are particularly exciting because it's the first time ACE inhibitors and ARBs have been connected to PTSD, and it gives us a ...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – May 1, 2012 – With nearly one-third of American children being overweight or obese, doctors agree that there is an acute need for more effective treatments. In many weight management programs, the dropout rate can be as high as 73 percent, and even in successful programs, the benefits are usually short term. Although family-based approaches to pediatric obesity are considered the gold standard of treatment, theories of the family and how it functions have not been incorporated into effective interventions, according to a study published in the May ...

New York, NY(May 1, 2012) – Large majorities of older Americans experience significant and troubling gaps in their primary care, according to a new national survey, "How Does It Feel? The Older Adult Health Care Experience," released today by the John A. Hartford Foundation, a champion for improved geriatric care and longtime partner of the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at New York University's College of Nursing. The poll focuses exclusively on Americans age 65 and older and assesses whether, in the past 12 months, patients received seven important medical ...

Corcentric, a leading provider of Accounts Payable automation solutions, today announced the appointment of Aaron Wargo to the role of National Account Manager. Aaron brings more than 18 years of experience in Demand and Account Management and Sales in the Finance and SaaS Software industries. Previously, Aaron served as Manager of Demand Management at Ariba Financial Solutions, where he was responsible for managing a multi-lingual team tasked with creating qualified sales throughout North America, South America, and Europe. Before joining Ariba Financial Solutions, ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – It takes a gutsy insect to sneak up on a huge dinosaur while it sleeps, crawl onto its soft underbelly and give it a bite that might have felt like a needle going in – but giant "flea-like" animals, possibly the oldest of their type ever discovered, probably did just that. And a few actually lived through the experience, based on the discovery by Chinese scientists of remarkable fossils of these creatures, just announced in Current Biology, a professional journal. These flea-like animals, similar but not identical to modern fleas, were probably 10 ...

Whatishealthandsafety.co.uk has urged small businesses to increase the health and safety of their workplace. The reputable online resource has warned company owners about the dangers of theft and is keen to minimise criminal activity. According to the website, a whole range of organisations are targeted by thieves every year. Many companies struggle to cope with a lack of supplies and are unable to continue working throughout these turbulent economic times. As a result, health and safety experts have encouraged entrepreneurs to stock up on branded asset tags and are ...

Belmont, MA - Researchers at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital have shown a new category of "green" nanoparticles comprised of a non-toxic, protein-based nanotechnology that can non-invasively cross the blood brain barrier and is capable of transporting various types of drugs. In an article published May 1, 2012 online in PLoS ONE, Gordana Vitaliano, MD, director of the Brain Imaging NaNoTechnology Group at the McLean Hospital Imaging Center, reported that clathrin protein, a ubiquitous protein found in human, animal, plant, bacteria and fungi cells, can been modified ...

To better understand the signaling pathways active in sarcomas, researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center used state-of-the-art mass spectrometry-based proteomics to characterize a family of protein enzymes that act as "on" or "off" switches important in the biology of cancer. The tyrosine kinases they identified, the researchers said, could act as "drivers" for the growth and survival of sarcomas. Sarcomas are relatively rare forms of cancer. In contrast to carcinomas, which arise from epithelial cells (in breast, colon and lung cancers, for example), sarcomas are tumors ...

Sirma Mobile, Inc. today announced the release of mTimeCard, a free mobile app for both iPhone and Android that lets SMBs easily monitor their employees' timekeeping and attendance. "It is not only staff administration, but managing most of a company's marketing activities, checking inventory or dealing with suppliers, for example. A simple time-and-effort-saving solution will be highly appreciated," said business owners interviewed during the pilot tests. To make it easier for vendors to monitor attendance, Sirma Mobile has developed a mobile application ...

Infants born to women who used the anti-HIV drug tenofovir as part of an anti-HIV drug regimen during pregnancy do not weigh less at birth and are not of shorter length than infants born to women who used anti-HIV drug regimens that do not include tenofovir during pregnancy, according to findings from a National Institutes of Health network study. However, at 1 year of age, children born to the tenofovir-treated mothers were slightly shorter and had slightly smaller head circumference—about 1 centimeter each, on average—than were infants whose mothers did not take tenofovir. ...

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have gained insight into the mechanism by which a pathological brain protein called tau contributes to the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders. This finding, published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, may provide the basis for future investigations on how to prevent tau from damaging brain circuits involved in cognitive function. Previous studies have shown that the abnormal folding, or misfolding, and buildup of tau are key neuropathological features ...

Low dose whole body CT is nearly four times better than radiographic skeletal survey, the standard of care in the U.S., for determining the extent of disease in patients with multiple myeloma, a new study shows. The study, conducted at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, included 51 patients who had both a radiographic skeletal survey as well as a low dose whole body CT examination. The total number of lesions detected in these patients with low dose whole body CT was 968 versus 248 detected by radiographic skeletal survey, said Kelechi Princewill, MD, the lead author ...

Dad may be better with a hammer than a glue gun, but Michaels makes it easy for dads to help their children create special Mother's Day gifts for Mom. With hundreds of DIY gift ideas online and low-cost in-store gift-making events from Michaels, dads and their children will have fun creating a memorable handmade gift. Dads with an artistic flair can help their children create personalized handmade cards, while dads and kids with green thumbs can embellish garden stepping stones. From decorated mugs to custom designed apparel to festive cupcakes, Michaels features quick ...