BOSTON (April 4, 2012) – Improving or maintaining physical fitness appears to help obese and overweight children reach a healthy weight, reports a new study from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Researchers analyzed four years of data from in-school fitness tests and body mass index (BMI) measurements of students in grades 1-7 in the city of Cambridge, Mass. In the study published online March 15 by the journal Obesity, Sacheck and colleagues examined the association between weight status and fitness levels by assessing student ...

In a report in Energy Digital, MWM takes a holistic approach to providing decentralised, eco-friendly energy supply. With a portfolio that boasts systems and power plants ranging from 400 kWe to 100 Mwe and more, the use of co-generation and tri-generation have enabled efficiencies as great as 95 per cent. This has allowed for much better use of scarce energy resources compared to conventional power generation technologies on the market. MWM's eco-friendly plants allow for decentralised, combined energy generation with extremely high efficiencies. Different types ...

Chicago, IL (April 4, 2012) -- Patients whose symptoms of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) start outside of the hospital setting have a higher risk of colectomy due to severe infection, according to a large multicenter study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. Infection from C. difficile is associated with antibiotic use and results in colitis and diarrhea. Severe cases can be life-threatening. Colectomy, or ...

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- A Kansas State University veterinary medicine student is investigating ways to improve horse vaccinations and defend them against pathogen challenges at an early age. Research from Allison Jordan Bryan, a graduate student in biomedical sciences and a second-year veterinary medicine student, Huntington Beach, Calif., may help protect foals as young as 3 months of age from pathogens such as West Nile virus, tetanus, equine influenza virus, Equine Herpes Virus-1, Eastern equine encephalomyelitis and Western equine encephalomyelitis. "It is important, ...

In a report in Energy Digital, Manroc's ground-breaking Alimak and narrow vein mining techniques prove to lead the industry in terms of safety and cost-effectiveness. As the main Alimak mining company in the world, Manroc's innovative mining technologies hold a competitive advantage in the industry, resulting in a more efficient and cost-effect recovery of ore. Previously considered uneconomic and inaccessible, ore reserves have been made possible through safer, more effective means that not only reduce production costs, but increase production rates of Manroc's customers. ...

Chicago (April 4, 2012) -- Drug dispensing robots designed to quickly prepare intravenous medications in a sterile environment can harbor dangerous bacteria, according to a report in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. During a routine screening in 2010, personnel at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina discovered Bacillus cereus bacteria in samples dispensed by their machine, the Intellifill IV. "To our knowledge, this is the first published report of a pharmacy robot being contaminated ...

In a report in Energy Digital, ABB's global leadership in power and automation builds a more productive and energy efficient future. As one of the world's chief engineering companies, ABB has over 100,000 employees and operates in approximately 100 countries enabling utility and industry customers to improve their use of power--the ultimate goal being to boost overall productivity while decreasing environmental impact. "A lot of the technology that we've developed has been mainly driven by the need to always be a leader in the businesses that we're in," ...

With a history dating back to 1975, Nikken International Inc. has taken the health and wellness industry by storm. Founded in Japan, Nikken was one of the premier companies to open within the $200 billion global industry, and nearly four decades later, their empire is still continuing to expand across international borders. Nikken has a presence in 35 countries. Its origin has impacted the lives of several million people by selling not just health-based products and services, but by helping people achieve total balance in their lives through the Five Pillars of Health: ...

A new hypothesis posed by a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, associate professor and colleagues could be a game changer in the evolution arena. The hypothesis suggests some species are surviving by discarding genes and depending on other species to play their hand. The groundbreaking "Black Queen Hypothesis" got its name from the game of Hearts. In Hearts, the goal is to avoid "winning" the Queen of Spades (the Black Queen), which is worth a lot of points. Subsequently, players allow others to take the high-point card while they enjoy low-score tallies. This same ...

The Dorchester Arts Centre is set to welcome blues band Midnight Train on Saturday April 21st.   Fronted by vocalist Debbie Giles, the five-piece group play a dynamic selection of classic blues, funk and soul numbers.   Their diverse and tightly-honed live set typically contains songs by the likes of Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, T-Bone Walker and BB King.   Music fans heading to the Dorset venue for their performance are in for treat, as Midnight Train have played to packed crowds around the UK and drawn praise from a number of blues publications.   Guitarist Pete ...

(CHICAGO) – Two new studies published in the April 4 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, suggest that a person's memory declines at a faster rate in the last two-and-a-half years of life than at any other time after memory problems first begin. The second study shows that keeping mentally fit through board games or reading may be the best way to preserve memory during late life. Both studies were conducted by researchers at Rush University Medical Center. "In our first study, we used the end of life as a reference point ...

Defying thousands of years of conventional wisdom, scientists are reporting that it is possible for water to float on oil, a discovery they say has important potential applications in cleaning up oil spills that threaten seashores and fisheries. Their report appears in ACS' journal Langmuir. Chi M. Phan and colleagues point out that the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle made an early attempt to explain flotation around 350 B.C. Today, most people know that less dense liquids float on more dense liquids. So crude oil with a density of about 58 pounds per cubic foot floats ...

The Great Saunter, an annual walk around the rim of Manhattan, offers people a unique way to explore the famous New York borough.   Due to take place for the 27th time on Saturday May 5th this year, the event traditionally attracts walkers from across the Big Apple and around the world.   The 32-mile route begins and ends at the South Street Seaport, passing through 20 parks and providing some spectacular waterside views along the way.   Walkers set off at 07:30 local time, with a break for lunch in Inwood Hill Park at 13:00. The Great Saunter finishes with a celebration ...

CORAL GABLES, FL (March 20, 2012)—Delayed gratification: People who are good at overcoming their immediate impulses to take small rewards now — in favor of larger rewards down the road — do better in many areas of life, including academic achievement, income, job performance and health. What life experiences develop this ability? A new study published online, ahead of print, by the journal of Evolution and Human Behavior, finds that religious people are better able to forgo immediate satisfaction in order to gain larger rewards in the future. The study is the first to demonstrate ...

The first real-world, head-to-head comparison of "improved cookstoves" (ICs) and traditional mud stoves has found that some ICs may at times emit more of the worrisome "black carbon," or soot, particles that are linked to serious health and environmental concerns than traditional mud stoves or open-cook fires. The report, which raises concerns about the leading hope as a clean cooking technology in the developing world, appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science &Technology. Abhishek Kar, Hafeez Rehman, Jennifer Burney and colleagues explain that hundreds of millions ...

The worldwide concert phenomenon Video Games Live will be returning to Malaysia this May for a pair of shows at Kuala Lumpur's Istana Budaya venue.   Following the success of the show's original Malaysian run in 2010, the world's largest videogame concert spectacular will be seen once again on May 26th and 27th at 20:30 local time.   Created by veteran games composer Tommy Tallarico, the event sees the National Symphony Orchestra performing new arrangements of some of gaming's most iconic tunes.   Themes will be taken from famous videogames from across the ages, from ...

A dose of carbon nanotubes more than doubles the growth rate of plant cell cultures — workhorses in the production of everything from lifesaving medications to sweeteners to dyes and perfumes — researchers are reporting. Their study, the first to show that carbon nanotubes boost plant cell division and growth, appears in the journal ACS Nano. Mariya V. Khodakovskaya and colleagues explain that their previous research demonstrated that so-called multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) can penetrate through the thick coatings on seeds, stimulate germination of the seeds and ...

Efforts are underway to develop a more environmentally friendly process for dyeing denim with indigo, the storied "king of dyes," used to the tune of 50,000 tons annually to color cotton blue jeans and hundreds of other products. That effort is the topic of an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN). C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. In the article, C&EN Assistant Managing Editor Michael McCoy notes that concerns about the environmental effects of indigo represent ...

Thailand's SailQuest Sailing School is to organise a series of exciting boat races at the SailQuest Samui Regatta in May 2012.   It gets started on May 26th and runs through to June 5th, combining on-the-water competitions and festivities with a number of shore-based tie-in celebrations.   The regatta itself is held between May 29th and June 2nd, with the remaining days dedicated to transporting participants back and forth from the Ocean Marina in Pattaya, where the SailQuest school is based.   A number of different classes of boat will compete in the lavish event, ...

People with severe depression are constantly despondent, lacking in drive, withdrawn and no longer feel joy. Most suffer from anxiety and the desire to take their own life. Approximately one out of every five people in Germany suffers from depression in the course of his/her life – sometimes resulting in suicide. People with depression are frequently treated with psychotherapy and medication. "However, many patients are not helped by any therapy," says Prof. Dr. Thomas E. Schläpfer from the Bonn University Medical Center for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. "Many spend more ...

New Rochelle, NY, April 4, 2012—Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women, and evidence-based national guidelines promote the use of daily aspirin for women at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. However, less than half of the women who could benefit from aspirin are taking it, according to an article in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The article is available free online at the Journal of Women's Health website. "Based on this survey, it is evident that the majority of women for whom aspirin is recommended ...

Taking the 'White Privilege Pop Quiz' by Molly Secours might reveal the inner racist. The quiz is merely a mirror that reflects how internalized racial biases and fears prevent those classified as white from recognizing, understanding--and ultimately perpetuating--inequities in education, health care, criminal justice and perhaps even premature death. Sample questions from the quiz are on her site, mollysecours.com. In light of the recent, untimely, and racially charged death of Trayvon Martin, Secours posted a blog on the site Redroom that included a few of the questions ...

Nick and Bobbi Ercoline, the couple depicted on the "Woodstock" soundtrack album cover, have now been happily married for over 40 years. However, a new special issue of The Gerontologist showing the Ercolines as they look today — a portrait of successful aging — finds that their unmarried baby boomer counterparts generally fare much poorer in terms of economic, health, and social outcomes. In 2011, the first of the 79 million American baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) reached age 65. Among this population, approximately one in three people are unmarried; ...

Observations by the two of the European Space Agency's space observatories have provided a multi-wavelength view of the mysterious galaxy Centaurus A. The new images, from the Herschel Space Observatory and the XMM-Newton x-ray satellite, are revealing further hints about its cannibalistic past and energetic processes going on in its core. At a distance of around 12 million light years, Centaurus A is the closest large elliptical galaxy to our own Milky Way. It has been marked as unusual since shortly after its discovery in the 19th century due to a thick lane of dust ...

A showcase of Malaysian artwork is coming to Bali at the Floated art exhibition, to be held later this month at the Kendra Gallery.   Beginning on April 14th, the event will feature pieces from a trio of acclaimed contemporary artists and will run through until May 10th.   Visitors to the show will be able to see how these three creative contributors offer different interpretations of social and cultural realities in Malaysia, a quickly-evolving society with a thriving arts scene.   Jalaini Abu Hassan's art aims to offer a unique perspective on the way historical ...