American Brick Company (Ambrico) recently reported another busy season of thin brick installations. The company, who recently partnered with some of the industries top thin brick manufacturers, has reported that more thin brick installations than ever are taking place in many different types of construction projects. Hospitals, sports arenas, business parks and projects of all sizes have seen the benefits of installing thin brick products over traditional clay brick products. Offering popular benefits like affordability and durability, thin brick is a smart alternative ...

For the first time, a handful of curious bystanders had the opportunity to see TU Muenchen's new electric vehicle in test runs. But the final design of MUTE remained shrouded; it will first be revealed at the IAA in Frankfurt (15 – 25 September 2011, hall 4, C 23). The MUTE prototype is built so that it has the same driving dynamics as the final vehicle. The first test drives speak for the ingenious construction of the vehicle, which was tried and tested in numerous computer simulations. Particularly noticeable are MUTE's narrow tires. They minimize rolling friction, ...

North Carolina State University researchers have found that a subset of fungus-farming ambrosia beetles may be in the early stages of a global epidemic threatening a number of economically important trees, including avocados, poplars and oaks. "Only about 12 species of ambrosia beetle are creating problems so far, but there are thousands of other species in the world, many of which could be devastating to any number of tree species," says Dr. Jiri Hulcr, a postdoctoral research associate at NC State and lead author of a paper describing the research. "Dutch elm disease ...

The WineStation Subscription Program A recent survey by Napa Technology, found that 81 percent of wine industry experts agree that it is important to have a wine preservation system to achieve a more profitable wines by the glass program. Of the more than 150 top sommeliers, wine directors, and hotel and restaurant operators questioned, 85 percent agree that consumers are both demanding and ordering more wines by the glass than in previous years. In response to the results of the survey, an accessible leasing program was created. The WineStation Subscription Program ...

NewBlue, Inc., the fastest growing integrated video and audio effects provider, today introduced the fifth edition of its best-selling Video Essentials series, NewBlue Video Essentials V. NewBlue Video Essentials V, offers over 100 presets in 10 distinct effects designed for producing professional quality results with minimum effort, saving time, energy, and accelerating productivity. NewBlue Video Essentials V provides advanced editing techniques including Progressive Stretch, Background Generator, Outline, Selective Focus, Selective Tint, Color Fixer Pro, ViewFinder, ...

The widely known PSA blood test for prostate cancer in men may get a second life as a much-needed new test for breast cancer, the most common form of cancer in women worldwide, scientists are reporting in a new study in the ACS journal Analytical Chemistry. Chien Chou and colleagues say that the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measured in the test also is a potential biomarker of breast cancer in women. However, levels of PSA in healthy women are usually so small that only ultrasensitive tests can measure them. To improve PSA detection in women, the researchers built ...

Scientists are reporting development of a new approach for producing large quantities of human-derived gelatin that could become a substitute for some of the 300,000 tons of animal-based gelatin produced annually for gelatin-type desserts, marshmallows, candy and innumerable other products. Their study appears in ACS's Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. Jinchun Chen and colleagues explain that animal-based gelatin, which is made most often from the bones and skin of cows and pigs, may carry a risk of infectious diseases such as "Mad Cow" disease and could provoke ...

Brian Hall, Senior Vice President of Imaging Advantage (www.imagingadvantage.com), headquartered in Santa Monica CA, today announced the launch of Imaging Advantage's "RAD-ED Optimization Program". The initiative was developed in conjunction with senior ED physicians and radiologists in Imaging Advantage's national network. In describing the program's importance, Mr. Hall explained its driving principle: "Nearly half of all imaging volume originates in hospital emergency departments. In many cases, ED physicians are relying on preliminary or "wet reads" ...

A major new review of scientific knowledge on kava — a plant used to make dietary supplements and a trendy drink with calming effects — has left unsolved the mystery of why Pacific Island people can consume it safely, while people in the United States, Europe, and other Western cultures sometimes experience toxic effects. The article appears in ACS' journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. Line Olsen and colleagues point out that for centuries, people of the Pacific Islands have safely consumed a beverage made from crushed kava roots. Kava'scalming effects made it popular ...

With the United States' phase-out of conventional incandescent light bulbs set to start in a few months, an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) describes how the ban on 100-watt bulbs portends a huge new wave of growth for the once lowly light-emitting diode (LED). C&EN is the American Chemical Society's weekly newsmagazine. In one of a three-part cover story package on the raw materials that enable the electronics and related industries, C&EN Senior Editor Alexander H. Tullo explains how LEDs have crept into everyday life in multiple ...

Over 10,000 unique visitors each month are drawn to www.IHateCPAP.com to learn about alternatives to CPAP and find dentists who treat snoring and sleep apnea. Now thanks to a new, effective and affordable I Hate CPAP Membership Program, dental sleep medicine practices can join the program, successfully grow their dental practice and help save lives. "Only about 50% of the people prescribed CPAP use it regularly, because they (or their sleep partners) can't tolerate the noise, the hose and the mask. So they stop using their CPAP and that decision could kill them," ...

A health-care delivery model called patient-centered medical home (PCMH) increased the percentage of diabetes patients who achieved goals that reduced their sickness and death rates, according to health researchers. Pennsylvania leads the nation in implementing this new care model that promises to improve health and reduce costs of care. PCMH is based on the chronic-care model (CCM) of care, which attempts to shift health-care delivery from a reactive approach to a focus on long-term problems. PCMH incorporates CCM and provides comprehensive primary care coordinated ...

If genetically modified Atlantic salmon were to escape from captivity they could succeed in breeding and passing their genes into the wild, Canadian researchers have found. Their research, published in Evolutionary Applications, explores the potential reproductive implications of GM salmon as they are considered for commercial farming. "The use of growth-enhancing transgenic technologies has long been of interest to the aquaculture industry and now genetically modified Atlantic salmon is one of the first species to be considered for commercial farming. Yet, little is ...

Concepción/Halle (Saale)/Prague/Sydney • Invasive plant species in Chile pose a higher threat to its neighbour, Argentina, than vice versa. This was concluded by scientists from the University of Concepción in Chile and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) after analysing the flora of both countries. In particular, 22 non-native species which occur in Chile on connecting roads leading to Argentina present a high risk according to the researchers, writing in the journal Biological Invasions. Trade between Chile and Argentina mainly takes place by road. ...

Platform-as-a-service (PaaS) provides a flexible and cost-effective means of extending an enterprise service-oriented architecture (SOA) to the cloud. However, not all PaaS offerings are the same. Some only serve narrow needs--for example focusing solely on integration or application development. Others take a proprietary approach that can make migrating from the PaaS prohibitively difficult and costly. By contrast, WSO2 has extended its entire enterprise middleware platform to the cloud with WSO2 Stratos (http://wso2.com/cloud/stratos?071411p). The 100% open source WSO2 ...

Lung diseases in the Middle East range from the centuries-old pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) to modern manifestations caused by chemical warfare. A new paper now available in Respirology, a journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology, provides pulmonologists and patients with the first comprehensive review of respiratory illnesses specific to the Persian Gulf region, and the challenges in treating them. This unique review is the first of its kind in this topic and will serve as an important landmark reference article. A wide spectrum of pulmonary disorders affect ...

This release is available in French. Montreal, July 13, 2011 — Raising taxes on cigarettes, a public health measure used by governments to encourage people to quit, doesn't motivate all smokers to stop the deadly habit. A study on the long-term impact of taxing cigarettes, led by two Concordia University economists and published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, found higher taxes do prompt low-and middle-income earners to quit. Yet price increases don't persuade wealthier smokers or those aged 25 to 44 to butt out. "Contrary ...

Miami-based Safe Harbor Equity just announced they sold two commercial assets in Miami. With years of experience, the firm has built a reputation within the Southern Florida community as a well-known and reputable investment management institution. Principal Eric Picchetti works alongside the team to manage investments focused primarily on defaulted debt instruments, distressed real estate assets and non-performing mortgages. The company focuses their attention on acquisitions taking place in the office, retail, industrial, warehouse and residential markets. Mr. Picchetti ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A novel application of carbon nanotubes, developed by MIT researchers, shows promise as an innovative approach to storing solar energy for use whenever it's needed. Storing the sun's heat in chemical form — rather than converting it to electricity or storing the heat itself in a heavily insulated container — has significant advantages, since in principle the chemical material can be stored for long periods of time without losing any of its stored energy. The problem with that approach has been that until now the chemicals needed to perform this conversion ...

PHILADELPHIA — Humans produce billions of clot-forming platelets every day, but there are times when there aren't enough of them, such as with certain diseases or during invasive surgery. Now, University of Pennsylvania researchers have demonstrated that a single drug can induce bone marrow cells called megakaryocytes to quadruple the number of platelets they produce. Jae-Won Shin, a graduate student of pharmacology in Penn's Perelman School of Medicine, and Dennis E. Discher, professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in the School of Engineering ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study of political polarization in the United States suggests that changes in the labor market since the 1970s has helped create more Republican and Democratic partisans and fewer independents. The growth in partisanship has to do with people's current income and – importantly – their expectations of job security, said Philipp Rehm, author of the study and assistant professor of political science at Ohio State University. At one time, many voters were "cross-pressured" – when looking at what they earned now and their risks of losing that income, ...

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson University researchers, working with simulation technology company DriveSafety, have developed a new driving simulator designed for patient rehabilitation that now is being used at 11 Army, Navy and Veterans Affairs facilities. The program recently expanded to Europe with the addition of a driving simulator at Charité Hospital in Berlin, Germany. Driving simulators provide patients with engaging treatment sessions in a safe environment, including practicing realistic driving skills. Therapists can work with patients on treatment areas including ...

White dwarfs are the burned-out cores of stars like our Sun. Astronomers have discovered a pair of white dwarfs spiraling into one another at breakneck speeds. Today, these white dwarfs are so near they make a complete orbit in just 13 minutes, but they are gradually slipping closer together. About 900,000 years from now - a blink of an eye in astronomical time - they will merge and possibly explode as a supernova. By watching the stars converge, scientists will test both Einstein's theory of general relativity and the origin of some peculiar supernovae. The two white ...

SlotsOnline.co.uk is a brand new, consumer information site focused on helping interested visitors learn more about the Internet betting phenomenon of online slots and progress to finding a reputable online casino if they want to explore this form of gaming further. For decades slot machines have been firm fixtures amongst the entertainment to be found at amusement arcades and land-based casinos around the world, and their simple gameplay made them extremely suited to early computer technology - giving rise to the genre of 'Video Slots' in the 1980s - and more recently ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study gauging the impact of consuming more fish oil showed a marked reduction both in inflammation and, surprisingly, in anxiety among a cohort of healthy young people. The findings suggest that if young participants can get such improvements from specific dietary supplements, then the elderly and people at high risk for certain diseases might benefit even more. The findings by a team of researchers at Ohio State University were just published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity. It is the latest from more than three decades of research ...