Many premature infants throughout the United States continue to receive inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) during their NICU stay, despite the lack of evidence to support its use. Whether or not a preemie will receive iNO treatment, when and for how long, varies greatly throughout the country, as its use in premature infants appears to be unstandardized. These are the findings of a Nationwide Children's Hospital study appearing in the journal Pediatrics. Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) is a selective pulmonary vasodilator approved for use in term and near-term infants with hypoxic ...

Many children with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis who received treatment through ImproveCareNow, a national quality improvement and research network, ceased to have symptoms and no longer needed to take steroids for disease management. These are the findings from a study appearing in Pediatrics that examined the ImproveCareNow network's quality improvement efforts and their impact on outcomes. In this study, the proportion of children with Crohn's disease who were in remission increased from 55 percent to 68 percent, with a similar improvement in ulcerative colitis ...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Forest Service scientists today released an assessment that shows forest land has expanded in northern states during the past century despite a 130-percent population jump and relentless environmental threats. At the same time, Forest Service researchers caution that threats to forests in the coming decades could undermine these gains. According to the Forests of the Northern United States report, forest coverage in the United States has increased by 28 percent across the region that includes Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, ...

Saranac Lake, N.Y. – New research from the Trudeau Institute addresses how the human body controls gamma-herpesviruses, a class of viruses thought to cause a variety of cancers. The study, carried out in the laboratory of Dr. Marcia Blackman, awaits publication in The Journal of Immunology. Led by postdoctoral fellow Mike Freeman, with assistance from other laboratory colleagues, the study describes the role of white blood cells in controlling gamma-herpesvirus infections and has implications for the treatment and prevention of certain cancers. One of the many factors ...

Montreal -- When it comes to prevention of substance use in our tween population, turning our kids on to thought control may just be the answer to getting them to say no. New research published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, co-led by professors Roisin O'Connor of Concordia University and Craig Colder of State University of New York at Buffalo, has found that around the tween-age years kids are decidedly ambivalent toward cigarettes and alcohol. It seems that the youngsters have both positive and negative associations with these harmful substances and ...

When oil started gushing into the Gulf of Mexico in late April 2010, friends asked George Haller whether he was tracking its movement. That's because the McGill engineering professor has been working for years on ways to better understand patterns in the seemingly chaotic motion of oceans and air. Meanwhile, colleagues of Josefina Olascoaga in Miami were asking the geophysicist a similar question. Fortunately, she was. For those involved in managing the fallout from environmental disasters like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, it is essential to have tools that predict ...

LOUISVILLE, Ky.— Some patients with advanced heart failure caused by cardiomyopathy, the deterioration of function of the heart muscle, are benefitting from a new recovery protocol at the University of Louisville and Jewish Hospital, a part of KentuckyOne Health. Led by Emma Birks, M.D., Ph.D., FRCP, director of the Jewish Hospital Heart Failure, Transplant and Mechanical Support Program, the program treats advanced heart failure patients who have left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), also known as heart pumps, that help the heart function. Using a specific combination ...

Millions of Facebook users will be able to enjoy this year's NCAA March Madness LIVE coverage via FreeCast.com's Facebook app. The online coverage, provided by CBS Sports, TBS, TNT and TruTV, will cover all 67 games of NCAA March Madness, including games with such high profile teams as Kentucky, Syracuse, Michigan State and North Carolina, and based on the conference tournament upsets we saw last week, this year's tournament should be full of surprises. The FreeCast app for Facebook will totally change the way sports fans experience March Madness. Not only will it provide ...

An article released by Social Forces indicates that voter identification requirements have a substantially negative impact on the voting of all groups except for Asians. Particularly strong negative effects are seen for Blacks and Hispanics: a decrease in voting by 18 percent and 22 percent respectively. Even Whites show dampened turnout associated with voter ID policies. Yet for Asians, strikingly, voter ID has the opposite effect, boosting turnout by nearly 30 percent. This is an intriguing instance in which Asian participation patterns markedly differ from that of other ...

Two new horned dinosaurs have been named based on fossils collected from Alberta, Canada. The new species, Unescopceratops koppelhusae and Gryphoceratops morrisoni, are from the Leptoceratopsidae family of horned dinosaurs. The herbivores lived during the Late Cretaceous period between 75 to 83 million years ago. The specimens are described in research published in the Jan. 24, 2012, online issue of the journal Cretaceous Research. "These dinosaurs fill important gaps in the evolutionary history of small-bodied horned dinosaurs that lack the large horns and frills ...

One in 10 people living in California's most productive agricultural areas is at risk for harmful levels of nitrate contamination in their drinking water, according to a report released today by the University of California, Davis. The report was commissioned by the California State Water Resources Control Board. "Cleaning up nitrate in groundwater is a complex problem with no single solution," said Jay Lund, director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and a report co-author. "This report should help inform discussions among people involved with drinking water, ...

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the eyes and brains of 27 astronauts who have spent prolonged periods of time in space revealed optical abnormalities similar to those that can occur in intracranial hypertension of unknown cause, a potentially serious condition in which pressure builds within the skull. A retrospective analysis of the MRI data appears online in the journal Radiology. A team of researchers performed MRIs and analyzed the data on the 27 astronauts, each of whom were exposed to microgravity, or zero gravity, for an average of 108 days ...

Philadelphia, PA, March 13, 2012 – A new study suggests that administering FTY720, an oral drug that has shown promise in trials for human multiple sclerosis, significantly improves locomotor recovery in mice with spinal cord injury (SCI). The research suggests a possible new avenue to counteract the degeneration of the spinal cord in human SCI. The study will be published in the April 2012 issue of The American Journal of Pathology. Beyond the initial tissue damage, much of the degradation of the spinal cord in SCI is due to a cascade of secondary injuries, including ...

San Diego, CA -- The American Diabetes Association recommends hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) testing as one basis for identifying diabetes and prediabetes. Setting a specific HbA1c cutoff threshold for prediabetes, which could be used to determine eligibility for interventions to prevent progression to more serious type 2 diabetes, has generated much debate, with at least three different cutoffs recommended by different professional organizations. A new study led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrates that lowering the cutoff increases the health benefits ...

NEW DELHI (12 MARCH)—As developing countries battle multiple threats to food security—soaring prices, crop-crushing weather extremes and dramatic population growth—agriculture experts gathering in New Delhi this week warn that efforts to boost food production and reduce malnutrition risk failure if they continue to ignore the important role of women farmers around the world. "The global sidelining of women farmers puts our food security at great risk," said Mark Holderness, Executive Secretary for the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), one of the sponsors ...

Recent studies by a UT Dallas researcher aim at finding better ways to diagnose young children with language impairments. Dr. Christine Dollaghan, a professor at The University of Texas at Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders and the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, is author of a paper in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. The study evaluated data collected from a large sample of about 600 children. Some of the participants had specific language impairments, or SLI. She wanted to deterimine whether SLI should be regarded as a ...

Optex Co. LTD, a leading manufacturer of security infrared and laser technology, announced today the integration of their Redscan laser sensor with Genetec's Security Center, their unified platform which seamlessly blends IP license plate recognition, video surveillance and access control. The Optex Redscan is an innovative laser-scan detector that identifies a moving object's size, speed, and distance from the detector. It processes that information with a unique algorithm, resulting in a highly reliable detection system with minimal false alarms. With the high demand ...

George Wein, producer/founder of the Newport Jazz Festival and Chairman of Newport Festivals Foundation today announced the program for the 2012 Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management set for Newport, RI August 3 - 5. Wein also announced that Natixis Global Asset Management (NGAM), who launched their global musical initiative with the 2011 Newport Jazz Festival, will return as presenting sponsor for three additional years. Veterans Pat Metheny, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Frisell and others share the festival billing with relative newcomers ...

The 2012 annual conference for the American Society for Indexing (ASI), "Index Appreciation Days," will take place in San Diego, California, April 19-21. The event will feature information about indexing in the digital publishing era, as well as an array of workshops and seminars for all skill levels. You do not need to be a member of ASI to attend. In addition to indexers, the conference is also designed for librarians, abstractors, editors, publishers, database producers, data searchers, product developers, technical writers, academic professionals, researchers, ...

Australian Musq Cosmetics new organic skincare is set to change the face of natural skincare. Natural brands are generally perceived as passive and usually blended with mainstream artificial ingredients such as perfumes, colours and preservatives making it no healthier than regular brands. Musq's results driven skincare is 100% natural and so advanced that minimal products are needed regardless of the skin type. Following years of practical in-salon trialling of many skincare ingredients in their own well respected salon, Musq has drawn together a suite of potent 100% ...

Ever had a fresh, nutrient dense tomato from an urban greenhouse? Probably not, but that is one reason why Phoenix-based American Food Grow Institute (AFGI), has launched an innovative new fundraising program using the Kickstarter.com platform. Following the mission of the AFGI, the institute is looking to raise $60,000 for the completion of a greenhouse building project that will allow the institute to explore new opportunities for feeding the poor in urban areas across the country. In exchange for pledges toward the $60,000 goal, donors will receive t-shirts, fresh ...

Sunshine Spirit Photography is donating their time and services to the Music Den in Randolph in honor of Music In Our Schools month. On March 10th from 10am-1pm, a Rock Star themed photo shoot on the Music Den's performing arts stage was offered to anyone wanting to feel like a star. "I am a big advocate of music and art programs in schools," says Denise Dougherty, owner of Sunshine Spirit Photography. "And I will support it in any way I can." The stage is complete with all the necessities needed in a concert and can be customized to fit the person's ...

Today technicians from Pacific Blue Solutions gave a demonstration to investors from India who came to witness first hand, the company's newest weapon in the war on water pollution, PBS5, a natural flocculant that is the world's first chemical-free green powder that removes more than 95% of water-borne contaminants, including mercury, arsenic, dioxins, amino acids, and just about anything else other than salt and baking soda - in less than 5 minutes from the time of introduction to polluted waters. PBS5 even removes biological and chemical warfare agents like anthrax, ecoli, ...

Texas Educational Solutions (TES) and its math video tutorial partner, Virtual Nerd, are pleased to announce the release of alignment to both the TEKS and the STAAR Assessment for Grade 6-8 Mathematics and all mathematics End-of-Course Assessments. Teachers can now review formative or interim assessment data, aligned to TEKS, and prescribe specific playlists of video tutorials for their students based on the TEKS identified as "at-risk" for each particular student. TES and Virtual Nerd are also delighted to announce that Virtual Nerd's Vice President, Doug ...

Craftsman Construction is proud to announce a strategic alliance with Cathy Svercl, RA of Design Freedom Inc. Design Freedom Inc. is a full service residential architecture firm promoting sustainable designs including accessibility, safety and green building practices. Cathy is a registered architect in Virginia and Florida. Cathy first started drawing houses in the 6th grade and has never turned back. She attended Virginia Tech, graduating with the professional degree of Bachelor of Architecture. After several internships with architectural firms in South Carolina and ...