DALLAS – May 24, 2011 – A gynecologist and a molecular biologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center have collaborated to show for the first time that pelvic organ prolapse – a condition in which the uterus, bladder or vagina protrude from the body – is caused by a combination of a loss of elasticity and a breakdown of proteins in the vaginal wall. Pelvic organ prolapse affects many women older than 50 years of age. Besides creating pelvic pressure, prolapse can lead to other pelvic-floor disorders such as urinary and fecal incontinence, and can affect sexual function. "We ...

PULLMAN, Wash.—Don't get him wrong: Fred Gittes is, in his words, "extremely squeamish." But then a scientist with forensics training told him that crime scene investigators could use a better way to analyze blood spatters. The physicist in Gittes rose to the challenge. "It seems as though what was being done was very crude from a physics point of view and that intrigued me," he says. Along with Chris Varney, a doctoral candidate in physics, Gittes has worked out a system that can often determine exactly where blood spatters originate, a critical piece of evidence in ...

The magnitude 9 earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck Japan on March 11 were like a one-two punch – first violently shaking, then swamping the islands – causing tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of billions of dollars in damage. Now Stanford researchers have discovered the catastrophe was caused by a sequence of unusual geologic events never before seen so clearly. "It was not appreciated before this earthquake that this size of earthquake was possible on this plate boundary," said Stanford geophysicist Greg Beroza. "It was thought that typical earthquakes ...

Scientists from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), in collaboration with Linköping University, Sweden, have shown that regions of graphene of different thickness can be easily identified in ambient conditions using Electrostatic Force Microscopy (EFM). The exciting properties of graphene are usually only applicable to the material that consists of one or two layers of the graphene sheets. Whilst synthesis of any number of layers is possible, the thicker layers have properties closer to the more common bulk graphite. For device applications one- and two-layer graphene ...

In a large study of men in Japan, the presence of fatty liver disease by ultrasonography showed an inverse ( reduced risk) association with the frequency of moderate alcohol consumption; however, there was some suggestion of an increase in fatty liver disease with higher volume of alcohol consumed per day. Moderate drinkers had lower levels of obesity than did non-drinkers, and both obesity and metabolic abnormalities were positively associated with fatty liver disease. These findings support the results of a number of other recent studies showing that moderate drinking ...

We still need to halt the increase of global carbon emissions before 2020 and in the long term reduce emissions by at least 50% up to 2050. Ultimately, we will have to reduce carbon emissions to close to zero or even remove carbon completely from the atmosphere. However, climate change is not the only energy challenge: We need energy services to drive global economic development We need to provide equal access to modern energy worldwide We need to provide electricity to the 25% of the world's population still without electricity We need to provide modern energy ...

Boston, MA – Electronic medical records (EMRs) have been in use for more than 30 years, but have only increased in utilization in recent years, due in part to research supporting the benefits of EMRs and federal legislation. As EMRs have become a standard in medical care, there is a need for additional research of how the system and usage can be refined. A group of researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital have done just that, and discovered that one way false information can make its way into EMRs is due to users' reliance on copying and pasting material within the ...

A novel way to immobilise radioactive forms of iodine using a microwave, has been discovered by an expert at the University of Sheffield. Iodine radioisotopes are produced by fission of uranium fuel in a nuclear reactor. Radioactive iodine is of concern because it is highly mobile in the environment and selective uptake by the thyroid gland can pose a significant cancer risk following long term exposure. Furthermore, iodine-129, which is a type of radioactive iodine, has an extremely long half life of 15.7 million years, so is one of the most significant long term hazards ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Next time you go on vacation, you may want to think twice before shooting hundreds of photos of that scenic mountain or lake. A new study from MIT neuroscientists shows that the most memorable photos are those that contain people, followed by static indoor scenes and human-scale objects. Landscapes? They may be beautiful, but they are, in most cases, utterly forgettable. "Pleasantness and memorability are not the same," says MIT graduate student Phillip Isola, one of the lead authors of the paper, which will be presented at the IEEE Conference on ...

The recent data breaches faced by Sony, Epsilon and TJX once again highlight the risks that lapses in governance pose to enterprise data security. To protect valuable company and customer data, enterprises need to implement IT security governance as a mechanism for managing authorization and access via pre-defined rules and policies. Industry-standard technologies, such as the eXtensible Access Control Markup Language (XAMCL), are helping to facilitate this governance by enabling more efficient and nuanced security policy enforcement. IT architects and developers can ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study aimed at refining the way scientists measure ice loss in Greenland is providing a "high-definition picture" of climate-caused changes on the island. And the picture isn't pretty. In the last decade, two of the largest three glaciers draining that frozen landscape have lost enough ice that, if melted, could have filled Lake Erie. The three glaciers – Helheim, Kangerdlugssuaq and Jakobshavn Isbrae – are responsible for as much as one-fifth of the ice flowing out from Greenland into the ocean. "Jakobshavn alone drains somewhere between ...

A local supernova factory has recently started production, according to a wealth of new data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory on the Carina Nebula. This discovery may help astronomers better understand how some of the Galaxy's heaviest and youngest stars race through their lives and release newly-forged elements into their surroundings. Located in the Sagittarius-Carina arm of the Milky Way a mere 7,500 light years from Earth, the Carina Nebula has long been a favorite target for astronomers using telescopes tuned to a wide range of wavelengths. Chandra's extraordinarily ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Despite significant technological improvements, children reliant on long-term mechanical ventilation often require extensive additional care, including costly hospital stays and emergency visits. A new study led by University of Michigan researchers found that children with complex chronic conditions who require long-term mechanical ventilation have significantly higher mortality, longer length of hospitalizations, higher mean charges, and more emergency department admissions. The results of this study, led by Brian D. Benneyworth, M.D., M.S., Pediatric ...

Today announced the launch of the new freeware AV RingtoneMAX, a free software program which helps users quickly create a new ringtone. Whatever it is: a song, a piece of music, a speech in a movie, or a fun clip, a funny sound, or even a human voice or any audio file, all can be used to create a new and unique ringtone. Download the program at http://mp3-player.audio4fun.com/ringtone-maker-download.htm. With AV RingtoneMAX, it only takes 3 steps to make a new ringtone. First the user selects any audio clip, or specifies the track that they want to use to make the ringtone; ...

U.S. doctors might find that their incomes start to rise – not decline – when Barack Obama's healthcare reforms are put in place says a Queen's University School of Medicine professor. "The medical-income argument in the United States against moving toward a Canadian-style system is feeble," says Jacalyn Duffin, a medical doctor who specializes in the history of medicine. "Physicians' incomes grew more quickly than those of other Canadian professions following Medicare. The universal, single-payer system has been good not only for Canadians but also for Canada's doctors." Dr. ...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A new study by motor control and psychology researchers at Indiana University suggests that postural control problems may be a core feature of bipolar disorder, not just a random symptom, and can provide insights both into areas of the brain affected by the psychiatric disorder and new potential targets for treatment. Problems with balance, postural control and other motor control issues are frequently experienced by people with mood and psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and neurological disorders such as Huntington's ...

Researchers at the University of Warwick have found a unique feuding double white dwarf star system where each star appears to have been stripped down to just its helium. We know of just over 50 close double white dwarfs but this was only the second ever eclipsing close white dwarf pair to be found. The University of Warwick astronomers Steven Parsons and Professor Tom Marsh were able to use the fact that the stars eclipse each other when seen from Earth to make particularly detailed observations of the system. Those observations revealed that uniquely both the white ...

This release is available in Spanish. Computer simulation studies by scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggests that a dairy cow living year-round in the great outdoors may leave a markedly smaller ecological hoofprint than its more sheltered sisters. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) agricultural engineer Al Rotz led a team that evaluated how different management systems on a typical 250-acre Pennsylvania dairy farm would affect the environment. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency, and this work supports the USDA commitment ...

Alexandria, VA – On Feb. 22, a magnitude-6.1 earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, killing nearly 200 people and causing $12 billion in damage. About three weeks later, a massive magnitude-9.0 earthquake struck northern Honshu, Japan. The quake and tsunami killed about 30,000 people and caused an estimated $310 billion in damage. Both events are stark reminders of human vulnerability to natural disasters and provide a harsh reality check: Even technologically advanced countries with modern building codes are not immune from earthquake disasters. Both events also ...

Holiday Inn Express Simpsonville Hotel offers attendees of Freedom Aloft Weekend convenient lodging accommodations. The event will take place Memorial Weekend, May 27-30, at Simpsonville, South Carolina's Heritage Park. Holiday Inn Express is an official sponsor of the event, and the venue is only a mile from this hotel in Simpsonville. The popular hot air balloon festival has been a tradition in the South Carolina Upstate for 29 years. Seventy to eighty colorful balloons will fill the skies over Simpsonville. Attendees can book a balloon flight, take a tethered ride, ...

HUNTVILLE, TX -- While statutory rape laws have been enacted to protect minors from sexual abuse by adults or peers, more teenagers are engaging in sexual activity before the legal age of consent and are facing sexual assault charges. A recent study by the Crime Victims' Institute at Sam Houston State University examines various state laws that have been adopted to address the growing problem and suggests ways to address the dilemmas caused by the laws that are written. "It is becoming increasingly clear that some teenagers engage in sexual activity even before they ...

Reston, Va. –With the deficiencies in knowledge of tuberculosis—as well as in the practices, programs and strategies used to combat the disease and co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)—the spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis poses a major problem for the health care community. Research in the June issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, however, shows that the use of 18F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) scans can help to determine earlier if treatment for tuberculosis is working or if the disease is MDR. Tuberculosis and HIV have been ...

WASHINGTON – A comprehensive review of research focusing on the debate between High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and other sweeteners presented today finds there is no evidence of any significant variation in the way the human body metabolizes HFCS as opposed to standard table sugar, or any difference in impact on risk factors for chronic disease. James M. Rippe, MD, founder and director of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute and professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Central Florida, presented a summary of recent research entitled -- "High Fructose Corn Syrup, ...

Super 8 Monroe North Carolina Hotel announces a special savings package for their hotel guest to enjoy. Guests who book their stay with their AAA United States or Canadian membership card will receive a 10% discount off Best Available Rates. Proof of membership is required at check-in. This hotel Monroe NC's features and amenities include: - Complimentary continental breakfast - Free High-speed wireless Internet access - Microwave and refrigerator in all guest rooms - 25 inch cable TV with HBO - Meeting room - Suites available with hot tubs Located near the ...

Sheraton Atlanta Perimeter Hotel North, located near Perimeter Mall and Dunwoody, GA, recently announced a new special savings deal for summer travelers to enjoy. Guests who book their stay now through September 30, 2011 can request the Coca-Cola 125th Anniversary package. The deal includes: - 2 complimentary World of Coca-Cola good anytime tickets* - 2 complimentary Coca-Cola Commemorative Bottles* - Complimentary breakfast - 20% discount on food and beverage - Rates from $115 per night *Available while supplies last. "Guests are sure to enjoy ...