Long term users of the popular recreational drug ecstasy (MDMA) risk structural brain damage, suggests preliminary research published online in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. Other research has suggested that people who use ecstasy develop significant memory problems, so the Dutch researchers wanted to find out if there was any clinical evidence of structural changes in the brain to back this up. They focused on the hippocampus, which is the area of the brain responsible for long term memory. They measured the volume of the hippocampus using ...

Electronic medical records (EMRs) are garnering deeper use in the community hospital scene, and nearly all have been certified HITECH-ready by an official certification body. Nevertheless, a fifth of these hospitals plan to switch EMR products within the next couple of years -- even this close to meaningful use (MU) deadlines -- according to a new report by KLAS. For the new report, "Community Hospital EMRs Maturing for Meaningful Use," KLAS interviewed more than 500 healthcare professionals about their experience with various EMR systems. Of respondents, 80 percent ...

A spot of regular retail therapy really does seem to help people live longer, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. And it seems to benefit older men the most, the findings show. The authors base their findings on almost 1,850 elderly (65+) Taiwanese people who were living independently at home, and included in the nationally representative Elderly Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT Elderly), carried out in 1999-2000. Participants were asked how often they went shopping, with options ranging from "never" ...

Epileptic seizures can precede the development of a subsequent brain tumour by many years, suggests research published online in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry. The risk seems to be greatest among those aged between 15 and 44 when first admitted to hospital for an epileptic seizure, the findings show. The researchers base their findings on first time admissions for epilepsy from the Oxford Record Linkage Study (ORLS) for 1963 to 1998, and national Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data for England for 1999 to 2005. These data were then linked ...

Financial Spreads, the UK-based spread betting company, has introduced another set of improvements for their clients. This year Financial Spreads have already tightened their spreads on a number of popular markets in order to lower the cost of trading for clients. They have also introduced Guaranteed Stops in order to help clients with their risk management. The spread betting company has now introduced 'differential markets'. Financial Spreads Spokesperson Adam Jepsen says that introducing differential markets not only offers account holders more choice, but better ...

Disease-causing bacteria carrying the new genetic resistance to antibiotics, NDM-1, have been discovered in New Delhi's drinking water supply. A Cardiff University-led team found new strains of resistant bacteria in the Indian capital, including species which cause cholera and dysentery. The findings are the first evidence of the environmental spread of NDM-1, which had previously only been found in hospitals. The scientists are calling for urgent action by health authorities worldwide to tackle the new strains and prevent their global spread. The Cardiff scientists ...

A new pathway has been discovered that links a common dietary lipid and intestinal microflora with an increased risk of heart disease, according to a Cleveland Clinic study published in the latest issue of Nature. The study shows that people who eat a diet containing a common nutrient found in animal products (such as eggs, liver and other meats, cheese and other diary products, fish, shellfish) are not predisposed to cardiovascular disease solely on their genetic make-up, but rather, how the micro-organisms that live in our digestive tracts metabolize a specific lipid ...

Researchers have long known that landfills produce methane, but had a hard time figuring out why – since landfills do not start out as a friendly environment for the organisms that produce methane. New research from North Carolina State University shows that one species of microbe is paving the way for other methane producers. Specifically, the researchers found that an anaerobic bacterium called Methanosarcina barkeri appears to be the key microbe. "Landfills receive a wide variety of solid waste, and that waste generally starts out with a fairly low pH level," says ...

Scientists of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch (Germany) have demonstrated for the first time that a gene regulating neuronal cell migration during embryogenesis also plays a role in the development of the liver. Using zebrafish as a model organism, Dr. Christian Klein and Professor Ferdinand le Noble showed that the gene navigator-3 (abbreviated nav3a) regulates liver organogenesis. If nav3a is missing, the liver cannot develop (Development 2011, doi:10.1242/dev.056861)*. "Moreover, first evidence indicates," Dr. Klein said, "that the expression ...

San Diego, CA, April 6, 2011 – When the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of experts in primary care and prevention, released its recommendations on mammography screenings for US women on November 16, 2009, there was immediate and considerable controversy. In a study published in the May 2011 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, investigators report that these new recommendations confused women (30.0%) more than they helped them understand when to get a mammogram (6.2%). Confusion was greatest among women aged 40-49 years ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A study led by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center showed in animal studies that new cancer drug compounds they developed shrank tumors, with few side effects. The study, done in two mouse models of human cancer, looked at two compounds designed to activate a protein that kills cancer cells. The protein, p53, is inactivated in a significant number of human cancers. In some cases, it is because another protein, MDM2, binds to p53 and blocks its tumor suppressor function. This allows the tumor to grow unchecked. The new ...

esd & associates is a company that practices what it preaches. So it is only natural for San Antonio's leading digital creative agency to go digital. esd's mobile site is now live, compressing its website onto a 3x2 inch mobile display. For retailers a mobile site is mandatory. It is equally important for b2b, non-profits and others where the decision is not as immediate. "Our customers are out there and they are mobile," says Erik Simpson, esd & associates creative director. "Our mobile site leads our visitor to the material they are most likely to need on the road." The ...

"We were not expecting to find such high levels of PCBs, highly toxic compounds that are considered as priority compounds by European legislation, in a region such as the western coast of Africa", Ailette Prieto, a researcher at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU-Spain) and co-author of a study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, tells SINC. PCBs, which some studies have shown to be carcinogenic compounds, were used years ago as dielectric fluids in transformers, condensers and coolants for various devices. However, their production ...

NewBlueFX, the fastest growing integrated video and audio effects provider, has announced today that NewBlueFX plugins are now compatible with Avid(r) Studio, the newly released consumer video editing solution. Avid Studio features include integrated media library, media editor, timeline editor, DVD and Blu-ray authoring tools, NewBlueFX's line of professional-grade Video Essentials, Effects and Transitions plugin packs are now fully compatible. "With increasing demand in the video hobbyist and editing enthusiast markets for easy-to-use, effective products, NewBlue ...

Move over, newts and salamanders. The mouse may join you as the only animal that can re-grow their own severed limbs. Researchers are reporting that a simple chemical cocktail can coax mouse muscle fibers to become the kinds of cells found in the first stages of a regenerating limb. Their study, the first demonstration that mammal muscle can be turned into the biological raw material for a new limb, appears in the journal ACS Chemical Biology. Darren R. Williams and Da-Woon Jung say their "relatively simple, gentle, and reversible" methods for creating the early stages ...

triCerat is excited to announce that ScrewDrivers is now available for Mac users. ScrewDrivers is a simple yet effective solution that instantly eradicates printer problems using a patented print format technology. Users experience fast, problem-free remote desktop printing from any application to any printer while system administrators enjoy easy configuration, implementation, and management. It's about being effective, efficient, and user friendly, which is what the ScrewDrivers remote printing solution is designed to do: simplify the printing process for users and ...

Research carried out recently by Receptional has shown a close correlation in some sectors between the acquisition rate of hyperlinks from third party sites into a website, and the ultimate web traffic that the site enjoys. This research has led to renewed interest in link building as a part of the online marketing mix, and Receptional is looking to develop this channel by offering free link audits to established websites and brands. As Receptional is the sole marketing partner of MajesticSEO - the world's largest independent link map of the web, they are uniquely placed ...

Premier dentist in Lombard, IL, Dr. William DeWitt, encourages patients to make and keep appointments for the month of April with a monthly drawing. If patients make and keep their appointments with this Hinsdale, IL dentist they will be entered into the monthly drawing for gift certificates. For the month of April, as well as other every month throughout the year, patients can win a gift certificate to various restaurants such as Maggiano's, Lettuce Entertain You venues, Francesca's and others. Patients participating in the March and previous month drawings provided ...

KB, a registered player on the GoldenRivieraCasino.com Network, has today received a Progressive Jackpot prize to the value of EUR22, 409.30, as the result of being able to play online casino slot game LotsaLoot. LotsaLoot is one of 24 Progressive Jackpot online casino games that are available on the GoldenRivieraCasino.com Network's portfolio of games - players are given reign to casino games totaling at 550 titles on the casino's extensive virtual library. The popularity of the online Progressive Jackpot genre is self-evident, with online casino players rushing in ...

The unmanned aerial vehicles –also named "drones"– that the CIA is employing against Al-Quaeda in Pakistan are inefficient to prevent new terrorist attacks against Europe and the USA. Nevertheless, drones are likely to keep being employed at the short and medium term since, as CIA's director states, these vehicles are the only instrument that the USA has to undermine Al-Qaeda and taliban's leadership and operating capacity in Pakistan. This is the conclusion exposed in an article recently published in the Newsletters of the Real Instituto Elcano, prepared by a University ...

The CrazyVegas.com Network have today announced the awarding of a EUR22,409.30 Progressive Jackpot prize to registered patron KB, who won the substantial casino bonus amount as the result of playing on LotsaLoot, a popular Progressive Jackpot online slot game on the virtual casino. LotsaLoot is one of 23 Progressive Jackpot online casino titles available on the CrazyVegas.com Network's extensive portfolio of online casino games. LotsaLoot appears on the CrazyVegas.com Network in both 3-reel and 5-reel online slot game variations, whereby both variations are linked to a ...

With efforts underway to ban lead-based ammunition as a potential health and environmental hazard, scientists are reporting new evidence that a prime alternative material for bullets — tungsten — may not be a good substitute The report, which found that tungsten accumulates in major structures of the immune system in animals, appears in ACS' journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. Jose Centeno and colleagues explain that tungsten alloys have been introduced as a replacement for lead in bullets and other munitions. It resulted from concern that lead from spent ammunition ...

Inspired by Mother Nature, scientists are reporting development of a protective coating with the potential to enable living cells to survive in a dormant condition for long periods despite intense heat, dryness and other hostile conditions. In a report in Journal of the American Chemical Society, they liken the coating to the armor that encloses the spores that protect anthrax and certain other bacterial cells, making those microbes difficult to kill. Insung S. Choi and colleagues say their simple method for coating the yeast cells could "serve as a new strategy for controlling ...

Still a popular second home and relocation destination to many, the French Riviera has lost none of the allure that made it so popular for investment pre-economy downturn. As one of the French Rivera's premier real estate agents in luxury property there is only one place those interested in property for sale South of France should begin their search. Stunning 19th Century Classical French Villa Situated on the exclusive peninsula of the Cap d'Antibes this classical style villa dates back to the end of the 19th century and sits in an exclusive enclosed residential ...

WASHINGTON, DC, April 6, 2011 — New research from the University of Minnesota finds that a workplace environment that allows employees to change when and where they work, based on their individual needs and job responsibilities, positively affects the work-family interface and reduces turnover. Led by U of M sociology professors Erin Kelly and Phyllis Moen, the research is published in an April American Sociological Review study, "Changing Workplaces to Reduce Work-Family Conflict: Schedule Control in a White-Collar Organization," and a February Social Problems study. Kelly ...