Cruise Amour, the online travel agency, has announced the launch of its new Find Me a Cruise tool. Although the Cruise Amour website is already the fastest UK cruise agency site and one of the easiest to navigate, managing director Tim Hurrell was keen to introduce the tool: "Giving our customers the best possible on-line experience has always been our goal. We're passionate about getting the customer experience right, so when it came to deciding on whether to introduce a tool which makes it even easier for customers to find their dream holiday - of course we said ...

Amusement Management Partners (AMP), a leading operator of theme parks, water parks and family entertainment centers chaired by former 'Ripley's Believe it or Not' CEO Bob Masterson, announced that it has selected as its exclusive financial advisor, EFA Partners (EFA), an entertainment financial advisory firm comprised of three former executives of GE Capital's entertainment group. EFA will assist with all financial aspects of AMP's current properties as well as leading the capital raising effort for AMP to achieve its growth goals. AMP is led by well-respected industry ...

DALLAS – May 18, 2011 – How fast can you run a mile? If you're middle-aged, the answer could provide a strong predictor of your risk of heart attack or stroke over the next decade or more. In two separate studies, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found that how fast a middle-age person can run a mile can help predict the risk of dying of heart attack or stroke decades later for men and could be an early indicator of cardiovascular disease for women. In one recent study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers analyzed the heart ...

CHICAGO --- A man's rising PSA (prostate-specific antigen) level over several years – which had been seen as a possible warning sign of prostate cancer – has recently come under fire as a screening test because it sometimes prompts biopsies that turn out to be normal. A new study, however, shows nearly 70 percent of men who had rising PSA levels and subsequent normal biopsies were eventually diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to research from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The trend of a PSA level over several years is called PSA velocity. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – As the proliferation of social media in society continues, companies and organizations are taking advantage of online platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to communicate interactively with their customers and the public. With this influx of new technology, many organizations are struggling to find the most effective ways to manage these user interactions to maximize the positive experience for their customers. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found that utilizing a personal human voice when communicating online leads to much higher user satisfaction ...

One World Direct has been an exemplary partner to many businesses that deal directly with consumers. They provide fulfillment and call center services, effectively serving as the primary handler for transactions involving the end consumer. Their ability to execute on their mission is unquestionable, and since their opening day back in 1994, One World Direct has had the opportunity to provide fulfillment as well as call center services to B2C clients the world over. Today, One World Direct is an industry leader in the order fulfillment and call center outsourcing market, ...

The genetic 'wiring' that helps a seed to decide on the perfect time to germinate has been revealed by scientists for the first time. Plant biologists at The University of Nottingham have also discovered that the same mechanism that controls germination is responsible for another important decision in the life cycle of plants — when to start flowering. Their discovery throws light on the genetic mechanisms that plants use to detect and respond to vital environmental cues and could be a significant step towards the development of new crop species that are resistant to ...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The more than 2.7 million new HIV infections recorded per year leave little doubt that the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to spread globally. That's why there's the need for safe, inexpensive and effective drugs to successfully block HIV transmission. A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine further validates the use of humanized BLT mice in the fight to block HIV transmission. The "BLT" name is derived from the fact that these designer mice are created one at a time by introducing human bone marrow, liver ...

The last day to register for the "Invitation To Foodies" culinary event's "Seminar Package" and be eligible to enter the Apple iPad 2 drawing is Friday, May 20, 2011. Are you a food adventurer? Are you comfortable with your knowledge about food? The "Invitation to Foodies" culinary event explores food in Hawaii from the ground up. Local experts offer insights into food preparation, food safety, farming, farmers' markets and food and community sustainability. Join us and learn what you should know about food and enjoy a great taste experience. ...

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), a scientific technique associated with outsized, very low temperature, superconducting magnets, is one of the principal tools in the chemist's arsenal, used to study everything from alcohols to proteins to such frontiers as quantum computing. In hospitals the machinery of NMR's cousin, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is as loud as it is big, but nevertheless a mainstay of diagnosis for a wide range of medical conditions. It sounds like magic, but now two groups of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National ...

Dr. Jason McCargar announces that he is now on staff at Scottsdale Shea and Scottsdale Osborn Hospitals. Dr. McCargar is one of only 6 dentists in the community working through Scottsdale Healthcare in area hospitals. Accepting this position allows Dr. McCargar to expand his family and cosmetic dental services by admitting patients to either hospital for dental treatments under general anesthesia or IV sedation. Dr. McCargar explains, "Patients who are afraid of having their dental work done in the typical dental office will now have the option for 'one-stop shopping' ...

May 18, 2011 (PASADENA, Calif.) – Children who are overweight or obese have a significantly higher prevalence of psoriasis, and teens with psoriasis, regardless of their body weight, have higher cholesterol levels, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online in the Journal of Pediatrics. The study findings suggest that higher heart disease risk for patients with psoriasis starts in childhood in the form of higher cholesterol levels. Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin that often starts early in life and, according to the National Psoriasis ...

In today's fast-paced ecommerce world, business owners are finding it difficult and even impossible to effectively compete without a strong online presence. Shoppers in the current marketplace look for attractive sites, easy to understand purchase processes and reliable customer service when it comes to shopping online. As Gold Magento Solutions Partners, Niche Retail has successfully merged all of these needs into customized ecommerce solutions based on the Magento open source platform. In an online shopping environment that has long been dominated by world-wide operations ...

It stands to reason that a well-loved child can become a loving adult. But what prepares us to make a strong commitment and work out differences with an intimate partner? And what happens when one person is more committed than the other? Six researchers—M. Minda Oriña of St. Olaf College; W. Andrew Collins, Jeffry A. Simpson, Jessica E. Salvatore, and John S. Kim of the University of Minnesota and Katherine C. Haydon of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign—used the rich mine of data in the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (MLSRA), coupled ...

New Rochelle, NY, May 18, 2011—Many gene therapy strategies designed to deliver a normal copy of a gene to cells carrying a disease-causing genetic mutation rely on a modified virus to transfer the gene product into affected tissues. One technology platform that is well suited for in vivo delivery of genes is based on adeno-associated viruses (AAV). As these novel therapies move closer to commercialization, so do the methods for large-scale production and efficient delivery of AAV vectors, which are documented in a series of articles published online ahead of print in ...

Want a Nissan Leaf? Join the 20,000 people on the waiting list to get one. The Chevy Volt got your eye? General Motors ramped up availability earlier this year to try and meet demand. With the latest generation of electric vehicles gaining traction, new findings from University of Delaware (UD) researchers are informing automakers' and policymakers' decisions about the environmentally friendly cars. Results of one study show the electric car attributes that are most important for consumers: driving range, fuel cost savings and charging time. The results are based on a ...

According to American Brick Company (Ambrico), the spring and summer months are generally the most popular time of the year for thin brick installation and other home and building projects. Ambrico, industry leaders in thin brick sales and installation, recently reported that as the summer months get closer, construction projects really start to heat up. While everyone from homeowners to professional builders jump to take advantage of warmer weather, the team at Ambrico is ready to help at the company's product showroom in Warren. The Ambrico showroom features the company's ...

MADISON, Wis. – Certain lichens can break down the infectious proteins responsible for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a troubling neurological disease fatal to wild deer and elk and spreading throughout the United States and Canada, according to U.S. Geological Survey research published today in the journal PLoS ONE. Like other "prion" diseases, CWD is caused by unusual, infectious proteins called prions. One of the best-known of these diseases is "mad cow" disease, a cattle disease that has infected humans. However, there is no evidence that CWD has infected humans. ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The beneficial compounds in green tea powders aren't as stable as once thought, according to a Purdue University study that will give industry guidelines on how to better store those powders. "People drink green tea for health benefits, so they want the catechins to be present," said Lisa Mauer, a professor of food science. "The instant powder beverages are becoming more popular for consumers, and it's important to know how storage can influence nutrition of your products." Catechins are the source of antioxidants thought to fight heart disease, ...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Maintaining the world's threatened animal and plant species may rest with something as simple as knowing how far a bird can fly before it must answer nature's call. Birds disperse seeds as they travel, but deforestation can mean those seeds might land where they can't sprout and grow, according to a University of Florida researcher who co-wrote a study in last month's issue of Ecology that looks at how tropical birds disperse plant seeds in Brazil's Amazon rainforest. If birds spread plant seeds in inhospitable places, the long-term consequences ...

Robert Lauri continuously creates and produces at a dizzying pace and is always offering up new harmonies for the listener. The album "Power in Heaven," a showcase for the New Age style, is now available on major download sites and it will be released soon on CD. Robert Lauri, an eclectic international musician, controls a wide variety of musical genres and the extent of his musical creativity characterizes him as a true artist. The styles differ and are continually renewed, and yet Robert Lauri always follows the same path, that of sincerity. The album ...

University of Rochester Medical Center researchers have pinpointed two genes that are amplified in the worst cases of esophageal cancer, providing data to support a new investigational treatment that targets those same genes. The study, led by Tony Godfrey, Ph.D., a research associate professor of Surgery at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at URMC, was published by the journal Clinical Cancer Research. It explores the chromosomal abnormalities that influence poor survival rates of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), the more common type of esophageal cancer which occurs ...

A fossil unearthed in China in the 1970s of a creature that died about 247 million years ago, originally thought to be a distant relative of both birds and crocodiles, turns out to have come from the crocodile family tree after it had already split from the bird family tree, according to research led by a University of Washington paleontologist. The only known specimen of Xilousuchus sapingensis has been reexamined and is now classified as an archosaur. Archosaurs, characterized by skulls with long, narrow snouts and teeth set in sockets, include dinosaurs as well as ...

Sam VanLaningham can't wait to take the Sikuliaq for a spin. When it's ready for science operations in 2014, the 261-foot research vessel will be capable of drilling Bering Strait seafloor cores in any season. VanLaningham hopes those cores will uncover mysteries about the history of climate change in Alaska. Last week, VanLaningham and several UAF scientists met with other researchers and agency representatives at the first Sikuliaq Science Workshop at Marinette Marine Corporation in Marinette, Wis. At the workshop, scientists presented and discussed some of the many ...

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., May 18, 2011 – Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee have for the first time successfully characterized the earliest structural formation of the disease type of the protein that causes Huntington's disease. The incurable, hereditary neurological disorder is always fatal and affects one in 10,000 Americans. Huntington's disease is caused by a renegade protein "huntingtin" that destroys neurons in areas of the brain concerned with the emotions, intellect and movement. All humans have the ...