A team of researchers from the Czech University of Life Sciences discovered four new species of jewel beetles (Buprestidae) from South-eastern Asia. This family of beetles is named for their particularly beautiful body and fascinating, shiny colours. "All new species belong to the genus Philanthaxia. Before the publication of this study, 61 species had been known from this genus. Currently, it comprises of 65 species, with a primarily Southeast-Asian distribution, except for two species extending to the Australasian region", said Oto Nakládal, a co-author of the study. The ...

In a world - a mobile world - where the words "cool" and "useful" are the primary ways to describe smartphone apps worth buying, apps provided by law firms have very seldom been described as cool or useful. Will the Accident Toolkit, sponsored by the Miami personal injury lawyers of Ferrer Shane, be any different? It actually might. Many commentators have stated that lawyers' smartphone apps are just another marketing gimmick and will do very little to attract consumer interest, especially when it comes to those apps that are likely to be ...

WACO, Texas (July 7, 2011) – Research universities with an organizational climate that actively supports commercialization and encourages interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers are more likely to produce invention disclosures and patent applications, according to a Baylor University study. Published online June 29 in the Journal of Research Policy, the study by Emily Hunter, Ph.D., assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business, showed that a favorable organizational climate had a sizeable and direct ...

Children may face a difficult transition when newly divorced parents first start sharing their children's time with one another.Young children may have a difficult time understanding the new situation. However, by explaining as simply as possible the prospective changes in living arrangements -- before they occur -- and speaking to your child about how both parents will still love and care for him or her no matter what changes take place and no matter where everyone lives, the effect of a difficult transition can be minimized for the child, and undue worry and distress ...

A new technique which targets antibiotic-resistant bacteria and shields patients from the toxic parts of an antibiotic drug has been developed by Cardiff University scientists. Dr Elaine Ferguson from Cardiff University's School of Dentistry has utilised a new technique which attaches tiny nano-sized biodegradable polymers to the antibiotic drug - colistin. Use of the drug colistin to fight infection has been limited as it is known to be toxic to the kidneys and nerves despite the fact that it has been found to be effective against new multi-drug resistant bacteria, ...

Hearing has a key role in the acquisition of speech, but 2 of every 1000 children are born with a hearing impairment. Early diagnosis and treatment can help these children learn to speak. In the latest issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, Martin Ptok of Hannover Medical School explores whether screening of newborns reliably detects hearing defects, the benefits of early diagnosis, and the potential risks of newborn hearing screening (Dtsch Arztebl Int; 108(25): 426-31). Professor Ptok concludes that the current scientific evidence favors universal neonatal hearing ...

OTTAWA, July 7, 2011 – Family doctors are reluctant to disclose identifiable patient information, even in the context of an influenza pandemic, mostly in an effort to protect patient privacy. A recently published study by Dr. Khaled El Emam the Canada Research Chair in Electronic Health Information at the University of Ottawa and the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute recently found that during the peak of the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, there was still reluctance to report detailed patient information for public health purposes. These results are important ...

The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is offering those with undisclosed offshore bank accounts an opportunity to get current on their tax returns. The 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) seeks to bring taxpayers with undisclosed foreign bank accounts - whether in the Cayman Islands, Europe, South America or Asia - into compliance with United States tax laws. Taxpayers who have undisclosed offshore accounts are eligible to apply to the 2011 OVDI. The program requires disclosing unreported income from 2003 through 2010 and filing amended tax ...

Scientists at the University of Southampton have developed smart nanomaterials, which can disrupt the blood supply to cancerous tumours. The team of researchers, led by Physics lecturer Dr Antonios Kanaras, showed that a small dose of gold nanoparticles can activate or inhibit genes that are involved in angiogenesis - a complex process responsible for the supply of oxygen and nutrients to most types of cancer. "The peptide-functionalised gold nanoparticles that we synthesised are very effective in the deliberate activation or inhibition of angiogenic genes," said Dr ...

Researchers have discovered a way to capture and harness energy transmitted by such sources as radio and television transmitters, cell phone networks and satellite communications systems. By scavenging this ambient energy from the air around us, the technique could provide a new way to power networks of wireless sensors, microprocessors and communications chips. "There is a large amount of electromagnetic energy all around us, but nobody has been able to tap into it," said Manos Tentzeris, a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering ...

The landscape of audits and health care compliance has been impacted significantly by the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Under PPACA, the Medicare hospice benefit underwent changes related to both documentation and billing requirements. It is important fo rproviders to recognize these changes and adjust their procedures accordingly. Failure to comply with these new requirements may leave providers vulnerable to claim denials and overpayment recoupment in a future RAC or other Medicare audit. Hospice Certification In order for ...

As the RACs continue to focus on medical necessity issues in inpatient hospital admissions, hospitals are left with few good options to effectively address these issues. The Medicare definitions regarding the terms "inpatient" and "outpatient" are circuitous and do not give hospitals much guidance, if any, as to when patients should be kept in outpatient observation as opposed to being admitted as an inpatient. If these admissions are subsequently audited, a RAC's decision that the services were medically necessary but should have been performed in a ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. –Children who witness domestic violence are more likely to be in abusive intimate relationships and experience psychological problems such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adulthood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A University of Missouri researcher has found that certain protective factors foster resilience and increase the likelihood that the cycle of violence will end for women who, as children, were exposed to their mothers' battering. Kim Anderson, associate professor in the MU School of Social Work, found that ...

Virginia's many bays, estuaries and rivers are a magnet for the quarter of a million registered watercraft in the state, especially during the summer months. Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac and other waterways provide many great destinations for a day of fishing or pleasure boating. But these waters can quickly turn dangerous when power boats or jet skis are piloted by drunk or otherwise negligent operators. Recently released statistics reveal that 2010 was a less deadly year for Virginia boaters. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) recently released national statistics on boating ...

New Rochelle, NY, July 7, 2011—Companies that try to increase sales of their products by adopting the color pink and pink ribbons to imply that they support breast cancer research—a practice called pinkwashing—but at the same time permit the use of chemicals shown to cause cancer are committing a form of social injustice against women, according to a thought-provoking article in Environmental Justice, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com) The entire issue is available online at www.liebertpub.com/env Amy Lubitow, Portland State ...

As the spring legislation session ends, many are wondering about the cluster of anti drunk driving bills that failed to garner support. The session began with lawmakers vowing to pass tougher laws that would keep more offenders off the road. Ultimately, lawmakers only agreed to send one proposal to the governor's office. One proposal called for deferred adjudication for first time offenders, but it was defeated. It would have allowed for them to be acquitted if they completed court ordered treatment and supervision. Proponents believed it would help offenders get the ...

LA JOLLA, CA – July 7, 2011 – Annually changing flu vaccines with their hit-and-miss effectiveness may soon give way to a single, near-universal flu vaccine, according to a new report from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell. They describe an antibody that, in animal tests, can prevent or cure infections with a broad variety of influenza viruses, including seasonal and potentially pandemic strains. The finding, published in the journal Science Express on July 7, 2011, shows the influenza subtypes neutralized with ...

The state of Idaho has an unusually high rate of bicyclist injuries and fatalities, according to statistics from 2009. Children and young adults who do not wear helmets when they ride are the most common victims of injury-causing bicycle accidents. However, Idaho does not currently have a bicycle helmet statute, so bicyclists who choose not to wear helmets are not violating any laws. While it is difficult to know how much a universal bicycle helmet law would reduce bicyclist injuries and deaths, such a law is a good place for Idaho to start. Bicycle Crashes According ...

LA JOLLA, CA - Researchers at the Salk Institute have been able to genetically incorporate "unnatural" amino acids, such as those emitting green fluorescence, into neural stem cells, which then differentiate into brain neurons with the incandescent "tag" intact. They say this new technique, described in the June 16 online issue of Stem Cells, may help scientists probe the mysteries of many different kinds of stem cells in humans as well as the cells they produce. This could be a boon to both basic and clinical research, such as helping to speed development of stem cell-based ...

"Our visual system is tuned towards perceiving other people. We spend so much time doing that—seeing who they are, what they are doing, what they intend to do," says psychology professor Nikolaus F. Troje of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. This process is called biological motion perception, and humans are so good at it that even a few dots on a screen representing the major joints of a body are enough to retrieve all the information we need—as long as they move. But what role does motion play in that process? Does the visual system use it only to connect the ...

Organizations and programs have been set up all over the globe in the hopes of urging people to end prejudice. According to a research article, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, such programs may actually increase prejudices. Lisa Legault, Jennifer Gutsell and Michael Inzlicht, from the University of Toronto Scarborough, were interested in exploring how one's everyday environment influences people's motivation toward prejudice reduction. The authors conducted two experiments ...

DETROIT – Biology textbooks maintain that the main function of sex is to promote genetic diversity. But Henry Heng, Ph.D., associate professor in WSU's Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, says that's not the case. Heng and fellow researcher Root Gorelick, Ph.D., associate professor at Carleton University in Canada, propose that although diversity may result from a combination of genes, the primary function of sex is not about promoting diversity. Rather, it's about keeping the genome context – an organism's complete collection of genes arranged by chromosome ...

DETROIT – Contrary to popular belief, so-called hypoallergenic dogs do not have lower household allergen levels than other dogs. That's the conclusion of a study by Henry Ford Hospital researchers who sought to evaluate whether hypoallergenic dogs have a lower dog allergen in the home than other dogs. Hypoallergenic dogs are believed to produce less dander and saliva and shed less fur. The findings are to be published online this month in the American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy. The study will be available at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ocean/ajra "We ...

You've done your homework and listened to all the experts and their admonitions that everyone should have a will. Then, as it often does, life intervenes and you now find yourself in a divorce. What do you do with your will now? The Virginia General Assembly recognized that this could cause problems. If you died suddenly, you probably wouldn't want all of your wealth and assets being transferred to your ex-spouse. Section 64.1-59 of the 1950 Code of Virginia was created to modify your will automatically immediately upon divorce. A court in a case notes: "The ...

Selection has begun for a grand jury requested by acting Pennsylvania Attorney General William Ryan in April. The statewide grand jury will be made up of citizens from several Pennsylvania counties, and 23 jurors will ultimately be selected, as well as an alternate pool of 200 people. We use the word "grand" to describe these juries because of their size, but they also carry out an important part of the criminal justice process. Grand juries are convened in Pennsylvania to investigate allegations of criminal activity, and they can have either statewide or county ...