DALLAS – June 28, 2011 – UT Southwestern Medical Center maternal-fetal specialists have confirmed a potential new protocol to protect pregnant women who are at risk for hepatitis B, a health problem that affects 2 billion people worldwide. An accelerated hepatitis B vaccination schedule for high-risk pregnant women was found effective and well-tolerated. The findings appear in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology. While the normal three-shot regimen of hepatitis B vaccine for adults – given over a six-month period – has long been recommended for pregnant women, that ...

The c-JUN protein was initially described in the late 1980s as the mammalian equivalent of a protein responsible for causing cancer in birds. Intense research in a number of labs has subsequently led to a basic understanding of how the protein works. c-JUN is a transcription factor that modifies (phosphorylates) key regulatory proteins in the cell, thereby activating or deactivating them and leading to unregulated cell division and hence cancer. It has also become clear that c-JUN acts not on its own but in conjunction with an array of further proteins that modulate ...

A team of researchers investigated a desert tortoise from the Southwest USA and northwestern Mexico. What was thought to be a simple problem in species identification turned out to be a very complex matter. Their investigations required forensic genetics and several other methods. In the end, they found it necessary to describe a new species. More than that, the discovery has very important implications for conservation and the development of the deserts of southern California. Since the original description of Agassiz's Land Tortoise, scientifically called Gopherus agassizii, ...

Whether in a leading or supporting role, third-party firms specializing in a vendor's applications implement them more adeptly than the vendor itself for all but one vendor -- often by a wide margin, according to a new KLAS study. For the report, Clinical Implementation Services: High in Demand But More Specialized in Need, healthcare providers reported contracting out implementation work to 30 different companies, from smaller boutique firms to the software vendors themselves. Every vendor, except for Epic, was outstripped by third-parties specializing in the vendors' ...

At their largest US show to date, Florence & the Machine debuted new music to a sold-out Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA (produced under the direction of Another Planet Entertainment). Playing under the stars to a capacity crowd, the band celebrated their debut album, Lungs (released 2009), with a 90-minute set that set the stage for a victory lap across America. The band reveled in the moment, clearly excited to deliver fresh material. What Water Gave Me offered the audience insight into the band's creative process as they flesh out ideas for a new release. Highlighted ...

Milan, Italy, 28 June 2011 – Egocentric, self-centred, and insensitive to the needs of others: these social problems often arise in people with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and have been attributed in part to a loss of emotional empathy, the capacity to recognise and understand the emotions of other people. Given that traumatic brain injuries are becoming more common, and resulting empathy deficits can have negative repercussions on social functioning and quality of life, it is increasingly important to understand the processes that shape emotional empathy. A new ...

Biocides turn out to be less toxic for the environment if they are subjected to microencapsulation, due to the fact that this process forms shell(s) for the substance. This is the conclusion of chemist Ms Mariluz Alonso in a thesis defended at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). In this research, she chose a number of biocides and other complementary substances, seeking a micro-encapsulation which, besides being compatible with the environment, is more soluble in water, more manageable for the operator, with better conditions of conservation, and effective against ...

On June 22, 2011, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf set a new world record for magnetic fields with 91.4 teslas. To reach this record, Sergei Zherlitsyn and his colleagues at the High Magnetic Field Laboratory Dresden (HLD) developed a coil weighing about 200 kilograms in which electric current create the giant magnetic field – for a period of a few milliseconds. The coil survived the experiment unscathed. "With this record, we're not really that interested in reaching top field values, but instead in using it for research in materials science," explains Joachim ...

Designer lingerie seller Journelle, Inc. has launched a Facebook contest that awards the winner with $1,200 worth of lingerie. To be eligible to win Journelle's "Calendar Girl" sweepstakes and receive $100 worth of fine lingerie every month for a year, contestants must complete an entry form with her name, date of birth, e-mail address, telephone number, and click on Journelle's "Like" button on Facebook . Entrants must be 18 years of age or older. The contest ends at midnight on July 4, 2011. Purchases from a Journelle store are not required for ...

"White pasta is one example of a product which in some cases has received a bad reputation because of a high GI. However, white pasta produces just as good a blood glucose response as wholewheat pasta", says Liza Rosén, doctor in applied nutrition at Lund University in Sweden. The reason why wheat pasta has sometimes been assigned a confusingly high value is that GI only considers the entire area under the blood sugar curve. In contrast to what many believe, GI does not take fluctuations in blood sugar into account. This puts foods with a long and fairly low curve at ...

Designing fiber optic networks involves finding the most efficient way to connect phones and computers that are in different places – a costly and time-consuming process. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a model that can find optimal connections 10,000 times more quickly, using less computing power to solve the problem. "Problems that used to take days to solve can now be solved in just a few seconds," says Dr. George Rouskas, computer science professor at NC State and author of a paper describing the new method. The model could solve ...

Targeted multi-drug treatments for hepatitis C patients that could stop the virus in its tracks have come a step closer, thanks to researchers at the University of Leeds, UK. The study by Dr Stephen Griffin and colleagues, published in the journal Hepatology, reveals how two prototype small molecule drugs, known as p7 inhibitors, can each attack different parts of the hepatitis C virus. Their findings suggest that p7 inhibitors could be a powerful way of suppressing hepatitis C, when used together with the latest generation of 'direct-acting' drugs. More than 170 million ...

Texts without spaces are not very legible, as they make it very difficult for the reader to identify where a word begins and where it ends. When genetic information in our cells is read and translated into proteins, the enzymes responsible for this task face a similar challenge. They must find the correct starting point for protein synthesis. Therefore, in organisms with no real nucleus, a point exists shortly before the start codon, to which the enzymes can bind particularly well. This helps them find the starting point itself. However, genes that do not have this sequence ...

RakeTheRake's rebranded website is offering online poker players an opportunity to win an autographed Pele shirt as part of its three months of relaunch promotions, running until 31 July 2011. The promotions provide an extra $100k+ of prizes in addition to the regular $500k+ of monthly promotions at RakeTheRake.com. Pele memorabilia is highly sought after and never more so than when it carries his authentic autograph. This classic Brazil shirt, framed, and signed by the great man, is a replica of the one worn by him in 1970 when he became the first player to win three ...

Physical exercise has a positive effect on the formation of cells in the intervertebral discs. This is shown by a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, presented at the annual meeting of the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS), which is currently taking place in Gothenburg. The study from the Sahlgrenska Academy shows that physical activity has a positive effect on cells in the intervertebral discs. The result is based on rats undergoing treadmill exercise. It was subsequently studied how many new cells in the intervertebral ...

A cellulose powder has been used increasingly for many years against allergic rhinitis. Still, there has been a shortage of scientific evidence for its efficacy in seasonal allergic rhinitis (hay fever), particularly in children. Now, however, scientists from the Sahlgrenska Academy and the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of Gothenburg have proven that the cellulose powder reduces symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis in children, without any adverse effects. The powder is produced from pine trees and forms a barrier on the mucous membrane ...

Use of vitamin D supplements during pregnancy has long been a matter of concern but now researchers writing in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research report that even a high supplementation amount in healthy pregnant women was safe and effective in raising circulating vitamin D to a level thought by some to be optimal. The study also found no adverse effects of vitamin D supplementation, even at the highest amount, in women or their newborns. The research team, led by Dr. Bruce Hollis from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, used a randomized controlled ...

Many reading tasks require individuals to not only read a document, but also to understand, learn from and retain the information in it. For this type of reading, experts recommend a process called active reading, which involves highlighting, outlining and taking notes on the text. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed software that facilitates an innovative approach to active reading. Taking advantage of touch-screen tablet computers, the LiquidText software enables active readers to interact with documents using finger motions. LiquidText ...

Beginning July 1, teenagers who are convicted of having consensual sex with a teen younger than 16 will no longer have their name added to Michigan's sex registry, provided they weren't more than four years older than their partner at the time of the offense. Of equal importance, the new legislation also affords people who have already been convicted of this sex crime - under the aforementioned circumstances - to petition the court for their removal from the state sex registry. "This presents a rare opportunity for many people to clear their name - people who would ...

Children and adolescents who eat candy tend to weigh less than their non-consuming counterparts, according to a new study published in Food & Nutrition Research, a peer-reviewed journal. This is potentially important news given the current state of the childhood obesity epidemic. But lead researcher Carol O'Neil, PhD, MPH, LDN, RD, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, wants to ensure the study is put into perspective. "The study illustrates that children and adolescents who consume candy are less likely to be overweight or obese," O'Neil said. "However, ...

ESA's XMM-Newton space observatory has watched a faint star flare up at X-ray wavelengths to almost 10 000 times its normal brightness. Astronomers believe the outburst was caused by the star trying to eat a giant clump of matter. The flare took place on a neutron star, the collapsed heart of a once much larger star. Now about 10 km in diameter, the neutron star is so dense that it generates a strong gravitational field. The clump of matter was much larger than the neutron star and came from its enormous blue supergiant companion star. "This was a huge bullet of gas ...

The Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta Airport Hotel (North, I-85) offers convenient lodging to attendees of the National Black Arts Festival, a celebration of the art, music, and culture of people of African descent. The summer festival takes place July 7-17, with a few visual arts exhibitions running longer. The main weekend of the festival is July 15-17, with events taking place at Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta. There are scheduled musical and dance performances as well as an International Marketplace and children's activities. Exhibitions of visual arts, ...

British researchers have identified specific resistance mutations for two classes of p7 inhibitor, which may explain their lack of effectiveness in clinical trials combined with current standard of care. Study results support the role of p7 inhibitor combinations as potential components of future HCV-specific therapies and are available in the July issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. More than 3% of the world population is infected with HCV, which causes severe liver disease. ...

This release is available in French. Montreal, June 28, 2011 —Canadians aren't the only people concerned with weather, eh? A new study from McGill and Concordia universities observed pedestrians in nine cities around the world and found people are less likely to walk when temperatures dip below zero, when there's too much rain or too much snow. Published in the journal Environment and Behavior, the study was conducted over 170 days from late fall to early summer. "A 5 degree Celsius increase in temperature was associated with a 14 per cent increase in pedestrians," ...

The Eatery on Beach Street has a new look on the inside and new menu items like Burger Diane and weekly specials like Friday's steak gone wild. The restaurant even has a new logo featuring a wine glass and new tagline. The new logo and the new look are part of the restaurant's effort to attract a clientele that likes made-from-scratch American food with fresh ingredients and a creative twist. "Chef Don likes to surprise patrons with a dish that mixes unexpected flavors or recreates a favorite recipe in a new form," said co-owner Cindy Gifford. She mentioned ...