Managed Service Provider University (www.mspu.us); the largest consultancy and online resource dedicated to business transformation and improvement strategies for information technology (IT) professionals and managed services providers worldwide, announced today its collaboration with ClearCenter (www.clearcenter.com) and ChannelCloud (www.channelcloud.com) to develop and deliver education, training and fulfillment services to help IT professionals grow revenues with hybrid cloud services and technologies. "This strategic partnership will help clear up market confusion ...

Affordable healthcare access is something most Florida families can use more of. The Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, "FSHCC" is pleased to welcome its newest Corporate Trustee, Allstate Workplace Division, "Allstate". Allstate offers a full range of supplemental insurance policies combined with product illustration and application tools, automatic underwriting capabilities and streamlined payroll deduction and billing. "With Allstate Workplace Division, agents can provide a better level of attention and service to small business owners," explains David Bird, ...

One of the old-timer financial spread betting guides Financial-Spread-Betting.com has returned to the Internet with a much improved look, additional facilities and an overall better user experience. Authored by a trio of experienced traders, the Financial-Spread-Betting.com spread betting guide is an invaluable resource for traders and investors of all levels. Online trading is fast becoming the norm for many retail investors, and Financial-Spread-Betting.com, which already publishes a free online guide to spread betting, recognised the need to move along with the ...

(ORLANDO, December 4, 2010) – Red blood cells (RBCs) have the very important role of carrying oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body; therefore, disorders that affect RBCs can have a significant impact on quality of life. Sickle cell disease and malaria are two common RBC diseases that affect a significant portion of the U.S. and global populations. Sickle cell disease (SCD), a genetic blood disorder that causes deformed and dysfunctional red blood cells, affects an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 Americans,1 while malaria affects approximately 1,500 Americans annually ...

(ORLANDO, December 4, 2010) – The latest advances in the treatment of bleeding and clotting disorders will be presented today at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology, focusing on venous thrombeombolism (VTE), a potentially life-threatening disorder in which abnormal blood clots form in the veins and restrict the flow of blood. New studies examine risk-prediction models and cutting-edge treatment options for patients with VTE. "This innovative research is the driving force behind the advancements in the areas of bleeding and clotting disorders," ...

(ORLANDO, December 4, 2010) – Over the past decade, significant advances have been made in the treatment of leukemia through the ongoing development of gene-based targeted therapies. Research that will be presented today at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology provides greater understanding of the optimal use of several BCR-ABL inhibitors for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and how a new gene target functions for several myeloid malignancies. "Each year, we continue to make significant strides ...

(ORLANDO, December 5, 2010) – The next generation of drug therapies and enhanced treatment approaches for various forms of lymphoma are evolving as researchers continue to better understand how these cancers progress. Research will be presented today at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology introducing promising new options for the standard treatment of advanced asymptomatic follicular lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, and early, unfavorable (referring to patients with clinical stage I or II disease and one or more risk factors) Hodgkin disease. Other ...

(ORLANDO, December 5, 2010) – Results from four innovative studies help answer outstanding questions about stem cell transplant procedures in treating various hematologic malignancies. Research will be presented today at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology reveals that there is no increase in overall cancer risk in people who donate stem cells and that the utilization of a double cord blood stem cell transplant is associated with better overall outcomes when used early in the treatment of acute leukemias. While research shows that the use of an ...

If a strand of your DNA was stretched out completely, it would be more than six feet long. It's hard to imagine that it can fit inside the nucleus of one of your cells, but that's exactly how it works. For much of the last century, scientists have been busy figuring out how DNA is packaged in cells, and have found strong indications that the packaging is integral to how DNA works. The packaging – comprised mostly of an amino acid molecule called a histone – influences the on and off switches of different genes that regulate cellular function and play a role in human ...

New research led by economists at the University of Warwick reveals that medieval England was not only far more prosperous than previously believed, it also actually boasted an average income that would be more than double the average per capita income of the world's poorest nations today. In a paper entitled British Economic Growth 1270-1870 published by the University of Warwick's Centre on Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) the researchers find that living standards in medieval England were far above the "bare bones subsistence" experience ...

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Women with transient restless legs syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy appear to be at a higher risk of developing a chronic form of RLS later in life or have the same symptoms during future pregnancies, according to new research published in the December 7, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. RLS is a sleep-related motor disorder that causes an unpleasant feeling in the legs. The condition generally worsens during rest at night and improves with movement. Symptoms tend to progress with age. "This is ...

Exposure to death and dying does not negatively affect palliative and hospice care professionals and can actually have positive benefits, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj100511.pdf. A study of palliative and hospice care professionals in five centres across Canada over was conducted to explore how death affects their personal lives and practices. Since these professionals are constantly around death and dying, it was thought that their insight could benefit others. Participants reported ...

Patients who are starting dialysis too early are at an increased risk of death, found an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj100349.pdf. Glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is a test that describes the flow rate of fluid going through the kidneys and is associated with early dialysis initiation. Current guidelines in the United States place more emphasis on eGFR dialysis timing. Analysis of dialysis registries in the United States and Europe indicates that patients are starting dialysis earlier. This ...

DALLAS, Dec. 6, 2010 — High blood pressure may help to explain why deaths from heart disease and stroke vary according to geography, race and sex, researchers reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. "Where you live, your race, and your gender strongly influence your risk of developing high blood pressure as you move from young adulthood into middle age — and hypertension is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke," said Deborah A. Levine, M.D., M.P.H., lead study author and assistant professor of internal medicine in the Departments ...

Mary Zutter and colleagues, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, have generated data that lead them to suggest that decreased expression of the protein alpha-2 integrin is predictive of tumor dissemination to distant sites and decreased survival in individuals with either breast or prostate cancer. The researchers first studied the role of the protein alpha-2-beta-1 integrin (which is composed of the alpha-2 integrin protein and the beta-1 integrin protein) in cancer initiation and progression using a clinically relevant, spontaneous mouse model of breast ...

The mammalian embryo relies on physical connections to its mother to survive. After implantation into the wall of the uterus and before the placenta is established, a structure known as the decidua forms and is key to supporting embryonic development. Defective formation of an effective decidua is thought to be a cause of female infertility. A team of researchers, led by Toru Miyazaki, at the University of Tokyo, Japan, has now determined that the protein DEDD is required for the formation of a functional decidua in mice. The authors therefore suggest that it would be interesting ...

Patients in hospitals and healthcare facilities can develop infections as a result of contamination of indwelling medical devices such as catheters with bacteria that are normal inhabitants of the skin of the patient or health care personnel. The bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis is a major cause of such infections. This is in part because of its ability to form biofilms — surface-attached agglomerations of microorganisms that are extremely difficult to eradicate — on indwelling devices. Michael Otto and colleagues, at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, have ...

EDITOR'S PICK: Alpha-2 integrin: a protein predictor of tumor spread? Mary Zutter and colleagues, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, have generated data that lead them to suggest that decreased expression of the protein alpha-2 integrin is predictive of tumor dissemination to distant sites and decreased survival in individuals with either breast or prostate cancer. The researchers first studied the role of the protein alpha-2-beta-1 integrin (which is composed of the alpha-2 integrin protein and the beta-1 integrin protein) in cancer initiation and ...

An expert panel sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has issued comprehensive U.S. guidelines to assist health care professionals in diagnosing food allergy and managing the care of people with the disease. The Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergy in the United States: Report of the NIAID-sponsored Expert Panel, developed over two years, are intended for use by both family practice physicians and medical specialists. Published online by the Journal of Allergy ...

Children who attend large group child care facilities before age 2½ appear to develop more respiratory and ear infections at that age, but fewer such illnesses during elementary school years, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Preschool children in group child care experience more frequent infections than do children cared for primarily at home, and the risk seems greater when children attend larger group child care [facilities]," the authors write as background information in ...

Only about one-fourth of children participating in organized sports—such as baseball, softball or soccer—receive the government-recommended amount of physical activity during team practices, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the April 2011 print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. National guidelines recommend that children and teens perform 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day, but fewer than half of children and 10 percent of teens meet these guidelines, according ...

Dating violence among adolescents is common and those who physically assault dating partners are also likely to have perpetrated violence involving siblings and peers, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "As many as one in ten U.S. high school students reports having been 'hit, slapped or physically hurt on purpose by their boyfriend or girlfriend' in the past year," the authors write as background information in the article. "Research on victims of dating violence has demonstrated ...

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy appears to be similar to maintenance antidepressant medication for preventing relapse or recurrence among patients successfully treated for depression, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Relapse and recurrence after recovery from major depressive disorder are common and debilitating outcomes that carry enormous personal, familial and societal costs," the authors write as background information in the article. The current standard for preventing relapse is ...

The rate of depression treatment increased between 1998 and 2007 but at a slower rate than during the previous decade, and the percentage of patients treated with psychotherapy continued to decline, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Depression is a leading cause of disability, lost productivity and health care expenditure," the authors write as background information in the article. During the 1990s, the rate of depression treatment increased substantially, from 0.73 percent in 1987 to 2.33 ...

Among patients with depression, the presence of many aspects of illness which may be associated with bipolar disorder does not appear to be associated with treatment resistance—evidence against the common hypothesis that some cases of difficult-to-treat depression are actually unrecognized bipolar disorder, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the April 2011 print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, many patients with depression also report psychotic-like symptoms, such as hearing voices or believing ...