An appeals court has recently sided with the Republican-dominated Florida legislature. The court upheld the cap on damages that injured patients can be awarded in medical malpractice cases. Specifically, the cap limits noneconomic damages - pain and suffering - to $500,000 per doctor, as reported by the Miami Herald. Looking at the issue broadly, the existence of a cap on damages arising out of harm from negligence and medical mistakes effectively discredits pain and suffering. Caps send a clear message: that there is no such thing as pain and suffering in medical malpractice ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Yellow starthistle already causes millions of dollars in damage to pastures in western states each year, and as climate changes, land managers can expect the problem with that weed and others to escalate. When exposed to increased carbon dioxide, precipitation, nitrogen and temperature ╨ all expected results of climate change ╨ yellow starthistle in some cases grew to six times its normal size while the other grassland species remained relatively unchanged, according to a Purdue University study published in the early online edition ...

It is the scenario no patient ever wants to endure: having an illness or injury, going to the hospital only to have the condition worsen because of a doctor's mistake. Unfortunately, thousands of patients across the country unwittingly become part of this vicious cycle. Take the case of Ryan and Leah Jeffers, whose two-year-old daughter nearly died while waiting five hours for care in a Sacramento hospital's emergency room; or the case of Ana Jimenez Salgado, a Los Angeles woman who had both of her breasts removed after she was mistakenly diagnosed with breast cancer. While ...

Soaring energy consumption by ever more powerful computers, data centers and mobile devices has many experts looking to reduce the energy use of these devices. Most projects so far focus on more efficient cooling systems or energy-saving power modes. A University of Washington project sees a role for programmers to reduce the energy appetite of the ones and zeroes in the code itself. Researchers have created a system, called EnergJ, that reduces energy consumption in simulations by up to 50 percent, and has the potential to cut energy by as much as 90 percent. They will ...

Hampton Inn Spartanburg - North I-85, a premier Spartanburg SC hotel, offers nearby accommodations to Navy veterans attending the 34th Mighty Moo Festival in Cowpens, South Carolina. The event will be held June 15-18, 2011. The people of Cowpens celebrate their history and honor the veterans and crewmen of the Navy's USS Cowpens CVL25 and the USS Cowpens CG63. The CVL 25 was a WWII era ship nicknamed "Mighty Moo", and the CG63 is a modern naval vessel. Many veterans and their families return each year to attend the four day festival which includes a golf tournament, ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---University of Michigan astronomers examined old galaxies and were surprised to discover that they are still making new stars. The results provide insights into how galaxies evolve with time. U-M research fellow Alyson Ford and astronomy professor Joel Bregman presented their findings May 31 at a meeting of the Canadian Astronomical Society in London, Ontario. Using the Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope, they saw individual young stars and star clusters in four galaxies that are about 40 million light years away. One light year is about ...

Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel Scottsboro offers nearby lodging to travelers attending First Monday Trade Weekend in Scottsboro. Upcoming summer trade days will take place on June 4-6, July 2-4 and July 30 - August 1, 2011 at the Jackson County Courthouse Square. This special trading weekend is a fun activity for visitors to Scottsboro. First Monday in Scottsboro goes back more than 100 years. It began in 1902 as Horse Swapper's Day. After a rather slow beginning, the event was eventually changed to Market Day to give area farmers a place to sell and trade their goods. ...

A simple technique for stamping patterns invisible to the human eye onto a special class of nanomaterials provides a new, cost-effective way to produce novel devices in areas ranging from drug delivery to solar cells. The technique was developed by Vanderbilt University engineers and described in the cover article of the May issue of the journal Nano Letters. The new method works with materials that are riddled with tiny voids that give them unique optical, electrical, chemical and mechanical properties. Imagine a stiff, sponge-like material filled with holes that are ...

Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta Galleria hotel, a premier Smyrna Georgia Hotel near Vinings, is an ideal place for travelers to stay who are planning to attend the Blade Show & International Cutlery Fair. The event will be held June 10-12, 2011 at Atlanta's Cobb Galleria Centre. It is the world's largest combined show of handmade, factory and antique knives. The Blade Show and International Cutlery Fair will showcase over 700 tables and nearly 175 factory booths and products. In addition, the event will feature the Blade Magazine Knife of the Year awards, Blade ...

The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Atlanta Perimeter Hotel North offers convenient lodging to guests attending The Monkees at Chastain Park Amphitheater on Friday June 3, 2011 at 7:00pm. Part of Delta Classic Chastain Concerts presented by Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, The Monkees 45th Anniversary Tour features original group members Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork. This is a table set-up concert; coolers and carry-ins are allowed. The Monkees hit singles and television show debuted 45 years ago. Now in concert again for the first time in a decade, The Monkees ...

As mountain pine beetles march across the forests of western North America, these insects may kill millions of pine trees during a single outbreak. A rise in overall temperatures over the past several years has increased the range of mountain pine beetles, resulting in an epidemic and possibly making this mountain pine beetle infestation the largest forest-insect blight to occur in North America. Dr. Francois Teste and colleagues from the University of Alberta in Canada have been investigating the effect of mountain pine beetle outbreaks on lodgepole pines in British ...

Ann Arbor, Mich. – Children who are bullies or have conduct problems at school, are more likely to be sleepy during the day according to University of Michigan Medical School researchers. Researchers looked at elementary school students in the Ypsilanti, Michigan public schools who had exhibited conduct problems like bullying or discipline referrals and found that there was a two-fold higher risk for symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing, particularly daytime sleepiness among these students. The study was published last week in the journal Sleep Medicine. "What this ...

Despite a state requirement that public middle and high school students get 400 minutes of physical education every 10 days, approximately 1.3 million — more than a third (38 percent) of all adolescents enrolled in California public schools — do not participate in any school-based physical education classes, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Research has shown that a lack of physical activity is associated with obesity, diabetes and other chronic conditions, while regular physical activity is associated with increased ...

URBANA –University of Illinois scientists from a variety of disciplines have teamed up to examine the factors that contribute to childhood obesity. Why? Because individual researchers have found that the problem is too complicated for any of them to tackle alone. "Our Strong Kids team members are looking at such diverse factors as genetic predisposition, the effect of breastfeeding, how much TV a child watches, and the neighborhood he lives in, among many others," said Kristen Harrison of the U of I's Division of Nutritional Sciences. "It seems like the answer should ...

NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and Aqua satellite provided forecasters some insights into the behavior of Super Typhoon Songda over the past weekend. Former Super typhoon Songda brought rainfall to parts of Japan over the weekend and today marine warnings for high surf remain in several Sub-prefecture regions as extra-tropical depression Sondga's remnants push further out to sea. Sub-prefecture regions of Nemuro Chiho, Kushiro Chiho, and Tokachi Chiho still have high wave advisories in place today, May 31, 2011, from the Japanese Meteorological Agency as Sondga's ...

Sheraton Atlanta Perimeter Hotel North, located near Atlanta Perimeter Center, announces a new special savings deal that that lets travelers to Escape with Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Getaway Free. Guests can register by June 30 and earn a Free Award Night redeemable at over 200 luxury resorts around the world when they stay three times from now through July 31, 2011. The Escape with SPG Getaway lets guests: - Earn one Free Award Night for every three stays at over 1,000 hotels and resorts worldwide, including the Sheraton Atlanta Perimeter Hotel North - Redeem ...

Johns Hopkins Children's Center scientists have found that having a regular outpatient mental health provider may not be enough to prevent children and teens with behavioral problems from repeatedly ending up in the emergency room. The study is published in the June 1 issue of the journal Psychiatric Services. Analyzing more than 2,900 records of pediatric patients, ages 3 to 17, treated at the Hopkins Children's ER for mental health crises over eight years, the investigators found that 338 of them (12 percent) returned to the ER within six months of their initial visit. ...

On Tuesday evening, June 7, New York City Outward Bound (http://www.nycoutwardbound.org) will honor New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott at a gala event at Gotham Hall expected to raise over $1 million in support of the achievements of the organization's now-Citywide network of Expeditionary Learning schools. Students Katherine Wei, Marsh Avenue Expeditionary Learning School and Danya Gutierrez, Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School, will present Walcott with the annual Educational Leadership Award, bestowed on an individual who has demonstrated commitment ...

Philadelphia, PA, June 1, 2011 – Although gynecologic cancers account for only 10 percent of all new cancer cases in women, these cancers account for 20 percent of all female cancer survivors. Because long-term survival is now more common, it is increasingly important to detect recurrence. The Clinical Practice Committee of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) has released a Clinical Document outlining their expert recommendations for cancer surveillance, published today in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (AJOG). "The goal of follow-up evaluation ...

An article published in the June issue of BioScience describes the early scale-up stage of a new biotechnology with environmental benefits and possible commercial potential. Algal turf scrubbers are field-sized, water-treatment systems that can extract excess nutrients from streams, canals, and lakes polluted by agricultural, domestic, and some industrial runoff. They use sunlight as their principal source of energy and simultaneously restore oxygen levels. The devices work by pulsing contaminated water across algae that are allowed to grow on screens. Algal turf scrubbers ...

Overweight and obese people looking to drop some pounds and considering one of the popular low-carbohydrate diets, along with moderate exercise, need not worry that the higher proportion of fat in such a program compared to a low-fat, high-carb diet may harm their arteries, suggests a pair of new studies by heart and vascular researchers at Johns Hopkins. "Overweight and obese people appear to really have options when choosing a weight-loss program, including a low-carb diet, and even if it means eating more fat," says the studies' lead investigator exercise physiologist ...

The surgical removal of the appendix and tonsils before the age of 20 was associated with an increased risk of premature heart attack in a large population study performed in Sweden.(1) Tonsillectomy increased the risk by 44% (hazard ratio 1.44) and appendectomy by 33% (HR 1.33). The risk increases were just statistically significant, and were even higher when the tonsils and appendix were both removed. However, there was no risk association evident when the operations were performed in people over the age of 20. Both the appendix and tonsils are lymphoid organs and thus ...

TORONTO, June 1, 2011– Despite significant clinical advances in HIV care, an estimated 25 per cent of new HIV infections in Ontario from 2006 to 2008 were among women, according to a health study by researchers from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and St. Michael's Hospital. The researchers say 93 per cent of new infections among women are acquired through sexual transmission and seven per cent through injection drug use. About 60 per cent of newly infected women are immigrants. The findings, the latest from the POWER (Project for an Ontario Women's ...

Radiology benefit managers (RBMs) — which provide prior authorization for imaging services using proprietary algorithms to determine appropriateness — shift significant costs to physicians and have the potential to either increase or decrease societal costs, according to a study in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (www.jacr.org). RBMs are widely used by private payers to manage the utilization of imaging services through prior authorization, and they have been proposed for use in the Medicare program. "We created a framework for evaluating ...

Imaging utilization on stroke patients is affected by age and imaging capacity — the number of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) machines at any given facility, according to a study in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (www.jacr.org). Advanced medical imaging is a component of health care expenditure growth. Although there are many potential reasons for imaging growth, including that scans have been directly linked to greater life expectancy, declines in cancer mortality rates, and are generally less expensive ...