Suspicious packages and powders have triggered more than 30,000 responses by U.S. law enforcement agencies across the country since 2001. These events are expensive, time-consuming and potentially dangerous. To help first responders at all levels of government deal safely and more effectively with suspected biothreat agents, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and a broad team of federal, state and local agencies and other organizations worked together to update an existing standard for sample collection and develop overall guidance for when to collect ...

As the cholera epidemic in Haiti continues to rage, public health workers are focusing their efforts on treating the tens of thousands who have already been hospitalized with cholera-like symptoms and providing clean water and adequate sanitation to control the disease's spread. Could the United States be doing more to help the situation? In an editorial published in the November 24, 2010, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, vaccine and infectious disease specialists Matthew Waldor of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Peter Hotez of George Washington University ...

In the scorching summer heat of the Chihuahuan Desert in southwest Texas, air temperatures can hover around 97°F (36°C) while at the surface of the soil temperatures can exceed 158°F (70°C). Encountering these extreme temperatures, plants must utilize creative methods to not only survive but thrive under these difficult and potentially lethal conditions. This new work by Dr. Gretchen North and colleagues, published in the December issue of American Journal of Botany (http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/reprint/ajb.1000286v1), sheds light on how one desert resident, the cactus ...

Scientists have discovered an amazingly simple way that cells stabilize their machinery for forcing apart chromosomes. Their findings are reported Nov. 25 in Nature. When a cell gets ready to split into new cells, this stable set-up permits its genetic material to be separated and distributed accurately. Otherwise, problem cells – like cancer cells— arise. The human body contains more than a trillion cells, and every single cell needs to have the exact same set of chromosomes. Mistakes in moving chromosomes during cell division can lead to babies being born with ...

Merrill Corporation (www.merrillcorp.com), a leading global provider of technology-enabled services, today announced its Lextranet Certification Program for contract attorney reviewers. Lextranet is a single, secure and scalable online review and hosting platform that provides on-demand access for easy review of small or large document collections. The program will enhance Merrill's integrated hosting and review offering by ensuring that reviewers have the knowledge and skills necessary to maximize the features built into Lextranet. "As a result of the training, document ...

The Brainchild Group, a collection of marketing professionals and foodies, is excited to announce the launch of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Social Media Marketing campaigns for food trucks around the world. You asked for it, and it's finally here. The Brainchild Group is best known for implementing revolutionary, catchy online marketing campaigns for a variety of businesses ranging from mom-and-pop shops to top restaurants to Fortune 500 companies. Such expertise is combined with a true passion for food to produce marketing campaigns that connect and interact ...

All Crib Mattresses is pleased to announce the launch of a new website devoted to helping parents choose a safe crib mattress. Daniela Kelly, owner of the site, says, "A large portion of crib mattresses are unsafe and can even cause death. This is why I started this site, to help parents make a better decision." The website offers information about different types of mattresses for cribs and breaks them down into price groups that make it easier for parents to select a high quality, affordable crib mattress. It even makes recommendations for the best crib mattress on ...

Kent Station celebrates the 2010 holiday season with the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus this Saturday, November 27. The jolly couple will welcome shoppers and visitors at 10 a.m. at the Fountain Stage outside Kent Station's AMC Theatres. Following their official welcome, Santa and Mrs. Claus will hold court at the Hip Santa House where children and well-behaved pets may have their photos taken, and adults can take Santa's patented "naughty or nice" test. Photos are offered at a discount in exchange for donations of nonperishable food items and new, unwrapped toys for ...

This workshop is designed for physicians that see patients who suffer from Dizziness, Vertigo, Unsteadiness and Propensity to Fall. As a greater segment of the U.S. population grows, doctors are likely to see many more of these types of patients in the future. In fact, Medicare estimates the cost to treat patients who suffer injuries related to falls will reach $20 billion dollars by 2020. Dizziness, disequilibrium, and vertigo are often poorly localizing symptoms and are difficult for patients to describe and therefore difficult for physicians to successfully diagnose ...

The National Christmas Tree in Washington DC, is scheduled to be illuminated on Thursday, December 9, 2010 and NBC continues to roll out the holiday festivities on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 (8-9 p.m. ET/PT) with The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York NY, one of the season's most treasured traditions, the 78th annual tree lighting extravaganza dates back to the Great Depression. Bringing the holidays home, June Blunt of Aruntx.US Premium Shopping, a division of Aruntx Publishing Company, in a recent interview stated "consumers are increasingly using the online ...

After years of engineering and development, KVA STAINLESS is introducing its new, patented, custom-made stainless steel bicycle tube sets for high-performance bicycle frame applications. Next year, the company plans on introducing bike tube sets for mountain bikes. You can purchase on-line or give the company a call... Already proven by KVA STAINLESS in other industries, patented KVA STAINLESS martensitic stainless structural tubing can now be integrated into high performance bicycle frames to reduce weight, increase strength and stiffness, at a significant cost savings ...

Source Capital Funding, Inc., a San Diego-based private real estate lender, continues to achieve record results in 2010, as the company finishes the month of October having closed 42 loans and funded $8.975MM in loans, year-to-date. The firm has seen business triple over the course of the year as prospective borrowers look to take advantage of attractive real estate price. Source Capitals and its investors are investing in low-risk first trust deeds with solid monthly returns. Source Capital Funding has a strong reputation in the community, as well as the knowledge and ...

Equestrian Style author Vicky Moon brings her lyrical writing touch and her expansive eye to the world of possibilities the game of golf has inspired with her new book, Golf Style: Homes and Collections Inspired by the Course and the Clubhouse (Clarkson Potter, on sale December 7, 2010). With more than 500 photos and in-depth stories about the characters, the courses, the clubhouses, the traditions, the innovations, and the historical moments that make up the stuff of legend, Golf Style is the most comprehensive book ever for lovers of the sport and its iconic style. Whether ...

The economic crisis in 2008 gave an extra impulse to companies implementing 'green' data center practices, with reduced energy consumption leading to lower bills, cites a November 3rd article in "The New York Times" titled, "Data Centers Tighten Energy Belts." The hostile economic climate turned out to be a catalyst for green information technology, the article said. This worldwide initiative of implementing 'green' technology for financial savings is not the only benefit, indicates market research firm SBI Energy in the study, "ICT Energy Efficiency: Commercial and ...

As the economic landscape still looks barren, more families will be turning to charities for support during the holidays. One organization is making a difference for children and families served by Hillsides, a Pasadena foster care charity that serves 6,900 children and families living in Los Angeles County. The National Charity League Chapter of Pasadena is making Thanksgiving dinner a reality for Hillsides Family Center clients. The National Charity League members collected food baskets and grocery scrip and delivered them to Hillsides. These baskets, arranged with ...

American Medical Sales and Repair has been a top name in the world of home and portable oxygen therapy systems for more than 20 years. With the recent expansion of their company and website, the Oxygen Concentrator Store offers the widest selection available in home and portable oxygen concentrator systems at the best prices, including oxygen concentrator accessories, as well as extensive service and warranty coverage. The Oxygen Concentrator Store also offers the top-selling, industry-leading Platinum 10 Home Oxygen Concentrator by Invacare at the best price available ...

FreightCenter.com, a nationwide provider of online freight and logistics services, is reminding individuals of specific online tools available to help directly display instant freight shipping prices for those heavy, large items or gift ideas as we move closer to the holidays. While options and tools abound for shipping for smaller items, there have not been tools to display rates for shipping larger items via freight. FreightCenter has free and simple shipping calculators available to show the cost of freight shipping and help increase conversions and sales for all online ...

BusinessSummaries.com, one of the leading e-commerce sites for business book summaries has recently released the abridged version of one of the business bestsellers "The Digital Handshake" by Paul Chaney. This executive book summary is now accessible to subscribers in PDF, PDA, Powerpoint, audio, video and Mindmap formats. Throughout the book, Chaney cites examples of both small and large businesses that have benefited from incorporating social media into their marketing strategies. The book should be read cover-to-cover, as many of the devices and online resources ...

Several of Atlanta's largest corporations and non-profits recently joined e-VERIFILE.COM Inc in the first in a series of "brainstorming" sessions that focus on leveraging new technologies to achieve diversity goals. The sessions are part of e-VERIFILE's Executive Forward Forum (EF2) initiative which seeks to bring together innovative leaders to identify trends and exchange ideas on the technological advances that can impact their success. "America's future lies in its diversity and we appreciate the opportunity to develop a program whereby businesses and government can ...

Pressure Systems, manufacturer of precision level pressure instrumentation for environmental water usage and water resource applications, now offers the TruBlue 575 Baro transducer that measures and logs barometric pressure as well as temperature with extreme accuracy. The new absolute, non-submersible 575 Baro has an internal memory of 8 MB and can store up to 550,000 data points. Its internal 3.6 V lithium battery, with on-board surge protection, has a lifespan of five years, making this new transducer ideal for groundwater and surface water data collection and monitoring ...

The City of Mississauga has partnered with Biddingo.com, Canada's leading electronic tendering solutions provider. Mississauga's continuous effort to be open, fair and transparent has led the City to move forward and utilize the most effective and efficient method to advertise and distribute bid documents - Biddingo.com. All of the City's procurement related information will now be available at its central procurement page: http://www.Biddingo.com/Mississauga. Vendors will no longer need to drive to the purchasing desk to purchase procurement documents, or to request ...

Matrox Graphics Inc. today announced that U.S. Electronics, Inc. (USEI) is now selling Matrox Xenia and Xenia Pro display controller boards and recommends the feature-rich Xenia Series triple-monitor controller boards for medical imaging professionals who are upgrading current or deploying new PACS and Mammography workstations. RSNA attendees are encouraged to stop by USEI booth # 3813 (Hall A, South Building, McCormick Place), from November 28-December 3, to witness Matrox Xenia Series powering 3MP and 5MP displays in a mammography workstation. "The Matrox Xenia and ...

Amazing Kids! (amazing-kids.org) announced today that 10 year old Perry Chen, an award-winning movie reviewer and budding animator/filmmaker, has joined the all-kids staff of the Amazing Kids! Online Magazine (mag.amazing-kids.org), an award-winning kid-created publication recently named one of the Top 24 "Great Web Sites for Kids" by the American Library Association under the category of "Writing By Kids." Perry is the latest Amazing Kids! Reporter and columnist to join the publication, and will serve as the columnist for the magazine's new "Amazing Kids Movie Reviews" ...

Metro and MERS/Goodwill, two of the Bi-State region's largest organizations, set out to collect 4,000 coats in the month of November for their first "Donate & Ride" Coat Donation Drive. The Drive is in its third week, with nearly 1,200 coats collected at four of the MetroLink Park-Ride locations (Brentwood I-64, Fairview Heights, North Hanley and Shrewsbury). "The community's participation in the 'Donate & Ride' Coat Donation Drive thus far is very good," said Dr. Lewis Chartock, President and CEO of MERS/Goodwill. "More coats are still needed in order to reach our ...

With the European Union poised to regulate probiotics, and with probiotic supplement sales increasing dramatically in the United States, Americans need to know what they're buying, and how these products can affect their health. "Currently, there are not these types of regulations in the U.S. As European regulations raise the bar in the probiotic industry world wide, U.S. consumers are still faced with a confusing array of immune system supplements, ingredients and health benefits claims," said Russian-trained microbiologist Dr. Liubov Shynkarenko, a veteran of Soviet ...