Rafael Nadal will hope his clay court invincibility remains intact when he defends his French Open title at Roland Garros in Paris. The Grand Slam event was won by the Spaniard in 2010 during a two-year unbeaten streak on this type of court, but Novak Djokovic recently brought that record to an end at the Madrid Masters. Nadal will still be one of the favourites at the French Open, but competitors will believe there is a chance he can be defeated. Djovokic will certainly fancy his chances, given that he is on an enviable run of form in 2011. In the 2010 ladies' ...

The Bondi Bergstation is set to transform Sydney's best known and most popular beach into a winter wonderland when it gets underway at the end of next month. Installed as part of the 2011 Bondi Winter Festival (BWF), the Bergstation - located on the boardwalk beside the sandy stretch - will offer everything from ice skating to apres ski activities. One of the country's largest outdoor ice rinks measuring 800 sq m will be opened at the site, surrounded by food stalls selling delicacies from more than 20 countries known for their love of winter sports. Among the ...

Jeff Peterson is set to perform for an audience in Shanghai next month in a special concert entitled The Most Romantic Songs from the Sky of Hawaii. The versatile musician, who hails from the group of Pacific Ocean islands, will take the stage at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center on June 4th 2011 as part of its Saturday Brunch programme. Other highlights of the concert series have included the Shanghai City Symphony Orchestra's We All Love Beethoven and Great Songs from the Best-Loved Classical Movies featuring the Shanghai Light Music Orchestra. Peterson, a native ...

Pan American Metals of Miami (PAMOM) is pleased to report further encouraging news from the markets today, Thursday. Market analyst Jim Wyckoff of Kitco News stated that Thursday was a "moral victory for the precious metals bulls as the markets made a strong recovery..." with gold, in particular, showing modest but steady gains. The consensus is that, while investors should remain cautious, gold is definitely holding its own. The combination of a weakening of the dollar and a rise in the price of crude oil supported gold's recovery throughout Thursday's trading. ...

Nicole Sjoberg has it all. Blessed with a beautiful five octave voice, acting ability that belies her good looks, perfect figure and that certain "it" factor that has both men and women alike drawn to her many talents. It's rare in the entertainment business when a beautiful woman can capture the hearts of men while at the same time building a female following that adores her just as much. Welcome to the world of Vision City Entertainment's Nicole Sjoberg. Along with her well rounded business partner and video producer/photographer /music manager and record ...

Ivera Medical Corporation, headquartered in San Diego, CA, filed suit against Excelsior Medical Corporation of Neptune, NJ, for patent infringement arising under the patent laws of the United States of America, 35 U.S.C. Section 1, et seq. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, Tyler, TX (Civil Case No. 11-cv-0426-W-WMC.) Ivera manufactures, markets, and sells the Curos Port Protector, a device that disinfects and protects the entry port on certain types of valves used with intravenous lines to help reduce bloodstream infections in ...

Jagged Peak, Inc. (OTC BB: JGPK), a leading provider of enterprise-class eCommerce solutions and supply chain services announced today that Michael Mercier has joined the executive leadership team at Jagged Peak as Sr. Vice President of Business Development and Strategy. In this new role, Michael will primarily focus on opening new markets and overseeing global business development efforts. Prior to joining Jagged Peak, Michael had the distinction of being both a Jagged Peak supplier as well as a client. That relationship was developed during his 16-year tenure at Towne ...

On Saturday, May 21 from 12 noon to 4 p.m., the Village of Questa at Mountain House is hosting a special kind of open house, and inviting the world around it to join the "100% Celebration" party. This community-wide festival gives area home shoppers a great day of food, fun and model home tours at Questa, the newest village of Mountain House. "Superior, attainable new homes put Mountain House on the map, and now we're adding new selections," said Adam Hieb, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Shea Homes Northern California. "Our '100% ...

ATS 2011, DENVER – Waiting to seek emergency medical care for asthma exacerbations can result in worse outcomes, including hospitalization, according to a study conducted by researchers from New York. Patients who delay regular medical care also were sicker when finally seen by a doctor than patients who sought care when asthma exacerbations first occurred. The study will be presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver. "An important aspect of managing asthma is for patients to realize when they can handle exacerbations with help from their regular doctors, ...

ATS 2011, DENVER – A new program developed by researchers at Pennsylvania State College of Medicine and Pennsylvania State University may make it easier for patients with moderate/severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to make critical decisions regarding their care as their disease worsens. The computer-based decision aid (CDA) is designed to educate patients about planning for end-of-life decisions without diminishing hope, according to the researchers. The results of the study will be presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver. According ...

ATS 2011, DENVER – A miniature, easy-to-carry ventilation system with a simple nasal mask may help patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) become more active, according to research conducted at medical centers in California and Utah. The compact design offers an attractive alternative to currently available larger, less comfortableventilators and masks. The results of the study will be presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver. "The results from this study suggest that miniature ventilation systems with non-sealing, low profile ...

ATS 2011, DENVER – Telemonitoring may offer promise for patients in remote locations without access to specially trained intensive care physicians. However, a recent study indicates telemonitoring does not offer improved clinical outcomes compared to patients who receive standard care. The study will be presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver. "In a meta-analysis including over 40,000 critically ill patients, we found no statistically significant difference in hospital mortality between critically ill patients who received ICU telemonitoring and ...

ATS 2011, DENVER – Surrogate decision-makers faced with the difficult task of overseeing loved ones' medical care may find help thanks to a new decision aid aimed at patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation. According to a study conducted by researchers in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington who developed and tested the aid, surrogates reported the aid significantly improved the often daunting decision-making process. The study results will be presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver. The decision aid was developed specifically for ...

ATS 2011, DENVER – Removing enlarged tonsils and adenoids may help prevent high blood pressure and heart damage in children who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a study conducted at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. In some children with OSA, adenotonsillectomy can result in significantly lower blood pressure within 24 months of the procedure. The results will be presented at the ATS 2011 International Conference in Denver. Children with enlarged tonsils and adenoids are particularly prone to developing OSA, said study lead author ...

ATS 2011, DENVER--Researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center attempting to identify the vital signs that best predict those hospitalized patients at greatest risk for cardiac arrest found that a composite index used in some hospitals to activate a rapid response team and by emergency room physicians to assess the likelihood of a patient dying was a better predictor of cardiac arrest than any single vital sign. However, because the composite index known as Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) included vital signs that are poor predictors of cardiac arrest, ...

Cigarette smoking, forest fires and woodburning can release a chemical that may be at least partly responsible for human health problems related to smoke exposure, according to a new study by NOAA researchers and their colleagues. Using a custom mass spectrometer designed by the researchers, the NOAA-led team was able get the first look at levels of the chemical, isocyanic acid, in the atmosphere. Isocyanic acid has been difficult to detect with conventional measurement techniques. "We found isocyanic acid in a number of places, from air in downtown Los Angeles and ...

Using a technique that silences genes promoting infection, researchers have developed a novel, topically-applied molecular microbicide capable of preventing HIV transmission. The microbicide is predicted to have long-lasting effects in mice, opening the door to developing an intravaginal microbicide that could protect women against HIV infection potentially for weeks at a time and bolster public health efforts to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS. The study, led by Lee Adam Wheeler and Judy Lieberman, MD, PhD, of the Immune Disease Institute and the Program in Cellular and ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (May 16, 2011) – Whitehead Institute researchers have found that depriving human melanoma cells of the essential amino acid leucine can be lethal to the cells, suggesting a possible strategy for therapeutic intervention. The researchers observed the effect in melanoma cells with a mutation in the RAS/MEK signaling pathway—the most common mutation found in the deadliest form of skin cancer. Leucine is one of nine essential amino acids humans must ingest, as we are unable to synthesize them. These nine, along with 12 non-essential amino acids, are the ...

Patients who undergo a procedure to unblock a coronary artery are more likely to survive longer if they participate in structured follow-up care, according to research in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. In their 14-year analysis, researchers discovered a 46 percent relative reduction in death from all causes in patients who participated in cardiac rehabilitation following angioplasty. The study focused on patients treated with percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), commonly known as angioplasty. Using data from a Mayo Clinic registry of PCI ...

A team of researchers — led by Sang-Hun Lee, at Hanyang University, Republic of Korea, and Kwang-Soo Kim, at Harvard Medical School, Belmont, — has now compared the ability of cells derived from different types of human stem cell to reverse disease in a rat model of Parkinson disease and identified a stem cell population that they believe could be clinically relevant. Parkinson disease results from the progressive loss of a specific subpopulation of nerve cells. Current treatments provide only relief from the symptoms of the disease and cannot reverse the nerve cell loss. ...

The HIV epidemic is continuing spread and efforts to develop a vaccine that protects against infection are still showing limited promise. Therefore, researchers are seeking to develop alternative approaches to block HIV transmission. One such strategy is vaginal application of an agent known as a microbicide, which works to kill the virus at the site of entry into the body. A team of researchers, led by Judy Lieberman, at Harvard Medical School, Boston, has now developed a new agent that they hope could be used as the active ingredient in a microbicide to prevent HIV transmission. HIV ...

EDITOR'S PICK: Stem cells reverse disease in a model of Parkinson disease A team of researchers — led by Sang-Hun Lee, at Hanyang University, Republic of Korea, and Kwang-Soo Kim, at Harvard Medical School, Belmont, — has now compared the ability of cells derived from different types of human stem cell to reverse disease in a rat model of Parkinson disease and identified a stem cell population that they believe could be clinically relevant. Parkinson disease results from the progressive loss of a specific subpopulation of nerve cells. Current treatments provide only ...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- University of Florida researchers have described a new species of land crab that documents the first crab extinction during the human era. The loss of the crab likely greatly impacted the ecology of the Hawaiian Islands, as land crabs are major predators, control litter decomposition and help in nutrient cycling and seed dispersal. Their disappearance was caused by the arrival of humans to the islands and resulted in large-scale changes in the state's ecosystem. Researchers said the full impact of the extinction on Hawaii is unknown, but they are ...

Contact: Jeff Haskins jhaskins@burnesscommunications.com ILRI Scientists identify livestock genes to unlock protection against one of Africa's oldest animal plagues NAIROBI, KENYA (16 May 2011)—An international research team using a new combination of approaches has found two genes that may prove of vital importance to the lives and livelihoods of millions of farmers in a tsetse fly-plagued swathe of Africa the size of the United States. The team’s results were published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The research, aimed at ...

Intensive care units (ICUs) that implemented a telemedicine intervention that included offsite electronic monitoring of processes and detection of nonadherence to best practices had lower hospital and ICU mortality, lower rates of preventable complications, and shorter hospital and ICU lengths of stay, according to a study that will appear in the June 1 issue of JAMA. The study is being published early online to coincide with its presentation at a meeting of the American Thoracic Society "Patient needs and societal costs of adult critical care have increased as predicted ...