There are many people that will agree that the United States education system needs some work. The recent movie, 'Waiting for Superman' pointed out many of the issues and made some suggestions towards resolving some of these issues. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, donated $100 million on the Oprah Winfrey show towards this cause. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Rupert Murdoch and other tech giants all have gone public with their position on the need to make America more competitive with education reform. And now a new social network called Moolakee has been created to help with ...

Because up-to-date, high quality learning materials are essential to today's fast-moving businesses, it has never been more important to have an effective means of translating and localising content for users around the world. Jointly the two companies have harnessed the latest technologies and integrated their production processes, to create, localise and distribute learning materials for their customers on a global scale - delivering training courses and reference materials to multiple languages and cultures, faster than ever before. CM Group CEO Tim Buff said, "We ...

RFID Journal features MEPS Real Time's Intelliguard drug management system story. Someone can live or die depending on the correct medications being dispensed. Hospitals and medical professionals clearly agree leveraging better tracking of a drug's expiration dates, information about the drug administered, tracking and updating inventory levels, all performed in REAL TIME, would assist in preventing errors. A San Diego hospital is testing an RFID-based drug-management system developed by MEPS Real Time, an RFID solutions provider based in Carlsbad, Calif. The system, ...

CyberlinkASP, the leader in outsourced IT and integrated managed hosting solutions, today announced continued solid performance throughout 2010 and into 2011. CyberlinkASP currently hosts and manages virtual desktops and back office applications for hundreds of small to medium sized businesses across the United States from its proprietary Dallas InfoMart datacenter utilizing Citrix based technologies. CyberlinkASP's engineering staff, help desk and sophisticated technical support capabilities have fueled widespread acceptance of its virtual desktop product. Users have ...

Cruise.com is offering exceptional deals on Regent Seven Seas Cruises which provide some of the best cruise choices for luxury cruisers looking to go the 'all-inclusive' route. From unlimited shore excursions to free beverages, wines and premium spirits, Regent Seven Seas cruises are often a leave-your-wallet behind affair. But what exactly is included on these cruise vacations to destinations like Alaska, Europe, the Mediterranean, South America and beyond? Airfare and Hotel: All Regent Seven Seas cruises include free roundtrip airfare, airline surcharges, airline ...

The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity and invited the world to take action to safeguard the variety of life on earth. Unfortunately, though, it is seldom completely clear what should be safeguarded. An example is provided by the cheetah, which conventional wisdom tells us does not vary much throughout its wide (if shrinking) range. Recent work in the group of Pamela Burger of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna challenges this view and shows that the cheetahs in Northern-East Africa and those in Asia differ markedly from ...

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology recommends using plasma exchange to treat people with severe relapses in multiple sclerosis (MS) and related diseases, as well as those with certain kinds of nerve disorders known as neuropathies. The guideline is published in the January 18, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Plasma exchange, formally known as plasmapheresis, is the process of taking blood out of the body, removing constituents in the blood's plasma thought to be harmful, ...

Mixing commonly used antibiotics with common blood pressure medications may cause hypotension (abnormally low blood pressure) and induce shock in older patients, requiring hospitalization, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj100702.pdf. "Macrolide antibiotics (erythromycin, clarithromycin and azithromycin) are among the most widely prescribed antibiotics, with millions of prescriptions dispensed in Canada each year." writes Dr. David Juurlink, Scientist at the Sunnybrook Research ...

High birth weight in First Nations (North American Indian) babies are linked to a higher risk of postneonatal death (infant deaths that occur from 4 weeks to 1 year of age), according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj100837.pdf. High birth weight or infant macrosomia is defined as a child being born above the 90th percentile relative to a fetal growth standard. Maternal obesity, impaired glucose tolerance and gestational diabetes can all contribute to infant macrosomia and these ...

Binge drinking, an activity that many young people engage in, has associated adverse health risks and we need to do a better job of controlling overall alcohol usage, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj110029.pdf. "Given the many stakeholders involved in the sale and consumption of alcohol, we need a national strategy for controlling overall alcohol use," write Drs. Ken Flegel, Noni MacDonald and Paul Hébert in the editorial. "Public health agencies, the hospitality industry, liquor ...

A review of research evidence produced by researchers from the Peninsula Technology Assessment Group, part of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, has played a pivotal role in the decision by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to extend the availability of donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine and memantine for Alzheimer's disease announced today (18th January 2011). A previous appraisal by NICE of these drugs in 2004 approved the use of donepezil, galantamine and rivastigmine for people with moderate Alzheimer's disease, while ...

Medicare Preventive Services Coverage Not Aligned with USPSTF Recommendations Evaluating the alignment of Medicare preventive services coverage with the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, researchers find that of the 15 USPSTF recommended interventions for adults aged 65 years and older, Medicare reimburses fully for only one.* For most preventive services (60 percent), Medicare reimburses fully for the service or test, but only partially for the coordination of obtaining that service. For four services (27 percent), Medicare reimburses clinicians ...

Do you want that in a pill or a shot? A pill, thank you, but most patients never have that choice. The problem with administering many medications orally is that a pill often will not dissolve at exactly the right site in the gastrointestinal tract where the medicine can be absorbed into the bloodstream. A new magnetic pill system developed by Brown University researchers could solve the problem by safely holding a pill in place in the intestine wherever it needs to be. The scientists describe the harmless operation of their magnetic pill system in rats online the week ...

Researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are the first to develop a curvilinear camera, much like the human eye, with the significant feature of a zoom capability, unlike the human eye. The "eyeball camera" has a 3.5x optical zoom, takes sharp images, is inexpensive to make and is only the size of a nickel. (A higher zoom is possible with the technology.) While the camera won't be appearing at Best Buy any time soon, the tunable camera -- once optimized -- should be useful in many applications, including night-vision ...

Warfarin use may be associated with a significant increase in the risk of death after traumatic injuries, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the May print issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "The prevalence of warfarin use in the United States is unknown, but the Food and Drug Administration estimates that more than 31 million prescriptions for warfarin were written in 2004," according to background information in the article. "Warfarin is a commonly used anticoagulant [prevents the formation of blood clots] for ...

A significant portion of the U.S. population does not have access to trauma care within an hours' drive, with certain vulnerable groups at higher risk of worse access, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Trauma centers are a key component of the infrastructure of the U.S. health care system because they have been shown to decrease morbidity and mortality [illness and death] for injured patients of all age ranges, from children to the elderly," the authors write as background information in the article. ...

As many as one in 16 surgeons reported having suicidal thoughts in the previous year, but few sought help from a mental health clinician, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Death from suicide is more common among physicians than among the general population or among other professionals, according to background information in the article. "Although suicide is strongly linked to depression, the lifetime risk of depression among physicians is similar to that of the general U.S. population," the authors write. ...

Performing polysomnography (sleep study) prior to pediatric adenotonsillectomy (surgical removal of the tonsils and adenoids) may help identify children at a higher risk of developing postoperative respiratory complications, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Otolaryngology - Head Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Pediatric adenotonsillectomy is a safe outpatient procedure; however, there is a subset of patients who do not meet the criteria for outpatient surgery," according to background information in the article. Guidelines for ...

A follow-up program for patients at high risk of developing skin cancer appears to be associated with the detection of melanomas at early stages and with good prognosis, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the May print issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Efforts to improve melanoma prognosis have focused on identifying and closely monitoring individuals at high risk, according to background information in the article. "Fair-skinned persons, persons who tan with difficulty, blond or red-haired persons and persons ...

Time constraints, other illnesses and patient embarrassment may prevent dermatologists, internists and family practitioners from conducting full-body skin examinations, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, dermatologists are significantly more likely than internists and family practitioners to conduct such screenings. Skin cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the United States, according to background information in the article. "It is critical for patients to adhere to primary ...

A procedure involving only one small incision and no major modifications to bone can be used to transpose a tendon and appears helpful in reanimating the lower face after paralysis, according to a report in the January/February issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "The primary goal of all facial reanimation protocols is to restore facial movement that is controlled, symmetrical and spontaneous," the authors write as background information in the article. Previously, researchers reported a method of transferring the temporalis ...

Health care reform should be able to mend a disconnect that has existed between the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a task force charged by the government to review clinical preventive health services for older adults, and Medicare coverage for those services, a new UCLA-led study finds. In particular, there is a need to improve coordination between assessing the risk for certain illnesses and ensuring the patient receives the appropriate tests and follow-up medical services, according to the study, which is published in the January/February ...

In three papers in the January and February issues of the Journal of General Physiology (JGP), Don Hilgemann and colleagues have extensively characterized a previously unidentified process by which up to 75% of the cell plasma membrane can be reversibly endocytosed. This massive endocytosis ("MEND") can be elicited in a variety of cell types with a range of different experimental manipulations, including internal calcium transients in the presence of ATP, membrane treatment with sphingomyelinase, and introduction of various amphiphiles into the membrane bilayer. MEND ...

Heart failure patients admitted to general wards are twice as likely to die as those admitted to cardiology wards, shows a national audit of the treatment of the condition, published online in the journal Heart. Women fared worse than men when it comes to appropriate investigations and treatment, the findings suggest, although death rates were similar. In 2006/7, heart failure accounted for more than a quarter of a million hospital deaths and discharges in England and Wales, equating to around 2.5 million bed days a year and at an annual cost to the NHS of £563 million. The ...

Smoking accounts for up to 60% of the gender gap in death rates across Europe, and kills twice as many men as alcohol, reveals research published online in Tobacco Control. The reasons why women have been outliving men in developed European countries since the mid to late 18th century, in some cases, have been hotly contested. The gender gap in death rates has sometimes been put down to simple biology, or the fact that women seek out health care more readily than men. But the magnitude and variability of the trends suggests a rather more complex picture, say the authors, ...