From The Desk of Love Psychic DJ Ownbey: Mercury goes retrograde December 10, 2010 to December 29, 2010. What is Mercury Retrograde? It is when the planet mercury reverses it course and travels backwards. What are the potential effects of mercury retrograde? 1. Miscommunications 2. Arguments 3. Mix ups 4. Having to do things over again 5. Lost luggage 6. Minor traffic accidents 7. Car problems 8. Traffic tickets 9. Computer/electronic device malfunctions Is mercury retrograde good for anything? Yes, actually it is a very good time for planning, ...

Corcentric, a leading provider of Accounts Payable automation solutions, today announced a new live Webinar: Implementing AP Automation: Learn What Your CFO May Be Thinking. This one-hour Webinar will take place on Wednesday, December 15th at 2:00 PM EST. Rob DeVincent, Vice President of Product Marketing for Corcentric, is the Webinar's featured speaker. He will discuss the following topics, which can help build the case for convincing your CFO to automate the invoice processes: - Why you'll need more than ROI to get your CFO's attention - What is a CFO's Evaluation ...

Knightvest Capital, a growing real estate investment firm targeting distressed multi-family properties in Texas, today announced the acquisition of a 370-unit multi-family property in north Dallas. The property, known as Copper Creek Apartments, is located in close proximity to the corner of Interstates 75 and 635. The investment firm acquired the property out of foreclosure and are planning significant renovations. "We were able to acquire Copper Creek "off market" at a reasonable discount due to the depressed financial markets and lack of refinance options by ...

Phyzios, Inc. announced a successful closure of USD 5.6 million* series B funding from a consortium of leading Japanese venture capital firms including Globis Capital Partners, Daiwa Corporate Investment Co., Ltd., Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd., and NISSAY CAPITAL Co., Ltd. and the University of Tokyo Edge Capital (UTEC). Phyzios plans to use this capital to advance the company's multi-platform strategy by enhancing collaboration with business partners and strengthening the team in order to accelerate product development in the growing smartphone and tablet device markets worldwide. ...

Amazing Books releases MY FIRST TRIP TO WASHINGTON DC 3D, a First of a Kind, animated and Interactive 3D children's eBook App. About My First Trip to Washington DC 3D: Join the LIL' TRAVELERS, HANNA, TOMMY and ARTHUR as they take a wondrous vacation in Washington DC over the Fourth of July holiday. The first in Amazing Books new LIL' TRAVELER series, "My FIRST TRIP TO WASHINGTON DC 3D" is designed for children 3+, is 43 pages in length and packed with fun facts and amazing animation. Trip highlights include: The US capitol, the Supreme Court, the Smithsonian Air ...

Nitric oxide is a toxic pollutant, but the human body also creates it and uses it to attack invading microbes and parasites. A new study by researchers at UC Davis, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) shows how nitric oxide, attacks an important group of proteins critical to cell survival. A paper describing the work was published Dec. 6 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. "This information can be used to learn more about possible treatments for nitric oxide toxicity and to help design ...

Medical researchers have found a missing link that explains the interaction between brain state and the neural triggers responsible for learning, potentially opening up new ways of boosting cognitive function in the face of diseases such as Alzheimer's as well as enhancing memory in healthy people. Much is known about the neural processes that occur during learning but until now it has not been clear why it occurs during certain brain states but not others. Now researchers from the University of Bristol have been able to study, in isolation, the specific neurotransmitter ...

The globular cluster Messier 107, also known as NGC 6171, is a compact and ancient family of stars that lies about 21 000 light-years away. Messier 107 is a bustling metropolis: thousands of stars in globular clusters like this one are concentrated into a space that is only about twenty times the distance between our Sun and its nearest stellar neighbour, Alpha Centauri, across. A significant number of these stars have already evolved into red giants, one of the last stages of a star's life, and have a yellowish colour in this image. Globular clusters are among the oldest ...

Chevy Chase, MD—A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that lower and higher vitamin D levels were associated with an increased likelihood of frailty in older women. Women with vitamin D levels between 20.0 and 29.9 ng/ml were at the lowest risk of frailty. Vitamin D deficiency and frailty are common with aging. Dimensions of frailty, including weakness and slowness are potential outcomes of vitamin D deficiency and many experts have recommended measuring vitamin D levels in older ...

Chevy Chase, MD—A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) has demonstrated a novel and accurate test for early diagnosis of Turner syndrome. Turner syndrome affects one in 1,500 to 2,000 female live births and early diagnosis allows for the timely management of short stature and co-morbid conditions including cardiac and renal problems. Turner syndrome (TS) is the most common genetic problem affecting girls with short stature. Average adult height in untreated girls with TS is 4 feet, 8 inches, ...

A slowly progressive weight lifting program for breast cancer survivors did not increase their risk of lymphedema (arm swelling and discomfort), according to a study that will appear in the December 22/29 issue of JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with its presentation at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Lymphedema is a frequent complication among breast cancer survivors and ranks high among their concerns, as it may impair arm function and quality of life. "Breast cancer survivors at risk for lymphedema alter activity, limit, activity, ...

(SAN ANTONIO) -- Weightlifting may play a key role in the prevention of the painful limb-swelling condition lymphedema following breast cancer treatment, according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Combined with the team's previous findings that the exercise limits a worsening of symptoms among women who already have lymphedema, the new data cements the reversal of long-running advice that breast cancer survivors should avoid lifting anything heavier than five pounds after they finish treatment. The research results will be presented ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A team led by a former postdoctoral researcher in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics, recently measured the first-ever planetary atmosphere that is substantially enriched in carbon. The researchers found that the carbon-to-oxygen ratio of WASP-12b, an exoplanet about 1.4 times the mass of Jupiter and located about 1,200 light years away, is greater than one. As they report in a paper to be published on Dec. 8 in Nature, this carbon-rich atmosphere supports the possibility that rocky ...

Thirteen billion years ago our universe was dark. There were neither stars nor galaxies; there was only hydrogen gas left over after the Big Bang. Eventually that mysterious time came to an end as the first stars ignited and their radiation transformed the nearby gas atoms into ions. This phase of the universe's history is called the Epoch of Reionization (EoR), and it is intimately linked to many fundamental questions in cosmology. But looking back so far in time presents numerous observational challenges. Arizona State University's Judd Bowman and Alan Rogers of Massachusetts ...

Euthymics Bioscience, Inc. today will present Phase II clinical data demonstrating that its lead product candidate EB-1010, a next-generation antidepressant, is effective for treating major depressive disorder (MDD) based on multiple standard measures of outcome for depression. EB-1010 also improved measures of anhedonia, a hallmark symptom of MDD, which is characterized by the inability to experience pleasure. The data further demonstrate that EB-1010 is well tolerated, without the weight gain or sexual dysfunction associated with the most common pharmacological treatments ...

Computer scientists have analysed over a million news articles in 22 languages to pinpoint what factors, such as the Eurovision song contest, influence and shape the news agenda in 27 EU countries. This is the first large-scale content-analysis of cross-linguistic text using artificial intelligence techniques. Every day hundreds of news outlets across Europe choose which story to cover from a wide and diverse selection. While each outlet may be making these choices based on individual criteria, clear patterns emerge when all these choices are studied over a large set ...

A study of chimpanzees has revealed that dominant animals with higher testosterone levels tend to suffer from an increased burden of parasites. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal BioPsychoSocial Medicine observed the primates' behavior and studied their droppings to draw the link between dominance and infection status. Michael Muehlenbein from Indiana University and David Watts from Yale University, USA, carried out the study in 22 male animals at Kibale National Park, Uganda. According to Muehlenbein, "Acquisition and maintenance of high dominance ...

Brussels, 9 December 2010 - Europe needs new particle accelerators and major upgrades to existing facilities over the next ten years to stay at the forefront of nuclear physics, according to the European Science Foundation (ESF), which launches its 'Long Range Plan 2010' for nuclear physics today. Nuclear physicists are working to understand the origin, evolution and nature of matter that constitutes nearly 100 per cent of visible matter in the universe. As the home of GANIL, GSI, CERN and a wide network of closely collaborating facilities, Europe is world-leader in ...

A new study identifies a previously unrecognized mutation that causes an inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The research, published by Cell Press in the December 9th issue of the journal Neuron, implicates defects in a cellular pathway linked with degradation of unwanted proteins in the underlying pathology of ALS and provides new insight into this incurable and fatal neurodegenerative disease. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a devastating disease that causes destruction of the neurons in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary ...

A new study uncovers a mechanism linking a specific type of cellular stress with brain damage similar to that associated with neurodegenerative disease. The research, published by Cell Press in the December 9 issue of the journal Neuron, is the first to highlight the significance of the reduction of a specific calcium signal that is directly tied to cell fate. Body cells are constantly exposed to various environmental stresses. Although cells possess some natural defenses, excessive stress can lead to a type of cell death called apoptosis. "It is thought that excessive ...

ITHACA, N.Y. – Comparing the locations of photos posted on the Internet with social network contacts, Cornell University computer scientists have found that as few as three "co-locations" for images at different times and places could predict with high probability that two people posting photos were socially connected. The results have implications for online privacy, the researchers said, but also suggest a quantitative answer to a very old psychological question: What can we conclude from observing coincidences? "This is a kind of question that goes way back," said ...

Yale University researchers have found that a single molecule not only connects brain cells but also changes how we learn. The findings, reported in the December 9 issue of the journal Neuron, may help researchers discover ways to improve memory and could lead to new therapies to correct neurological disorders. The junctions between brain cells over which nerve pulses pass — called synapses — are crucial for regulating learning and memory and how we think. Aberrations in the structure and function of synapses have been linked to mental retardation and autism, while synapses ...

A group of researchers at MIT, Cornell University and University College London have used one of the world's largest databases of telecommunications records to redraw the map of Great Britain. The research, which will be published in the journal PLoS ONE on Dec. 8, is based on the analysis of 12 billion anonymized records representing more than 95% of Great Britain's residential and business landlines. "Since the pioneering work of Christaller and Lösch in the early 20th century, a long-standing question in economic geography has been how to define regions in space," ...

PULLMAN, Wash.—Beverages supplemented by whey-based protein can significantly reduce elevated blood pressure, reducing the risk of stroke and heart disease, a Washington State University study has found. Research led by nutritional biochemist Susan Fluegel and published in International Dairy Journal found that daily doses of commonly available whey brought a more than six-point reduction in the average blood pressure of men and women with elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressures. While the study was confined to 71 student subjects between the ages of 18 and 26, ...

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer among men, but its diagnosis has up to now been inaccurate and unpleasant. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), in cooperation with AMC Amsterdam, have developed an imaging technology that can accurately identify tumors. The technology is based on ultrasound, and also has the potential to assess how aggressive tumors are. This can lead to better and more appropriate treatment, and to cost savings in health care. About 11% of men who die of cancer in the western world do so as a result of prostate cancer. ...