Spanish researchers have found that liver transplant recipients who quit smoking have a lower incidence of smoking-related malignancies (SRM) than patients who keep smoking. In fact, SRMs were identified in 13.5% of deceased patients and smoking was associated with a higher risk of malignancy in this study. Full findings are published in the April issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. While smoking is a well-known malignancy risk factor both in the general population and in liver transplant recipients, smoking ...

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ), jointly with colleagues in the United States, have found out that inflammations of the heart muscle are caused by attacks of a specific type of immune cells. These immune cells attack the body's own tissue because during their maturation they did not have the chance to develop tolerance against a protein that is only found in the heart muscle. An inflammation of the heart muscle, or myocarditis, frequently precedes a dangerous and often fatal heart enlargement. In many cases, the ...

OAK RIDGE, Tenn, March 29, 2011 – New clues about plant structure are helping researchers from the Department of Energy's BioEnergy Science Center narrow down a large collection of poplar tree candidates and identify winners for future use in biofuel production. Led by Charles Wyman of the Bourns College of Engineering's Center for Environmental Research and Technology at the University of California, Riverside, a research team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and UCR determined that the amount and composition of lignin in ...

Following LASIK eye surgery, some patients may notice a temporary decrease in night vision, with symptoms including halos, starbursts, and glare. Caused by the swelling of the cornea, these effects typically subside over time. In some cases, decreased night vision only lasts a few days; for other patients, it can take months for it to fade entirely. Following-up with your LASIK surgeon will help ensure that any problems are carefully monitored and addressed, if necessary. When night vision problems continue past the usual LASIK recovery period, they are usually due ...

In the aftermath of the attack on the Twin Towers, government officials assured recovery workers that the air around Ground Zero was safe to breathe. A mere five years later they were proven wrong when the first public worker died due to toxic chemicals exposure from the World Trade Center debris. How It All Began: The History of the Zadroga Act In January 2006, NYPD Detective James Zadroga, who had spent hundreds of hours working in the rubble at Ground Zero as part of the 9/11 recovery efforts, died of respiratory failure linked to exposure from the toxic dust. According ...

This release is available in German. What part does the thyroid gland have in vision? Thyroid hormone is crucially involved in controlling which visual pigment is produced in the cones. Previously, it was assumed that the colour sensitivity of the cones is fixed in the adult retina. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt/M., together with colleagues at the University of Frankfurt and universities in Vienna, have now been able to show that in mature cones of mice and rats the production of visual pigment is regulated by thyroid hormone. ...

Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel Scottsboro offers nearby lodging to travelers attending Spring Carnival in Scottsboro, AL. The annual event will take place from April 12-16, 2011 at the Veterans Park Fairgrounds. A fun activity for visitors to Scottsboro, Spring Carnival includes midway attractions rides, games, and entertainment. "Spring Carnival is an exciting event the entire family can enjoy. Our affordably priced property is located within minutes Jackson County Veterans Fairgrounds, making us the perfect choice for local lodging," share Nova Sisk, Hampton Inn & Suites ...

The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Newberry South Carolina Hotel offers close lodging to travelers attending the 2011 Pork in the Park. The event will take place on Saturday, April 16 from 11:00am - 2:30pm in downtown Newberry at Memorial Park. Festivities include live entertainment, kids' activities, and a barbecue contest. Admission and parking for the event is free. "Our property is pleased to welcome guests attending Pork in the Park. This annual event is always a popular activity for the entire family to enjoy," shares Ambria Lanteigne, General Manager at the Holiday ...

Researchers at Queen's University Belfast have issued a stark warning about the future of the Irish hare and the threat it faces from the European 'brown' hare, which has set up home in Mid-Ulster and West Tyrone. Dr Neil Reid from Quercus (Queen's University's Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science), said: "In March 2011, the Northern Ireland Assembly voted to outlaw hare coursing in Northern Ireland to protect the future of the Irish hare. But our native hare remains vulnerable to another serious threat – that of the invading European hare." European hares ...

Information technology (IT) companies need to bring in doctors and other health care stakeholders in order to ensure that new technologies and applications are actually useful to the health care system – something which is currently fragmented at best, according to a recent paper from North Carolina State University. "IT enables improvements in health care processes; can engage patients and stakeholders; and provide infrastructure to share clinical and financial information more efficiently. All of these things help to make the health care system run more smoothly and ...

The simple practice of letters and a telephone call to patients who are due for a colonoscopy significantly improves adherence to endoscopic follow-up recommendations, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. This work provides justification for the creation of reminder systems to improve colorectal cancer screening rates. "Our automated, patient-dependent colonoscopy follow-up reminder system significantly improved adherence with recommended surveillance colonoscopy and patient ...

Hampton Inn Spartanburg - North I-85, a premier Spartanburg hotel, offers nearby accommodations to travelers attending the annual Music on Main concert series. The event is held April through August and takes places on Thursday evenings from 6-9pm on Main Street at Denny's Plaza in downtown Spartanburg. Admission is free to attend. The Music on Main concert series offers an eclectic mix of music ranging from Blues, to Reggae, Beach, Rock, and Country. Upcoming 2011 performances included: - The East Coast Band (Beach Music), on April 7 - Outshyne (Country), on April ...

They tell a story, these bleached bones that gleam in the sun in Yellowstone National Park. Bones on landscapes like Yellowstone may provide detailed accounts of how animal populations have changed over the last few decades or even century, scientists have found. "The skeletons of long-dead animals lying on landscapes provide critical insights into our understanding of ecosystem history, especially how populations have changed," says biologist Joshua Miller of Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. His results, published today in the journal PLoS ONE, provide a ...

The Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta Airport Hotel (North, I-85) provides nearby lodging to guests and participants attending the Big South National Qualifier, the nation's largest indoor volleyball tournament. The event will take place on April 1-3, 2011 at Georgia World Congress Center. The Big South National Qualifier is 1 of 9 national volleyball tournaments that serves to qualify teams for the USA Junior Olympic Girls' Volleyball Championship. Over 8,000 girls, age 10-18, from all over the country compete each year at this exciting tournament. "Celebrating its 21th year, ...

Foetal loss is a common phenomenon in domestic horses after away-mating, according to Luděk Bartoš and colleagues, from the Institute of Animal Science in the Czech Republic. When mares return home after mating with a foreign stallion, they either engage in promiscuous mating with the home males to confuse paternity, or, failing that, the mares abort the foal to avoid the likely future infanticide by the dominant home male. The study is published online in the Springer journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. In the Czech Republic, it is common practice for domestic ...

Debenhams has revealed that a new breed of fashion conscious mums in Ireland is fast turning the school run into a catwalk competition as they vie to outdo each other at the school gates. Usually obsessing about how well the apple of their eye is performing at school, many mums are now turning their attention to themselves to ensure that they get top marks in the fashion class. The trend was revealed when Debenhams research team asked Irish female customers what they wore on the school run. Over 60% of women admitted to feeling pressurised to compete in the fashion ...

MADISON, WI MARCH 18, 2011 – Research has documented the rise of nutrient runoff from flat agricultural fields with high rates of precipitation that adds nitrates and phosphates to waterways. These nutrients increase the amount of phytoplankton in the water, which depletes oxygen and kills fish and other aquatic creatures. While injecting animal manure slurry into the soil has been proven to be an effective way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, there has been no research on the possibility of nutrients leaching from the soil and reaching waterways. A collaborative ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Just as a company creates new, better versions of a product to increase market share and pad its bottom line, an international team of researchers led by Brown University has found that plants tinker with their design and performance before flooding the environment with new, improved versions of themselves. The issue: When does a grouping of plants with the same ancestor, called a clade, begin to spin off new species? Biologists have long assumed that rapid speciation occurred when a clade first developed a new physical trait or mechanism ...

Door2Tour.com has reported that while the overall viewing figures for the 2011 series of Dancing on Ice may not have reached the heights of the show's first airing in 2006, the coach holidays and short breaks website latest revenue figures show an unprecedented year-on-year increase of over 1000% in packages for the live tour. The 5th live tour, hosted by Andi Peters and featuring skating legends Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean, is showing at 7 major venues across the UK over 28 dates. Celebrity skaters lining up to appear include Radio 1's 'Comedy Dave', Vanilla Ice ...

Debenhams Beauty Hall has revealed that women are worrying about the appearance of their necks and busts as much as their faces, causing a boom in 'bra in a jar' products. Products designed to minimise turkey necks and smooth crepey cleavage are up 265% on last year, so that the sector is now one of the fastest growing in the beauty industry. Women, conscious of the 'Madonna effect' - age-defying face yet age-indicating neck and decolletage - are turning to dedicated creams to turn back the years and achieve the full, glowing cleavage making a comeback on red carpets ...

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a new drug called AT-406 with potential to treat multiple types of cancer. A study, published this week in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, showed that AT-406 effectively targets proteins that block normal cell death from occurring. Blocking these proteins caused tumor cells to die, while not harming normal cells. The researchers believe the drug could potentially be used alone or in combination with other treatments. The normal cell death process, called apoptosis, ...

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- A nanotechnology-based biosensor being developed by Kansas State University researchers may allow early detection of both cancer cells and pathogens, leading to increased food safety and reduced health risks. Lateef Syed, doctoral student in chemistry, Hyderabad, India, is developing the biosensor with Jun Li, associate professor of chemistry. Their research focuses on E. coli, but Syed said the same technology could also detect other kinds of pathogens, such as salmonella and viruses. "Kansas is a leading state in meat production and the poultry ...

Business Monitor International has revealed a special report recently launched on its website that looks at the key risks to global recovery and stability following the crisis in the Middle East and North Africa. The report states that the wave of popular protests that have swept across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) since January 2011 constitutes the biggest shake-up to the region for at least a generation, and its impact will be felt for many years to come. The unrest also poses the biggest risk to the global economic recovery this year, not least because ...

Madison, WI, MARCH 29, 2011 – Manure has long been used as a crop fertilizer, but the challenge of finding an efficient use of the nutrients found in manure is ever present. The ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus in manure is low in relation to the nutrient needs of most crops. Therefore, crops tend to be overloaded with manure to meet the nitrogen requirement of agricultural crops, but the excess phosphorus from the process can damage the environment. In a study funded by agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, scientists at the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Agassiz, British ...

Scientists in the United States and the United Kingdom have been awarded funding totaling more than $10.3 million to improve the process of biological photosynthesis. The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.K. Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) collaborated in issuing these jointly funded awards. Photosynthesis allows biological systems to use sunlight and carbon dioxide to produce sugars and oxygen. This process is ultimately responsible for the food we eat and the fossil fuels we burn today. Four transatlantic research teams ...