Mothers who were maltreated as children have increased risk for giving birth to low birth weight babies. The findings, by researchers at the University of Washington, are the first to show that maternal maltreatment can affect the health of offspring. The study also finds that childhood poverty and substance use during adolescence and pregnancy contribute to low birth weight, which is linked to infant mortality and chronic health problems. "Our findings suggest that a mother's economic position in childhood and her experience of maltreatment during childhood have implications ...

"Third-hand smoke" stuck to skin or clothing is responsible for the high nicotine levels seen in babies who share a bedroom with their smoker parents. This is the conclusion of a study carried out in Catalonia, which also shows that ventilating bedrooms is not effective in reducing the levels of toxins from passive smoking. "Passive smoking is the leading preventable cause of childhood death in developed countries", Guadalupe Ortega, lead author of the research study and coordinator of the Atenció Primària Sense Fum programme at the Department of Health of the Generalitat ...

MedWOW.com, the multilingual, global online marketplace for medical equipment, announces the launch of their upgraded sales leads program. All of the business leads generated are pre-qualified, registered buyers, looking for services and devices the merchants are offering. More than 10,500 medical equipment professionals visit the MedWOW site daily and transactions occur quickly and on a regular basis, so leads are kept fresh and current. When purchasing leads credits, dealers now have the option of choosing money-saving discounted packages. The larger the package of ...

Doctors who used a free iPhone application provided by the UK Resuscitation Council performed significantly better in a simulated medical emergency than those who did not, according to a study in the April issue of Anaesthesia. "Every year approximately 30,000 people in the UK have an unexpected cardiac arrest in hospital and, despite significant advances in resuscitation research, survival rates for adults suffering a cardiac arrest remain poor" says Dr Daniel Low, the consultant anaesthetist who developed the application. "More than 60,000 free copies of the iResus ...

Insects using vibration to attract a mate are at risk of being eaten alive by killer spiders, Cardiff University scientists have discovered. Studying spider behaviour experts from Cardiff University's School of Biosciences found that the vibrations used by leafhoppers and many other insects to attract a mate can be intercepted and used by predatory spiders to identify their prey. Predators are already known to exploit the sight, sound and smell communications of their prey – but this is the first time that scientists believe they have discovered predators such as ...

This release is available in French and Spanish. Women with osteoporosis in their hip suffer menopause two years earlier than healthy women, a study conducted at the University of Granada says. Additionally, although further study is required, researchers have found at least three genetic markers associated with osteoporosis in the hip in postmenopausal women. Osteoporosis in the hip increases the risk of suffering fractures, which is extremely disabling for the patient, and represents a high cost for the health public system. The aim of this research study developed ...

A two-month old new service - www.worldwideprojectfinance.com - aimed at business owners looking for development funding for medium to large scale projects, has already helped several companies on their way to potentially securing corporate finance. This service - which offers a range of worldwide corporate funding options from $5m - can help businesses potentially benefit from the availability of 100% funding for worldwide projects and with a few limitations. In just the first two months of business they have already helping the following projects access potential ...

American Brick Company (Ambrico), creators of the popular E-Z Wall thin brick installation system and providers of high quality brick products and services, are excited to announce a new partnership with Hanson Brick. This latest partnership brings the highly valued Hanson VersaThin thin brick products directly to Ambrico customers. Specializing in high quality clay brick and thin brick products, Ambrico is thrilled to have Hanson VersaThin on their team. Hanson Brick, North America's largest brick manufacturer, has a total capacity of more than 1.7 billion bricks. ...

Philadelphia, PA, 29 March, 2011 – The Canadian Cardiovascular Society and Canadian Heart Rhythm Society have produced the first-ever comprehensive guidelines on the use of genetic testing in the clinical management of inherited heart rhythm disorders, released in the March/April issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology (http://www.onlinecjc.ca/) published by Elsevier. The guidelines, entitled "Recommendations for the Use of Genetic Testing in the Clinical Evaluation of Inherited Cardiac Arrhythmias Associated with Sudden Cardiac Death," were chaired by Dr. Michael Gollob ...

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 ...