The most devastating earthquake in more than 140 years hit Japan yesterday morning. It was an 8.9 magnitude earthquake, coming from a depth of 130km and bringing an even deadlier tsunami with it. After earthquakes that rocked Haiti and Chile in 2010 and more recently Australia and New Zealand, Tarps Plus - the world leader canvas tarp supplier has strengthened their efforts to supply canvas tarps to these severely affected areas. Tarps Plus is a world leader for fabric tarpaulins and has also supplied canvas tarps for tsunami affected countries in Asia. These fabric ...

New tax laws offer the ability for commercial vessel owners and equipment operators to claim 100% depreciation for property placed in service between September 8, 2010 and December 31, 2011 ("Bonus Depreciation"). The "Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010" will be the timely topic for a free WorkBoat.com Webinar on Wednesday, March 30, from 1 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. EST, Noon - 12:45 p.m. CST. To register for this free webinar, visit www.WorkBoat.com. Leon H. Rittenberg III, attorney, Baldwin Haspel Burke & Mayer, and Mark S. ...

One Way Furniture, Inc. (www.onewayfurniture.com), an online furniture superstore founded in 1997, survived the Dot Com Crash of 1999 and the housing collapse of 2008. Will it survive the Panda Google Update of 2011? The Panda Google Update is the latest change in the search engine's algorithm and is part of its ongoing efforts to provide users with the best quality results for any given query. An authorized dealer for more than 200 brand-name furniture manufacturers including Riverside, Pulaski, and Hillsdale Furniture, One Way Furniture first established its online ...

Online bingo newcomers City Bingo have announced a promotion that gives players topping up their accounts the chance to obtain a cash, gift or credit bonus. On top of the already existing 350% welcome bonus and 50% golden reload bonus - this offer rewards those members that show loyalty to the brand. When logging into their accounts, members are encourage to enter the City Bingo Lobby every day in order to find a bonus code. This code will earn the online bingo fan a Bright Lights Daily Bonus Boost, which is random and can earn a range of advantages. It is important ...

Windows Casino Canada is proud to announce the launch of Kong and Iron Man 2. The two slots games are based on the two popular films of the same name. These two join a long list of slot games based on films. These games include the likes of Rocky, Gladiator, X-Men and Fantastic Four. The Kong slots game is based on the 2005 King Kong film. This was a remake after two earlier King Kong films. Players playing Kong can win in a variety of different ways which is always great. In terms of the reels, all of the main characters from the movie that starred Adrien Brody, Noami ...

Posh Bingo is giving its players the chance to win a mystery jackpot on April Fools' Day. The amount to be won in a mystery and won't be revealed until it is won. The winner is the first player to bingo on the question mark pattern. Cards for this game cost 2p and players can buy any number between 1 and 96. Only funded players can participate I this game so if you aren't one you should register to be one. It is worth your while to become one as you can also enter the GBP2.5k Spa Experience. This game is happening at 9:45pm on Sunday 3 April, which also happens ...

Your spinal cord is one of the most vital parts of your body. It is a long series of nerves and fibers that runs from the base of your skull down to your tailbone. These nerves and fibers send signals from your brain to the various parts of your body and back again controlling your voluntary and involuntary movement. The spinal cord has some protection by being encased in the vertebrae that make up the spine itself. However, the spine cannot protect itself against every possible injury. There are different degrees of spinal cord injury that can cause serious and lasting ...

Cullan & Cullan M.D., J.D. is proud to announce that it has joined the B2B Green Alliance to promote eco-conscious business practices among law firms. The B2B Green Alliance is an outreach initiative from Page 1 Green Solutions, a program of Page 1 Solutions. Web marketing firm Page 1 Solutions encourages its clients to pursue their own eco-friendly business practices and hopes to facilitate the exchange of ideas between clients and even between industries. Page 1 Solutions offers eco-conscious web marketing solutions to lawyers, dentists, plastic surgeons, ophthalmologists, ...

Chicago (March 14, 2011) – Every year throughout Africa, primate rescue centers are flooded with chimpanzee orphans, primarily victims of the bushmeat trade. When adults are killed for meat the surviving infants are often offered for sale as pets, and those that get confiscated by law enforcement are taken to sanctuaries for care. A new study, published in the International Journal of Primatology, examines 11 Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) member facilities, predicting their carrying capacity for chimpanzees and provides a roadmap for long term resource, infrastructure ...

The Broadway Center for Plastic Surgery is proud to announce that it has joined the B2B Green Alliance to promote eco-conscious business practices among plastic surgeons. The B2B Green Alliance is an outreach initiative from Page 1 Green Solutions, a program of web marketing firm Page 1 Solutions. Page 1 Solutions encourages its clients to pursue their own eco-friendly business practices and hopes to facilitate the exchange of ideas between clients so that everyone can benefit from the insights of others. Page 1 Solutions offers eco-conscious web marketing solutions ...

At 8:45 p.m. EDT on March 17, the MESSENGER spacecraft will execute a 15-minute maneuver that will place it into orbit around Mercury, making it the first craft ever to do so, and initiating a one-year science campaign to understand the innermost planet. Mercury is an extreme among the rocky planets in our solar system: It is the smallest, the densest (after correcting for self-compression) and the one with the oldest surface and largest daily variations in surface temperature and the least explored. Understanding this "end member" among the terrestrial planets is crucial ...

Researchers have identified 93 seminal fluid proteins and 52 sperm male-derived proteins that include candidates likely to affect the behavior and physiology of female mosquitoes of the species, Aedes aegypti. The results of this research, conducted by Laura Sirot (now at the College of Wooster) and fellow researchers in the labs of Laura Harrington and Mariana Wolfner at Cornell University and José Ribeiro at the National Institutes of Health, will be published on March 15th in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Building on previous research which ...

Contact: Timothy C. Durazzo, Ph.D. timothy.durazzo@ucsf.edu 415-221-4810 x4157 San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center Susan F. Tapert, Ph.D. stapert@ucsd.edu 858-552-8585 x7563 University of California, San Diego Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Integrity of the brain's reward system is linked to relapse following treatment The brain reward system (BRS) is involved in developing/maintaining addictive disorders, as well as relapse. New findings show that alcohol dependent individuals – both future abstainers and relapsers ...

Contact: Sarah N. Mattson, Ph.D. smattson@sunstroke.sdsu.edu 619-594-7228 San Diego State University Jeffrey R. Wozniak, Ph.D. jwozniak@umn.edu 612-273-9741 University of Minnesota Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Comparing profiles of learning and memory impairments in 2 groups of children Children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder A new study has compared the verbal learning and memory performance of children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) with that of children with ...

Contact: Marco Leyton, Ph.D. marco.leyton@mcgill.ca 514-398-5804 McGill University Charles P. O'Brien, M.D., Ph.D. obrien@mail.trc.upenn.edu 215-222-3200 x132 University of Pennsylvania Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research Certain populations may benefit most from alcohol-dependence treatment naltrexone Naltrexone is one of the most effective pharmacological treatments for alcohol dependence. However, naltrexone does not work for everyone. A new study has found that naltrexone is effective for women, and individuals with the A118G polymorphism ...

Laurel Lakes Cosmetic Dentistry is giving its patients even more to smile about. By joining the B2B Green Alliance, Laurel Lakes Cosmetic Dentistry seeks to promote eco-conscious business practices among dental offices. The B2B Green Alliance is an environmental outreach initiative from Page 1 Green Solutions, a program sponsored by web marketing firm Page 1 Solutions. Page 1 Solutions strives to reduce its environmental impact by encouraging its clients to pursue their own eco-friendly business practices and hopes to facilitate the exchange of ideas between clients ...

Contact: Dorothea Blomeyer, Ph.D. dorothea.blomeyer@zi-mannheim.de 49-621-1703-4921 (Germany) Central Institute of Mental Health Rainer Spanagel, Ph.D. rainer.spanagel@zi-mannheim.de 49-621-1703-6251 (Germany) Central Institute of Mental Health Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research An early age at first drink combined with stressful life events can lead to heavy drinking Researchers believe that an early age at first drink (AFD) may lead to greater stress-induced drinking. A new study examines interactions between AFD and stressful life events ...

There may be a link between receiving industry funding for speaking, consulting, or research, and the publication of apparently promotional opinion pieces on menopausal hormone therapy. Furthermore, such publications may encourage physicians to continue prescribing these therapies to women of menopausal age. These are the key findings of a study by Adriane Fugh-Berman from Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington D.C., USA, and colleagues, published in this week's PLoS Medicine. Over the past three decades, menopausal hormones have been heavily promoted for preventing ...

The standard retreatment regimen for tuberculosis has low treatment response rates and is associated with poor long term outcomes in certain subgroups of patients, particularly those infected with both HIV and multi-drug resistant TB. These findings from a study by Edward Jones-López from Boston University Medical School, Boston, USA, and colleagues and published in this week's PLoS Medicine, indicate that the standard retreatment approach to TB as implemented in low and middle-income settings, with a high prevalence of HIV, is inadequate and stress the importance of a ...

This week PLoS Medicine publishes the Genetic RIsk Prediction Studies (GRIPS) Statement, a checklist and guidance to help strengthen the reporting of genetic risk prediction studies. Because progress in gene discovery for complex diseases is fuelling interest in the application of genetic risk models for clinical and public health practice, the number of studies assessing predictive ability is steadily increasing, but the quality and completeness of reporting varies. The GRIPS Statement (and accompanying explanation document) provides guidance to enhance the transparency ...

Not all auto accidents are caused by negligent driving. Sometimes dangerous roadways are to blame. Poorly marked construction zones, poorly maintained roads, and other hazardous road conditions cause many accidents each year in Texas. At any given time, the Texas Department of Transportation may list over one hundred major work zones involving lane closures and detours throughout the state. Add hundreds of county and city road construction projects, and you could encounter construction zone hazards wherever you drive. It happens more often than most people realize. Construction ...

In this week's PLoS Medicine, K. Srinath Reddy from the Public Health Foundation of India discusses new research published last week by Malavika Subramanyam, S V Subramanian, and colleagues that found no link between economic growth and child undernutrition rates in India, concluding that direct investments in appropriate health interventions may be necessary to improve child health in India. Dr. Reddy (not involved in the research study) emphasizes that poor health is not only the result of poverty but also of inequality, which manifests in many ways. He says that "developing ...

When Professor Henry Higgins instructed Eliza Doolittle that it was "Ay not I, O not Ow, Don't say 'Rine,' say 'Rain'", he was drawing on years of experience as a professor of phonetics. But research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the European Commission suggests that Higgins's ability to differentiate expertly between similar sounds may have stemmed from birth. Neuroscientists at UCL (University College London) have shown that the brain structure of expert phoneticians differ from those of the general public. However, whilst some of these changes can be explained by ...

Current projections regarding the eventual size and extent of the cholera epidemic in Haiti may greatly underestimate the potential number of cases, according to a report that will appear in The Lancet and has been released online. A mathematical model based on current knowledge about the transmission and course of the diarrheal disease arrives at estimates of new cases through November 2011 that almost double those currently projected by the United Nations. The model also reflects the probable impact of public health measures designed to combat the epidemic. "Our ...

CHICAGO – From 1965 to 2007, the population prevalence of persons who smoked 20 or more cigarettes per day declined significantly, and there was also a decrease in the prevalence of smoking 10 or more cigarettes a day, with these declines greater in California than in the rest of the U.S., according to a study in the March 16 issue of JAMA. Throughout much of the early history of cigarette smoking in the United States, consumption was typically 1 pack (about 20 cigarettes) each day. Since the first surgeon general's report on smoking and health (1964), there has been ...