URBANA – A University of Illinois scientist reports that family mealtimes that contain three ingredients in the right amounts can improve the quality of life in children who have chronic asthma. "Family mealtimes, when they're done right, are linked to many benefits for children, including a reduced risk of substance abuse, eating disorders, and obesity. In this study, we've put these mealtimes under a microscope so we can see minute by minute which factors deliver these healthy outcomes," said Barbara H. Fiese, director of the U of I's Family Resiliency Center. Which ...

Rainer Kube and his working group report in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108[4]: 41-6) on new treatment strategies in patients with colon cancer. The findings of multicenter observational studies are a good basis for improvements to overall quality of patient care. Against this background, from 2000 to 2004 Kube and his coauthors collected data on over 31 000 patients in 346 German hospitals. From this data pool they extracted statements about the quality of care. They discovered, for example, that colonoscopy screening ...

Compared to people in employment, men and women who are unemployed suffer more often and longer from both physical and emotional complaints. Why the un-employed should have health problems more often is discussed by Lars E. Kroll and his coauthor in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 4: 47-52), along with a report on the findings of the GEDA study. The GEDA study (Gesundheit in Deutschland Aktuell, or Current Health in Germany) was carried out in 2008-2009 by the Robert Koch Institute. The results showed that unemployed people ...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Everyone knows chocolate is critical to a happy Valentine's Day. Now scientists are one step closer to knowing what makes a heart happy the rest of the year. It's a gene called DOT1L, and if you don't have enough of the DOT1L enzyme, you could be at risk for some types of heart disease. These findings from a study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine appear in the Feb. 1, 2011 issue of the journal Genes and Development. The team created a special line of mice that were genetically predisposed to ...

The first stars in the universe were not as solitary as previously thought. In fact, they could have formed alongside numerous companions when the gas disks that surrounded them broke up during formation, giving birth to sibling stars in the fragments. These are the findings of studies performed with the aid of computer simulations by researchers at Heidelberg University's Centre for Astronomy together with colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching and the University of Texas at Austin (USA). The group's findings, published in Science Express, ...

Things are not always what they seem when it comes to fish—something scientists at the Smithsonian Institution and the Ocean Science Foundation are finding out. Using modern genetic analysis, combined with traditional examination of morphology, the scientists discovered that what were once thought to be three species of blenny in the genus Starksia are actually 10 distinct species. The team's findings are published in the scientific journal ZooKeys, Feb. 3. Starksia blennies, small (less than 2 inches) fish with elongated bodies, generally native to shallow to moderately ...

The vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) can prevent 90 percent of genital warts in men when offered before exposure to the four HPV strains covered by the vaccine, according to a new multi-center study led by H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and UCSF. The four-year, international clinical trial, which also found a nearly 66 percent effectiveness in the general population of young men regardless of prior exposure to these strains, provides the first reported results of using the HPV vaccine as a prophylactic in men. Initial data from this study informed the Food and Drug ...

NEW YORK (February 4, 2011) – Researchers at the NYU Child Study Center demonstrated that a brief program for families of Pre-Kindergarten students attending schools in disadvantaged urban communities improved children's behavior at school. The study, called "Promoting effective parenting practices and preventing child behavior problems in school among ethnically diverse families from underserved, urban communities," was published in the February 2011 issue of Child Development. Dr. Laurie Miller Brotman and her colleagues spent several years developing ParentCorps, ...

Since the days of Darwin, the "tree of life" has been the preeminent metaphor for the process of evolution, reflecting the gradual branching and changing of individual species. The discovery that a large cluster of genes appears to have jumped directly from one species of fungus to another, however, significantly strengthens the argument that a different metaphor, such as a mosaic, may be more appropriate. "The fungi are telling us something important about evolution … something we didn't know," said Antonis Rokas, assistant professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt. ...

An ambitious hunt by Johns Hopkins scientists for actively "jumping genes" in humans has yielded compelling new evidence that the genome, anything but static, contains numerous pesky mobile elements that may help to explain why people have such a variety of physical traits and disease risks. Using bioinformatics to compare the standard assembly of genetic elements as outlined in the reference human genome to raw whole-genome data from 310 individuals recently made available by the 1000 Genomes Project, the team revealed 1,016 new insertions of RIPs, or retrotransposon ...

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a little bomb that promises a big bang for cancer patients. Preliminary tests show an anti-cancer drug loosely attached to gold nanoparticles starts accumulating deep inside tumors within minutes of injection and can be activated for an effective treatment within two hours. The same drug injected alone takes two days to gather and attacks the tumor from the surface – a far less effective route. The work, titled "Deep Penetration of a PDT Drug into Tumors by Noncovalent Drug-Gold Nanoparticle Conjugates," ...

Mice know fear. And they know to fear the scent of a predator. But how do their brains quickly figure out with a sniff that a cat is nearby? It's a complex process that starts with the scent being picked up by specific receptors in their noses. But until now it wasn't clear exactly how these scent signals proceeded from nose to noggin for neural processing. In a study to be published in Nature (available online now to subscribers), Stanford researchers describe a new technique that makes it possible to map long-distance nerve connections in the brain. The scientists ...

CHICAGO --- Small calf muscles may be a feminine trait, but for women with peripheral artery disease (PAD) they're a major disadvantage. Researchers at Northwestern Medicine point to the smaller calf muscles of women as a gender difference that may cause women with PAD to experience problems walking and climbing stairs sooner and faster than men with the disease. The study was published in the February 2011 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Peripheral artery disease affects eight million men and women in the United States. The disease causes ...

MyBinding,com, a division of Information Management Services, LCC, announces the promotion of Shawn Slotkin from Account Executive to Inside Sales Supervisor MyBinding.com, one of the country's leading online retailers of document finishing equipment and supplies, recently announced that one of their account executives, Shawn Slotkin, has been promoted. Slotkin is now serving as Inside Sales Supervisor. His promotion was announced in a company e-mail on Friday, January 28, 2011. "I'm excited," said Slotkin. "I've been waiting for this opportunity for quite a while." ...

Because many women business owners are solopreneurs, they often learn the ins and outs of business ownership on their own. They may not recognize what is possible for themselves or for their businesses because they haven't had the experience or exposure. The good news is that it is possible for these female entrepreneurs to become successful with ease - by receiving support from experts and from people in the community. Bringing In the Experts: Saving Time and Money, and Reaching Goals Faster is the latest article by professional marketing researcher and entrepreneurial ...

Annie's Gift is about a boy with disabilities and a dog named Annie. Annie's life started out rough but she found refuge with a family that allowed her to be the wonderful pet she desired to be. As the young boy grows he begins to need help with certain everyday task and Annie desires to figure out a way to help him. The book leaves you desiring more, expecting a solution to this young boys needs and ending with a final solution. Annie's Gift is a dog's perspective of how important it is to be the best pet possible. Recognizing her limitations but desiring to seek an ...

Making a living as an Executive Chef in various restaurants, healthcare, and government facilities over the last two decades was a very overwhelming and challenging experience for me. Not having time for family life and not taking care of other priorities was damaging and at times devastating in terms of living a full life. However, I always had a great position, with a great title, great salary, and excellent benefits. I had what many young professionals would consider a âEURœdream lifeâEUR. Years of working hard and remaining faithful to my employers meant nothing, as ...

The S.O.A.R. meeting will be held at 6:00 pm at the offices of the YWCA of Central Alabama, located at 309 23rd Street North, in Downtown Birmingham. Many are aware that February is Black History Month. However it is also Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month. S.O.A.R. members will recognize both of these significant themes for February, as they listen to their guest share information about students at Parker High School who have written a screenplay based on teen dating violence. These students are producing, directing and editing this screenplay, which ...

Colorado Photographer Sandy Puc' is adding Wedding Portraiture to her list of seminar tour series topics in 2011 with the Power of Passion Tour—her fourth consecutive tour, following three widely acclaimed international tours. The Power of Passion Tour will feature Jerry Ghionis, one of wedding portraiture's leading authorities. Launching in Denver on February 12, 2011, the tour will visit 32 locations throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. The Passion Tour will cover various elements of wedding and boudoir portraiture, from lighting and posing, to sales and ...

Berkleemusic, the online continuing education division of Boston's renowned Berklee College of Music, along with Grammy -award winning guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, today announced a call to action for guitarists around the world to join forces and set the Guinness World Record for the largest online guitar lesson on March 3rd, 2011. This first-of-its-kind initiative will bring together the worldwide community of guitarists in an unprecedented online celebration of music education. Vai, who is currently recording a new album and preparing for an extensive world tour, is ...

Innovation Economy Corporation (IEC) has teamed up with Russell Armstrong. Managing Director of Crescent Financial Partners, Inc. (CFP), a Los Angeles-based private equity merchant banking firm, to source local technology commercialization opportunities. Through IEC's partnership with several top University research facilities, the partnership seeks to capitalize on projects that leverage licensed technologies in everything from biotech to pharma. Founder and CEO of IEC, Amro Albanna, is a well-respected local business leader whose credits include founding multiple ...

Moehr and Associates has released its master site page re-design for direct sales marketing: http://www.directsalespower.com. This site is a resource site for direct sales marketing and party plan selling. This site offers not only links to many of its product line, but announcements for promotional opportunities, ads and links to helpful tips and articles. Also included on the site is a sign-up form to receive the company's weekly ACHIEVE! ezine. "The site re-design has been a couple of month's in the making and we feel it best serves our growing visitor base by ...

Inspired by the growth of the CiviCRM community, leading Drupal website developer Zengenuity recently announced its support for the upcoming conference of users, developers, and implementers of CiviCRM open source software. CiviCon Chicago 2011, the annual event to be held in Downtown Chicago on March 7th, will feature top-notch speakers leading interactive discussions on the future of the platform, which supports a broad range of customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. "Our company's support of CiviCon 2011 is anchored in the broader goal of helping this ...

Hammerax has entered into an agreement with drummer Jay Lane to endorse Hammerax cymbals and percussion. "We're really excited to have Jay on board, says Hammerax president John Stannard. His extraordinary style and technique will make a great addition to our team." Primus embarked on an extensive tour beginning in 2010. They are currently in the studio working on new material. They are playing the Australian Soundwave Festival which kicks off February 26 in Brisbane and concludes March 7 in Perth. Some of the projects Lane has recorded and/or performed on include ...

Staying focused on retirement income goals is critical to helping employees achieve fully funded retirements, according to experts at Diversified Investment Advisors, Inc., a national firm specializing in retirement plans. "Having a single but comprehensive measure helps plan participants understand easily where they stand in terms of progress toward their retirement savings goals and enables them to evaluate which actions are most likely to lead to a more financially secure retirement," said Patricia Advaney, senior vice president of participant solutions for Diversified. ...