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Dealt a Bad Hand: Pathological Gamblers Are Also at Risk for Mental Health Disorders

Richard Boyer. Image credit : University of Montreal

Pathological gamblers are risking more than their money, they are also three times more likely to commit suicide than non-betters. A new Montreal inter-university study has shown these gamblers are also plagued by personality disorders. These findings, published in a recent issue of the Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, may have implications for developing improved targeted suicide prevention programs.

“The World Health Organization estimates that suicide is one of the top ten causes of death in the Western world,” says study co-author, Richard Boyer a Université de Montréal professor and researcher at the Centre de recherche Fernand-Seguin at the Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital. “In addition, pathological gamblers account for five percent of all suicides. These staggering statistics motivated us to study the difference between gamblers and non-gamblers.” (more…)

IGH Solutions Drives User Adoption Up by 246 Percent by Switching From Salesforce.com to Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Technology

*With new deployment, company increases ROI by 595 percent and resolves data entry issues.*

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 23, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. today highlighted the benefits attained by IGH Solutions, a world leader in developing and delivering innovative solutions for specialty and dimensional printing, in three years since switching from Salesforce.com to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. They include an increase in sales-team productivity valued at $1.2 million, nearly $400,000 in reduced costs for licensing fees, a 246 percent increase in user adoption, and an ROI of 595 percent — all realized by establishing a cost-effective and standardized sales-force automation solution for use across the enterprise.

With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, IGH Solutions also resolved integration and data entry issues that had plagued the company because Salesforce.com could not integrate with its Hagen ERP system. In addition, the company was able to capitalize on its existing investment in Microsoft business productivity software, including Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Office, Microsoft InfoPath and Microsoft SQL Server, because of the interoperability Microsoft Dynamics CRM has with these applications. (more…)

Amazon.it Launches Today, Providing Vast Selection, Significant Savings and Great Convenience for Italian Online Shoppers

Technology

New Site Offers Everyday Low Prices on Books, DVD, Music, Video Games and Consumer Electronics – just in time for Christmas shopping
Amazon Prime membership program is available with unlimited free guaranteed 2-3-day delivery at an annual fee of 9.99 Euros
Introductory offer includes 30% discount on the vast selection of over 2 million Italian- and foreign-language books

SEATTLE, Nov 23, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.com today launched Amazon.it (www.amazon.it), an Italian-language website offering customers a vast selection of books, DVDs, video games, music and consumer electronics at everyday low prices. Launching with more categories than any other Amazon web site has launched with, the selection also includes computers, software, small home appliances, watches and toys. Amazon.it’s convenient services include Amazon Prime, the membership program with unlimited free guaranteed 2-3-day delivery at an annual fee of 9.99 Euros. (more…)

Late-preterm Babies at Greater Risk for Problems Later in Childhood

Health

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Late-preterm babies – those born between 34 and 36 weeks – are at an increased risk for cognitive and emotional problems, regardless of maternal IQ or demographics, according to new research published by Michigan State University researchers in the current edition of the journal Pediatrics. (more…)

Tightwads and Spendthrifts: A Black Friday Tradition

Culture, Economy

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Every year about this time, on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that traditionally begins the holiday shopping season, early-morning consumers stand in long lines eager to purchase some sought after prize. From the outside, it looks as if these holiday shoppers can’t wait to plunk down their cash, but Ross School marketing professor Scott Rick says consumers often behave differently than they would ideally like to behave.

“Some consumers chronically spend more than they would like, and some consumers chronically spend less than they would like,” he said. “Where an individual falls within the range of desiring to spend more or less largely determines whether he or she is a tightwad or a spendthrift, characteristics that determine quite a bit about a person’s spending habits.” (more…)

NSF Signs $34.5-million Operating Agreement With University Of Wisconsin as Antarctic Neutrino Detector Nears Completion

Science

The National Science Foundation has signed a five-year, $34.5-million agreement with the University of Wisconsin-Madison to operate a unique telescope–a cubic kilometer in volume–buried in the Antarctic ice sheet between 1,400 meters and 2,400 meters deep.

The collaborative agreement covers the cost of operating the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, located in the ice under the U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The observatory records the rare collisions of neutrinos, elusive sub-atomic particles, with the atomic nuclei of the water frozen into ice. Neutrinos come from the sun, cosmic rays interacting with the Earth’s atmosphere, and dramatic astronomical sources such as exploding stars in the Milky Way and other distant galaxies. Trillions of neutrinos stream through the human body at any given moment, but they rarely interact with regular matter, and researchers want to know more about them and where they come from. (more…)

Price Check by Amazon App Now Available for iPhone

Technology

*New app helps customers instantly compare in-store prices to the low prices from Amazon.com and other online merchants*

SEATTLE, Nov 22, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.com today announced a new price comparison app for the iPhone that provides customers the easiest way yet to compare in-store prices with the low prices from Amazon.com and other online merchants. Across all categories of products – from toys to consumer electronics – customers can use the app to scan a barcode, snap a picture, or say or type a product name to receive instant prices for that item from Amazon.com and other online merchants. Customers will then have the ability to, with one-click, purchase the item and have it delivered directly to their doorstep.

“This app makes it incredibly easy to quickly compare prices on millions of items before making a purchase,” said Sam Hall, director of Amazon Mobile. “We’ve worked hard to have low prices at Amazon, and we like it when customers comparison shop so they know they’re getting a good deal. We hope this app will empower customers to shop with confidence this holiday and any other day.” (more…)

IBM Powers Russian Pharmaceutical Company PROTEK

Technology

*IBM’s POWER7 systems replace HP servers*

MOSCOW, – 22 Nov 2010: IBM today announced that Russian pharmaceutical distributor PROTEK has switched to IBM POWER7 systems for its data processing center. The new systems from IBM replace the previous servers from HP, enabling PROTEK to improve the performance of critical business applications while reducing power consumption and increasing return on investment.

PROTEK is one of Russia’s largest pharmaceutical companies, distributing medicines to 44,000 pharmacies and health-care institutions across the Russian Federation. PROTEK’s rapid business growth and the implementation of a new ERP system across all of its offices resulted in a sharp increase in workload for the company’s IT infrastructure. PROTEK’s legacy IT system, based on HP SuperDome servers, failed to meet its growing performance requirements. In an effort to avoid further delays in critical business data processing, PROTEK’s management board decided to switch to a new server platform. (more…)