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Sick at Work and Surfing the Net? You’re Not Alone – or Are You?

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Some scholars estimate that presenteeism, a relatively recent buzzword that applies to people who are less productive at work because of health issues, costs employers as much as three times the dollar amount as absenteeism in terms of lost productivity.

But researchers at University of Michigan believe those numbers may be inaccurate. A new opinion paper suggests that the tools for measuring and quantifying hours of lost productivity and translating those hours to dollars are unreliable and don’t capture the entire presenteeism picture, said Susan Hagen, an analyst from the U-M School of Kinesiology Health Management Research Center (HMRC). (more…)

Researchers Find Ocean Temperature Threshold for Hurricanes is Rising

Environment

Average observed tropical (black) and estimated SST (blue) rose together in the last 30 years. Image credit: University of Hawaii at Mānoa

Scientists have long known that atmospheric convection in the form of hurricanes and tropical ocean thunderstorms tends to occur when sea surface temperature rises above a threshold. So how do rising ocean temperatures with global warming affect this threshold? If the threshold does not rise, it could mean more frequent hurricanes.

A new study by researchers at the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) of the University of Hawaii at Mānoa shows this threshold sea surface temperature for convection is rising under global warming at the same rate as that of the tropical oceans. Their paper appears in the Advance Online Publications of Nature Geoscience. (more…)

SQL Server Masters Certification Goes Global

Technology

*Microsoft dramatically expands access to one of its most elite certification programs.*

REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 9, 2010 — Microsoft is making it more feasible for some of the world’s most talented technology consultants, architects, database engineers and administrators to earn credentials and recognition for their skills. Starting today, the Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) Exam — which certifies professionals’ expertise in the data management platform — will be available in testing centers in nine countries. (more…)

UCLA Uses Hybrid, Precision Heart Procedures to Help Stop Deadly Arrhythmias

Health, Science

Hybrid Cardiac Procedure. Schematic of the heart showing the minimally-invasive approaches to allow access to the surface of the heart (the blue and red areas) during this hybrid cardiac procedure. Image credit: University of California

New techniques now being used at UCLA allow doctors to more precisely target certain areas of the heart to stop ventricular arrhythmias — serious abnormal rhythms in the heart’s lower chambers — in high-risk patients.

Generally, arrhythmias can be controlled by medications, and sometimes defibrillators. But a potentially life-threatening, recurrent arrhythmia known as a ventricular tachycardia, which originates in one of the heart’s two ventricles, can produce a fast heart beat that requires other interventions, such as catheter ablation, in which the precise focus area of the arrhythmia must be controlled.

Cardiologists will often use catheter ablation once medications and other therapies have failed. The procedure involves the insertion of a tiny, metal-tipped catheter through a vein in the groin or neck to reach the inside of the heart. Prior to the procedure, electrical tests are conducted on the heart to identify and map the exact site of the arrhythmia’s origin. (more…)

IBM Pledges $50 Million To Create 100 Smarter Cities

Technology

ARMONK, N.Y. – 09 Nov 2010: IBM today inaugurated Smarter Cities Challenge, a competitive grant program in which IBM will award $50 million worth of technology and services to help 100 municipalities across the globe. Teams of IBM experts will provide city leaders with recommendations for successful growth, better delivery of municipal services, more citizen engagement, and improved efficiency.

This new program is the single-largest philanthropic investment currently planned by IBM, which made US$186 million worth of charitable contributions in 2009, comprising cash, technology, and consulting services. (more…)

Deformed Beaks May Signal a Greater Environmental Problem

Environment, Nature

This Black-capped Chickadee, captured in Anchorage, Alaska, demonstrates an overgrown beak characteristic of avian keratin disorder. Beak deformities in this species were first observed in the late 1990s and biologists have since documented more than 2,100 affected individuals in Alaska. Image credit: U.S. Geological Survey

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The highest rate of beak abnormalities ever recorded in wild bird populations is being seen in a number of species in the Northwest and Alaska, and scientists to this point have not been able to isolate the cause.

Black-capped Chickadees, Northwestern Crows, and other birds are being impacted by the problem, which affects their ability to feed and clean themselves and could signal a growing environmental health problem.

In birds affected by what scientists have termed “avian keratin disorder,” the keratin layer of the beak becomes overgrown, resulting in noticeably elongated and often crossed beaks, sometimes accompanied by abnormal skin, legs, feet, claws and feathers. Biologists with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Alaska Science Center published their findings in this month’s issue of The Auk, a Quarterly Journal of Ornithology.

“The prevalence of these strange deformities is more than ten times what is normally expected in a wild bird population,” said research biologist Colleen Handel with the USGS, “We have seen effects not only on the birds’ survival rates, but also on their ability to reproduce and raise young. We are particularly concerned because we have not yet been able to determine the cause, despite testing for the most likely culprits.” (more…)

Amazon Announces 70-Percent Revenue Share Terms Now Available for Kindle Magazine and Newspaper Publishers

Technology

*Starting today, publishers can use the new Kindle Publishing for Periodicals tool to more easily add content to the Kindle Periodicals Store*

SEATTLE, Nov 08, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that magazine and newspaper publishers will soon be eligible to earn a larger share of revenue from each title they sell in the Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore). For each magazine or newspaper sold, publishers will be able to earn 70 percent of the retail price, net of delivery costs. These new 70-percent royalty terms will become available on December 1, 2010. (more…)

Low Blood Levels of Vitamin D Linked to Chubbier Kids, Faster Weight Gain

Health, Science

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Kids who are deficient in vitamin D accumulated fat around the waist and gained weight more rapidly than kids who got enough vitamin D, a new University of Michigan study suggests.

Vitamin D, which is primarily provided to the body by the sun, has been a hot topic in the U.S. lately. The federal standards for vitamin D intake have come under fire by public health professionals as being much too low, and disagreement continues over the proper amount of vitamin D necessary for optimal health. (more…)