Pregnancy is an exciting time filled with hopeful anticipation, and most pregnancies are uneventful and result in healthy babies. Pregnancy, however, is not entirely without risk, leading some expectant parents to worry about birth defects and whether they’ll give birth to a healthy baby.
Many birth defects are minor and easily treated. But about one in every 33 babies is born with a major birth defect, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Major birth defects may have a serious impact on development, functional ability and overall health. Throughout January, which is Birth Defects Prevention Month, BeSmartBeWell.com highlights pregnancy risks and preventable birth defects. At BeSmartBeWell.com medical experts, and real-life expectant moms, like Sharon, share information to help lower the risk for birth defects.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/birthdefects/50829/
They’ve been dubbed the “Sandwich Generation”–middle-aged people caring for aging parents while still taking care of their own children. Pulled in many directions, these family jugglers are at risk for stress, depression and other health problems. Older adults are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population; 10,000 people turn 65 every day. This will continue for nearly 20 years, and that means more and more people will find themselves aiding their aging parents.
Throughout November, which is National Family Caregiver Month, BeSmartBeWell.com sheds light on the challenges of caregiving and the particular issues facing the Sandwich Generation. At BeSmartBeWell.com, siblings Chris and Ann share their story of juggling jobs, family and caring for elderly parents.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/caregivingparents/50827/
Easter Seals this morning released a new report Our Nation’s Children at Risk: A State-by-State Report on Early Intervention during its 2011 International Convention currently being held in Washington, D.C. In meetings with Members of Congress on The Hill today, more than 300 Easter Seals volunteers, staff and families with disabilities will share both the report’s findings and a petition with nearly 40,000 signatures urging legislators to invest in young children.
The new report details how well each state takes care of its youngest children with disabilities and delays. The unfortunate news: infants and toddlers in nearly every state continue to fall behind, many will never catch up.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/easterseals/49505/
Carol Baldwin-Moody of Wilmington Trust describes the challenges that are present in her line of work as senior vice president and chief risk officer. There is a strong legal backing to every major issue in today’s society. Baldwin-Moody has come across several scenarios that aren’t covered by the dated constitutional law in effect today. In past years, a risk officer was thought to be a management concept that would be useful, but not worth the investment. Lately, a risk officer career has become an indispensible resource in the corporate world.
The law plays an important role in every aspect of our lives. Even something that seems simple, like the ability to send a text message and donate money to a charitable organization, requires contract law to come into play. If a career as a compliance officer is of interest to you, an online legal studies degree from Kaplan University could be the first step in working toward that goal.* A legal studies degree allows students the unique opportunity to grow into a field that is constantly changing and evolving.
*Kaplan University's programs are designed to prepare graduates to pursue employment in their field of study, or in related fields. However, the University does not guarantee that graduates will be placed in any particular job, eligible for job advancement opportunities, or employed at all. Additional training or certification may be required.
“Social media, the first amendment, privacy; the law is so far behind in that trend. Blogs and all of that, that is a constant challenge for me today because everybody wants to talk the way they want to talk and in my job, I’m required to actually surveil peoples’ e-mails; I’m required by law. I look for certain words; well, that was ok when people used words. Now when they use ‘r u,’ I can’t surveil that. The privacy issue with kids and MySpace, that whole area of law, think about it; constitutional law was what we learned. There’s nothing in constitutional law that we learned 30 years ago, so if you’re into that, there’s going to be a lot of time. We need that because it’s evolutionary.
Globalization—if you think about what happened in the financial markets, the meltdown, it’s because there’s so much connection and therefore there are a lot of things going on in that arena where every country’s financial rules, they’re looking at them and comparing them. That’s another area- comparative law. Comparative law when it comes to the environment and financial services; those are two big things.
Health—the whole health debate; you may be thinking just about the politics but there’s a lot of law behind that. HIPA, all those rights, and think about the things they’re talking about from a political perspective—there’s a lot of law behind that.
Those are just three areas that are not only specific in terms of thinking outside of the box, but they actually go back to a lot of the fundamentals that are part of the law. Those are just three; that social media one, I don’t even want to tackle that one; I’m assigning that to my kids. Just think about it—it’s out there before anything has been screened. You think about the things that go on—it’s called the social media. There used to be the 6 o’clock news; there’s the 24 hour news, there’s the instant news now.
I think some of it’s great, I think some of the positive things about the technology, I just learned this, the fact that you could text five digits on your phone and the money was in Haiti instantly. But, a lot of people don’t realize how much legal work was behind the contractual agreement between the phone companies. There was a lot of legal work that was done in order for that to happen but yet young people, my daughter was one of them, it’s like, ‘ok mom,’ and then I start thinking; well I know what really happened. They had to get into a contract about that, but those are the kinds of things that at the end you see the result is phenomenal. Think about that 20 years ago—could not have happened.”
Approximately 7,000 high school students drop out every school day – that’s one every 26 seconds. In an effort to raise awareness about the dropout crisis and inspire individuals to “Boost” (support) students in their communities, the U.S. Army and the Ad Council are unveiling a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs), created pro bono by advertising agency Publicis New York.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/52064-ad-council-boostup-high-school-dropout-prevention-campaign
The American Kidney Fund today launches a national campaign to raise awareness about kidney disease, a serious and increasingly common condition that is damaging the health of as many as 31 million Americans. Pair Up: Join the Fight to Prevent Kidney Disease encourages women to take two simple, yet powerful actions: learn if they’re at risk for kidney disease; and spread the word about kidney disease to loved ones who also may be at risk. The launch of Pair Up coincides with the release of a national survey revealing that most Americans who care for their loved ones’ health are unaware that diabetes and high blood pressure are the leading causes of kidney disease.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/51973-american-kidney-fund-laila-ali-pair-up-women-prevent-kidney-disease
Emmy® and Tony® award-winning actress Blythe Danner and Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) today launch Act 2 Reduce Fractures™, an educational campaign for women with postmenopausal osteoporosis at increased risk for fractures. Earlier this year, Danner was diagnosed with postmenopausal osteoporosis at increased risk for fractures and wants to encourage women like her to educate themselves, take action and speak to their doctors to learn all they can about helping to strengthen their bones. The campaign is being supported by American Bone Health, the Global Healthy Living Foundation and the Older Women’s League.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/amgen/48052/
A new national survey shows most preteens and teens engage in day-to-day activities that may put them at risk of contracting meningococcal meningitis, a rare, but serious bacterial infection that can cause meningitis and take the life of an otherwise healthy child in just a single day. The National Association of School Nurses (NASN), in collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur, conducted the survey as part of its Voices of Meningitis back-to-school vaccination awareness initiative.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/voicesofmeningitis/50125/
An international team of researchers led by Gerard D. Schellenberg, PhD, a member of the CurePSP Genetics Consortium and professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has identified three new genes that can increase the risk of people developing Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP).
PSP is a rare neurodegenerative brain disease, similar to Parkinson’s disease, which causes severe disability by destroying parts of cells that allow the brain to function normally. While PSP has underlying biological similarities to Alzheimer’s disease, a disease which primarily affects memory, PSP impacts a person’s physical movement and bodily functions. PSP leads to progressive decline in patients — there is no known cause or cure.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/psp/49958/
Millions of U.S. drivers are putting themselves at risk and wasting fuel by failing to properly check tire pressure, according to a new survey by the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA).
Only 15 percent of motorists revealed that they know how to correctly check tire pressure. Under inflated tires contribute to more than 600 highway fatalities and 33,000 thousand injuries each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Additionally, under inflated tires cause U.S. drivers to waste 1.2 billion gallons of fuel annually.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/rma/50200/
Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPTR) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company’s antibacterial drug DIFICID™ (fidaxomicin) tablets for the treatment of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) in adults 18 years of age and older. CDAD is a significant medical problem in hospitals and long-term care facilities, and is beginning to emerge in the community among people previously at low risk for the disease. In the largest Phase 3 clinical studies ever conducted in CDAD, DIFICID had clinical response rates at the end of treatment that were non-inferior to oral vancomycin. DIFICID was superior to vancomycin in sustaining clinical response through 25 days beyond the end of treatment. DIFICID is the only FDA-approved antibacterial drug proven to be superior to vancomycin in sustained clinical response for CDAD.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/optimerpharma/50177/
The results of The State of Compliance: 2011, an inaugural study conducted by PwC US and Compliance Week, will be released today at the Compliance Week 2011 6th Annual Conference for corporate financial, legal, risk, audit and compliance officers in Washington, D.C. The report – the first of its kind – identifies a wide range of compliance issues confronting organizations today and will stay current as new companies participate, accurately reflecting the changing compliance landscape.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/pwc/45949/