Press Releases

ROSWELL, N.M., July 4 /PRNewswire/ -- It's been famous for over 60 years as the preferred destination of extraterrestrials, but on July 3 the town of Roswell was invaded by... monsters! B.O.B., the breakout star of DreamWorks Animation's smash hit Monsters vs. Aliens, patrolled the Roswell UFO Festival to protect the planet and keep an eye out for invading aliens. The Monsters vs. Aliens DVD and Blu-ray will arrive on Earth September 29, 2009 and will include the world premiere of the brand new 3D adventure B.O.B.'s Big Break, starring everyone's favorite gelatinous hero.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090703/LA41963 )

SOURCE DreamWorks Animation

WASHINGTON, July 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

SATURDAY, JULY 4: INDEPENDENCE DAY

Profile America -- Saturday, July 4th. Today is that most American of holidays -- Independence Day, celebrating the day in 1776 when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Across the country, there will be parades, concerts, barbeques, and, of course, fireworks. Biwabik, Minnesota, will see its normal population of 1,000 swell 15 times for its annual parade. The world's greatest lizard race will be held in Lovington, New Mexico and in Lavallette, New Jersey, a band will play along with a huge fireworks display, watched by thousands from their boats. Shortly after the U.S. gained its independence, the median age of its population was around 16. Now, the median age is the highest in history -- almost 37 years. Profile America is in its 13th year as a public services of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p.345

Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 19

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 7

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look under the "Newsroom" button).

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

ST. PAUL, Minn., July 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) today welcomed the decision of a fireworks retailer in Wisconsin to withdraw a product called "Run Hadji Run," which was deemed offensive by local Muslims.

["Hadji" is an honorific term for those who have completed the pilgrimage to Mecca, but it has often been used as a derogatory term by U.S. soldiers during the Iraq War.]

One side of the fireworks shows a picture of Arabs and Muslims riding camels with a bomber overhead. On the other side, there is what appears to be Uncle Sam pulling the long beard of a man in traditional Muslim attire.

SEE: Run Hadji Run

http://www.redrhinofireworks.com/itemview.aspx?ID=CD-2881

ALSO SEE: http://img.moonbuggy.org/run-hadji-run/

After being contacted by CAIR-MN, the company agreed to remove the product from its shelves.

SEE: Racist Fireworks Found Being Sold in Wis. (KSTP-TV)

http://kstp.com/news/stories/S1011199.shtml?cat=206

"We appreciate the quick response of the retailer to Muslim concerns and hope that everyone can enjoy the July 4th holiday in an inclusive environment," said CAIR-MN Communications Director Jessica Zikri.

Zikri added that the Muslim civil rights and advocacy group has contacted the distributors, Missouri-based Red Rhino Fireworks, to take similar action and withdraw the product from sales in other areas of the country.

On Saturday, July 4th, the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Tampa) will join with local Muslims in the 2009 Temple Terrace 4th of July Parade to honor and celebrate our nation's independence.

"Part of CAIR's mission is to build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. I cannot think of a better way to express this, than to be a part of a celebration honoring our nation's independence," said CAIR-Tampa Executive Director Ramzy Kilic. "We all must value the freedom, tolerance and justice America offers to us all. This is what it means to be an American."

WHAT: Tampa-area Muslims to join parade in celebration of Independence Day

WHEN: Saturday July 4th, 10 a.m.

WHERE: 113th Avenue -- Temple Terrace, FL -- Unit Section 38 B. For more information on the 2009 Temple Terrace 4th of July Parade, please visit: http://templeterracechamber.com/

CONTACT: CAIR-Tampa Executive Director Ramzy Kilic, 813-486-2529, 813-514-1414, E-Mail: rkilic@cair.com

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties and advocacy group has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR-MN Communications Director Jessica Zikri, 612-226-3289, E-Mail: jzikri@cair.com; CAIR-MN Civil Rights Director Taneeza Islam, Esq., 651-587-4712, E-Mail: tislam@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations

MILWAUKEE, Wis., July 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Hupy & Abraham, S.C. is continuing its motorcycle safety awareness campaign with an important reminder for all motorists to share the road during the upcoming 4th of July holiday weekend.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090703/CG41956)

"It is our hope that everyone enjoys a safe riding season in 2009 and that motorists share the road with motorcyclists," said Attorney Michael F. Hupy. "With even more people on the road during holidays such as the 4th of July, it is especially important for everyone on the road to be aware and take responsibility for their actions."

In connection with Hupy & Abraham, S.C.' s motorcycle awareness message for the 4th of July holiday, former Wisconsin State Senator Dave Zien will begin his latest motorcycle journey to achieve yet another riding record. Zien has broken 118 motorcycle riding records on his 1991 Harley-Davidson FXRT, most recently becoming the first person to ride one million miles on the same Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Zien will make the first major trip on his new Harley-Davidson motorcycle this weekend, riding from Key West, Florida to Proudhon Bay, Alaska and back within 11 days.

Zien will be departing from Key West at 4:00 a.m. on July 4 for his 11-day journey to Proudhon Bay and will be traveling over 1,000 miles per day. Those interested can visit the Hupy & Abraham Web site to view a live map tracking Dave Zien's progress on his latest ride. For more information, please visit www.hupy.com.

About Hupy & Abraham, S.C.

Hupy & Abraham, S.C. is a personal injury law firm offering a proven record of success with large settlements in serious cases. Hupy & Abraham, S.C. is decades old, and has office locations throughout Wisconsin and Illinois. The firm is committed to giving back to the community, supporting many worthwhile causes including America's Second Harvest of Wisconsin, the YMCA, Boy Scouts, various scholarship programs and safety programs for motorcyclists. For more information on Hupy & Abraham please visit www.hupy.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Marie Maas, 414-390-5500

SOURCE Hupy & Abraham, S.C.

STANFORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The newest revolution in microbiology testing walks on four legs and says "baa."

It's the hair sheep, a less-hirsute version of the familiar woolly barnyard resident. A new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine, which is to be published July 3 in PLoS ONE, finds that not only are these ruminants low-maintenance and parasite-resistant, they're also perfect blood donors for the microbiology tests necessary to diagnose infectious disease in the developing world.

Identifying microbes from a patient's urine or sputum requires growing those microbes in culture dishes filled with gelatinous agar and a small amount of blood. The blood provides nutrients to the growing bugs and also provides clues as to the microbes' identities: Microbiologists can rule out or identify certain strains of bacteria based on how the organisms interact with the blood cells in culture.

In the developed world, microbiologists use sheep or horse blood. But in many parts of the developing world, horses are prohibitively expensive, and regular sheep, with their constant need for shearing and tendency to get infections, are difficult to keep alive. Importing animal blood isn't feasible either, as shipping is costly and often unreliable.

Many labs in the developing world use human blood, often donated by lab technicians themselves. But diagnostic tests aren't standardized for human blood, said Ellen Yeh, MD, a resident in pathology at Stanford and first author on the paper. "You don't get the same test results when you use human blood versus sheep blood," she said. In addition, the use of human donors increases technicians' risk of infection with blood-borne diseases.

Ellen Jo Baron, PhD, professor of pathology at the medical school and senior author on the paper, wanted to do better. She's a veteran of overseas microbiology, having trained lab technicians from Botswana to Cambodia for more than a decade.

"Up until the time I saw a hair sheep--which I first saw in Botswana--I had no idea there was even such a thing," said Baron, who is associate director of Stanford's clinical microbiology lab, interim director of the clinical virology lab, and associate chair of pathology for faculty development. She wasted no time in learning about the animals, finding that they resist parasites, don't need to be sheared, and do well in the tropical climes prevalent in much of the developing world.

But no one had tested whether their blood was equivalent to horse or sheep blood. So, calling in a favor from a colleague with a hobby farm near Walnut Creek, Calif., Baron and her colleagues collected blood from hair sheep--the animals are remarkably mellow about the donations, she said--and created test cultures using the blood. Then, they ran a series of common diagnostic tests.

"It worked for every single thing," Baron said.

The researchers also found that they could collect the blood in donation bags, much like those human donors might see at the Red Cross. That's a big advantage over the defibrination process the developed world uses. To defibrinate blood, technicians must shake the samples in a glass jar filled with hundreds of tiny glass beads constantly during and after the donation. That's fine in a lab with machines to do the shaking and autoclaves to sterilize all of those beads, but it's an enormous burden in labs without that equipment. Fortunately, Baron found, hair sheep blood collected in donation bags performed the same as defibrinated blood.

"It's very important," said Bruce Hanna, PhD, professor of pathology and microbiology at the New York University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. "This paper found an alternative that is able to be produced in Africa and provides identical results to the standardized products that are used in this country."

Michele Barry, MD, senior associate dean for global health at Stanford medical school, added: "Diagnosis of bacterial diseases and antibiotic sensitivity in low resource settings is often infeasible due to cost, access to diagnostics or manpower. Ellen Jo Baron and colleagues have uniquely decided to combine veterinary health science and human blood banking to develop a blood agar from hair sheep as medium to grow bacteria. This sheep is a low-maintenance animal adopted for hot climates. The technology, which they are modeling in Botswana, is an example of a practical 'can do' innovation in microbiology that will save lives in the tropics at low cost by quickly identifying bacteria to tailor cost-effective antibiotic use--a precious commodity overseas."

Now, said Baron and Yeh, the only hurdle is getting the sheep to the labs that need them. Two veterinary labs in Botswana already provide hair sheep blood to local labs based on Baron's initial results. Baron is now lobbying the charity Heifer International to add hair sheep to its catalogue so microbiologists can donate and send the animals to the developing world. After all, she said, the sheep can provide milk and meat--and that's on top of their role as donors of blood that, in her words, "works perfectly for every microbiology test that a laboratory would need to do."

Baron and Yeh's co-authors on the paper are Stanford pathologist Benjamin A. Pinsky, MD, PhD, and Niaz Banaei, MD, assistant professor of pathology and infectious diseases. The study was self-funded by Baron.

NOTE TO MEDIA: A photo of the sheep is available upon request.

The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation's top 10 medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://mednews.stanford.edu. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. For information about all three, please visit http://stanfordmedicine.org/about/news.html.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5999686&lang=en

    Source: Stanford University School of Medicine