BRUSSELS, January 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Ansell Healthcare, the global leader in barrier protection, will be showcasing its large portfolio of hand protection solutions at Intersec Middle East in Dubai from 13 to 15 January next. For Ansell, its first-ever participation in the Middle East's largest safety exhibition is a perfect opportunity to raise awareness about hand protection needs and underline its protection expertise in the booming Middle East market.

READING, England, January 10 /PRNewswire/ --

- Assessment Based on Completeness of Vision, Ability to Execute

Leading industry analyst firm Gartner Inc. has positioned Verizon Business in the Leaders quadrant among European network services providers in its new report, "Magic Quadrant for Pan-European Network Service Providers, 2007."(1)

The latest Gartner Magic Quadrant examines network service providers that "generate at least 100 million euro in enterprise network services revenue contracted in Europe (not merely revenue for delivery in Europe under contract from non-European sources)." To qualify, providers had to "offer voice, data, managed network and value-added services to enterprise customers across multiple geographies in Europe."

NAPLES, Italy, January 10 /PRNewswire/ --

Patients who received OrbusNeich's pro-healing stent, the Genous Bio-engineered R stent, had significantly fewer major cardiac adverse events (MACE) than patients who received Boston Scientific's TAXUS or Johnson & Johnson's CYPHER drug-eluting stents in a study conducted at Federico II University of Naples in Naples, Italy. The results of the study were presented recently at the XXVIII National Congress of the Italian Society of Invasive Cardiology by Federico Piscione, M.D., the study's principal investigator and a professor with the university's Division of Cardiology, Department of Clinical Medicine and Cardiovascular Sciences.

CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France, January 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Essilor of America, Essilor International's US subsidiary, has strengthened its prescription laboratory network in the United States with the acquisition of Interstate Optical Co., one of the country's five largest independent laboratories. Interstate's two laboratories in Mansfield, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana serve eye care professionals in 32 states. The company has full-year sales of US$26 million and 210 employees.

The motion, formation, and recycling of Earth’s crust—commonly known as plate tectonics—have long been thought to be continuous processes but new research by geophysicists suggests that plate tectonic motions have occasionally stopped in Earth’s geologic history, and may do so again.

The findings could reshape our understanding of the history and evolution of the Earth’s crust and continents.

Synthesizing a wide range of observations and constructing a new theoretical model, researchers Paul Silver of the Carnegie Institution of Washington and Mark Behn of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have found evidence that the process of subduction has effectively stopped at least once in Earth’s past.

If you’re worried about high cholesterol levels and keeping heart-healthy as you get older, don’t push aside bacon and eggs just yet. A new study says they might actually provide a benefit.

Researchers at Texas A&M University have discovered that lower cholesterol levels can actually reduce muscle gain with exercising. Lead investigator Steven Riechman, assistant professor of health and kinesiology, and Simon Sheather, head of the Department of Statistics, along with colleagues from The Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, have recently had their findings published in the Journal of Gerontology.

Bottom line: Before you have that second helping of oatmeal, it’s very possible that cholesterol may not be the mean Mr.

LONDON, January 10 /PRNewswire/ --

The MS Society has responded to the Health Select Committee's report on Session 2007-08 of the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), to be published at 00.01am on Thursday 10 January.

MS Society chief executive, Simon Gillespie, said: "Five years ago this same Select Committee said NICE had to improve relationships with patient groups and there is still precious little evidence of this. We support calls to make the drug approval process more transparent and streamlined, and welcome proposals to ensure guidance is carried out more effectively by PCTs but there is still a long way to go."

For more information on the MS Society, visit http://www.mssociety.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

DALLAS, January 9 /PRNewswire/ --

Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (NYSE: ACS) today announced that it has acquired Syan Holdings Limited, a U.K.-based provider of information technology outsourcing (ITO) services and one of the United Kingdom's largest IBM Business Partners, for approximately US$60 million (30.5 million pounds Sterling). Syan's trailing twelve-months revenue was approximately US$75 million. The transaction will be funded entirely with existing cash on hand.

The acquisition strengthens ACS' global ITO presence by adding a solid base of U.K. operations, including two data centers, and expanding its reach into the United Kingdom. It also enhances the company's position as a leading provider of IT solutions to global FORTUNE 1000 clients.

One of the roadblocks for electric motor technology is that as operating temperatures go up, the magnets in the motors get weaker, resulting in a drop in power. Ames Laboratory Researcher Iver Anderson and his team have developed a new magnetic alloy that maintains its strong magnetic properties even at high operating temperatures approaching 400 degrees F.

The Ames Lab senior metallurgist and Iowa State University adjunct professor of materials science and engineering is playing a major role in advancing electric drive motor technology to meet the enormous swell in consumer demand expected over the next five years.