MUNICH, Germany and ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands, April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Could thin-film solar technology be the shortcut to grid-parity? What are the experiences with large-scale application of thin-film technology? Why do crystalline market leaders invest in thin-film technology?

The international solar conference 'The Thin-film Future' will provide a comprehensive overview of, and give an update on the latest developments in, the rapidly growing thin-film solar industry. This one-day event organized by SolarPlaza will take place on the 11th of June in Munich (Germany), just before the start of the world's largest PV exhibition Intersolar.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- Evaluation based on ability to execute and completeness of vision

Gartner, Inc. has positioned Quadrem International in the Challengers Quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Sourcing Application Suites, 2008. (1)

"In my opinion, our position in the Challengers Quadrant by Gartner confirms our ability to deliver sourcing solutions successfully while also providing a robust offering for tactical and strategic sourcing," said Chris Haydon, Quadrem Senior Vice President, Marketing and Global Solutions.

OSLO, Norway, April 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- Six Local Newspapers Team Up to Provide Specialized Search Service for Soccer Fans; FAST ESP Allows Users to Easily Navigate Wide Variety of Local Content on Sport

Fast Search & Transfer(TM) (OSEAX: FAST.OL) (FAST(TM)), the leading global provider of search technologies, today announced that 100% Fotball, a soccer search service launched through collaboration between six Norwegian newspapers, has gone live powered by the award-winning FAST Enterprise Search Platform (FAST ESP(TM)).

MILAN, Italy, April 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- Findings Include 80% SVR12 Rate with Nitazoxanide-Based Combination Therapy and New Insights into Mechanism of Action of Nitazoxanide

Romark Laboratories, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, today announced that data from studies of nitazoxanide in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are being communicated in four presentations made at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), held in Milan, Italy this week.

HOUSTON, April 23 /PRNewswire/ --

Endeavour International Corporation (Amex: END) (LSE: ENDV) today announced the beginning of its 2008 exploration and development drilling program in the North Sea with the spudding of the Galtvort exploration well in Norwegian Production License 348. Under the current rig schedule, the company will participate in at least seven exploration and appraisal wells and one development well all spudding before the end of the year. Endeavour is the operator of three of the blocks to be drilled.

PHILADELPHIA and LONDON, April 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- Timely Event Focuses On Increasing Importance of Bibliometric Data in the University Ranking Systems and Proposed Use of Citation Data for the REF

The Scientific business of Thomson Reuters and King's College London today announced they will be hosting Beyond the RAE 2008: Bibliometrics, League Tables and the REF. To be held at King's College London on April 30, 2008, this one-day event will help inform universities about appropriate uses of citation data in research evaluation and provide a forum to discuss and plan for future evaluative activities around the upcoming Research Excellence Framework (REF), the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).

CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France, April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Essilor International, the world leader in ophthalmic optics, today announced consolidated revenue of EUR762.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008, representing a reported 3.6% increase on the first quarter of 2007.

Like-for-like growth amounted to 6.2%, in line with the Company's announced annual growth target. Changes in scope of consolidation accounted for 4% of growth for the period, corresponding mainly (3.3%) to acquisitions made in 2007, with the rest contributed by businesses acquired since January 1. The 6.6% negative currency effect primarily reflected the 13.9% fall in the dollar against the euro and, to a lesser extent, the 12.6% decline in the British pound.

New research by the Universities of Exeter and Oxford states that a child’s sex is associated with the mother’s diet. Their evidence shows a link between higher energy intake around the time of conception and the birth of sons. The findings may help explain the falling birth-rate of boys in industrialized countries, including the UK and US.

The study focused on 740 first-time pregnant mothers in the UK, who did not know the sex of their fetus. They were asked to provide records of their eating habits before and during the early stages of pregnancy. They were then split into three groups according to the number of calories consumed per day around the time they conceived. 56% of the women in the group with the highest energy intake at conception had sons, compared with 45% in the lowest group.

As well as consuming more calories, women who had sons were more likely to have eaten a higher quantity and wider range of nutrients, including potassium, calcium and vitamins C, E and B12. There was also a strong correlation between women eating breakfast cereals and producing sons.

Researchers seeking new and more abundant sources of stem cells for use in regenerative medicine have identified a potentially unlimited, noncontroversial, easily collectable, and inexpensive source – menstrual blood.

Stromal stem cells - cells that are present in connective tissues - have recently been identified in endometrial tissues of the uterus. When the fresh growth of tissue and blood vessels is shed during each menstrual cycle, some cells with regenerative capabilities are present and collectable. While collecting menstrual blood stromal cells (MenSCs) directly from tissue would be invasive, retrieving them during the menstrual cycle would not be.

“Stromal stem cells derived from menstrual blood exhibit stem cell properties, such as the capacity for self-renewal and multipotency,” said Amit N. Patel, MD, MS, Director of Cardiac Cell Therapy at the University of Pittsburgh’s McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine. “Uterine stromal cells have similar multipotent markers found in bone marrow stem cells and originate in part from bone marrow.”

CALABASAS, California, April 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- Line 6 website localized in German and French to provide an interactive, exploratory experience for musicians -

Line 6, Inc. (http://www.line6.com), the industry leader in modeling technology for music products, announced today it has expanded its online presence with the launch of its localized French and German websites. The sites can be viewed at http://fr.line6.com and http://de.line6.com.