Women who breast feed for longer have a smaller chance of getting rheumatoid arthritis, suggests a study published online ahead of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

The study also found that taking oral contraceptives, which are suspected to protect against the disease because they contain hormones that are raised in pregnancy, did not have the same effect. Also, simply having children and not breast feeding also did not seem to be protective.

The researchers compared 136 women with rheumatoid arthritis with 544 women of a similar age without the disease. They found that that those who had breast fed for longer were much less likely to get rheumatoid arthritis.

OAK PARK, Michigan, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Azure Dynamics Corporation (TSX: AZD, LSE: ADC & OTCQX: AZDDF) - ("Azure" or the "Company"), a leading developer of hybrid electric and electric powertrains for commercial vehicles today reported its first quarter financial results for the period ending March 31, 2008. The Company also provided an update on corporate and product development activities.

A goal that remained elusive for 25 years has now allowed astronomers to obtain the most precise measurement of the cosmic temperature at an incredible distance; in a well-hidden galaxy whose light has taken almost 11 billion years to reach us - about 80% of the age of the universe.

The only way this galaxy can be seen is through the imprint its interstellar gas leaves on the spectrum of an even more remote quasar [1]. “Quasars are here only used as a beacon in the very distant Universe. Interstellar clouds of gas in galaxies, located between the quasars and us on the same line of sight, absorb parts of the light emitted by the quasars. The resulting spectrum consequently presents dark ‘valleys’ that can be attributed to well-known elements and possibly molecules,” explains Raghunathan Srianand (Pune, India), who led the team making the observations.

NEW YORK, May 12 /PRNewswire/ --

The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), a leading U.S. music rights licensing organization, and RightsFlow, a provider of licensing and royalty services, announced today that they have entered a licensing arrangement for full-length, permanent digital downloads.

"We are very excited to begin this relationship with HFA," stated Patrick Sullivan, President and CEO of RightsFlow. "Our clients look to us to provide a turnkey outsourced solution for publishing licensing and royalty administration. Working with HFA is a key step that will allow us to license and account more swiftly and efficiently, allow our clients to get more product available for sale, and create a greater value for all."

WASHINGTON, May 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- African Heads of State, U.S Delegates to Convene in Arusha, Tanzania June 2 - 6

In less than 30 days, The Leon H. Sullivan Foundation will lead U.S. based delegates to Arusha, Tanzania for its 8th Summit scheduled June 2-6th. Ethiopian Airlines, the official carrier for the Summit, will use two 767 jets to transport the delegates to Tanzania. The first flight departs on May 28th and includes a two night stay in Ethiopia's capital city of Addis Ababa. The second flight will depart on May 30th and will stop on Zanzibar Island for one night at Summit's end. Keeping in alignment with Reverend Sullivan's vision, both flights will arrive in Arusha on May 31st a few hours apart.

LONDON, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Welcoming the launch of the consultation on social care reform, Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the MS Society, said: "We're acutely aware that most people with MS feel the social care system is failing them. The criteria for access to funding are too tight - the funding shortfall isn't 20 years away, it's with us right now.

"This consultation is a once in a generation opportunity for the government to fix social care. We need to make sure the young and disabled aren't left out because current provision for them is pitiful."

Background

LONDON, May 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- Top Tips for Healthy Teeth

- ATTN: Feature Editors

If you want a beaming smile but your all important brushing and flossing still leaves you frowning, take advice from Chief Dental Officer, Barry Cockcroft, on keeping your teeth and gums healthy.

Best brushing

In one year, we spend the equivalent of an entire day brushing our teeth - that's if you brush for the recommended two minutes, twice daily.

A toothbrush with a small head makes it easier to clean every part of your mouth, and a family strength toothpaste with a minimum of 1,000 parts per million of fluoride helps to prevent tooth decay.

600 million years of evolution has taken two unlikely distant cousins, turkeys and scallops, down very different physical paths from their common ancestor but a motor protein, myosin 2, remains structurally identical in both creatures.

Myosin molecules generate tension in smooth muscle by adhering to form a filament, which grabs hold of a neighbouring filament, and relaxes by letting go. When the muscle is in a relaxed state, myosin molecule folds itself up into a compact structure.

The discovery suggests that the tiny motor protein is much more important than previously thought – and for humans it may even hold a key to understanding potentially fatal conditions such as aneurisms.

ST. DAVID'S, Bermuda and COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 12 /PRNewswire/ --

Warner Chilcott and LEO Pharma announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the New Drug Application (NDA) for Taclonex Scalp(R) (calcipotriene 0.005% and betamethasone dipropionate 0.064%) Topical Suspension. LEO Pharma submitted the NDA for Taclonex Scalp(R) to the FDA in July 2007. Taclonex Scalp(R) is a topical suspension containing a combination of calcipotriene 0.005% and betamethasone dipropionate 0.064% for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis vulgaris of the scalp in adults. Taclonex Scalp(R) is called Xamiol(R) outside the United States.

PARIS and MUMBAI, May 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- To Start With, Joint Venture to Provide Managed Services to Reliance Communications CDMA and GSM Networks

Reliance Communications, India's largest integrated telecommunications service provider, and Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced forming a global joint venture. Combining the unique strengths of Alcatel-Lucent and Reliance Communications, the joint centure company would foray in the fast growing USD 16 billion Managed Network Services industry and will cater to telecom operators, both CDMA and GSM, across the globe.

The first assignment of this joint venture will be to provide Managed services for Reliance Communications nationwide CDMA & GSM networks in India.