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.

CALABASAS, California, April 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- Fully loaded, battery-powered addition to the Spider family -

Line 6, Inc. (http://www.line6.com), the industry leader in amp modeling technology, announced today that Micro Spider, the traveling guitarist's best friend, and a potent addition to the best-selling Spider III family of modeling amplifiers, has begun shipping and is now available worldwide.

BRASILIA, Brazil, April 22 /PRNewswire/ --

Brasil Telecom Participacoes S.A. (BOVESPA: BRTP3/BRTP4; NYSE: BRP) registered consolidated net revenue of R$2,762.0 million in the 1Q08, 2.6% up on the 1Q07, and net income of R$ 248.3 million, equivalent to R$ 0.6850 per share.

BrT Movel's EBITDA stood at R$ 14.7 million in the 1Q08, 236.3% up on the same period the year before. The EBITDA margin of the mobile operations came to 3.4%, 2.3 p.p. up on the 1Q07.

In the 1Q08, Brasil Telecom added 69,500 ADSL users to its network, totaling 1,637,300 users in service at the end of the quarter, up by 18.3% year-on-year. ADSL users represented 20.4% of Brasil Telecom's network in the 1Q08, versus 16.7% in the 1Q07.

SWANSEA, Wales, April 23 /PRNewswire/ --

Unite the Union and Macmillan distribution (MdL) are holding a World book day event on Wednesday the 23rd of April 2008 at 12.00pm at the Macmillan site in Lye Industrial Estate near Swansea.

The event will provide quick-read books to invited guests, which include Students from Penyrheol Comprehensive School Pontardulais.

Other publishers have generously agreed to provide books for the event, which is expected to be attended by over one hundred guests. World book day events aim to encourage everyone to learn to enjoy books and to make reading a custom.

Scott Quinell, one of the authors of the quick-read books published by Macmillan will host the event and autograph books.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, April 22 /PRNewswire/ --

The Committee for Economic Development and the Wolfensohn Center for Development at Brookings are hosting a conference featuring global business leaders and early child development experts on April 23, 2008 in The Hague, The Netherlands.

Eczema is a distressing condition for both parents and babies – the raw, red skin is painful to see and it is difficult to stop small children from scratching it. At worst, it can mean having to wet wrap wriggly toddlers each day with bandages soaked in moisturisers. It usually starts in the first year of life and affects about 10% of infants. Although most children eventually grow out of it, about half will go on to develop another allergic condition, such as asthma or hayfever.

Recent progress in understanding the role of gut bacteria in the development of the infant’s immune system has led to the hope that some of this suffering can be prevented in the future.

Remarkable new research into the way environmental factors affect the development of the brain has opened up the possibility that an infant’s future mental abilities and susceptibility to mental illness can be permanently altered by dietary changes in early life.

Evidence that changes in early diet can have long term effects on brain structure, verbal IQ, eyesight, appetite regulation and possibly on neurodevelopmental outcome will be presented at the international symposium on Early Nutrition Programming in Granada, Spain (23 April).

This is an area of research in which the EC is investing heavily as it offers huge potential in terms of improving the health and reducing health care costs of future generations. Neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression, are the second most important cause of ill health in the EU after cardiovascular disease(1). The EC has already invested over €13 million in the Early Nutrition Programming Project (EARNEST) and has now committed another €6 million into the NUTRIMENTHE project (launched 22April 2008).