BRASILIA, Brazil, January 30 /PRNewswire/ --

Brasil Telecom Participacoes S.A. (BOVESPA: BRTP3/BRTP4; NYSE: BRP) registered recurring EBITDA of R$980.1 million in the 4Q07, 18.1% higher than the 4Q06. Brasil Telecom's consolidated quarterly EBITDA totaled R$ 902.3 million, accompanied by a consolidated EBITDA margin of 31.4%, versus R$ 947.1 million and 34.6%, respectively, in the 4Q06. Consolidated net revenue totaled R$2,876.1 million in the 4Q07, 4.9% up on the 4Q06, and Brasil Telecom recorded 4Q07 net income of R$ 205.6 million, equivalent to R$ 0.5673 per share.

Building upon several years of research into the gecko's uncanny ability to climb sheer walls, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley writing in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface have developed an adhesive that is the first to master the easy attach and easy release of the reptile's padded feet. The material could prove useful for a range of products, from climbing equipment to medical devices.

Unlike duct tape or glue, the new material is crafted from millions of tiny, hard, plastic fibers that establish grip; a mere square two centimeters on a side can support 400 grams (close to a pound).

GAITHERSBURG, Maryland, January 30 /PRNewswire/ --

- The Model 1173 simplifies IP Camera deployment and lowers installation costs by extending streaming video up to 6000 feet/1830 meters over existing copper infrastructure

Patton Electronics -- the leader in business and carrier-class network access, connectivity, and Voice-over-IP equipment -- unveils the world's first IP Camera Extender, the Patton Model 1173, at IIPSEC 2008 in Coventry, UK this week.

BUFFALO GROVE, Illinois, January 29 /PRNewswire/ --

- Net Revenue of US$31.0 million; Net Income of US$5.3 million for the Quarter

Eagle Test Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: EGLT), a provider of automated test equipment solutions for high-performance analog, mixed-signal and radio frequency (RF) semiconductors, announced financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2007.

Operating Results

LONDON, January 29 /PRNewswire/ --

Polarion Software, creators of fully integrated application lifecycle management solutions and services based on Subversion, will launch two workshop series in the United Kingdom: How to Ramp Up to Subversion Fast and Application Lifecycle Management with Subversion.

In a study presented Jan. 29 at the 44th annual meeting of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a Johns Hopkins team recommends that the benchmark for designation as a high-volume hospital rise from 10 heart transplants per year to 14. High-volume centers consistently show higher survival and fewer complication rates.

However, the standard, which is officially set by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and which qualifies medical centers for federal reimbursement, was recently lowered from 12 per year to 10.

In other words, require them to do more or don't let them do any at all to insure more safety.

A Purdue University archaeologist discovered an intact ancient iron ore mine in South America that shows how civilizations before the Inca Empire were mining this valuable ore.

"Archaeologists know people in the Old and New worlds have mined minerals for thousands and thousands of years," said Kevin J. Vaughn, an assistant professor of anthropology who studies the Nasca civilization, which existed from A.D. 1 to A.D. 750. "Iron mining in the Old World, specifically in Africa, goes back 40,000 years. And we know the ancient people in Mexico, Central America and North America were mining for various materials. There isn't much evidence for these types of mines.

"What we found is the only hematite mine, a type of iron also known as ochre, recorded in South America prior to the Spanish conquest. This discovery demonstrates that iron ores were important to ancient Andean civilizations."

The Fertile Crescent of the Middle East has long been identified as a “cradle of civilization” for humans. In a new genetic study, researchers at the University of California, Davis, have concluded that all ancestral roads for the modern day domestic cat also lead back to the same locale.

Findings of the study, involving more than 11,000 cats, are reported in the cover article of the January issue of the journal Genomics.

“This study confirms earlier research suggesting that the domestication of the cat started in the Fertile Crescent region,” said Monika Lipinski, lead researcher on the study and a doctoral candidate in the School of Veterinary Medicine. “It also provides a warning for modern cat fanciers to make sure they maintain a broad genetic base as they further develop their breeds.”

We might think we control the climate but unless we harness the powers of our microbial co-habitants on this planet we might be fighting a losing battle.

Humans mostly affect the atmosphere indirectly by our activities. Most human-induced methane comes from livestock, rice fields and landfill but in all of those places, microbes are actually responsible for producing the methane, 150 million tons per year. Microbes in wetlands produce an additional 100 million tons and those that live inside termites release 20 million tons of methane annually.

A new study sheds light on the relationship between women who smoke while pregnant — or are exposed to second-hand smoke — and an increased risk of SIDS to their babies.

Researchers at McMaster University have found a mechanism that explains why an infant’s ability to respond to oxygen deprivation after birth — or a hypoxic episode — is dramatically compromised by exposure to nicotine in the womb, even light to moderate amounts.

“While cigarette smoke contains many different compounds, we found there is a direct impact of one component, nicotine, on the ability of certain cells to detect and respond to oxygen deprivation,” says Josef Buttigieg, lead author and a PhD graduate student in the department of Biology. “When a baby is lying face down in bed, for example, it should sense a reduction in oxygen and move its head. But this arousal mechanism doesn’t work as it should in babies exposed to nicotine during pregnancy.”