Jerryh8391 Weblog

Vienna is to host what organizers have dubbed the world’s first “divorce fair” this month, aimed at couples whose wedding dreams have turned sour and who need help in untying the knot as painlessly as possible.  At the October 27-28 event, would-be divorcees can consult, anonymously if they wish, a whole host of lawyers and mediators on their rights and obligations, and seek advice on frequently difficult questions, such as alimony and child access.  They can also consult experts on how best to organize their new post-married lives.  Nearly 50 percent of all marriages in Austria end in divorce — the figure is 66 percent in Vienna — and the two-day fair is being held under the motto: “Start your life afresh”. Organizers are hoping it will bloom into a twice-yearly event.  Up to 20 exhibitors have so far registered, not only lawyers and mediators, but also estate agents, life-crisis experts and — reflecting the messier side of divorce — private detective firms and DNA laboratories offering paternity tests.  The archdiocese of the city of Vienna will also have a stand, as will a company offering package holidays for freshly divorced people.  There will also be a series of lectures ranging from a children’s view of divorce to single-parenting.

I’ll bet a man wrote this…..
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23416795-details/Having+sex+daily+’improves+a+man’s+fertility’/article.do

Regular sex boosts a mans fertility, say doctors.

In a contradiction of conventional wisdom on the subject, research has shown those who do not have sex often produce sperm of lower quality than those who do so daily.

This is thought to be because sperms DNA becomes more damaged the longer it remains in the body, cutting the chances of fertilization and raising the risk of a miscarriage in the first weeks of pregnancy.
The findings, presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicines annual conference, will be of particular significance to couples undergoing fertility treatment.

Men are currently advised to stop having sex in the days before they provide a sperm sample for IVF treatment.

Until now, abstaining from sex in the three to seven days before treatment was thought to increase the quantity of sperm produced and improve the chances of pregnancy.

Australian researchers looking at the sperm quality of more than 40 men whose wives had either failed to get pregnant through IVF or had repeatedly miscarried found that when the men had no sex for three days, their sperm contained high levels of DNA damage.

Tested again after having sex every day for a week, the amount of damage dropped by a third.

While the amount of sperm produced had also fallen, fertility doctors said the improvement in quality would help men in their quest for fatherhood.

Researcher Dr David Greening, from the clinic Sydney IVF clinic, said: ”Im convinced ejaculating more frequently reduces sperm DNA damage in most men.”

Dr Allan Pacey, a male fertility expert from Sheffield University and secretary of the British Fertility Society, said the research appeared to suggest that sperm sitting in the body accumulates damage as it ages.

He added: “If sperm is released in a steady stream, the sperm that is ejaculated contains newer and less- damaged cells.”

http://www.charlotte.com/109/story/314034.html

WASHINGTON –

NASCAR fans might seem rabid, but are they actually contagious?Getting a hepatitis shot is standard procedure for travelers to parts of Africa and Asia, but some congressional aides were instructed to get immunized before going to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord and the racetrack in Talladega, Ala.

The House Homeland Security Committee planned a fact-finding trip about public health preparedness at mass gatherings and decided to conduct the research at two of the nation’s most heavily attended sporting events, NASCAR’s Bank of America 500 event this weekend and the UAW-Ford 500 last weekend.

Staff who organized the trips advised the NASCAR-bound aides to get a range of vaccines before attending — hepatitis A, hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria and influenza.

Rep. Robin Hayes, a Republican from Concord, took umbrage when he heard about it.

“I have never heard of immunizations for domestic travel, and as the representative for Concord, N.C., I feel compelled to ask why the heck the committee feels that immunizations are needed to travel to my hometown,” Hayes said in an Oct. 5 letter to Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chairs the Homeland Security panel.

“I have been to numerous NASCAR races, and the folks who attend these events certainly do not pose any health hazard to congressional staffers or anyone else,” Hayes added.

Lauri Wilks, vice president of communications for Speedway Motorsports, which owns Lowe’s Motor Speedway and other tracks, said Wednesday that immunizations aren’t needed for the race.

“There’s no health risk that we know of,” she said, laughing. “We have never had any disease outbreak during one of our weekends.”

The four aides were asked to explore public health issues at events involving large gatherings, such as how law enforcement and medical personnel would respond to an act of terrorism or other emergency. Lawmakers weren’t part of the trip.

The staffers traveled to Talladega last weekend, and are scheduled to be at Lowe’s Motor Speedway this weekend.

Thompson said the immunizations are commonly recommended for people working in hospitals, holding centers and similar locations.

“Since committee staff members are visiting hospital and other health-care facilities available at or near these venues, including areas where groups of people are detained before being transferred to other off-site facilities, I believe that the recommendation (not requirement) that our congressional staff receive these same immunizations was sound,” Thompson said in a letter responding to Hayes issued Wednesday.

“I am sure you would agree that providing immunizations to personnel involved in public safety is good public health policy, and there is no need to exclude staff from taking the preventative measures that the public health community recommends — regardless of why and where mass gatherings are taking place,” Thompson said in the letter.

Jim Walker, Alabama’s director of homeland security, said the congressional committee aides who visited Talladega worked hard. He said they were trying to determine whether the state and federal emergency response system was adequate to handle a situation at such a large event.

“I might have been a little skeptical about this visit coming in, but these folks worked,” Walker said.

He said the aides went on patrols with law enforcement, toured facilities and interviewed first responders, hazardous materials teams and other officials.

Walker said he hadn’t recommended the immunizations, nor were they necessary. He suggested a possible health risk to them was the voluminous notes they took.

“I’m sure they needed to soak their wrists, they wrote so much,” he said.