Silicon Valley nursing homes scored higher overall on a new online report card than those throughout the country, but operators and reform advocates say they are not pleased with the grading system.

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With a new $5.3 million payment-in-lieu-of-taxes exemption in hand, medical device maker NuVasive, Inc., is ready to expand in Memphis with a $122.3 million capital investment, and 54 new employees.

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DDN/Obergfel LLC, a pharmaceutical logistics company, will expand its local distribution center by 80,000 square feet by October for a total of 428,000 square feet in Southeast Memphis’ Midway Distribution Center.

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Scientists in the United Kingdom are reporting new evidence that humans can make their own salicylic acid (SA) - the material formed when aspirin breaks down in the body. SA, which is responsible for aspirin’s renowned effects in relieving pain and inflammation, may be the first in a new class of bioregulators, according to a study scheduled for the Dec. 24 issue of ACS’ biweekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. In the report, Gwendoline Baxter, Ph.D.
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Killer Peptide May Offer New Therapy Against Influenza A Virus In a new study researchers identified what appears to be the first antibody-derived peptide that inhibits the activities of harmful microbes such as influenza A virus and HIV-1. They report their findings in the December 2008 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
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The Wellcome Trust has announced a £4.1 million investment in a new initiative to generate small molecule inhibitors - “chemical probes” - for 25 proteins involved in epigenetic signalling, and to release these probes into the public domain with no restriction on use. Early stage information sharing on chemical probes is highly unusual and breaks with the tradition of keeping such data confidential.
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Amy Heimberger, M.D., associate professor of neurosurgery at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), in recognition for her research on the central nervous system’s immune biology, tumor evasion of immune detection and immunotherapeutic approaches for patients with malignant gliomas. Heimberger was presented the award by John H.
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Rice University and Roquette Frères have signed a licensing deal to enable bio-based production of succinic acid, a substance used in plastics, textiles, drugs and solvents and as a food additive. Roquette Frères, one of the world’s most advanced starch and starch-derivatives businesses, was intrigued by Rice’s patented microbial metabolic engineering technologies, which can produce bio-based succinic acid from renewable resources via “green” chemistry.
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A study published in the December issue of the European medical journal Anticancer Research demonstrates that an ingredient used in a common cough suppressant may be useful in treating advanced prostate cancer. Researchers found that noscapine, which has been used in cough medication for nearly 50 years, reduced tumor growth in mice by 60% and limited the spread of tumors by 65% without causing harmful side effects.
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The Wellcome Trust has announced a £4.1 million investment in a new initiative to generate small molecule inhibitors - “chemical probes” - for 25 proteins involved in epigenetic signalling, and to release these probes into the public domain with no restriction on use. Early stage information sharing on chemical probes is highly unusual and breaks with the tradition of keeping such data confidential.
Lees meer..