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Theraclone and Zenyaku Kogyo sign multi-year research and development agreement

Theraclone Sciences, Inc., a Seattle-based biotechnology company, and Zenyaku Kogyo Co., Ltd., a pharmaceutical company based in Tokyo, today announced that they have entered into a multi-year research and development agreement.

5 Oct 2009

NOAA awards $457,000 grant to track and manage outbreaks of toxic red tide algae

NOAA has awarded $457,000 in competitive grant funding to support three projects to better track and manage outbreaks of toxic red tide algae that threaten public health and New England's shellfish industry. The grant covers the first year of what will be multi-year projects. Anticipated to cost almost $1.5 million over the next three years, they will be carried out by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the University of Maine and the University of Texas.

5 Oct 2009

USCCB: Senate Finance Committee accepts healthcare reform bill, rejects pro-life amendments

Officials of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) saw mixed results when the Senate Finance Committee completed voting on amendment to its proposed health care reform bill this week.

5 Oct 2009

Former President Clinton awards certification for new clean water system

The first chlorination system designed for cities in poor countries is now operating in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, announced Andrew Weiss at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) meeting in New York last week. "It's a great success," said Weiss.

5 Oct 2009

Second round of revised quality standards for blood thinner heparin released

Further helping to secure public health, a second round of revised quality standards for the widely used blood thinner heparin became effective today, the U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention announced. Working closely with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the pharmaceutical industry, and other regulatory and scientific bodies, USP started initial revisions in 2008 after adverse reactions and deaths resulted from heparin intentionally adulterated with over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS).

5 Oct 2009

American Lung Association kicks off its Faces of Influenza campaign in Miami

The American Lung Association of Florida-South Area is kicking off its 2009-2010 Faces of Influenza initiative by conducting a public influenza panel discussion to help Miami area residents understand the seriousness of seasonal influenza and the importance of annual vaccination. The meeting will address the latest flu statistics and benefits of vaccination, especially among high-risk groups.

3 Oct 2009

HCRI commences patient enrollment in dual antiplatelet therapy study

The Harvard Clinical Research Institute (HCRI) announced today that the first patients have been enrolled in the DAPT Study, marking the official initiation of the four-year clinical trial to investigate the duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT, the combination of aspirin and a thienopyridine/antiplatelet medication to reduce the risk of blood clots) following drug-eluting stent implantations.

3 Oct 2009

HSPH's survey on H1N1 vaccines

In a new survey, Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that just 40% of adults are "absolutely certain" they will get the H1N1 vaccine for themselves, and 51% of parents are "absolutely certain" that they will get the vaccine for their children. The survey examined the reasoning among those who said they would not get the vaccine or might not. This is the latest in a series of surveys of public views concerning the H1N1 flu outbreak undertaken by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at HSPH. The polling was done September 14-20, 2009.

3 Oct 2009

Report on the worldwide market for anti-infectives

Drug resistance is a key public health problem and also a problem for makers of branded antibacterial products, according to the findings of a new report. Traditional antibiotics: quinolones, cephalosporins, and penicillins, have seen their market share erode due to loss of effectiveness, while at the same time they are facing heavy generic competition.

3 Oct 2009

Electronic medical records: A valuable asset to healthcare industry

Hundreds of billions of gigabytes of health information are now being collected in electronic medical records, and three-quarters (76%) of more than 700 healthcare executives recently surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP agree that the secondary use of this information will be their organization's greatest asset over the next five years.

3 Oct 2009

Few risks to babies born to parents who underwent cancer treatment in childhood: Study

Whether they can have children is one of the major concerns for adult survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer because fertility can be compromised by cancer treatment. For cancer survivors who can have children, two new studies led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center may help alleviate fears that their childhood disease will adversely impact their newborns.

3 Oct 2009

Household food insecurity contributes to overweight in children

Both household food insecurity (HFInsec) and childhood overweight are significant problems in the United States. Paradoxically, being food-insecure may be an underlying contributor to being overweight. A study of almost 8,500 low-income children ages 1 month to 5 years, published in the October 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, suggests an association between household food insecurity and overweight prevalence in this low-income population.

3 Oct 2009

University of Florida to study whether exercise can prevent disability in older people

The University of Florida will receive $29.5 million in federal stimulus funds over the next two years from the National Institute on Aging to begin a six-year study on whether a program of structured physical activity can prevent or delay major movement disability in older adults.

3 Oct 2009

Study points to subtle differences between boys and girls' attitudes to multiple drugs

New research by Weill Cornell Medical College researchers looks at the specific ways parents and peers influence teenagers to smoke, drink and use marijuana in combination.

3 Oct 2009

Surgical masks nearly as effective as N95 respirators in protecting health care workers against influenza

Surgical masks appear to be no worse than, and nearly as effective as N95 respirators in preventing influenza in health care workers, according to a study released early online today by JAMA. The study was posted online ahead of print because of its public health implications. It will be published in the November 4 issue of JAMA.

3 Oct 2009

American Lung Association launches new smoking cessation campaign

The American Lung Association is launching a new smoking cessation campaign, "Quitter in You," designed to highlight the need to change the way Americans look at quitting.

3 Oct 2009

HHS distribute new flu-response guide for community and faith-based organizations

Officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the White House Office for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships began distributing a new flu-response guide for community and faith-based organizations this week in an effort to reach out and educate Americans about the dangers of the new H1N1 and seasonal flu, and to reach populations who may not have access to this public health information in other ways.

3 Oct 2009

90% of public support H1N1 vaccination for health care workers

As H1N1 influenza vaccine begins to be shipped across the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasize getting the first doses to high-priority groups. One such group is health care workers.

3 Oct 2009

Data for end-stage kidney disease in the United States available online

Incidence and prevalence data for end-stage kidney disease in the United States will be available online from the U.S. Renal Data System a year earlier than usual, announces the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. In addition, the data will be updated online every three months and will show quarterly counts of patients at www.usrds.org/qtr/qrt_report_table_new.html.

3 Oct 2009

Recent releases in health policy research

"Emergency Department Visits in Massachusetts" - This policy brief examines why the number of people in Massachusetts who seek care in emergency rooms has remained high even though "health reform in Massachusetts has succeeded in increasing health insurance coverage and access to care."

3 Oct 2009

Public Health News and Research

Theraclone and Zenyaku Kogyo sign multi-year research and development agreement

NOAA awards $457,000 grant to track and manage outbreaks of toxic red tide algae

USCCB: Senate Finance Committee accepts healthcare reform bill, rejects pro-life amendments

Former President Clinton awards certification for new clean water system

Second round of revised quality standards for blood thinner heparin released

American Lung Association kicks off its Faces of Influenza campaign in Miami

HCRI commences patient enrollment in dual antiplatelet therapy study

HSPH's survey on H1N1 vaccines

Report on the worldwide market for anti-infectives

Electronic medical records: A valuable asset to healthcare industry

Few risks to babies born to parents who underwent cancer treatment in childhood: Study

Household food insecurity contributes to overweight in children

University of Florida to study whether exercise can prevent disability in older people

Study points to subtle differences between boys and girls' attitudes to multiple drugs

Surgical masks nearly as effective as N95 respirators in protecting health care workers against influenza

American Lung Association launches new smoking cessation campaign

HHS distribute new flu-response guide for community and faith-based organizations

90% of public support H1N1 vaccination for health care workers

Data for end-stage kidney disease in the United States available online

Recent releases in health policy research

News Medical 2025: Healthcare Shifts That Mattered Most eBook

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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