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Eating Fewer Calories Linked To Delayed Disease And Longer Life, Animal Study
US scientists found that when rhesus monkeys were kept on a nutritious but reduced calorie diet for 20 years they led a longer and healthier life with
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SCOTUS Ruling Reversing Decision From Sotomayor's Court Not Expected To Affect Nomination
The Supreme Court"s 5-4 reversal of a decision endorsed by a three-judge appellate panel that included Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is attracting criticism from the judge"s conservative opponents but is not expected to have a significant effect on delaying her confirmation, the Washington Post reports. The appellate panel in 2008 upheld New Haven, Conn."s decision to discard a promotion test for firefighters after no blacks and only two Hispanics qualified for advancement after taking the test (Markon/Kane, Washington Post, 6/30). The panel"s ruling affirmed a lower court"s decision that the city had a right to discard the test based on a segment of civil rights law involving actions that have a "disparate impact" on minorities. A group of white and Hispanic firefighters who would have received promotions under the test sued, alleging reverse discrimination. Democrats and legal analysts said that Sotomayor was following legal precedent in the 2008 ruling and that it was the Supreme Court, which has the ability to exercise more discretion, that chose to make law by reversing the decision (Friedman, CongressDaily, 6/29). The Supreme Court typically reverses about 75% of the cases it reviews, according to legal experts. The court previously has reversed four of Sotomayor"s rulings and upheld three of her decisions, the Post reports. Tom Goldstein, a lawyer and founder of the SCOTUSblog Web site, said, "I don"t think it will persuade anybody who is inclined one way or another to change their views about Sotomayor" (Washington Post, 6/30). Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said, "The main charge against Sotomayor is that she will be an activist judge, but this decision clearly shows that she won"t." He said that the results of the case "won"t change things a wit," adding that "in fact, it bolsters (the claim) that she is mainstream" (CongressDaily, 6/29). Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the New Haven case "sharpens our focus on [Sotomayor"s] troubling speeches and writings" that "indicate ... that personal experiences and political views should influence a judge"s decisions." He added that the issue "will clearly be the subject of questioning" at Sotomayor"s confirmation hearing, which is scheduled to begin on Monday (Phillips, "The Caucus," New York Times, 6/29).
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As Calif. Budget Shrinks, Services For Elderly Slip
"Advocates for the elderly in California say recent budget cuts are dramatically affecting the ability of social service programs to keep up with demand" at a time when "the state"s elderly population - and the incidents of elder abuse - are exploding," NPR reports. One example is Contra Costa County, where the Aging and Adult Services Program laid off two-thirds of the staff who "investigate abuse complaints of elderly and dependent adults." The county is now "turning over virtually all of its self-neglect cases to some other agency - often, the police." The Contra Costa situation is "so severe that the county grand jury recently concluded that Adult Protective Services no longer has the res to carry out its legal mandate to investigate physical and financial abuse complaints." This comes at a time when complaints of elder abuse are on the rise. According to "national studies," only "1 in 5 elder abuse cases is reported" (Siler, 6/3).
Public Health

ProspectIP Has Agreed Licensing Deals For Two Inventors And Products, A Device That Aims To Prevent (DVT) And A Safety Opener For Glass Vials, UK

A University initiative to commercialise novel business ideas and inventions has secured its first two licensing agreements and attracted a further ÷£400,000 in funding. De Montfort University (DMU), Leicester, set up ProspectIP following a ÷£2 million pilot funding award from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in 2006. The project has already resulted in the launch of new products under direct contracts with entrepreneurs. Now ProspectIP has agreed licensing deals for two inventors and their products, a device that aims to prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and a safety opener for glass vials. The University has also secured ÷£400,000 from the European Regional Development Fund to help support the scheme for the next two and a half years. The licensing deals for both products have been agreed with British company Wallace Cameron Ltd. Based in Wishaw near Glasgow, the company provides first aid solutions for the travel, home and leisure industries and has established links with the healthcare, medical and consumer markets. Inventor Noel McKenzie worked with ProspectIP to develop the Under-Foot Oscillator (U-FO) which aims to prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis in people seated for long periods of time by ensuring sufficient movement of blood up the legs. The U-FO is a compact elliptical rocking device which can also be used to store complementary products such as compression socks. It is currently undergoing clinical testing. Dr Anant Ghelani approached DMU to help with his invention for the safe opening of glass vials, widely used to store small amounts of medicines, drugs and other chemicals. It is hoped the portable device could become part of the kit of any doctor, nurse or scientist to help reduce shattering accidents in hospitals and laboratories. DMU experts created a commercialisation strategy for each product, working with the inventors on issues such as intellectual property, prototyping and market analysis before identifying and negotiating with the best licence partner. Under the licensing agreements Wallace Cameron has exclusive rights to manufacture, distribute and sell the two products worldwide. The inventors will receive royalties on sales of the products. Both inventions are expected to be on sale in late 2009. Derek Palmer, Head of ProspectIP at DMU, said: "We are delighted to secure licence agreements for these inventors. Wallace Cameron is the ideal partner with the contacts and experience to help these products reach their full potential. "The invention process is long and complex and many great business ideas don"t progress because of a lack of expertise, investment or fragmented support. We help develop latent intellectual property and boost economic activity by supporting inventors through the whole commercialisation process." Giovanni Benedetti, Group Chairman of Benedetti International Ltd, the holding company of Wallace Cameron, said: "Our product design division is delighted to work in conjunction with DMU and both inventors. The combination of DMU, the re facilities of Benedetti International, shared product knowledge, innovative design and Wallace Cameron"s network of sales and marketing re will lead to a successful commercial launch of these new products. "Our aim is to work further with universities and inventors to bring a strong commercial element to academics and enable commercial success for idea and inventions, so we can offer a large and varied range of products. I"m certain this initial collaboration will be the start of many similar joint ventures between us and DMU." De Montfort University


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