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Energy Dept. Funding Solar Manufacturing Development
The Department of Energy has awarded three sets of grants to promote development of advanced solar photovoltaic (PV)-related manufacturing processes in the U.S. The $112.5 million awards over five years are part of the department’s SunShot Initiative that aims to make large-scale solar energy systems cost competitive without subsidies by the end of the decade.…
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SBIR Grant Awarded for Drug-to-Drug Interactions Research
Optivia Biotechnology Inc. in Menlo Park, California received a $1.85 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from National Institutes of Health to determine the mechanisms that underlie certain drug-to-drug interactions, to help improve medication safety. The award was made by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at NIH. The phase 2 SBIR grant…
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Database to Track Substandard, Counterfeit Medicines
U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention, a pharmaceutical industry standards body in Rockville, Maryland, unveiled its Medicines Quality Database (MQDB) that provides information on the quality of medicines in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia. The database, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, has more than 8,700 records of tested samples collected in Ghana, Laos, Vietnam,…
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Dell Inc. to Open Silicon Valley R&D Center
Dell Inc., a computer manufacturer in Round Rock, Texas announced plans to open a new research and development center in in California’s Silicon Valley. The company says the new Santa Clara facility is expected to grow to 1,500 employees over the next five years. The Dell Silicon Valley Research and Development Center will focus on…
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Study Computes Cardiac Device Infection Mortality, Costs
A review of Medicare records shows that surgical infections associated with pacemakers and defibrillators led to longer hospital stays, higher mortalities, and increased hospitalization costs compared to implantations without infections. Results of the study, funded by medical device developer TYRX Inc. in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, were presented yesterday at a meeting of the American…
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Hospital-Community Partnership Cuts Heart Disease 24%
A collaboration of health systems and the town of New Ulm, Minnesota, has resulted in a 24 percent reduction of heart disease in the community over 15 months. The findings were presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology on 3 April. The initiative — called Hearts Beat Back: The Heart of New…
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Light Posting Today
I’ll be traveling a good part of today (Monday), so we will have fewer items than usual. Regular posting will resume tomorrow.
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BARDA Contract Awarded for Antiviral Influenza Drug
The U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) awarded a contract to Biota Scientific Management Pty in Melbourne, Australia for an antiviral drug to combat influenza. The contract for advanced development and testing of the drug is valued at $231 million over five years. The drug, CS-8958, is a long-acting neuraminidase inhibitor, which prevents…
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Lamination Process Enables Microchannel Heat Exchangers
Oregon State University researchers in Corvallis have invented a new way to use lamination to produce microchannel heat exchangers for a number of commercial uses that require efficient heat transfer. Engineering professor Brian Paul and doctoral candidate Prawin Paulraj published their findings in a recent issue of the Journal of Manufacturing Processes (paid subscription required).…
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Engineers Increase Computer Program Speed, Retain Safety
Researchers at North Carolina State University in Raleigh have developed a software tool that helps computer applications run more efficiently without sacrificing safety features that previously slowed down their performance. The faculty/student team will discuss this process on 5 April at the International Symposium on Code Generation and Optimization in Chamonix, France. Application software programs…