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Editorials Respond To Selection Of Sotomayor As Supreme Court Nominee
Several newspapers recently published editorials on President Obama"s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Summaries appear below.~ Boston Globe: "Some liberal activists hoped that Obama would seek a firebrand to counter [Supreme Court Justice] Antonin Scalia, the darling of the right," but "Sotomayor has made her reputation not on hot-button social issues but on matters ranging from environmental regulation to the baseball business," a Globe editorial states. It adds that while Sotomayor "presumably shares Obama"s support for abortion rights, she upheld the Bush administration"s restrictions on family-planning activities" by international groups that received U.S. funding. Now, "conservative groups have seized upon an offhand remark in 2005" when she described the "federal appeals courts as the place "where policy is made" ... as evidence that Sotomayor would legislate from the bench," the editorial states, adding. "The attack is disingenuous." The editorial concludes, "Short of any unexpected revelations about her record or her philosophy, though, the Senate should confirm Sonia Sotomayor," adding that in addition to her "intriguing" personal background she "also has the experience to make an excellent Supreme Court Justice" (Boston Globe, 5/27).~ Chicago Tribune: Sotomayor "has to bring more than diversity to the court," a Tribune editorial states, adding that the "evidence so far suggests that she is up to the job." One "would expect a nominee chosen by Obama to be on the liberal side of the judicial spectrum," but some of her rulings "suggest otherwise," according to the editorial. While Sotomayor "has stressed that the "duty of a judge is to follow the law, not to question its plain terms,"" on the bench, "she ruled against an abortion-rights group challenging" the Bush administration"s "global gag rule," the editorial notes, among other rulings that "could be characterized as "conservative decisions"." However, "the point is not that she"s a closet conservative -- it"s that ideology didn"t seem to determine her decisions," according to the editorial. The "Senate has a responsibility to undertake a thorough examination of her record and her thinking," the editorial states, concluding, "But for now, it looks as though her critics have a tough task ahead of them" (Chicago Tribune, 5/27).~ Los Angeles Times: "Sotomayor doesn"t possess the political experience that would be brought to the court"s cloistered chambers by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) or Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano," but "she satisfies Obama"s other criteria: experience, erudition and, as he put it, "a common touch and a sense of compassion, an understanding of how the world works and how ordinary people live,"" a Times editorial states. Sotomayor"s "experiences as a Latina raised in a housing project who went on to excel at Princeton and Yale don"t in themselves qualify her for the court," but these facts do "complement her sterling credentials and equip her with perspectives that could illuminate legal issues that come before her," the editorial continues. Senate Republicans "should accord her the same respect [they] demanded for Bush"s nominees and end the tiresome tit-for-tat that has cheapened the confirmation of federal judges and deprived the bench of some of the nation"s most capable legal minds," the editorial concludes (Los Angeles Times, 5/27).~ Philadelphia Inquirer: "Sotomayor would bring to the court a diversity it has lacked for most of its history," an Inquirer editorial states. Although "[c]onservatives want to make an issue out of President Obama"s search for "empathy" in a nominee" and "criticize Sotomayor for a speech in 2001 in which she said that being a woman of color affects her decisions," neither comment "is sinister nor shocking," according to the editorial. It concludes, "The Senate has a duty to examine Sotomayor"s qualifications rigorously and fairly. But she appears to have the experience and the

NICE Recommends VIREAD (tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate) For The Treatment Of Chronic Hepatitis B, UK
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
News of the day
$940,000 In Stimulus Funds Won By UTSA Biologists To Advance Research: 2 Studies Will Focus On Food Safety And Disease Prevention
San Antonio ò€¦ Robert Renthal, professor of biochemistry in the College of Sciences" Department of Biology at The University of Texas at San Antonio and JosÓ© Lopez-Ribot, professor of microbiology in UTSA"s Department of Biology and a member of the university"s South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, have received a combined $940,000 in stimulus funding from the National Institutes of Health to further their research over the next two years.
Mental Health

MMR Information Systems Pursues International Patent Applications On Anti-CD20 Antibodies

MMR Information Systems, Inc. (OTCBB: MMRF) (the "Company"), which through its wholly-owned operating subsidiary, MyMedicalRecords, Inc. ("MMR") provides consumer-controlled Personal Health Records ("PHRs") (http://www.mymedicalrecords.com) and electronic safe deposit box storage solutions (http://www.myesafedepositbox.com), announced that it has taken the necessary steps to file for extensions of the Company"s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent application on anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies to the national phase through filings in major European, Asian, North American, and South American markets. Anti-CD20 antibodies are useful in treating B-Cell malignancies, including Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) and additional B-Cell mediated conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. The Company"s anti-CD20 antibody asset is potentially a candidate for the next generation Rituximab. Rituximab, currently marketed under the trade name Rituxan® in the United States by Biogen Idec and Genentech (wholly owned member of the Roche Group) and under the name MabThera® by Roche in the rest of the world except Japan, where it is co-marketed by Chugai and Zenyaku Kogyo Co. Ltd., is one of the world"s most successful monoclonal antibodies with reported total sales in 2008 in excess of USD $5.4 billion. MMR Information Systems, Inc. acquired the technology through its reverse merger with Favrille, Inc., which was completed in January 2009. Favrille had previously acquired the technology from Diversa Corporation (now Verenium Corporation). According to consultants to the Company and former science executives of Favrille, Inc., and based on Diversa"s pre-clinical research and testing of the scientific evidence, the next generation of Rituximab and further applications of the anti-CD20 antibodies may make the treatment of B-Cell malignancies even more effective in the future. This second generation technology includes a series of optimized anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies and provides potential future treatment options for various autoimmune and B-Cell mediated diseases, including lupus nephritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, respiratory distress syndrome, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, multiple sclerosis and vaculitis. Because of its interest in maximizing shareholder value, MMR Information Systems is working with independent consultants to attempt to monetize these anti-CD20 antibody assets around the world, and will attend meetings at the Drug Information Association"s (DIA) Annual Meeting being held in San Diego this week. However, the Company"s focus will continue to be on its primary products, the MyMedicalRecords Personal Health Record, MyMedicalRecords Pro for physicians and healthcare professionals, and MyEsafeDepositBox electronic safe deposit box storage solutions. MMR Information Systems, Inc.


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