http://www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/medicine-getting-personal/4764/

No aspect of biopharma better epitomizes the goals and promise of delivering personalized medicine to treat and perhaps even cure intractable and disabling diseases than the emerging fields of cell and gene therapy. Adding to the excitement surrounding these technology-driven treatment approaches are their recent advance to the marketplace and increasing examples of progress in meeting clinical-scale production and regulatory challenges and achieving commercial success.

The progress and opportunities, obstacles and solutions, and optimistic projections and cautionary portents were all part of the science, technology, economic analysis, and insights presented, debated, and discussed at the recent “Phacilitate Cell & Gene Therapy Forum”.

Mahendra Rao, Ph.D., director of the NIH Center for Regenerative Medicine and head of the Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology at the NIH, led off the meeting and highlighted a key distinction from previous years: the growing number of commercial products now available for regenerative medicine.

Success begets new challenges, however, and Dr. Rao identified some of the issues this new reality is creating for young biotechnology companies. These may include how they ship their product, how to make a profit, how to deal with reimbursement and insurance issues, and how to manage competition.

The unique characteristics of cell therapies present new hurdles for this fledgling industry sector: individualized products prepared in small and even single doses; entirely or largely manual processes that need to be automated; and the challenges associated with reducing the cost of goods and leveraging economies of scale.

Other critical factors related to the actual products include storage, transport, time- and temperature-sensitivity, and time-out-of temperature specifications; chain of custody, overall quality control issues; and logistics considerations across the supply chain.

The main take-home message was to start thinking about factors related to commercialization of cell therapy product early in its development, and at every step along the way—including, for example, the potential impact of a change in a process, protocol, raw material, or analytical method.

Also emphasized by several presenters was the inevitable move toward automation, in the short-term at least aimed primarily at allogeneic cell therapies. Automated processing of cells and cell-based products will be essential for achieving optimal quality control and standardization, designing closed, disposable process streams, eliminating the risks associated with manual intervention and open systems, and reducing costs.

Moving to the Market

A roundtable discussion among a group of industry executives who have navigated the process of cell therapy commercialization focused on the question, “what does a commercially successful cell or gene therapy look like?”

One example was CartiStem®, developed by Medipost, and approved in 2011 in Korea for cartilage regeneration in the treatment of traumatic and degenerative osteoarthritis. The product has been used in about 250 patients but is not yet reimbursable. CartiStem is in Phase II trials in the U.S.

John Maslowski, vp scientific affairs at Fibrocell Science, which markets the aesthetic autologous human dermal fibroblast product azficel-T (LAVIV®) to improve the appearance of wrinkles, spoke about the labor-intensive nature of current autologous cell manufacturing processes.

Geoff MacKay, president and CEO of Organogenesis, described the company’s semi-automatic manufacturing process in place to produce its recently approved Gentuit™ product, composed of allogeneic human keratinocytes and fibroblasts, for oral tissue regeneration around teeth and implants.

For TiGenix, key hurdles in bringing to market its ChondroCelect® autologous cartilage product for the repair of single symptomatic defects have included lack of regulatory harmonization, and the need to reduce the cost and increase the effectiveness of therapy.

http://springhillmedgroup.com/



 
http://www.springhillmed.com/

Springhill Medical Group is committed to providing comprehensive care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the office and at local hospitals, Sutter Delta Medical Center and John Muir Medical Center – Concord Campus. Once a patient has become established in the practice they have access to all the resources of the group including a live 24 hr answering service, on-call physicians and timely appointments. When your Springhill Physician is on vacation or out of the office another physician in the group will be able to access your electronic medical record and provide urgent care.

In 2006 Springhill Medical Group implemented a new Electronic Medical Record system will allows our physicians to access patient records from any office site.  We receive lab results electronically from John Muir Lab and Quest lab making the results avaiable to our physicians as soon as they are reported by the lab. 
 
http://springhillmedgroup01.multiply.com/

Did you know that the leading cause of premature death in the United States is no other than cigarettes? A preventable death but it claims almost half a million lives each year. To the extent that the government required larger and more prominent warnings on cigarette packaging and advertisements as part of the strategy to help consumers quit smoking and prevent young people from starting. But despite of this it seems like tobacco users are not conscious about it.

The effects of cigarette smoking to human health are really serious and in fact deadly. There are approximately 4000 chemicals that are present in the chemical composition of cigarette and hundreds of which are toxic.
Smoking effects on the human body are destructive and widespread. The ingredients in cigarette affect everything from the internal functioning of the organs and target the efficiency of the body’s immune system. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Smoking causes many diseases and reduces the health of smokers in general.

Here are some facts cigarette smoking can cause you. Toxic ingredients in cigarette smoke travel throughout the body, causing damage in several different ways. Carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells, preventing affected cells from carrying a full load of oxygen. Cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) in tobacco smoke damage important genes that control the growth of cells, causing them to grow abnormally or to reproduce too rapidly. The carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene binds to cells in the airways and major organs of smokers. Smoking affects the function of the immune system and may increase the risk for respiratory and other infections. There are several likely ways that cigarette smoke does its damage. One is oxidative stress that mutates DNA, promotes atherosclerosis, and leads to chronic lung injury. Oxidative stress is thought to be the general mechanism behind the aging process, contributing to the development of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and COPD. The body produces antioxidants to help repair damaged cells. Smokers have lower levels of antioxidants in their blood than do nonsmokers. Smoking is associated with higher levels of chronic inflammation, another damaging process that may result in oxidative stress. Nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds after smoke is inhaled. It has been found in every part of the body and in breast milk.

Due to these facts, it is now known that cigarette smoking is deadly. An estimated 443, 000 deaths, or nearly one of every five years, each year has been noted in United States alone. It is more than the deaths caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined. Smoking causes an estimated 90% of all lung cancer deaths in men and 80% of all lung cancer deaths in women. An estimated 90% of all deaths from chronic obstructive lung disease are caused by smoking.

This is very bothering. That is just some of the diseases that one can get from cigarette smoking. Smoking can also increased heart heath risks, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and cancer not to mention infertility, preterm delivery, stillbirth, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
 
http://springhillgroupsite.bravesites.com/entries/general/springhill-group-property-management

The Pad Property ManagementOur Property Management division manages over $250 million of investment property in Queensland. We offer specialist property management services in the areas of commercial and passive residential property management in Brisbane, Queensland.   Our Property Management Capability allow The Pad Property Management to manage units, houses, unit/townhouse developments, larger scale residential accommodation/developments with locations from the CBD to inner north, inner west, inner south and inner west portfolios broadening our market, in addition to offering a diversity of housing choice and broad pricing point to capture a larger market.

The Pad SalesOur sales team have over 15 years experience in the property industry with a strong commitment to results. We are experts in the residential property industry sector given our deep industry knowledge and understanding of the market. Some of our clients are now in the process of acquiring multiple investment properties and when coupled with our specialist Property Management team, our clients understand that their investment is well managed and will continue to derive a sustainable rental return in the future.

The Pad AdvisoryOur Advisory business provides a specialist service to our Group in the areas of Development Management, Property Finance, Feasibility and Financial Analysis and General Advisory. Our founder has over 15 years experience working as an Advisor in Property to both Corporate and Government having practiced as a senior property and tax lawyer with Freehills Lawyers in both Melbourne and Brisbane as well as head of Property Advisory at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Brisbane and head of Structured Transactions and Advisory Services for CB Richard Ellis, Brisbane. Damian brings a strong legal and financial background to the Group and professional approach to dealings with clients.

 
http://springhillmedgroup.blogspot.com/

You may find fat kids cutie ones but they may be starting to suffer from obesity.  Obesity is a serious medical condition that often leads to serious diseases.  Childhood obesity often carried out until adulthood, more health complications may occur.  And obesity plays a significant role in causing certain so called ‘adult ailments’ in our children such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Childhood obesity is usually caused by eating too much and not getting enough exercise.  While there are some genetic and hormonal causes of childhood obesity, studies show the primary cause of children being overweight is due to lifestyle issues such as eating more calories than is needed to support their growing bodies, daily activities and metabolism.

All experts agreed that obesity is a health risk that may result to the following health problems for children.
Hypertension
Type 2 Diabetes
Orthopedic
Sleep
Depression
Asthma
Body Mass Index (BMI)
Height and BMI
Heredity
Signs of stress of weight on lower limbs and joints
Absence of logical thinking

How to treat obesity in children:

If your child has a weight problem you should a consult a doctor or nutritionist.  A healthy eating plan is strongly suggested. This is also to make sure that no serious health problems have developed.  Some parents delay this action in the hopes that the problem will just go away but this delay can cause more complications and illness and I will get worse.

Not only obesity can cause many health problems but it can also cause variety of emotional problems.  Their being obese can lower their self-esteem.  So do not make them feel bad more about themselves, they had enough from school instead just need to help them by developing healthy eating and exercise habits, and lots and lots of moral support.

You should be aware avoiding making their weight as an issue, if you will encourage him to focus on his weight tendency is that their self-esteem will suffer more rather it is best to show them how maintaining a healthy weight will lead to extra energy and fewer health problems.

Express your unconditional love. Remember to make them fell loved no matter what.  Overweight children need support, acceptance, and encouragement from their parents.

This is probably the most important and maybe the best solution.  Be a good role model. Parents are responsible for putting healthy foods in the kitchen at home, as well as leaving unhealthy foods on the grocery store shelves.  You cannot really blame the kids because you maybe is the problem.  Practice what you preach!  After all you are the one responsible of what food to put in the table.
Do not set food as rewards and put realistic goals.  It is also better if you will spend time together exercising, in this way he will be more excited to do it because he is with you.  Make them feel that you are together with this.
 
http://springhillmedgroup.com/
Influenza A virus or more known to us as H5N1 is an avian (bird) flu, an influenza A subtype that has caused outbreaks in domestic poultry in parts of Asia and the Middle East.  This is deadly to them and is considered “highly pathogenic” meaning highly disease causing.  Although the virus does not usually infect people but infectious that these viruses occurred in humans.  Most of these cases have resulted from people having direct or close contact with H5N1-infected poultry or H5N1-contaminated surfaces.

There are three types of viruses, A, B, and C, that can cause flu to human.  The type A is characterized not only to human but to other mammals and birds too.  The virus transmitted by air.  The type A virus is composed of two obligatory protein components. One is called hemagglutinin and is lettered H, and the other—neuraminidase (N).  And there are 13 variants of hemagglutinin and 9 of neuraminidase, which then can characterized what type of virus it is.  Making H5N1 is just out of the many possible variants of the virus structure.

Many parts of the world has been infected by the virus such as Asia, parts of Europe, the Near East Africa, birds as well as half of the humans infected did not survive.  The outbreaks infected poultry and wild birds, and humans who have direct contact with the infected animal.  In most cases, healthy children and young adult and have resulted from direct contact with H5N1-infected poultry or contaminated surfaces were infected.

The H5N1 virus does not infect humans easily and in general it remains very rare disease in people.  If the person is infected it is not that easy to spread it to another human.  However, there has been some human-to-human spread of the virus although it is limited.

But scientists are anxious that H5N1 virus one day could infect humans then spread easily from person-to-person because viruses such as influenza have the ability to change.

Although at the moment that the virus do not commonly infect humans, there is little or no protection against them and if the virus will change and could begin to spread from human-to-human there will likely result a very high deaths.

To know whether infected by the virus, people may show as follows:

Symptoms:

Fever and cough
Acute respiratory distress
Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing
Abdominal pain
Diarrhea
Muscle aches
Conjunctivitis
Breathing problems (severe cases)
Pneumonia (severe cases)
Complications:

Pneumonia
Respiratory failure
Shock
Altered mental state
Seizures
Failure of multiple organs (e.g. kidney failure)
Death

If someone with H5N1 experienced diarrhea followed rapidly by a coma without developing respiratory or flu-like symptoms.  Studies showed of the levels of cytokines in humans infected by the H5N1 flu virus.  Of main concern is an elevated level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, a protein that is associated with tissue destruction at sites of infection and increased production of other cytokines.  A flu virus-induced increase in the level of cytokines is also associated with flu symptoms including fever, chills, vomiting and headache.  Tissue damage associated with pathogenic flu virus infection can ultimately result in death.
 
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/fotki-springhill-group-korea-asian-frogs

The scale of the destruction – caused by habitat loss, disease, pollution and other factors – is hard to quantify, but scientists fear the result will be disastrous. Amphibians have been suffering a wave of devastation all around the world, in part because of the spread of the fungal disease Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, known as BD or chytrid fungus, which has wiped out whole populations within the space of a few years.

But while conservation and monitoring efforts have so far focused on the Americas and Europe, little work has yet been done in the world's most populous continent, with the result that many amphibian species there are as yet uncatalogued and unstudied. For instance, according to one researcher, there are probably at least three to four times as many amphibian species in India alone as are currently catalogued.

"These creatures are disappearing before we even know they exist. We know this is happening – this has already been shown in cases such as Sri Lanka," said Bruce Waldman, associate professor at Seoul National University in Korea. "These are living jewels – but we don't know even how many we have, and we are not saving them."

He said rapid economic development in Asia was taking a toll on amphibians, with an increase in the level of nitrogen pollution in the water, from fertilizer use, and habitats being rapidly destroyed.

He called for an urgent approach to the problem in Asia and across the world: "We need to very quickly address the global crisis in amphibians."

Frogs and other amphibians are among the most threatened creatures in the world today – globally, at least a third, probably 40%, of amphibian species are in urgent danger of extinction, making a total of more than 2,000 species of amphibian so far documented to be officially "threatened", "endangered" or "vulnerable", classifications used by scientists to describe the level of threat. "This is higher than any other terrestrial animal," said Jaime García-Moreno, executive director of the Amphibian Survival Alliance.

The plight of frogs and other amphibians is of particular concern to scientists because many think the devastation afflicting them could be a foretaste of that in waiting for other creatures. Their physiognomy makes amphibians particularly sensitive to small changes in their environment, including temperature changes such as global warming, and to water and air pollution.

This sensitivity, some scientists believe, could be behind the sudden and unexpected extinction of certain species even from well-protected areas. Waldman pointed to the golden toad of Costa Rica which "disappeared from a pristine habitat".

García-Moreno said that the loss of frog species could have knock-on effects not just on biodiversity and the food chain, but on human development. He pointed to research that has identified naturally occurring chemicals, such as skin secretions from frogs, that can be turned into medicine to treat human beings.

"Amphibians play a very important role in ecosystems – they are a conveyor of energy and nutrients from very small animals to larger animals," he said. "They are natural pest controllers too. Some have chemicals in their skins that can be useful to medical treatments, such as cancer and perhaps Aids. We must try to conserve these creatures."

Scientists could also learn more about the deadly chytrid disease from studying Asia, noted Mi-Sook Min, research professor at Seoul National University. Some indicators suggest the disease could even have come from the continent, as most cases to date have been found in other continents which may indicate a long history in Asia whereby amphibians have evolved to live with the disease. However, there are also indications in other research that the disease could have been existing in Latin America since the 1880s.

Waldman emphasized: "We just don't know – in fact the Asian crisis [over the disease] may be even worse [than in other, better documented areas] but we just don't have enough information. We are overwhelmed by our ignorance."

Global trade, including the pet trade but also commerce more generally, has helped the fungus to spread widely. In some afflicted areas, frog populations plummeted by 95% in less than a decade. The fungus appears to disrupt fluid and electrolyte balance in frogs, depleting their sodium and potassium levels and causing cardiac arrest and death, according to research from the University of California, Berkeley, and the San Francisco State University.

García-Moreno said some areas of trade were badly monitored. For instance, millions of frogs' legs are sold, imported and exported around the world today for human consumption, with few restrictions or monitoring. He called for tighter controls.

The scientists, presenting their work at the World Conservation Congress, the quadrennial meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, in Jeju this week, called for more research into amphibians in Asia as a matter of urgency.



Read more: http://india.nydailynews.com/newsarticle/5050c6f7f7dfe0dd48000001/asian-frogs-becoming-extinct-before-they-can-be-identified#ixzz2Engm6222
 
http://www.ummah.com/forum/showthread.php?347758-Spring-Hill-Group-What-a-dream-is-now-Reality

 With nature as its design inspiration and by adopting the “green building” concept, Royale Springhill Residences is able to incorporate the harmony of greeneries, water and light onto her design, optimizing the use of energy.
The concept of Royale Springhill Residences is based on “Urban Living within nature”; where city lifestyle-living is complemented by open green spaces. As a whole, the 6 towers are envisaged as if “growing” from the lust green “City Forest”.
A concept brought forward amidst the growing concern on the environment in global cities around the environment in global cities around the world, Springhill promises to deliver not only its promise of prominent  living but also its commitment to the environment. Design-wise, Royale Springhill Residences is analogous to the metaphor of a “Floating Lotus”, reflecting pool and “urban forest” surroundings.
 
http://www.studentawards.com/Forum.aspx?g=posts&m=180719&#post180719

The first in Indonesia, an apartment concept certified with ”Green Label Certification Apartment “ , Royale Springhill Residences is a 6 tower apartment complex consisting of 37 floors on each tower. With nature as its design inspiration and by adopting the “green building” concept, Royale Springhill Residences is able to incorporate the harmony of greeneries, water and light onto her design, optimizing the use of energy.
The concept of Royale Springhill Residences is based on “Urban Living within nature”; where city lifestyle-living is complemented by open green spaces. As a whole, the 6 towers are envisaged as if “growing” from the lust green “City Forest”.
A concept brought forward amidst the growing concern on the environment in global cities around the environment in global cities around the world, Springhill promises to deliver not only its promise of prominent  living but also its commitment to the environment. Design-wise, Royale Springhill Residences is analogous to the metaphor of a “Floating Lotus”, reflecting pool and “urban forest” surroundings. A first impression for residents entering the apartment will be a lush tropical garden with ponds, water features, and a large pool surrounding the six towers. A waterfall lobby will extend one’s feeling of closeness with the ‘open’ nature that will counter-balance the feeling of living in a high rise ‘closed’ building.




 
http://forum.deviantart.com/devart/general/1810086/

The first in Indonesia, an apartment concept certified with ”Green Label Certification Apartment “ , Royale Springhill Residences is a 6 tower apartment complex consisting of 37 floors on each tower. With nature as its design inspiration and by adopting the “green building” concept, Royale Springhill Residences is able to incorporate the harmony of greeneries, water and light onto her design, optimizing the use of energy.
The concept of Royale Springhill Residences is based on “Urban Living within nature”; where city lifestyle-living is complemented by open green spaces. As a whole, the 6 towers are envisaged as if “growing” from the lust green “City Forest”.
A concept brought forward amidst the growing concern on the environment in global cities around the environment in global cities around the world, Springhill promises to deliver not only its promise of prominent  living but also its commitment to the environment. Design-wise, Royale Springhill Residences is analogous to the metaphor of a “Floating Lotus”, reflecting pool and “urban forest” surroundings. A first impression for residents entering the apartment will be a lush tropical garden with ponds, water features, and a large pool surrounding the six towers. A waterfall lobby will extend one’s feeling of closeness with the ‘open’ nature that will counter-balance the feeling of living in a high rise ‘closed’ building.