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High Paying US Jobs, Economic Empowerment & Revitalization of States through Federal Power |
"Critical Field" Technology Innovation & Maximized Profits on R&D and Investments |
Prevention of Biochemical and Nuclear Proliferation & Homeland Security Technologies |
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International Council on Innovative Technology Commercialization |
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ACI Center for Diabetes Research Diabetes is a serious and costly disease which is becoming increasingly common, especially in developing countries and disadvantaged minorities. It is a leading cause of death by disease. It can lead to heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, amputation and blindness.- (Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease caused by inherited and/or acquired deficiency in production of insulin by the pancreas, or by the ineffectiveness of the insulin produced. Such a deficiency results in increased concentrations of glucose in the blood, which in turn damage many of the body's systems, in particular the blood vessels and nerves.) - The scale of the problem that diabetes poses to world health is still widely under recognized. At least 177 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes; this figure is likely to more than double by 2025. Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness and visual disability. - (Diabetes mellitus is associated with damage to the small blood vessels in the retina, resulting in loss of vision.) - Findings, consistent from study to study, make it possible to suggest that, after 15 years of diabetes, approximately 2% of people become blind, while about 10% develop severe visual handicap. Diabetes is among the leading causes of kidney failure, but its frequency varies between populations and is also related to the severity and duration of the disease. Heart disease accounts for approximately 50% of all deaths among people with diabetes in industrialized countries. Diabetes negates the protection from heart disease which pre-menopausal women without diabetes experience. Diabetic neuropathy - (Neuropathy can lead to sensory loss and damage to the limbs and is also a major cause of impotence in diabetic men) - is probably the most common complication of diabetes - up to 50% of people with diabetes are affected to some degree. Diabetic foot disease often leads to ulceration and subsequent limb amputation. It is one of the most costly complications of diabetes. Diabetes is the most common cause of non-traumatic amputation of the lower limb. |
Problems of the musculoskeletal system affect more than 44-million Americans and more then 5 million Americans live with varying degrees of chronic back pain. Arthritis, an autoimmune disease, is the leading cause of disability in the United States and will impact nearly 60 million Americans by 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Back pain is the number one reason for doctor's office visits in the United States and spine surgery is the top third reason for hospitalization in the US. More than 220 spinal conditions, indications, and pathologies afflict patients. Traditional spine surgery available today is extremely painful, bloody and invasive. The surgery itself can take many hours and requires a long recovery time during which the patient feels excruciating pain and requires ambulatory assistance. Severe post-operative pain is expected. Patients who undergo spinal surgery are confined to long recuperative periods, sometimes in bed. Assistance during ambulation is necessary for nearly all patients. The patient is dependent on those around him for a long time after the surgery. - (DEGENERATIVE DISEASES - Typically occurring in mature adults, degenerative diseases of the spine can result in immobility, pinched nerves and associated pain for the patient. DEFORMITIES - Deformities, unless treated at a young age, can prevent proper growth of the spine and can be life threatening if allowed to progress. TRAUMA - The typical cause of traumatic spinal conditions is automobile accidents.) - Adult cartilage has a limited capacity for regeneration. Inasmuch as destruction of cartilage frequently causes crippling diseases, an urgent need is recognized for development of novel surgical methods to reconstruct damaged cartilage. Traditional spine surgery is a very dangerous and painful procedure that is only recommended to individuals who fail to show improvements with conservative treatment. Most patients are advised that the risks, unhealthy aftereffects (morbidity) and the degree of failure involved with traditional spinal surgery are just not worth the risk and they elect not to have the surgery and go on living with chronic back pain. |
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ACI Liver Disease Research Center The state of the liver is crucial to the health of the whole human body. Despite dramatic advances achieved in the treatment of hepatic diseases, the prevalence of viral hepatitides -(Inflammation of the liver, caused by infectious or toxic agents and characterized by yellowish discoloration of the whites of the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes, fever, liver enlargement, and sever abdominal pain) - became prohibitively alarming. Today, more then one third of the Earth’s population is infected with hepatitis B and the frequency of occurrence of hepatitis C poses a similarly urgent problem. World death rates related to hepatic diseases are expected to double. Hepatitides and cirrhosis of the liver - (A chronic disease of the liver characterized by the replacement of normal tissue with fibrous tissue and the loss of functional liver cells that can result from alcohol abuse, nutritional deprivation, or infection especially by the hepatitis virus) - rank fifth as causes of death in the United States, and fourth in Europe. The search for a cure and new methods of treatment of hepatic diseases is of great importance. |
Hydrogen & Alternative Energy Center of Research Excellence It is widely recognized that fossil fuels as energy sources are becoming a liability worldwide, from the environmental degradation associated with their extraction, processing and use, to the geopolitical and security implications of their production and distribution. Many are looking to alternative energy sources - hydrogen, solar power, wind & wave energy – already in use to power rockets and for non-energy applications in the semiconductor, metallurgical, chemical, pharmaceutical, fertilizer, recreational and food industries – as options for replacing oil (including gasoline, diesel and heating oil), coal and natural gas in the energy picture of the future. In the nearest future production of electricity from hydrogen for peak demand will be cost- effective. Currently price for the peak kW-h is two or three times higher than for the base price. (Last year during the energy crisis in California a market price for peak kWh was 10 times higher that base one, about one dollar for kW-h.) . Like natural gas, hydrogen can be economically stored in large quantities. Current gas turbine or diesel peaking plant cost at least $300 for kilowatt installed, whereas a fuel cell cost less than $100. |
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ACI Center for Commercialization of Russian Innovative Technologies Preventing proliferation of Russian Chemical and Biological technologies and expertise by creating a high tech commercialization ecology and linking the Russian R&D to the US market and the US industrial Infrastructure.
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ACI Laboratory for Homeland Security Research Excellence The terrorist attacks of September 11 and the subsequent anthrax attacks demonstrated the urgent need to develop new technologies for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Countermeasures, detection of explosives and narcotics, improvised device defeat technologies, infrastructure protection, investigative support and forensics, personnel protection, physical security technologies, surveillance, collections and operations support and detection and treatment systems to combat chemical and biological threats. |
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Cancer is the uncontrolled growth and spread of cells that may affect almost any tissue of the body. Lung, colorectal and stomach cancer are among the five most common cancers in the world for both men and women. Among men, lung and stomach cancer are the most common cancers worldwide. For women, the most common cancers are breast and cervical cancer. More than 10 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year. It is estimated that there will be 15 million new cases every year by 2020. Cancer causes 6 million deaths every year—or 12% of deaths worldwide. There are around 200 different types of cancer. Some are very common, while others are extremely rare - some types of blood cancer make up less than 1 in 100 new cases. In the United States, approximately 8,600 children were diagnosed with cancer and about 1,500 children died from the disease in 2001. This makes cancer the leading cause of death by disease among U.S. children under age 15. Among the 12 major types of childhood cancers, leukemias (blood cell cancers) and brain and other central nervous system tumors account for over one-half of the new cases. About one-third of childhood cancers are leukemias; approximately 2,700 children (younger than 15 years) were diagnosed with leukemia in 2001. The most common type of leukemia in children is acute lymphocytic leukemia. The most common solid tumors are brain tumors (e.g., gliomas and medulloblastomas), with other solid tumors (e.g., neuroblastomas, Wilms’ tumors, and rhabdomyosarcomas) being less common. |
According to AARDA (American Autoimmune-Related Diseases Association) approximately 50 million Americans, 20 percent of the population – or one in five people – suffer from some 80 autoimmune diseases. Of these the majority or 75 percent are women. Autoimmune diseases are a major cause of disability and chronic illness among women in the childbearing years, affecting as many as 30 million American women. These disorders are caused by an immune response against the body's own tissues. Most are chronic, but many can be controlled with treatment. - The immune response is the way the body recognizes and defends itself against microorganisms, viruses, and substances recognized as foreign and potentially harmful to the body. - Usually, the immune response is desired but in these diseases the underlying problem is similar--the body’s immune system becomes misdirected, attacking the very organs it was designed to protect. In some cases, suppression of the immune system is necessary (for example, in the treatment of autoimmune disorders or allergies). This is usually accomplished by administering corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive medications. The goals of treatment are to reduce symptoms and control the autoimmune process through balanced suppression of the immune system while maintaining the ability to fight disease. The symptoms are treated according to the type and severity. The goal is to reduce the immune response against normal body tissue while leaving intact the immune response against micro-organisms and abnormal tissues. The outcome varies with the specific disorder. Side effects of medications used to suppress the immune system can be severe. |