[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 114 (Monday, July 27, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2022-E2023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARIO DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 27, 2009

  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I submit the 
following:
  Requesting Member: Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25)
  Bill Number: H.R. 3326
  Account: Medical Advanced Technology
  Name of Requesting Entity: University of Miami
  Address of Requesting Entity: 1252 Memorial Drive, Coral Gables, FL 
33146
  Description of Request: I have secured $3,000,000 for the Center for 
Ophthalmic Innovation. This funding will be used for the Bascom Palmer 
Institute at the University of Miami. Bascom Palmer sponsors numerous 
programs bringing eye care to the underserved of south Florida, a 
uniquely diverse population of ethnicities and races that presages the 
future of our nation. Effective treatments and cures for blinding eye 
trauma and disease are within our grasp. While remarkable advances have 
been made in recent decades, the remaining problems of eye trauma and 
eye disease are enormously complex. Nevertheless, the knowledge and 
technologies are out there in our universities and industry, waiting to 
be captured by ophthalmology. ONOVA (an acronym for the Center for 
Ophthalmic Innovation) at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute brings 
together ideas, people, and cutting-edge technology from diverse 
backgrounds and venues)--across medicine, biotechnology, and biomedical 
engineering--to develop practical solutions. The objective of this 
program is to bring the research efforts to the patient and to assembly 
the required multidisciplinary teams to accomplish this goal in the 
most efficient manner for rapid Implementation. Severe ocular injuries 
from combat encountered in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan represent a 
significant and frequent source of lifetime visual disability and is of 
immediate concern to the DOD. Approximately 10% to 17% of war 
casualties are due to eye trauma. For instance, in Operation Iraqi 
Freedom there were 797 ocular injuries between March 2003 and December 
2005 resulting in 438 open eye injuries (i.e. ruptured globes). During 
an 8-month period alone from January to September 2004, 207 active 
military personnel in Iraq suffered severe ocular or ocular adnexal 
injuries, including 132 open globes with 82% of all ocular injuries 
caused by blast fragmentation from munitions and improvised explosive 
device. In addition, millions of retired military personnel suffer from 
disabling eye diseases with similar prevalence as the U.S. population. 
The current appropriation request will enable ONOVA not only to 
continue its current projects but also to perform new research projects 
based on the following ONOVA research framework. This scientific 
framework consists of inter-related modules that tackle the difficult 
problems of trauma and disabling eye diseases in a logical organized 
manner. Progress requires integration of state-of-art technology and 
utilizes interdisciplinary research teams in prevention, imaging & 
telemedicine, and regeneration & restoration to provide solutions to 
ocular trauma and disabling eye diseases from different angles. This 
team approach has and will continue to catalyze innovative ideas and 
concepts that will lead to the development of novel diagnostic 
techniques and effective treatment strategies. In the coming year we 
will we will add the artificial cornea (keratoprosthesis) project that 
develops and tests new types of cornea prosthesis. Prosthetic corneas 
have the potential of restoring vision in severe eye injuries involving 
the front part of the eye. Unlike donor

[[Page E2023]]

corneal tissue, corneal prosthesis can be readily available. We will 
also add new projects focusing on advanced diagnostic ocular imaging 
techniques combined with effective telemedicine that will lessen the 
morbidity of traumatic ocular injuries in military operations as well 
as explore newer modalities to assist in the visual restoration of the 
injured personnel.
  Requesting Member: Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25)
  Bill Number: H.R. 3326
  Account: Operating Forces 1A3A Intermediate Maintenance
  Name of Requesting Entity: Florida Gulf Coast University
  Address of Requesting Entity: 10501 FGCU Blvd. South, Fort Myers, FL 
33965
  Description of Request: I have secured $1,500,000 for developing and 
testing environmentally safe decontaminating agents for bio-defense. 
This funding will be used for the diversification of economy through 
development of new technologies attracting high tech-high-wage jobs and 
development of environmentally friendly detection and detoxification 
technologies. Many commonly available biocides and toxin 
decontamination procedures are both too toxic and too persistent for 
certain applications. Chlorine, for example, is a very effective agent 
for sterilization and toxin destruction, but it can engender serious 
problems arising from its persistence and reactivity. Sometimes, the 
intake air or water entering a sealed compartment must be completely 
decontaminated, but new hazards arising from the deployed 
decontamination treatment must be avoided, particularly when the 
protected space is occupied by people. Currently, decontamination 
procedures are problematic because harsh, persistent agents are 
utilized, and although harsh decontaminating agents will destroy 
microbes and toxins, they can also harm human health, sensitive 
electronic equipment, furnishings and documents. Clearly, new biocides 
and toxin decontamination agents are needed and we have been 
researching alternatives and developing new applications. Short 
persistence times, acute toxicity in the killing zone, (immediately 
followed by a cessation of toxicity) and/or the ability to switch the 
biocidal activity ``off,'' are highly desirable attributes. Our 
proprietary photocatalytic technology (a patent has been filed) 
produces biocidal oxidants during UV illumination, but when the light 
is turned off, the biocidal oxidant activity ceases within seconds, and 
residual oxidants spontaneously decompose or biodegrade. Further, the 
photocatalytic coatings we have discovered have electrical properties 
with a sensor activity, making them amenable to the creation of a 
device which can both detect and decontaminate, (with both capabilities 
contained within one unit). We have also begun to develop a family of 
alkaline biocides, with an enhanced permeability component to increase 
lethality. These biocides cab be switched off by dilution and 
neutralization. New enhancements of existing oxidant systems are also 
being investigated. We intend to combine our expertise in materials 
science, biochemistry, molecular biology, analytical chemistry, marine 
biology, microbiology, and engineering to develop new biocidal 
technologies and solve problems of disinfection and toxin destruction 
in the context of biomedical, environmental and bio-defense 
applications. The technologies described above are ``multi-use'' and 
have applications in the fields of medicine, agriculture, aquaculture, 
and bio-defense.

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