Intellectual Property Right Protection in the Software Market

We discuss the software patent should be granted or not. There exist two types of coping in the software market; reverse engineering and software duplication. Software patent can prevent both types of copies since a patent protects an idea. If the software is not protected by a patent, software producer cannot prevent reverse engineering. However, the producer can prevent the software duplication by a copyright. It is not clear the software patent is socially desirable when we consider these two types of coping. We obtain the following results. First, the number of copy users under the patent protection is greater than that under the copyright protection. Second, the government can increase social welfare by applying copyright protection when the new technology is sufficiently innovative.Copyright Protection, Intellectual Property Right, Software

Optimal Copyright Protection: Civil Law vs. Criminal Law

We consider optimal copyright protection strategies from the government and producer perspectives. Our model assumes that the government sets the penalty for infringement, and that the producer is responsible for monitoring illegal activity. We find that depending on the production cost of the goods, the government should set copyright penalties either to zero or to a level that makes the producer's profit zero. We also show that the social surplus is greater under a civil law scheme than a criminal law scheme when the production cost of the goods is high. On the other hand, it is better to apply penalties under criminal law when the production cost is low.

Quantum Hall effects of graphene with multi orbitals: Topological numbers, Boltzmann conductance and Semi-classical quantization

Hall conductance $\sigma_{xy}$ as the Chern numbers of the Berry connection in the magnetic Brillouin zone is calculated for a realistic multi band tight-band model of graphene with non-orthogonal basis. It is confirmed that the envelope of $\sigma_{xy}$ coincides with a semi-classical result when magnetic field is sufficiently small. The Hall resistivity $\rho_{xy}$ from the weak-field Boltzmann theory also explains the overall behaviour of the $\sigma_{xy}$ if the Fermi surface is composed of a single energy band. The plateaux of $\sigma_{xy}$ are explained from semi-classical quantization and necessary modification is proposed for the Dirac fermion regimes.Comment: 5pages, 3figure

Multiwavelength Digital Holography and Phase-Shifting Interferometry Selectively Extracting Wavelength Information: Phase-Division Multiplexing (PDM) of Wavelengths

In this chapter, we introduce multiwavelength digital holographic techniques and a novel multiwavelength imaging technique. General multiwavelength imaging systems adopt temporal division, spatial division, or space-division multiplexing to obtain wavelength information. Holographic techniques give us unique multiwavelength imaging systems, which utilize temporal or spatial frequency-division multiplexing. Conventional multiwavelength digital holography systems have been combined with one of the methods listed above. We have proposed phase-shifting interferometry selectively extracting wavelength information, characterized as a multiwavelength three-dimensional (3D) imaging technique based on holography and called phase-division multiplexing (PDM) of multiple wavelengths. In PDM, wavelength-multiplexed phase-shifted holograms are recorded, and multiwavelength information is separately extracted from the holograms in the space domain. Phase shifts are introduced for respective wavelengths to separate object waves with multiple wavelengths in the polar coordinate plane, and multiple object waves are selectively extracted by the signal processing based on phase-shifting interferometry. Additionally, the system of equations needed to obtain a multiwavelength 3D image is solved with less wavelength-multiplexed images using two-step phase-shifting interferometry-merged phase-division multiplexing (2π-PDM), which makes the best use of 2π ambiguity of the phase and two-step phase-shifting method. The PDM techniques are reviewed and color 3D imaging ability is described with numerical and experimental results

Numerical study of quantum Hall effect in two-dimensional multi-band system: single- and multi-layer graphene

The Chern numbers which correspond to quantized Hall conductance $\sigma_{xy}$ were calculated for single- and bi-layer honeycomb lattices. The quantization of $\sigma_{xy}$ occurs in entire energy range. Several large jumps of Chern numbers appear at van-Hove singularities of energy bands without magnetic fields. The plateauxof $\sigma_{xy}$ are discussed from semi-classical quantization.Comment: 4 pages, submitted to Physica E as EP2DS-18 proceeding

Impact of Sacral Surface Therapeutic Electrical Stimulation on Early Recovery of Urinary Continence after Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy: A Pilot Study

Objectives. To investigate whether sacral surface therapeutic electrical stimulation (SSTES) initiated during the early postoperative period would be effective towards early recovery of postprostatectomy urinary continence. Methods. A total of 35 consecutive patients who underwent radical prostatectomy by a single surgeon were enrolled in this study. Twenty early patients began pelvic floor muscle exercise (PME). Fifteen subsequent patients received SSTES postoperatively with no instruction for PME provided. Immediate urinary function just after catheter removal was evaluated with frequency-volume chart and 24-hour pad test. Results. There were no differences between the SSTES and PME groups in maximum voided volume capacity (MVV) and urine loss ratio (ULR) on the first day after removal of urethral catheter. However, on day 3 MVV was significantly larger and ULR was also significantly lower in the SSTES group. Conclusions. SSTES treatment is feasible and appears to be effective for early recovery of urinary continence after radical prostatectomy

Combination therapy with normobaric oxygen (NBO) plus thrombolysis in experimental ischemic stroke

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The widespread use of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), the only FDA-approved acute stroke treatment, remains limited by its narrow therapeutic time window and related risks of brain hemorrhage. Normobaric oxygen therapy (NBO) may be a useful physiological strategy that slows down the process of cerebral infarction, thus potentially allowing for delayed or more effective thrombolysis. In this study we investigated the effects of NBO started simultaneously with intravenous tPA, in spontaneously hypertensive rats subjected to embolic middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke. After homologous clot injection, animals were randomized into different treatment groups: saline injected at 1 hour; tPA at 1 hour; saline at 1 hour plus NBO; tPA at 1 hour plus NBO. NBO was maintained for 3 hours. Infarct volume, brain swelling and hemorrhagic transformation were quantified at 24 hours. Outcome assessments were blinded to therapy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Upon clot injection, cerebral perfusion in the MCA territory dropped below 20% of pre-ischemic baselines. Both tPA-treated groups showed effective thrombolysis (perfusion restored to nearly 100%) and smaller infarct volumes (379 ± 57 mm³saline controls; 309 ± 58 mm³NBO; 201 ± 78 mm³tPA; 138 ± 30 mm³tPA plus NBO), showing that tPA-induced reperfusion salvages ischemic tissue and that NBO does not significantly alter this neuroprotective effect. NBO had no significant effect on hemorrhagic conversion, brain swelling, or mortality.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>NBO can be safely co-administered with tPA. The efficacy of tPA thrombolysis is not affected and there is no induction of brain hemorrhage or edema. These experimental results require clinical confirmation.</p