PTO Perspective on Recent Developments in Patent Protection for Computer Hardware and Software

This Article explores the area of patent protection for computer related inventions, The author examines the problem of determining whether a mathematical algorithm qualifies as patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and the interpretation of means-plus-function limitations under 35 U.S.C. § 112 6. In his examination, the author explains the perspective of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, as well as the position taken by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in the recent cases of In re Alappat and In re Donaldson Co

Aboriginal children's participation and engagement in Bush School

In this chapter we will discuss an outdoor learning project with young Aboriginal children (4-8 years), their teachers and their community in Perth, Western Australia. Due to the location of this project in the Perth region, there are no forests nearby, wild spaces within a short drive from the school are native bush areas and hence we refer to our outdoor learning project as “Bush School” rather than “Forest School”. The reader will learn how a local community worked together to provide experiences for young children in an outdoor setting that enabled them to learn and experience the outdoors in a culturally appropriate way. This chapter will provide an important voice in the literature regarding outdoor learning since it specifically works within an Aboriginal community context and emphasises traditional cultural knowledge about relationships with nature and a sense of belonging in the natural world. Teachers in a range of settings could adapt the experiences described in this chapter to local situations. More importantly, teachers involved in this (or other) outdoor learning experiences are provided with the opportunity to learn first- hand about traditional ways of ‘knowing, being and doing’ (Martin, 2005) and this has enormous potential for programming when back in the mortar and brick classroom. An important feature of this chapter is the incorporation of traditional cultural knowledge and spiritual connection to place that is highly significant for Aboriginal students and the communities to which they belong. The cultural perspectives discussed in this chapter may also be relevant for educators working with other First Nations communities such as the Pacific Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Asia, Canada and North and South America

Strengthening identities and involvement of Aboriginal children through learning on country

Djarlgarra Koolunger (Canning River kids) is a culturally centred outdoor learning project referred to as ‘On Country Learning’ or OCL. The project explores Aboriginal connectedness to the spiritual, social, cultural, environmental and geographic dimensions of particular outdoor spaces. This allows Indigenous and non- Indigenous students and their educators to connect at what Nakata (2007) terms the ‘cultural interface’. OCL offers opportunities to transform the ways in which schools engage with Aboriginal perspectives whilst facilitating deep learning through what we describe as culturally responsive pedagogies. This paper stories the journey of Aboriginal students and their teachers, engaging in learning that is situated on Country. We examine the involvement of children when learning on Country and provide analysis using the Leuven Involvement Scales (1994). The analysis compares this group of children in a classroom context and an on Country context over a period of six months and provides preliminary evidence of the efficacy of this approach

Influence of soil properties on archaeal diversity and distribution in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

Archaea are the least understood members of the microbial community in Antarctic mineral soils. Although their occurrence in Antarctic coastal soils has been previously documented, little is known about their distribution in soils across the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Victoria Land. In this study, terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (t-RFLP) analysis and 454 pyrosequencing were coupled with a detailed analysis of soil physicochemical properties to characterize archaeal diversity and identify environmental factors that might shape and maintain archaeal communities in soils of the three southern most McMurdo Dry Valleys (Garwood, Marshall, and Miers Valley). Archaea were successfully detected in all inland and coastal mineral soils tested, revealing a low overall richness (mean of six operational taxonomic units [OTUs] per sample site). However, OTU richness was higher in some soils and this higher richness was positively correlated with soil water content, indicating water as a main driver of archaeal community richness. In total, 18 archaeal OTUs were detected, predominately Thaumarchaeota affiliated with Marine Group 1.1b (> 80% of all archaeal sequences recovered). Less abundant OTUs (2% of all archaeal sequences) were loosely related to members of the phylum Euryarchaeota. This is the first comprehensive study showing a widespread presence and distribution of Archaea in inland Antarctic soils

170 Nanometer Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging using Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy

We demonstrate one-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of the semiconductor GaAs with 170 nanometer slice separation and resolve two regions of reduced nuclear spin polarization density separated by only 500 nanometers. This is achieved by force detection of the magnetic resonance, Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy (MRFM), in combination with optical pumping to increase the nuclear spin polarization. Optical pumping of the GaAs creates spin polarization up to 12 times larger than the thermal nuclear spin polarization at 5 K and 4 T. The experiment is sensitive to sample volumes containing $\sim 4 \times 10^{11}$ $^{71}$Ga$/\sqrt{Hz}$. These results demonstrate the ability of force-detected magnetic resonance to apply magnetic resonance imaging to semiconductor devices and other nanostructures.Comment: Submitted to J of Magnetic Resonanc

Wall slip and flow of concentrated hard-sphere colloidal suspensions

We present a comprehensive study of the slip and flow of concentrated colloidal suspensions using cone-plate rheometry and simultaneous confocal imaging. In the colloidal glass regime, for smooth, non-stick walls, the solid nature of the suspension causes a transition in the rheology from Herschel-Bulkley (HB) bulk flow behavior at large stress to a Bingham-like slip behavior at low stress, which is suppressed for sufficient colloid-wall attraction or colloid-scale wall roughness. Visualization shows how the slip-shear transition depends on gap size and the boundary conditions at both walls and that partial slip persist well above the yield stress. A phenomenological model, incorporating the Bingham slip law and HB bulk flow, fully accounts for the behavior. Microscopically, the Bingham law is related to a thin (sub-colloidal) lubrication layer at the wall, giving rise to a characteristic dependence of slip parameters on particle size and concentration. We relate this to the suspension's osmotic pressure and yield stress and also analyze the influence of van der Waals interaction. For the largest concentrations, we observe non-uniform flow around the yield stress, in line with recent work on bulk shear-banding of concentrated pastes. We also describe residual slip in concentrated liquid suspensions, where the vanishing yield stress causes coexistence of (weak) slip and bulk shear flow for all measured rates

Large-scale UK audit of blood transfusion requirements and anaemia in patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy

Cancer patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy often become anaemic and may require blood transfusions. A large-scale audit of patients with a variety of solid tumours receiving chemotherapy at 28 specialist centers throughout the UK was undertaken to quantify the problem. Data were available from 2719 patients receiving 3206 courses of cytotoxic chemotherapy for tumours of the breast (878), ovary (856), lung (772) or testis (213). Their mean age was 55 years (range 16–87). Overall, 33% of patients required at least one blood transfusion but the proportion varied from 19% for breast cancer to 43% for lung. Sixteen per cent of patients required more than one transfusion (7% for breast, 22% in lung). The mean proportion of patients with Hb < 11 g dl−1rose over the course of chemotherapy from 17% before the first cycle, to 38% by the sixth, despite transfusion in 33% of patients. Of the patients receiving transfusions, 25% required an inpatient admission and overnight stay. The most common symptoms reported at the time of transfusion were lethargy, tiredness and breathlessness. Further research is needed to evaluate the role of blood transfusions in patients receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Thermodynamics of Quantum Hall Ferromagnets

The two-dimensional interacting electron gas at Landau level filling factor $\nu =1$ and temperature $T=0$ is a strong ferromagnet; all spins are completely aligned by arbitrarily weak Zeeman coupling. We report on a theoretical study of its thermodynamic properties using a many-body perturbation theory approach and concentrating on the recently measured temperature dependence of the spin magnetization. We discuss the interplay of collective and single-particle aspects of the physics and the opportunities for progress in our understanding of itinerant electron ferromagnetism presented by quantum Hall ferromagnets.Comment: REVTex, 10 pages, 3 uuencoded, compressed and tarred PostScript figures appende

Pairing in the quantum Hall system

We find an analogy between the single skyrmion state in the quantum Hall system and the BCS superconducting state and address that the quantum mechanical origin of the skyrmion is electronic pairing. The skyrmion phase is found to be unstable for magnetic fields above the critical field $B_{c}(T)$ at temperature $T$, which is well represented by the relation $B_c(T)/B_{c}(0) \approx {[1-(T/T_c)^3]}^{1/2}$.Comment: revtex, two figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. B (Rapid Communications

Wave Function of the Largest Skyrmion on a Sphere

It has been clarified that charged excitation known as a skyrmion exists around the ferromagnetic ground state at the Landau level filling factor $\nu=1/q$, where $q$ is an odd integer. An infinite sized skyrmion is realized in the absence of the spin-Zeeman splitting or for double-layered systems. Analytical form of the wave function is identified at $\nu=1$ and $\nu=1/3$ through exact diagonalization of the Hamiltonian for finite sized spherical systems. It is clarified that the skyrmion wave functions at $\nu=1$ and $\nu=1/3$ are qualitatively different: they are not related by the composite fermion transformation. Long-range behavior of the skyrmion wave function around $\nu=1$ is shown to be consistent with the semiclassical picture of the skyrmion.Comment: 4 pages. to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. Vol.67 No.10. Three references are adde