The Federal Circuit\u27s Inducement Conflict Resolution: The Flawed Foundation and Ignored Implications of DSU Medical, 6 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 198 (2007)

After years of uncertainty regarding the level of intent required to prove liability for inducing patent infringement, the Federal Circuit, in DSU Medical Corp. v. JMS Co., finally endorsed the specific intent standard detailed in the court\u27s Manville Sales Corp. v. Paramount Systems, Inc. decision. This article examines the ramifications of DSU Medical Corp., especially in relation to the opinion of counsel defense to willful infringement. This article argues that the Federal Circuit\u27s reliance on Manville Sales and MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster was misplaced, and that the adoption of the specific intent standard results in an elevated importance of the opinion of counsel defense to inducement. This could lead to confusion of willfulness and inducement intent for courts and juries, which, for policy reasons, should remain distinct

The effectiveness and economic impact of enhancing container security

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Ocean Engineering, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-101).Over the past few decades, international containerized shipping has evolved to become the main artery of global trade, providing both convenient and inexpensive access to goods from markets around the world. Yet the very size and efficiencies that have made container shipping such an attractive means of transport have also created a system that is highly vulnerable to terrorist exploitation. This paper outlines the current initiatives taken by both the public and private sector to address the security vulnerabilities in the container industry. The solution targets three main areas for, security: documentation/information, physical security, and inspections. The technology utilized to improve the physical security of the container can also be used to track shipments and secure the container from pilferage. This generates a win-win relationship between enhancing container security while improving supply chain information and control. An economic model is used to demonstrate the cost savings and cost avoidance from the information and control provided by security technologies. The savings to shippers more than offsets the cost of implementing these technologies. This is a valuable approach to solving the problem of container security because it concurrently provides incentive to the private sector and protects global interests.by Eric L. Dresser.S.M

Generation of both cortical and Aire(+) medullary thymic epithelial compartments from CD205(+) progenitors

In the adult thymus, the development of self-tolerant thymocytes requires interactions with thymic epithelial cells (TECs). Although both cortical and medullary TECs (cTECs/mTECs) are known to arise from common bipotent TEC progenitors, the phenotype of these progenitors and the timing of the emergence of these distinct lineages remain unclear. Here, we have investigated the phenotype and developmental properties of bipotent TEC progenitors during cTEC/mTEC lineage development. We show that TEC progenitors can undergo a stepwise acquisition of first cTEC and then mTEC hallmarks, resulting in the emergence of a progenitor population simultaneously expressing the cTEC marker CD205 and the mTEC regulator Receptor Activator of NF-κB (RANK). In vivo analysis reveals the capacity of CD205(+) TECs to generate functionally competent cortical and medullary microenvironments containing both cTECs and Aire(+) mTECs. Thus, TEC development involves a stage in which bipotent progenitors can co-express hallmarks of the cTEC and mTEC lineages through sequential acquisition, arguing against a simple binary model in which both lineages diverge simultaneously from bipotent lineage negative TEC progenitors. Rather, our data reveal an unexpected overlap in the phenotypic properties of these bipotent TECs with their lineage-restricted counterparts

Multi-Material Processing By Lens

During the past few years, solid freeform fabrication has evolved into direct fabrication of metallic components using computer aided design (CAD) solid models. [1-4] Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS™) is one such technique [5-7] being developed at Sandia to fabricate high strength, near net shape metallic components. In the past two years a variety of components have been fabricated using LENS™ for applications ranging from prototype parts to injection mold tooling. [8] To advance direct fabrication capabilities, a process must be able to accommodate a wide range ofmaterials, including alloys and composites. This is important for tailoring certain physical properties critical to component performance. Examples include graded deposition for matching coefficient ofthermal expansion between dissimilar materials, layered fabrication for novel mechanical properties, and new alloy design where elemental constituents and/or alloys are blended to create new materials. In this paper, we will discuss the development ofprecise powder feeding capabilities for the LENSTM process to fabricate graded or layered material parts. We also present preliminary results from chemical and microstructural analysis.Mechanical Engineerin

Collisionless dynamics in Globular Clusters

Since globular clusters (GCs) are old, low-N systems their dynamics is widely believed to be fully dominated by collisional two-body processes, and their surface brightness profiles are fit by King models. However, for many GCs, especially those with HST-resolved central regions, and `extra-tidal' features, King models provide poor fits. We suggest that this is partly because collisionless dynamics is also important and contribute to shaping the cluster properties. We show using time-scale and length-scale arguments that except for the very centers of clusters, collisionless dynamics should be more important than collisional. We then fit 38 GCs analyzed by Noyola and Gebhardt (2006) with (collisional) King and (collisionless) DARKexp models over the full available radial range, and find that the latter provide a better fit to 29 GCs; for six of these the fit is at least ~5x better in term of rms. DARKexp models are theoretically derived maximum entropy equilibrium states of self-gravitating collisionless systems and have already been shown to fit the results of dark matter N-body simulations. (We do not attempt fits with ad hoc fitting functions.)Comment: 27 pages, 18 figures; accepted to MNRA

Individual and joint trajectories of change in bone, lean mass and physical performance in older men.

BackgroundDeclines in bone, muscle and physical performance are associated with adverse health outcomes in older adults. However, few studies have described concurrent age-related patterns of change in these factors. The purpose of this study was to characterize change in four properties of muscle, physical performance, and bone in a prospective cohort study of older men.MethodsUsing repeated longitudinal data from up to four visits across 6.9 years from up to 4681 men (mean age at baseline 72.7 yrs. ±5.3) participating in the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study, we used group-based trajectory models (PROC TRAJ in SAS) to identify age-related patterns of change in four properties of muscle, physical performance, and bone: total hip bone mineral (BMD) density (g/m2) and appendicular lean mass/ht2 (kg/m2), by DXA; grip strength (kg), by hand dynamometry; and walking speed (m/s), by usual walking pace over 6 m. We also described joint trajectories in all pair-wise combinations of these measures. Mean posterior probabilities of placement in each trajectory (or joint membership in latent groups) were used to assess internal reliability of the model. The number of trajectories for each individual factor was limited to three, to ensure that the pair-wise determination of joint trajectories would yield a tractable number of groups as well as model fit considerations.ResultsThe patterns of change identified were generally similar for all measures, with three district groups declining over time at roughly similar rates; joint trajectories revealed similar patterns with no cross-over or convergence between groups. Mean posterior probabilities for all trajectories were similar and consistently above 0.8 indicating reasonable model fit to the data.ConclusionsOur description of trajectories of change with age in bone mineral density, grip strength, walking speed and appendicular lean mass found that groups identified by these methods appeared to have little crossover or convergence of change with age, even when considering joint trajectories of change in these factors

A Test of Pre-Main-Sequence Lithium Depletion Models

Despite the extensive study of lithium depletion during pre-main-sequence contraction, studies of individual stars show discrepancies between ages determined from the HR diagram and ages determined from lithium depletion (Song et al. 2002, White & Hillenbrand 2005) indicating open questions in the pre-main-sequence evolutionary models. To further test these models, we present high resolution spectra for members of the Beta Pictoris Moving Group (BPMG), which is young and nearby. We measure equivalent widths of the 6707.8 Angstrom Li I line in these stars and use them to determine lithium abundances. We combine the lithium abundance with the predictions of pre-main-sequence evolutionary models in order to calculate a lithium depletion age for each star. We compare this age to the age predicted by the HR diagram of the same model. We find that the evolutionary models under-predict the amount of lithium depletion for the BPMG given its nominal HR diagram age of ~12 Myr (Zuckerman et al. 2001), particularly for the mid-M stars, which have no observable Li I line. This results in systematically older ages calculated from lithium depletion isochrones than from the HR diagram. We suggest that this discrepancy may be related to the discrepancy between measured M-dwarf radii and the smaller radii predicted by evolutionary models.Comment: Accepted by ApJ; 21 pages, 5 figure

Comparison of Models for Bubonic Plague Reveals Unique Pathogen Adaptations to the Dermis

Vector-borne pathogens are inoculated in the skin of mammals, most likely in the dermis. Despite this, subcutaneous (s.c.) models of infection are broadly used in many fields, including Yersinia pestis pathogenesis. We expand on a previous report where we implemented intradermal (i.d.) inoculations to study bacterial dissemination during bubonic plague and compare this model with an s.c. model. We found that i.d. inoculations result in faster kinetics of infection and that bacterial dose influenced mouse survival after i.d. but not s.c. inoculation. Moreover, a deletion mutant of rovA , previously shown to be moderately attenuated in the s.c. model, was severely attenuated in the i.d. model. Lastly, based on previous observations where a population bottleneck from the skin to lymph nodes was observed after i.d., but not after s.c., inoculations, we used the latter model as a strategy to identify an additional bottleneck in bacterial dissemination from lymph nodes to the bloodstream. Our data indicate that the more biologically relevant i.d. model of bubonic plague differs significantly from the s.c. model in multiple aspects of infection. These findings reveal adaptations of Y. pestis to the dermis and how these adaptations can define the progression of disease. They also emphasize the importance of using a relevant route of infection when addressing host-pathogen interactions

A randomized, multicentre trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of fast-acting insulin aspart in continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion in adults with type 1 diabetes (onset 5).

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of fast-acting insulin aspart (faster aspart) vs insulin aspart (IAsp) used in continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) in participants with type 1 diabetes (T1D). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a double-blind, treat-to-target, randomized, 16-week trial investigating CSII treatment with faster aspart (n = 236) or IAsp (n = 236). All available information, regardless of treatment discontinuation, was used for the evaluation of effect. RESULTS: Faster aspart was non-inferior to IAsp regarding the change from baseline in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c; primary endpoint). The mean HbA1c changed from 58.4 mmol/mol (7.5%) at baseline to 57.8 mmol/mol (7.4%) with faster aspart and to 56.8 mmol/mol (7.4%) with IAsp after 16 weeks' treatment, with an estimated treatment difference (ETD) of 1.0 mmol/mol (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.14; 1.87) or 0.09% (95% CI 0.01; 0.17; P < 0.001) for non-inferiority (0.4% margin; P < 0.02 for statistical significance in favour of IAsp). Faster aspart was superior to IAsp in change from baseline in 1-hour postprandial glucose (PPG) increment after a meal test (ETD -0.91 mmol/L [95% CI -1.43; -0.39] or -16.4 mg/dL [95% CI -25.7; -7.0]; P = 0.001), with statistically significant reductions also at 30 minutes and 2 hours. The improvement in PPG was reflected in the change from baseline in 1-hour interstitial glucose increment after all meals (ETD -0.21 mmol/L [95% CI -0.31; -0.11] or -3.77 mg/dL [95% CI -5.53; -2.01]). There was no statistically significant difference in the overall rate of severe or blood glucose-confirmed hypoglycaemia (estimated rate ratio 1.00 [95% CI 0.85; 1.16]). A numerical imbalance in severe hypoglycaemic episodes between faster aspart and IAsp was seen in the treatment (21 vs 7) and 4-week run-in periods (4 vs 0). CONCLUSIONS: Faster aspart provides an effective and safe option for CSII treatment in T1D.NovoNordis