Patent Reform Should Not Leave Innovation Behind, 8 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 328 (2009)

The most recent push for patent reform established competing groups supporting individual agendas. In view of current economic difficulties, however, the focus on innovation should be ever more important. By enacting the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980, the federal government invested in innovation and unlocked American industrial potential through Universities. The current reform has provisions that limit disclosure and facilitate patent challenging which increases costs to inventors and adds responsibilities to an already overloaded patent office. This article addresses a number of the proposed reforms and the effect on University innovation

A Phase 1 Trial of pharmacologic interactions between transdermal selegiline and a 4-hour cocaine infusion

BackgroundThe selective MAO-B inhibitor selegiline has been evaluated in clinical trials as a potential medication for the treatment of cocaine dependence. This study evaluated the safety of and pharmacologic interactions between 7 days of transdermal selegiline dosed with patches (Selegiline Transdermal System, STS) that deliver 6 mg/24 hours and 2.5 mg/kg of cocaine administered over 4 hours.MethodsTwelve nondependent cocaine-experienced subjects received deuterium-labeled cocaine-d5 intravenously (IV) 0.5 mg/kg over 10 minutes followed by 2 mg/kg over 4 hours before and after one week of transdermal selegiline 6 mg/24 hours. Plasma and urine were collected for analysis of selegiline, cocaine, catecholamine and metabolite concentrations. Pharmacodynamic measures were obtained.ResultsSelegiline did not change cocaine pharmacokinetic parameters. Selegiline administration increased phenylethylamine (PEA) urinary excretion and decreased urinary MHPG-sulfate concentration after cocaine when compared to cocaine alone. No serious adverse effects occurred with the combination of selegiline and cocaine, and cocaine-induced physiological effects were unchanged after selegiline. Only 1 peak subjective cocaine effects rating changed, and only a few subjective ratings decreased across time after selegiline.ConclusionNo pharmacological interaction occurred between selegiline and a substantial dose of intravenous cocaine, suggesting the combination will be safe in pharmacotherapy trials. Selegiline produced few changes in subjective response to the cocaine challenge perhaps because of some psychoactive neurotransmitters changing in opposite directions

Counteractive effects of antenatal glucocorticoid treatment on D1 receptor modulation of spatial working memory

RATIONALE: Antenatal exposure to the glucocorticoid dexamethasone dramatically increases the number of mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons in rat offspring. However, the consequences of this expansion in midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons for behavioural processes in adulthood are poorly understood, including working memory that depends on DA transmission in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). OBJECTIVES: We therefore investigated the influence of antenatal glucocorticoid treatment (AGT) on the modulation of spatial working memory by a D1 receptor agonist and on D1 receptor binding and DA content in the PFC and striatum. METHODS: Pregnant rats received AGT on gestational days 16-19 by adding dexamethasone to their drinking water. Male offspring reared to adulthood were trained on a delayed alternation spatial working memory task and administered the partial D1 agonist SKF38393 (0.3-3 mg/kg) by systemic injection. In separate groups of control and AGT animals, D1 receptor binding and DA content were measured post-mortem in the PFC and striatum. RESULTS: SKF38393 impaired spatial working memory performance in control rats but had no effect in AGT rats. D1 binding was significantly reduced in the anterior cingulate cortex, prelimbic cortex, dorsal striatum and ventral pallidum of AGT rats compared with control animals. However, AGT had no significant effect on brain monoamine levels. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that D1 receptors in corticostriatal circuitry down-regulate in response to AGT. This compensatory effect in D1 receptors may result from increased DA-ergic tone in AGT rats and underlie the resilience of these animals to the disruptive effects of D1 receptor activation on spatial working memory

Food-associated cues alter forebrain functional connectivity as assessed with immediate early gene and proenkephalin expression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cues predictive of food availability are powerful modulators of appetite as well as food-seeking and ingestive behaviors. The neurobiological underpinnings of these conditioned responses are not well understood. Monitoring regional immediate early gene expression is a method used to assess alterations in neuronal metabolism resulting from upstream intracellular and extracellular signaling. Furthermore, assessing the expression of multiple immediate early genes offers a window onto the possible sequelae of exposure to food cues, since the function of each gene differs. We used immediate early gene and proenkephalin expression as a means of assessing food cue-elicited regional activation and alterations in functional connectivity within the forebrain.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Contextual cues associated with palatable food elicited conditioned motor activation and corticosterone release in rats. This motivational state was associated with increased transcription of the activity-regulated genes <it>homer1a</it>, <it>arc</it>, <it>zif268</it>, <it>ngfi-b </it>and c-<it>fos </it>in corticolimbic, thalamic and hypothalamic areas and of proenkephalin within striatal regions. Furthermore, the functional connectivity elicited by food cues, as assessed by an inter-regional multigene-expression correlation method, differed substantially from that elicited by neutral cues. Specifically, food cues increased cortical engagement of the striatum, and within the nucleus accumbens, shifted correlations away from the shell towards the core. Exposure to the food-associated context also induced correlated gene expression between corticostriatal networks and the basolateral amygdala, an area critical for learning and responding to the incentive value of sensory stimuli. This increased corticostriatal-amygdalar functional connectivity was absent in the control group exposed to innocuous cues.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results implicate correlated activity between the cortex and the striatum, especially the nucleus accumbens core and the basolateral amygdala, in the generation of a conditioned motivated state that may promote excessive food intake. The upregulation of a number of genes in unique patterns within corticostriatal, thalamic, and hypothalamic networks suggests that food cues are capable of powerfully altering neuronal processing in areas mediating the integration of emotion, cognition, arousal, and the regulation of energy balance. As many of these genes play a role in plasticity, their upregulation within these circuits may also indicate the neuroanatomic and transcriptional correlates of extinction learning.</p

Ocena i doskonalenie modeli biznesu na przykładzie Oakywood

Celem tej pracy jest ocena i określenie sposobu rozwoju modelu biznesowego firmy na przykładzie Oakywood. Stały rozwój środowiska biznesowego i tempo zmieniających się w nim trendów zmuszają przedsiębiorców do zmiany strategii biznesowych, aby utrzymać się na rynku i nadążyć za konkurencją, a nawet ją wyprzedzić. Praca przedstawia model biznesowy i jego cel, rodzaje, funkcje, różne jego postrzeganie oraz analizę możliwych sposobów jego ulepszenia. Badanie przeprowadzono poprzez zbadanie wewnętrznych danych finansowych, marketingowych i sprzedażowych firmy Oakywood. Przeanalizowano kluczowe wskaźniki wydajności i wzrostu. Możliwości modernizacji modelu biznesowego badanej firmy obejmują m.in. stworzenie nowych kanałów przychodów, ekspansję na inne rynki internetowe za granicą, utworzenie platformy sprzedażowej dla podobnych produktów, otwarcie własnego stacjonarnego sklepu i poszerzenie oferty produktowej.The aim of this thesis is to evaluate and upgrade a firm’s business model based on the example of Oakywood company. Constant development of the business environment and the pace of changing trends in it force entrepreneurs to change their business strategies in order to stay on the market and keep up with the competition or even overtake it. This work presents the business model and its purpose, types, functions, different perceptions of it and an analysis of possible ways to improve it. The research has been done through examination of Oakywood’s internal financial, marketing and sales data. Key performance indicators have been analyzed. Opportunities for company’s business model upgrade include creating new channels of revenue, expanding to other abroad online markets, creating online marketplace, opening its brand stationary shop and expanding product offer

Protection of Graphical User Interface by the design right.

Interfejs jest zdefiniowanym przez autora programu sposobem komunikowania się użytkownika z programem i programu z użytkownikiem. Modna, modernistyczna grafika znajdująca się na ekranach startowych jest ogólnie bardzo ceniona przez konsumenta i w rezultacie gadżety z nowatorskim designem są najchętniej wybierane. Nic więc dziwnego, iż projektanci tworzący graficzne interfejsy do szerokiej gamy programów komputerowych oraz aplikacji mobilnych, a także firmy technologiczne, chcą chronić rezultaty swojej twórczości. Celem niniejszej pracy jest przedstawienie możliwości ochrony interfejsu graficznego prawem z rejestracji wzoru przemysłowego.W prawie własności intelektualnej, dostępne są obecnie cztery możliwe formy ochrony interfejsu graficznego:1) ochrona interfejsu graficznego prawem do wzoru przemysłowego;2) ochrona interfejsu graficznego jako utworu na podstawie ustawy pr.aut.; 3) ochrona interfejsu graficznego na podstawie u.z.n.k. przed nieuczciwym naśladownictwem4) ochrona interfejsu graficznego jako wzoru wspólnotowego na podstawie Rozporządzenia Rady (WE) nr 6/2002 z 12 grudnia 2001 r. w sprawie wzorów wspólnotowych.W pracy próbuję odpowiedzieć na pytanie, czy interfejs graficzny jest w ogóle wzorem przemysłowym i czy może być chroniony prawem do wzoru przemysłowego? Definicję normatywną wzoru przemysłowego (ang. industrial design) zawiera p.w.p. W jej świetle interfejs graficzny może być chroniony jako wzór przemysłowy, gdyż może być postacią wytworu. Przed przyznaniem ochrony interfejsu graficznego prawem do wzoru przemysłowego należy także ocenić przesłanki nowości oraz indywidualnego charakteru. W pracy zostały omówione szczegółowo zasady ochrony interfejsu graficznego prawem do wzoru przemysłowego.The interface is defined by program’s author way of communicating between the program and the program’s user. Fashionable, modern graphic displayed on the screens is generally highly appreciated by the customer and as a result, gadgets with innovative design are most often chosen. In this case, designers who create graphical user interfaces for a wide range of computer programs and mobile applications, as well as technology companies, want to protect the results of their work. The purpose of this thesis is to present the possibility of protecting the graphical user interface by the law of industrial design registration. In the intellectual property law, there are currently four possible ways of protecting the graphical user interface:1)protection of graphical user interface by the design right;2)protection of graphical user interface under the copyright law;3)protection of graphical user interface against fraudulent imitation under the law on combating unfair competition;4)protection of the graphical user interface as a community design pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 of 12 December 2001 on Community designs.In this thesis I try to answer whether the graphical user interface is an industrial design at all and if it can be protected by industrial design law? The normative definition of the industrial design is included in the industrial law and it comes from it, that the graphical user interface can be protected as an industrial design, as it can be a creation. Prior to granting the protection of the graphical user interface, it is essential to evaluate the premises of novelty and individual character. The thesis presents the principles of protection of the graphical interface with the right to industrial design