Make the butterflies fly in formation? Management of copyright created by academics in UK universities

Universities have increasingly become aware of the fact that the intellectual property (IP) rights that attach to the work of their academics could become significant and valuable assets to the university as an institution and economic organisation. The study involved analysis of the copyright and intellectual property policies of universities in the UK and the interviewing of specialised representatives of universities in relation to the policies of their respective institutions. The principal question of the study was the way in which university policies deal with the issue of ownership of copyright generated by academic staff, which proved to be a sensitive area. University policies presume that, by default, they own all work that academics create as their employees. There seems to be insufficient appreciation of the differentiated legal interpretation of the employees' copyright rule. At least in relation to core academic work (scholarly books and journal articles in particular), initial copyright ownership by the university, by virtue of the statutory employee-copyright rule, is highly doubtful. As a result of the universities' principal position with regard to ownership, university IP policies have resorted to complicated and artificial assignment and licencing provisions, with questionable enforceability

Fitz-Hugh-Curtis Syndrome: A Diagnosis to Consider in a Woman with Right Upper Quadrant Abdominal Pain without Gallstones

A young woman presented with right upper quadrant abdominal pain exacerbated by movement and breathing. Extensive evaluation revealed no gallstones or any other specific cause. Urine polymerase chain reaction results for Chlamydia trachomatis were positive, so the clinical diagnosis of Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome was confirmed. This type of localized peritonitis is thought to be a complication of an ascending genital infection leading to pelvic inflammatory disease. The diagnosis is established on clinical grounds after excluding alternative, more common conditions. Proper antibiotic treatment usually leads to recovery and prevents long-term complications

Determination of cadmium (II) and lead (II) in whole and skim milk by stripping chronopotentiometric analysis

A method for the determination of cadmium (II) and lead (II) in whole and skim milk by stripping chronopotentiometric analysis is described. The metal ions were concentrated as their amalgams on a glassy carbon working electrode that was previously coated with a thin mercury film and then stripped by a suitable oxidant. Potential and time data were digitally converted into dt dE-1, and E was plotted vs. dt dE-1, thus increasing both sensitivity of the method and resolution of the analysis. Quantitative analysis was carried out by the method of standard additions. A good linearity was obtained in the range of concentrations examined. Recoveries of 94-100% for cadmium (II) and of 91-98% for lead (II) were obtained from a sample spiked at different levels. The detection limits were 4.4 ng g-1 for cadmium (II) and 8.6 ng g-1 for lead (II) and the relative standard deviations (mean of nine determinations) were 4.1 and 5.6%, respectively. Results obtained on commercial whole and skim milk were not significantly different from those obtained by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry

Determination of zinc (II), cadmium (II), lead (II) and copper (II) in common and balsamic vinegar by stripping chronopotentiometry

A method for the determination of zinc (II), cadmium (II), lead (II) and copper (II) in common and balsamic vinegar by stripping chronopotentiometry is described. The metal ions were concentrated as their amalgams on a glassy carbon working electrode that was previously coated with a thin mercury film and then stripped by a suitable oxidant. Potential and time data were digitally converted into dt dE-1, and E was plotted vs. dt dE-1, thus increasing both sensitivity of the method and resolution of the analysis. Quantitative analysis was carried out by the method of standard additions. A good linearity was obtained in the range of concentrations examined. Recoveries of 90-98% for zinc (II), 91- 97% for cadmium (II), 94-98% for lead (II) and 93-97% for copper (II) were obtained from a sample spiked at different levels. The detection limits were 10.6 ng g-1 for zinc (II), 2.2 ng g-1 for cadmium (II), 3.4 ng g-1 for lead (II) and 4.2 ng g-1 for copper (II) and the relative standard deviations (mean of nine determinations) were 4.8, 6.5, 3.2 and 5.3%, respectively. Results obtained on commercial common and balsamic vinegars were not significantly different from those obtained by atomic absorption spectrometr

Determination of Cadmium and Lead in Vegetables by Stripping Chronopotentiometry

A method for the determination of cadmium and lead in vegetables by stripping chronopotentiometry, after digestion of the sample with concentrated sulphuric acid and dry-ashing, is described. Metal ions were concentrated as their amalgams on a glassy carbon-working electrode previously coated with a thin mercury film and then stripped by a suitable oxidant. Potential and time data were digitally derived and E was plotted versus dt/dE, thus increasing both the sensitivity of the method and the resolution of the analysis. Quantitative analysis was carried out by the method of standard additions; a good linearity was obtained in the range of examined concentrations, as was shown by the determination coefficients, which were 0.998 (n= 4) for cadmium and 0.993 (n= 4) for lead. Recoveries of 85\u2013100% for cadmium and of 84\u201397% for lead were obtained from a sample spiked at different levels. Accuracy was demonstrated by analysis of a matching reference sample of cabbage. The detection limits were 1.8 ng/g of wet mass for cadmium and 5.1 ng/g of wet mass for lead. The relative standard deviations (mean of nine determinations), evaluated on a real sample, were 6.7 and 6.2%, respectively. Results obtained on 10 different commercial samples of pepper (Capsicum annuum) and egg plant (Solanum melongena) were not significantly different from those obtained by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The average content was in the range 3.1\u201318.6 ng/g for cadmium and 38.2\u201364.3 ng/g for lead