1,347 research outputs found
Emergence of Essential Patents in Technical Standards: Implications of the Continuation and Divisional Application Systems and the Written Description Requirement
The present paper looks into the intersection between technical standard development activities and patenting activities from the perspective of patent prosecution. Specifically, attention is paid to the tendency that the obtainment of patents related to technical standards is often done through the utilization of the systems allowing patent applicants to file new applications (collectively called continuing applications under the US patent system) enjoying the benefit of the filing dates of earlier-filed patent applications. After presenting some empirical evidence to show the tendency (in other words, the relevance of the continuing application system to patenting technical standards), this paper focuses upon the written description requirement as an important factor affecting the patentability of such continuing applications. In this paper, I make concrete proposals for the enhancement of the capacity of the written description requirement to suppress the abusive use of the continuing application system to cover technical standards as well as competitors' products and processes, without prejudice to innovative inventors' opportunities to mine their original disclosure in patent specifications for the exclusive rights they deserve. These proposals of mine include the reduction of burden of proof, to the patent challenger's side, of incompliance of a claim in a continuing application with the written description requirement, when certain conditions are met, and some examples of ways to achieve such reduction of burden of proof. This paper also presents comparative review of the continuing application systems under the European and Japanese patent systems as well as the US patent system. Based upon the review, relevant international harmonization considerations are discussed as well.patent, prosecution, technical standards, continuing application, continuation, division, CIP, priority right, earlier filing date, written description requirement, support, implicit and inherent disclosure, burden of proof, burden of production, prima-facie evidence, functional claim, omission of an element, international harmonization
Structural Data Recognition with Graph Model Boosting
This paper presents a novel method for structural data recognition using a
large number of graph models. In general, prevalent methods for structural data
recognition have two shortcomings: 1) Only a single model is used to capture
structural variation. 2) Naive recognition methods are used, such as the
nearest neighbor method. In this paper, we propose strengthening the
recognition performance of these models as well as their ability to capture
structural variation. The proposed method constructs a large number of graph
models and trains decision trees using the models. This paper makes two main
contributions. The first is a novel graph model that can quickly perform
calculations, which allows us to construct several models in a feasible amount
of time. The second contribution is a novel approach to structural data
recognition: graph model boosting. Comprehensive structural variations can be
captured with a large number of graph models constructed in a boosting
framework, and a sophisticated classifier can be formed by aggregating the
decision trees. Consequently, we can carry out structural data recognition with
powerful recognition capability in the face of comprehensive structural
variation. The experiments shows that the proposed method achieves impressive
results and outperforms existing methods on datasets of IAM graph database
repository.Comment: 8 page
Traffic Light Detection with Color and Edge Information
Proceedings of the 2nd IEEE International Conference on Computer Science and Information Technology (ICCSIT 2009
Investigation of primary productivity along the Atlantic Meridional Transect (50°N to 33°S) through fast repetition rate fluorometry
Phytoplankton physiology and primary productivity at basin scales were determined using
in situ data from fast repetition rate (FRR) fluorometry. Samples were collected along
the Atlantic Meridional Transect cruise 11 (AMTll, September-October 2000), between
50°N and 33°S in the Atlantic Ocean.
Because of the large-scale nature of the study, consistent knowledge about oceanographic
conditions and the phytoplankton community structure of each sampling station were
required. The province analysis was carried out by detecting the regional variations
of water mass characteristics in the upper 200 m layer. Temperature versus salinity
diagrams were plotted at each station and further analyses of nitrate and chlorophyll were
carried out for confirmation of the provinces. The structure of phytoplankton community
and its distribution were assessed by statistical analyses of the phytoplankton pigments
detected by high performance liquid chromatography. The phytoplankton physiology was
assessed with FRR fluorometry to retrieve the quantum yield of photochemistry (Fv/Fm),
the effective absorption cross-section (cpsII) and the turnover time of photosystem II
(TQA). Some assumptions and parameterisations allowed the determination of primary
productivity fractionated for prochlorophytes and eukaryotes from Fv/Fm and apsII-
The classification of the regional variation of water masses through temperature and
salinity relationships turned out to be a quick and simple analysis for the detection of
provinces, defining eight provinces along the transect. Phytoplankton were distributed
in three communities which were stratified along the transect. The limits between the
communities were at variable depths depending on the province. The shape of the vertical
profile of Fv/Fm and its pre-dawn to mid-day variation were also dependent on
the province. In the Equatorial upwelling region and at the depth of deep chlorophyll
maximum in the oligotrophic gyres, e.g. where nitrate was replete, values of Fv/Fm
were relatively low at both pre-dawn and mid-day stations. This persistent low value of
Fv/Fm at pre-dawn, e.g. after overnight darkness in nitrate replete conditions, leads to
the proposition of iron limitation. In the upper layer of the oligotrophic gyres, nocturnal
recovery of Fv/Fm was observed, indicating nitrate limitation rather than iron limitation.
In the light limited part of the water column (PB) varied proportionally and consistently
to the light intensity. Station analysis of PB showed photosaturation at low light levels
at which the radiocarbon method was insensitive. The FRRF method was more precise,
reflecting better the environmental conditions at the time of sampling than the results
of radiocarbon P-E experiments. The upper layer of Atlantic Ocean was photosaturated
due to the physiological impairment caused by either nitrate or iron limitation yet the
zone of photosaturated photosynthesis contributed more to the primary productivity of
the water column than the zone of light limited photosynthesis. The primary production
fractionated for prochlorophytes and eukaryotes, indicated that the former contributed to
more than half of the total production in the gyres.
FRR fluorometry has been demonstrated to be a promising option for primary productivity
studies, especially at basin scales, that allows 'continuous' measurement through the
water column. Exploiting the capability of this method is valuable for the understanding
of photosynthesis in the natural environment and more important than attempting to
reconcile it to the traditional method of radiocarbon incorporation.Plymouth Marine Laborator
Comparative analysis of dCas9-VP64 variants and multiplexed guide RNAs mediating CRISPR activation
CRISPR/Cas9-mediated transcriptional activation (CRISPRa) is a powerful tool for investigating complex biological phenomena. Although CRISPRa approaches based on the VP64 transcriptional activator have been widely studied in both cultured cells and in animal models and exhibit great versatility for various cell types and developmental stages in vivo, different dCas9-VP64 versions have not been rigorously compared. Here, we compared different dCas9-VP64 constructs in identical contexts, including the cell lines used and the transfection conditions, for their ability to activate endogenous and exogenous genes. Moreover, we investigated the optimal approach for VP64 addition to VP64- and p300-based constructs. We found that MS2-MCP-scaffolded VP64 enhanced basal dCas9-VP64 and dCas9-p300 activity better than did direct VP64 fusion to the N-terminus of dCas9. dCas9-VP64+MCP-VP64 and dCas9-p300+MCP-VP64 were superior to VP64-dCas9-VP64 for all target genes tested. Furthermore, multiplexing gRNA expression with dCas9-VP64+MCP-VP64 or dCas9-p300+MCP-VP64 significantly enhanced endogenous gene activation to a level comparable to CRISPRa-SAM with a single gRNA. Our findings demonstrate improvement of the dCas9-VP64 CRISPRa system and contribute to development of a versatile, efficient CRISPRa platform
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