Intellectual Property Applications in Science & Engineering

Intellectual property (IP) is pervasive in modern society, especially in the sciences and engineering. The U.S. Department of Commerce recently found that IP-intensive industries added $5.06 trillion, or 34.8%, of value to the U.S. gross domestic product and 40 million jobs in 20121. IP rights allow inventers, authors, and owners to exclude others from unauthorized use or reproduction of IP, making them very valuable assets, especially in the pharmaceutical, energy production, material production, nanotechnology, and biotechnology industries. As professionals, science and engineering students will encounter and create IP in the form of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. However, IP is generally overlooked in engineering and science curriculums and professional development and without a working understanding of IP valuable inventions and creative works may be lost. This talk will discuss the application, protection, and ownership of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets that science and engineering professionals may encounter, strategies in handling them, and approaches to commercialization and avoiding infringement. 1. Econ. & Statistics Admin. & U.S. Patent & trademark Office, Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy: Industries in Focus (2012

Surfaces Meeting Porous Sets in Positive Measure

Let n>2 and X be a Banach space of dimension strictly greater than n. We show there exists a directionally porous set P in X for which the set of C^1 surfaces of dimension n meeting P in positive measure is not meager. If X is separable this leads to a decomposition of X into a countable union of directionally porous sets and a set which is null on residually many C^1 surfaces of dimension n. This is of interest in the study of certain classes of null sets used to investigate differentiability of Lipschitz functions on Banach spaces

Dynamics of ultrathin V-oxide layers on Rh(111) in catalytic oxidation of ammonia and CO

Catalytic oxidation of ammonia and CO has been studied in the 10(-4) mbar range using a catalyst prepared by depositing ultra-thin vanadium oxide layers on Rh(111) (thetaV approximately 0.2 MLE). Using photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) as a spatially resolving method, we observe that upon heating in an atmosphere of NH3 and O2 the spatial homogeneity of the VOx layer is removed at 800 K and a pattern consisting of macroscopic stripes develops; at elevated temperatures this pattern transforms into a pattern of circular VOx islands. Under reaction conditions the neighboring VOx islands become attracted by each other and coalesce. Similar processes of pattern formation and island coalescence are observed in catalytic CO oxidation. Reoxidation of the reduced VOx catalyst proceeds via surface diffusion of oxygen adsorbed onto Rh(111). A pattern consisting of macroscopic circular VOx islands can also be obtained by heating a Rh(111)/VOx catalyst in pure O2

Post- and peritraumatic stress in disaster survivors: An explorative study about the influence of individual and event characteristics across different types of disasters

Background: Examination of existing research on posttraumatic adjustment after disasters suggests that survivors’ posttraumatic stress levels might be better understood by investigating the influence of the characteristics of the event experienced on how people thought and felt, during the event as well as afterwards. Objective: To compare survivors’ perceived post- and peritraumatic emotional and cognitive reactions across different types of disasters. Additionally, to investigate individual and event characteristics. Design: In a European multi-centre study, 102 survivors of different disasters terror attack, flood, fire and collapse of a building were interviewed about their responses during the event. Survivors’ perceived posttraumatic stress levels were assessed with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Peritraumatic emotional stress and risk perception were rated retrospectively. Influences of individual characteristics, such as socio-demographic data, and event characteristics, such as time and exposure factors, on post- and peritraumatic outcomes were analyzed. Results: Levels of reported post- and peritraumatic outcomes differed significantly between types of disasters. Type of disaster was a significant predictor of all three outcome variables but the factors gender, education, time since event, injuries and fatalities were only significant for certain outcomes. Conclusion: Results support the hypothesis that there are differences in perceived post- and peritraumatic emotional and cognitive reactions after experiencing different types of disasters. However, it should be noted that these findings were not only explained by the type of disaster itself but also by individual and event characteristics. As the study followed an explorative approach, further research paths are discussed to better understand the relationships between variables

The strategic integration of agile and lean supply

Lean supply is closely associated with enabling flow and the elimination of wasteful variation within the supply chain. However, lean operations depend on level scheduling and the growing need to accommodate variety and demand uncertainty has resulted in the emergence of the concept of agility. This paper explores the role of inventory and capacity in accommodating such variation and identifies how TRIZ separation principles and TOC tools may be combined in the integrated development of responsive and efficient supply chains. A detailed apparel industry case study is used to illustrate the application of these concepts and tools

Prospective relationships between body weight and physical activity: an observational analysis from the NAVIGATOR study

Objectives: While bidirectional relationships exist between body weight and physical activity, direction of causality remains uncertain and previous studies have been limited by self-reported activity or weight and small sample size. We investigated the prospective relationships between weight and physical activity. Design: Observational analysis of data from the Nateglinide And Valsartan in Impaired Glucose Tolerance Outcomes Research (NAVIGATOR) study, a double-blinded randomised clinical trial of nateglinide and valsartan, respectively. Setting Multinational study of 9306 participants. Participants: Participants with biochemically confirmed impaired glucose tolerance had annual measurements of both weight and step count using research grade pedometers, worn for 7 days consecutively. Along with randomisation to valsartan or placebo plus nateglinide or placebo, participants took part in a lifestyle modification programme. Outcome measures: Longitudinal regression using weight as response value and physical activity as predictor value was conducted, adjusted for baseline covariates. Analysis was then repeated with physical activity as response value and weight as predictor value. Only participants with a response value preceded by at least three annual response values were included. Results: Adequate data were available for 2811 (30%) of NAVIGATOR participants. Previous weight (χ2=16.8; p<0.0001), but not change in weight (χ2=0.1; p=0.71) was inversely associated with subsequent step count, indicating lower subsequent levels of physical activity in heavier individuals. Change in step count (χ2=5.9; p=0.02) but not previous step count (χ2=0.9; p=0.34) was inversely associated with subsequent weight. However, in the context of trajectories already established for weight (χ2 for previous weight measurements 747.3; p<0.0001) and physical activity (χ2 for previous step count 432.6; p<0.0001), these effects were of limited clinical importance. Conclusions: While a prospective bidirectional relationship was observed between weight and physical activity, the magnitude of any effect was very small in the context of natural trajectories already established for these variables

Improving in vitro ciguatoxin and brevetoxin detection: selecting neuroblastoma (Neuro-2a) cells with lower sensitivity to ouabain and veratridine (OV-LS).

Abstract Marine biotoxins accumulating in seafood products pose a risk to human health. These toxins are often potent in minute amounts and contained within complex matrices; requiring sensitive, reliable, and robust methods for their detection. The mouse neuroblastoma (Neuro-2a) cytotoxicity assay (N2a-assay) is a sensitive, high-throughput, in vitro method effective for detecting sodium channel-specific marine biotoxins. The N2a-assay can be conducted to distinguish between specific effects on voltage-gated sodium (NaV) channels, caused by toxins that activate (e.g., ciguatoxins (CTXs), brevetoxins (PbTxs)) or block (e.g., tetrodotoxins, saxitoxins) the target NaV. The sensitivity and specificity of the assay to compounds activating the NaV are achieved through the addition of the pharmaceuticals ouabain (O) and veratridine (V). However, these compounds can be toxic to Neuro-2a cells and their application at insufficient or excessive concentrations can reduce the effectiveness of this assay for marine toxin detection. Therefore, during growth incubation, Neuro-2a cells were exposed to O and V, and surviving cells exhibiting a lower sensitivity to O and V (OV-LS) were propagated. OV-LS Neuro-2a cells were selected for 60–80% survival when exposed to 0.22/0.022 mM O/V during the cytotoxicity assay. At these conditions, OV-LS N2a cells demonstrated a 3.5-fold higher survival rate 71% ± 7.9 SD (n = 232), and lower sensitivity to O/V, compared to the original Neuro-2a cells 20% ± 9.0 SD (n = 16). Additionally, OV-LS N2a cells were 1.3–2.6-fold more sensitive for detecting CTX3C 1.35 pg/ml, CTX1B 2.06 pg/ml, and PbTx-3 3.04 ng/ml compared to Neuro-2a cells using 0.1/0.01 mM O/V. Detection of CTX3C in a complex fish matrix using OV-LS cells was 0.0048 pg CTX3C/mg fish tissue equivalent. This work shows the potential for a significant improvement in sensitivity for CTX3C, CTX1B, and PbTx-3 using the OV-LS N2a-assay

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis: effects of early resection in a neutropenic rat model

Objective: Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is frequent in neutropenic patients. Usually localized in the beginning, the disease spreads and mortality is high despite antifungal treatment. The role of early adjuvant surgery is not clear. Surgery may help to confirm fungal disease, may control fungal disease locally and may prevent systemic spreading. This study examines effects of early resection on survival and dissemination in a rat model of localized invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Methods: Forty persistently neutropenic male albino rats were challenged with standardized conidial aspergillus inoculum injected into peripheral lung tissue of the right upper lobe under direct vision. Animals were divided into four groups. Twenty animals were treated with amphotericin B at 1 mg/kg per day beginning 48 h after inoculation, 20 animals were left untreated. In each group half the animals underwent early resection of localized invasive aspergillosis by lobectomy. Animals were checked daily and mortality was recorded up to 28 days after which surviving animals were sacrificed. Results: Significantly higher survival was observed in resected animals in the non-Am B groups (survival: 10±19% without early resection and 50±32% with early resection; P=0.044). However, early resection did not lead to improved survival in animals treated with amphotericin B (survival 70±29% without early resection and 50±32% with early resection; P=0.316). Conclusions: In this rat model of localized invasive pulmonary aspergillosis effects of early resection on survival could be demonstrated only in animals not receiving amphotericin B treatmen