A Ligand-Based Approach to Identifying Commercially Available Inhibitors of Human Galactokinase (GALK)

The purpose of this project was to find inhibitors of the human galactokinase (GALK) enzyme. GALK is responsible for catalyzing the conversion of galactose to galactose 1-phosphate, the first step in galactose metabolism. Galactose 1-phosphate builds up in the cells of patients with type 1 galactosemia due a genetic disorder. It has been proposed that inhibiting galactose 1-phosphate production by GALK may prevent many of the major complications of type 1 galactosemia. In this study, a ligand-based approach was used to identify commercially available inhibitors of GALK, starting from galactose-bearing natural products. Candidate inhibitors were screened for their ability to inhibit recombinant human GALK in vitro using a luminescence assay

The Information Needs of Mobile Searchers: A Framework

The growing use of Internet-connected mobile devices demands that we reconsider search user interface design in light of the context and information needs specific to mobile users. In this paper the authors present a framework of mobile information needs, juxtaposing search motives—casual, lookup, learn, and investigate—with search types—informational, geographic, personal information management, and transactional

The Anti-Monopoly Origins of the Patent and Copyright Clause

The British experience with patents and copyrights prior to 1787 is instructive as to the context within which the Framers drafted the Patent and Copyright Clause. The 1624 Statute of Monopolies, intended to curb royal abuse of monopoly privileges, restricted patents for new inventions to a specified term of years. The Stationers\u27 Company, a Crown-chartered guild of London booksellers, continued to hold a monopoly on publishing, and to enforce censorship laws, until 1695. During this time, individual titles were treated as perpetual properties held by booksellers. In 1710, however, the Statute of Anne broke up these monopolies by imposing strict term limits on copyright, and in the 1730s Parliament twice rejected booksellers\u27 attempts to preserve their monopolies by extending the copyright term. Failing to achieve their ends through legislation, the booksellers sought to circumvent Parliament by arguing that the Statute of Anne was only supplementary to an underlying common-law right that was perpetual; but this effort, too, was rebuffed when the House of Lords determined in 1774 that the only basis for copyright was the Statute of Anne. In America, too, anti-monopoly sentiment was strong; and when the Constitution was being drafted, the Framers, influenced by the British experience, specified that patents and copyrights could only be granted for limited Times. The Patent and Copyright Acts of 1790 copied the limited terms of protection provided by the Statute of Monopolies and the Statute of Anne. As in England, advocates of perpetual copyright argued that statutory copyright merely supplemented an existing perpetual common-law right. But following the precedent set by the House of Lords, in 1834 the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the commonlaw argument and perpetual copyright, confirming the Framers\u27 view that patents and copyrights should be strictly limited in duration in order to serve the public interest

Disparities in First-to-Second Dose Measles-containing Vaccination Coverage: A Comparative Analysis of the Predictive Power of Three Economic Indices

While overall mortality from measles has decreased, it is still associated with significant global infant deaths. Studies indicate that a second dose of measles-containing vaccine (MCV) is necessary to produce sufficient immunity to measles, yet several developing countries are deficient of a two-dose schedule. This study examined the efficacy of three economic indices—the Human Development Index (HDI), the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI), and the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)—in predicting first-to-second MCV dosage disparities. Country-level data for MCV coverage were downloaded from the World Health Organization (WHO). Briggsian logarithmic regression models of MCV dosage disparities were calculated to compare the predictive power of the HDI, IHDI, and MPI. The MPI explained the most variance in dosage disparities, F (1, 54) = 41.835, p \u3c 0.001, R2 = 0.437, b = 0.938, followed by the IDHI (R2 = 0.361, b = −0.935) and HDI (R2 = 0.354, b = −1.023). We suggest the MPI explained the greatest variance because it uses multiple indicators to determine poverty across three dimensions of human development. The MPI predicted larger disparities in more developing countries. Future efforts should be directed toward discovering and reducing barriers to second dose MCV administration in these countries

Improving the use of evidence in legislatures: the case of the UK Parliament

Despite claims that we now live in a post-truth society, it remains commonplace for policy-makers to consult research evidence to increase the robustness of decision-making. Few scholars of evidence-policy interfaces, however, have used legislatures as sites of study, despite the fact that they play a critical role in modern democracies. There is thus limited knowledge of how research evidence is sourced and used in legislatures, which presents challenges for academics and science advisory groups, as well as to others interested in ensuring that democratic decisions are evidence-informed. Here, we present results from an empirical study into the use of research in the UK Parliament, obtained through the use of a mixed methodology, including interviews and surveys of 157 people in parliament, as well as an ethnographic investigation of four committees. Here we are specifically interested in identifying the factors affecting the use of research evidence in Parliament, with the aim of improving its use. We focus on providing advice for the Higher Education Sector, which includes improving knowledge of, and engagement in, parliamentary processes, reform of academic incentives to stimulate the production of policy relevant information and to assist engagement, and working with trusted knowledge brokers. Implementing this advice should improve the chances that parliamentary decision-making is informed by research evidence