GM! Time to Wake Up and Address Copyright and Other Legal Issues Impacting Visual Art NFTs

The art world is slow to adapt to new technology.  Back in 2019, which seems like eons ago in Internet time, the Hiscox online art trade report noted that the online art market grew 9.8% in aggregate in 2018 to $4.64 billion, a slowdown from the growth experienced in the previous three years.  More telling, the same report notes that the “art world’s adoption of blockchain technology remains slow as convincing [use cases] fail to materialise.”  Of course, there are structural reasons and specific factors that make the art world unique in its steadfast commitment to “traditional” transactional formats, including the benefits reaped from in-person inspection of unique works executed in a physical medium, as well as the privacy and competitive benefits afforded by relative market opacity. Like it or not, the art world is being forced to reckon with the metaverse.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, homebound collectors helped to buoy the online art market.  Online sales in 2020 accounted for “15.8$6.8 billion.”  Sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) reached around $3.5 billion in the first three quarters of 2021.  Although not a person, ERC-721, which sets forth a standard specification for tokens on the Ethereum-based blockchain, topped ArtReview’s annual “Power 100” list of the most influential people in the contemporary art world in 2021. Specifically with respect to NFTs, art-world stakeholders appear to be of two camps: some curious and diving in, and others feeling skeptical.  What is it about NFTs that make certain art-world stakeholders wish they were a passing fad?  What is the legal landscape for this fast-growing portion of the metaverse?  And how can artists and purchasers protect themselves using pre-existing legal concepts and frameworks?  These are some of the questions that we discuss in this Article.  After covering what NFTs are and the application of the pre-existing U.S. copyright framework to the NFT format, we elucidate some considerations and issues that artists face when they decide to mint their work and sell NFTs.  We also address some concerns that purchasers of NFTs may have.  Because the environment is fast-paced and a single set of standards or guidelines has not yet been adopted, we discuss certain types of terms and conditions that currently govern the sale and use of NFTs.  In sharing recent case studies, contracts, and projects we have worked on, we hope to provide a snapshot—if fleeting—of the current dynamic world of NFTs

Hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and impaired endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation in mice lacking insulin receptor substrate-1.

Insulin resistance is often associated with atherosclerotic diseases in subjects with obesity and impaired glucose tolerance. This study examined the effects of insulin resistance on coronary risk factors in IRS-1 deficient mice, a nonobese animal model of insulin resistance. Blood pressure and plasma triglyceride levels were significantly higher in IRS-1 deficient mice than in normal mice. Impaired endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation was also observed in IRS-1 deficient mice. Furthermore, lipoprotein lipase activity was lower than in normal mice, suggesting impaired lipolysis to be involved in the increase in plasma triglyceride levels under insulin-resistant conditions. Thus, insulin resistance plays an important role in the clustering of coronary risk factors which may accelerate the progression of atherosclerosis in subjects with insulin resistance

Photoelectron spectroscopy on the charge reorganization energy and small polaron binding energy of molecular film

AbstractUnderstanding of electron-phonon coupling as well as intermolecular interaction is required to discuss the mobility of charge carrier in functional molecular solids. This article summarizes recent progress in direct measurements of valence hole-vibration coupling in ultrathin films of organic semiconductors by using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). The experimental study of hole-vibration coupling of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) state in ordered monolayer film by UPS is essential to comprehend hole-hopping transport and small-polaron related transport in organic semiconductors. Only careful measurements can attain the high-resolution spectra and provide key parameters in hole-transport dynamics, namely the charge reorganization energy and small polaron binding energy. Analyses methods of the UPS HOMO fine feature and resulting charge reorganization energy and small polaron binding energy are described for pentacene and perfluoropentacene films. Difference between thin-film and gas-phase results is discussed by using newly measured high-quality gas-phase spectra of pentacene. Methodology for achieving high-resolution UPS measurements for molecular films is also described

Human physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for ACE inhibitors: ramipril and ramiprilat

BACKGROUND: The angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have complicated and poorly characterized pharmacokinetics. There are two binding sites per ACE (high affinity "C", lower affinity "N") that have sub-nanomolar affinities and dissociation rates of hours. Most inhibitors are given orally in a prodrug form that is systemically converted to the active form. This paper describes the first human physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model of this drug class. METHODS: The model was applied to the experimental data of van Griensven et. al for the pharmacokinetics of ramiprilat and its prodrug ramipril. It describes the time course of the inhibition of the N and C ACE sites in plasma and the different tissues. The model includes: 1) two independent ACE binding sites; 2) non-equilibrium time dependent binding; 3) liver and kidney ramipril intracellular uptake, conversion to ramiprilat and extrusion from the cell; 4) intestinal ramipril absorption. The experimental in vitro ramiprilat/ACE binding kinetics at 4°C and 300 mM NaCl were assumed for most of the PBPK calculations. The model was incorporated into the freely distributed PBPK program PKQuest. RESULTS: The PBPK model provides an accurate description of the individual variation of the plasma ramipril and ramiprilat and the ramiprilat renal clearance following IV ramiprilat and IV and oral ramipril. Summary of model features: Less than 2% of total body ACE is in plasma; 35% of the oral dose is absorbed; 75% of the ramipril metabolism is hepatic and 25% of this is converted to systemic ramiprilat; 100% of renal ramipril metabolism is converted to systemic ramiprilat. The inhibition was long lasting, with 80% of the C site and 33% of the N site inhibited 24 hours following a 2.5 mg oral ramipril dose. The plasma ACE inhibition determined by the standard assay is significantly less than the true in vivo inhibition because of assay dilution. CONCLUSION: If the in vitro plasma binding kinetics of the ACE inhibitor for the two binding sites are known, a unique PBPK model description of the Griensven et. al. experimental data can be obtained