A Distinction Without a Difference: Convergence in Claim Construction Standards

In 2007, a district court found a patent for a medical device valid. While the district court litigation was pending, however, the Patent and Trademark Office ( PTO ) found the exact same patent invalid. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit then affirmed both decisions. At first glance, the idea that a patent could be found valid in one forum but invalid in another seems absurd. Yet the law condones these results: district courts and the PTO apply different claim construction standards. The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011 ( AIA ) created new post-grant proceedings at the PTO to challenge patent validity, which increased the stakes of the dual claim construction regime. In particular, the inter partes review ( IPR ) proceeding has become extremely popular. Over 5,200 inter partes review petitions have been filed at the PTO since the proceeding\u27s inception in September 2012. The popularity is due, in part, to the fact that the proceedings have turned out to be surprisingly lethal to granted patents: eighty-four percent of final written decisions have invalidated some or all challenged claims, making the proceeding very attractive to patent challengers. This high invalidation rate sparked debate about the differing claim construction standards. The PTO applies the broadest reasonable interpretation ( BRI ) standard, which liberally construes terms. District courts, in contrast, apply the Phillips standard, which more narrowly looks to the ordinary and customary meaning of a term based on the written patent document. The difference in construction has the potential to affect a patent\u27s validity because when a term is construed broadly, the patent is more likely to cover preexisting ideas or inventions and to therefore be considered unworthy of patent protection. Thus, some commentators believe the BRI standard employed by the PTO is more likely to invalidate a patent than the Phillips standard applied in district courts

Introduction: The Power of New Data and Technology

Modern technology has revolutionized the law. Computers drastically expanded the scope and speed of access to legal information. Unlike the days when lawyers had to climb ladders in the stacks to find specific statutes or cases in printed reporters, Westlaw brings up thousands of resources at the touch of a fingertip. Beyond transforming legal research, new data and technology have transformed the law in two other powerful ways: they have made the law more accessible to nonlawyers, and they have made it possible for lawyers to gather information about how the law is being executed. The articles in this Section demonstrate how new data and technology can serve a navigation function for those seeking access to the justice system and a consulting function for those who administer justice. Technology provides opportunities for innovation in how individuals interact with the legal system

Influence of surface tension in the surfactant-driven fracture of closely-packed particulate monolayers

A phase-field model is used to capture the surfactant-driven formation of fracture patterns in particulate monolayers. The model is intended for the regime of closely-packed systems in which the mechanical response of the monolayer can be approximated as a linearly elastic solid. The model approximates the loss in tensile strength of the monolayer as the surfactant concentration increases through the evolution of a damage field. Initial-boundary value problems are constructed and spatially discretized with finite element approximations to the displacement and surfactant damage fields. A comparison between model-based simulations and existing experimental observations indicates a qualitative match in both the fracture patterns and temporal scaling of the fracture process. The importance of surface tension differences is quantified by means of a dimensionless parameter, revealing thresholds that separate different regimes of fracture. These findings are supported by newly performed experiments that validate the model and demonstrate the strong sensitivity of the fracture pattern to differences in surface tension.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, and 3 table

Improving the Efficiency of Electrical Stimulation Activities After Spinal Cord Injury

In order to enhance spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation programs using neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and functional electrical stimulation (FES) it is important to examine the manner in which muscle fibers are recruited and the dose–response relationship. A review of the literature suggests that premature force decline and early fatigue with NMES and FES activities may be alleviated with decreased current frequency and increased current intensity. Dose–response relationships with NMES and FES are dependent on the goals of interest as reversing muscle atrophy can be achieved with activities 2–3 times per week for 6 or more weeks while increasing bone mass is more limited and requires more intense activity with greater exercise frequency and duration, e.g., 3–5 days per week for at least 6–12 months. The best known protocol to elicit neurological improvement is massed practice activities-based restorative therapies (ABRT) (3–5 h per day for several weeks)

Effects of Exercise Environment and Protocol Intensity on the Efficacy of Rehabilitation Care for Patients with Huntington’s Disease: A Comprehensive Review

International Journal of Exercise Science 12(3): 456-470, 2019. Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by astrogliosis of the putamen and caudate nucleus. Motor symptoms include progressive chorea, leading to deficits in gait, motor function, and quality of life. While many studies have examined the effects of therapeutic exercise on these factors in individuals with HD, the efficacy of such protocols has yet to be analyzed. Purpose: The purpose of this review is to analyze trends in efficacy reported by studies examining the effects of exercise on motor function, gait quality, and quality of life in individuals with HD. Methods: A literature search was performed by the primary author in September 2017. Databases include PubMed, Google Scholar Article Library, and The Cochran Article Library. Results: Though there is intrinsic variability between studies, therapeutic outcomes can be compared between settings and protocols. The increases in exercise duration/frequency and utilization of multiple supervised rehabilitation modalities in clinical/intensive inpatient-based programs resulted in greater function and psychological improvements in individuals with HD compared to those in the home/community-based programs. However, the adherence rates of high-intensity, multi-disciplinary protocols are lower than less intensive regimens. Conclusion: The results of this review suggest that rehabilitation exercise protocols held in a clinical and moderately intensive inpatient setting may provide the greatest functional and psychological outcomes for those with HD as evidenced by consistent patient benefit and high adherence rates. Furthermore, the high physical and time demands of high-intensity protocols may make them less practical than less intensive protocols, though more study is needed for confirmation

Adipose Tissue Differs and Correlates to Carbohydrate Metabolism and Proinflammatory Adipokines by Level of Spinal Cord Injury

Please see the pdf version of the abstract

A Darcy-Cahn-Hilliard model of multiphase fluid-driven fracture

A Darcy-Cahn-Hilliard model coupled with damage is developed to describe multiphase-flow and fluid-driven fracturing in porous media. The model is motivated by recent experimental observations in Hele-Shaw cells of the fluid-driven fracturing of a synthetic porous medium with tunable fracture resistance. The model is derived from continuum thermodynamics and employs several simplifying assumptions, such as linear poroelasticity and viscous-dominated flow. Two distinct phase fields are used to regularize the interface between an invading and a defending fluid, as well as the ensuing damage. The damage model is a cohesive version of a phase-field model for fracture, in which model parameters allow for control over both nucleation and crack growth. Model-based simulations with finite elements are then performed to calibrate the model against recent experimental results. In particular, an experimentally-inferred phase diagram differentiating two flow regimes of porous invasion and fracturing is recovered. Finally, the model is employed to explore the parameter space beyond experimental capabilities, giving rise to the construction of an expanded phase diagram that suggests a new flow regime

Effect of Mental and Physical Practice on Clinical Skill Learning in Kinesiology

Purpose: The amount of information required for an allied health professional has increased dramatically. In-class practice time and large amounts of practice materials may be difficult for instructors to acquire. Mental practice is a method of practice that does not involve physical movement or materials. This study investigated the effect of mental practice, physical practice, and a combination of mental and physical practice on kinesiology students learning three manual muscle tests. Method: Fifty-six students aged 18 to 26 years (M = 20.09, SD + 1.58), pursuing a degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in either athletic training or kinesiotherapy participated in this study. Participants underwent two days of practice that included either mental practice, physical practice, or a combination of mental and physical practice for three Manual Muscle Tests (MMTs). Approximately 48 hours later, participants completed a post-test of the MMTs that was evaluated by two trained examiners. Participants also completed a survey related to demographics, difficulty of the MMTs, and intentions for using mental practice. Results: The MMT post-test ANOVA revealed no significant learning differences between groups for all three Manual Muscle Tests. There were no significant differences in Manual Muscle Tests difficulty ratings between groups; however, there was a significant difference in participants’ difficulty ratings across the Manual Muscle Tests. A majority of participants indicated they would use mental practice in the future. Conclusions: The results indicated that kinesiology students seemed to learn equally well regardless of practice type. Utilization of mental practice in or outside of the classroom may be a strategy to supplement student learning in situations where class time and/or resources for physical skill practice may be more difficult to obtain

An optimization-based phase-field method for continuous-discontinuous crack propagation

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. Geelen, R., Liu, Y., Dolbow, J., Rodriguez-Ferran, A. An optimization-based phase-field method for continuous-discontinuous crack propagation. "International journal for numerical methods in engineering", 5 Octubre 2018, vol. 116, núm. 1, p. 1-20, which has been published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/nme.5911.A new continuous-discontinuous strategy for the computational modeling of crack propagation within the context of phase-field models of fracture is presented. The method is designed to introduce and update a sharp crack surface within an evolving damage band, and to enhance the kinematics of the finite element approximation accordingly. The proposed approach relies on three key elements. First, we propose the use of a crack length functional to provide a trigger for initiating a continuous to discontinuous transition. Next, the crack path identification is addressed by introducing the concept of an auxiliary damage field that varies with an extension of the sharp crack surface. The sharp crack surface is extended through an optimization algorithm, in which the difference between the auxiliary field and the actual damage field stemming from the phase-field framework is minimized. Finally, a strong discontinuity is inserted in the wake of the diffuse crack tip with the eXtended Finite Element Method (X-FEM), completing the continuous to discontinuous transition. Several benchmark problems in two-dimensional quasi-static fracture mechanics are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the method.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft