LABOR LAW - NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT - JURISDICTION OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD

Respondent, employing about sixty persons, was the sole owner of a garment-tailoring concern in New Jersey. His only business was with the Lee Company, a New York firm, that sold finished goods. There was no financial affiliation between them. The Lee Company purchased the cloth and caused it to be delivered to respondent. Respondent tailored it and delivered the finished product to a representative of the Lee Company at respondent\u27s plant. This representative sent it back to New York in Lee Company trucks. Title to the cloth remained throughout in the Lee Company. Held, Justices McReynolds and Butler dissenting, and Justice Frankfurter taking no part, that the National Labor Relations Board had jurisdiction of respondent. National Labor Relations Board v. Fainblatt, (U. S. 1939) 59 S. Ct. 668, reversing (C. C. A. 3d, 1938) 98 F. (2d) 615

NEGLIGENCE - VIOLATION OF STATUTE AS NEGLIGENCE PER SE - EXCEPTIONS TO THE DOCTRINE

Plaintiff\u27s intestate was driving along the main thoroughfare when B drove into the main highway from a side street without stopping, thereby colliding with the automobile of the intestate. Two days prior to this accident an automobile owned by S negligently collided with one of the defendant\u27s buses with the consequence that defendant\u27s bus, without negligence on defendant\u27s part, knocked down an arterial stop sign. This stop sign had been erected at the intersection of the main highway and the side street out of which B drove his car. A Washington statute made anyone who should deface, mutilate, tear down, or destroy any public signboards or guide posts, or danger signals or warnings, guilty of a misdemeanor. The trial court instructed the jury to the effect that they should find for plaintiff if they found that defendant, having knocked the signal down without negligence on its part, should reasonably have discovered the destruction and reported it to the proper authorities. Defendant objected to the use of the phrase without negligence and made a motion for new trial. Held, the motion should have been granted. Baldwin v. Washington Motor Coach Co., (Wash. 1938) 82 P. (2d) 131

LABOR LAW - RIGHT OF EMPLOYER GUILTY OF UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES TO DISCHARGE FOR ILLEGAL ACTS

During a membership drive in the Fansteel Metallurgical plants, the petitioner corporation was guilty of an unfair labor practice in that it hired espionage agents to spy upon the union. Lodge 66 attempted to bargain collectively with the petitioner and on its rejection of their offer, the union seized the key plants, effectively stopping production. The petitioner, on the union\u27s refusal to vacate, made a blanket discharge of everyone within the plant, and secured an injunction against the union\u27s possession. Compliance with the order was not obtained, and a writ of attachment for contempt was issued. On the second attempt to serve the writ, the sheriff was successful. The petitioner\u27s damages by reason of the sit-down strike were approximately $50,000. Thirty-seven of the men were fined and imprisoned by reason of their contempt. The petitioner on reopening re-employed many who had been affiliated with the union and some who had participated in the strike. None of those sentenced for contempt were re-employed. On a complaint issued, the board ordered the company (1) to desist from interfering with the rights of its employees under section 7 of the NLRA; (2) to withdraw recognition from the company union; (3) to bargain collectively with Lodge 66; (4) to reinstate all men who were employees on the day the sit-down strike began. The court below set the entire order aside. Held, Justices Reed and Black dissenting, and Justice Frankfurter taking no part, the judgment of the circuit court of appeals should be affirmed in respect to setting aside that part of the board\u27s order directing the employer to bargain collectively and reinstate former employees, but should be reversed as to setting aside the directions to cease interfering with employees\u27 rights under section 7 and to withdraw recognition from the company union. National Labor Relations Board v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp., (U. S. 1939) 6 U. S. Law Week 896, reviewing (C. C. A. 7th, 1938) 98 F. (2d) 375

TRADE MARKS AND TRADE NAMES -- INJUNCTION AGAINST NON-COMPETITORS

Plaintiff, Hugo Stein, began business in 1906 as Hugo Stein Cloak Company. Starting in the same year, defendant, S. B. Stein, continuously transacted a jewelry business variously as an individual, a partnership and finally, since 1931, as a corporation. Immediately prior to defendant\u27s incorporation, plaintiff moved to within four doors of defendant. Plaintiff for thirty years consistently advertised as Stein\u27s, while defendant never did so, at least without additional description, until 1936, at which time it changed its store front and newspaper advertisements to correspond to plaintiff\u27s. There was evidence that numerous people inquired at plaintiff\u27s for jewelry. Held, defendant should be enjoined from using the word Stein\u27s standing alone, in connection with its business. Hugo Stein Cloak Co. v. S. B. Stein & Son, 58 Ohio App. 377, 16 N. E. (2d) 609 (1937)

SELECTING FUNCTIONAL FORM IN PRODUCTION FUNCTION ANALYSIS

Functional form selection is a sometimes neglected aspect of applied research in production analysis. To provide an improved and uniform basis for form selection, a number of traditional and popular functional forms are catalogued with respect to intrinsic properties. Guidelines for the conduct of form selection are also discussed.Production Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

SCHEDULING INPUTS WITH PRODUCTION FUNCTIONS: OPTIMAL NITROGEN PROGRAMS FOR RICE

The problem of scheduling input applications can be examined by extending conventional production function analysis. Using appropriately designed agricultural experiments, it is possible to estimate production function parameters with alternative specifications for input timing (and amount). A study of nitrogen applications to rice is employed to illustrate scheduling via production functions. Alternative specifications and functional forms are simultaneously examined to determine the sensitivity of economic results to these factors. Sensitivity is found to be high, and this finding is hypothesized to be critical for other approaches to input scheduling as well.Crop Production/Industries,

Ex Vivo Gene Therapy Using Patient iPSC-Derived NSCs Reverses Pathology in the Brain of a Homologous Mouse Model

SummaryNeural stem cell (NSC) transplantation is a promising strategy for delivering therapeutic proteins in the brain. We evaluated a complete process of ex vivo gene therapy using human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived NSC transplants in a well-characterized mouse model of a human lysosomal storage disease, Sly disease. Human Sly disease fibroblasts were reprogrammed into iPSCs, differentiated into a stable and expandable population of NSCs, genetically corrected with a transposon vector, and assessed for engraftment in NOD/SCID mice. Following neonatal intraventricular transplantation, the NSCs engraft along the rostrocaudal axis of the CNS primarily within white matter tracts and survive for at least 4 months. Genetically corrected iPSC-NSCs transplanted post-symptomatically into the striatum of adult Sly disease mice reversed neuropathology in a zone surrounding the grafts, while control mock-corrected grafts did not. The results demonstrate the potential for ex vivo gene therapy in the brain using human NSCs from autologous, non-neural tissues

Intravitreal Aflibercept Outcomes in Patients with Persistent Macular Exudate Previously Treated with Bevacizumab and/or Ranibizumab for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Purpose. To assess whether intravitreal aflibercept (2.0mg) can effectively reduce persistent macular exudate and enhance visual acuity in ranibizumab (0.5mg) and/or bevacizumab (1.25 mg) treatment resistant patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Methods. This retrospective study included 47 treatment resistant eyes from 47 patients switched to intravitreal aflibercept injections after receiving a minimum of 3 injections with either ranibizumab or bevacizumab. Snellen visual acuity and optical coherence tomography were assessed just prior to the first injection (baseline) and prior to the fourth injection (final). Additionally, anatomical regions of persistent macular exudate were tracked to determine if these areas yielded varying responses to aflibercept. Results. At baseline, patients had received an average of 11.3 injections with any prior anti-VEGF drug (SD 5.96). For whole group analysis, baseline and final central retinal thickness were 370.57 mu m and 295.7 mu m (P \u3c =.001), respectively. Baseline and final retinal fluid volumes were 4.81 mm(3) and 4.37 mm(3) (P \u3c =.001), respectively. Baseline and final logMAR were 0.56 and 0.53 (P = 0.301), respectively. Anatomic location of persistent exudate did not appreciably alter treatment outcome. Conclusion. Central retinal thickness and total retinal fluid volume were reduced in ranibizumab and/or bevacizumab treatment resistant patients following three aflibercept injections. No appreciable change in visual acuity was noted

Methods for the Detection, Study, and Dynamic Profiling of O-GlcNAc Glycosylation

The addition of O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) to serine/threonine residues of proteins is a ubiquitous posttranslational modification found in all multicellular organisms. Like phosphorylation, O-GlcNAc glycosylation (O-GlcNAcylation) is inducible and regulates a myriad of physiological and pathological processes. However, understanding the diverse functions of O-GlcNAcylation is often challenging due to the difficulty of detecting and quantifying the modification. Thus, robust methods to study O-GlcNAcylation are essential to elucidate its key roles in the regulation of individual proteins, complex cellular processes, and disease. In this chapter, we describe a set of chemoenzymatic labeling methods to (1) detect O-GlcNAcylation on proteins of interest, (2) monitor changes in both the total levels of O-GlcNAcylation and its stoichiometry on proteins of interest, and (3) enable mapping of O-GlcNAc to specific serine/threonine residues within proteins to facilitate functional studies. First, we outline a procedure for the expression and purification of a multiuse mutant galactosyltransferase enzyme (Y289L GalT). We then describe the use of Y289L GalT to modify O-GlcNAc residues with a functional handle, N-azidoacetylgalactosamine (GalNAz). Finally, we discuss several applications of the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition “click” reaction to attach various alkyne-containing chemical probes to GalNAz and demonstrate how this functionalization of O-GlcNAc-modified proteins can be used to realize (1)–(3) above. Overall, these methods, which utilize commercially available reagents and standard protein analytical tools, will serve to advance our understanding of the diverse and important functions of O-GlcNAcylation

New Perspectives on the Charging Mechanisms of Supercapacitors.

Supercapacitors (or electric double-layer capacitors) are high-power energy storage devices that store charge at the interface between porous carbon electrodes and an electrolyte solution. These devices are already employed in heavy electric vehicles and electronic devices, and can complement batteries in a more sustainable future. Their widespread application could be facilitated by the development of devices that can store more energy, without compromising their fast charging and discharging times. In situ characterization methods and computational modeling techniques have recently been developed to study the molecular mechanisms of charge storage, with the hope that better devices can be rationally designed. In this Perspective, we bring together recent findings from a range of experimental and computational studies to give a detailed picture of the charging mechanisms of supercapacitors. Nuclear magnetic resonance experiments and molecular dynamics simulations have revealed that the electrode pores contain a considerable number of ions in the absence of an applied charging potential. Experiments and computer simulations have shown that different charging mechanisms can then operate when a potential is applied, going beyond the traditional view of charging by counter-ion adsorption. It is shown that charging almost always involves ion exchange (swapping of co-ions for counter-ions), and rarely occurs by counter-ion adsorption alone. We introduce a charging mechanism parameter that quantifies the mechanism and allows comparisons between different systems. The mechanism is found to depend strongly on the polarization of the electrode, and the choice of the electrolyte and electrode materials. In light of these advances we identify new directions for supercapacitor research. Further experimental and computational work is needed to explain the factors that control supercapacitor charging mechanisms, and to establish the links between mechanisms and performance. Increased understanding and control of charging mechanisms should lead to new strategies for developing next-generation supercapacitors with improved performances.The authors acknowledge the Sims Scholarship Cambridge (A.C.F.), the School of the Physical Sciences of the University of Cambridge (via an Oppenheimer Research Fellowship, C.M.), EPSRC (via the Supergen consortium, A.C.F. and J.M.G.), and the EU ERC (via an Advanced Fellowship to C.P.G.) for funding. We thank Nicole Trease, Andrew Ilott, Phoebe Allan, Elizabeth Humphreys, Paul Bayley, Hao Wang, Patrice Simon, Wan-Yu Tsai, Yury Gogotsi, Mathieu Salanne, Benjamin Rotenberg, Alexei Kornyshev, Svyatoslav Kondrat and Volker Presser for collaboration, and stimulating discussions and insights into supercapacitors over the course of our research on this subject.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the American Chemical Society via https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6b0211