Are There as Many Trademark Offices as Trademark Examiners?

Federal trademark-registration rights have grown in import, and trademark owners have taken notice. In the fiscal year of 2018, over 660,000 federal trademark registration applications were filed with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (“Trademark Office”), representing a 60 percent increase from a decade prior. Yet despite the fact that there is growing concern that the Trademark Office is routinely issuing inconsistent trademark determinations, systematic empirical studies of the administrative process of obtaining federal registration rights are virtually nonexistent. This Article begins to close this gap by conducting the first large-scale study of trademark officials, known as trademark-examining attorneys, who make the initial determination on whether to accept or decline a federal trademark registration. Utilizing a novel dataset comprising over 7.8 million trademark applications, this Article examines the extent to which trademark-examining attorneys’ determinations differ from one another. We find substantial heterogeneity in Trademark Office outcomes. Trademark-examining attorneys have wildly divergent publication rates and registration rates even while controlling for a range of characteristics of the applications. The duration of time an application is before the Trademark Office also varies considerably among trademark-examining attorneys as does whether a filed opposition is sustained

Evaluation of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM17938 as starter in cheese production

The probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus reuteri DSM17938 was evaluated as a starter culture in cheese production, with the intention to produce a new interesting product within the functional food market. Growth and acidification rate in milk subjected to different heat treatments, as well as supplementation with growth promoting factors or support cultures was measured during controlled fermentations. The results showed that the weak proteolytic activity of L. reuteri could be compensated for by supplementation with 1% casamino acids or 5% MRS broth. Furthermore, a decrease in growth and acidification rate could be seen when using yoghurt culture or Lactobacillus delbrueckii as adjunct cultures. L. reuteri DSM 17938 was successfully incorporated into a fresh cheese with high viability during the storage period, suggesting that fresh cheese is an excellent carrier for the bacteria. The inhibitory activity of L. reuteri on a non-pathogenic mutant of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC) and Staphylococcus aureus was also tested. Both pathogens were inhibited in cheese with L. reuteri and the control, opening for further investigations in the field. A limited population of L. reuteri DSM 17938 was also successful incorporated in a hard cheese produced at Skogsbackens dairy. However, the survival was excellent during the storage period of 83 days, suggesting that the cheese could be a good carrier for L. reuteri.Den probiotiska bakterien Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 utvärderades som startkultur i ostproduktion, med avsikt att producera en ny intressant produkt med mervärden. Tillväxt och syraproduktion i mjölk utsatt för värmebehandlingar av varierande grad, eller tillsats av tillväxtstimulerande faktorer eller stödkulturer, mättes under kontrollerade omständigheter. Resultatet indikerar att ett svagt proteolytiskt system hos L. reuteri kan kompenseras med en tillsats av 1% casamino syra eller 5% MRS buljong. En ökning av tillväxt och syraproduktion sågs även vid tillsats av yoghurtkultur eller Lactobacillus delbrueckii som stödkultur. L. reuteri DSM17938 visade en god överlevnad under hela lagringsprerioden när den användes som starterkultur till färskost. Detta tyder att denna typ av produkt är att bra sätt att få i sig probiotiska bakterier via kosten. Förmågan att inhibera tillväxt och överlevnad av en avpatogeniserad mutant av Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC) and Staphylococcus aureus testades också. Båda patogenerna blev inhiberade både i ost innehållandes L. reuteri och kontrollosten, vilket öppnar upp för fler undersökningar inom detta område. En låg halt av L. reuteri DSM17938 fanns även i den hårdost som producerades på Skogsbackens mejeri som en del av projektet. Överlevnaden var emellertid mycket hög under en lagringsperiod på 83 dagar vilket tyder på att även denna ost skulle fungera bra som medium för L. reuteri

Molecular identification and characterization of begomoviruses in Nicaraguan cultivars of common beans

The production of common bean in Nicaragua is restrained by the occurrence of begomoviruses (family Geminiviridae; genus Begomovirus). Infections with viruses are known to cause yield loss every year, making them an important target for investigation. This study was a part of INTA’s work to investigate the current prevalence and diversity of viruses in common bean plants in Nicaragua. The objective of this study was to identify species of begomoviruses that infects bean plants, and to estimate the degree of mixed infection of different begomoviruses. Samples were collected from two different areas on both costs of Nicaragua (Jinotega and Nueva Guinea), and observations indicating virus infection were made in both areas. Rolling circle amplification (RCA) was run in order to increase the amount of circular viral DNA and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with a universal primer pair was used for detection of begomoviruses. Infection with begomovirus was confirmed in both Jinotega and Nueva Guinea. The results from restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) indicated infection with more than one begomovirus in samples from two fields in Jinotega. Sequence analysis of RCA products from two samples (Jinotega 2a and Nueva Guinea 15c) also indicated mixed infection with Bean golden yellow mosaic virus (BGYMV) and Calopogonium golden mosaic virus (CalGMV) in sample 2a and infection with CalGMV in sample 15c. As begomoviruses are infecting beans of the Atlantic coast, strategies should be considered to control begomovirus infections in this area as well. Since the distribution of CalGMV could be more extensive in Nicaragua than previously known, there is a need for further investigations regarding the transmission of viruses between common beans and alternative hosts, such as the weed Calopogonium sp

Bortom den goda sexualiteten - en perspektivanalys av konstruktionen av sexköpet och sexköparen i ett politiskt perspektiv

The study was conducted through qualitative text analysis of public documents produced before and after the criminalization of the sex buyer in Sweden in the year of 1999. The aim of this study was to, with a perspective analytic and social constructionist approach, examine the construction of the sex buyer and the buying of sex in a Swedish political context. Further, the purpose of the study was to shed light on consequences that may appear through the specific construction of the sex buyer and buying of sex identified in the documents. In the analysis a hegemonic perspective on sex buyers and the buying of sex was identified. Prostitution is first and foremost narrated as heterosexual. Men are narrated as the assumed sex buyers and women are narrated as the assumed sex sellers. In this way the identified perspective can be understood as gendered. The narratives of men who buy sex are of a negative character. Men are attributed the role of villains. Men’s demand for sex can be understood as the factor that creates and sustains prostitution. Within the dominating perspective different and contradictive descriptions of the sex buyer and the buying of sex was identified. Men who buy sex are on the one hand narrated as common and on the other hand as sick. The buying of sex is explained as an expression of patriarchal structures, as well as pathological. How the buying of sex is interpreted effects how sex buyers are treated by the society. The political goal by criminalization the sex buyer can be seen as way to battle prostitution and increase gender equality, but the identified perspective leaves alternative viewpoints on the sex buyer and the buying of sex in the periphery. Lastly, it excludes other constructions of prostitution

Oestradiol levels and superoxide dismutase activity in age-related cataract: a case-control study.

Background: It has been suggested that the higher prevalence of cataract in women is caused by a withdrawal effect of oestrogen at menopause. In vitro studies have demonstrated protection of serum oestradiol (E2) against oxidative stress through upregulation of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD). The purpose of the present study was to investigate E2 levels and SOD erythrocyte activity in patients with age-related cataract. Methods: The studied subjects consisted of 103 patients with age-related cataract and 22 controls. Cataracts were classified as nuclear, cortical, or posterior subcapsular. Blood samples were collected and data on smoking, hormonal use, diabetes and age at menarche/menopause was obtained for all individuals. Serum oestradiol analyses were performed with radioimmunoassay (RIA) and SOD activity was measured in erythrocyte lysates. Results: A negative correlation between age and E2 concentration was seen in a linear regression analysis. No correlation was seen between SOD activity and age or gender and no correlation between E2 levels and SOD activity was found using multiple linear regression. The mean level of E2 for all male subjects was 50.1 +/- 16.3 pmol/L, significantly higher compared to 13.8 +/- 11.8 pmol/L for postmenopausal women. Conclusion: The present study does not support a role for E2-induced effects on SOD in cataract formation. The findings of higher E2 levels in men than in postmenopausal women may suggest that decreased oestrogen at menopause is partially responsible for the gender-related difference in cataract prevalence. However, the latter can only be verified through prospective randomized trials using hormonal replacement therapy

Exploration of high-pressure processing (HPP) for preservation of the Swedish grown brown macroalgae Saccharina latissima

Introducing seaweed to new food markets entails new challenges concerning efficient preservation. Hence, this study explores high-pressure processing (HPP) as an alternative technique to conventional methods by evaluating its effects on the composition, quality, and microbial safety of the Swedish grown macroalgae Saccharina latissima. The results from the physicochemical analysis showed that after high-pressure treatment the color was retained, while the algal texture was altered by up to an 87.7% reduction in hardness and a 60.0% reduction in compression. Biochemical analysis demonstrated some variations in the algal samples, but the nutritional content was overall retained after treatment. The microbial analysis showed a low microbial load of untreated fresh material, which was confirmed by a lack of amplification in polymerase chain reaction attempts and low growth during attempts on spontaneous proliferation using fresh and frozen algae. Additionally, shelf-life studies showed inconsistent growth, but overall, a low increase in unspecific bacteria, an increasing load of Enterobacteriaceae, no growth of Lactobacilli, and low fouling by mold and yeast. The results from this study can be useful in the continued attempts of introducing seaweed to new markets, with different prerequisites for post-harvest treatment

A Review of Non-Invasive Techniques to Detect and Predict Localised Muscle Fatigue

Muscle fatigue is an established area of research and various types of muscle fatigue have been investigated in order to fully understand the condition. This paper gives an overview of the various non-invasive techniques available for use in automated fatigue detection, such as mechanomyography, electromyography, near-infrared spectroscopy and ultrasound for both isometric and non-isometric contractions. Various signal analysis methods are compared by illustrating their applicability in real-time settings. This paper will be of interest to researchers who wish to select the most appropriate methodology for research on muscle fatigue detection or prediction, or for the development of devices that can be used in, e.g., sports scenarios to improve performance or prevent injury. To date, research on localised muscle fatigue focuses mainly on the clinical side. There is very little research carried out on the implementation of detecting/predicting fatigue using an autonomous system, although recent research on automating the process of localised muscle fatigue detection/prediction shows promising results

Inactivation of a Single Copy of Crebbp Selectively Alters Pre-mRNA Processing in Mouse Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Global expression analysis of fetal liver hematopoietic stem cells (FL HSCs) revealed the presence of unspliced pre-mRNA for a number of genes in normal FL HSCs. In a subset of these genes, Crebbp+/− FL HSCs had less unprocessed pre-mRNA without a corresponding reduction in total mRNA levels. Among the genes thus identified were the key regulators of HSC function Itga4, Msi2 and Tcf4. A similar but much weaker effect was apparent in Ep300+/− FL HSCs, indicating that, in this context as in others, the two paralogs are not interchangeable. As a group, the down-regulated intronic probe sets could discriminate adult HSCs from more mature cell types, suggesting that the underlying mechanism is regulated with differentiation stage and is active in both fetal and adult hematopoiesis. Consistent with increased myelopoiesis in Crebbp hemizygous mice, targeted reduction of CREBBP abundance by shRNA in the multipotent EML cell line triggered spontaneous myeloid differentiation in the absence of the normally required inductive signals. In addition, differences in protein levels between phenotypically distinct EML subpopulations were better predicted by taking into account not only the total mRNA signal but also the amount of unspliced message present. CREBBP thus appears to selectively influence the timing and degree of pre-mRNA processing of genes essential for HSC regulation and thereby has the potential to alter subsequent cell fate decisions in HSCs