Standard-essential patent (SEP) is a patent that claims an invention that must be used to comply with a technical standard. The issues of patent infringement are often at the forefront of the ...strategy and planning in patent litigation. Determining an appropriate methodology for valuing a patented invention is a complex and nuanced undertaking. This is particularly true for patent cases where the accused product or service includes many overlapping features and technologies. Patent information can be used in important issues of global technological standardization in order to evaluate the competitive potential of the SEP. This article makes two major contributions: First, it compares the patent value of SEPs with that of non-SEPs. According to the results, SEPs do have higher value, which indicates the effectiveness of the SEP system supported by standard setting organizations. Second, based on comprehensive observations of litigated SEPs, a model for predicting the probability of litigation is established and the litigation probability distribution of SEPs is plotted.
IMPORTANCE Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is the most commonly used medication for pain and fever during pregnancy in many countries. Research data suggest that acetaminophen is a hormone disruptor, and ...abnormal hormonal exposures in pregnancy may influence fetal brain development. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether prenatal exposure to acetaminophen increases the risk for developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)–like behavioral problems or hyperkinetic disorders (HKDs) in children. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We studied 64 322 live-born children and mothers enrolled in the Danish National Birth Cohort during 1996-2002. EXPOSURES Acetaminophen use during pregnancy was assessed prospectively via 3 computer-assisted telephone interviews during pregnancy and 6 months after child birth. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES To ascertain outcome information we used (1) parental reports of behavioral problems in children 7 years of age using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; (2) retrieved HKD diagnoses from the Danish National Hospital Registry or the Danish Psychiatric Central Registry prior to 2011; and (3) identified ADHD prescriptions (mainly Ritalin) for children from the Danish Prescription Registry. We estimated hazard ratios for receiving an HKD diagnosis or using ADHD medications and risk ratios for behavioral problems in children after prenatal exposure to acetaminophen. RESULTS More than half of all mothers reported acetaminophen use while pregnant. Children whose mothers used acetaminophen during pregnancy were at higher risk for receiving a hospital diagnosis of HKD (hazard ratio = 1.37; 95% CI, 1.19-1.59), use of ADHD medications (hazard ratio = 1.29; 95% CI, 1.15-1.44), or having ADHD-like behaviors at age 7 years (risk ratio = 1.13; 95% CI, 1.01-1.27). Stronger associations were observed with use in more than 1 trimester during pregnancy, and exposure response trends were found with increasing frequency of acetaminophen use during gestation for all outcomes (ie, HKD diagnosis, ADHD medication use, and ADHD-like behaviors; P trend < .001). Results did not appear to be confounded by maternal inflammation, infection during pregnancy, the mother’s mental health problems, or other potential confounders we evaluated. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Maternal acetaminophen use during pregnancy is associated with a higher risk for HKDs and ADHD-like behaviors in children. Because the exposure and outcome are frequent, these results are of public health relevance but further investigations are needed.
In the last two decades, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted more attention as an efficient alternative to economical photovoltaic devices, and the highest efficiency record has ...increased from ∼7% to ∼14%. To be more competitive in the solar cell markets, various organic materials are investigated and used in DSSCs to improve the cell efficiency, enhance the cell durability, and reduce the cost of production. In this review article, we provide a short review on the organic materials used for the preparation of photoanodes (including metal element-free organic dye sensitizers), quasi/all-solid-state electrolytes, and metal element-free electrocatalytic films in DSSCs with the cell efficiencies of >5%. Finally, the future perspectives for DSSCs are also briefly discussed.
The recent progress of efficiency improvement, emission color tuning, and lifetime elongation of blue organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is reviewed. The latter is one of the most important ...bottlenecks for OLED development. The current status of blue light-emitting material design with emission mechanisms such as fluorescence (F), phosphorescence (Ph), thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF), and hybridized local and charge transfer (HLCT) is introduced in the first part of this review. Compared to red and green devices, the long exciton lifetime of the high energy triplet exciton in a blue OLED is the one of the main issues. To avoid the accumulation of high energy triplet excitons in the emitter for blue OLEDs, assisted triplet-triplet fluorescence (TTF) and Hyperfluorescence™ are employed to harvest the triplet excitons. In the second part of this review, we focus on issues from an application viewpoint: what are the requirements of blue OLEDs for display and lighting technologies in terms of efficiency, color, and lifetime? Key performance metrics of blue OLEDs with different technologies over time are summarized. Independent of technology, the trend is similar: the external quantum efficiency improves for the first stage of research, followed by color tuning, and then finally lifetime elongation. The state-of-the-art device performance of blue OLEDs with various emission mechanisms is illustrated. Although Ph- and TADF-emission based devices show satisfactory efficiency and electroluminescence (EL) spectra, despite having a lower efficiency TTF-emission based devices are the mainstream for real applications due to their relatively long operation lifetime. Blue Ph-OLEDs have the potential for lighting applications with suitable material selection and device design. We collected the published results and tried our best to make a fair comparison of the operation lifetime among different technologies. Finally, we discuss the possible future outlook from different viewpoints including new materials, device designs, and applications of blue OLEDs.
Emission mechanisms for OLEDs and their characteristics.
Very little is currently known about air pollutants' adverse effects on neurodegenerative diseases even though recent studies have linked particulate exposures to brain pathologies associated with ...Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
In the present study, we investigated long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and Parkinson's disease.
In a case-control study of 1,696 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients identified from Danish hospital registries and diagnosed 1996-2009 and 1,800 population controls matched by sex and year of birth, we assessed long-term traffic-related air pollutant exposures (represented by nitrogen dioxide; NO2) from a dispersion model, using residential addresses from 1971 to the date of diagnosis or first cardinal symptom for cases and the corresponding index date for their matched controls. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated with logistic regression, adjusting for matching factors and potential confounders.
We found ambient air pollution from traffic sources to be associated with risk of PD, with a 9% higher risk (95% CI: 3, 16.0%) per interquartile range increase (2.97 μg/m(3)) in modeled NO2. For participants living for ≥ 20 years in the capital city, ORs were larger (OR = 1.21; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.31) than in provincial towns (OR = 1.10; 95% CI: 0.97, 1.26), whereas there was no association among rural residents.
Our findings raise concerns about potential effects of air pollution from traffic and other sources on the risk of PD, particularly in populations with high or increasing exposures.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
Understanding cellular and molecular damages in oocytes during exposure to extreme conditions is essential to optimize long‐term fertility preservation approaches. Using the domestic cat (Felis ...catus) model, we are developing drying techniques for oocytes’ germinal vesicles (GVs) as a more economical alternative to cryopreservation. The objective of the study was to characterize the influence of desiccation on nuclear envelope conformation, chromatin configuration, and the relative fluorescent intensities of histone H3 trimethylation at lysine 4 (H3K4me3) and at lysine 9 (H3K9me3) compared to vitrification. Results showed that higher proportions of dried/rehydrated GVs maintained normal nuclear envelope conformation and chromatin configuration than vitrified/warmed counterparts. Both preservation methods had a similar influence on epigenetic patterns, lowering H3K4me3 intensity to under 40% while maintaining H3K9me3 levels. Further analysis revealed that the decrease of H3K4me3 intensity mainly occurred during microwave dehydration and subsequent rehydration, whereas sample processing (permeabilization and trehalose exposure) or storage did not significantly affect the epigenetic marker. Moreover, rehydration either directly or stepwise with trehalose solutions did not influence the outcome. This is the first report demonstrating that the incidence of GV damages is lower after desiccation/rehydration than vitrification/warming.
This study explored structural and epigenetic damages in germinal vesicles during exposure to extreme conditions. Results demonstrated that desiccation/rehydration affected the similar epigenetic pattern and provided better protection to nuclear envelope (NE) conformation and chromatin configuration than vitrification/warming.
Ionic liquids (ILs) are gaining attention as protein stabilizers and refolding additives. However, varying degrees of success with this approach motivates the need to better understand fundamental ...IL-protein interactions. A combination of experiment and simulation is used to investigate the thermal unfolding of lysozyme in the presence of two imidazolium-based ILs (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate, EMIMEtSO
4
and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethylphosphate, EMIMEt
2
PO
4
). Both ILs reduce lysozyme melting temperature
T
m
, but more gradually than strong denaturants. EMIMEt
2
PO
4
lowers lysozyme
T
m
more readily than EMIMEtSO
4
, as well as requiring less energy to unfold the protein, as determined by the calorimetric enthalpy Δ
H
. Intrinsic fluorescence measurements indicate that both ILs bind to tryptophan residues in a dynamic mode, and furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations show a high density of EMIM
+
near lysozyme's Trp62 residue. For both ILs approximately half of the EMIM
+
cations near Trp62 show perfect alignment of their respective rings. The EMIM
+
cations, having a "local" effect in binding to tryptophan, likely perturb a critically important Arg-Trp-Arg bridge through favorable π-π and cation-π interactions. Simulations show that the anions, EtSO
4
−
and Et
2
PO
4
−
, interact in a "global" manner with lysozyme, due to this protein's strong net positive charge. The anions also determine the local distribution of ions surrounding the protein. Et
2
PO
4
−
is found to have a closer first coordination shell around the protein and stronger Coulomb interactions with lysozyme than EtSO
4
−
, which could explain why the former anion is more destabilizing. Patching of ILs to the protein surface is also observed, suggesting there is no universal IL solvent for proteins, and highlighting the complexity of the IL-protein environment.
Ionic liquids (ILs) are gaining attention as protein stabilizers and refolding additives.
Knowledge accumulation is considered a crucial factor for generating sustained economic growth. Therefore, both knowledge spillovers and externalities are considered drivers of economic development. ...Standardization is a vital feature of technological progress. It involves triggering adoptions of innovation by reducing market uncertainty between consumers and producers. Standards cannot be implemented without using technology covered by the claims of patents. This paper investigates knowledge spillover through the inward and outward knowledge flow from technology standards. Studies have investigated the quantitative and qualitative effects of technological standards. However, there still exists a lack of understanding regarding the knowledge spillover and externality that results from technological standardization. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap in the literature by elucidating the codified knowledge spillover that underlies patented technologies at the technical, organizational, and industrial standard levels. This paper explores the characteristic patterns of knowledge spillover associated with technology standards.
Organizations in both developed and developing economies are paying great attention to the Industry 4.0 revolution and associated uses of technologies due to its potential benefits to the ...manufacturing industry. However, there are a limited number of empirical studies due to its early stage of adoption around the world, especially regarding the key technological factors that are necessary. This article addresses this research gap by identifying the factors that enable successful Industry 4.0 technologies adoption in an emerging economy country, grouping them, and ranking the groups based on priorities for adoption. The study adopts a mixed-method research methodology. Q-sort technique and analytic hierarchy process, respectively, were used to group enabling factors and prioritize the groups for Industry 4.0 technologies adoption. Thereafter, semistructured interviews of key stakeholders in the manufacturing sector in Thailand were carried out to validate and support findings from the quantitative analysis. Five industry experts from automotive and electronic parts/components manufacturers were interviewed. The results show that human capital is the most important readiness dimension for Industry 4.0 technologies implementation. Interoperability and data handling were found to be the next in importance. On the contrary, hardware and technology systems, such as data security and technological infrastructure, were identified as the least important of the technology readiness dimensions. These findings provide a different perspective to extant studies that posited that technology-based factors as the most important for Industry 4.0 success.
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