The patentability of medicinal inventions related to personalized medicine in Japan.
Several amendments of the examination guidelines for medicinal inventions may be good news for pharmaceutical companies.
Biotechnology↗
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Models for facilitating access to patents on genetic inventions.
The genetics community is increasingly concerned that patents might lead to restricted access to research and health care. We explore various measures that are designed to render patented genetic inventions accessible to further use in research, and to diagnosis and/or treatment. They include the often-recited research or experimental-use exemption, conventional one-to-one licensing and compulsory licensing, as well as patent pools and clearing-house mechanisms. The last two alternatives deserve special attention in the area of human genetics.
Access to Information↗
Rule invention in the acquisition of morphology by a language-impaired child.
This paper presents a case study of a language-impaired child who invented a unique morphophonologic rule for signaling the distinction between English singular and plural nouns. Conventional linguistic-phonetic analysis indicated that the child was producing the distinction suprasegmentally rather than segmentally. Acoustic-phonetic analysis of matched singular-plural noun pairs was performed in order to determine quantitatively which suprasegmental acoustic cues he used to signal the distinction. Results of a multivariate analysis of variance revealed that singular and plural productions were significantly different from one another on various fundamental frequency, duration, and intensity parameters. This example of a child's linguistic creativity is offered as further evidence in support of a model of language acquisition that emphasizes the cognitive aspects underlying linguistic regularities in child language. Clinical implications are also discussed.
Child Language↗
Rule invention in the acquisition of morphology revisited: a case of transparent semantic mapping.
This paper presents a case study of a language-impaired child who signaled the distinction between English singular and plural using suprasegmental cues rather than the usual segmental form used within the parent language. Acoustic analyses performed within the first study in the paper revealed that the suprasegmental features used to maintain this distinction included various duration, fundamental frequency, and intensity parameters. Acoustic analyses were also performed on a set of matched two- and four-item plural forms within a second study. The results of these analyses indicated that the same acoustic parameters were used to distinguish two-item plural forms from four-item plural forms. This case of linguistic creativity is offered as further evidence in support of the model of language acquisition that emphasizes the active role children take in the acquisition process. Additionally, the phonological, morphological, and psycholinguistic factors that may contribute to such rule invention are discussed.
Child, Preschool↗
The use of an invented language rule in the differentiation of normal and language-impaired Spanish-speaking children.
The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the results of a language-teaching procedure could be used to identify specific language-impaired children in a group of bilingual children with limited English proficiency (LEP). An invented morpheme was taught to two groups of LEP children who had been previously identified as normal and specific language-impaired. The language-impaired group learned the morpheme at a slower rate than the normal children, thus allowing the two groups to be differentiated. The approach promises to circumvent many of the obstacles that impede current practices for identifying language impairment in the LEP population.
Child↗
[Diagnosis and therapy of diseases of the larynx in the history of medicine. Part III. After the invention of laryngoscopy].
BACKGROUND: Laryngology a discipline of its own: When in 1855 Garcia had invented the indirect laryngoscopy and Türck and Czermak had introduced the method in clinical medicine numerous laryngological centres were founded in Austria, Germany, England, and France. FIRST INTERVENTIONS AND SOLUTION OF TECHNICAL PROBLEMS: In 1859 Czermak had already examined 20 patients with laryngeal diseases and demonstrated that it was possible to apply local treatment such as cautery under laryngoscopic view. The surgeon von Bruns in Tübingen (Germany) reported in 1862 on the successful removal of a polyp in the larynx. One common problem was the epiglottis preventing the view on the anterior part of the glottis. Czermak had suggested to make the epiglottis rise by intoning "hee". Methods of holding the epiglottis with a suture or with a forceps were not successful. In 1879 Reichert in Rostock (Germany) presented his epiglottis retractor which is still in common use. The irritability of the laryngeal mucosa remained the major problem for the next 20 years. CONSERVATIVE ENDOLARYNGEAL TREATMENT: The dominant means were local applications with brushes, powder blowers or injections of caustic fluids. Starting at about 1860 there were also steam inhalations. SURGICAL ENDOLARYNGEAL INTERVENTIONS: In a very early stage numerous instruments were devised such as sickle knives, various forceps, polyp snares and instruments for applications of electric currents. These were used in a monopolar and a bipolar way to induce electrolysis, coagulation and stimulation. INTRODUCTION OF SURFACE ANAESTHESIA: In 1884 in Vienna the surface anaesthesia with cocaine was introduced by Koller in the ophthalmology and by Jelinek in the laryngology. THE SPECIAL CASE HISTORY: The case history of the German emperor Frederick III, who died of laryngeal cancer in 1888, is briefly reported, because here all knowledge and technical facilities available at that time were brought into play. The treatment was guided by the German surgeons von Bergmann and Bramann, the laryngologists Gerhardt, Tobold and Schrötter (Vienna), the pathologists Virchow and Waldeyer, and the English laryngologist Mackenzie. The dominant problem was to have a safe diagnosis preoperatively. There was a passionate discussion about who was to blame for the fatal outcome of the emperor's disease. CONCLUDING: Another case history is reported when the surgeon von Bergmann believed he could demonstrate a successful operation on a patient with an apparently secure diagnosis of a laryngeal carcinoma the way it should have been done on the emperor. He was wrong: it turned out to be a tuberculosis and the patient died three hours after the operation.
Europe↗
[The centennial of oxygen-therapy (1902 - 2002) -- reassessing its history. Part II: The contributions of the "Roth-Draeger anaesthesia apparatus" (1902) and other inventions of 100 years of Draeger-Medical-Technology (1902-2002) to the history of truly "therapeutic" application of oxygen].
This is the second part of a survey which analyses the history of inhalative oxygen therapy and its interactions with the history of anaesthesiology. Specific emphasis is put here on illustrating inventions of modern pressure gas technology such as pressure reducing valves. These enabled Draeger Inc. to be the first firm to develop and trade on a large scale technically convincing products allowing a rational, therapeutic application of oxygen. Especially Draeger anaesthesia apparatus (e. g. the "Roth-Draeger Anaesthesia Apparatus") and respiratory protective devices, which were available from 1902, proved also internationally successful from the very beginning. In the international historiography on inhalative oxygen therapy, however, these contributions have to our knowledge so far never been systematically considered. Consequently, J. S. Haldane (1860 - 1936) is regarded there to have "founded" of modern oxygen therapy in 1917. Critically reviewing this earlier research, we propose a historical reassessment, concluding that the year 1902 was the historically decisive "turning point" towards the development of modern oxygen therapy.
Anesthesiology↗
The Golgi Stain: invention, diffusion and impact on neurosciences.
The black reaction, invented in 1873 by Camillo Golgi (1843-1926, was the first technique to reveal neurons in their entirety, i.e. with all their processes. This important development passed unnoticed at first and only received wide international attention after a long delay. The Golgi stain was widely employed for almost thirty years and was directly responsible for major advances in our knowledge of the microscopic anatomy of the nervous system, as well as in other fields of study. In the hands of other researchers, the black reaction provided vital evidence that helped to establish the neuron theory. The Golgi stain was almost forgotten in the period between the two World Wars, but the introduction of the electron microscope to neurocytological resarch revived its use around the middle of the twentieth century. Today, the black reaction is still used extensively not only in combination with electron microscopy, but also as an autonomous technique in studies on the evolution, ontogeny, and organization of the nervous system.
Cell Biology↗
Learning an invented inflectional morpheme in Spanish by children with typical language skills and with specific language impairment (SLI).
Cross-linguistic research on SLI has suggested that how the disorder is manifested depends on the ambient language. For example, research on Italian indicates that SLI children do not present difficulties with verb inflection, when compared with MLU-matched peers. This pattern contrasts with what has been reported for English-speaking children. The present investigation sought to examine SLI children's use of inflectional morphology through a language teaching task similar to that used by Connell (1987) and Connell and Stone (1992). To address cross-linguistic differences, children were speakers of a language similar to Italian in its verb agreement paradigm. Sixteen Puerto Rican Spanish-speaking with SLI and 16 age-matched controls were taught a subject-verb agreement suffix that established the subject's gender. Half the children in each group were taught the new form via imitation. The rest of the participants were trained via a modeling procedure. Both comprehension and production of the target form were assessed. Results indicated significant differences across the SLI and typical groups for both comprehension and production of the inflectional morpheme, regardless of instructional strategy. These findings contradict what has been observed in previous studies on teaching an invented rule to children with SLI. They also suggest that inflectional morphology may be problematic even for children who are learning a morphologically rich language. The explanatory power of the process account and the linguistic account of SLI are explored as these pertain to the present findings, and suggestions for further research are discussed.
Case-Control Studies↗
The self invented personality? Reflections on authenticity and writing analytic papers.
One of the great themes of American literature is the self-invented personality, whether it is Scott Fitzgerald's Gatsby or one of Philip Roth's alter egos, such as Nathaniel Zuckerman. This is just one of several approaches which novelists employ. They take a problem from life, perhaps their own, and then embark on solving the problem of the book-which is how to write about this. Sometimes, as in Tobias Wolff's novel Old School, the personality of the narrator is woven into an exploration of the creative process itself. Wolff's novel concerns itself not just with writing but with how to become a writer. I explore how this process is similar to both writing about analysis and becoming an analyst. In doing this I discuss issues of authenticity, fiction, art, the effects of identification, the power of the super-ego, supervision and learning, integrity of life and work, envy and the xenocidal impulse, the regulation of our profession and the loss of trust, and in so doing join in discussion with Plaut, Wharton, Tuckett and others about professional communications, the internal world and the mysteriousness of our relation to our internal objects.
Humans↗
Chemistry. Inventing the nanomolecular wheel.
The wheel is considered the canonical invention leading to all manner of mechanical devices. Rotating machinery is also being investigated at the nanoscale as researchers attempt to create molecular analogs of wheels and motors. But will these devices be merely imitations of macroscopic machines? In his Perspective, Siegel discusses results reported in the same issue by Fletcher et al. in which a four-stroke chemical nanoengine is reported. By a series of bond-breaking and bond-forming steps, a molecular structure is caused to undergo directed rotation. The development of structures of this kind, which are not merely miniaturized macromachines, may lead to other devices for executing controlled oscillatory motion.
Comment↗
The first description of a device for repeated external ventricular drainage in the treatment of congenital hydrocephalus, invented in 1744 by Claude-Nicolas Le Cat.
An 18th century report of a device for repeated extracranial drainage of cerebrospinal fluid in the treatment of congenital hydrocephalus is reviewed. On 15th October 1744, the French surgeon Claude-Nicolas Le Cat (1700-1768) introduced a specially invented canula into the lateral ventricle of a newborn boy with hydrocephalus. The canula was used as a tap and was left in place for 5 days, until the death of the child. This procedure should be seen as the first documented description of a device for repeated ventricular taps in the treatment of hydrocephalus.
Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts↗
The chain saw--a Scottish invention.
The prototype of the chain saw familiar today in the timber industry was pioneered in the late 18th Century by two Scottish docors, John Aitken and James Jeffray, for symphysiotomy and excision of diseased bone respectively. The chain hand saw, a fine serrated link chain which cut on the concave side, was invented around 1783-1785. It was illustrated in Aitken's Principles of Midwifery or Puerperal Medicine (1785) and used by him in his dissecting room. Jeffray claimed to have conceived the idea of the chain saw independently about that time but it was 1790 before he was able to have it produced. In 1806, Jeffray published Cases of the Excision of Carious Joints by H. Park and P. F. Moreau with Observations by James Jeffray M.D.. In this communication he translated Moreau's paper of 1803. Park andMoreau described successful excision of diseased joints, particularly the knee and elbow. Jeffray explained that the chain saw would allow a smaller wound and protect the adjacent neurovascular bundle. While a heroic concept, symphysiotomy had too many complications for most obstetricians but Jeffray's ideas became accepted, especially after the development of anaesthetics. Mechanised versions of the chain saw were developed but in the later 19th Century, it was superseded in surgey by the Gigli twisted wire saw. For much of the 19th Century, however, the chain saw was a useful surgical instrument.
Amputation, Surgical↗
Concept inventing: a process for creating a unitary definition of having courage.
Having courage is all-at-once inherent in being human and immeasurable. It is intertwined with what living is all about. This article discusses existing theoretical views of courage, provides examples of the importance of the phenomenon for health and quality of life, and presents a unique definition of having courage that emerged through the process of concept inventing--a multidimensional process of creating unitary concepts. The definition having courage is deliberate steadfast risking while creatively living the cherished with opportunities-restrictions is explored in relation to the human becoming theory, and suggestions for future research are made.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
Patenting inventions arising from biological research.
Patents are the most important way in which researchers can protect the income that might come from ideas or technologies they have developed. This article describes the steps involved and the considerations needed for successful granting of a patent. For instance, inventions must be novel and not obvious, adequately described, and useful, and they should not be disclosed publicly before a patent is applied for.
Biology↗
Dansac Invent convex in the management of flush ileostomy.
This article examines the use of the Dansac Invent convex drainable stoma appliance. A review of the literature highlights the indications for use of convexity and discusses the potential contraindications. A short case study describes the use of convex appliances in a patient with a flush, high-output ileostomy.
Aged↗
"Masculine love," Renaissance writing, and the "new invention" of homosexuality.
Contrary to the dominant claim in gay studies now that homosexuality is a relatively new historical "invention," the Renaissance had a definite recognition of a distinct homosexuality, acknowledged at least by those who were willing to face and discuss the subject frankly. A key example of that awareness is the earlier term "masculine love," which seems to have been particularly prominent in the Renaissance as a language for a male homosexual orientation. Significant differences have clearly occurred in the homosexual situation over time, and homosexuality can never be discussed totally independent of historical and social conditions, but the "new-inventionism" currently prevailing in gay studies has serious problems of concept and method and needs careful examining.
England↗
"Masculine love," Renaissance writing, and the "new invention" of homosexuality: an addendum.
Joseph Cady's recent article, "Masculine Love," Renaissance Writing, and the "New Invention' of Homosexuality," Journal of Homosexuality 23.1-2 (1992): 9-40, did much to shed new light on the controversial issue of whether homosexual identity is a relatively late phenomenon (late seventeenth- or early eighteenth-century at the earliest according to scholars of the "constructivist" persuasion) or already existed in the age of the Renaissance and before. Cady argues that homosexual identity is at least as old as the Elizabethan age, and cites from widely divergent sources several early modern instances of the term "masculine love," a term that seems to have been used exclusively to refer to the sexual preference of men for members of their own gender. The present note adds a further example to buttress Cady's case-namely the term "masculine conversation" from Arthur Wilson's History of Great Britain (1653), an account of the reign of James I (who was widely recognized to be sexually attracted to men). The term "conversation" often referred to sexual intercourse, being used in legal discourse to define adultery, and therefore constitutes an even more explicit example of denotative language than those Cady cites. Since Wilson discusses Sir Francis Bacon as well as James I, this brief article explores the historically documentable sexual preferences of these two figures in addition to that of the dramatist Christopher Marlowe and of Bacon's brother Anthony, a diplomat, all of whom seem to have been strongly oriented to "masculine love" and "masculine conversation".
Historiography↗