Patent policy and public health in developing countries: lessons from Japan

The introduction of pharmaceutical product patents in India and other developing countries is expected to have a significant effect on public health and local pharmaceutical industries. This paper draws implications from the historical experience of Japan when it introduced product patents in 1976. In Japan, narrow patents and promotion of cross-licensing were effective tools to keep drug prices in check while ensuring the introduction of new drugs. While the global pharmaceutical market surrounding India today differs considerably from that of the 1970's, the Japanese experience offers a policy option that may profitably be considered by India today. The Indian patent system emphasizes the patentability requirement in contrast to the Japanese patent policy which relied on narrow patents and extensive licensing. R&D by local firms and the development of local products may be promoted more effectively under the Japanese model.

SARSとマラリア：感染症と経済学

近年、感染症が注目を集めている。一昨年の冬は東アジアでSARS（重症急性呼吸器症候群）が流行した。SARSは新型肺炎とも呼ばれ、中国および香港を中心に感染が広がった。日本にはSARSに感染した台湾人男性が数日間滞在したことから、この男性の訪問先が善後策に追われたことが記憶に新しい。この冬も再流行が懸念されたのであるが、対策が進んだためか、感染は中国で4人が確認されるに止まっているようである。（以下略）

Enhanced Direct and Indirect Genetic Algorithm Approaches for a Mall Layout and Tenant Selection Problem

During our earlier research, it was recognised that in order to be successful with an indirect genetic algorithm approach using a decoder, the decoder has to strike a balance between being an optimiser in its own right and finding feasible solutions. Previously this balance was achieved manually. Here we extend this by presenting an automated approach where the genetic algorithm itself, simultaneously to solving the problem, sets weights to balance the components out. Subsequently we were able to solve a complex and non-linear scheduling problem better than with a standard direct genetic algorithm implementation.

Na 1 Nachlass Max Horkheimer, 615 - Manuskripte und Typoskripte zu Vorlesungen und Seminaren zu Max Scheler und anderen Philosophen (p. VIII 10b-VIII 14.4)

Vorlesung 1928: "Über Kants Erkenntnistheorie", eigenhändige Notizen, Manuskript, 2 Blatt; "Über das Recht soziologischer Interpretation"; a) Typoskript mit eigenhändigen Korrekturen, 8 Blatt, b) Typoskript mit eigenhändigen Korrekturen, 7 Blatt, c) Manuskript, 5 Blatt; "Notes"; "Max Scheler (1874-1828)", Typoskript mit eigenhändigen Korrekturen, 13 Blatt; "Zitate aus Werken Max Schelers", 6 Blatt; Notizen zur Vorlesung "Politik und Moral" von Max Scheler, 08.05.1928, 4 Blatt; Paul Ludwig Landsberg: "Zum Gedächtnis Max Schelers", Zeitungsausschnitt aus Literarische Rundschau der Rhein-Mainischen Volkszeitung, 25.05.1928, 1 Blatt; "Hegel und das Problem der Metaphysik", Typoskript mit eigenhändigen Korrekturen, 3 Blatt; "Über Schristian Wolff", Vorlesungsmanuskript, 6 Blatt; Friedrich Pollock: "Über antike und christliche Geschixhtsauffassung", eigenhändige Notizen, 4 Blatt; Diskussion zwischen Max Horkheimer, Mannheim, Tillich und Adorno, u.a. über Wissensoziologie und Pragmatismus, 16.01.1931, Mitschrift von Leo Löwenthal, Typoskript, 2 Blatt; Diskussion zwischen Max Horkheimer, Mannheim, Tillich und Adorno, u.a. über das Verhältnis von Philosophie und Wissenschaft gegenüber dem Schrecken. Mitschrift von Friedrich Pollock, 19.06.1931; a) Typoskript, 3 Blatt, b) eigenhändige Notizen, 12 Blatt; "Thesen über Wissenschaft. Bearbeitung Löwenthal", Frühjahr 1932, Typoskript, 5 Blatt; Friedrich Pollock: Notizheft, eigenhändige Notizen, 1 Heft, 19 Blatt und 8 zusätliche Blätter (enthält u.a.: "Zur heutigen Lage des Idealismus", Notizen zum Vortrag "Der Gegensatz von 'Geist' und 'Leben' in der gegenwärtigen Naturphilosophie" von Ernst Cassirer, gehalten am 03.10.1928; "Zur Kritik der gegenwärtigen Philosophie"; Disposition der Vorlesung von Max Horkheimers "Materialismus und Idealismus in der Geschichte der neueren Philosophie", Wintersemester 1928/29, 23.09.1928 und "Heidegger"); "Materialismus und Idealismus in der Geschichte der neuen Philosophie", Vorlesung Wintersemester 1928/29, (enthält: Vorlesungsmanuskript, 1 Heft, 8 Blatt und 22 zusätzliche Blätter; Friedrich Pollock: Kollegheft zur Vorlesung, 1 Heft, 48 Blatt, davon 9 leer, beiliegend eigenhändige Notizen zu einem Vortrag von Prinzhorn (?) über Lebensphilosophie und Psychoanalyse, 22.12.1928, 10 Blatt; Friedrich Pollock: Kollegheft zur Vorlesung, 05.-15.02.1929, 1 Heft, 12 Blatt, davon 4 leer, und 2 zusätzliche Blätter; Friedrich Pollock, Kolegheft zur Vorlesung, 22.-26.02.1929, 1 Heft, 7 Blatt);

Validation of an immunoassay to measure plasminogen-activator inhibitor-1 concentrations in human saliva

Introduction We have previously shown that the concentrations of D-dimer are significantly elevated in saliva compared with plasma. Saliva offers several advantages compared with blood analysis. We hypothesised that human saliva contains plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and that the concentrations are not affected by the time of saliva collection. The aim was to adopt and validate an immunoassay to quantify PAI-1 concentrations in saliva and to determine whether saliva collection time has an influence in the measurement. Materials and methods Two saliva samples (morning and afternoon) from the same day were collected from healthy subjects (N = 40) who have had no underlying heart conditions. A customized AlphaLISA® immunoassay (PerkinElmer®, MA, USA) was adopted and used to quantify PAI-1 concentrations. We validated the analytical performance of the customized immunoassay by calculating recovery of known amount of analyte spiked in saliva. Results: The recovery (95.03%), intra- (8.59%) and inter-assay (7.52%) variations were within the acceptable ranges. The median salivary PAI-1 concentrations were 394 pg/mL (interquartile ranges (IQR) 243.4-833.1 pg/mL) in the morning and 376 (129.1-615.4) pg/mL in the afternoon and the plasma concentration was 59,000 (24,000-110,000) pg/mL. Salivary PAI-1 did not correlate with plasma (P = 0.812). Conclusions The adopted immunoassay produced acceptable assay sensitivity and specificity. The data demonstrated that saliva contains PAI-1 and that its concentration is not affected by the time of saliva collection. There is no correlation between salivary and plasma PAI-1 concentrations. Further studies are required to demonstrate the utility of salivary PAI-1 in CVD risk factor studies.