The transfer of public science to patented technology: A case study in agricultural science

One of the most difficult challenges in technology transfer is to measure the movement of knowledge from basic scientific research to industrial technology. This paper will report on a study of the linkage between science supported by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and patented technology. This study traced the citations from U.S. patents issued in 1987–88 and 1993–94 to scientific research papers linked to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The number of patent citations to ARS papers, and to other USDA-supported papers has increased fourfold over the six-year period. A distinct difference also exists between the patent-cited ARS papers and patent-cited extramural USDA-supported papers: ARS papers are in more agriculturally related journals, while the extramural papers were in more basic and biomedical journals. USDA-supported papers were overwhelmingly cited by U.S.-invented patents (in a patent system in which half the patents are foreign-invented). In the primary field of ARS papers (Biology), they are cited much more often by patents than Biology papers from any other publishing organization. Since the publishing organizations and support sources of all the papers cited in these patents have now been identified, we can study the transfer of scientific results to patented technology by institution, by agency, or by any other category of patent or paper holder. The authors thank the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agricultural, especially Dr. Richard Parry, for this paper' use of the study performed for them by CHI Research, Inc. (Grant number 59-0790-6-054)     

Stopping the illegal trafficking of human beings

The transnational sex industry experienced a surge during the 1990swith the breakup of the former Soviet Union. The virtual enslavementof a growing number of women into the global prostitution market fromthis region of the world has begun to be documented in an on-goingmanner by independent non-governmental organizations that trackmigration patterns and international criminal activity. The emergenceof this phenomenon in Europe expands the study of the transnationalsex industry well beyond Southeast Asia and Asia, where it has beenexamined primarily to date. Governments and internationalgovernmental organizations such as the United Nations are also nowfocusing on this issue from local and global perspectives. In thispaper, the roles that transnational police organizations can play, andhave been playing, regarding preventing and investigating the activitiesof the transnational sex industry, are explored. After sketching thescope of the problem, identifying the players of interest, and examiningthe roles that they have been performing to date, recommendations areoffered for strengthening police response in this area.     

Turning science into business in developing countries: the case of vaccine production in Vietnam

Turning scientific discoveries into business opportunities is a difficult process, particularly in high-tech related area such as bioscience and biotechnology. In developing countries, where research conditions are much less favorable than in the industrialized world, there are many additional constraints in terms of finance, investment, and human resources. However, the production of vaccines on the basis of research and technology transfer in Vietnam shows that this is possible provided the right policy and right people are available. Relying on transfer of technology from overseas, plus a combination of domestic efforts and international cooperation on R&D, Vietnamese research institutes have turned their research into business operations and turned some scientists into a businessmen and women. This in turn, has contributed to the eradication of certain diseases and Vietnam’s self-reliance of key vaccines.      

对邱兴华杀人案的司法鉴定学反思

关于邱兴华杀人案（下称邱案）的各种学术讨论和争论似乎已经不少，但查阅文献发现，有关邱案的文章，分别是从刑事诉讼法学、刑事证据学、刑事心理学、精神医学角度，法制新闻学以及从人权保护，法治进步等角度对该案进行解读。然而既然这是一个涉及司法鉴定的个案（虽然实际上并没有进行任何实质性鉴定活动），那么从司法鉴定学的角度对与该案有关的几个最基本的问题进行理论阐述，或许能有些许不同的作用。这几个问题包括：精神病概念的辨析，是否患病与是否需要接受刑事处罚之间是什么关系，何时需要启动司法精神医学鉴定？应如何配置我国刑事诉讼中的司法精神医学鉴定启动模式？     

共同犯罪停止形态解析

由于共同犯罪停止形态在刑法上缺乏统一的规定,使得共同犯罪停止形态的认定不可避免的复杂化。本文试从片面共犯的解除、共犯关系的解除和在共同犯罪中存在着共犯意思的阶段性三个方面来阐述在同一个共同犯罪中存在诸多不同形态的合理性。     

故意犯罪停止形态相关理论辨正

本文具体讨论了近年来有关故意犯罪停止形态的一些疑难问题,认为故意犯罪停止形态的本质特征在于故意犯罪行为的"停顿",考察故意犯罪停止形态应该坚持"静态"的标准;一个犯罪行为只有一种犯罪形态,出现了一种犯罪形态后就不可能再出现另一种犯罪形态。故意犯罪在危险状态出现后确实可能存在实害犯的中止形态,但是,这种中止形态不能理解为是犯罪既遂以后的中止,而应该理解为是"排除犯罪未遂"以后的中止。同时针对司法实践中行为人主动放弃"高位犯罪"并以"低位犯罪"代替的犯罪形态,提出了应该采用"高位犯罪"吸收"低位犯罪"的方式处理,即对行为人以"高位犯罪"的中止认定,并将"低位犯罪"作为犯罪中止中"造成损害"的因素加以考虑的观点。     

Context effects in forensic science: a review and application of the science of science to crime laboratory practice in the United States.

This article discusses the phenomenon of "context effects" by reviewing the findings and practices of a range of scientific fields, including astronomy, physics, biology, medicine, and especially the relevant research and theory from psychology. Context information, such as expectations about what one is supposed to see or conclude, has been found to have a small but relentless impact on human perception, judgment, and decision-making. The article then considers the vulnerability of forensic science practice to context effects, and concludes by suggesting that forensic science adopt practices familiar in other fields of scientific work, in particular blind or double-blind testing and also the use of evidence line-ups.     

Proof of cancer causation and expert evidence: bringing science to the law and the law to science

This article discusses the medico-scientific and the legal views of cancer causation and how these two approaches impact on expert evidence. Cancer cause lends itself well to an exploration of the critical issues which surround its proof and the role of expert evidence in this proof. The article does not seek to identify or to resolve all the controversies or inconsistencies in the area. Rather, it sets up a basic framework for the general presentation and testing of expert medico-scientific evidence in litigation related to cancer causation. Specifically, it seeks to identify the technical questions of law and medical science regarding which medico-scientific disciplines can be relevant to proving cancer causation, and who the relevant expert witnesses to achieve this task would be. Emerging areas of cancer causation are then examined in light of this framework.