Some Legal Aspects of Cloud Computing Contracts

Cloud computing is a technological reality that is being widely adopted by large companies. This study discusses cloud computing and information security. It also includes some of the advantages and risks, models of system and service adopted, as well as key services offered by the providers of cloud computing. It also addresses the legal issues of cloud computing contracts, with a focus on the contracting parties, on their goal and main clauses that must be addressed in this atypical contract, among them the integrity and confidentiality of data plus information requirements for supplying information and the purpose of the content stored in the case of breach of contract

Private Law and State Paternalism: Too Much Legal Regulation of Private Life?

This article analyses the adverse effect of paternalistic attitudes adopted by the State, especially the legal regulation of private life. Often, the State has adopted certain positions, especially through the issuance of rules and legal decisions in areas where Private Law and freedom of choice has prevailed, such as private contracts. Due to a protectionist position adopted by the State, legal regulation of private life has increased. The Judiciary resolves questions that arise daily in private orbit precisely because it is considered as the only social actor able to implement its own decisions. In such a way, this study seeks to analyze the possible consequences of this state altruistic posture. It is interesting to note that such a posture is authoritative at the same time, since individuals are considered eternally vulnerable and minimizes principles of Private Law. This, ultimately, could lead from a democratic system to an authoritarian one

Direito Empresarial Contemporâneo: O Caso Banksy

The interaction between business law and art galleries is hit by the work of the English artist Banksy. This article addresses new prospects for urban artists and business law in contemporary times. This paper presents, under an interdisciplinary perspective, some areas of application of business law, especially the protection, or not, of intellectual property, in the case of urban works of art. The article presents the case Banksy and his work in the urban environment, sometimes in public property, sometimes in private buildings, and, from a historical review of the protection of intellectual property, especially in the case of protection of a work of arts, this text examines the challenges that the unusual creation of Banksy presents to contemporary business law.O Direito empresarial e as grandes galerias de arte são provocados pela obra do artista inglês Banksy; este ensaio discute as novas perspectivas para os artistas urbanos e para o Direito empresarial na contemporaneidade. Este texto apresenta, sob uma perspectiva interdisciplinar, algumas áreas de aplicação do direito de empresa, especialmente quanto à proteção, ou não, da propriedade intelectual, no caso da arte urbana. O artigo apresenta o caso Banksy e suas obras em ambientes urbanos, ora públicos, ora privados, e, a partir de uma revisão histórica sobre a proteção da propriedade intelectual, ainda que se trate da proteção de uma obra de arte, analisa os desafios que a inusitada criação do autor Banksy coloca para o direito de empresa

Contemporary Business Law : The Case Banksy

The interaction between business law and art galleries is hit by the work of the English artist Banksy. This article addresses new prospects for urban artists and business law in contemporary times. This paper presents, under an interdisciplinary perspective, some areas of application of business law, especially the protection, or not, of intellectual property, in the case of urban works of art. The article presents the case Banksy and his work in the urban environment, sometimes in public property, sometimes in private buildings, and, from a historical review of the protection of intellectual property, especially in the case of protection of a work of arts, this text examines the challenges that the unusual creation of Banksy presents to contemporary business law

Anthropometry and Esophageal Cancer Risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that general obesity [measured by body mass index (BMI)] is positively associated with risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). In contrast, previous studies have shown inverse relations with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, it is still unclear whether body fat distribution, particularly abdominal obesity, is associated with each type of esophageal cancer. Methods: We applied multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression to investigate the association between anthropometric measures and risk of EAC and ESCC among 346,554 men and women participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. All statistical tests were two sided. Results: During 8.9 years of follow-up, we documented 88 incident cases of EAC and 110 cases of ESCC. BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were positively associated with EAC risk [highest versus lowest quintile; relative risk (RR), 2.60; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.23-5.51; P-trend < 0.01; RR, 3.07; 95% CI, 1.35-6.98; P-trend < 0.003; and RR, 2.12; 95% CI, 0.98-4.57; P-trend < 0.004]. In contrast, BMI and waist circumference were inversely related to ESCC risk, whereas WHR showed no association with ESCC. In stratified analyses, BMI and waist circumference were significantly inversely related to ESCC only among smokers but not among nonsmokers. However, when controlled for BMI, we found positive associations for waist circumference and WHR with ESCC, and these associations were observed among smokers and nonsmokers. Conclusion: General and abdominal obesity were associated with higher EAC risk. Further, our study suggests that particularly an abdominal body fat distribution might also be a risk factor for ESCC. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(7):2079-89

Anthropometry and Esophageal Cancer Risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that general obesity [measured by body mass index (BMI)] is positively associated with risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). In contrast, previous studies have shown inverse relations with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, it is still unclear whether body fat distribution, particularly abdominal obesity, is associated with each type of esophageal cancer. Methods: We applied multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression to investigate the association between anthropometric measures and risk of EAC and ESCC among 346,554 men and women participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. All statistical tests were two sided. Results: During 8.9 years of follow-up, we documented 88 incident cases of EAC and 110 cases of ESCC. BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were positively associated with EAC risk [highest versus lowest quintile; relative risk (RR), 2.60; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.23-5.51; P-trend &lt; 0.01; RR, 3.07; 95% CI, 1.35-6.98; P-trend &lt; 0.003; and RR, 2.12; 95% CI, 0.98-4.57; P-trend &lt; 0.004]. In contrast, BMI and waist circumference were inversely related to ESCC risk, whereas WHR showed no association with ESCC. In stratified analyses, BMI and waist circumference were significantly inversely related to ESCC only among smokers but not among nonsmokers. However, when controlled for BMI, we found positive associations for waist circumference and WHR with ESCC, and these associations were observed among smokers and nonsmokers. Conclusion: General and abdominal obesity were associated with higher EAC risk. Further, our study suggests that particularly an abdominal body fat distribution might also be a risk factor for ESCC. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(7):2079-89

Dietary fat intake and risk of prostate cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

Background: Findings from early observational studies have suggested that the intake of dietary fat might be a contributing factor in the etiology of prostate cancer. However, the results from more recent prospective studies do not support this hypothesis, and the possible association between different food sources of fat and prostate cancer risk also remains unclear. Objective: The objectives were to assess whether intakes of dietary fat, subtypes of fat, and fat from animal products were associated with prostate cancer risk. Design: This was a multicenter prospective study of 142 520 men in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Dietary fat intake was estimated with the use of country-specific validated food questionnaires. The association between dietary fat and risk of prostate cancer was assessed by using Cox regression, stratified by recruitment center and adjusted for height, weight, smoking, education, marital status, and energy intake. Results: After a median follow-up time of 8.7 y, prostate cancer was diagnosed in 2727 men. There was no significant association between dietary fat (total, saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fat and the ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fat) and risk of prostate cancer. The hazard ratio for prostate cancer for the highest versus the lowest quintile of total fat intake was 0.96 (95% CI: 0.84, 1.09; P for trend = 0.155). There were no significant associations between prostate cancer risk and fat from red meat, dairy products, and fish. Conclusion: The results from this large multicenter study suggest that there is no association between dietary fat and prostate cancer risk

Plasma phytanic acid concentration and risk of prostate cancer: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

Background: Phytanic acid, a fatty acid predominantly obtained from foods high in ruminant fat, may have a biological role in the up-regulation of the protein e-methylacyl-coenzyme A racemase, which is overexpressed in prostate cancer tissue. Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between plasma concentrations of phytanic acid and subsequent risk of prostate cancer. Design: Within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort, 566 incident prostate cancer cases from Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom were individually matched to 566 controls by study center, age at recruitment, and time of day and duration of fasting at blood collection. Phytanic acid concentrations were measured by using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry assay. Results: In controls, plasma phytanic acid concentration was strongly correlated with dairy fat intake (r = 0.49, P &lt; 0.0001), varied significantly by country (P for heterogeneity &lt; 0.0001), and decreased with age (P for trend = 0.02) and duration of fasting at blood collection (P for trend = 0.002). There was no significant association of phytanic acid with prostate cancer risk overall (odds ratio for a doubling in concentration: 1.05; 95% Cl: 0.91, 1.21; P for trend = 0.53) or by stage or grade of disease. However, in men who had fasted (&gt;3 h) at blood collection, the odds ratio for prostate cancer was 1.27 (95% Cl: 1.01, 1.60; P for trend = 0.04). Conclusion: Plasma phytanic acid concentration is significantly associated with intake of dairy fat but not with overall risk of prostate cancer in this European population. Am J Clin Nutr 2010; 1769-76

Dietary intake of different types and characteristics of processed meat which might be associated with cancer risk - results from the 24-hour diet recalls in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)

Objective: There is increasing evidence for a significant effect of processed meat (PM) intake on cancer risk. However, refined knowledge on how components of this heterogeneous food group are associated with cancer risk is still missing. Here, actual data on the intake of PM subcategories is given; within a food-based approach we considered preservation methods, cooking methods and nutrient content for stratification, in order to address most of the aetiologically relevant hypotheses. Design and setting: Standardised computerised 24-hour diet recall interviews were collected within the framework of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), a prospective cohort study in 27 centres across 10 European countries. Subjects: Subjects were 22 924 women and 13 031 men aged 35 - 74 years. Results: Except for the so-called ‘health-conscious’ cohort in the UK, energy-adjusted total PM intake ranged between 11.1 and 47.9 g day(-1) in women and 18.8 and 88.5 g day(-1) in men. Ham, salami-type sausages and heated sausages contributed most to the overall PM intake. The intake of cured (addition of nitrate/nitrite) PM was highest in the German, Dutch and northern European EPIC centres, with up to 68.8 g day(-1) in men. The same was true for smoked PM (up to 51.8 g day(-1)). However, due to the different manufacturing practice, the highest average intake of NaNO2 through PM consumption was found for the Spanish centres (5.4 mg day(-1) in men) as compared with German and British centres. Spanish centres also showed the highest intake of NaCl-rich types of PM; most cholesterol- and iron-rich PM was consumed in central and northern European centres. Possibly hazardous cooking methods were more often used for PM preparation in central and northern European centres. Conclusions: We applied a food-based categorisation of PM that addresses aetiologically relevant mechanisms for cancer development and found distinct differences in dietary intake of these categories of PM across European cohorts. This predisposes EPIC to further investigate the role of PM in cancer aetiology