Rights in geospatial information: A shifting legal terrain

© 2017 Melbourne University Law Review. All rights reserved. The growing significance of 'big data' raises new issues for copyright law, not least when the data is presented visually or graphically to generate new and useful information and insights. One such example is the case of digital maps. Maps and written descriptions of geographic information have long presented challenges for the law of copyright, most particularly because they are perceived as factual compilations. The appearance of maps, and the information they contain, has changed considerably over time. However, the last few years has seen an extraordinary transformation in the methods and practices of collecting, storing, representing and disseminating geospatial data and information. This article considers how copyright law applied in the analogue era to regulate the production and dissemination of geographic information, the effects of new technologies and digitisation on how law applies to geospatial data and associated products and systems, and whether either a database right or some other form of protection is required

Interactions Between Baclofen and DC-induced Plasticity of Afferent Fibers within the Spinal Cord

The aims of the study were to compare effects of baclofen, a GABA B receptor agonist commonly used as an antispastic drug, on direct current (DC) evoked long-lasting changes in the excitability of afferent fibers traversing the dorsal columns and their terminal branches in the spinal cord, and to examine whether baclofen interferes with the development and expression of these changes. The experiments were performed on deeply anesthetized rats by analyzing the effects of DC before, during and following baclofen administration. Muscle and skin afferent fibers within the dorsal columns were stimulated epidurally and changes in their excitability were investigated following epidural polarization by 1.0\u20131.1 \u3bcA subsequent to i.v. administration of baclofen. Epidural polarization increased the excitability of these fibers during post-polarization periods of at least 1 h. The facilitation was as potent as in preparations that were not pretreated with baclofen, indicating that the advantages of combining epidural polarization with epidural stimulation would not be endangered by pharmacological antispastic treatment with baclofen. In contrast, baclofen-reduced effects of intraspinal stimulation combined with intraspinal polarization (0.3 \u3bcA) of terminal axonal branches of the afferents within the dorsal horn or in motor nuclei, whether administered ionophoretically or intravenously. Effects of DC on monosynaptically evoked synaptic actions of these fibers (extracellular field potentials) were likewise reduced by baclofen. The study thus provides further evidence for differential effects of DC on afferent fibers in the dorsal columns and the preterminal branches of these fibers and their involvement in spinal plasticity

Learning audio description : training resources for future academics and professionals

Audio description (AD), one of many access services, narrates key visual and some sound elements of various types of visual content: a film, a TV advert, an opera, or a book cover. These descriptions can be inserted into natural pauses when the content has a dialogue or narration, or it can be a free delivery, as in the audio description of a sculpture. Audio description is a complex access service which can be used in recorded or live situations, giving rise to different approaches for its creation and delivery. Training the expert audio describer requires skills and competences from numerous and diverse areas, from writing skills to vocal performance. This article presents the training materials generated within the ADLAB PRO Erasmus + funded project, which focuses on the development of the professional profile of an audio describer. The first part of the article describes the overall aims of the project, as well as the methodology used towards outlining the skills and competences required. The second part focuses on the course design, followed by a presentation of the learning materials typology. Finally, examples of the training materials created are provided, together with suggestions for their exploitation

Samples and evaluation of training materials

Sample of materials for teaching AD created by the ADLAB PRO projec

Reduction of human chorionic gonadotropin beta subunit expression by modified U1 snRNA caused apoptosis in cervical cancer cells

BACKGROUND: Secretion of human chorionic gonadotropin, especially its beta subunit by malignant trophoblastic tumors and varieties of tumors of different origin is now well documented; however the role of hCG in tumorogenesis is still unknown. RESULTS: This study documents the molecular presence of human chorionic gonadotropin beta subunit in uterine cervix cancer tissues and investigates a novel technique to reduce hCGbeta levels based on expression of a modified U1 snRNA as a method to study the hormone's role in biology of human cervical cancer cells cultured in vitro. The property of U1 snRNA to block the accumulation of specific RNA transcript when it binds to its donor sequence within the 3' terminal exon was used. The first 10 nucleotides of the human U1 snRNA gene, which normally binds to the 5'ss in pre-mRNA were replaced by a sequence complementary to a 10-nt segment in the terminal exon of the hCGbeta mRNA. Three different 5' end-mutated U1 snRNA expression plasmids were tested, each targeting a different sequence in the hCGbeta mRNA, and we found each one blocked the expression of hCGbeta in HeLa cells, a cervix carcinoma cell line, as shown by immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR. Reduction of hCGbeta levels resulted in a significantly increased apoptosis rate with almost 90% of cells transfected with modified anti-hCGbeta U1 snRNAs showing morphological changes characteristic of the apoptotic process. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that human chorionic gonadotropin beta subunit may act as a tumor growth-stimulating factor

Chirurgiczna i przeznaczyniowa ablacja dodatkowej drogi przewodzenia u pacjenta z wrodzonym skorygowanym przełożeniem wielkich pni tętniczych oraz anomalią Ebsteina

Skorygowane przełożenie wielkich pni tętniczych należy do rzadkich wrodzonych patologii układu sercowo-naczyniowego, polegającej na inwersji komór przy zachowanej ciągłości przedsionków i pni tętniczych. Izolowana wada bez patologii współistniejących zazwyczaj nie powoduje rozwoju niewydolności serca. W opisywanym przypadku pacjenta z wrodzonym skorygowanym przełożeniem wielkich pni tętniczych (CTGA), anomalią Ebsteina dotyczącą lewostronnej zastawki trójdzielnej oraz zespołem Wolffa-Parkinsona-White´a i częstymi napadami tachyarytmii nadkomorowych poddano najpierw chirurgicznej, później przezżylnej ablacji dodatkowej drogi przewodzenia. Zniszczenie drogi dodatkowej pozwoliło na stałe wyeliminować napady częstoskurczu nadkomorowego, a tym samym zapobiec rozwojowi tachykardiomiopatii. (Folia Cardiol. 2003; 10: 219–224

DNA strand breaks induced by nuclear hijacking of neuronal NOS as an anti-cancer effect of 2-methoxyestradiol

2-Methoxyestradiol (2-ME) is a physiological metabolite of 17β-estradiol. At pharmacological concentrations, 2-ME inhibits colon, breast and lung cancer in tumor models. Here we investigated the effect of physiologically relevant concentrations of 2-ME in osteosarcoma cell model. We demonstrated that 2-ME increased nuclear localization of neuronal nitric oxide synthase, resulting in nitro-oxidative DNA damage. This in turn caused cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in osteosarcoma cells. We suggest that 2-ME is a naturally occurring hormone with potential anti-cancer properties

Extremely compact soft X-ray lasers based on capillary discharges

Includes bibliographical references (page 522).Extremely compact high repetition rate soft X-ray lasers based on capillary discharge excitation have demonstrated average powers of a few milliWatt at 46.9 nm, milli-Joule-level pulse energy, peak spectral brightness several orders of magnitude larger than third-generation synchrotron beam lines, and excellent spatial coherence. Examples of the use of a capillary discharge soft X-ray laser in dense plasma diagnostics and laser ablation of materials are summarized