Rethinking UCITA: Lessons from the Open Source Movement

For those within the information technology (IT) industry, the phrase “open source” has been as prominent at water cooler and boardroom discussions over the last several years as the phrase “out source.” Open source is at once a software development model, a business model, a social movement, and a philosophy that has recently garnered attention from outside of the IT sphere. As such, the topic has become increasingly fertile ground for academic scholarship from several disciplines. Economists, legal academics and practitioners, computer engineers, and social commentators have offered their varying perspectives on open source software. Whether or not this attention is warranted, and whether or not this is truly “an idea whose time has finally come,” remains unclear. The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) recently proposed the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) for adoption by all the states. At present, only two states have adopted UCITA and the prevailing logic suggests that further adoption will be an uphill struggle. In large part, UCITA was controversial because it was perceived as overly protective of large commercial computer software developers–most notably, Microsoft. A diverse and energetic collection of interests, aligned against UCITA, has succeeded thus far in derailing its progress. Although the argument that Microsoft is hampered by a lack of uniformity and certainty in the law is not likely to engender a great deal of sympathy, that same argument in the context of open source software might be more convincing. In this Comment, I argue that the open source movement necessitates a rethinking of UCITA, or at least a UCITA-like uniform code to govern software licensing transactions. If UCITA benefits the open source movement, then former opponents may be willing to take another look at the statute. For a number of reasons, a rethinking of UCITA, in light of the open source movement as well as some important amendments to UCITA itself, leads to the conclusion that UCITA should now be adopted by the states

Gallus GBrowse: a unified genomic database for the chicken

Gallus GBrowse (http://birdbase.net/cgi-bin/gbrowse/gallus/) provides online access to genomic and other information about the chicken, Gallus gallus. The information provided by this resource includes predicted genes and Gene Ontology (GO) terms, links to Gallus In Situ Hybridization Analysis (GEISHA), Unigene and Reactome, the genomic positions of chicken genetic markers, SNPs and microarray probes, and mappings from turkey, condor and zebra finch DNA and EST sequences to the chicken genome. We also provide a BLAT server (http://birdbase.net/cgi-bin/webBlat) for matching user-provided sequences to the chicken genome. These tools make the Gallus GBrowse server a valuable resource for researchers seeking genomic information regarding the chicken and other avian species

Configuration development study of the OSU 1 hypersonic research vehicle

In an effort to insure the future development of hypersonic cruise aircraft, the possible vehicle configurations were examined to develop a single-stage-to-orbit hypersonic research vehicle (HRV). Based on the needs of hypersonic research and development, the mission goals and requirements are determined. A body type is chosen. Three modes of propulsion and two liquid rocket fuels are compared, followed by the optimization of the body configuration through aerodynamic, weight, and trajectory studies. A cost analysis is included

Testing for Evidence of Maternal Effects among Individuals and Populations of White Crappie

For an increasing number of species, maternal characteristics have been correlated with the characteristics of their eggs or larvae at the individual level. Documenting these maternal effects at the population level, however, is uncommon. For white crappies Pomoxis annularis, we evaluated whether individual maternal effects on eggs existed and then explored whether incorporating maternal effects explained additional variation in recruitment, a population-level response. Individual egg quality (measured as ovary energy density) increased with maternal length among individuals from seven Ohio reservoirs in 1999 and three in 2000. Among these same individuals, egg quality increased with maternal condition factor (measured as residual wet mass for a given length) in 1999 but not in 2000. In 2000 we estimated somatic energy density, an improved measure of condition; egg quality increased with somatic energy density, but somatic energy density was also strongly correlated with maternal length. Hence, we could not determine whether maternal length or condition was the primary factor influencing white crappie egg quality. Across seven populations, the relative population fecundity (i.e., stock size) of the 1999 year-class was unable to explain the variation in recruitment to age 2 (Ricker model r^2 = 0.04 and Beverton and Holt model r^2 = 0.02). Mean ovary energy density (i.e., egg quality), however, was unable to explain additional recruitment variability in either model. Hence, we documented evidence of maternal effects on individual ovaries but not on population-level recruitment. Nonetheless, we recommend that future studies seeking to understand white crappie recruitment continue to consider maternal effects as a potential factor, especially those studies that may have greater sample sizes at the population level and, in turn, a greater probability of documenting a population-level effect.This research was funded by Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Project F-69-P, administered jointly by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife and the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at Ohio State University

Distribution and Length Frequency of Invasive Lionfish (Pterois sp.) in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

The purpose of this communication is to document continued spatial expansion of lionfish farther west into the northern Gulf of Mexico. Furthermore, we provide the first length— mass relationships and length frequency information for lionfishes captured within the northern GOM based on data collected as part of a broader on—going study of lionfish life history in this region

Substructure in the Coma Cluster: Giants vs Dwarfs

The processes that form and shape galaxy clusters, such as infall, mergers and dynamical relaxation, tend to generate distinguishable differences between the distributions of a cluster's giant and dwarf galaxies. Thus the dynamics of dwarf galaxies in a cluster can provide valuable insights into its dynamical history. With this in mind, we look for differences between the spatial and velocity distributions of giant (b18) galaxies in the Coma cluster. Our redshift sample contains new measurements from the 2dF and WYFFOS spectrographs, making it more complete at faint magnitudes than any previously studied sample of Coma galaxies. It includes 745 cluster members - 452 giants and 293 dwarfs. We find that the line-of-sight velocity distribution of the giants is significantly non-Gaussian, but not that for the dwarfs. A battery of statistical tests of both the spatial and localised velocity distributions of the galaxies in our sample finds no strong evidence for differences between the giant and dwarf populations. These results rule out the cluster as a whole having moved significantly towards equipartition, and they are consistent with the cluster having formed via mergers between dynamically-relaxed subclusters.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Ap

Statistics of convective cloud turbulence from a comprehensive turbulence retrieval method for radar observations

Turbulent mixing processes are important in determining the evolution of convective clouds,and the production of convective precipitation. However, the exact nature of these impacts remains uncertain due to limited observations. Model simulations show that assumptions made in parametrizing turbulence can have a marked effect on the characteristics of simulated clouds. This leads to significant uncertainty in forecasts from convection‐permitting numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. This contribution presents a comprehensive method to retrieve turbulence using Doppler weather radar to investigate turbulence in observed clouds. This method involves isolating the turbulent component of the Doppler velocity spectrum width, expressing turbulence intensity as an eddy dissipation rate, ϵ. By applying this method throughout large datasets of observations collected over the southern United Kingdom using the (0.28° beam‐width) Chilbolton Advanced Meteorological Radar (CAMRa), statistics of convective cloud turbulence are presented. Two contrasting case days are examined: a shallow “shower” case, and a “deep convection” case, exhibiting stronger and deeper updraughts. In our observations, ϵ generally ranges from 10−3 to 10−1 m2/s3, with the largest values found within, around and above convective updraughts. Vertical profiles of ϵ suggest that turbulence is much stronger in deep convection; 95th percentile values increase with height from 0.03 to 0.1 m2/s3, compared to approximately constant values of 0.02–0.03 m2/s3 throughout the depth of shower cloud. In updraught regions on both days, the 95th percentile of ϵ has significant (p < 10−3) positive correlations with the updraught velocity, and the horizontal shear in the updraught velocity, with weaker positive correlations with updraught dimensions. The ϵ‐retrieval method presented considers a very broad range of conditions, providing a reliable framework for turbulence retrieval using high‐resolution Doppler weather radar. In applying this method across many observations, the derived turbulence statistics will form the basis for evaluating the parametrization of turbulence in NWP models

Delusional beliefs and reason giving

Delusions are often regarded as irrational beliefs, but their irrationality is not sufficient to explain what is pathological about them. In this paper we ask whether deluded subjects have the capacity to support the content of their delusions with reasons, that is, whether they can author their delusional states. The hypothesis that delusions are characterised by a failure of authorship, which is a dimension of self knowledge, deserves to be empirically tested because (a) it has the potential to account for the distinction between endorsing a delusion and endorsing a framework belief; (b) it contributes to a philosophical analysis of the relationship between rationality and self knowledge; and (c) it informs diagnosis and therapy in clinical psychiatry. However, authorship cannot provide a demarcation criterion between delusions and other irrational belief states

BikeNet: Preventing theft, building community

This report discusses the Save the Bike Project and the BikeNet App, and the ways it helps prevent and recover stolen bikes.Ope

DSM‐5 and ICD‐11 definitions of posttraumatic stress disorder: Investigating “narrow” and “broad” approaches

Background: The development of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM-5) and ICD-11 has led to reconsideration of diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys allow investigation of the implications of the changing criteria compared to DSM-IV and ICD-10. Methods: WMH Surveys in 13 countries asked respondents to enumerate all their lifetime traumatic events (TEs) and randomly selected one TE per respondent for PTSD assessment. DSM-IV and ICD-10 PTSD were assessed for the 23,936 respondents who reported lifetime TEs in these surveys with the fully structured Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). DSM-5 and proposed ICD-11 criteria were approximated. Associations of the different criteria sets with indicators of clinical severity (distress-impairment, suicidality, comorbid fear-distress disorders, PTSD symptom duration) were examined to investigate the implications of using the different systems. Results: A total of 5.6% of respondents met criteria for broadly defined PTSD (i.e., full criteria in at least one diagnostic system), with prevalence ranging from 3.0% with DSM-5 to 4.4% with ICD-10. Only one-third of broadly defined cases met criteria in all four systems and another one third in only one system (narrowly defined cases). Between-system differences in indicators of clinical severity suggest that ICD-10 criteria are least strict and DSM-IV criteria most strict. The more striking result, though, is that significantly elevated indicators of clinical significance were found even for narrowly defined cases for each of the four diagnostic systems. Conclusions: These results argue for a broad definition of PTSD defined by any one of the different systems to capture all clinically significant cases of PTSD in future studies