Catch 1201: A Legislative History and Content Analysis of the DMCA Exemption Proceedings

17 USC Section 1201(a)(1) prohibits circumventing a technological protection measure (TPM) that effectively controls access to a copyrighted work. In the name of mitigating the innocent casualties of this new ban, Congress constructed a triennial rulemaking, administered by the Register of Copyrights, to determine temporary exemptions. This paper considers the legislative history of this rulemaking, and it reports the results of a systematic content analysis of its 2000 and 2003 proceedings. Inspired by the literature on political agendas, policymaking institutions, venue shifting, and theories of delegation, we conclude that the legislative motivations for Section 1201 were laundered through international treaties, obscuring the anticircumvention clause’s domestic origins. Further, we conclude that the exemption proceeding is constructed not to protect noninfringing users, but to limit courts’ ability to exonerate them via the traditional defenses to copyright infringement. We then conduct a content analysis of the first two proceedings, conducted in 2000 and 2003. Exemption proponents generally interpret the law’s intent in terms of policy goals such as fair use, whereas opponents see jurisdictional, procedural, and definitional obstacles to the granting of exemptions. The Register of Copyrights’ interpretation of the law closely resembles that of opponents and, on more than one key point, she refers proponents back to Congress. We conclude that the Register has constructed a venue that is hostile to the interests of noninfringing users; in light of congressional rhetoric to the contrary, this constructs a catch-22 for many who earnestly wish to engage in otherwise legal activities

Capacidad Emprendedora Y Limitantes En La Generación De Emprendimientos: Una Mirada Desde La Condición De Género

Entrepreneurship has a major impact on economic development and poverty reduction; for instance, in developed countries, it has been shown to impact the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 5 to 7%. It is also observed that those who undertake the entrepreneurial challenge tend to invest more in their education, health and welfare in favor of their families, encourage their children to learn to prepare and, thus, promote the desire to grow. Nonetheless, in this 21st century, they still face strong challenges for their full development. For this reason, it is imperative to know the entrepreneurial capacity and the limitations to convert that entrepreneurial capacity into real entrepreneurship. This article shows a statistical analysis of the entrepreneurial capacity by gender. The contribution of this paper is to use the covariance analysis model (ANCOVA) with explanatory variables of reason and dichotomous scales, where the entrepreneurial capacity, measured with Likert-type scales, is the regression. A 20 questions survey was applied fort data compilation. The final objective was to analyze the entrepreneurial capacity between men and women and to determine if there are significant differences among them, as well as the constraints that have blocked the generation of entrepreneurship, even in those individuals with high entrepreneurial capacity. The results show that there are significant differences in entrepreneurship between genders

Bioinformatic characterization of a triacylglycerol lipase produced by Aspergillus flavus isolated from the decaying seed of Cucumeropsis mannii

Lipases are enzymes of industrial importance responsible for the hydrolysis of ester bonds of triglycerides. A lipolytic fungus was isolated and subsequently identified based on the ITS sequence analysis as putative Aspergillus flavus with accession number LC424503. The gene coding for extracellular triacylglycerol lipase was isolated from Aspergillus flavus species, sequenced, and characterised using bioinformatics tools. An open reading frame of 420 amino acid sequence was obtained and designated as Aspergillus flavus lipase (AFL) sequence. Alignment of the amino acid sequence with other lipases revealed the presence GHSLG sequence which is the lipase consensus sequence Gly-X1-Ser-X2-Gly indicating that it a classical lipase. A catalytic active site lid domain composed of TYITDTIIDLS amino acids sequence was also revealed. This lid protects the active site, control the catalytic activity and substrate selectivity in lipases. The 3-Dimensional structural model shared 34.08% sequence identity with a lipase from Yarrowia lipolytica covering 272 amino acid residues of the template model. A search of the lipase engineering database using AFL sequence revealed that it belongs to the class GX-lipase, superfamily abH23 and homologous family abH23.02, molecular weight and isoelectric point values of 46.95 KDa and 5.7, respectively. N-glycosylation sites were predicted at residues 164, 236 and 333, with potentials of 0.7250, 0.7037 and 0.7048, respectively. O-glycosylation sites were predicted at residues 355, 358, 360 and 366. A signal sequence of 37 amino acids was revealed at the N-terminal of the polypeptide. This is a short peptide sequence that marks a protein for transport across the cell membrane and indicates that AFL is an extracellular lipase. The findings on the structural and molecular properties of Aspergillus flavus lipase in this work will be crucial in future studies aiming at engineering the enzyme for biotechnology applications

Representation of poverty in Polish, Lithuanian and Latvian documentary films of the post-communist period

This article examines the representation of poor families in three documentary films from the Baltic region, produced after the fall of state socialism: Ewa Borzęcka's 13 or Trzynastka/Thirteen (1996, Poland), Marat Sargsyan's Tėvas/Father (2012, Lithuania) and Andris Gauja's Ģimenes lietas/Family Instinct (2010, Latvia). Each film does so by focusing on a family which does not fit the dominant notion of a normal family and instead comes across as a ‘pathological’ family. Our argument is that by foregrounding such a connection the filmmakers play down the state's responsibility for ensuring a decent standard of living for all citizens

Developing priority variables ("ecosystem Essential Ocean Variables" — eEOVs) for observing dynamics and change in Southern Ocean ecosystems

Reliable statements about variability and change in marine ecosystems and their underlying causes are needed to report on their status and to guide management. Here we use the Framework on Ocean Observing (FOO) to begin developing ecosystem Essential Ocean Variables (eEOVs) for the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS). An eEOV is a defined biological or ecological quantity, which is derived from field observations, and which contributes significantly to assessments of Southern Ocean ecosystems. Here, assessments are concerned with estimating status and trends in ecosystem properties, attribution of trends to causes, and predicting future trajectories. eEOVs should be feasible to collect at appropriate spatial and temporal scales and are useful to the extent that they contribute to direct estimation of trends and/or attribution, and/or development of ecological (statistical or simulation) models to support assessments. In this paper we outline the rationale, including establishing a set of criteria, for selecting eEOVs for the SOOS and develop a list of candidate eEOVs for further evaluation. Other than habitat variables, nine types of eEOVs for Southern Ocean taxa are identified within three classes: state (magnitude, genetic/species, size spectrum), predator–prey (diet, foraging range), and autecology (phenology, reproductive rate, individual growth rate, detritus). Most candidates for the suite of Southern Ocean taxa relate to state or diet. Candidate autecological eEOVs have not been developed other than for marine mammals and birds. We consider some of the spatial and temporal issues that will influence the adoption and use of eEOVs in an observing system in the Southern Ocean, noting that existing operations and platforms potentially provide coverage of the four main sectors of the region — the East and West Pacific, Atlantic and Indian. Lastly, we discuss the importance of simulation modelling in helping with the design of the observing system in the long term. Regional boundary: south of 30°S

Prediction of the radiative heat transfer in small and large scale oxy-coal furnaces

Predicting thermal radiation for oxy-coal combustion highlights the importance of the radiation models for the spectral properties of gases and particles. This study numerically investigates radiation behaviours in small and large scale furnaces through refined radiative property models, using the full-spectrum correlated k (FSCK) model and Mie theory based data, compared with the conventional use of the weighted sum of grey gases (WSGG) model and the constant values of the particle radiation properties. Both oxy-coal combustion and air-fired combustion have been investigated numerically and compared with combustion plant experimental data. Reasonable agreements are obtained between the predicted results and the measured data. Employing the refined radiative property models achieves closer predicted heat transfer properties to the measured data from both furnaces. The gas-phase component of the radiation energy source term obtained from the FSCK property model is higher within the flame region than the values obtained by using the conventional methods. The impact of using non-grey radiation behaviour of gases through the FSCK is enhanced in the large scale furnace as the predicted gas radiation source term is approximately 2-3 times that obtained when using the WSGG, while the same term is in much closer agreement between the FSCK and the WSGG for the pilot-scale furnace. The predicted total radiation source term (from both gases and particles) is lower in the flame region after using the refined models, which results in a hotter flame (approximately 50-150 K higher in this study) compared with results obtained from conventional methods. In addition, the predicted surface incident radiation reduces by using the refined radiative property models for both furnaces, in which the difference is relevant with the difference in the predicted radiation properties between the two modelling techniques. Numerical uncertainties resulting from the influences of combustion model, turbulent particle dispersion and turbulence modelling on the radiation behaviours are discussed

Linking soil microbial community structure to potential carbon mineralization: A continental scale assessment of reduced tillage

Potential carbon mineralization (Cmin) is a commonly used indicator of soil health, with greater Cmin values interpreted as healthier soil. While Cmin values are typically greater in agricultural soils managed with minimal physical disturbance, the mechanisms driving the increases remain poorly understood. This study assessed bacterial and archaeal community structure and potential microbial drivers of Cmin in soils maintained under various degrees of physical disturbance. Potential carbon mineralization, 16S rRNA sequences, and soil characterization data were collected as part of the North American Project to Evaluate Soil Health Measurements (NAPESHM). Results showed that type of cropping system, intensity of physical disturbance, and soil pH influenced microbial sensitivity to physical disturbance. Furthermore, 28% of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), which were important in modeling Cmin, were enriched under soils managed with minimal physical disturbance. Sequences identified as enriched under minimal disturbance and important for modeling Cmin, were linked to organisms which could produce extracellular polymeric substances and contained metabolic strategies suited for tolerating environmental stressors. Understanding how physical disturbance shapes microbial communities across climates and inherent soil properties and drives changes in Cmin provides the context necessary to evaluate management impacts on standardized measures of soil microbial activity

TOI-2196 b : Rare planet in the hot Neptune desert transiting a G-type star

Funding: C.M.P., M.F., I.G., and J.K. gratefully acknowledge the support of the Swedish National Space Agency (DNR 65/19, 174/18, 177/19, 2020-00104). L.M.S and D.G. gratefully acknowledge financial support from the CRT foundation under Grant No. 2018.2323 “Gaseous or rocky? Unveiling the nature of small worlds”. P.K. acknowledges support from grant LTT-20015. E.G. acknowledge the support of the Thüringer Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Digitale Gesellschaft. J.S.J. gratefully acknowledges support by FONDECYT grant 1201371 and from the ANID BASAL projects ACE210002 and FB210003. H.J.D. acknowledges support from the Spanish Research Agency of the Ministry of Science and Innovation (AEI-MICINN) under grant PID2019-107061GBC66, DOI: 10.13039/501100011033. D.D. acknowledges support from the TESS Guest Investigator Program grants 80NSSC21K0108 and 80NSSC22K0185. M.E. acknowledges the support of the DFG priority program SPP 1992 "Exploring the Diversity of Extrasolar Planets" (HA 3279/12-1). K.W.F.L. was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft grants RA714/14-1 within the DFG Schwerpunkt SPP 1992, Exploring the Diversity of Extrasolar Planets. N.N. acknowledges support from JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP18H05439, JST CREST Grant Number JPMJCR1761. M.S.I.P. is funded by NSF.The hot Neptune desert is a region hosting a small number of short-period Neptunes in the radius-instellation diagram. Highly irradiated planets are usually either small (R ≲ 2 R⊕) and rocky or they are gas giants with radii of ≳1 RJ. Here, we report on the intermediate-sized planet TOI-2196 b (TIC 372172128.01) on a 1.2 day orbit around a G-type star (V = 12.0, [Fe/H] = 0.14 dex) discovered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite in sector 27. We collected 41 radial velocity measurements with the HARPS spectrograph to confirm the planetary nature of the transit signal and to determine the mass. The radius of TOI-2196 b is 3.51 ± 0.15 R⊕, which, combined with the mass of 26.0 ± 1.3 M⊕, results in a bulk density of 3.31−0.43+0.51 g cm−3. Hence, the radius implies that this planet is a sub-Neptune, although the density is twice than that of Neptune. A significant trend in the HARPS radial velocity measurements points to the presence of a distant companion with a lower limit on the period and mass of 220 days and 0.65 MJ, respectively, assuming zero eccentricity. The short period of planet b implies a high equilibrium temperature of 1860 ± 20 K, for zero albedo and isotropic emission. This places the planet in the hot Neptune desert, joining a group of very few planets in this parameter space discovered in recent years. These planets suggest that the hot Neptune desert may be divided in two parts for planets with equilibrium temperatures of ≳1800 K: a hot sub-Neptune desert devoid of planets with radii of ≈ 1.8−3 R⊕ and a sub-Jovian desert for radii of ≈5−12 R⊕. More planets in this parameter space are needed to further investigate this finding. Planetary interior structure models of TOI-2196 b are consistent with a H/He atmosphere mass fraction between 0.4% and 3%, with a mean value of 0.7% on top of a rocky interior. We estimated the amount of mass this planet might have lost at a young age and we find that while the mass loss could have been significant, the planet had not changed in terms of character: it was born as a small volatile-rich planet and it remains one at present.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Genome-wide association study identifies four novel loci associated with Alzheimer's endophenotypes and disease modifiers

More than 20 genetic loci have been associated with risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD), but reported genome-wide significant loci do not account for all the estimated heritability and provide little information about underlying biological mechanisms. Genetic studies using intermediate quantitative traits such as biomarkers, or endophenotypes, benefit from increased statistical power to identify variants that may not pass the stringent multiple test correction in case-control studies. Endophenotypes also contain additional information helpful for identifying variants and genes associated with other aspects of disease, such as rate of progression or onset, and provide context to interpret the results from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We conducted GWAS of amyloid beta (Aβ42), tau, and phosphorylated tau (ptau181) levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 3146 participants across nine studies to identify novel variants associated with AD. Five genome-wide significant loci (two novel) were associated with ptau181, including loci that have also been associated with AD risk or brain-related phenotypes. Two novel loci associated with Aβ42 near GLIS1 on 1p32.3 (β = -0.059, P = 2.08 × 10-8) and within SERPINB1 on 6p25 (β = -0.025, P = 1.72 × 10-8) were also associated with AD risk (GLIS1: OR = 1.105, P = 3.43 × 10-2), disease progression (GLIS1: β = 0.277, P = 1.92 × 10-2), and age at onset (SERPINB1: β = 0.043, P = 4.62 × 10-3). Bioinformatics indicate that the intronic SERPINB1 variant (rs316341) affects expression of SERPINB1 in various tissues, including the hippocampus, suggesting that SERPINB1 influences AD through an Aβ-associated mechanism. Analyses of known AD risk loci suggest CLU and FERMT2 may influence CSF Aβ42 (P = 0.001 and P = 0.009, respectively) and the INPP5D locus may affect ptau181 levels (P = 0.009); larger studies are necessary to verify these results. Together the findings from this study can be used to inform future AD studies