Where Copyright Meets Privacy in the Big Data Era: Access to and Control Over User Data in Agriculture and the Role of Copyright

The application of big data in different sectors of the economy and its transformative value has recently attracted considerable attention. However, this transformation, driven by the application of advanced technologies that utilize big data—such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and software systems—raises concerns about access to and control over the user data that results from the uptake in using digital technologies. This Article examines the role different legal regimes have in framing access to and control over various forms of user data from the perspective of technology users in the agriculture sector. This Article then goes on to inquire whether copyright law in unpublished works can serve as a model for a new form of data regulation that shifts ownership claims towards ensuring access and controlling disclosure. The current regime regulating access to and controlling user data is the Fair Information Practices model, implemented primarily through private ordering in contractual arrangement—specifically agreements establishing the relationship between users and technology providers, data intermediaries, and data platforms. This Article seeks to provide a framework that recognizes and protects data originators’ privacy and economic interests in user data by proposing a trust model of data sharing. It does so by studying the normative roots underpinning copyright protection of unpublished works under the doctrine of joint authorship in copyright law. Based on these normative roots, this Article argues that a sui generis legislative framework can be enacted at the federal level, both in Canada and the United States, in order to cater to the interests of technology users regarding data they originate, particularly in terms of activity data, such as farm-operation data and technical data in the form of agronomy data. The Article identifies rights to control disclosure and access data as two minimum rights, which new legislation ought to recognize as flowing from users’ authorship of data and their categorization as users of works under copyright

Relationship between froth behaviour and the properties of particles

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-140).The aim of this project was to gain an insight into how the properties of particles entering the froth affect the performance of the froth phase. In platinum group mineral (PGM) flotation, gangue minerals are known to have a stabilizing effect on the froth phase; in this project, their hydrophobicity was changed by the addition of depressant and the performance of the froth phase was measured in terms of froth recovery

The Right to Repair Doctrine and the Use of 3D Printing Technology in Canadian Patent Law

3D printing technology is part of a new economic movement, termed the sharing economy, where consumers rely less on large corporations for supplying them with products. The technology allows consumers to bypass the traditional manufacturing process. Instead, consumers increasingly share and sell products to each other on online sharing platforms. Consumers can download digital copies of products and print them in the convenience of their homes. In addition, they can repair and modify these products to suit their needs. Canadian patent law permits the repair of a patent-protected item but prohibits its reconstruction. However, the line between repair and reconstruction is unclear, which can cause tensions between consumers and patent-holders. This article argues that consumers should be given an allencompassing right to repair and modify legally purchased goods for private purposes using 3D printing technology if the repair or modification is not shared with others for a profit. This would give consumers the freedom to share their designs for free while still protecting patent-protected items from piracy. On a broader scale, the proposed legal right would encourage the sharing economy and build positive relationships between consumers and patent-holders

Genetic Characterization of the Tick-Borne Orbiviruses

The International Committee for Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) recognizes four species of tick-borne orbiviruses (TBOs): Chenuda virus, Chobar Gorge virus, Wad Medani virus and Great Island virus (genus Orbivirus, family Reoviridae). Nucleotide (nt) and amino acid (aa) sequence comparisons provide a basis for orbivirus detection and classification, however full genome sequence data were only available for the Great Island virus species. We report representative genome-sequences for the three other TBO species (virus isolates: Chenuda virus (CNUV); Chobar Gorge virus (CGV) and Wad Medani virus (WMV)). Phylogenetic comparisons show that TBOs cluster separately from insect-borne orbiviruses (IBOs). CNUV, CGV, WMV and GIV share low level aa/nt identities with other orbiviruses, in 'conserved' Pol, T2 and T13 proteins/genes, identifying them as four distinct virus-species. The TBO genome segment encoding cell attachment, outer capsid protein 1 (OC1), is approximately half the size of the equivalent segment from insect-borne orbiviruses, helping to explain why tick-borne orbiviruses have a ~1 kb smaller genome

Family Cluster of Mayaro Fever, Venezuela

A cluster of protracted migratory polyarthritis involving four adult family members occurred in January 2000 after a brief overnight outing in a rural area of Venezuela. Laboratory testing demonstrated Mayaro virus as the cause of the cluster. These results documented the first human cases of Mayaro virus in Venezuela

Shiga Toxins: Intracellular Trafficking to the ER Leading to Activation of Host Cell Stress Responses

Despite efforts to improve hygenic conditions and regulate food and drinking water safety, the enteric pathogens, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1 remain major public health concerns due to widespread outbreaks and the severity of extra-intestinal diseases they cause, including acute renal failure and central nervous system complications. Shiga toxins are the key virulence factors expressed by these pathogens mediating extra-intestinal disease. Delivery of the toxins to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) results in host cell protein synthesis inhibition, activation of the ribotoxic stress response, the ER stress response, and in some cases, the induction of apoptosis. Intrinsic and/or extrinsic apoptosis inducing pathways are involved in executing cell death following intoxication. In this review we provide an overview of the current understanding Shiga toxin intracellular trafficking, host cellular responses to the toxin and ER stress-induced apoptosis with an emphasis on recent findings

Governance of 3-D Printing Applications in Health: Between Regulated and Unregulated Innovation

The article aims to examine how governance frameworks under regulatory and liability rules in the United States and Canada respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by three-dimensional printing (3DP) applications in health. The discussion demonstrates that 3DP applications in health currently fall between regulated and unregulated innovation, given that existing governance frameworks do not sufficiently capture 3DP’s unique attributes and potential. In identifying approaches to regulatory intervention in the governance of 3DP innovation, the discussion outlines characteristics of 3DP that lend themselves to a model of innovation governance that would allow pre-emptive regulatory actions for optimal outcomes. Thus, the article advances the position that the state of the technology’s development in health applications has matured to such a level that a dedicated regulatory framework is necessary for addressing the uncertainty of risks and for promoting an understanding of the applicability of existing regulatory requirements to guide the flourishing innovation

Fiebres virales hemorrágicas en Suramérica

This paper reviews the epidemiology and distinguishing features of three viral hemorrhagic fevers (dengue hemorrhagic fever, yellow fever and arenaviral hemorrhagic fever) that have emerged as important public health problems in South America. Although the etiology, natural history and control of the three diseases are different, their clinical manifestations and histopathology findings are similar and can be difficult to differentiate. Consequently, early recognition and correct diagnosis are essential for effective control measures to be initiated.El artículo revisa la epidemiología y rasgos distintivos de tres fiebres virales hemorrágicas (dengue hemorrágico, fiebre amarilla y fiebre hemorrágica por arenavirus), que han emergido como serios problemas de salud pública en Suramérica. Aunque la etiología, la historia natural y el control de estas tres enfermedades difieren, sus manifestaciones clínicas y los hallazgos histopatológicos son similares y pueden ser difíciles de diferenciar. En consecuencia, la detección temprana y el diagnóstico correcto son esenciales para la aplicación de medidas de control

Citizen experts in environmental risk

In the last two decades, public administrators have increasingly faced groups of people with opposing views about the risks of exposure to environmental contaminants. Because of a series of intriguing studies on risk perception, the situation is frequently seen, by scholars and administrators alike, as a conflict between experts and citizens, and risk communication guidelines are based on this interpretation. But the citizen-expert dichotomy appears fallacious when it is examined in light of the ways citizens actually participate in environmental policy making. The dichotomy overlooks the fact that citizens express their perception of risk largely through organized citizen groups, and that these groups employ and have access to many experts. This essay uses a mainstream environmental group and a number of grassroots environmental groups to illustrate the point. It concludes that the more important conflict is between experts who find environmental pollution safe and those who find it hazardous.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45451/1/11077_2004_Article_188495.pd