Monopoly defeating mechanisms: Will they function in the digital world?

History reveals that ‘copyright’ was originally monopolistic (in the early fifteenth century) and remained so until the enactment of the Statute of Anne in 1709. Since then copyright has striven to maintain a delicate balance between incentive to authors and avoiding monopolistic stagnation. To achieve these goals, certain monopoly-defeating mechanisms have been adopted such as: fair use, public domain, the idea/expression dichotomy and the exhaustion doctrine. Recently, however, with the implementation of new laws: for instance the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1988), the EU Copyright Directive (2001), and the implementation of the EU Copyright and Related Rights Regulation amending the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988, there is a growing concern that the mechanisms which were enacted to defeat the monopoly will not work in the digital medium. With the provision of affixing technological measures to copyrighted works and the non-application of the exhaustion doctrine in the digital world, arguably the monopoly defeating mechanisms have been disabled. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the way monopoly defeating mechanisms are becoming non-functional in the digital world. Furthermore, the study also demonstrates how the European Copyright Directive and the UK implementation of the Directive has transgressed the boundary of exclusive rights set by the two World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties – the World Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) – and copyright law, thereby strengthening the copyright owner's rights in a way that was never intended by the WIPO treaties or by copyright law. Consequently, the new laws have also shifted copyright's attention from commercial pirates to non-commercial individual users. The study aims to demonstrate how the shift took place and finally, trace the recurrence of the monopoly; giving rise to a situation where there is no fair use/dealing, no public domain, no idea/expression distinction and no exhaustion doctrine.     

骨骼个体识别系统的研究

骨骼个体识别系统的研究花锋，田雪梅，孙建军，沈旭昆ＳｔｕｄｙｏｆｔｈｅＣｏｍｐｕｔｅｒＳｙｓｔｅｍＢａｓｅｄｏｆｔｈｅＩｎｄｉｖｉｄｕａｌＩｄｅｎｔｉｆｉｃａｔｉｏｎｏｆＳｋｅｌｅｔｏｎ￥Ｈｕａｆｅｎｇ；Ｔｉａｎｘｖｅｍｅｉ；Ｓｕｎｊｉａｎｊｕｎ；（...     

Cross-national comparison of homicide: Age/sex-adjusted rates using the 1980 U.S. homicide experience as a standard

Cross-sectional studies of crime have typically relied on crude crime rates when making comparisons between countries. Crude rates control for population size but implicitly assume that all members of the population are equally at risk. Empirical studies have shown that, cross-nationally, risk varies by age and sex. Standardization of crime rates removes the confounding effects of variable age and sex population distributions. Since age/sex-specific crime rates are generally unavailable for many countries, the method of indirect standardization is the most desirable technique. Age/sex-adjusted homicide rates for 76 countries are presented, and two comparative measures are suggested. It is shown that while the United States has a higher homicide rate than all but 15 countries; in most cases, the magnitude of the difference, not controlling for age/sex differences, is overestimated. Crude rates underestimate differences between the United States and countries with higher rates of homicide.     

两种骨龄标准推断女性14岁年龄的准确度

目的研究李果珍百分计数法和中国人手腕骨发育标准CHN法在推断女性14岁年龄时的准确度。方法在湖南娄底三所中学随机选择51名14岁女生,同一条件下拍摄左手腕X线片;按照上述两种方法由专业人员阅片;对比两种方法所得结果及其与真实年龄间的差异。结果计数法和CHN法测得的骨龄与研究对象的实际年龄间无显著性差异(P>0.05),两种方法比较也未见明显差异(P>0.05)。结论计数法和CNH法可用于湖南地区女性14岁年龄的推断。     

Histological age prediction from the femur in a contemporary Dutch sample. The decrease of nonremodeled bone in the anterior cortex

This paper presents an uncomplicated and minimally invasive method for age-at-death determination in a contemporary Dutch (West European) population, by modifying the approach of assessment based on the age-related remodeling of bone tissue. In contrast to the usual "osteon count," a "non-remodeled tissue count" is undertaken. To optimize the method, proper zeroing of the polarization filter set of the microscope is essential. Instructions for setting the filters are given. A sample of femoral shaft segments totaling 162 individuals with ages ranging from 15 to 96 years is analyzed. Subperiosteal quantitative assessments are recorded at the most anterior point of the femoral shaft and also at points 25 degrees to the left and to the right of that point. Interobserver agreement in the assessments shows an acceptable degree of correlation. Bone remodeling with age does not progress in a linear, but in a curvilinear manner. Dependence of predicted age on nonremodeled surface counts in the analyzed areas of the anterior cortex of the femur appears to be significant. A set of regression equations is given. Sex can be ignored in age prediction. The small but statistically significant dependence of predicted age on cadaver length corresponds with the present strong secular increase in stature in the Netherlands. A concise catalogue with micrograph examples for every 10-year period in life is available upon request.     

A quantitative method for estimation of volume changes in arachnoid foveae with age

Age-related changes of arachnoid foveae have been described, but objective, quantitative analyses are lacking. A new quantitative method is presented for estimation of change in total volume of arachnoid foveae with age. The pilot sample consisted of nine skulls from the Palmer Anatomy Laboratory. Arachnoid foveae were filled with sand, which was extracted using a vacuum pump. Mass was determined with an analytical balance and converted to volume. A reliability analysis was performed using intraclass correlation coefficients. The method was found to be highly reliable (intraobserver ICC = 0.9935, interobserver ICC = 0.9878). The relationship between total volume and age was then examined in a sample of 63 males of accurately known age from the Hamann-Todd collection. Linear regression analysis revealed no statistically significant relationship between total volume and age, or foveae frequency and age (alpha = 0.05). Development of arachnoid foveae may be influenced by health factors, which could limit its usefulness in aging.     

Dietary health does affect histological age assessment: an evaluation of the Stout and Paine (1992) age estimation equation using secondary osteons from the rib

An age at death estimation equation that uses rib histological variables presented by Stout and Paine was used to evaluate a skeletal population of individuals with a known age at death and cause of death from either malnutrition or the niacin deficiency disease pellagra. The sample was comprised of 26 autopsied black South Africans. Histological analysis of mounted thin sections involved the microscopic measurement of cortical area and a count of the number of intact and fragmentary secondary osteons for the entire cross-section of the rib. Rib osteon population density values were then calculated for each case. It was found that this equation under-aged individuals on average by 29.2 years. Overall, secondary osteon size and Haversian canals tended to be larger than expected, while cortical bone area was less when compared with a control population. The implications of these findings are critical given that many of the skeletal remains examined by forensic anthropologists come from marginalized backgrounds, including malnutrition. This research suggests that measurements based on healthy cases may not be useful in an analysis of individuals with poor diet and health. It is argued that new standards for histological age assessment methods need to be created that account for variation in the health status of individuals examined by forensic anthropologists.     

Reduction of postmortem angiography-induced tissue edema by using polyethylene glycol as a contrast agent dissolver

Postmortem investigation is increasingly supported by computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging, in which postmortem minimal invasive angiography has become important. The newly introduced approach using an aqueous contrast agent solution provided excellent vessel visualization but was suspected to possibly cause tissue edema artifacts in histological investigations. The aim of this study was to investigate on a porcine heart model whether it is possible to influence the contrast agent distribution within the soft tissue by changing its viscosity by dissolving the contrast agent in polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a matrix medium. High-resolution CT scans after injection showed that viscosities above c. 15 mPa s (65% PEG) prevented a contrast agent distribution within the capillary bed of the left ventricular myocardium. Thereby, the precondition of edema artifacts could be reduced. Its minimal invasive application on human corpses needs to be further adapted as the flow resistance is expected to differ between different tissues.     

小鼠皮肤切创愈合过程中iNOS和eNOS表达的免疫组织化学研究

目的观察小鼠皮肤切创愈合过程中,iNOS和eNOS在损伤区及损伤周边区内的表达及其变化规律。方法小鼠背部制作全层切创,应用免疫组织化学技术观察伤后切创组织中iNOS和eNOS的表达,并和无切创的小鼠作为对照。结果损伤区及损伤周边区细胞,伤后3h的损伤皮肤组织中可见少量的多型核细胞表达iNOS和eNOS,伤后6～24h,大部分浸润的中性粒细胞和单核细胞为iNOS和eNOS阳性。随着时间的延长,iNOS和eNOS阳性细胞以单核细胞和成纤维细胞为主。伤后3hiNOS的阳性细胞比率较低,6h～1d持续性增加并于1d达到最高峰,3～7d维持在一个相对稳定的水平直至伤后10d再次达高峰,10～14d开始下降。eNOS的阳性细胞率在伤后1～3h表达较低,6h～3d持续性增高,并在3d达到最高峰,在其后的5d内保持稳定表达,之后开始下降。而且损伤区及损伤周边区、特别是肉芽组织内的新生血管可见iNOS和eNOS不同强度的表达。结论小鼠皮肤切创愈合过程中,iNOS和eNOS在损伤周边区内多型核细胞、单核细胞和成纤维细胞中表达,其时序性变化可望用于皮肤损伤时间的推断。     

Comparing the Validity of Prospective,Retrospective, and Official Onset for Different Offending Categories

Using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, a prospective longitudinal study of 411 London males, the main aim of this research is to compare the age of onset of six types of offenses according to different methods of measurement – prospective self-reports, retrospective self-reports, and official records – and also to explore self-reported and official onset sequences. Results showed that ages of onset reported in retrospective accounts generally tended to be higher than those reported prospectively. Agreement rates between prospective and retrospective accounts were lowest for minor forms of offending, and highest for more serious offenses such as theft of vehicles. Males with heavy substance use habits were less likely to report the same age of onset retrospectively compared with prospectively. Denial rates were substantial in all comparisons, particularly for minor forms of offending. Comparisons between self-reported and official measures of onset revealed that there was a greater degree of agreement between the two measures for serious offenses. Whereas self-reported onset sequences suggested that minor crimes were committed before more serious offenses, official onset sequences suggested the reverse. The findings show that retrospective reports are not suitable to address research questions requiring detailed information (i.e., most criminal career parameters: age of onset, frequency, age of termination, etc.), for studying minor forms of offending, and for samples of individuals with serious substance use habits. Furthermore, official measures of offending can also produce misleading results, particularly when studying minor forms of offending.