Biological stress systems, adverse life events and the onset of chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain : a 6-year cohort study

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Histone H1 Reduces the Frequency of Initiation in Xenopus Egg Extract by Limiting the Assembly of Prereplication Complexes on Sperm Chromatin

Somatic histone H1 reduces both the rate and extent of DNA replication in Xenopus egg extract. We show here that H1 inhibits replication directly by reducing the number of replication forks, but not the rate of fork progression, in Xenopus sperm nuclei. Density substitution experiments demonstrate that those forks that are active in H1 nuclei elongate to form large tracts of fully replicated DNA, indicating that inhibition is due to a reduction in the frequency of initiation and not the rate or extent of elongation. The observation that H1 dramatically reduces the number of replication foci in sperm nuclei supports this view. The establishment of replication competent DNA in egg extract requires the assembly of prereplication complexes (pre-RCs) on sperm chromatin. H1 reduces binding of the pre-RC proteins, XOrc2, XCdc6, and XMcm3, to chromatin. Replication competence can be restored in these nuclei, however, only under conditions that promote the loss of H1 from chromatin and licensing of the DNA. Thus, H1 inhibits replication in egg extract by preventing the assembly of pre-RCs on sperm chromatin, thereby reducing the frequency of initiation. These data raise the interesting possibility that H1 plays a role in regulating replication origin use during Xenopus development.

The challenge of contracting for technological information

Contracting to provide technological information (TI) is a significant challenge. TI is an unusual commodity in five ways. (i) TI is difficult to count and value; conventional indicators, such as patents and citations, hardly indicate value. TI is often sold at different prices to different parties. (ii) To value TI, it may be necessary to “give away the secret.” This danger, despite nondisclosure agreements, inhibits efforts to market TI. (iii) To prove its value, TI is often bundled into complete products, such as a computer chip or pharmaceutical product. Efficient exchange, by contrast, would involve merely the raw information. (iv) Sellers’ superior knowledge about TI’s value make buyers wary of overpaying. (v) Inefficient contracts are often designed to secure rents from TI. For example, licensing agreements charge more than marginal cost. These contracting difficulties affect the way TI is produced, encouraging self-reliance. This should be an advantage to large firms. However, small research and development firms spend more per employee than large firms, and nonprofit universities are major producers. Networks of organizational relationships, particularly between universities and industry, are critical in transmitting TI. Implicit barter—money for guidance—is common. Property rights for TI are hard to establish. Patents, quite suitable for better mousetraps, are inadequate for an era when we design better mice. Much TI is not patented, and what is patented sets fuzzy demarcations. New organizational forms are a promising approach to contracting difficulties for TI. Webs of relationships, formal and informal, involving universities, start-up firms, corporate giants, and venture capitalists play a major role in facilitating the production and spread of TI.

An economic analysis of unilateral refusals to license intellectual property

The intellectual property laws in the United States provide the owners of intellectual property with discretion to license the right to use that property or to make or sell products that embody the intellectual property. However, the antitrust laws constrain the use of property, including intellectual property, by a firm with market power and may place limitations on the licensing of intellectual property. This paper focuses on one aspect of antitrust law, the so-called “essential facilities doctrine,” which may impose a duty upon firms controlling an “essential facility” to make that facility available to their rivals. In the intellectual property context, an obligation to make property available is equivalent to a requirement for compulsory licensing. Compulsory licensing may embrace the requirement that the owner of software permit access to the underlying code so that others can develop compatible application programs. Compulsory licensing may undermine incentives for research and development by reducing the value of an innovation to the inventor. This paper shows that compulsory licensing also may reduce economic efficiency in the short run by facilitating the entry of inefficient producers and by promoting licensing arrangements that result in higher prices.

PCRELAP5 - Programa de cálculo para os dados de entrada do código RELAP5

Após os acidentes nucleares ocorridos no mundo, critérios e requisitos extremamente rígidos para a operação das instalações nucleares foram determinados pelos órgãos internacionais que regulam essas instalações. A partir da ocorrência destes eventos, as operadoras de plantas nucleares necessitam simular alguns acidentes e transientes, por meio de programas computacionais específicos, para obter a licença de operação de uma planta nuclear. Com base neste cenário, algumas ferramentas computacionais sofisticadas têm sido utilizadas como o Reactor Excursion and Leak Analysis Program (RELAP5), que é o código mais utilizado para a análise de acidentes e transientes termo-hidráulicos em reatores nucleares no Brasil e no mundo. Uma das maiores dificuldades na simulação usando o código RELAP5 é a quantidade de informações geométricas da planta necessárias para a análise de acidentes e transientes termo-hidráulicos. Para a preparação de seus dados de entrada é necessário um grande número de operações matemáticas para calcular a geometria dos componentes. Assim, a fim de realizar estes cálculos e preparar dados de entrada para o RELAP5, um pré-processador matemático amigável foi desenvolvido, neste trabalho. O Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), combinado com o Microsoft Excel, foi utilizado e demonstrou ser um instrumento eficiente para executar uma série de tarefas no desenvolvimento desse pré-processador. A fim de atender as necessidades dos usuários do RELAP5, foi desenvolvido o Programa de Cálculo do RELAP5 PCRELAP5 onde foram codificados todos os componentes que constituem o código, neste caso, todos os cartões de entrada inclusive os opcionais de cada um deles foram programados. Adicionalmente, uma versão em inglês foi criada para PCRELAP5. Também um design amigável do PCRELAP5 foi desenvolvido com a finalidade de minimizar o tempo de preparação dos dados de entrada e diminuir os erros cometidos pelos usuários do código RELAP5. Nesse trabalho, a versão final desse pré-processador foi aplicada com sucesso para o Sistema de Injeção de Emergência (SIE) da usina Angra 2.

Environmental and Occupational Optometry. Lesson 9 (Course 2013-2014)

Tema 9: Visión y conducción. Actividad obligatoria nº 5.

Reacciones comunitarias a la crisis económica y social en España

Introducción. En un contexto de incremento de las desigualdades y de la pobreza en la sociedad española, donde el desmantelamiento del Estado de Bienestar reduce la posibilidad de encontrar recursos e implementar políticas públicas de reducción de estos efectos; la Sociedad Civil y la ciudadanía desarrollan prácticas resilientes orientadas a satisfacer las necesidades de las comunidades más afectadas por el desempleo y el recorte de servicios sociales. Material y métodos. a) Datos secundarios estadísticos procedentes de organismos y fundaciones; y webs de organizaciones resilientes; b) datos primarios producidos a partir de entrevistas y grupos de discusión. Metodología de análisis de contenido y análisis de discurso. Resultados y discusión. las prácticas resilientes como satisfactores de necesidades, son estructuradas a partir de dos dimensiones adaptación/transformación; dependencia/autonomía. Se observa que estas prácticas cuanto más abstracción presentan (de las necesidades concretas relacionadas con la subsistencia, a las necesidades más intangibles relacionadas con cuestiones simbólicas e identitarias), mayor complejidad en su diseño y organización, y mayor potencia como satisfactor.

Price promotions effects of virtue and vice products

Purpose: This paper aims to propose models that capture the own effect of price promotions of virtue and vice products on sales and cross effects within the subcategory, between subcategories and between periods. The hypotheses assume that, due to reverse consumption self-control, the demand for vice products is more price-sensitive than demand for virtue products, but the demand for vice products is less price-sensitive between periods than demand for virtue products; furthermore, due to the degree of impulse-buying and to licensing, the demand sensitivity of the products of a subcategory and of those of other subcategories varies according to the type of promoted product (vice or virtue). Design/methodology/approach: The methodology is based on different econometrical models that estimate the total net effect of price promotions of virtue and vice products on sales. Findings: The results show a greater own effect for price promotions of vice products than for virtue products. However, the complementary sales effect between subcategories for virtue products facilitates greater expansion of the subcategory in virtue products than in vice products. Originality/value: Although price promotions of virtue products (light) and vice products (regular) have proliferated in recent years, researchers have only estimated their own sales effect. Alternatively, the paper contributes by considering own and cross effects.

La tipografía como marca

Según Interbrand una marca es una combinación de atributos, tangibles e intangibles, simbolizados por una marca registrada que, si se gestiona adecuadamente, genera valor e influencia. La tipografía y la letra en general, como vehículo natural de expresión de la parte verbal de la marca, posee una capacidad de marcación especial que muchas veces no aprovechamos como merece. El objetivo de este estudio es tratar las tipografías como si fueran marcas y no productos para conseguir incrementar su valor e influencia tal y como hacen branders y marketers. Para ello se mostrarán estrategias y metodologías propias del Branding aplicadas al diseño de tipografías, tanto corporativas como comerciales, especialmente la plataforma de marca como herramienta de toma de decisiones, evaluación del proceso y presentación de resultados al cliente. Todo esto se realizará a través del estudio de dos casos reales de diseño de tipografías: la Geogrotesque de Eduardo Manso y la EHU del Grupo de Investigación en Tipografía de la Universidad del País Vasco. Los beneficios de este trabajo son, por un lado, una importante ayuda a los diseñadores de tipografía corporativa en su proceso y metodología de diseño y toma de decisiones; por el otro se trata de concienciar a los profesionales del Branding de la tipografía como una potente herramienta de creación de marca y de cómo pueden aprovechar al máximo el diseño a medida de alfabetos para cada proyecto.

O registro do patrimônio cultural imaterial: as práticas do IPHAN e do IEPHA/MG

Patrimônio cultural é tudo aquilo que possui significado social e representa identidades, sendo dividido em duas principais categorias: material e imaterial. O reconhecimento deste último foi construído ao longo de um processo de maturação, ampliação de debates, legislação e ação de órgãos públicos nacionais e internacionais. No Brasil, a Constituição Federal de 1988 incorporou, ao lado do patrimônio material, as diversas formas de expressão e os modos de criar, fazer e viver, como patrimônio imaterial, adotando novos instrumentos de proteção aos bens culturais: o registro e o inventário. Entretanto, somente pelo Decreto 3.551/2000 é que o registro do imaterial foi definitivamente normatizado. Paulatinamente, ocorreu a descentralização da legislação e das políticas públicas, que passaram a ser compartilhadas por União, Estados e Municípios e, nesse sentido, um caso peculiar na gestão do patrimônio cultural ocorreu no estado de Minas Gerais, no qual o Instituto Estadual do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico de Minas Gerais (IEPHA/MG) assumiu um valioso papel na preservação do patrimônio cultural, onde as ações municipais voltadas ao patrimônio cultural no Estado contam com repasses financeiros, via distribuição do Imposto Sobre Mercadorias e Serviços (ICMS). Esse cenário propiciou um campo para a reflexão e debate sobre o papel e a função desse órgão estadual frente às práticas de identificação, valorização e promoção do patrimônio imaterial de Minas Gerais.

Acompanhamento da construção de uma captação de água subterrânea

Tese de mestrado, Geologia Aplicada (Hidrogeologia) Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2016

Copyright in the EU Digital Single Market. Report of the CEPS Digital Forum. June 2013

The scope and enforcement of copyright in the digital environment have been among the most complex and controversial subjects tackled by lawmakers all over the world for the last decade. Due to the ubiquitous use of digital technology, modern regulation of copyright inherently touches on numerous areas of law and social and economic policy, including communications privacy and Internet governance. Modernising the EU’s copyright framework is considered a key step towards achieving the goal of an EU Digital Single Market in the context of the ‘Digital Agenda for Europe’, an initiative launched by the European Commission in May 2010. How can the EU make copyright fit for purpose in the Internet age? What are the most suitable and realistic policy options to achieve the objective of a Digital Single Market in the creative content sectors? To give comprehensive answers to these questions, the CEPS Digital Forum formed a Task Force on Copyright in the EU Digital Single Market to foster a multi-stakeholder dialogue on the major challenges for copyright law in the online content sector today. Drawing on the discussions and input gathered by the Task Force, this report contains the conclusions and policy recommendations organised around three main themes: licensing rules and practices in the online music and film sectors, the definition and implementation of copyright exceptions in the digital environment and the present and future of online copyright enforcement in Europe.

Exploitative Abuses: Which Competition Policy, Which Public Policy? Research Papers in Law, 2/2007

As the final session of the day, my aim in this paper is to briefly outline the nature of exploitative abuses before turning to the question of the relationship between competition law and intellectual property law in the context of what Teubner calls the regulatory trilemma and from that draw a two-fold conclusion. First, the demands on law from the social phenomenon of markets are more acute when those demands raise issues across the different law domains of IP and competition. Second, where IP law and competition meet, the aim should be for both domains to internalise the values of the other. This however can only happen to the extent but only to the extent that there can be what Collins1 calls productive disintegration. Finally, in the specific context of exploitative abuses the overlap between IP law and competition law arises primarily in relation to claims of excessive pricing in licensing arrangements. Such claims could form the basis of a private action2 or can be made in the context of compulsory dealing decisions such as Microsoft.3 The involvement of competition agencies in pricing decisions goes to the heart of concerns about the nature of competition law and the role of competition agencies and highlights the need for the law to indirectly control rather than inappropriately attempt to directly control markets.

Regulation on ‘cross-border portability’ of online content services: Roaming for Netflix or the end of copyright territoriality? CEPS Commentary, 15 February 2016

In a communication to the Parliament and the Council entitled “Towards a modern, more European copyright framework” and dated 9 December 2015,1 the European Commission confirmed its intention to progressively remove the main obstacles to the functioning of the Digital Single Market for copyrighted works. The first step of this long-term plan, which was first announced in Juncker’s Political Guidelines2 and the Communication on “A Digital Single Market strategy for Europe”,3 is a proposal for a regulation aimed at ensuring the so-called ‘cross-border portability’ of online services giving access to content such as music, games, films and sporting events.4 In a nutshell, the proposed regulation seeks to enable consumers with legal access to such online content services in their country of residence to use the same services also when they are in another member state for a limited period of time. On the one hand, this legislative proposal has the full potential to resolve the (limited) issue of portability, which stems from the national dimension of copyright and the persisting territorial licensing and distribution of copyright content.5 On the other hand, as this commentary shows, the ambiguity of certain important provisions in the proposed regulation might affect its scope and effectiveness and contribute to the erosion of the principle of copyright territoriality.