bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MODEC: an unsupervised clustering method integrating omics data for identifying cancer subtypes
Authors: Zhang Yanting , Kiryu Hisanori
Published: August 2022

The identification of cancer subtypes can help researchers understand hidden genomic mechanisms, enhance diagnostic accuracy and improve clinical treatments. With the development of high-throughput techniques, researchers can access large amounts of data from multiple sources. Because of the high dimensionality and complexity of multiomics and clinical data, research into the integration of multiomics data is needed, and developing effective tools for such purposes remains a challenge for researchers. In this work, we proposed an entirely unsupervised clustering method without harnessing any prior knowledge (MODEC). We used manifold optimization and deep-learning techniques to integrate multiomics data for the identification of cancer subtypes and the analysis of significant clinical variables. Since there is nonlinearity in the gene-level datasets, we used manifold optimization methodology to extract essential information from the original omics data to obtain a low-dimensional latent subspace. Then, MODEC uses a deep learning-based clustering module to iteratively define cluster centroids and assign cluster labels to each sample by minimizing the Kullback–Leibler divergence loss. MODEC was applied to six public cancer datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas database and outperformed eight competing methods in terms of the accuracy and reliability of the subtyping results. MODEC was extremely competitive in the identification of survival patterns and significant clinical features, which could help doctors monitor disease progression and provide more suitable treatment strategies.
Urban evolution of thermal physiology in a range-expanding, mycophagous fruit fly, Drosophila tripunctata
Authors: Diamond Sarah E , Martin Ryan A , Bellino Grace , Crown K Nicole , Prileson Eric G
Published: August 2022

In Drosophila spp., their often high number of annual generations, large population sizes and large amounts of standing genetic variation should predispose them to undergo contemporary adaptation to climatic warming. However, a number of laboratory experimental evolution studies in this group of organisms suggest strong limits on the rate and magnitude of contemporary thermal adaptation. Here, we explore this discrepancy by examining the potential for rapid evolutionary divergence between wild populations of Drosophila tripunctata Loew, 1862 from rural and urban sites. We performed a multi-generation common garden study and found evidence for the evolution of higher heat tolerance (critical thermal maximum) in flies from urban populations. We also detected evolutionary divergence in cold resistance (chill coma recovery time), with diminished cold resistance in flies from urban populations, although the effect was weaker than the shift in heat tolerance. Our study provides evidence of contemporary urban thermal adaptation, although the magnitude of phenotypic change lagged the magnitude of environmental temperature change across the urbanization gradient, suggesting potential limits on the evolution of urban thermal physiology.
Highway to Cocytus or Ascent into Paradise: Apatheia and Moral Bioenhancement
Authors: Parks Benjamin N
Published: August 2022

With the godlike powers of modern technology, just one bad actor can unleash hell on Earth. In the face of this threat posed by technology, some have proposed moral bioenhancement as a solution. Although moral bioenhancement may at first seem like something Christian should support, it is my contention in this paper that there is at least one significant reason for Christians to be cautious in their appropriation of moral bioenhancement technology: it can at best give us a false apatheia, which runs the ironic risk of destroying our ability to make moral progress.
Alleviating symptoms in patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis: a focus on chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus
Authors: Agarwal Rajiv , Burton James , Gallieni Maurizio , Kalantar-Zadeh Kamyar , Mayer Gert , Pollock Carol , Szepietowski Jacek C
Published: August 2022

Since the breakthrough of kidney replacement therapy, increases in life expectancy for patients with end-stage kidney disease have been limited. However, patients have become increasingly vocal that, although mortality and life expectancy matter to them, the quality of their life, and particularly the relief of symptoms associated with their treatment, are in many cases more important. The majority of dialysis-associated symptoms and adverse effects do not currently have any approved treatments in this patient population, with the few treatments that are available used off-label, frequently without proven efficacy, yet still potentially adding further adverse effects to patients’ current symptom burden. This article will illustrate how understanding the pathophysiology of a single, particularly burdensome symptom of dialysis (chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus) resulted in the design, development and regulatory approval of a treatment for that symptom. The pathway described here can be applied to other symptoms associated with dialysis, meaning that if we cannot add years to patients’ lives, we can at least add life to their remaining years.
Hypoxia during maintenance hemodialysis—the critical role of pH
Authors: McGuire Scott , Krishnan Nithya , Malik Abdul R , Waddell Alex , Russell Sophie L , Denton Francesca , Ennis Stuart , Horton Elizabeth , Jakovljevic Djordje , McGregor Gordon
Published: August 2022

Background

The impact and management of subclinical hypoxia during hemodialysis is a significant medical challenge. As key determinants of O2 availability and delivery, proposed mechanisms contributing to hypoxia include ischemia, alkalemia and pulmonary leukocyte sequestration. However, no study has comprehensively investigated and compared these interrelated mechanisms throughout a typical hemodialysis treatment week. This study aimed to comprehensively assess the physiological mechanisms that contribute to hypoxia during hemodialysis.

Methods

In 76 patients, we measured arterial blood gases and pH at four time-points during hemodialysis (start, 15 min, 60 min, end) over the course of a standard treatment week. For the mid-week hemodialysis session, we additionally measured central hemodynamics (non-invasive cardiac output monitoring) and white blood cell count.

Results

Linear regression modelling identified changes in pH, but not central hemodynamics or white blood cell count, to be predictive of changes in PaO2 throughout hemodialysis (e.g. at 60 min, β standardized coefficient pH = 0.45, model R2 = 0.25, P < .001). Alkalemia, hypokalemia, decreased calcium and increased hemoglobin–O2 affinity (leftward shift in the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve) were evident at the end of hemodialysis. pH and hemoglobin–O2 affinity at the start of hemodialysis increased incrementally over the course of a standard treatment week.

Conclusion

These data highlight the important role of pH in regulating O2 availability and delivery during hemodialysis. Findings support routine pH monitoring and personalized dialysate bicarbonate prescription to mitigate the significant risk of alkalemia and subclinical hypoxia.
Topological–temporal properties of evolving networks
Authors: Ceria Alberto , Havlin Shlomo , Hanjalic Alan , Wang Huijuan
Published: August 2022

Many real-world complex systems including human interactions can be represented by temporal (or evolving) networks, where links activate or deactivate over time. Characterizing temporal networks is crucial to compare different real-world networks and to detect their common patterns or differences. A systematic method that can characterize simultaneously the temporal and topological relations of the time-specific interactions (also called contacts or events) of a temporal network, is still missing. In this article, we propose a method to characterize to what extent contacts that happen close in time occur also close in topology. Specifically, we study the interrelation between temporal and topological properties of the contacts from three perspectives: (1) the correlation (among the elements) of the activity time series which records the total number of contacts in a network that happen at each time step; (2) the interplay between the topological distance and time difference of two arbitrary contacts; (3) the temporal correlation of contacts within the local neighbourhood centred at each link (so-called ego-network) to explore whether such contacts that happen close in topology are also close in time. By applying our method to 13 real-world temporal networks, we found that temporal–topological correlation of contacts is more evident in virtual contact networks than in physical contact networks. This could be due to the lower cost and easier access of online communications than physical interactions, allowing and possibly facilitating social contagion, that is, interactions of one individual may influence the activity of its neighbours. We also identify different patterns between virtual and physical networks and among physical contact networks at, for example, school and workplace, in the formation of correlation in local neighbourhoods. Patterns and differences detected via our method may further inspire the development of more realistic temporal network models, that could reproduce jointly temporal and topological properties of contacts.
Workplace physical activity practices in real life: a scoping review of grey literature for small- and medium-sized enterprises
Authors: Väänänen Ilkka , Mas-Alòs Sebastià , Vandaele Frank , Codina-Nadal Anna , Matas Sergi , Aumatell Eva , De Clerk Ine , Puig-Ribera Anna
Published: August 2022

Background

There is a need to scale-up effective physical activity (PA) programmes for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), where the uptake of PA interventions is low. Identifying real-life workplace practices in PA could contribute to a better understanding of what PA programmes might be most grounded in the ‘real world’. However, there is a scarcity of evidence showing what gets done. This study aimed to identify, describe and comprehensively summarize the real-life implementations of workplace PA initiatives, particularly in Europe, as a prior step to disseminating future feasible PA practices for SMEs.

Methods

A scoping review of grey literature included a systematic search in the Google advanced search platform that permuted a combination of key concepts (PA, workplace, interventions/programmes), internet domains, and search operators in six different languages (Catalan, Finnish, French, Dutch, English and Spanish) between 2015 and November 2020. The analysis process was iterative, and multiple methods were used to sort, group and categorize the initiatives.

Results

There were a total of 713 real-life workplace PA initiatives from different-sized organizations identified. These were categorized into five themes: active work and living, exercise and fitness programs, management and leadership, communication and dissemination, and facilities. Finally, feature trees showing a menu for real-life workplace PA practices were implemented.

Conclusions

Identifying real-life practice providing a state-of-the-art snapshot of current PA practices in workplaces, which is a starting point to better understand feasible practices in the context of small- and medium-sized workplaces.
stuart: an R package for the curation of SNP genotypes from experimental crosses
Authors: Bourdon Marie , Montagutelli Xavier
Published: August 2022

Genetic mapping in 2-generation crosses requires genotyping, usually performed with single nucleotide polymorphism markers arrays which provide high-density genetic information. However, genetic analysis on raw genotypes can lead to spurious or unreliable results due to defective single nucleotide polymorphism assays or wrong genotype interpretation. Here, we introduce stuart, an open-source R package, which analyzes raw genotyping data to filter single nucleotide polymorphism markers based on informativeness, Mendelian inheritance pattern, and consistency with parental genotypes. The functions of this package provide a curation pipeline and formatting adequate for genetic analysis with the R/qtl package. stuart is available with detailed documentation from https://gitlab.pasteur.fr/mouselab/stuart/.
Extracellular matrix regulation of stress response genes during larval development in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Chandler Luke M , Choe Keith P
Published: August 2022

Mutation or loss of 6 extracellular matrix collagen genes disrupts annular furrows in adult C. elegans cuticles, causes a wide “Dumpy” body morphology, and activates osmotic, detoxification, and antimicrobial defense genes. High environmental osmolarity reduces internal turgor pressure, physically distorts the epidermis, and activates the same stress responses. Collagen gene mutations that cause Dumpy without furrow disruption do not activate stress responses. These results are consistent with an extracellular damage sensor associated with furrows in the adult cuticle that regulates environmental stress responses in adjacent cells. Several cuticle characteristics change between molts, but all stages have annular furrows and express furrow collagen genes. We compared body shape, furrow organization imaged with differential interference contrast microscopy, and stress response gene expression in furrow collagen gene mutants at all postembryonic stages. We find that most body shape and furrow disorganization phenotypes start at the L3 stage and increase in severity with each molt afterwards. Stress response genes were induced the strongest in adults, correlating with the greatest Dumpy and furrow phenotypes. Although weaker than in adults, osmolyte transporter gene hmit-1.1 and antimicrobial gene nlp-29 were also induced in some early larvae that had weak or undetectable cuticle phenotypes. Our data are consistent with progressive cuticle phenotypes in which each new cuticle is at least partially directed by organization of the former cuticle. Gene expression and cuticle data support the role of furrow disruption as a signal in L4 larvae and adults, but also suggest a role for other cuticle organization or epidermal cell effects in early larvae.
Who Gets Help? A National Longitudinal Study of Personal Networks and Pandemic Support Among Older Adults
Authors: Copeland Molly , Liu Hui
Published: August 2022

Objectives

Personal networks provide social support for older adults, perhaps especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic when traditional avenues may be disrupted. We provide one of the first population-based studies on how prepandemic personal networks predict support during the pandemic among older adults, with attention to gender and race variation.

Method

We analyzed longitudinal data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project Round 3 (2015/2016) and COVID-19 Round (2020; N = 2622, 55.68% female, 78.75% White, aged 50–99), a nationally representative survey of community-dwelling older Americans. We considered structure (i.e., size, density) and composition (i.e., proportion female and kin) of prepandemic personal networks, estimating multinomial logistic models to predict self-reported need and receipt of instrumental help and emotional support during the pandemic.

Results

Larger prepandemic confidant networks predicted higher risk of receiving needed pandemic help and support, higher risk of receiving help and support more often than prepandemic, and lower risk of being unable to get help. Denser prepandemic networks also predicted higher risk of receiving pandemic help and support. Furthermore, how network size and density related to support differed with respondent race and a greater proportion of kin in prepandemic networks predicted higher risk of receiving help for non-White older adults only.

Discussion

Older adults’ prepandemic confidant network structure and composition can provide underlying conditions for receiving pandemic social support. Findings speak to policies and programs that aim to foster social support or identify vulnerable groups that suffer the greatest unmet need for support during a global crisis.
Implementing Four Transitional Care Interventions for Older Adults: A Retrospective Collective Case Study
Authors: Fakha Amal , Leithaus Merel , de Boer Bram , van Achterberg Theo , Hamers Jan P , Verbeek Hilde
Published: August 2022

Background and Objectives

Four interventions to improve care transitions between hospital and home or community settings for older adults were implemented in Leuven, Belgium over the past 4 years. These complex interventions consist of multiple components that challenge their implementation in practice. This study examines the influencing factors, strategies used to address challenges in implementing these interventions, and implementation outcomes from the perspectives of health care professionals involved.

Research Design and Methods

This was a qualitative, collective case study that was part of the TRANS-SENIOR research network. Authors conducted semistructured interviews with health care professionals about their perceptions regarding the implementation. Thematic analysis was used, and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research guided the final data interpretation.

Results

Thirteen participants were interviewed. Participants reported major implementation bottlenecks at the organizational level (resources, structure, and information continuity), while facilitators were at the individual level (personal attributes and champions). They identified engagement as the primary strategy used, and suggested other important strategies for the future sustainability of the interventions (building strategic partnerships and lobbying for policies to support transitional care). They perceived the overall implementation favorably, with high uptake as a key outcome.

Discussion and Implications

This study highlights the strong role of health care providers, being motivated and self-driven, to foster the implementation of interventions in transitional care in a bottom–up way. It is important to use implementation strategies targeting both the individual-level factors as well as the organizational barriers for transitional care interventions in the future.
4. Agencies of Development
Authors: Green Duncan , Kirk Tom
Published: August 2022

This chapter evaluates agencies of development, which can be split into three broad categories: state, societal, and international actors and organizations. These categories should be understood to be overlapping and fluid. Indeed, few actors or organizations can be said to be purely international, of the state or society. Instead, most belong to and operate across multiple spheres of activity. Moreover, this boundary crossing is increasingly a requirement to get things done. Accordingly, the chapter pays attention to how different agencies interact with one another, legitimizing and delegitimizing different understandings of development in the process. It also shows how development is often driven by broad coalitions of actors and organizations working together, however contentiously, towards collective goals. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of emerging ways of understanding and doing development that acknowledge and incorporate this approach.
7. Poverty and Education
Authors: Froerer Peggy
Published: August 2022

This chapter addresses the relationship between education and poverty. Education has become a central development plank for the World Bank and other multilateral organizations, partly because of the connection between education, development, and the reduction of poverty. Such organizations continue to sponsor and spearhead different programmes geared towards enhanced educational access and engagement (particular at primary school levels). Owing to such programmes, greater numbers of children have access to schooling across the globe, impacting on poverty levels. However, the benefits and opportunities purportedly associated with education are not accessible to those groups which are governed by their structural positions within systems of social and economic inequality. The promised education-related returns are not always forthcoming, particularly for those lacking important forms of social capital.
8. Unemployment and Making a Living
Authors: Wield David
Published: August 2022

This chapter describes the issue of unemployment and ways of making a living. Rather than simply being characterized by unemployment, in less developed areas work is often characterized by its complexity and diversity. The level of complexity is arguably increasing as all around the world there has been an increase in the diversity of ways of making a living, with more part-time wage work, more self-employed, and informal activities, and more flexible work systems. Often, rather than people being unemployed, a major issue is that many work extremely hard but at levels of low productivity, receiving low financial recompense, and thus remaining in relative poverty. They require opportunities for better quality and better remunerated work. Understanding of policy issues is improved by applying the concepts of commodity and subsistence production, reproduction, and waged and unwaged work, as well as an appreciation of how ways of making a living combine these types of work.
10. Environmental Degradation and Sustainability
Authors: Hochstetler Kathryn
Published: August 2022

This chapter studies the rise of global environmental concern, identifying major events and debates as they unfolded. Much human economic activity can be described as primary commodity production or manufacturing. Each of these has a potentially negative impact on the environment. The chapter then looks at the 'environmentalism of the poor', which tends to be based on material survival needs rather than post-material values. It also summarizes two discourses on the causes of sustainability and unsustainability. The Global Environmental Management discourse looks for top-down interventions to come from states or market actors, viewing local populations as the cause of much environmental damage. The People-Centred discourse reverses the analysis, arguing that local populations are often able to achieve long-term sustainability in their communities until outside actors like states and market actors disrupt those relations.
23. The Urban Challenge and Life in the City
Authors: Beall Jo
Published: August 2022

This chapter describes the challenges posed by the concomitant growth of urban poverty and inequality, sometimes in the absence of economic growth, against a background that traces processes of urbanization, urban growth, and urban development in countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The exact relationship between experiences of poverty and city life remains unclear, and it may be important to redirect the questions being asked in relation to the city. Rather than focusing on 'life in the city', it might be more beneficial to ask what is necessary to ensure 'a city for life'. A key priority will be addressing the capacity of urban institutions and systems to meet the challenges of city management and urban governance in the context of social, economic, and demographic change. There is a need to recognize the physical, structural, and institutional role of 'the city' in shaping the experiences of and the responses to poverty.
26. Returning to the ‘Great Transformation’
Authors: Harriss John
Published: August 2022

This chapter recounts how Karl Polanyi developed an explanation for the rise of fascism and for the world crisis of the mid-twentieth century. In doing so, he elaborated a profound critique of the kind of thinking about economic development — described as 'market fundamentalism' and commonly referred to as neoliberalism. In the early twenty-first century, neoliberal economic policies, together with the implications of rapid technological change, have caused a crisis, comparable with that analysed by Polanyi, in which social, environmental, and financial problems are interwoven, and to which the rise of authoritarian populism is one response. The Covid-19 outbreak has further exposed the unsustainability of the global system of market fundamentalism and may point to another 'great transformation'. It is possible that a combination of worldwide movements against inequality and environmental degradation with local struggles for citizenship, economic and social rights, and environmental justice among the masses in major 'emerging economies', such as India, can provide a platform for a social democratic alternative.
Controlled pilot test of a translated cardiac rehabilitation education curriculum in percutaneous coronary intervention patients in a middle-income country delivered using WeChat: acceptability, engagement, satisfaction and preliminary outcomes
Authors: Liu X , Grace S L , Ghisi G L M , Shi W , Shen C , Oh P , Zhang Y
Published: August 2022

In China, despite the rapid increase in percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs), cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is just burgeoning, leaving a need for comprehensive evidence-based education curricula. This pilot study assessed the acceptability of Simplified Chinese CR education delivered via booklets and videos on WeChat asynchronously and the impact on improving knowledge, risk factors, health behaviors and quality of life. In this pre–post, controlled, observational study, interested PCI patients received the 12-week intervention or usual care and WeChat without education. Participants completed validated surveys, including the Coronary Artery Disease Education-Questionnaire and Self-Management Scale. Acceptability (14 Likert-type items), engagement (minutes per week) and satisfaction were assessed in intervention participants. Ninety-six patients consented to participate (n = 49 intervention), of which 66 (68.8%) completed the follow-up assessments. Twenty-seven (77.1%) retained intervention participants engaged with the materials, rating content as highly acceptable (all means ≥4/5) and satisfactory (2.19 ± 0.48/3); those engaging more with the intervention were significantly more satisfied (P = 0.03). While participants in both groups achieved some improvements, only intervention participants had significant increases in disease-related knowledge, reductions in body mass index and triglycerides, as well as improvements in diet (all P < 0.05). In this first study validating the recently translated CR patient education intervention, acceptability and benefits have been supported.
YWHAZ variation causes intellectual disability and global developmental delay with brain malformation
Authors: Wan Rui-Ping , Liu Zhi-Gang , Huang Xiao-Fei , Kwan Ping , Li Ya-Ping , Qu Xiao-Chong , Ye Xing-Guang , Chen Feng-Ying , Zhang Da-Wei , He Ming-Feng , Wang Jie , Mao Yu-Ling , Qiao Jing-Da
Published: August 2022

YWHAZ encodes an adapter protein 14–3-3ζ, which is involved in many signaling pathways that control cellular proliferation, migration and differentiation. It has not been definitely correlated to any phenotype in OMIM. To investigate the role of YWHAZ gene in intellectual disability and global developmental delay, we conducted whole-exon sequencing in all of the available members from a large three-generation family and we discovered that a novel variant of the YWHAZ gene was associated with intellectual disability and global developmental delay. This variant is a missense mutation of YWHAZ, p.Lys49Asn/c.147A > T, which was found in all affected members but not found in other unaffected members. We also conducted computational modeling and knockdown/knockin with Drosophila to confirm the role of the YWHAZ variant in intellectual disability. Computational modeling showed that the binding energy was increased in the mutated protein combining with the ligand indicating that the c147A > T variation was a loss-of-function variant. Cognitive defects and mushroom body morphological abnormalities were observed in YWHAZ c.147A > T knockin flies. The YWHAZ knockdown flies also manifested serious cognitive defects with hyperactivity behaviors, which is consistent with the clinical features. Our clinical and experimental results consistently suggested that YWHAZ was a novel intellectual disability pathogenic gene.
Enhancing fishery-dependent information in data-poor fisheries; integrating gear-in–gear-out sensors and mobile reporting technology in a mixed Irish Sea static-gear fishery
Authors: Emmerson J A , Coleman M T , Bloor I S M , Jenkins S R
Published: August 2022

Inshore static gear fisheries such as those targeting predominately shellfish play an import socio-economic role across the northeast Atlantic. Despite this, assessment techniques are heavily reliant on fishery dependent data which is typically aggregated over large spatial scales and lacking in key environmental and biotic data. In this study, we trialled the implementation of an enhanced electronic reporting system (EERS) and gear-in–gear-out (GIGO) technology in a data-limited, mixed species, static gear fishery for brown crab Cancer pagurus and European lobster Homarus gammarus. EERS/GIGO systems were deployed on two commercial vessels for 12 months and collected data from 812 strings, equating to 29826 pots, with precise geo-located landings per unit effort (LPUE) and environmental data. Cluster analysis identified spatially distinct patterns in fishing activity, corresponding to different target species. Generalized additive modelling was used to investigate the effect of environmental variables, inter-specific interactions and geo-location on LPUE in both species. Sea bottom temperatures had a significant positive effect on LPUE in both C. pagurus and H. gammarus. In addition, GAM analysis showed the importance of inter-specific interactions; increases in capture of competing non-target commercial species (H. gammarus/C. pagurus) resulted in the decreases in target species LPUE (C. pagurus/H. gammarus).The significant effect of environmental variables and inter-specific interactions demonstrate the value of understanding these interactions in order to produce robust standardized LPUE metrics. The EERS/GIGO system successfully demonstrated its application, and value in collecting geospatially defined fishery dependent data in historically data limited fisheries. Co-development of such an approach between fisheries administrations and industry has the potential to significantly enhance data collection and management in many data poor fisheries.
When everyday-life troubles get even bigger: Being a young woman with a disability during Covid times
Authors: Fama Ada
Published: August 2022

One day I found myself in the middle of thousands of people crowded into a stadium to watch a match. The next day. . . a roaring silence. This was my beginning of it all. On February 21, 2020, Italy experienced the first Covid-positive case. Everything changed within hours; the entire country was frozen in sheer dread. After almost eighty days of lockdown, I started evaluating the implications that the pandemic was going to have in my life of a young, visually impaired woman. Though the long-term consequences of Covid-19 require time to fully process, in this article I examine two main changes that I can already qualify as a direct result of the hard times we have just lived through. First, the repeated lockdowns determined an abrupt halt in hiring. At the time of the Spring 2020 lockdown, I was seeking employment, as were many fellow fresh graduates. However, both public and private recruitment was suspended. Therefore, most of us had to wait months before finally getting a job. But one year of (forced) gap can be very detrimental to the career of a young person. Second, technology has proved to be very useful in times of isolation. I argue, however, that technology, itself, can determine isolation. For people with a disability, in particular, there is a hidden risk in relying too much on technology, as the hard, real life is gradually replaced by a virtual life, with fewer challenges but, at the same time, with fewer socialization and integration opportunities.
Mind the compensation gap: towards a new European regime addressing civil liability in the age of AI
Authors: Whittam Sadie
Published: August 2022

As artificial intelligence (‘AI’) becomes pervasive, it is inevitable that there will be a corresponding increase in AI disputes. However, it is often no easy task to determine liability in AI-related disputes due to the unique features of many AI systems, including their complexity, opacity, and the ability of some AI systems to self-adapt. This paper considers the existing EU liability framework and concludes that, at present, it is not adequate to ensure that injured parties can be compensated for damage caused by AI. The argument presented is that Product Liability Directive 85/374/EEC should be amended to provide greater protection for claimants that suffer harm caused by AI, and proposals for revision are suggested. In addition, this paper argues that there are cogent reasons to design sector specific legislation and identify ex ante which party should be held strictly liable for certain classes of AI.
The earth–space alliance in preventing and punishing mass murder crimes: documenting and prosecuting international crimes through aerial satellite evidence
Authors: Qerimi Qerim
Published: August 2022

This article explores and articulates contemporary discourse, reflective of the most recent practice in the domain of relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and discrete fields of international law, primarily concerning the use of such machinery to prevent and punish crime. It looks into the hitherto unforeseen context of the use of satellite imagery and other AI-generated data as evidence before international courts and tribunals in order to document and prosecute the commission of internationally prohibited crimes. Taking as a lead example the curious case of Al-Werfalli before International Criminal Court (ICC), while examining other relevant cases from the practice of the ICC, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and International Court of Justice (ICJ) in some exhaustive fashion, the underlying philosophy is to explore the benefits and limits of the AI, with a view of ascertaining the distinct role and place for courts in shaping stable standards in the face of challenges posed by modern technology. The larger objective is indeed three-fold: to ascertain the role and probative value of aerially derived evidence, to explore some of the challenges associated with the use of such evidence, and to understand the role of courts in determining the applicable standards and developing the law. The existing judicial praxis reveals the acceptance of the satellite-based or aerially derived evidence in judicial proceedings and sets forth the requisite operational criteria, which should serve both as guidance and an inspiration for exploring their further development and specification.
On an inverse photoacoustic tomography problem of small absorbers with inhomogeneous sound speed
Authors: Al Jebawy Hanin , El Badia Abdellatif
Published: August 2022

This work is devoted to the study of the inverse photoacoustic tomography (PAT) problem. It is an imaging technique similar to TAT studied in El Badia & Ha-Duong (2000); however, in this case, a high-frequency radiation is delivered into the biological tissue to be imaged, such as visible or near infra red light that are characterized by their high frequency compared with that of radio waves that are used in TAT. As in the case of TAT El Badia & Ha-Duong (2000), the inverse problem we are concerned in is the reconstruction of small absorbers in an open, bounded and connected domain $\Omega \subset{\mathbb{R}}^3$. Again, we follow the algebraic algorithm, initially proposed in El Badia & Jebawy (2020), that allows us to resolve the problem from a single Cauchy data and without the knowledge of the Grüneisen’s coefficient. However, the high-frequency radiation used in this case makes some changes in the context of the problem and allows us to give our results using partial boundary observations and in both cases of constant and variable acoustic speed. Finally, we establish the corresponding Hölder stability result.
Maximal regularity of backward difference time discretization for evolving surface PDEs and its application to nonlinear problems
Authors: Kovács Balázs , Li Buyang
Published: August 2022

Maximal parabolic $L^p$-regularity of linear parabolic equations on an evolving surface is shown by pulling back the problem to the initial surface and studying the maximal $L^p$-regularity on a fixed surface. By freezing the coefficients in the parabolic equations at a fixed time and utilizing a perturbation argument around the freezed time, it is shown that backward difference time discretizations of linear parabolic equations on an evolving surface along characteristic trajectories can preserve maximal $L^p$-regularity in the discrete setting. The result is applied to prove the stability and convergence of time discretizations of nonlinear parabolic equations on an evolving surface, with linearly implicit backward differentiation formulae characteristic trajectories of the surface, for general locally Lipschitz nonlinearities. The discrete maximal $L^p$-regularity is used to prove the boundedness and stability of numerical solutions in the $L^\infty (0,T;W^{1,\infty })$ norm, which is used to bound the nonlinear terms in the stability analysis. Optimal-order error estimates of time discretizations in the $L^\infty (0,T;W^{1,\infty })$ norm is obtained by combining the stability analysis with the consistency estimates.
Plücker-Type Inequalities for Mixed Areas and Intersection Numbers of Curve Arrangements
Authors: Averkov Gennadiy , Soprunov Ivan
Published: August 2022

Any collection of $n$ compact convex planar sets $K_1,\dots , K_n$ defines a vector of ${n\choose 2}$ mixed areas ${\operatorname {V}}(K_i,K_j)$ for $1\leq i<j\leq n$. We show that for $n\geq 4$ these numbers satisfy certain Plücker-type inequalities. Moreover, we prove that for $n=4$, these inequalities completely describe the space of all mixed area vectors $({\operatorname {V}}(K_i,K_j)\,:\,1\leq i<j\leq 4)$. For arbitrary $n\geq 4$, we show that this space has a semialgebraic closure of full dimension. As an application, we show that the pairwise intersection numbers of any collection of $n$ tropical curves satisfy the Plücker-type inequalities. Moreover, in the case of four tropical curves, any homogeneous polynomial relation between their six intersection numbers follows from the corresponding Plücker-type inequalities.
Completing the A2 Andrews–Schilling–Warnaar Identities
Authors: Kanade Shashank , Russell Matthew C
Published: August 2022

We study the Andrews–Schilling–Warnaar sum-sides for the principal characters of standard (i.e., integrable, highest weight) modules of ${\operatorname {A}}_2^{(1)}$. These characters have been studied recently by Corteel, Dousse, Foda, Uncu, Warnaar, and Welsh. We prove complete sets of identities for moduli $5$ through $8$ and $10$. The cases of moduli $6$ and $10$ are new. Our proofs use Corteel–Welsh recursions for cylindric partitions and certain relations satisfied by the Andrews–Schilling–Warnaar sum-sides. We further show that at all moduli, a complete set of conjectures may be deduced using certain explicit “seed” conjectures. These seed conjectures are obtained by appropriately truncating our conjectures for the “infinite” level. Additionally, for moduli $3k$, we use an identity of Weierstraß to deduce new sum-product identities starting from the results of Andrews–Schilling–Warnaar.
Deformations of Hypersurfaces with Nonconstant Alexander Polynomial
Authors: Kloosterman Remke
Published: August 2022

Let $X \subset \mathbf {P}^n$ be an irreducible hypersurface of degree $d\geq 3$ with only isolated semi-weighted homogeneous singularities, such that $\exp (\frac {2\pi i}{k})$ is a zero of its Alexander polynomial. Then we show that the equianalytic deformation space of $X$ is not $T$-smooth except for a finite list of triples $(n,d,k)$. This result captures the very classical examples by B. Segre of families of degree $6m$ plane curves with $6m^2$, $7m^2$, $8m^2$, and $9m^2$ cusps, where $m\geq 3$. Moreover, we argue that many of the hypersurfaces with nontrivial Alexander polynomial are limits of constructions of hypersurfaces with not $T$-smooth deformation spaces. In many instances, this description can be used to find candidates for Alexander-equivalent Zariski pairs.
Changing Epidemiology of Varicella Outbreaks in the United States During the Varicella Vaccination Program, 1995–2019
Authors: Leung Jessica , Lopez Adriana S , Marin Mona
Published: August 2022

We describe the changing epidemiology of varicella outbreaks informed by past and current active and passive surveillance in the United States by reviewing data published during 1995–2015 and analyzing new data from 2016 to 2019. Varicella outbreaks were defined as ≥5 varicella cases within 1 setting and ≥1 incubation period. During the 1-dose varicella vaccination program (1995‒2006), the number of varicella outbreaks declined by 80% (2003–2006 vs 1995–1998) in 1 active surveillance area where vaccination coverage reached 90.5% in 2006. During the 2-dose program, in 7 states with consistent reporting to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of outbreaks declined by 82% (2016–2019 vs 2005–2006). Over the entire program (1995–2019), outbreak size and duration declined from a median of 15 cases/outbreak and 45 days duration to 7 cases and 30 days duration. The proportion of outbreaks with <10 cases increased from 28% to 73%. During 2016‒2019, most (79%) outbreak cases occurred among unvaccinated or partially vaccinated persons eligible for second-dose vaccination, highlighting the potential for further varicella control.
The Impact of Universal Varicella Vaccination on Herpes Zoster Incidence in the United States: Comparison of Birth Cohorts Preceding and Following Varicella Vaccination Program Launch
Authors: Leung Jessica , Dooling Kathleen , Marin Mona , Anderson Tara C , Harpaz Rafael
Published: August 2022

When the US varicella vaccination program was introduced in 1995, its impacts on the epidemiology of herpes zoster (HZ) were not precisely known. We used a large claims database to examine HZ incidence in the US during 1998–2019 among persons aged ≥30 years (the prevaccine cohort, born before 1990), and aged 1–29 years (includes the postvaccine cohort, born since 1990). We defined incident HZ as the first instance of an outpatient or emergency department (ED) claim with an HZ diagnostic code. Additionally, we examined the proportion of HZ visits among all ED visits as a complementary method to assess for healthcare-seeking artifacts in the findings. In persons aged ≥30 years (prevaccine cohort), we observed age-specific increases in HZ incidence during the earlier study years, with decelerations in later years, starting in 2007 with oldest age groups. Similar patterns were seen when we examined HZ visits as a proportion of all ED visits. For persons aged 1–29 years, age-specific HZ incidence increased early in the study period for the oldest age groups who were born prevaccine, but later declined in a stepwise pattern once each age group was comprised of persons born in the postvaccine period. Our results, corroborated with previously published studies, do not support prior modeling predictions that the varicella vaccination program would increase HZ incidence among adult cohorts who previously experienced varicella. Our findings also suggest that continued declines in age-specific HZ incidence as varicella-vaccinated cohorts age are likely.
Merck/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Varicella Vaccine Pregnancy Registry: 19-Year Summary of Data From Inception Through Closure, 1995–2013
Authors: Willis English D , Marko Ann M , Rasmussen Sonja A , McGee Maureen , Broder Karen R , Marin Mona
Published: August 2022

Background

The VARIVAX® Pregnancy Registry was established in 1995 to monitor pregnancy outcomes of women who received varicella vaccine (ie, VARIVAX) inadvertently while pregnant.

Methods

Health care providers and consumers sent voluntary reports about women who received VARIVAX 3 months before or during pregnancy. Follow-up occurred to evaluate pregnancy outcomes for birth defects. Outcomes from prospectively reported pregnancy exposures (ie, reports received before the outcome of the pregnancy was known) among varicella-zoster virus (VZV)-seronegative women were used to calculate rates and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

From 17 March 1995 through 16 October 2013, 1601 women were enrolled—966 prospectively—among whom there were 819 live births. Among 164 infants born to women who were VZV seronegative at the time of vaccination, no cases of congenital varicella syndrome (CVS) were identified (rate, 0 per 100, 95% CI, 0.0–2.2) and the birth prevalence of major birth defects was 4.3 per 100 liveborn infants (95% CI 1.7–8.6) with no pattern suggestive of CVS. No defects consistent with CVS were identified in any registry reports.

Conclusions

Data collected through the VARIVAX pregnancy registry do not support a relationship between the occurrence of CVS or major birth defects and varicella vaccine exposure during pregnancy, although the small numbers of exposures cannot rule out a low risk. VARIVAX remains contraindicated during pregnancy.
Introduction: The Bauhaus Centennial and Design History
Authors: Aynsley Jeremy , Cleven Esther
Published: August 2022

The Bauhaus is possibly the most famous school of art, design, and architecture of the first half of the twentieth century. It holds an enduring reputation as one of the most influential sources for the origins of modern design. In response to the centenary of its foundation in 1919, this special issue offers critical perspectives on the school’s reputation from a range of international scholars. The Introduction reviews selected events and publications planned to coincide with the Bauhaus 100 anniversary year in order to place them in relation to broader developments within design history. The three articles consider how the identities, reputation, and legacies of the Bauhaus were constructed, both at the time of its existence and in the years following its closure. As a further record of the impact of this centenary, we include a Selected Bibliography drawn from the international attention given to the Bauhaus in its anniversary year, as well as Book Reviews devoted to some of the most significant publications from 2019.
On CAR-Ts, decentralized in-house models, and the hospital exception. Routes for sustainable access to innovative therapies
Authors: Arnaudo Luca
Published: August 2022

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells, or CAR-Ts, are a novel class of gene and cell ‘one-shot’ therapies based upon collecting, reprogramming, and using patients’ own immune cells to treat their cancer. The article discusses the status, prospects, and some relevant legal issues of this frontier of personalized medicine. In particular, it explores the legitimacy of ‘in-house’ CAR-Ts, ie treatments manufactured and delivered to patients within the same clinical center by relying upon automated cell processing systems, a decentralized model which is very different from the one currently adopted for manufacturing existing commercial CAR-Ts. A few legal routes are envisioned for legitimately developing CAR-Ts within decentralized, non-commercial operational sets. In more detail, the article explores, firstly, the issue of ‘academic’ CAR-Ts (ie therapies developed and administered to patients as experimental drugs). A focus is then provided on what is known as the ‘hospital exception’ (HE), a special feature of current EU pharmaceutical regulation for non-routine preparations of custom-made advanced therapy medicinal products. Conclusions support a regulatory convergence on shared models of decentralized manufacturing, also through a broader and clearer application of the HE, to enhance a virtuous complementarity between in-house autologous and commercial allogeneic CAR-Ts, for the benefit of patients, pharmaceutical R&D, and sustainable healthcare systems.