bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Achieving Algorithmic Transparency and Managing Risks of Data Security when Making Decisions without Human Interference: Legal Approaches
Authors: Zharova A. K. 
Published: December 2023

Objective: to compare modern approaches in law to the use of program codes and algorithms in decision-making that meet the principles of transparency and openness, as well as the increasingly stringent requirements for ensuring the security of personal and other big data obtained and processed algorithmically.Methods: the main methods for researching the principle of transparency in algorithmic decision-making were formal-legal and comparative analysis of legal acts and international standards of information security, as well as the principles and legal constructions contained in them.Results: it was determined that the development of information security standardization, inclusion in legal acts of requirements for the development of information technologies that comply with the principles of transparency and openness of applied algorithms will minimize the risks associated with the unlawful processing of users' big data and obtaining information about their privacy. Proposals were identified, related to the implementation of algorithmic transparency in the field of data processing legal regulation. Recommendations were formulated, based on which the legislator can solve the problem of ensuring the openness of the logic of information technology algorithms with regard to modern standards of information security.Scientific novelty: it consists in the substantiation of new trends and relevant legal approaches, which allow revealing the logic of data processing by digital and information technologies, based on the characterization of European standards of the “privacy by design” concept in new digital and information technologies of decision-making and data protection, as well as on the new legal requirements for artificial intelligence systems, including the requirement to ensure algorithmic transparency, and criteria for personal data and users' big data processing. This said, data protection is understood as a system of legal, technical and organizational principles aimed at ensuring personal data confidentiality.Practical significance: it is due to the need to study the best Russian and international practices in protecting the privacy of users of digital and information technologies, as well as the need for legislative provision of requirements for the use of algorithms that meet the principles of transparency and openness of personal data processing, taking into account the need to ensure confidentiality at all stages of the life cycle of their processing, which will ensure the continuity of security management.
Legal Nature of Smart Contracts: Contract or Program Code?
Authors: Varbanova G. 
Published: December 2023

Objective: due to the rapid technological changes, digital economy and contractual relations determine law transformation and legislation development towards adaptation to prospective spreading and application of smart contracts in civil and commercial turnover. In this regard, the study focuses on determining the legal essence of smart contracts as a fundamental step towards the development of their timely and clear regulation.Methods: the research is based on the methodology of formal-legal and comparative legal analysis. It compares the current Bulgarian legislation with supranational legal sources and identifies the characteristic features of smart contracts as demanded instruments necessary for modern law and economy. The article also compares them with the classical understanding of contracts, making it possible to understand and define the nature of smart contracts more accurately.Results: it was determined that a smart contract is a software code in which the parties predetermine conditions under which the contractual relationship between them is created, modified and terminated. The research proved that the contract execution does not depend on the action or inaction of its parties, but rather on the occurrence of a predetermined condition (a certain fact relevant to the parties) under which the contract must self-execute. It was substantiated that the will of the parties cannot be changed or replaced because of the special way in which the smart contract is recorded in a distributed ledger. It is found that the fundamental problem of transferring the will from the legal language to the program code of the smart contract persists: if the will of the parties is incorrectly transferred to the program code, the smart contract may self-execute, but its execution will not be the result that the parties counted on.Scientific novelty: the analysis made it possible to compare the current national (Bulgarian) legislation and supranational (European) law. It revealed the vagueness of smart contracts regulation, both at the national and international level, and identified a number of issues in need of scientific and legal interpretation, which refer to the legal nature of smart contracts in view of the self-executing program code concept.Practical significance: the study can serve as a basis for further development of legislation towards its adaptation to the prospects of smart contracts spreading and application in civil and commercial turnover. It also allows an in-depth analysis of the smart contracts practice referring to such unsolved problems as accurate transference of the parties' will to the program code (translation of specific terms from the legal language into the smart contract program code), electronic identification of subjects - parties to the transaction and many other issues.
Smart Contracts and International Trade: European Legal Strategies for Managing Challenges
Authors: Lamappulage Donn Th. D. 
Published: December 2023

Objective: the automation inherent in smart contracts makes them an attractive tool for global trade applications, especially for the automation of transactions. The prospects foreseeable will significantly impact international economic relations and the transformation of international trade rules. This fact determines the study objective - to identify the possibilities of transforming the said rules and the political and legal strategies adopted by European countries to implement smart contracts in international trade.Methods: the study, devoted to the current international trade regulation in the context of contracts digitalization and spread of smart contracts, uses a combination of formal-legal and comparative-legal methods. They allow researching the international trade rules, analyzing and comparing the UK and the EU political and legal positions on the smart contracts introduction in international trade, as well as predicting the legal consequences of using smart contracts in international trade.Results: the research shows that the proliferation of smart contracts has significant implications for international trade and its regulation. Smart contracts have numerous advantages, such as increased efficiency, reduced costs, and wide availability. However, they may lead to legal challenges when harmonizing traditional legal principles with the digital environment, in particular concerning the authentication of subjects, enforceability under specific circumstances of a case, and jurisdictional issues.Scientific novelty: the current literature on the transformation of international trade regulation in the context of digitalization processes and the spread of smart contracts is complemented by the results of a comparative analysis of the legal positions existing in the European legal space and developed on the basis of problems, lessons and achievements in the smart contracts implementation in international trade.Practical significance: understanding the legal implications of smart contracts is important for businesses involved in international trade. The study provides insights into the UK and the EU legal positions from which guidance can be provided to companies navigating the digital landscape. Policymakers can also benefit from the findings when developing appropriate legal acts to balance the benefits of smart contracts with the need for legal certainty and protection in international trade.
Digital Transformations of the South African Legal Landscape
Authors: Mokofe W. M. 
Published: December 2023

Objective: South Africa is a country with great potential for intensive development due to the active growth and adoption of digital technologies. The rapidly emerging digital landscape is transforming the legal framework, which in turn influences the digital environment. This transformative relationship determined the focus of the research, which is to identify the legal system adaptability under dynamic changes, as well as the legal landscape evolution under digitalization and technological progress.Methods: the study of the changing legal landscape required an interdisciplinary approach that combines legal analysis with ideas from sociology, economics, etc. In doing so, the formal-legal method was used to examine the key legal instruments shaping South Africa's digital environment and providing the opportunities and challenges of the interaction between digital technologies and South African law.Results: the paper provides insights into how the South African legal system is addressing digital challenges; assesses the integration of digital innovations into the legal system; highlights the transformative impact of digital technologies on traditional legal processes, including collecting evidence, dispute resolution and access to justice. Finally, it evaluates the role of digital technologies in making legal processes more efficient.Scientific novelty: the study contributes to the ongoing debate on the complex relationship between digital technologies and South African law. It shows how South African law is coping with digital complexities and substantiates new insights into the transformation of the traditional legal paradigm as a result of digitalization, as well as its implications for legal proceedings and access to justice. By delving into the adaptations, challenges and innovations arising at the intersection of law, technologies and digitalization, insights are gained into how South African law navigates the dynamic digital landscape.Practical significance: adapting the legal landscape to digitalization and technological advances is critical to ensure rapid technological progress. It also requires collaboration between government agencies, civil society, experts in law and technology. The study provides valuable recommendations and suggestions for policymakers, legal practitioners and stakeholders shaping South Africa's legal ecosystem. The author addresses the challenges of ensuring personal data privacy, enhancing electronic interactions, and countering cybercrime. The importance of introducing technological achievements while maintaining robust legal safeguards is emphasized.
Effectiveness of the Administration of Justice in Nigeria Under the Development of Digital Technologies
Authors: Aidonojie P. A. , Wakili S. A. , Ayuba D. 
Published: December 2023

Objective: the traditional Nigerian judicial system has long been associated with a conservative approach and traditional methodologies of justice administration. As a developing country, Nigeria has benefited immensely from the advancement of digital technology, especially in the legal field. This is due to the fact that modern digital technologies are being rapidly adopted in Nigeria's judicial processes for effective justice administration. However, despite the promise of digital technology, there are legal and socioeconomic challenges in Nigeria that may affect its successful utilization in legal proceedings. This justifies the focus of the study - to identify the legal and socio-economic challenges of digitalization of court proceedings in Nigeria.Methods: the study combines doctrinal and non-doctrinal approaches. The former ensures theoretical understanding of the conceptual issues and prospects of court proceedings virtualization. It also allows exploring, based on primary and secondary sources (laws, monographs, research articles and internet resources), the legal and socio-economic challenges of the use of digital technologies in court proceedings. The non-doctrinal approach consists in polling, describing and analyzing the results of a sociological survey. The survey was conducted among Nigeria residents to reveal their attitudes towards innovations in digitalization and virtualization of court proceedings as well as the challenges posed by these processes.Results: the study revealed that the use of digital technologies in court proceedings in Nigeria has several prospects of ensuring effective justice administration and accurate recording and storage of information. Along with the benefits, challenges are shown that may reduce the effectiveness of court proceedings digitalization.Scientific novelty: consists in investigating the use of digital technology in Nigerian court proceedings and identifying the prospects of improving the efficiency of justice administration in Nigeria under digitalization, as well as the challenges arising from this trend.Practical significance: the study will enable stakeholders in the Nigerian legal sector to identify legal and socio-economic challenges that may adversely affect and render ineffective the use of digital technologies in legal proceedings. In addition, the article offers practical recommendations to address these challenges.
WITHDRAWN: Risk assessment of cigarette butts and microplastic pollution in a drinking and irrigation water basin of West Anatolia, Türkiye
Authors: ERTAŞ Alperen , GÖKÇE Burak , KIZILKAYA İnci TÜNEY 
Published: December 2023

Abstract

Cigarette butts (CBs) and Microplastics (MPs) have serious harmful effects on the environment and living organisms despite their small size. This research aims to investigate the abundance and pollution status of CBs and MPs in Tahtalı Dam Basin (West Anatolia, Türkiye). Main tributaries of the basin are Balaban Lake and Balaban Stream, which are the most important drinking and irrigation water resources of the basin. CBs and MPs sampling were made from the coastal sediment of Balaban Lake and riverbank of Balaban Stream. Clean Environment Index (CEI) and Cigarette Butt Pollution Index (CBPI) were used to determine pollution degree of the basin. MP particles were examined both visually and spectrophotometrically. While the total number of CBs were 1.478 items, the total number of MPs were 477 items/m2 in the basin. As a result of this study, MP particles weren’t found in Balaban Stream. Highest number of MP particles observed in 100–250 µm (45%) size class. The most abundant MP type and colour were, fragment (54%) and white (42%), respectively. Polyethylene terephthalate (50%) was the most abundant type of polymer according to the ATR- FTIR analysis. As a result of the CEI and CBPI, the upstream stations of the stream were classified as “clean” status, while downstream sampling points of the stream and Balaban Lake coasts were classified as “extremely dirty” status.
CUPiD: A cfDNA methylation-based tissue-of-origin classifier for Cancers of Unknown Primary
Authors: Rothwell Dominic , Conway Alicia-Marie , Pearce Simon , Clipson Alexandra , Hill Steven , Chemi Francesca , Slane-Tan Daniel , Ferdous Saba , Hoss A S Md Mukarram , Kamieniecka Katarzyna , White Daniel , Mitchell Claire , Kerr Alastair , Krebs Matthew , Brady Ged , Dive Caroline , Cook Natalie 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Cancers of Unknown Primary (CUP) remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge due to biological heterogeneity and poor responses to standard chemotherapy. Predicting tissue-of-origin (TOO) molecularly could help refine this diagnosis, with tissue acquisition barriers mitigated via liquid biopsies. However, TOO liquid biopsies have yet to be explored in CUP cohorts. Using publicly available DNA methylation data, we developed a machine learning classifier termed CUPiD with accurate TOO predictions across 29 tumour classes. We tested CUPiD on 143 cfDNA samples from patients with 13 cancer types alongside 27 non-cancer controls, with overall sensitivity of 84.6% and TOO accuracy of 96.8%. In an additional cohort of 41 patients with CUP CUPiD predictions were made in 32/41 (78.0%) cases, with 88.5% of the predictions clinically consistent with a subsequent or suspected primary tumour diagnosis, when available (23/26 patients). Combining CUPiD with cfDNA mutation data demonstrated potential diagnosis re-classification and/or treatment change in this hard-to-treat cancer group.
All-suture anchor size and drill angle influence load to failure in a porcine model of subpectoral biceps tenodesis, a biomechanical study
Authors: Alt Prisca S. , Marx Christian , Braun Sepp 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Background: Tenodesis of the long head of the biceps tendon is frequently performed in shoulder surgery, and all-suture anchors have become more popular as fixation methods. However, uncertainty still exists regarding the ultimate load to failure of all-suture anchors and the best insertion angle at a cortical humeral insertion point.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the biomechanical characteristics of three types of all-suture anchors frequently used for biceps tenodesis. In addition, the influence of two different insertion angles was observed in a porcine humeri model.
Methods:The ultimate load to failure and failure mode of three types of all-suture anchors applicable for subpectoral biceps tenodesis were evaluated at 90° and 45° insertion angles in 12 fresh-frozen porcine humeri. The anchors were inserted equally alternated in a randomized manner at three different insertion sites along the bicipital groove, and the suture tapes were knotted around a rod for pullout testing. In total, 36 anchors were evaluated in a universal testing machine (Zwick & Roell).
Results: The 2.6 FiberTak shows higher ultimate loads to failure with a 90° insertion angle (944.0 N ± 169.7 N; 537.0 N ± 308.8 N) compared to the 1.9 FiberTak (677.8 N ± 57.7 N; 426.3 N ± 167.0 N, p-value: 0.0080) and 1.6 FiberTak (733.0 N ± 67.6 N; 450.0 N ± 155.8 N, p-value: 0.0018). All anchor types show significantly higher ultimate loads to failure and smaller standard deviations at the 90° insertion angle than at the 45° insertion angle. The major failure mode was anchor pullout. Only the 2.6 FiberTak anchors showed suture breakage as the major failure mode when placed with a 90° insertion angle.
Conclusions: All three all-suture anchors are suitable fixation methods for subpectoral biceps tenodesis. Regarding our data, we recommend 90° as the optimum insertion angle.
Clinical relevance: The influence of anchor size and insertion angle of an all-suture anchor should be known by the surgeon for optimizing ultimate loads to failure and for achieving a secure fixation.
Multiomic characterization, immunological and prognostic potential of SMAD3 in pan-cancer and validation in LIHC
Authors: Zhou Tao , Zhang Dandan , jin Jiejing , Xie Jinyang , Zhu Chao , Wan Rong 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Background：SMAD3, a protein-coding gene, assumes a pivotal role within the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway. Notably, aberrant SMAD3 expression has been linked to various malignancies. Nevertheless, an extensive examination of the comprehensive pan-cancer impact on SMAD3's diagnostic, prognostic, and immunological predictive utility has yet to be undertaken.
Methods： Bioinformatics methods were employed to systematically investigate the potential carcinogenic impact of SMAD3. We extensively harnessed data from authoritative sources, including The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), cBioPortal, Human Protein Atlas (HPA), UALCAN, and various other databases. Our study encompassed a comprehensive analysis of the following aspects: differential SMAD3 expression and its association with prognosis across diverse cancer types, gene mutations, immune cell infiltration, single-cell sequencing analysis, DNA methylation patterns, and drug sensitivity profiles. In vitro experiments were conducted with the primary objective of appraising both the expression profile and the precise functional attributes of SMAD3 within the milieu of Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma (LIHC).
Results：Our findings revealed significant variations in SMAD3 expression between cancerous and adjacent normal tissues. High levels of SMAD3 expression were consistently associated with unfavorable prognoses across multiple cancer types,. Additionally, our analysis of SMAD3 methylation patterns in human cancers unveiled a favorable prognosis linked to elevated DNA methylation levels in pan-cancer. Furthermore, we identified positive associations between SMAD3 expression and RNAm6A methylation-related genes in the majority of cancers. Moreover, SMAD3 expression displayed substantial correlations with immune cell infiltration. Notably, immune checkpoint genes exhibited significant associations with SMAD3 expression across diverse cancers. Single-cell sequencing results elucidated the pan-cancer single-cell expression landscape of SMAD3. Within specific cancer subtypes, SMAD3 expression exhibited a noteworthy positive association with distinctive facets of malignancy. Finally, in our comprehensive analysis of drug sensitivity, we discerned a catalog of prospective therapeutic agents.
Conclusions：In our comprehensive analysis across multiple cancer types, we observed a significant disparity in SMAD3 expression compared to normal tissues, and this These findings suggest that SMAD3 holds promise as both a prognostic biomarker and a therapeutic target against various cancers. Difference displayed a noteworthy association with patient prognosis.
Enhancement of Oxidation of Dimethyl Ether Through Utilization of SnO2 for Immobilization of Pt Catalytic Nanoparticles
Authors: Meng Fan-Xu Meng , Xing Le-Hong , Hao Yun Gui , Shi Xin Ting , Wang Yi Xin , Zhu Zi Rui 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Pt/C+SnO2 nanoparticles catalysts with SnO2 and Vulcan XC-72 carbon black as the mixed support were synthesized by facile and effective ethylene glycol reduction methods, the effect of SnO2 with different contents on the performance of Pt/C+SnO2 catalysts in dimethyl ether electrooxidation and stability were investigated. The catalysts were physically characterized by energy dispersive analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray (EDAX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). The results showed that Pt nanoparticles had a small size distribution. Moreover, Pt nanoparticles and SnO2 units were dispersed uniformly on the surface of carbon support. The results of cyclic voltammetry(CV), chronoamperometry(CP), accelerated potential cycling tests (APCT) and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) exhibited that Pt/C+SnO2 catalysts have higher electrooxidation activity and stability than Pt/C catalyst. SnO2 can adsorb OHads species, the addition of SnO2 could be benefit to improve the adsorption of DME on Pt/C+SnO2 surface and reduce the Pt poisoning effect. When the SnO2 content in the catalyst attained as high as 20 wt.%, the catalyst shows the greatest activity and stability towards DME oxidation. The excess amount of SnO2 might give rise to the cover of the active sites of Pt surface, which obstructed the further dimethyl ether electrooxidation.