ethicalabs/Research-Intent-Collab huggingface dataset:
Enhancing Detection of Topological Order by Local Error Correction

The exploration of topologically-ordered states of matter is a long-standing goal at the interface of several subfields of the physical sciences. Such states feature intriguing physical properties such as long-range entanglement, emergent gauge fields and non-local correlations, and can aid in realization of scalable fault-tolerant quantum computation. However, these same features also make creation, detection, and characterization of topologically-ordered states particularly challenging. Motivated by recent experimental demonstrations, we introduce a new paradigm for quantifying topological states -- locally error-corrected decoration (LED) -- by combining methods of error correction with ideas of renormalization-group flow. Our approach allows for efficient and robust identification of topological order, and is applicable in the presence of incoherent noise sources, making it particularly suitable for realistic experiments. We demonstrate the power of LED using numerical simulations of the toric code under a variety of perturbations. We subsequently apply it to an experimental realization, providing new insights into a quantum spin liquid created on a Rydberg-atom simulator. Finally, we extend LED to generic topological phases, including those with non-abelian order.
All people are created equal? Racial discrimination and its impact on hospitality career satisfaction

Abstract   Drawing on self-determination theory, this paper investigated the level of racial discrimination in the hospitality industry and examined its effects on hospitality career satisfaction. Based on a sample of 179 hospitality students who were working in the industry, the study showed that racial discrimination is prevalent in the hospitality industry such that people of color suffer from a higher level of discrimination than Whites people. However, there is no difference in racial discrimination among racial/ethnic minority groups. Structural equation modeling results also showed that a high level of racial discrimination results in a lower level of hospitality career satisfaction. Overall, the results suggested that people of color have a lower level of career satisfaction via the mediating roles of racial discrimination and basic needs satisfaction. Results have theoretical and practical implications related to racial discrimination, as well as diversity management and education.
Harnessing digital phenotyping to advance university student mental health (Brightline) in Singapore: study protocol for a prospective observational study

Introduction                   Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety are highly and disproportionally prevalent among university students. Beyond the academic rigour, stressors imposed by a new environment result in them being vulnerable to the onset and manifestation of mental health symptomatology. Leveraging smartphones and wearables for digital phenotyping capabilities is an innovative approach for monitoring and intervening in the mental health conditions of university students. This provides a unique opportunity to collect and identify digital and behavioural biomarkers, subsequently enabling the development of predictive models to identify university students at risk.                                                   Methods and analysis                   This study—Brightline—will employ an observational study design over a 6-month period, recruiting 500 students from a major public university in Singapore. Passive data collection will occur continuously throughout the monitoring period through a wearable device (Fitbit Charge 6) and smartphone sensors via the Brightline app, which uses a digital phenotyping data collection platform. Active data collection will consist of self-report questionnaires to be completed at the beginning of the study and follow-up assessments at 1, 3 and 6 months after. The passive and active data collected will be analysed to identify the digital biomarkers associated with depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness and affect among university students. Predictive models of these mental health issues will also be developed.                                                   Ethics and dissemination                   This study was approved by the Nanyang Technological University Institutional Review Board (IRB-2023-894). Findings from this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at academic conferences.                                                   Trial registration number                                         NCT06770075.
Exploring the potential of citizen science: science transformation through citizen involvement in health, conservation and energy research

The project STEP CHANGE (Science Transformation in EuroPe through Citizens involvement in HeAlth, coNservation and enerGy rEsearch), funded by Horizon 2020 and launched in March 2021, is implementing five citizen science initiatives (CSIs) in the fields of health, energy and environment. The CSIs will tackle the issues of wildlife conservation in Slovenia, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in the UK, energy communities in Germany, infectious disease outbreak preparedness in Italy, and off-grid renewable energy in agriculture in Uganda. The project will bring novelty in citizen science research while contributing to broader science aspects. The overall objective of STEP CHANGE is to explore the potential of citizen science and to formulate recommendations and instruments for better cementing this approach within research and innovation institutions as well as changing researchers' mindsets on the value of CS. The project, which aims to make science more socially robust, inclusive, and democratic, will ensure that research institutes make the most of what citizen science has to offer, whilst also identifying, analysing, and limiting the associated risks. Our presentation includes main features of the project, and provides an overview of the multifaceted methodology STEP CHANGE makes use of to foster alignment of CSIs with local contexts, nurture mutual learning, and encourage self-reflection through the means of participatory evaluation exercises. Hence, the presentation provides details about the CSIs but also about the horizontal activities of the project (scoping exercise, mutual learning and training activities, participatory evaluation, and stocktaking process), which have been designed to increase the relevance, inclusiveness and sustainability of the initiatives. In this respect, we also focus on the three levels of participation of the CSIs (core team members, citizen scientists and other stakeholders), to explain the mechanisms put in place to boost the level of engagement.
Self-supervised Video Representation Learning Using Inter-intra Contrastive Framework

Accepted by ACMMM 2020. Our project page is at https://bestjuly.github.io/Inter-intra-video-contrastive-learning/
AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS: WHAT ARE THE STEPS FOR DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL RIGHTS?

Abstract: This work has focused on some latest cases of the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights. The present work gives an introductory survey of political and electoral rights in the African region. That is, notions that have to do with good governance, the rule of law and the promotion of democracy in African countries. The relative withdrawal from the declaration for access to justice that highlights private individuals as a possible subject together with the non-governmental organizations, i.e. the Afr.CT.HR is now a path that seeks the protection of human rights and democracy. This path seems problematic and difficult, but at the same time it helps the evolution of the protection of human rights.
ColabDock: inverting AlphaFold structure prediction model for protein-protein docking with experimental restraints

Abstract                 Prediction of protein complex structures and interfaces potentially has wide applications and can benefit the study of biological mechanisms involving protein-protein interactions. However, the surface prediction accuracy of traditional docking methods and AlphaFold-Multimer is limited. Here we present ColabDock, a framework that makes use of ColabDesign, but reimplements it for the purpose of restrained complex conformation prediction. With a generation-prediction architecture and trained ranking model, ColabDock outperforms HADDOCK and ClusPro not only in complex structure predictions with simulated residue and surface restraints, but also in those assisted by NMR chemical shift perturbation as well as covalent labeling. It further assists antibody-antigen interface prediction with emulated interface scan restraints, which could be obtained by experiments such as Deep Mutation Scan. ColabDock provides a general approach to integrate sparse interface restraints of different experimental forms and sources into one optimization framework.
Changes in land-use/land-cover patterns in Italy and their implications for biodiversity conservation

Land-use/land-cover change is the most important factor in causing biodiversity loss. The Mediterranean region has been affected by antropic disturbance for thousands of years, and is, nowadays, one of the most significantly altered hotspots in the world. However, in the last years a significant increase in forest cover has been measured. These new patterns are independent from planned conservation strategies and appear to have a substantial impact on landscapes and biodiversity. We used three land-use/land-cover maps (from 1960 to 2000) covering the Italian peninsula to analyze the pattern of land-use/land-cover change. We measured an increase in forests, especially in mountains, an increase in artificial areas, especially in coastal zones, and a decrease in pastures. Intensively cultivated areas showed a limited decrease while extensively cultivated ones showed a marked decrease. In the same period mammal and bird species followed a similar pattern, with forest birds, ungulates and carnivores increasing, and typically Mediterranean species decreasing. We suggest that our results may provide important information, which could be useful for conservation planning in the entire Mediterranean hotspot. We suggest that an increasing conservation effort should be made to protect the Mediterranean-type forests and scrublands, as well as traditional agricultural practices. Moreover, future conservation efforts should consider the broad socio-political and ecological processes that are most likely to occur across the whole hotspot, especially along coastal areas, and the network of protected areas should be functionally integrated in a conservation strategy that includes the human-dominated landscape.
Time–dependent modulation of cosmic rays in the outer heliosphere

The time-dependent modulation of galactic cosmic rays in the heliosphere is studied by computing intensities using a two-dimensional, time-dependent modulation model. The compound approach of Ferreira and Potgieter (2004), which describes changes in the cosmic ray transport coefficients over a solar cycle, is improved by introducing recent theoretical advances in the model. Computed intensities are compared with Voyager 1 and 2, IMP 8 and Ulysses proton observations in search of compatibility. It is shown that this approach gives realistic cosmic ray proton intensities on a global scale at Earth and along both Voyager spacecraft trajectories. The results show that cosmic ray modulation, in particular during the present polarity cycle, is not just determined by changes in the drift coefficient but is also dependent on changes in the diffusion coefficients. Furthermore, a comparison of computations to observations along the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 trajectories illustrates that the heliosphere is asymmetrical. Assuming the latter, E > 70 MeV and 133-242 MeV cosmic ray proton intensities along Voyager 1 and 2 trajectories are predicted from 2012 onwards. It is shown that the computed intensities along Voyager 1 can increase with an almost constant rate since the spacecraft is close to the heliopause. However, the model shows that Voyager 2 is still under the influence of temporal solar activity changes because of the relatively large distance to the heliopause when compared to Voyager 1. Along the Voyager 2 trajectory the intensities should remain generally constant for the next few years and then should start to steadily increase. It is also found that without knowing the exact location of heliopause and transport parameters one cannot conclude anything about local interstellar spectra. The effect of a dynamic inner heliosheath width on cosmic ray modulation is also studied by implementing a time-dependent termination shock position in the model. This does not lead to improved compatibility with spacecraft observations so that a time-dependent termination shock along with a time-dependent heliopause position is required. The variation of the heliopause position over a solar cycle is found to be smaller compared to that of the termination shock. The model predicts the heliopause and termination shock positions along Voyager 1 in 2012 at 119 AU and 88 AU respectively and along Voyager 2 at 100 AU and 84 AU respectively.
Development of mRNA Vaccine Platforms Targeting Spike and Non-Spike SARS-CoV-2 Antigens

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), has continued to circulate globally since its emergence in 2019, leading to recurrent waves of infection and the emergence of multiple variants of concern (VOCs). Successive viral evolution has introduced extensive mutations, particularly in the spike (S) glycoprotein, which remains the primary target of most mRNA vaccine strategies. Early vaccines encoded the ancestral S protein and provided significant protection during the initial pandemic phases. However, as viral evolution progressed, the effectiveness of ancestral formulations declined. Current vaccine strategies rotate full-length S protein constructs adapted to the variant dominant at the time, providing improved but still limited breadth and durability of immune protection. This underscores the need for vaccine approaches that extend beyond the full-length S protein.  T-cell responses play a critical role in controlling viral replication and preventing severe disease by eliminating infected cells and supporting long-term immune memory. Structural proteins such as nucleocapsid (N) and membrane (M) are highly conserved across Sarbecoviruses, abundantly expressed, and are capable of eliciting strong immune responses in prior studies. Incorporating these non-S protein antigens into vaccine designs provides an opportunity to evaluate their role in shaping broader immune responses.  This dissertation focuses on the development of mRNA vaccine platforms encoding both S and non-S protein SARS-CoV-2 antigens. One construct employed a chimeric S protein design, in which the backbone of one variant was combined with the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of another, to explore how such configurations influence immune recognition while maintaining overall structural integrity. Additional constructs included N and M proteins to investigate their potential roles in cellular immunity. These immunogens were encoded in nucleoside-modified mRNA and formulated with lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to enable efficient encapsulation and delivery.  Evaluation in a human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) transgenic mouse model compared these mRNA-LNP vaccines against LNP-only controls, assessing humoral and cellular responses to explore potential for cross-protection. Findings from these studies provide insights into the potential of using both S-based and non-S protein–based antigens within mRNA platforms to broaden immune coverage and inform future vaccine development against current and emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Extracting Family History Information From Electronic Health Records: Natural Language Processing Analysis (Preprint)

BACKGROUND                         The prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment of many genetic disorders and familial diseases significantly improve if the family history (FH) of a patient is known. Such information is often written in the free text of clinical notes.                                                                       OBJECTIVE                         The aim of this study is to develop automated methods that enable access to FH data through natural language processing.                                                                       METHODS                         We performed information extraction by using transformers to extract disease mentions from notes. We also experimented with rule-based methods for extracting family member (FM) information from text and coreference resolution techniques. We evaluated different transfer learning strategies to improve the annotation of diseases. We provided a thorough error analysis of the contributing factors that affect such information extraction systems.                                                                       RESULTS                         Our experiments showed that the combination of domain-adaptive pretraining and intermediate-task pretraining achieved an F1 score of 81.63% for the extraction of diseases and FMs from notes when it was tested on a public shared task data set from the National Natural Language Processing Clinical Challenges (N2C2), providing a statistically significant improvement over the baseline (&lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt;&lt;.001). In comparison, in the 2019 N2C2/Open Health Natural Language Processing Shared Task, the median F1 score of all 17 participating teams was 76.59%.                                                                       CONCLUSIONS                         Our approach, which leverages a state-of-the-art named entity recognition model for disease mention detection coupled with a hybrid method for FM mention detection, achieved an effectiveness that was close to that of the top 3 systems participating in the 2019 N2C2 FH extraction challenge, with only the top system convincingly outperforming our approach in terms of precision.
Humanitarian Intervention as a ‘Responsibility to Protect’: An International Society Approach

This article proposes to explain the post-Cold War practice of humanitarian intervention by drawing on the English School's international society approach. It argues that although the sovereignty versus human rights debate traditionally was framed in dichotomized terms, the post-Cold War practice of humanitarian intervention illustrated the possibility of a via media approach to these competing normative claims. Post-Cold War developments regarding the place of the conventional norms of sovereignty and non-intervention on the one hand and the growing space for the protection of human rights on the other, have eased worries about the prospect for order in the international system and created a suitable environment for including of humanitarian intervention without jeopardizing that order. To contextualize this development, the article will argue that Hedley Bull's discussion of such key terms as the international society, the centrality of states, the importance of norms, and normative change helps explain intervention in today's world. By building on that framework, the article draws attention to the enabling and constraining factors highlighted by the international society approach, and as such, concludes that the English school suggests both promise and caution regarding the prospects for humanitarian intervention in modern international relations. © 2015.
Natural Language Processing in Surgery

Objective:             The aim of this study was to systematically assess the application and potential benefits of natural language processing (NLP) in surgical outcomes research.                                   Summary Background Data:             Widespread implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) has generated a massive patient data source. Traditional methods of data capture, such as billing codes and/or manual review of free-text narratives in EHRs, are highly labor-intensive, costly, subjective, and potentially prone to bias.                                   Methods:             A literature search of PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Embase identified all articles published starting in 2000 that used NLP models to assess perioperative surgical outcomes. Evaluation metrics of NLP systems were assessed by means of pooled analysis and meta-analysis. Qualitative synthesis was carried out to assess the results and risk of bias on outcomes.                                   Results:             The present study included 29 articles, with over half (n = 15) published after 2018. The most common outcome identified using NLP was postoperative complications (n = 14). Compared to traditional non-NLP models, NLP models identified postoperative complications with higher sensitivity [0.92 (0.87–0.95) vs 0.58 (0.33–0.79), P &lt; 0.001]. The specificities were comparable at 0.99 (0.96–1.00) and 0.98 (0.95–0.99), respectively. Using summary of likelihood ratio matrices, traditional non-NLP models have clinical utility for confirming documentation of outcomes/diagnoses, whereas NLP models may be reliably utilized for both confirming and ruling out documentation of outcomes/diagnoses.                                   Conclusions:             NLP usage to extract a range of surgical outcomes, particularly postoperative complications, is accelerating across disciplines and areas of clinical outcomes research. NLP and traditional non-NLP approaches demonstrate similar performance measures, but NLP is superior in ruling out documentation of surgical outcomes.
The African Commission on Human and People's Rights and the future African Court of Justice and Human Rights: Comparative lessons from the European Court of Human Rights

This article focuses on two regional human rights systems — the system that exists in Africa and the mechanism that exists within the Council of Europe. It examines the development and specifics of each system to determine what lessons the African Commission and the future African Court of Justice and Human Rights can learn from the European model and its Court of Human Rights. The article also examines what can be learnt from the role of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the role of the present human rights court: the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of each system and the challenges that exist for each. The article also examines the experience of the European Commission, which is no longer in existence, in addition to European Court on Human Rights, which has taken over the functions of the Commission, to determine what can be drawn from their experiences. Issues examined include the institutional strengths and weaknesses of these...