University of Toronto: Journal Publishing Services
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When Algorithms Meet Anesthesia: A New Era of Patient Safety
No full textDespite advancements in anesthesia techniques and equipment, anesthesia-related complications continue to occur, often due to human errors and the limitations of current tools. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into anesthesia presents a transformative opportunity to enhance patient safety and improve outcomes throughout the perioperative journey. By leveraging machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), AI can analyze vast datasets to detect subtle patterns, predict risks such as difficult intubation or hemodynamic instability, and enable more proactive management. Furthermore, AI-driven systems have the potential to optimize anesthetic control, reducing variability and enhancing precision. In the postoperative phase, AI can improve personalized pain management and monitoring, further enhancing recovery and patient satisfaction. However, challenges such as data privacy concerns, lack of opacity, and the potential erosion of human interaction in care must be carefully addressed. Ultimately, the future of anesthesiology lies in a synergistic relationship between AI and human expertise – where AI amplifies precision and foresight, while anesthesiologists maintain the empathy and clinical judgment needed to navigate complex patient care
Multi-Modal Deep Learning for Retinal Analysis
No full textWe present an AI-driven diagnostic assistant for retinal disease detection that leverages advanced deep learning and explainability techniques. Our framework combines a Vision Transformer for robust classification with a U-Net for precise segmentation, while Grad-CAM provides interpretable heatmaps and Langchain automates report generation for seamless integration with Electronic Health Records. Experimental results demonstrate that our system reliably detects retinal diseases with high accuracy, reducing diagnostic time and enhancing clinical decision-making. This work offers a transparent, scalable solution for early intervention in retinal care
Tainted Goods: The E. G. Bührle Collection as a Catalyst for Change in Museum Philanthropy
No full textGracing the walls of the David Chipperfield-designed cube at Switzerland’s Kunsthaus Zürich are works by Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet, and other high-profile artists. The collection boasts over 200 masterworks on a 20-year loan to the Kunsthaus from the E. G. Bührle Collection Foundation, valued at over ₣3 billion CHF (approximately $5 billion CAD), with the intent to draw crowds comparable to those at the most famous museums of Paris. With such an impressive and star-studded collection, the Kunsthaus should be an international cultural sensation. The reality, however, is that the museum has garnered attention for all the wrong reasons. The beauty of the collection has been overshadowed by the problematic history of its original owner, Emil Bührle, forcing both the Foundation and the Kunsthaus to reckon with the consequences of accepting such a controversial and high-profile gift. The Kunsthaus as a national museum has the opportunity to become a site of critical remembrance in a country that has only recently come to terms with its complicity in the horrors of WWII. It is up to them to determine whether the Bührle collection can become an anchor point for these difficult conversations, or an anchor that sinks its reputation
Epistemic Stances: Local vs. Global, Reducible vs. Irreducible
No full textThis paper addresses a gap in the scientonomic ontology by clarifying the notion of epistemic stance and articulating two orthogonal distinctions among epistemic stances: global vs. local, and reducible vs. irreducible. The paper first proposes cross-definitions of epistemic stance and epistemic element, completing the definitional loop among the basic scientonomic terms. It then introduces the distinction between global epistemic stances, understood as stances available to all epistemic agents transhistorically, and local epistemic stances, which are historically or agent specific. A second distinction is drawn between stances reducible to more fundamental stances (most notably theory acceptance) and those that are irreducible. These distinctions are illustrated through a classification of familiar scientonomic stances, such as theory acceptance, question acceptance, norm employment, and compatibility, as well as a discussion of such local stances as heresy, dogma, and scientificity. It then examines the conditions under which local epistemic stances become available to agents and deduces the local stance availability theorem, according to which the availability of a local stance depends on the derivability of permissibility or desirability norms from an agent’s mosaic. Finally, the dynamics of taking stances reducible to theory acceptance is explained by means of a theorem deduced from the law of theory acceptance. Several implications for future theoretical and observational scientonomic research are identified
Piedra v Copper Mesa: An Analysis of Stock Exchanges’ Financing of Human Rights and Environmental Violations in the Global South through Perspectives of Climate and Environmental Justice
No full textFiled in 2009 at the Ontario Superior Court, the case of Piedra v Copper Mesa unsuccessfully sought to hold the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) accountable for its alleged complicity in environmental and social injustice. This article examines the impacts and aftermath of this case as well as the glaring gaps in the legal regime governing the duty of Canada’s stock exchanges towards victims of human rights and environmental violations perpetrated by the companies that they list and finance. Rooted in notions of climate, environmental justice, and resistance to racial capitalism, this article examines how the Copper Mesa judgment tacitly endorsed the TSX’s systematic financing of unethical corporate practices abroad and the normative values underlying the Canadian legal system that favour company profits over racialized livelihoods. More broadly, this article argues that the TSX’s lack of accountability is a prerogative granted to stock exchanges across the Western financial market. Band-aid initiatives undertaken by these institutions to preserve their legitimacy in the public eye are not conducive to true corporate accountability for social and environmental integrity regarding their operations in the global South. Finally, a closer look at the lawsuit undertaken by Copper Mesa against the state of Ecuador after the suspension of its mining rights reveals that international law and the global economy fundamentally perpetuate racial capitalism by creating and maintaining North-South power disparities