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Counting integral points near space curves: a Fourier analytic approach
Get PDFWe establish upper and lower bounds for the number of integral points which lie within a neighbourhood of a smooth nondegenerate curve in R for . These estimates are new for , and we recover an earlier result of J. J. Huang for . However, we do so by using Fourier analytic techniques which, in contrast with the method of Huang, do not require the sharp counting result for planar curves as an input. In particular, we rely on an Arkhipov--Chubarikov--Karatsuba-type oscillatory integral estimate
Witness to harm-holding to account. Improving patient, family and colleague experiences of fitness to practise proceedings:A mixed-methods study
Get PDFIn the United Kingdom, over 2.5 million health and social care professionals are registered by 13 statutory professional regulators. When professional conduct falls below standard, registered professionals may face an investigation into matters such as their conduct, health or competence via fitness to practise processes. Very serious cases are heard in public by an independent adjudication panel. The public, the largest source of concerns, may be asked by the regulator to be cross-examined in a hearing where their evidence may be crucial. Witness cross-examination is known to be distressing in the criminal context, where the victim is questioned about the harm they experienced and how they faced the alleged perpetrator. In fitness to practise, retelling stories could be similarly retraumatising. Our research focuses on the public (and colleagues) who raise concerns, including that they have been harmed by a professional, and examines their experience of engaging with fitness to practise processes
Association of a cleaner-burning stove with blood pressure in adults in rural Malawi
Get PDFBackground Hypertension is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and its association with household air pollution (HAP) in sub-Saharan Africa is understudied. Main objective To investigate the association between blood pressure (BP) and HAP exposure in a population-based cohort in rural Malawi. Materials and methods In the Chikwawa district, the site of a previous randomized controlled trial of a cleaner-burning cookstove intervention (the Cooking and Pneumonia Study or CAPS), we recruited 1,481 randomly selected adults. A subset (∼21%) were from participating households in CAPS. This cross-sectional analysis investigates associations of BP with stove type and, in a sample of participants, with particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm diameter (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO), both measured using 48-hour personal monitoring. Two main types of analysis were conducted: a) assessment of differences in mean systolic BP (SPB) and diastolic BP (DBP) among three groups based on stove use/type and b) assessment of the associations between PM2.5 and CO with mean SBP and DBP; both analyses using multivariable linear regression. Results Of the 1481 participants, 910 provided BP data. There was no difference for either mean SBP or DBP between the CAPS intervention and control groups. However, when comparing all CAPS participants (i.e., those provided cleaner-burning cookstoves by study’s end) to the non-CAPS group, mean SBP was reduced (-3.53 mmHg, 95% CI:-6.54,-0.52), but not DBP (-0.73 mmHg, 95% CI:-2.36,0.90). Of these, 599 participants also had ≥24 hours personal exposure monitoring data. Neither the log mean PM2.5 concentration nor the log mean CO concentration was associated with either SBP or DBP. Discussion In this cross-sectional study in non-pregnant adults to measure both exposure to HAP and blood pressure in sub-Saharan Africa, we found evidence for an association between receiving a cleaner-burning cookstove and reduced SBP, but no evidence for an association between BP and personal exposure to PM2.5 or CO.</p
Decolonizing solidarity
Get PDFThis response aims to develop an understanding of ‘solidarity’ from what I take to be some of the key contributions of D&D. I do this by surveying a selection of “declarations of solidarity” issued from the Global North in the context of Israel's genocide in Gaza. I draw particular attention to Tully's critical reframing of post-war liberal political thought as “neocolonial liberalism”; his use of Edward Said's notion of the “contrapuntal ensemble” of imperialism and resistance; his account of critical dialogue within and across “hegemonic” and “subaltern” traditions, and his emphasis on “always listening to the other side”. In doing so, I hope to highlight the merits of the fundamental premises of the “dialogue tradition of political thought” that this book recovers as a “tradition”.</p
Non-Coding RNAs and Immune Evasion in Human Gamma-Herpesviruses:Viruses
No full textHerpesviruses are DNA viruses that evade the immune response and persist as lifelong infections. Human gamma-herpesviruses Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi’s sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) are oncogenic; they can lead to cancer. Oncogenic viruses are responsible for 10–15% of human cancer development, which can have poor prognoses. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are RNAs that regulate gene expression without encoding proteins, and are being studied for their roles in viral immune evasion, infection, and oncogenesis. ncRNAs are classified by their size, and include long non-coding RNAs, microRNAs, and circular RNAs. EBV and KSHV manipulate host ncRNAs, and encode their own ncRNAs, regulating host processes and immune responses. Viral ncRNAs regulate host functions by post-transcriptionally modifying host RNAs, and by serving as mimics of other host RNAs, promoting immune evasion. ncRNAs in gamma-herpesvirus infection are also important for tumorigenesis, as dampening immune responses via ncRNAs can upregulate pro-tumorigenic pathways. Emerging topics such as RNA modifications, target-directed miRNA degradation, competing endogenous RNA networks, and lncRNA/circRNA–miRNA interactions provide new insights into ncRNA functions. This review compares ncRNAs and the mechanisms of viral immune evasion in EBV and KSHV, while also expanding on recent developments in the roles of ncRNAs in immune evasion, viral infection, and oncogenesis
Speed of life: tuning the ticktock of the segmentation clock
Get PDFAlthough vertebrates share a similar body plan, different vertebrate species can develop at very different rates. In recent years, there has been an increasing appreciation of the fact that protein stability regulates the pace of differentiation. For example, global differences in protein stability may help explain why humans develop more slowly than mice. Mechanisms controlling the stability of particular proteins are also likely to play a role. In keeping with this idea, in this issue of Genes & Development, Meijer and colleagues (doi:10.1101/gad.352909.125) report that cells must keep tight control over the stability of the Notch1 intracellular domain (NICD) to tune developmental timing in the context of human somitogenesis
Extending the duration of endocrine treatment for early breast cancer:patient-level meta-analysis of 12 randomised trials of aromatase inhibitors in 22 031 postmenopausal women already treated with at least 5 years of endocrine therapy
Get PDFBACKGROUND: In postmenopausal women with oestrogen receptor-positive early breast cancer, 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen substantially reduces 15-year recurrence and mortality; aromatase inhibitor treatment (AIT) is even more effective. We assess the effects of further AIT among women recurrence-free after at least 5 years of endocrine therapy.METHODS: We conducted individual patient data meta-analyses of 12 randomised trials, including 22 031 women who had completed at least 5 years of tamoxifen, AIT, or tamoxifen then AIT, comparing subsequent AIT versus no further adjuvant therapy. Primary outcomes were recurrence of invasive breast cancer (local, distant, or new contralateral), breast cancer mortality, mortality from other causes, and all-cause mortality. Intention-to-treat analyses (irrespective of allocation adherence and stratified by age, nodal status, and trial, and censored at death from unrelated causes) yielded event rate ratios (RRs).FINDINGS: Allocation to AIT versus no further treatment reduced recurrence rates by 27% (RR 0·73 [95% CI 0·67-0·80], p<0·0001). This reduction was greater after previous tamoxifen alone than after some previous AIT, and greater in trials of 5 years of AIT versus no further AIT than in trials of 2-3 years of AIT versus no further AIT. After some previous AIT, allocation to 5 further years of AIT (with median 8·1 years [IQR 6·0-10·0] follow-up after trial treatments diverged) reduced both recurrence (RR 0·71 [0·61-0·81], p<0·0001; risk from year 5 to year 15 after diagnosis 11·6% vs 15·2%) and distant recurrence (RR 0·73 [0·61-0·88], p=0·0010; 6·6% vs 8·6%); breast cancer mortality was reduced non-significantly (RR 0·90 [0·70-1·15], p=0·40; 4·4% vs 5·0%). Tumour characteristics had no definite effects on the proportional recurrence reductions from year 5 to year 15, so the absolute recurrence reduction with 10 years vs 5 years AIT was greater for node-positive (risk 16·3% vs 20·1%) than for node-negative disease (9·1% vs 11·8%). Allocation to 5 further years of AIT increased 5-year bone fracture risk (RR 1·35 [1·13-1·61], p=0·0009; 4·6% vs 3·4%). Non-adherence to allocated treatment was widespread (39·0% further AIT vs 37·6% placebo in the placebo-controlled trials).INTERPRETATION: Allocation to 5 further years of AIT reduced subsequent distant recurrence rates by about a quarter despite substantial non-adherence. Longer follow-up would have been needed to help assess directly any effects on mortality.FUNDING: Cancer Research UK and Breast Cancer Research Foundation.</p
Assembling global security law and the politics of scale-making:The Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF)
Get PDFThis article rethinks ‘the global’ by analysing the emergence and growth of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), an informal platform of multilateral counterterrorism co-operation which has been instrumental in the making of post-9/11 global security law and governance. It problematises and empirically analyses how global scale is enacted through the socio-material practices of translation and assemblage that have been deployed in the construction, maintenance and extension of the GCTF governance network. Drawing from interviews with policy experts and GCTF members, and from participant-observation in GCTF and UN events, the article contributes to the theme of the Special Issue and wider legal debates about the spatiotemporal dynamics of global law and governance by critically analysing how global scale is fabricated in practice and unpacking the politics of GCTF’s global scale-making processes. Focusing on specific techniques and norm-creation processes of the GCTF, like watch-listing toolkits and ‘good-practice’ documents on foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) and countering violent extremism (CVE), the article analyses how translation, problematisation and enrolment practices have assembled the GCTF as an ‘apolitical’ global security governance body. Our approach opens novel possibilities for socio-legal research on the politics of scale-making and critiquing global security power in action through empirical attention to its assemblage practices
Methods for improving the identification of acute stroke during ambulance calls: A scoping review
Get PDFBackgroundAccurately identifying strokes during ambulance calls remains challenging, leading to low diagnostic accuracy and delays in dispatching appropriate services. Limited evidence exists regarding methods for improving call handlers’ stroke recognition. This scoping review explores methods for enhancing stroke identification during emergency calls in ambulance control centres (ACCs).MethodsWe conducted a scoping review following the methodology of the Joanna Briggs Institute and adhered to PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A systematic search was performed across five databases: Embase, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and CINAHL, also grey literature sources, covering publications from January 1964 to July 2024. We included studies that examined methods to improve stroke identification during emergency calls in ACCs. To assess the effectiveness of these methods, eligible studies must evaluate at least one of the following outcomes: accuracy of stroke diagnosis, time to diagnosis, effectiveness of staff training, and acceptability of identification techniques. Two reviewers independently screened the studies, extracted the data, and conducted an inductive thematic analysis to identify common themes.ResultsOf the 3,619 studies identified, seven met the inclusion criteria. Included studies focused on technology and algorithms (n = 3), training and educational programs (n = 2), and improved triage tools (n = 2) to enhance stroke identification during emergency calls to ACCs. Studies on technology and algorithms have reported increased stroke identification sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) when using new algorithms compared to standard protocols. Training programs have led to improved dispatcher sensitivity in stroke recognition. Improved triage tools also reduce time-to-diagnosis and facilitate quicker emergency responses.ConclusionThis review highlights several methods for improving stroke identification in ACCs. Despite improvements in PPV, sensitivity, and diagnosis time, the lack of generalised standards, single-centre studies, and various population characteristics hinder broader impact. Future research should prioritise well-designed studies with standardised benchmarks to determine effectiveness, enabling effective prehospital stroke identification strategies.<br/
Legal challenges in tackling AI-generated child sexual abuse material within the USA - REPORT
Get PDFThis report critically reviews the regulatory context of the USA on the topic of accountability around child sexual abuse material (CSAM) created via generative Artificial Intelligence (gen-AI) on a federal and state level. Federal CSAM statutes, together with case law, criminalise several categories of harmful material. Still, a significant number of vague points persist. Federal laws are relatively robust, but there is a gap with regards to the criminalisation of artificial CSAM that depicts purely fictitious children. Civil remedies, although significant, are limited in scope. Copyright and consumer protection laws offer some avenues for redress, but they are also limited. Prosecutors typically require concrete evidence to prosecute, such as incriminating communication or attempts to sell or trade material. These are often hard to obtain. This challenge is increased by more advanced AI models that generate hyper-realistic CSAM without training on authentic abuse imagery. This means that even if we start regulating how AI models are trained, these advanced AI models that can create realistic CSAM without the need for training will be evading regulation.Drawing on copyright law, platforms and developers can be held liable if they knowingly contribute to the sharing of harmful content. However, online platforms are protected from civil liability for user-generated content, complicating efforts to hold them accountable for hosting AI-generated CSAM. Despite efforts to change the law on this, balancing platform liability with the protection of free speech is a major challenge. The legal landscape is even more fragmented on a state level due to several outdated pieces of legislation, which fail to address newer forms of technology-facilitated child sexual abuse (TF-CSEA). State-level civil remedies are often inadequate, leaving gaps in accountability for users, developers, distributors and third-party beneficiaries
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