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Digital Disease Ecologies: Encounter, Datafication and the Digital Geographies of One Health
Get PDFThis paper examines intersecting digital, disease and more‐than‐human geographies to generate an analytical frame for interrogating how digital technologies configure disease emergence and multispecies health. The proliferation of digital tools in public health has spurred the development of ‘digital health’, a term encompassing the technologies that utilise digital media to manage illness and support well‐being. Meanwhile, the rise of the One Health public health paradigm—and with it the idea that non‐humans, humans and the environment form an interdependent system whose governance should be coordinated to secure positive health outcomes for all—has contributed to new technologies that monitor and manage health across species lines. Despite this ambition, much social scientific analysis has argued that digital health interventions are anthropocentric, only attending to non‐humans insofar as they represent a risk to human health, with less consideration of how digital health technologies can cultivate understanding of and responsiveness to how pathogens, disease vectors, reservoirs and environments in specific contexts are implicated in and impacted by disease emergence. Through the case of Snake Awareness Rescue and Protection App (SARPA), a digital snake translocation and snakebite prevention mobile application in Kerala, India, this paper extends recent geographical ‘digital ecologies’ scholarship's concern for the digitisation of more‐than‐human worlds to digital health technology and disease control. To do this, it proposes the lens of ‘digital disease ecologies’: a way for geographers to analyse how diverse processes of digital encounter and datafication generate situated modes of understanding and acting upon disease. In so doing, it extends digital geographies’ engagement with the more‐than‐human to consider how digitisation is consequential for multispecies health; contributes to health geography efforts to conceptualise how disease ecologies are shaped by the affordances of digital technology; and furthers geographical discussions of convivial human‐non‐human relations to question how digital technologies may facilitate coexistence
Enzymatic Remodelling of Tumour Microenvironment Enhances Anti‐CEACAM5 CAR T‐Cell Efficacy Against Colorectal Cancer
Get PDFChimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T‐cell therapy has shown unprecedented success in haematological cancers but faces challenges in solid tumours. Although carcinoembryonic antigen‐related cell adhesion molecule 5 (CEACAM5) is differentially expressed in many solid tumours, anti‐CEACAM5 CAR T‐cells are ineffective. Here, we have studied the interaction of CEACAM5 targeting primary CAR T‐cells with colorectal cancer (CRC) cells using fluorescence microscopy. We found that CRC cells’ glycocalyx is much thicker than that of the CAR T cell causing delayed activation. Oscillating calcium fluxes, indicative of non‐sustained CAR T cell activation, are observed when CAR T cells interacted with CRC cells, which increased with increasing cell‐seeding time. Significant reduction in cytotoxicity is observed on going from early to longer‐seeded CRC monolayers. Imaging revealed that this effect correlated with a progressive loss of accessible CEACAM5 antigen on the CRC cell surface, possibly due to their sequestration in the intercellular junction, rendering CAR T cell engagement less effective. Local proteolytic treatment with trypsin to disrupt the CRC cell monolayer, using a micropipette, increased CEACAM5 availability, decreased glycocalyx thickness, and restored sustained CAR T cell calcium fluxes. Similar enhanced interaction is observed after treatment of CRC cell monolayer with hyaluronidase, approved for use in humans. Enzymatic treatment significantly enhanced CAR T cell‐mediated cytotoxicity and increased the percentage of TNF‐α–secreting CAR T cells. We observed limited availability of CEACAM5 on human colorectal cancer tissues, whereas treatment with trypsin or hyaluronidase increased accessibility. Our results reveal why CAR T cells targeting CEACAM5 are ineffective and suggest possible routes to improved therapy for CRC
Deep learning assessment of fetal brain maturation on 3D ultrasound volumes in early‐onset fetal growth restriction
Get PDFObjectives: To quantify fetal brain maturation in fetuses with early‐onset fetal growth restriction (FGR) by estimating gestational age (GA) based on the appearance of gyrification and individual brain structures from three‐dimensional (3D) ultrasound volumes using a deep‐learning model trained on optimally developing subjects. The association of altered fetal brain maturation, as a potential marker of cumulative intrauterine stress, with an increased risk of neonatal complications was also explored. Methods: This was a prospective, observational, single‐center cohort study of singleton pregnancies with early‐onset FGR conducted at the University Medical Center Utrecht between June 2022 and June 2024. Early‐onset FGR was defined as an estimated fetal weight (EFW) and/or abdominal circumference below the 10th percentile before 32 weeks' gestation, and brain sparing was defined as an umbilical artery pulsatility index (PI) above the 95th percentile in combination with a middle cerebral artery PI below the 5th percentile or a cerebroplacental ratio (CPR) < 1. Fetal brain maturation was determined using a deep‐learning model, which was trained on data from an optimally developing cohort at GAs of between 18 + 0 and 28 + 6 weeks, collected by the INTERGROWTH‐21st Consortium. Therefore, only fetuses with a GA of < 29.0 weeks at the time of the scan were included in the analysis. Estimation of brain maturation was based on the size and shape of the Sylvian fissure (SF), parieto‐occipital fissure (POF) and calcarine sulcus (CLC), cerebellum (CB) and the combination of all fissures using the whole‐brain ultrasound scan. The mean difference between estimated GA and actual GA (ΔGA) in days was calculated. In a subgroup analysis, ΔGA for brain‐sparing FGR was compared with ΔGA for non‐brain‐sparing FGR. Regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between brain maturation data and potential covariates. Results: The study included 43 growth‐restricted fetuses with high‐quality 3D ultrasound scans (13 of which had brain‐sparing FGR) at a median GA of 27.1 (interquartile range (IQR), 26.1–27.7) weeks. The estimated GA was significantly lower than the actual GA in early‐onset FGR, with ΔGA of –4.6 (IQR, –9.8 to –1.0) days based on the whole scan, ΔGA of –4.9 (IQR, –9.0 to –1.2) days based on the SF, ΔGA of –5.4 (IQR, –7.4 to –1.7) days based on the POF and CLC, and ΔGA of –3.2 (IQR, –6.8 to 0.3) days based on the CB (P < 0001 for all). There was no significant difference in brain maturation between fetuses with brain‐sparing and those with non‐brain‐sparing FGR or between male and female fetuses. The EFW percentile correlated significantly with the degree of delayed maturation (whole‐scan data, r = 0.377; P = 0.013) and contributed to our multivariable model. Socioeconomic status, fetal sex and CPR were not associated with the delay in maturation. Seventeen neonates were born < 32.0 weeks' gestation and admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. The ΔGA was higher in the neonates with perinatal complications, indicating greater delay in brain maturation. Conclusions: Delayed fetal brain maturation in early‐onset FGR has been demonstrated using a 3D ultrasound deep‐learning model. These findings highlight the potential role of 3D ultrasound in the assessment of fetal brain maturation and support the need for continued research into these findings and their long‐term neurodevelopmental consequences in early‐onset FGR. © 2026 The Author(s). Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology
The gendered algorithm: navigating financial inclusion & equity in access to credit
Get PDFArtificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to help solve global problems and be employed “for good”. One area of immense recent investment and interest is the financial technology (“fintech”) sector. Boasting its ability to provide financial services for the underbanked, various startups are developing apps that collect mobile phone data and use machine learning (ML) to provide credit scores – and subsequently, opportunities to access loans – to groups often left out of traditional banking in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).This thesis explores whether ML-based credit assessment tools by fintech companies reinforce or mitigate gender inequitable access to finance in LMICs. I ask: (1) In what ways do the underlying logics, design choices, and management decisions of ML-based credit assessment tools by fintechs embed or challenge gender biases, and how do these choices influence gender equity in access to finance? (2) What benefits and challenges do users experience, and how do these compare between women and men? Feminist and postcolonial theory, as well as Science and Technology Studies (STS), focus on the role of power and maintain that it matters how – and by whom – technologies are designed and managed. These theories prompt my research questions, while also informing my hypotheses and parallel mixed methods approach. My findings reveal that while fintech innovations hold promise, they fall short in addressing gender inequitable access to finance. Algorithmic lending tools are shaped by underlying logics of their developers. Developers and managers do not consider or adequately address how gender shapes access to and use of the technology, nor how gender “blind” algorithms and profit priorities can inadvertently privilege male-coded financial and digital behaviors. Perceptions of fairness by fintechs fail to challenge – and even legitimize – gender inequities in financial access. Both male and female users report positive benefits that the technology facilitates, yet gender differences persist in app access and use. In addition to the empirical contributions, my findings expand existing theories of algorithmic bias and feminist STS
Active Pediatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Fars Province, Iran: Associations With Geographical and Meteorological Determinants—A Retrospective Cross‑Sectional Study
Get PDFBackground and Aims: Pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease influenced by genetic and environmental factors such as sunlight and temperature. This retrospective study investigated the association between meteorological and geographical factors and active pediatric SLE in Fars province, southwest Iran. Method: The residential addresses of pediatric patients with active SLE who were hospitalized at the main referral hospital of southwest Iran in Shiraz City between March 2016 and January 2023 were extracted from their medical records and geographically mapped. The influence of meteorological factors, such as temperature, humidity, evaporation, rainfall, as well as geographical parameters including land cover, slope, and altitude, on active pediatric SLE was evaluated using geographic information system (GIS) analysis. Data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis. Results: This study included 143 pediatric patients with active SLE from 34 out of a total of 8181 city/village areas. There was a significant positive association between urban setting and active pediatric SLE (OR = 75.949, CI = 9.521–605.846) while mean annual rainfall demonstrated a significant negative association (OR = 0.997, CI = 0.994–1.000) in the univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis revealed that urban setting was the only significant factor positively correlated with active pediatric SLE (OR = 56.567, CI = 6.731–745.372). There was no association between other meteorological and environmental factors and active pediatric SLE. Conclusion: This study found that living in urban areas and lower annual rainfall are significant risk factors for active pediatric SLE in Fars province, probably due to increased exposure to pollutants and ultraviolet radiation. While previous studies have linked SLE activity to temperature and humidity, no such associations were observed here, highlighting the need for further research on regional environmental influences on SLE
Extreme Winds on the Emerging Dayside of an Ultrahot Jupiter
Get PDFHigh-resolution spectroscopy provides a unique opportunity to directly probe atmospheric dynamics by resolving Doppler shifts of planetary signals as a function of orbital phase. Using the optical spectrometer the Keck Planet Finder, we carry out a pilot study on high-resolution phase-curve spectra of the ultrahot Jupiter KELT-9 b. We spectrally and temporally resolve its dayside emission from posttransit to preeclipse (orbital phase ϕ = 0.1–0.45). The signal strength and width increase with orbital phase as the dayside rotates into view. The net Doppler shift varies progressively from −13.4 ± 0.6 to −0.4 ± 1.0 km s−1, the extent of which exceeds its rotation velocity of 6.4 ± 0.1 km s−1, providing unambiguous evidence of atmospheric winds. We devise a retrieval framework to fit the full time-series spectra, accounting for the variation of the line profiles due to the rotation and winds. We retrieve a supersonic day-to-night wind speed up to 11.7 ± 0.6 km s−1 on the emerging dayside, representing the most extreme atmospheric winds in hot Jupiters to date. Comparison to 3D circulation models reveals weak atmospheric drag, consistent with relatively efficient heat recirculation, as also supported by space-based phase-curve measurements. Additionally, we retrieve the dayside chemistry (including Fe i, Fe ii, Ti i, Ti ii, Ca i, Ca ii, Mg i, and Si i) and temperature structure, and we place constraints on the nightside thermal profile. Our high-resolution phase-curve spectra and the measured supersonic winds provide excellent benchmarks for extreme physics in circulation models, demonstrating the power of this technique in understanding the climates of hot Jupiters
The Star Chamber as court and courtroom
No full textThis chapter considers early-modern discussions about the name of the court of Star Chamber. These discussions show the wide-ranging intellectual sources of early-modern English legal discourse, and the interaction between the name of the court and contemporary understandings of its nature
The broken moon: lunar semiotics in 'Ancrene Wisse' and 'Pearl'
No full textIn the literature of medieval Christian Europe, the moon often signifies brokenness and limitation. No clearer is this than in two Middle English texts: the prose text Ancrene Wisse and the alliterative poem Pearl, two texts which are rarely studied alongside one another. In both these texts, the moon signifies the changeability of life on earth, the loss or woundedness that is born from such mutability, and devotional deficiency. Such signification is underpinned by scripture, particularly in vital references from the biblical Book of Revelation in both texts. But through the Eucharistic emphases in Pearl, the moon also gestures towards the fullness and stability of communion. Readings of the moon in Ancrene Wisse and Pearl may be further enhanced by touching on a Latin analogue in the recorded visions of Juliana of Cornillon (c. 1192/93 - 1258), another text with Eucharistic devotion at its core
J. M. F. Wright and Newton's method of first and last ratios
No full textWe describe the approach taken by the nineteenth-century Cambridge textbook author J. M. F. Wright to a notoriously difficult part of Newton’s Principia: the method of first and last ratios. Wright suggested an algebraic point of view that, to his mind, would not only remove all prior confusion over the method, but would also serve as a new foundation for calculus as a whole. We examine the details of Wright’s approach, and discuss whether it was as successful as he claimed it to be
Qualification and explanation in the dynamical/geometrical debate
No full textWe consider the distinction between ‘qualified’ and ‘unqualified’ approaches introduced by Read (2020a) in the context of the dynamical/geometrical debate. We show that one fruitful way in which to understand this distinction is in terms of what one takes the kinematically possible models of a given theory to represent; moreover, we show that the qualified/unqualified distinction is applicable not only to the geometrical approach (which is the case considered by Read (2020a)), but also to the dynamical approach. Finally, having made these points, we connect them to other discussions of representation and of explanation in this corner of the literature