The ethics of people analytics: risks, opportunities and recommendations

Purpose: This research analyzed the existing academic and grey literature concerning the technologies and practices of people analytics (PA), to understand how ethical considerations are being discussed by researchers, industry experts and practitioners, and to identify gaps, priorities and recommendations for ethical practice. Design/methodology/approach: An iterative “scoping review” method was used to capture and synthesize relevant academic and grey literature. This is suited to emerging areas of innovation where formal research lags behind evidence from professional or technical sources. Findings: Although the grey literature contains a growing stream of publications aimed at helping PA practitioners to “be ethical,” overall, research on ethical issues in PA is still at an early stage. Optimistic and technocentric perspectives dominate the PA discourse, although key themes seen in the wider literature on digital/data ethics are also evident. Risks and recommendations for PA projects concerned transparency and diverse stakeholder inclusion, respecting privacy rights, fair and proportionate use of data, fostering a systemic culture of ethical practice, delivering benefits for employees, including ethical outcomes in business models, ensuring legal compliance and using ethical charters. Research limitations/implications: This research adds to current debates over the future of work and employment in a digitized, algorithm-driven society. Practical implications: The research provides an accessible summary of the risks, opportunities, trade-offs and regulatory issues for PA, as well as a framework for integrating ethical strategies and practices. Originality/value: By using a scoping methodology to surface and analyze diverse literatures, this study fills a gap in existing knowledge on ethical aspects of PA. The findings can inform future academic research, organizations using or considering PA products, professional associations developing relevant guidelines and policymakers adapting regulations. It is also timely, given the increase in digital monitoring of employees working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic

Effect of a moderately hypoenergetic Mediterranean diet and exercise program on body cell mass and cardiovascular risk factors in obese women

Objective: To assess the effects of a moderately hypoenergetic Mediterranean diet (MHMD) and exercise program on body cell mass (BCM) and cardiovascular disease risk factors in obese women. Subjects/Methods: Forty-seven obese women, 39.7 +/- 13.2 years of age, with a body mass index (BMI) 30.7 +/- 6.0 kg/m(2), completed the study. The following were measured at baseline, 2 and 4 months: BCM, BCM index (BCMI), body weight, BMI, fat-free mass (FFM), fat mass (FM), total body water (TBW), extracellular water (ECW) and intracellular water (ICW) using bioelectrical impedance analysis; fasting blood glucose (FBG), serum total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglyceride (TG) concentrations; systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure. Results: Body weight, BMI, FM, TC and TG significantly decreased (P<0.001; P<0.002 (TG)) at 2 and 4 months. FFM, TBW, ECW, FBG and DBP significantly decreased at 2 months (P<0.05 (FFM); P<0.001). LDL-C significantly decreased (P<0.001), while HDL-C significantly increased (P<0.002) at 4 months. BCM, BCMI, ICW and SBP remained stable over time. Conclusion: BCM was preserved and cardiovascular disease risk factors improved in obese women placed on a MHMD and exercise program for 4 months

The IkB kinase inhibitor nuclear factor-kB essential modulator–binding domain peptide for inhibition of balloon injury-induced neointimal formation

Objective—The activation of nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) is a crucial step in the arterial wall’s response to injury. The identification and characterization of the NF-kB essential modulator– binding domain (NBD) peptide, which can block the activation of the IkB kinase complex, have provided an opportunity to selectively abrogate the inflammation-induced activation of NF-kB. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the NBD peptide on neointimal formation.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt; Methods and Results—In the rat carotid artery balloon angioplasty model, local treatment with the NBD peptide (300 microg/site) significantly reduced the number of proliferating cells at day 7 (by 40%; P&#60;0.01) and reduced injury-induced neointimal formation (by 50%; P&#60;0.001) at day 14. These effects were associated with a significant reduction of NF-kB activation and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 expression in the carotid arteries of rats treated with the peptide. In addition, the NBD peptide (0.01 to 1 micromol/L) reduced rat smooth muscle cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Similar results were observed in apolipoprotein E-/-, mice in which the NBD peptide (150 microg/site) reduced wire-induced neointimal formation at day 28 (by 47%; P&#60;0.01).&lt;br&gt;&lt;/br&gt; Conclusion—The NBD peptide reduces neointimal formation and smooth muscle cell proliferation/migration, both effects associated with the inhibition of NF-kB activation

Speeding up TOMAWAC by means of improved numerical methods

Hydrodynamic

Inhibition of in-stent stenosis by oral administration of bindarit in porcine coronary arteries

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Objective:&lt;/b&gt; We have previously demonstrated that bindarit, a selective inhibitor of monocyte chemotactic proteins (MCPs), is effective in reducing neointimal formation in rodent models of vascular injury by reducing smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration and neointimal macrophage content, effects associated with the inhibition of MCP-1/CCL2 production. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of bindarit on in-stent stenosis in the preclinical porcine coronary stent model.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Methods and Results:&lt;/b&gt; One or 2 bare metal stents (Multi-Link Vision, 3.5 mm) were deployed (1:1.2 oversize ratio) in the coronary arteries of 42 pigs (20 bindarit versus 22 controls). Bindarit (50 mg/kg per day) was administered orally from 2 days before stenting until the time of euthanasia at 7 and 28 days. Bindarit caused a significant reduction in neointimal area (39.4%, P&#60;0.001, n=9 group), neointimal thickness (51%, P&#60;0.001), stenosis area (37%, P&#60;0.001), and inflammatory score (40%, P&#60;0.001) compared with control animals, whereas there was no significant difference in the injury score between the 2 groups. Moreover, treatment with bindarit significantly reduced the number of proliferating cells (by 45%, P&#60;0.05; n=6 group) and monocyte/macrophage content (by 55%, P&#60;0.01; n=5–6 group) in stented arteries at day 7 and 28, respectively. These effects were associated with a significant (P&#60;0.05) reduction of MCP-1 plasma levels at day 28. In vitro data showed that bindarit (10–300 micromol/L) reduced tumor necrosis factor-alpha (50 ng/mL)–induced pig coronary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation and inhibited MCP-1 production.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/b&gt; Our results show the efficacy of bindarit in the prevention of porcine in-stent stenosis and support further investigation for clinical application of this compound.&lt;/p&gt

Hydatid disease of the liver: thirty years of surgical experience.

Hydatid disease of the liver is a relatively frequent disease. Although the natural history is almost completely known, several complications may occur. The aim of this study was to show that radical surgical resection of the hepatic hydatid cyst is a safe and very effective technique, based on our results after 30-year experience. A review of most significant studies was carried out. We retrospectively evaluated our surgical cases. From January 1973 to December 2003 we treated 216 patients, 98 males and 118 females. Survival was compared with the Kaplan-Meier test, using log-rank analysis to compare data. Differences with a p value less than 0.05 were considered significant. A total of 279 cysts were excised. We performed pericystectomy in 122 cases, 73 of which closed. We also performed 19 atypical resections, 10 segmentectomies, 20 lobectomies and 2 percutaneous treatments. In more than 90% of cases, preoperative data collection was completed by preoperative ultrasound. The cumulative morbidity was 13%. The recurrence rate amounted to 4.3% at 5 years and 7% at 10 years: of these, 6 occurred after non-radical surgery and 2 after total pericystectomy or liver resection (p < 0.001). Technical advances and accumulated experience permit safe treatment of hepatic hydatid cysts by radical resection, with an almost zero recurrence rate, making it the treatment of choice over partial resection. The utility of percutaneous treatment remains confined to limited indications, such as laparoscopy

Characterization of Strombolian events by using independent component analysis

We apply Independent Component Analysis (ICA) to seismic signals recorded at Stromboli volcano. Firstly, we show how ICA works considering synthetic signals, which are generated by dynamical systems. We prove that Strombolian signals, both tremor and explosions, in the high frequency band (>0.5 Hz), are similar in time domain. This seems to give some insights to the organ pipe model generation for the source of these events. Moreover, we are able to recognize in the tremor signals a low frequency component (<0.5 Hz), with a well defined peak corresponding to 30s

Tunable Short-Term Plasticity Response in Three-Terminal Organic Neuromorphic Devices

Reversibly tunable short-term plasticity (STP) of the channel current in organic neuromorphic devices is demonstrated with a three-terminal architecture. Electrolyte-gated organic transistors - EGOTs - are driven with square voltage pulses at the drain electrodes, while the gate bias enables the modulation of the amplitude and characteristic time scale of the depressive STP spiking response up to 1 order of magnitude. The gate potential sets the baseline and the steady-state current, preluding multilevel memory writing. The fine-tuning of the STP response, which is not possible with two-electrode organic neuromorphic devices, is reversible and does not imply chemical modifications of the active layer