Artificial intelligence as a legal category: doctrinal approach to formulating a definition

Objective: to conduct a critical analysis of the existing definitions of artificial intelligence and develop an authors’ version of the concept acceptable for legal sciences.Methods: the methodological basis of the study is a set of scientific cognition methods, including abstract-logical method, comparison and correlation analysis.Results: the main regularities of decision-making by artificial intelligence are identified; the mechanism of its perception of objective reality is determined; the fundamental ability of machine learning to conform its behavior to socially acceptable processes is confirmed. It is assumed that there are many ways to describe artificial intelligence: by indicating the action mechanism, the basic operation principles, the range of tasks to be solved, etc. However, the most convincing and consistent is position of those researchers who tend to describe the AI phenomenon by designating its properties and characteristics. The authors state that there is no definition of “artificial intelligence” in the modern legal doctrine. As a result of a comprehensive analysis of various scientific sources in a systematic unity with own judgments, it is proposed to introduce the author’s version of the “artificial intelligence” concept into scientific circulation.Scientific novelty: the paper presents an assessment of the “artificial intelligence” concept definitions available in the scientific literature and legal framework, as well as the authors’ opinion on their relevance, comprehensiveness and topicality; there is an attempt to formulate the definition taking into account all the significant properties of artificial intelligence.Practical significance: is due to the current impossibility to apply legal norms and rules to relations involving artificial intelligence taking into account their specifics. The main provisions and conclusions of the study can be used to improve the mechanisms of legal regulation of artificial intelligence in the Russian Federation

Полиморфизмы STAT4 rs7574865 G/T и IRF5 rs2004640 G/T как маркеры предрасположенности к ювенильному идиопатическому артриту. Что может дать генетика для понимания его гетерогенности?

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a multifactorial immune-mediated inflammatory disease in childhood, the most common type of rheumatic disease in children. It is characterized by the polygenic type of hereditary predisposition.Objective: to study the association of STAT4 rs7574865 G/T and IRF5 rs2004640 G/T polymorphisms with the predisposition to certain JIA subtypes in the Russian pediatric population.Patients and methods. The investigation enrolled 177 patients, including 66 patients diagnosed with JIA and 111 healthy unrelated volunteers (a control group). Of the 66 patients with JIA there were 30 (45%) with oligoarthritis: 20 (67%) with human leukocyte antigen B27(HLA-B27)-positive JIA (that was associated with enthesitis, HLA-B27 positive JIA (JIA-B27), 10 (33%) with anterior uveitis concurrent with antinuclear antibody-positive JIA (JIA-uveitis); 20 (30%) with polyarticular JIA (JIA-poly), seronegative for rheumatoid factor; and 16 (24%) with systemic JIA (JIA-sys). As a control for genotyping STAT4 rs7574865 G/T and IRF5 rs2004640 G/T polymorphisms, the investigators studied 103 and 111 DNA samples from healthy adult volunteers, respectively. STAT4 rs7574865 G/T and IRF5 rs2004640 G/T polymorphisms were investigated using allele-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).Results and discussion. In the oligoarticular JIA group, the frequency of the STAT4 T allele was significantly higher than that in the control group (38.3 and 20.4%, respectively; p=0.004). This allele was also significantly more common in the JIA-B27 (35.0 and 20.4%, respectively; p=0.044) and JIA-uveitis (45.0 and 20.4%, respectively; p=0.021) groups compared with the control one. No significant differences were found in the frequency of the mutant STAT4 T allele between the control group and the JIA-sys and JIA-poly groups. Regression analysis showed that the identification of the STAT4 T allele was associated with the high risk of a predisposition to oligoarticular JIA as a whole (odds ratio, OR 2.43; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23–4.70; p=0.007), as well as to the antinuclear antibody-positive oligoarticular JIA with uveitis (JIA-uveitis): the risk in T allele carriers was 3.2 times higher than that in the control (OR 3.19; 95% CI 1.09–9.06; p= ). A high risk for predisposition was also found in the JIA-B27 subgroup compared with the control (OR 2.10; 95% CI 0.38–4.60; p=0.070). There were no statistical differences in the frequency of genotypes and alleles of the IRF5 rs2004640 G/T polymorphism between the entire group of JIA as a whole and its individual clinical types, as well as the control group.Conclusion. This pilot study confirmed that the STAT4 rs7574865 G/T polymorphism was associated with the risk of oligoarticular JIA, mainly that of JIA-uveitis and JIA-B27.Ювенильный идиопатический артрит (ЮИА) – мультифакторное иммуновоспалительное заболевание детского возраста, самый частый вариант ревматической патологии у детей. Для него характерен полигенный тип наследственной предрасположенности.Целью исследования явилось изучение связи полиморфизмов STAT4 rs7574865 G/T и IRF5 rs2004640 G/T с предрасположенностью к определенным субтипам ЮИА в российской педиатрической популяции.Пациенты и методы. В исследование включено 177 пациентов, в том числе 66 с диагнозом ЮИА, и 111 здоровых неродственных волонтеров (контрольная группа). Из 66 пациентов с ЮИА у 30 (45%) имелся олигоартрит: у 20 (67%) – позитивный по HLA-B27антигену (ЮИА, ассоциированный с энтезитом, HLA-В27-позитивный – ЮИА-В27) и у 10 (33%) – передний увеит в сочетании с позитивностью по антинуклеарному фактору (ЮИА-увеит); у 20 (30%) пациентов выявлен полиартикулярный ЮИА (ЮИА-поли), серонегативный по ревматоидному фактору; у 16 (24%) – системный ЮИА (ЮИА-сис). В качестве контроля для генотипирования STAT4 rs7574865 G/Tи IRF5 rs2004640 G/T-полиморфизмов были исследованы соответственно 103 и 111 образцов ДНК здоровых взрослых волонтеров. Полиморфизмы rs7574865 G/T гена STAT4 и rs2004640 G/T гена IRF5 были изучены с помощью аллель-специфической полимеразной цепной реакции в реальном времени (ПЦР-РВ).Результаты и обсуждение. В группе пациентов с олигоартикулярным вариантом заболевания частота аллеля T STAT4 была достоверно выше, чем в контроле (38,3 и 20,4% соответственно; р=0,004). Встречаемость этого аллеля была также достоверно более высокой в группах ЮИА-В27 (35,0 и 20,4% соответственно; р=0,044) и ЮИА-увеит (45,0 и 20,4% соответственно; р=0,021) по сравнению с контролем. Не обнаружено достоверных различий в частоте мутантного аллеля Т STAT4 между контрольной группой и группами ЮИА-сис и ЮИА-поли. Регрессионный анализ показал, что выявление аллеля T гена STAT4 связано с высоким риском формирования предрасположенности к варианту ЮИА-олигоартрит в целом (отношение шансов, ОШ 2,43; 95% доверительный интервал, ДИ 1,23–4,70; р=0,007), а также к АНФ-позитивному олигоартикулярному ЮИА с увеитом (ЮИА-увеит): у носителей аллеля Т риск был в 3,2 раза выше по сравнению с контролем (ОШ 3,19; 95% ДИ 1,09–9,06; р=0,021). В подгруппе ЮИА-В27 также был обнаружен высокий риск предрасположенности по сравнению с контролем (ОШ 2,10; 95% ДИ 0,38–4,60; р=0,070). Не выявлено статистических различий в частоте генотипов и аллелей полиморфизма rs2004640 G/T гена IRF5 между группой ЮИА в целом и его отдельными клиническими вариантами, а также контрольной группой.Выводы. В настоящем пилотном исследовании подтверждена ассоциация полиморфизма STAT4 rs7574865 G/T с риском развития ЮИА с олигоартикулярным поражением, главным образом для варианта ЮИА-увеит, а также ЮИА-В27

Correlation between emotional-affective disorders and gut microbiota composition in patients with Parkinson's disease

Background: Despite the efforts of scientific community the data available on the correlation between emotional-affective symptoms of Parkinson's disease and changes in microbiome is still scarce. Deeper studies of nonmotor symptoms evident in premotor stages of the disease and the reciprocal influence of microbiota may help to understand the etiology and pathogenesis of PD neurodegeneration better. The aim of the study was to discover the relations between emotional-affective disorders prevalent in PD population and changes in gut microbiota composition. Methods:51 patient diagnosed with PD participated in the study. Every participant's emotional-affective state was examined using Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Taxonomic richness of microbiome was studied using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing, bioinformatics, and statistical analysis. Results: Anxiety and depression are prevalent affective disorders in patients with PD. In our study, most of the subjects demonstrated certain anxiety and depression. Taxonomic diversity of gut microbiota in BP was increasing with the increase in anxiety levels, reaching the maximum in the group with subclinical anxiety, and decreasing in the group with clinically significant anxiety disorder. At the species level, patients with clinically significant anxiety had higher abundance of Clostridium clariflavum compared to the anxiety-free patients. Patients with moderate depression were characterized by the higher prevalence of Christensenella minuta, Clostridium disporicum, and Oscillibacter valericigenes compared to subjects without depression or with mild depression. Conclusion: The data we received in our study allow better understanding of PD pathogenesis

Связана ли микрофлора кишечника с болезнью Паркинсона?

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with a complex pathogenesis. Today more and more studies are focusing on microbiota-gut-brain axis searching the causes of neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory processes.The aim of our study is to determine the relationship between the composition of gut microbiota and clinical manifestations of PD.Materials and methods. We examined 89 patients with a PD diagnosis. Clinical assessment was performed including medical history collection, rating disease stage using Hoehn and Yahr scale. Motor and nonmotor symptoms as well as possible complication were examined using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale. In addition, patients were asked to fill in Parkinson’s Well-Being Map and defecation diary that included Bristol scale. DNA isolation was performed in accordance with the method described. Preparation of libraries and amplicon sequencing of marker variable region V3–V4 of bacterial 16S rRNA genes was performed with MiSeq device (Illumina, USA) according to manufacturer’s standard protocol. Filtering readings by quality and their taxonomic classification were carried out using QIIME version 1.9.0 software. The assessment of statistical differences in abundance of taxonomic units among the groups of patients was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 23.1 software.As a result, we have identified significant differences in the abundance of seven genera among the groups of patients with different forms of the disease. We identified about 40 genera constituting 54.8% of the intestinal microbiota, that had a correlation with the clinical manifestations of the disease. These microorganisms might be involved in the pathogenesis of PD and, thus, require more clinical research in the light of emerging new methods of altering microbiotic composition by correcting dysbiosis to improve disease management and outcome. Болезнь Паркинсона (БП) – это нейродегенеративное заболевание со сложным патогенезом. В поисках причин развития нейродегенеративного и нейровоспалительного процесса все большую роль отводят оси «микробиота – кишечник – мозг».Цель исследования – выявление связи между составом микробиоты кишечника и клиническими проявлениями БП.Материал и методы. Было обследовано 89 пациентов с диагнозом БП. Был учтен анамнез, тяжесть болезни по шкале Хен и Яра, произведена оценка степени проявлений БП с помощью Унифицированной шкалы оценки проявлений БП. Дополнительно пациентами были заполнены карты оценки самочувствия пациента с болезнью Паркинсона (Parkinson’s Well-Being Map). Для оценки консистенции каловых масс использовалась Бристольская шкала. Выделение ДНК проводилось в соответствии с ранее описанной методикой. Подготовка библиотек и ампликонное секвенирование маркерного вариабельного участка V3–V4 бактериальных генов 16S рРНК проводились на приборе MiSeq (Illumina, США) согласно стандартному протоколу производителя. Фильтрация прочтений по баллам качества и их таксономическая классификация проведены с помощью программного обеспечения QIIME версии 1.9.0. Осуществлена оценка α- и β-разнообразия, проанализированы различия в представленности отдельных таксономических единиц между группами пациентов при использовании программного обеспечения IBM SPSS Statistics 23.1.Результаты. Выявлены значимые различия в представленности семи родов между группами пациентов с разными формами заболевания. Всего было идентифицировано около 40 родов, относительная представленность которых в сумме составила 54,8% от общего микробиотического состава кишечника, причем часть родов имели корреляции с клиническими проявлениями заболевания.Заключение. Вероятно, эти микроорганизмы могут являться непосредственными участниками патогенеза БП и требуют более пристального внимания в свете новых тенденций воздействия на организм путем коррекции микробиотического состава кишечника

Systematic Approach to Producing Non-Detachable Connections

The paper proposes a systematic approach to producing non-detachable connections which is based on unified technical solutions in the field of welding, soldering, gluing and other technologies. The given approach includes not only direct execution of the connection but its designing, preparatory operations and also measures carried out after connection producing. The proposed approach is also based on the principles of the required diversity, feedback, hierarchy and decomposition that ensures high efficiency of the developed technical solutions, possibility for setting-up and successful solution of problems in the field of producing non-detachable connections. In order to ensure a successful realization of systematic approach it is proposed to take into account a number of aspects, including the following: systematic and structural aspect that presupposes determination of internal relations and dependences between elements of the given system and it permits to obtain an overview about internal structure (composition) of the investigated system; systematic and functional aspect that presupposes determination of functions, and the system is created for performing these functions; systematic and purposeful aspect that signifies a necessity of scientific determination of system goals and sub-goals, their harmonization between themselves; systematic and resource aspect that presupposes thorough determination of the resources which are required for system performance and solution of various problems with the help of the system; systematic and integration aspect that presupposes to determine a complex of system qualitative properties which ensure its integrity and specificity; systematic and communication aspect that requires determination of external relations of the given system with others that is its relations with the environment; systematic and historical aspect that permits to determine conditions for creation of the investigated system, its past stages, modern state and also possible prospects of development. New connection designs of combined (hybrid) type have been developed on the basis of the systematic approach and the paper presents examples and classification of such connections

<i>STAT4</i> rs7574865 G/T and <i>IRF5</i> rs2004640 G/T polymorphisms as markers of predisposition to juvenile idiopathic arthritis. What can genetics give to understand its heterogeneity?

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a multifactorial immune-mediated inflammatory disease in childhood, the most common type of rheumatic disease in children. It is characterized by the polygenic type of hereditary predisposition.Objective: to study the association of STAT4 rs7574865 G/T and IRF5 rs2004640 G/T polymorphisms with the predisposition to certain JIA subtypes in the Russian pediatric population.Patients and methods. The investigation enrolled 177 patients, including 66 patients diagnosed with JIA and 111 healthy unrelated volunteers (a control group). Of the 66 patients with JIA there were 30 (45%) with oligoarthritis: 20 (67%) with human leukocyte antigen B27(HLA-B27)-positive JIA (that was associated with enthesitis, HLA-B27 positive JIA (JIA-B27), 10 (33%) with anterior uveitis concurrent with antinuclear antibody-positive JIA (JIA-uveitis); 20 (30%) with polyarticular JIA (JIA-poly), seronegative for rheumatoid factor; and 16 (24%) with systemic JIA (JIA-sys). As a control for genotyping STAT4 rs7574865 G/T and IRF5 rs2004640 G/T polymorphisms, the investigators studied 103 and 111 DNA samples from healthy adult volunteers, respectively. STAT4 rs7574865 G/T and IRF5 rs2004640 G/T polymorphisms were investigated using allele-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).Results and discussion. In the oligoarticular JIA group, the frequency of the STAT4 T allele was significantly higher than that in the control group (38.3 and 20.4%, respectively; p=0.004). This allele was also significantly more common in the JIA-B27 (35.0 and 20.4%, respectively; p=0.044) and JIA-uveitis (45.0 and 20.4%, respectively; p=0.021) groups compared with the control one. No significant differences were found in the frequency of the mutant STAT4 T allele between the control group and the JIA-sys and JIA-poly groups. Regression analysis showed that the identification of the STAT4 T allele was associated with the high risk of a predisposition to oligoarticular JIA as a whole (odds ratio, OR 2.43; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23–4.70; p=0.007), as well as to the antinuclear antibody-positive oligoarticular JIA with uveitis (JIA-uveitis): the risk in T allele carriers was 3.2 times higher than that in the control (OR 3.19; 95% CI 1.09–9.06; p= ). A high risk for predisposition was also found in the JIA-B27 subgroup compared with the control (OR 2.10; 95% CI 0.38–4.60; p=0.070). There were no statistical differences in the frequency of genotypes and alleles of the IRF5 rs2004640 G/T polymorphism between the entire group of JIA as a whole and its individual clinical types, as well as the control group.Conclusion. This pilot study confirmed that the STAT4 rs7574865 G/T polymorphism was associated with the risk of oligoarticular JIA, mainly that of JIA-uveitis and JIA-B27

Системный подход к изготовлению неразъемных соединений

The paper proposes a systematic approach to producing non-detachable connections which is based on unified technical solutions in the field of welding, soldering, gluing and other technologies. The given approach includes not only direct execution of the connection but its designing, preparatory operations and also measures carried out after connection producing. The proposed approach is also based on the principles of the required diversity, feedback, hierarchy and decomposition that ensures high efficiency of the developed technical solutions, possibility for setting-up and successful solution of problems in the field of producing non-detachable connections. In order to ensure a successful realization of systematic approach it is proposed to take into account a number of aspects, including the following: systematic and structural aspect that presupposes determination of internal relations and dependences between elements of the given system and it permits to obtain an overview about internal structure (composition) of the investigated system; systematic and functional aspect that presupposes determination of functions, and the system is created for performing these functions; systematic and purposeful aspect that signifies a necessity of scientific determination of system goals and sub-goals, their harmonization between themselves; systematic and resource aspect that presupposes thorough determination of the resources which are required for system performance and solution of various problems with the help of the system; systematic and integration aspect that presupposes to determine a complex of system qualitative properties which ensure its integrity and specificity; systematic and communication aspect that requires determination of external relations of the given system with others that is its relations with the environment; systematic and historical aspect that permits to determine conditions for creation of the investigated system, its past stages, modern state and also possible prospects of development. New connection designs of combined (hybrid) type have been developed on the basis of the systematic approach and the paper presents examples and classification of such connections.Предложен системный подход к изготовлению неразъемных соединений, основанный на объединении технических решений в области сварки, пайки, склеивания и других технологий, который включает в себя не только непосредственное выполнение соединения, но и его конструирование, подготовительные операции, а также мероприятия после образования соединения. Подход основан на принципах необходимого разнообразия, обратной связи, иерархичности и декомпозиции, что обеспечивает высокую эффективность разрабатываемых технических решений, возможность постановки и успешного разрешения проблем в области создания неразъемных соединений. Для успешной реализации системного подхода предлагается учитывать ряд аспектов: системно-структурный, заключающийся в выяснении внутренних связей и зависимостей между элементами данной системы, что позволяет получить представление о внутренней организации (строении) исследуемой системы; системно-функциональный, предполагающий выявление функций, для выполнения которых создается система; системно-целевой, означающий необходимость научного определения целей и подцелей системы, их взаимной увязки между собой; системно-ресурсный, который заключается в тщательном выявлении ресурсов, требующихся для функционирования системы и решения системой той или иной проблемы; системно-интеграционный, состоящий в определении совокупности качественных свойств системы, обеспечивающих ее целостность и особенность; системно-коммуникационный, требующий выявления внешних связей данной системы с другими, т. е. ее связей с окружающей средой; системно-исторический, позволяющий выяснить условия возникновения исследуемой системы, пройденные ею этапы, современное состояние, а также возможные перспективы развития. На базе системного подхода разработаны новые конструкции соединений смешанного (гибридного) типа, приведены примеры и классификация таких соединений