A hybrid rule – neural approach for the automation of legal reasoning in the discretionary domain of family law in Australia

Few automated legal reasoning systems have been developed in domains of law in which a judicial decision maker has extensive discretion in the exercise of his or her powers. Discretionary domains challenge existing artificial intelligence paradigms because models of judicial reasoning are difficult, if not impossible to specify. We argue that judicial discretion adds to the characterisation of law as open textured in a way which has not been addressed by artificial intelligence and law researchers in depth. We demonstrate that systems for reasoning with this form of open texture can be built by integrating rule sets with neural networks trained with data collected from standard past cases. The obstacles to this approach include difficulties in generating explanations once conclusions have been inferred, difficulties associated with the collection of sufficient data from past cases and difficulties associated with integrating two vastly different paradigms. A knowledge representation scheme based on the structure of arguments proposed by Toulmin has been used to overcome these obstacles. The system, known as Split Up, predicts judicial decisions in property proceedings within family law in Australia. Predictions from the system have been compared to those from a group of lawyers with favourable results

Lasten ja nuorten kenkien valinta : verkko-ohjausmateriaali lastenneuvolan ja kouluterveydenhuollon henkilökunnalle

Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli tuottaa Suomen Terveydenhoitajaliiton verkkosivuille jä-senten käyttöön materiaalia kengistä lasten ja nuorten jalkaterveyden edistämiseksi. Opin-näytetyö tehtiin yhteistyössä Suomen Terveydenhoitajaliitto ry:n kanssa. Tutkimuksellinen lähestymistapa verkkomateriaalin kehittämisessä oli sekä laadullinen että määrällinen. Aineistona käytettiin kattavaa kirjallisuuskatsausta sekä terveydenhoitajille kohdennettuja kyselyjä. Kirjallisuuskatsausaineisto kerättiin PubMed-, Medline- ja Chinal-tietokannoista. Kyselyn kohderyhmä koostui Suomen Terveydenhoitajaliitto ry:n Helsingin alueen neuvola- ja kouuluterveydenhenkilöstöstä. Kirjallisuuskatsauksen artikkelit analysoi-tiin teoriaohjaavan sisällönanalyysin avulla. Kyselylomakkeiden avoimiin kysymyksiin tulleet vastaukset analysoitiin aineistolähtöistä sisällön analyysia käyttäen. Tulosten mukaan lasten ja nuorten kenkien tulisi olla sopivat kooltaan, mukailla jalkaterän mallia, materiaaliltaan hengittävät, korottomat, joustavat, kevyet ja pohjaltaan ohuet ja taipuisat. Kengillä kävelyn tulisi mukailla paljasjaloin kävelyä, jolloin jalkaterät saavat toimia luonnollisella tavalla. Kyselyn perusteella terveydenhoitajat tarvitsevat työssään tietoa ken-gän hyvistä ominaisuuksista: muun muassa koon arvioimisesta, pohjan ja lestin malleista ja materiaalista. Kyselyyn vastanneet halusivat enemmän tietoa pihtipolvista, ylipainon merki-tyksestä sekä kenkien vaikutuksista alaraajojen kasvuun ja kehitykseen. Verkko-ohjausmateriaali kehitettiin terveydenhoitajien työn apuvälineeksi. Palautekyselyn perusteella terveydenhoitajat olivat tyytyväisiä verkko-ohjausmateriaaliin. Muutoksia toivot-tiin palstojen jäsentelyyn, fonttiin, otsikoiden numerointiin sekä taulukoiden selkiyttämi-seen. Verkkomateriaalia voivat hyödyntää kaikki Suomen Terveydenhoitajaliitto ry:n jäsenet. Verkko-ohjausmateriaali antaa tietoa lasten ja nuorten jalkaterveyttä edistävien kenkien valinnasta ja alaraajoihin vaikuttavista tekijöistä. Tulostettava ohjausmateriaali antaa tukea vanhemmille lasten ja nuorten kenkien valintaan. Kaikki moniammatillisissa työyhteisöissä työskentelevät saavat uusinta tieteellistä tietoa lasten kengistä ja niiden vaikutuksista ala-raaja- ja jalkaterveyteen ja voivat hyödyntää sitä lasten vanhempien ohjauksessa.The aim of this study, carried out in cooperation with the National Union of Public Health Nurses, was to promote children’s and young people’s foot health by producing material about shoes for the web pages of National Union of Public Health Nurses. The online material was developed using both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches. The data was collected from a literature review and a questionnaire to public health nurses. The literature was gathered from the following databases: PubMed-, Med-line and Chinal. The questionnaire was targeted at family centre and school health service personnel in the Helsinki area. The literature review articles were analyzed using theory-based content analysis whereas the answers to open questions in the questionnaire were analyzed using data-based content analysis. The results show that shoes for children and young people should be well-fitting, adapt to each foot form, made of breathable material, heelless, flexible, light and with thin and flexible soles. Walking with shoes should imitate walking barefoot allowing the natural functions of the foot. According to the survey, in their work public health nurses need information on the properties of a good shoe; for instance on the designs and materials of the sole and last and also how to estimate correct shoe size. The respondents wanted more information on knock-knees, the significance of overweight and the effect shoes have on the growth and development of lower limbs. The online guidance material was developed to help public health nurses in their work and feedback shows it was met with satisfaction. The nurses suggested changes in the column structure, the font, the numbering of titles and the clarity of tables. The material, available to all members of the National Union of Public Health Nurses, gives information on factors that influence the lower limbs and on choosing shoes which pro-mote children’s and young people’s foot health. The material can be printed out to help parents choose shoes for their children. Podiatrists can benefit from the newest scientific information on children’s shoes and their effect on lower limbs and foot health by using the information to give advice to parents and in practice with multiprofessional work communities

Surveillance of adenoviruses and noroviruses in European recreational waters

Exposure to human pathogenic viruses in recreational waters has been shown to cause disease outbreaks. In the context of Article 14 of the revised European Bathing Waters Directive 2006/7/EC (rBWD, CEU, 2006) a Europe-wide surveillance study was carried out to determine the frequency of occurrence of two human enteric viruses in recreational waters. Adenoviruses were selected based on their near-universal shedding and environmental survival, and noroviruses (NoV) selected as being the most prevalent gastroenteritis agent worldwide. Concentration of marine and freshwater samples was done by adsorption/elution followed by molecular detection by (RT)-PCR. Out of 1410 samples, 553 (39.2%) were positive for one or more of the target viruses. Adenoviruses, detected in 36.4% of samples, were more prevalent than noroviruses (9.4%), with 3.5% GI and 6.2% GII, some samples being positive for both GI and GII. Of 513 human adenovirus-positive samples, 63 (12.3%) were also norovirus-positive, whereas 69 (7.7%) norovirus-positive samples were adenovirus-negative. More freshwater samples than marine water samples were virus-positive. Out of a small selection of samples tested for adenovirus infectivity, approximately one-quarter were positive. Sixty percent of 132 nested-PCR adenovirus-positive samples analysed by quantitative PCR gave a mean value of over 3000 genome copies per L of water. The simultaneous detection of infectious adenovirus and of adenovirus and NoV by (RT)PCR suggests that the presence of infectious viruses in recreational waters may constitute a public health risk upon exposure. These studies support the case for considering adenoviruses as an indicator of bathing water quality

Improved HF183 Quantitative Real-Time PCR Assay for Characterization of Human Fecal Pollution in Ambient Surface Water Samples

Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assays that target the human-associated HF183 bacterial cluster within members of the genus Bacteroides are among the most widely used methods for the characterization of human fecal pollution in ambient surface waters. In this study, we show that a current TaqMan HF183 qPCR assay (HF183/BFDrev) routinely forms nonspecific amplification products and introduce a modified TaqMan assay (HF183/BacR287) that alleviates this problem. The performance of each qPCR assay was compared in head-to-head experiments investigating limits of detection, analytical precision, predicted hybridization to 16S rRNA gene sequences from a reference database, and relative marker concentrations in fecal and sewage samples. The performance of the modified HF183/BacR287 assay is equal to or improves upon that of the original HF183/BFDrev assay. In addition, a qPCR chemistry designed to combat amplification inhibition and a multiplexed internal amplification control are included. In light of the expanding use of PCR-based methods that rely on the detection of extremely low concentrations of DNA template, such as qPCR and digital PCR, the new TaqMan HF183/BacR287 assay should provide more accurate estimations of human-derived fecal contaminants in ambient surface waters