Incentivising innovation in the construction sector: the role of consulting contracts

The issue of whether contracts promote innovation and sustainability is an important but overlooked aspect for achieving energy and environmental targets, as well as for creating smart and sustainable cities. In this article, based on the principle/agent problem and Holmström and Milgrom’s work on optimal contracts it is argued that the current general conditions of architectural and engineering consulting agreements in Sweden (ABK 09)—a standard type of contract often used in developer/consultant relations—may not incentivize choices that support the long-term goals of society. Furthermore, although this exploratory study specifically analyses a Swedish standard contract, the question of how contractual incentive structures can optimize real-world performance is a general one, and thus the article’s findings have general applicability. This exploratory study also points to further research into how contractual structures impact climate-neutral buildings. In this way, Swedish consultants who use ABK 09 are incentivized to include low-risk, well-proven, and widely used technologies in order to minimize risks for themselves. This study contributes to resolving this dilemma by suggesting how ABK 09 could be restructured to change the balance between incentives and risk and incentivize innovation and sustainability. As mentioned above, the current study operates at a theoretical level. It discusses six possible changes that would better align the contract with the societal goals of innovation and sustainability

A Solve-RD ClinVar-based reanalysis of 1522 index cases from ERN-ITHACA reveals common pitfalls and misinterpretations in exome sequencing

Purpose Within the Solve-RD project (https://solve-rd.eu/), the European Reference Network for Intellectual disability, TeleHealth, Autism and Congenital Anomalies aimed to investigate whether a reanalysis of exomes from unsolved cases based on ClinVar annotations could establish additional diagnoses. We present the results of the “ClinVar low-hanging fruit” reanalysis, reasons for the failure of previous analyses, and lessons learned. Methods Data from the first 3576 exomes (1522 probands and 2054 relatives) collected from European Reference Network for Intellectual disability, TeleHealth, Autism and Congenital Anomalies was reanalyzed by the Solve-RD consortium by evaluating for the presence of single-nucleotide variant, and small insertions and deletions already reported as (likely) pathogenic in ClinVar. Variants were filtered according to frequency, genotype, and mode of inheritance and reinterpreted. Results We identified causal variants in 59 cases (3.9%), 50 of them also raised by other approaches and 9 leading to new diagnoses, highlighting interpretation challenges: variants in genes not known to be involved in human disease at the time of the first analysis, misleading genotypes, or variants undetected by local pipelines (variants in off-target regions, low quality filters, low allelic balance, or high frequency). Conclusion The “ClinVar low-hanging fruit” analysis represents an effective, fast, and easy approach to recover causal variants from exome sequencing data, herewith contributing to the reduction of the diagnostic deadlock

Twist exome capture allows for lower average sequence coverage in clinical exome sequencing

Background Exome and genome sequencing are the predominant techniques in the diagnosis and research of genetic disorders. Sufficient, uniform and reproducible/consistent sequence coverage is a main determinant for the sensitivity to detect single-nucleotide (SNVs) and copy number variants (CNVs). Here we compared the ability to obtain comprehensive exome coverage for recent exome capture kits and genome sequencing techniques. Results We compared three different widely used enrichment kits (Agilent SureSelect Human All Exon V5, Agilent SureSelect Human All Exon V7 and Twist Bioscience) as well as short-read and long-read WGS. We show that the Twist exome capture significantly improves complete coverage and coverage uniformity across coding regions compared to other exome capture kits. Twist performance is comparable to that of both short- and long-read whole genome sequencing. Additionally, we show that even at a reduced average coverage of 70× there is only minimal loss in sensitivity for SNV and CNV detection. Conclusion We conclude that exome sequencing with Twist represents a significant improvement and could be performed at lower sequence coverage compared to other exome capture techniques

F. A. Hayek's Critique of Legislation

The dissertation concerns F. A. Hayek’s (1899–1992) critique of legislation. The purpose of the investigation is to clarify and assess that critique. I argue that there is in Hayek’s work a critique of legislation that is distinct from his well-known critique of social planning. Further that the main claim of this critique is what I refer to as Hayek’s legislation tenet, namely that legislation that aims to achieve specific aggregate results in complex orders of society will decrease the welfare level.           The legislation tenet gains support; (i) from the welfare claim – according to which there is a positive correlation between the utilization of knowledge and the welfare level in society; (ii) from the dispersal of knowledge thesis – according to which the total knowledge of society is dispersed and not available to any one agency; and (iii) from the cultural evolution thesis – according to which evolutionary rules are more favorable to the utilization of knowledge in social cooperation than are legislative rules. More specifically, I argue that these form two lines of argument in support of the legislation tenet. One line of argument is based on the conjunction of the welfare claim and the dispersal of knowledge thesis. I argue that this line of argument is true. The other line of argument is based on the conjunction of the welfare claim and the cultural evolution thesis. I argue that this line of argument is false, mainly because the empirical work of political scientist Elinor Ostrom refutes it. Because the two lines of argument support the legislation tenet independently of each other, I argue that Hayek’s critique of legislation is true. In this dissertation, I further develop a legislative policy tool as based on the welfare claim and Hayek’s conception of coercion. I also consider Hayek’s idea that rules and law are instrumental in forging rational individual action and rational social orders, and turn to review this idea in light of the work of experimental economist Vernon Smith and economic historian Avner Greif. I find that Smith and Greif support this idea of Hayek’s, and I conjecture that it contributes to our understanding of Adam Smith’s notion of the invisible hand: It is rules – not an invisible hand – that prompt subjects to align individual and aggregate rationality in social interaction. Finally, I argue that Hayek’s critique is essentially utilitarian, as it is concerned with the negative welfare consequences of certain forms of legislation. And although it may appear that the dispersal of knowledge thesis will undermine the possibility of carrying out the utilitarian calculus, due to the lack of knowledge of the consequences of one’s actions – and therefore undermine the legislation tenet itself – I argue that the distinction between utilitarianism conceived as a method of deliberation and utilitarianism conceived as a criterion of correctness may be used to save Hayek’s critique from this objection

GDPR och Smarta Byggnader - En undersökning av teknik, individ och samhälle i framtidens smarta byggnader

Denna rapports huvudfokus är att undersöka balansen, beskriven ovan, utifrån det rättsliga ramverk som GDPR utgör, samt att ge vägledning för hur kommersiella fastighetsägare rent praktiskt kan arbeta med smarta byggnader. Den pågående trenden att genom sensorer och hantering av data påverka byggnaders resursanvändning och möjligheten till ökad tjänsteleverans kommer med all sannolikhet att fortsätta och öka. Digitaliseringen av samhällsbyggnadssektorn är enbart i sin linda och vinsterna på individ, företags och samhällsnivå, dels ekonomiskt och miljömässigt, bedöms som mycket stora. För att möjliggöra potentialen av digitaliseringen, en minimering av klimatpåverkan kopplat till drift av byggnader, och samtidigt värna om individens integritet måste framtida byggnaders system för insamling och hantering av data designas varsamt. För att möjliggöra optimering av en byggnads tekniska system, samt en minimering av klimatpåverkan kopplat till drift av byggnaden, kan en fastighetsägare behöva samla in och lagra information som faller inom ramen för GDPR. För att säkerställa att fastighetsägaren följer GDPR beskrivet ovan bör följande rutiner och åtgärder genomföras. Rättslig strategi Minimera uppgifter som går att koppla till fysisk person Hur kan man optimera med aggregerade uppgifter som inte kopplas till person Problematisera samtycken, resultatet av det är en rättslig osäker het som leder till att använda anonyma data. Det är inte kopplingen till person som är intressant, utan optimeringen. Problematisera anonymisering, hur gör man rent tekniskt eller sam man utgå ifrån att det är en praktisk variant av anonymisering som gäller eftersom GDPR förslår det? I den här rapporten vill vi visa hur man kan göra det enkelt att följa GDPR, och enkelt att bygga kommersiella smarta hus i relation till GDPR. Vårt förslag innehåller följande punkter som vi sedan utvecklar nedan. Data: Minimera lagring av data och maximera momentant utnyttjande av sensordata Höj och förfina optimeringsgraden Minimera uppgifter som går att koppla till fysisk person Pseudonymisera data som måste lagras Organisation: Ha tydlig organisation och ansvarsfördelning runt hanteringen av data och personuppgifter i relation till GDPR. Alltid ha en aktuell lista på sensorer. Använd opt-out5GDPR OCH SMARTA BYGGNADER. Utarbeta genomarbetade skriftliga samtycken. QC 20230324</p

GDPR och Smarta Byggnader - En undersökning av teknik, individ och samhälle i framtidens smarta byggnader

Denna rapports huvudfokus är att undersöka balansen, beskriven ovan, utifrån det rättsliga ramverk som GDPR utgör, samt att ge vägledning för hur kommersiella fastighetsägare rent praktiskt kan arbeta med smarta byggnader. Den pågående trenden att genom sensorer och hantering av data påverka byggnaders resursanvändning och möjligheten till ökad tjänsteleverans kommer med all sannolikhet att fortsätta och öka. Digitaliseringen av samhällsbyggnadssektorn är enbart i sin linda och vinsterna på individ, företags och samhällsnivå, dels ekonomiskt och miljömässigt, bedöms som mycket stora. För att möjliggöra potentialen av digitaliseringen, en minimering av klimatpåverkan kopplat till drift av byggnader, och samtidigt värna om individens integritet måste framtida byggnaders system för insamling och hantering av data designas varsamt. För att möjliggöra optimering av en byggnads tekniska system, samt en minimering av klimatpåverkan kopplat till drift av byggnaden, kan en fastighetsägare behöva samla in och lagra information som faller inom ramen för GDPR. För att säkerställa att fastighetsägaren följer GDPR beskrivet ovan bör följande rutiner och åtgärder genomföras. Rättslig strategi Minimera uppgifter som går att koppla till fysisk person Hur kan man optimera med aggregerade uppgifter som inte kopplas till person Problematisera samtycken, resultatet av det är en rättslig osäker het som leder till att använda anonyma data. Det är inte kopplingen till person som är intressant, utan optimeringen. Problematisera anonymisering, hur gör man rent tekniskt eller sam man utgå ifrån att det är en praktisk variant av anonymisering som gäller eftersom GDPR förslår det? I den här rapporten vill vi visa hur man kan göra det enkelt att följa GDPR, och enkelt att bygga kommersiella smarta hus i relation till GDPR. Vårt förslag innehåller följande punkter som vi sedan utvecklar nedan. Data: Minimera lagring av data och maximera momentant utnyttjande av sensordata Höj och förfina optimeringsgraden Minimera uppgifter som går att koppla till fysisk person Pseudonymisera data som måste lagras Organisation: Ha tydlig organisation och ansvarsfördelning runt hanteringen av data och personuppgifter i relation till GDPR. Alltid ha en aktuell lista på sensorer. Använd opt-out5GDPR OCH SMARTA BYGGNADER. Utarbeta genomarbetade skriftliga samtycken. QC 20230324</p

Corneal thickness and anterior chamber flare after cataract surgery:A randomized controlled trial comparing five regimens for anti-inflammatory prophylaxis

PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between early post-operative anterior chamber inflammation (aqueous flare) and central corneal thickness (CCT) after cataract surgery and to evaluate the effect of anti-inflammatory prophylaxis on CCT. SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, Rigshospitalet-Glostrup, University Hospital Copenhagen, Denmark. DESIGN: Post-hoc analysis of a prospective randomized controlled trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 470 participants who underwent standard cataract surgery were randomly allocated to prophylactic treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID, groups C and D) or a combination of NSAID and steroid eye drops (groups A and B), commenced either pre-operatively (A and C) or post-operatively on the day of surgery (B and D), or “drop-less surgery” (peri-operative subtenon depot of dexamethasone, group E). Aqueous flare was measured before and three days after surgery. CCT was measured before surgery, three days, three weeks, and three months after surgery. Data were analyzed according to the intention-to-treat method. RESULTS: Doubling of aqueous flare increased mean CCT by 15.6 microns (95% CI 9.8; 21.3, P<0.001) three days after surgery. Mean CCT increased from 549 microns (95% CI 545; 552) at baseline to 594 microns (95% CI 585; 602) three days after surgery and returned to 551 microns (95% CI 545; 557) three months after surgery. Mean CCT was thinner in group C compared to group A three days after surgery. No difference was found for any other groups or time points. CONCLUSION: Increased anterior chamber inflammation was associated with significant corneal thickening three days after cataract surgery. Choice of anti-inflammatory regimen seemed to be of no or minimal importance on CCT when the effect of inflammation was accounted for. Corneal thickening is possibly mediated by underlying deterioration of the blood-aqueous barrier and corneal endothelium pump function caused by a post-operative inflammatory response

Unidirectional Kondo scattering in layered NbS2

International audienceCrystalline defects can modify quantum interactions in solids, causing unintuitive, even favourable, properties such as quantum Hall effect or superconducting vortex pinning. Here we present another example of this notion-an unexpected unidirectional Kondo scattering in single crystals of 2H-NbS 2. This manifests as a pronounced low-temperature enhancement in the out-of-plane resistivity and thermopower below 40 K, hidden for the in-plane charge transport. The anomaly can be suppressed by the c-axisoriented magnetic field, but is unaffected by field applied along the planes. The magnetic moments originate from layers of 1T-NbS 2 , which inevitably form during the growth, undergoing a charge-density-wave reconstruction with each superlattice cell (David-star-shaped cluster of Nb atoms) hosting a localised spin. Our results demonstrate the unique and highly anisotropic response of a spontaneously formed Kondo-lattice heterostructure, intercalated in a layered conductor