Anatomy of the Third-Party Web Tracking Ecosystem

The presence of third-party tracking on websites has become customary. However, our understanding of the third-party ecosystem is still very rudimentary. We examine third-party trackers from a geographical perspective, observing the third-party tracking ecosystem from 29 countries across the globe. When examining the data by region (North America, South America, Europe, East Asia, Middle East, and Oceania), we observe significant geographical variation between regions and countries within regions. We find trackers that focus on specific regions and countries, and some that are hosted in countries outside their expected target tracking domain. Given the differences in regulatory regimes between jurisdictions, we believe this analysis sheds light on the geographical properties of this ecosystem and on the problems that these may pose to our ability to track and manage the different data silos that now store personal data about us all

Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Programs in Data Science

The Park City Math Institute (PCMI) 2016 Summer Undergraduate Faculty Program met for the purpose of composing guidelines for undergraduate programs in Data Science. The group consisted of 25 undergraduate faculty from a variety of institutions in the U.S., primarily from the disciplines of mathematics, statistics and computer science. These guidelines are meant to provide some structure for institutions planning for or revising a major in Data Science

Retrospective Analysis of Treatment Pathways in Patients With BRAFV600E-mutant Metastatic Colorectal Carcinoma - MORSECRC.

BACKGROUND/AIM Metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is a heterogeneous disease with distinct molecular subtypes. The BRAFV600E-mutation found in approximately 8-12% of mCRC patients is associated with poor prognosis. Guideline recommendations for this population are mostly based on small cohorts due to lack of clinical data. This retrospective analysis was designed to evaluate (approved) therapeutic approaches and algorithms in BRAFV600E-mutant mCRC prior to approval of the targeted combination encorafenib plus cetuximab in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. PATIENTS AND METHODS Anonymized data from BRAFV600E-mutant mCRC patients were analyzed retrospectively regarding 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-line treatment using descriptive statistics. RESULTS Forty-two patients were eligible for analysis (mean age 62.1 years, 47.6% female). At initial diagnosis, 20 patients (47.6%) were documented with right-sided tumors. Most patients (81.0%) were tested for BRAF before 1st-line. Four patients (9.5%) showed high microsatellite instability (MSI-H). Based on 94 treatment lines, chemotherapy combined with targeted therapy (TT) was used mostly (61.7%), followed by chemotherapy alone (19.1%). Backbone therapies were most frequently FOLFOXIRI (27.7%), FOLFOX/CAPOX (22.3%), or FOLFIRI (20.2%). Anti-VEGF/VEGFR and anti-EGFR-treatments were used in 45.7% and 23.4% of patients, respectively. Across all treatment lines and types, the predominantly documented reason for discontinuation was lack of efficacy. CONCLUSION Combined chemotherapy+TT (anti-VEGF/VEGFR and anti-EGFR) played a predominant role in BRAFV600E-mutated mCRC treatment prior to approval of the targeted combination encorafenib plus cetuximab. Since lack of efficacy was the major reason for treatment discontinuation, newly approved therapies including encorafenib plus cetuximab and - for MSI-H tumors - pembrolizumab represent urgently needed options for future mCRC patients

An Antibiotic-Responsive Mouse Model of Fulminant Ulcerative Colitis

Paul Allen and colleagues describe the development of a mouse model of fulminant ulcerative colitis with multiple genetic hits in immune regulation which can be moderated by anti-cytokine therapy and broad-spectrum antibiotics

Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Patients with Congenital Chloride Diarrhoea

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: [email protected]: Congenital chloride diarrhoea [CLD] is a rare autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the solute family carrier 26 member 3 [SLC26A3] gene. Patients suffer from life-long watery diarrhoea and chloride loss. Inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] has been reported in individual patients with CLD and in scl26a3-deficient mice. Methods: We performed an international multicentre analysis to build a CLD cohort and to identify cases with IBD. We assessed clinical and genetic characteristics of subjects and studied the cumulative incidence of CLD-associated IBD. Results: In a cohort of 72 patients with CLD caused by 17 different SLC26A3 mutations, we identified 12 patients [17%] diagnosed with IBD. Nine patients had Crohn's disease, two ulcerative colitis and one IBD-unclassified [IBD-U]. The prevalence of IBD in our cohort of CLD was higher than the highest prevalence of IBD in Europe [p < 0.0001]. The age of onset was variable [13.5 years, interquartile range: 8.5-23.5 years]. Patients with CLD and IBD had lower z-score for height than those without IBD. Four of 12 patients had required surgery [ileostomy formation n = 2, ileocaecal resection due to ileocaecal valve stenosis n = 1 and colectomy due to stage II transverse colon cancer n = 1]. At last follow-up, 5/12 were on biologics [adalimumab, infliximab or vedolizumab], 5/12 on immunosuppressants [azathioprine or mercaptopurine], one on 5-ASA and one off-treatment. Conclusions: A substantial proportion of patients with CLD develop IBD. This suggests the potential involvement of SL26A3-mediated anion transport in IBD pathogenesis. Patients with CLD-associated IBD may require surgery for treatment failure or colon cancer.Peer reviewe

Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Programs in Data Science

The Park City Math Institute 2016 Summer Undergraduate Faculty Program met for the purpose of composing guidelines for undergraduate programs in data science. The group consisted of 25 undergraduate faculty from a variety of institutions in the United States, primarily from the disciplines of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. These guidelines are meant to provide some structure for institutions planning for or revising a major in data science