A meta-analysis of remote ischaemic conditioning in experimental stroke

Remote ischaemic conditioning (RIC) is achieved by repeated transient ischaemia of a distant organ/limb and is neuroprotective in experimental ischaemic stroke. However, the optimal time and methods of administration are unclear. Systematic review identified relevant preclinical studies; two authors independently extracted data on infarct volume, neurological deficit, RIC method (administration time, site, cycle number, length of limb occlusion (dose)), species and quality. Data were analysed using random effects models; results expressed as standardised mean difference (SMD). In 57 publications incorporating 99 experiments (1406 rats, 101 mice, 14 monkeys), RIC reduced lesion volume in transient (SMD −2.0; 95% CI −2.38, −1.61; p

What's my role? Modelling responsibility for AI-based safety-critical systems

AI-Based Safety-Critical Systems (AI-SCS) are being increasingly deployed in the real world. These can pose a risk of harm to people and the environment. Reducing that risk is an overarching priority during development and operation. As more AI-SCS become autonomous, a layer of risk management via human intervention has been removed. Following an accident it will be important to identify causal contributions and the different responsible actors behind those to learn from mistakes and prevent similar future events. Many authors have commented on the "responsibility gap" where it is difficult for developers and manufacturers to be held responsible for harmful behaviour of an AI-SCS. This is due to the complex development cycle for AI, uncertainty in AI performance, and dynamic operating environment. A human operator can become a "liability sink" absorbing blame for the consequences of AI-SCS outputs they weren't responsible for creating, and may not have understanding of. This cross-disciplinary paper considers different senses of responsibility (role, moral, legal and causal), and how they apply in the context of AI-SCS safety. We use a core concept (Actor(A) is responsible for Occurrence(O)) to create role responsibility models, producing a practical method to capture responsibility relationships and provide clarity on the previously identified responsibility issues. Our paper demonstrates the approach with two examples: a retrospective analysis of the Tempe Arizona fatal collision involving an autonomous vehicle, and a safety focused predictive role-responsibility analysis for an AI-based diabetes co-morbidity predictor. In both examples our primary focus is on safety, aiming to reduce unfair or disproportionate blame being placed on operators or developers. We present a discussion and avenues for future research.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, 2 table

Self-pollinating crop isolation techniques for micro scale gardeners with limited access to arable land. A mini review

Aims and objectives: The aim of this review is to shortlist and present the most popular crop-isolation techniques for micro-scale gardeners. This will be fulfilled through a mini scoping review of existing literature across academic, professional journals, and grey literature databases. Introduction: Crop isolation is extremely important in seed saving, especially when growing orphan or landrace varieties of plants. Guidance literature on this matter exists, however, it is mainly orientated around crop isolation for large scale entities/farms and gardeners growing easily crossbreeding food crops. Much less attention is given to micro scale gardeners that try to pursue garden crop cultivation. There is hardly any evidence for crop isolation techniques for self-pollinating plants as those do not require much attention due to their self-fertility properties. Nevertheless, micro scale gardeners have limited access to resources like space, and this increases the chances of producing breed untrue seeds, even from self-fertile varieties of garden crops. Inclusion Criteria: This review included academic and non-academic (grey) literature written on or around the topic of crop isolation, with a focus on self-pollinating plants. Methods: The literature search was conducted electronically on the following academic data bases: (1) Science Direct, (2) Emerald Insight, (3) ProQuest, (4) PubMed and (5) Google Scholar. Additional search was conducted using an electronic institutional database/library called Summon Search Engine, with access provided on behalf of the University of West London. Results: The results indicated that distance isolation is the best technique for minimising cross pollination. In self-pollinating plants, the distance should exceed a minimum of 3 meters. Other techniques like mechanical isolation through blossom bags and insect proof mesh also exist, especially for those that can penetrate the enclosed blossom dome and cross contaminate with foreign pollen. Time isolation is rather difficult to achieve, especially for annual garden crops. Conclusion: The main issues for pollen cross contamination arises from the lack of arable space amongst micro scale gardeners and allotment holders. It would be advisable not to cultivate multiple varieties in one garden, especially if trying to produce breed true seeds. Although, some of the outlined measures could be applied to minimise the risks involved

Unravelling Responsibility for AI

It is widely acknowledged that we need to establish where responsibility lies for the outputs and impacts of AI-enabled systems. But without a clear and precise understanding of what "responsibility" means, deliberations about where responsibility lies will be, at best, unfocused and incomplete and, at worst, misguided. To address this concern, this paper draws upon central distinctions in philosophy and law to clarify the concept of responsibility for AI for policymakers, practitioners, researchers and students from non-philosophical and non-legal backgrounds. Taking the three-part formulation "Actor A is responsible for Occurrence O," the paper unravels the concept of responsibility to clarify that there are different possibilities of who is responsible for AI, the senses in which they are responsible, and aspects of events they are responsible for. Criteria and conditions for fitting attributions of responsibility in the core senses (causal responsibility, role-responsibility, liability responsibility and moral responsibility) are articulated to promote an understanding of when responsibility attributions would be inappropriate or unjust. The analysis is presented with a graphical notation to facilitate informal diagrammatic reasoning and discussion about specific cases. It is illustrated by application to a scenario of a fatal collision between an autonomous AI-enabled ship and a traditional, crewed vessel at sea

Defining crop terminology, crucial in tackling food & nutrition insecurity

The interest in new, innovative food products, diets and ingredients is constantly growing worldwide. Food technology experts are challenged with inventing new ways of product reformulation, usually appealing to the current food trends, such as ‘veganism’, ‘clean label’ and ‘free from’. Modern consumers are more health conscious than ever before, trying to navigate through a store to find the new ‘health conscious’ and ‘clean’ food options. From the food industry’s perspective, complete understanding of consumers’ feelings and needs is dependent upon clear communication through a common language. The communication most often occurs via physical objects, like the product packaging, and the contents within - in line with the linguistic theory of “Signifier and Signified”. This theory perfectly shows how words with a positive connotation such as vegan or organic, present a mental image of ‘healthy’, ‘good’ products which can be linked to a ‘happy’, ‘healthy’ and ‘wealthy’ lifestyle & ideology. The complexity of the information embodied in the verbal capsule is alive and difficult to quantify. Products that inhibit one or more of the characteristics are usually sold under collective trademarks where official certifications play a crucial role

Demographic trends in the incidence of malignant appendiceal tumours in England between 1995 and 2016:Population-based analysis

AIMS: Recent data suggest that the incidence of malignant appendiceal tumours is increasing. This study aimed to determine temporal trends in the incidence of malignant appendiceal tumours within England and a possible influence by demographic factors. METHODS: All incident cases of appendiceal tumours in patients aged 20 years and above were identified from the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service database between 1995 and 2016 using ICD-9/10 codes. Cancers were categorized according to histology. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to investigate changes in age-standardized incidence rates by age, sex, histological subtype and index of multiple deprivation quintiles, based on socioeconomic domains (income, employment, education, health, crime, barriers to housing and services and living environment). Average annual per cent changes (AAPCs) were estimated by performing Monte-Carlo permutation analysis. RESULTS: A total of 7333 tumours were diagnosed and 7056 patients were analysed, comprising 3850 (54.6 per cent) neuroendocrine tumours (NETs), 1892 (26.8 per cent) mucinous adenocarcinomas and 1314 (18.6 per cent) adenocarcinoma (not otherwise specified). The overall incidence of appendiceal tumours increased from 0.3 per 100 000 to 1.6 per 100 000 over the study interval. Incidence rate increases of comparable magnitude were observed across all age groups, but the AAPC was highest among patients aged 20–29 years (15.6 per cent, 95 per cent c.i 12.7–18.6 per cent) and 30–39 years (14.2 per cent, 12.2–16.2 per cent) and lowest among those aged 70–79 years (6.8 per cent, 5.7–8.0 per cent). Similar incidence rate increases were reported across all socioeconomic deprivation quintiles and in both sexes. Analysis by grade of NET showed that grade 1 tumours accounted for 63 per cent between 2010 and 2013, compared with 2 per cent between 2000 and 2003. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence rate of malignant appendiceal tumours has increased significantly since 1995 and is mainly attributed to an increase in NETs. The increased diagnosis of low-grade NETs may in part be due to changes in pathological classification systems

Safety engineering, role responsibility and lessons from the Uber ATG Tempe Accident

Safety critical autonomous systems (SCAS) require a safety assurance case (SAC) to justify why they are considered acceptably safe to use, despite the residual risk associated with their operation. Reducing risk is an overarching principle of all safety critical systems development and operation. The SAC should demonstrate that the risk is tolerable and has been reduced as far as possible, through robust design and operational controls. As a SCAS may not have an operator, safety engineers have a more direct responsibility for operational decisions. Following an accident it may be useful to understand which engineering decisions causally contributed to it, and roles responsible for those decisions. This paper contains a review of how different senses of responsibility (role, moral, legal and causal) apply to SCAS engineering and operation. We use this to illustrate how considering role responsibility can help support a defensible SAC, and potentially improve system safety practice. Our findings are illustrated with an analysis the Uber/Tempe Arizona fatal collision accident report. We found that existing safety practice may not identify all role responsibilities in a way that supports causal safety analysis. This paper is intended for the whole TAS community, but with an emphasis on safety professionals

'A light in a very dark place' : The role of a voluntary organisation providing support for those affected by encephalitis

Voluntary organisations are seen as contributing to the ‘democratisation’ of health and social care. Little, however, is written about their role and this paper, by focusing on the work of The Encephalitis Society, provides insights into the challenges facing voluntary organisations as they manage twin roles as service providers and advocates, of people with neurological disorders. Two studies are presented: a review conducted by the Society, focusing on patient’s experiences of neurological services; and an external evaluation of the Society’s current provision. The first, based on a postal survey of its members affected by encephalitis (n = 339), illustrates the Society’s advocacy role. The survey provided support for the Association of British Neurologists’ recommendation for nationally agreed standards of care. The second study, a postal survey of recent contacts (n = 76) and in-depth telephone interviews (n = 22), illustrates the Society’s value role as a service provider and supports its role in helping rehabilitate affected individuals and their families. These studies provided the Society with information for policy and service development. Importantly, providing the basis of informed action and partnership with stakeholders and informing the organisation’s sense of purpose, in the changing context of welfare provision in the UK