8 research outputs found
Ă la Carte Cable: A Regulatory Solution to the Misinformation Subsidy
Although âfake newsâ is as old as mass media itself, concerns over disinformation have reached a fever pitch in our current media environment. Online media outletsâ heavy reliance on user-generated content has altered the traditional gatekeeping functions and professional standards associated with traditional news organizations. The idea of objectivity-focused informational content has primarily been substituted for a realist acceptance of the power and popularity of opinion-driven ânews.â This shift is starkly visible now: mainstream news media outlets knowingly spread hoaxes, conspiracy theories, and the like.
This current state of affairs is not some freak accident. The Supreme Courtâs First Amendment jurisprudence has led us here. For example, the Courtâs decision in Reno v. ACLU subjects government regulation of online speech to strict scrutiny review, hamstringing nearly any attempt at regulation (much less censorship) of online speech by the government. Similarly, content regulation of televised media is covered by the First Amendmentâs capacious protections. And while broadcast media was once heavily regulated for content, the FCCâs adoption of deregulation resulted in the eventual repeal of a range of content limitations and requirements for licensees.
Designing a content-neutral scheme to regulate media content directly is not only a complex legal problem, but it is also likely a non-starter. State actors are (rightly) unable to censor or remove content based on the ideological leanings of the content, and media disinformation directly implicates political speech about controversial topics. In an era where cross-platform news media is ubiquitous, the legal status quo has effectively ensured media platforms have near-total discretion to controlâor more accurately, not controlâthe truthfulness of disseminated content.
However, a market-based, bottom-up approach to content regulation could end-run the problems that plague government regulation of cable media. Industry research has suggested that cable ânewsâ outlets generate more revenue from per-subscriber fees applied by cable companies than from advertising carried by those channels. In terms of cable news, per-channel costs are the highest costs in a monthly cable bill. This means that more than eighty million cable subscribers subsidize content that attracts fewer than two million viewers daily, including misinformation.
This paper posits âĂ la carteâ cable packaging as a solution to the subsidy of disinformation. Currently, cable subscribers are forced to buy programming channels even when they would rather not. This is particularly troubling in the case of news information because subscribers who wish to receive some programming are forced to subsidize other news content that may be objectionable. The resulting system of reverse compelled speech means that news organizations keep their subsidy while advocating against the interests of those footing the bill. Eliminating this involuntary subsidy flips the status quo on its head by making trustworthiness part of the bottom line, incentivizing prudent news self-regulation in an entirely content-neutral manner
Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study
Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008â11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003â13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 Ă 10â10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 Ă 10â8 DHFR p=8·37 Ă 10â7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 Ă 10â9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 Ă 10â4 DHFR p=8·45 Ă 10â4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 Ă 10â3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 Ă 10â8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16â0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06â0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation
Ă la Carte Cable: A Regulatory Solution to the Misinformation Subsidy
Although âfake newsâ is as old as mass media itself, concerns over disinformation have reached a fever pitch in our current media environment. Online media outletsâ heavy reliance on user-generated content has altered the traditional gatekeeping functions and professional standards associated with traditional news organizations. The idea of objectivity-focused informational content has primarily been substituted for a realist acceptance of the power and popularity of opinion-driven ânews.â This shift is starkly visible now: mainstream news media outlets knowingly spread hoaxes, conspiracy theories, and the like.
This current state of affairs is not some freak accident. The Supreme Courtâs First Amendment jurisprudence has led us here. For example, the Courtâs decision in Reno v. ACLU subjects government regulation of online speech to strict scrutiny review, hamstringing nearly any attempt at regulation (much less censorship) of online speech by the government. Similarly, content regulation of televised media is covered by the First Amendmentâs capacious protections. And while broadcast media was once heavily regulated for content, the FCCâs adoption of deregulation resulted in the eventual repeal of a range of content limitations and requirements for licensees.
Designing a content-neutral scheme to regulate media content directly is not only a complex legal problem, but it is also likely a non-starter. State actors are (rightly) unable to censor or remove content based on the ideological leanings of the content, and media disinformation directly implicates political speech about controversial topics. In an era where cross-platform news media is ubiquitous, the legal status quo has effectively ensured media platforms have near-total discretion to controlâor more accurately, not controlâthe truthfulness of disseminated content.
However, a market-based, bottom-up approach to content regulation could end-run the problems that plague government regulation of cable media. Industry research has suggested that cable ânewsâ outlets generate more revenue from per-subscriber fees applied by cable companies than from advertising carried by those channels. In terms of cable news, per-channel costs are the highest costs in a monthly cable bill. This means that more than eighty million cable subscribers subsidize content that attracts fewer than two million viewers daily, including misinformation.
This paper posits âĂ la carteâ cable packaging as a solution to the subsidy of disinformation. Currently, cable subscribers are forced to buy programming channels even when they would rather not. This is particularly troubling in the case of news information because subscribers who wish to receive some programming are forced to subsidize other news content that may be objectionable. The resulting system of reverse compelled speech means that news organizations keep their subsidy while advocating against the interests of those footing the bill. Eliminating this involuntary subsidy flips the status quo on its head by making trustworthiness part of the bottom line, incentivizing prudent news self-regulation in an entirely content-neutral manner
Optimization of adsorptive removal of α-toluic acid by CaO2 nanoparticles using response surface methodology
The present work addresses the optimization of process parameters for adsorptive removal of α-toluic acid by calcium peroxide (CaO2) nanoparticles using response surface methodology (RSM). CaO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical precipitation method and confirmed by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) analysis which shows the CaO2 nanoparticles size range of 5â15ânm. A series of batch adsorption experiments were performed using CaO2 nanoparticles to remove α-toluic acid from the aqueous solution. Further, an experimental based central composite design (CCD) was developed to study the interactive effect of CaO2 adsorbent dosage, initial concentration of α-toluic acid, and contact time on α-toluic acid removal efficiency (response) and optimization of the process. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine the significance of the individual and the interactive effects of variables on the response. The model predicted response showed a good agreement with the experimental response, and the coefficient of determination, (R2) was 0.92. Among the variables, the interactive effect of adsorbent dosage and the initial α-toluic acid concentration was found to have more influence on the response than the contact time. Numerical optimization of process by RSM showed the optimal adsorbent dosage, initial concentration of α-toluic acid, and contact time as 0.03âg, 7.06âg/L, and 34âmin respectively. The predicted removal efficiency was 99.50%. The experiments performed under these conditions showed α-toluic acid removal efficiency up to 98.05%, which confirmed the adequacy of the model prediction
Reduced Cancer Incidence in Huntington's Disease: Analysis in the Registry Study
Background: People with Huntington's disease (HD) have been observed to have lower rates of cancers. Objective: To investigate the relationship between age of onset of HD, CAG repeat length, and cancer diagnosis. Methods: Data were obtained from the European Huntington's disease network REGISTRY study for 6540 subjects. Population cancer incidence was ascertained from the GLOBOCAN database to obtain standardised incidence ratios of cancers in the REGISTRY subjects. Results: 173/6528 HD REGISTRY subjects had had a cancer diagnosis. The age-standardised incidence rate of all cancers in the REGISTRY HD population was 0.26 (CI 0.22-0.30). Individual cancers showed a lower age-standardised incidence rate compared with the control population with prostate and colorectal cancers showing the lowest rates. There was no effect of CAG length on the likelihood of cancer, but a cancer diagnosis within the last year was associated with a greatly increased rate of HD onset (Hazard Ratio 18.94, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Cancer is less common than expected in the HD population, confirming previous reports. However, this does not appear to be related to CAG length in HTT. A recent diagnosis of cancer increases the risk of HD onset at any age, likely due to increased investigation following a cancer diagnosis
Clinical and genetic characteristics of late-onset Huntington's disease
Background: The frequency of late-onset Huntington's disease (>59 years) is assumed to be low and the clinical course milder. However, previous literature on late-onset disease is scarce and inconclusive. Objective: Our aim is to study clinical characteristics of late-onset compared to common-onset HD patients in a large cohort of HD patients from the Registry database. Methods: Participants with late- and common-onset (30â50 years)were compared for first clinical symptoms, disease progression, CAG repeat size and family history. Participants with a missing CAG repeat size, a repeat size of â€35 or a UHDRS motor score of â€5 were excluded. Results: Of 6007 eligible participants, 687 had late-onset (11.4%) and 3216 (53.5%) common-onset HD. Late-onset (n = 577) had significantly more gait and balance problems as first symptom compared to common-onset (n = 2408) (P <.001). Overall motor and cognitive performance (P <.001) were worse, however only disease motor progression was slower (coefficient, â0.58; SE 0.16; P <.001) compared to the common-onset group. Repeat size was significantly lower in the late-onset (n = 40.8; SD 1.6) compared to common-onset (n = 44.4; SD 2.8) (P <.001). Fewer late-onset patients (n = 451) had a positive family history compared to common-onset (n = 2940) (P <.001). Conclusions: Late-onset patients present more frequently with gait and balance problems as first symptom, and disease progression is not milder compared to common-onset HD patients apart from motor progression. The family history is likely to be negative, which might make diagnosing HD more difficult in this population. However, the balance and gait problems might be helpful in diagnosing HD in elderly patients