Human-centric AI: philosophical and community-centric considerations

This article provides a course of correction in the discourse surrounding human-centric AI by elucidating the philosophical underpinning that serves to create a view that AI is divorced from human-centric values. Next, we espouse the need to explicitly designate stakeholder- or community-centric values which are needed to resolve the issue of alignment. To achieve this, we present two frameworks, Ubuntu and maximum feasible participation. Finally, we demonstrate how employing the aforementioned frameworks in AI can benefit society by flattening the current top-down social hierarchies as AI is currently being utilized. Implications are discussed

Compendium of Experimental Cetane Number Data

In this report, we present a compilation of reported cetane numbers for pure chemical compounds. The compiled database contains cetane values for 299 pure compounds, including 156 hydrocarbons and 143 oxygenates. Cetane number is a relative ranking of fuels based on the amount of time between fuel injection and ignition. The cetane number is typically measured either in a combustion bomb or in a single-cylinder research engine. This report includes cetane values from several different measurement techniques - each of which has associated uncertainties. Additionally, many of the reported values are determined by measuring blending cetane numbers, which introduces significant error. In many cases, the measurement technique is not reported nor is there any discussion about the purity of the compounds. Nonetheless, the data in this report represent the best pure compound cetane number values available from the literature as of August 2004

Lack of effect of citalopram on magnetic resonance spectroscopy measures of glutamate and glutamine in frontal cortex of healthy volunteers

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a non-invasive imaging technique that can provide localised measures of brain chemistry in vivo. We previously found that healthy volunteers receiving the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, citalopram, daily for 1 week showed higher levels of a combined measure of glutamate and glutamine (Glx) in occipital cortex than those receiving placebo. The aim of this study was to assess if a similar effect could be detected in the frontal brain region. Twenty-three healthy volunteers randomised to receive either citalopram 20 mg or a placebo capsule daily for 7–10 days were studied and scanned using a 3T Varian INOVA system before and at the end of treatment. Standard short-TE (echo time) PRESS (Point-resolved spectroscopy) (TE = 26 ms) and PRESS-J spectra were acquired from a single 8-cm3 voxel in a frontal region incorporating anterior cingulate cortex. Glutamate and total Glx levels were quantified both relative to creatine and as absolute levels. Relative to placebo, citalopram produced no change in Glx or glutamate alone at the end of the study. Similarly, no effect was seen on other MRS measures studied: myo-inositol, choline, N-acetylaspartate and creatine. These data suggest that the effects of serotonin reuptake to modify cortical glutamatergic MRS measures may be regionally specific. This supports the potential for MRS in assessing neuroanatomically specific serotonin-glutamate interactions in the human brain

Neotectonics of the Western Nepal Fault System: Implications for Himalayan strain partitioning

Oblique convergence at the Himalayan margin is hypothesized to be partitioned by orogen-normal thrusting and orogen-parallel strike-slip faulting. We conducted field mapping and remote sensing in the Dhaulagiri Range of Nepal, and the results reveal an active regional fault system termed the Western Nepal Fault System (WNFS). Right and normally offset Quaternary deposits and brittly deformed bedrock demarcate dextral slip along two strike-slip faults striking N40–50°W linked via an extensional right step over striking N10–20°E. The strike-slip attitudes subparallel bedrock foliation, while the step over cuts at a high angle (~70°). Fault slip data along the strike-slip segments trend N70°W with minor dip component, top to north. Fault slip data and observed kinematics along the WNFS support our interpretation that the WNFS formed via arc-parallel stress. On the basis of geometry, kinematics, and structural position we correlate the WNFS to active faults between the Karakoram and Bari Gad faults. This suggests an ~350 km long dextral fault system extending obliquely across the Western Nepal Himalaya which appears to intersect the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT) near 83°30′E, coinciding with a large gradient in the arc-parallel component of GPS velocities. We interpret the WNFS to represent a class of orogen-parallel strike-slip faults working with subduction to accommodate obliquely convergent plate motion. Our observations support the hypothesis that the region lying between the MFT and the WNFS is a continental version of a fore-arc sliver bounded at its base by the Main Himalayan Thrust

Inducing remission of Type 2 diabetes in the Caribbean: findings from a mixed methods feasibility study of a low-calorie liquid diet-based intervention in Barbados.

AIM: In a high proportion of people with recently diagnosed Type 2 diabetes, a short (2-3-month) low-calorie diet is able to restore normal glucose and insulin metabolism. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of this approach in Barbados. METHODS: Twenty-five individuals with Type 2 diabetes diagnosed within past 6 years, not on insulin, BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2 were recruited. Hypoglycaemic medication was stopped on commencement of the 8-week liquid (760 calorie) diet. Insulin response was assessed in meal tests at baseline, 8 weeks and 8 months. Semi-structured interviews, analysed thematically, explored participants' experiences. 'Responders' were those with fasting plasma glucose (FPG) < 7 mmol/l at 8 weeks. RESULTS: Ten men and 15 women (mean age 48, range 26-68 years) participated. Mean (sd) BMI was 34.2 kg/m2 (6.0); FPG 9.2 mmol/l (2.2). Mean weight loss at 8 weeks and 8 months was 10.1 kg [95% confidence interval (CI) 8.1, 12.0] and 8.2 kg (95% CI 5.8, 10.6); FPG was lower by 2.2 mmol/l (95% CI 1.2, 3.2) and 1.7 mmol/l (95% CI 0.8, 2.7) respectively. Nine of 11 (82%) of those who lost ≥ 10 kg were 'responders' compared with 6 of 14 (43%) who lost < 10 kg (P = 0.048). The 30-min insulin increment was higher in responders at baseline and follow-up (P ≤ 0.01). A food culture based on starchy foods and pressures to eat large amounts at social events were among the challenges identified by participants. CONCLUSIONS: The feasibility of this approach to weight loss and diabetes remission in a predominantly black population in Barbados was demonstrated

Behçet's syndrome in children and young people in the United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland: a prospective epidemiological study

OBJECTIVES: To define the incidence and prevalence of Behçet's syndrome (BS) in children and young people (CYP) up to the age of 16 years in the United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland (ROI). METHODS: A prospective epidemiological study was undertaken with the support of the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit (BPSU) and the British Society of Paediatric Dermatologists (BSPD). Consultants reported anonymised cases of BS seen. A follow-up study at one year examined progression of disease and treatment. RESULTS: Over a two-year period, 56 cases met International Criteria for Behçet's Disease. For children under 16 years of age, the two-year period prevalence estimate was 4.2 per million (95% CI 3.2-5.4) and the incidence was 0.96 per million person years (95% CI 0.66-1.41). Mucocutaneous disease was the most common phenotype (56/100%), with ocular (10/56; 17.9%), neurological (2/56; 3.6%) and vascular involvement (3/56; 5.4%) being less common. Median age at onset was 6.34 years and at diagnosis was 11.72 years. There were slightly more female than male children reported (32/56; 55.6%). The majority of cases (85.7%) were white Caucasian. Apart from genital ulcers, which were more common in females, there were no significant differences in frequency of manifestations between male or females, nor between ethnicities. Over 83% of cases had three or more non-primary care healthcare professionals involved in their care. CONCLUSION: BS is extremely rare in CYP in the UK and ROI and most have mucocutaneous disease. Healthcare needs are complex, and coordinated care is key

Thermochronologic constraints on the late Cenozoic exhumation history of the Gurla Mandhata metamorphic core complex, Southwestern Tibet

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2013TC003302/abstractHow the Tibetan plateau is geodynamically linked to the Himalayas is a topic receiving considerable attention. The Karakoram fault plays key roles in describing the structural relationship between southern Tibet and the Himalayas. In particular, considerable debate exists at the southeastern end of the Karakoram fault, where its role is interpreted in two different ways. One interpretation states that slip along the dextral Karakoram fault extends eastward along the Indus-Yalu suture zone, bypassing the Himalayas. The other interprets that fault slip is fed southward into the Himalayan thrust belt along the Gurla Mandhata detachment (GMD). To evaluate these competing models, the late Miocene history of the GMD was reconstructed from thermokinematic modeling of zircon (U-Th)/He data. Three east-west transects reveal rapid cooling of the GMD footwall from 8.0 ± 1.3 Ma to 2.6 ± 0.7 Ma. Model simulations show a southward decrease in slip magnitude and rate along the GMD. In the north, initiation of the GMD range between 14 and 11 Ma with a mean fault slip rate of 5.0 ± 0.9 mm/yr. The central transect shows an initiation age from 14 to 11 Ma with a mean fault slip rate of 3.3 ± 0.6 mm/yr. In the south, initiation began between 15 and 8 Ma with a mean fault slip rate of 3.2 ± 1.6 mm/yr. The initiation ages and slip rates match the Karakoram fault across several timescales, supporting the idea that the two are kinematically linked. Specifically, the data are consistent with the GMD acting as an extensional stepover, with slip transferred southward into the Himalayas of western Nepal

Pattern scaling using ClimGen: monthly-resolution future climate scenarios including changes in the variability of precipitation

Development, testing and example applications of the pattern-scaling approach for generating future climate change projections are reported here, with a focus on a particular software application called “ClimGen”. A number of innovations have been implemented, including using exponential and logistic functions of global-mean temperature to represent changes in local precipitation and cloud cover, and interpolation from climate model grids to a finer grid while taking into account land-sea contrasts in the climate change patterns. Of particular significance is a new approach for incorporating changes in the inter-annual variability of monthly precipitation simulated by climate models. This is achieved by diagnosing simulated changes in the shape of the gamma distribution of monthly precipitation totals, applying the pattern-scaling approach to estimate changes in the shape parameter under a future scenario, and then perturbing sequences of observed precipitation anomalies so that their distribution changes according to the projected change in the shape parameter. The approach cannot represent changes to the structure of climate timeseries (e.g. changed autocorrelation or teleconnection patterns) were they to occur, but is shown here to be more successful at representing changes in low precipitation extremes than previous pattern-scaling methods

A Sample of Low Redshift BL Lacs. I. The Radio Data

We present a new sample of 30 nearby (z<0.2) BL Lacs, selected to study the nuclear as well as the large scale properties of low power radio sources. In this first paper, we show and discuss new radio data taken with the VLA (19 objects at 1.4 GHz, either in A or C configuration, or both) as well as with the VLBA (15 sources at 5 GHz). On the kiloparsec scale, all objects exhibit a compact core and a variety of radio morphologies (jets, halos, secondary compact components). On the parsec scale, we find weak cores and a few short, one-sided, jets. From the jet/counter-jet ratio, core dominance, and synchrotron self Compton model we estimate the intrinsic orientation and velocity of the jets. The resulting properties of BL Lacs are similar to those of a parent population composed of FR I radio galaxies.Comment: 46 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

The epigenetic clock is correlated with physical and cognitive fitness in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

Background: The DNA methylation-based 'epigenetic clock' correlates strongly with chronological age, but it is currently unclear what drives individual differences. We examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between the epigenetic clock and four mortality-linked markers of physical and mental fitness: lung function, walking speed, grip strength and cognitive ability. Methods: DNA methylation-based age acceleration (residuals of the epigenetic clock estimate regressed on chronological age) were estimated in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 at ages 70 (n=920), 73 (n=299) and 76 (n=273) years. General cognitive ability, walking speed, lung function and grip strength were measured concurrently. Cross-sectional correlations between age acceleration and the fitness variables were calculated. Longitudinal change in the epigenetic clock estimates and the fitness variables were assessed via linear mixed models and latent growth curves. Epigenetic age acceleration at age 70 was used as a predictor of longitudinal change in fitness. Epigenome-wide association studies (EWASs) were conducted on the four fitness measures. Results: Cross-sectional correlations were significant between greater age acceleration and poorer performance on the lung function, cognition and grip strength measures (r range: -0.07 to -0.05, P range: 9.7 x 10 to 0.024). All of the fitness variables declined over time but age acceleration did not correlate with subsequent change over 6 years. There were no EWAS hits for the fitness traits. Conclusions: Markers of physical and mental fitness are associated with the epigenetic clock (lower abilities associated with age acceleration). However, age acceleration does not associate with decline in these measures, at least over a relatively short follow-up