Holistic Interpretation Research Articles

Pitfalls in Interpretive Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Radiology.

Interpretive artificial intelligence (AI) tools are poised to change the future of radiology. However, certain pitfalls may pose particular challenges for optimal AI interpretative performance. These include anatomic variants, age-related changes, postoperative changes, medical devices, image artifacts, lack of integration of prior and concurrent imaging examinations and clinical information, and the satisfaction-of-search effect. Model training and development should account for such pitfalls to minimize errors and optimize interpretation accuracy. More broadly, AI algorithms should be exposed to diverse and complex training datasets to yield a holistic interpretation that considers all relevant information beyond the individual examination. Successful clinical deployment of AI tools will require that radiologist end users recognize these pitfalls and other limitations of the available models. Furthermore, developers should incorporate explainable AI techniques (e.g., heat maps) into their tools, to improve radiologists' understanding of model outputs and to enable radiologists to provide feedback for guiding continuous learning and iterative refinement. In this article, we provide an overview of common pitfalls that radiologists may encounter when using interpretive AI products in daily practice. We present how such pitfalls lead to AI errors and offer potential strategies that AI developers may use for their mitigation.

Development of a culturally informed tool to assess chronic pain for Māori: the Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self Measure-Aotearoa (PRISM-A)

Chronic pain is one of the most common long-term conditions in Aotearoa (New Zealand), and there is a higher prevalence and greater impact of pain for Māori (Indigenous People of New Zealand). Māori tend to have a more holistic interpretation of pain compared with western views; therefore, current assessments may not capture the full meaning and impact of pain for Māori. This study developed a holistic assessment tool for chronic pain in collaboration with Māori clinicians and Māori with chronic pain. The Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self Measure–Aotearoa (PRISM-A) is a verbal and visual assessment tool that is based on Te Ao Māori (Māori world), imbeds whakawhanaungatanga (relationship formation) between the patient and clinician, and incorporates Te Whare Tapa Whā, a Māori model of health. The tool is likely to provide a more meaningful assessment of pain and facilitate better outcomes for Māori with chronic pain.

Gendered workplace as a double-loop social construct: the case of Japanese women professionals

Purpose This paper aims to critically examine the role of women in the Japanese workplace and discusses its implications for gender studies within the context of diversity, equity and inclusion in international business (IB). Employing a social constructivism approach, this paper moves beyond conventional economic typologies and specific cases to offer an integrative and socially embedded perspective for understanding gender dynamics in the Japanese workplace. Design/methodology/approach This viewpoint paper critiques existing research on Japanese women professionals, drawing on factual evidence and literature to propose a double-loop gendering framework. This framework explores the socially constructed phenomenon of women in the Japanese workplace at multiple levels, providing a holistic interpretation of gender dynamics. Findings We identify five macro-level environmental factors that influence female labour participation, leadership positions and entrepreneurship. These factors are mediated by career motivation, corporate culture and men’s attitudes towards gender equality. Distinguishing between first-loop gendering, which focuses on problem-solving for improved gender equality, and second-loop gendering, which examines the underlying assumptions of social norms, values and beliefs, offers insights into the challenges Japan faces in achieving female leadership and equality. Second-loop gendering may help explain the paradoxical state of Japan’s women professionals, characterized by slow progress in gender equality despite significant political and financial resources. Our analysis reveals complex, multi-level interactions and influences within this socially constructed phenomenon. Originality/value This viewpoint paper provides a critical analysis of gender studies in the Japanese context, offering potential avenues for IB explorations. The insights extend to future IB studies, international comparisons of gender equality and the management of gender diversity in multinational corporations (MNCs).

Re-visiting copyright: is there a way to tackle selective enforcement and non-contextual algorithmic takedowns? A discussion through the lens of internet meme culture

ABSTRACT Internet memes, a bourgeoning form of communication, resemble accessory elements of language. However, internet memes are conceptually complex. Their collective re-creative process relies heavily on copying underlying works, usually without asking for prior-permission from their rightsholders. Internet memes challenge core copyright assumptions on reasons of re-creation and modes of exploitation. Without a fundamental rethink of this mismatch, internet meme culture may be threatened. Going forward, copyright reforms should be holistic and distinguish between traditional and newer forms of re-creative processes. This article proposes that existing copyright can be flexibly interpreted to limit private property rights of underlying works and meme variations when they are used as internet memes, so as to facilitate their adaptation and support socio-cultural discourse. This article proposes a two-step holistic interpretation: copyright can conceptualise and confer limited rights for underlying works and meme variations when they are copied and re-used as internet memes. Copyright can also conceptualise a narrower scope of property rights by flexibly interpreting a combination of fundamental notions, including joint authorship, fair dealing, idea-expression, or user rights. This holistic approach sits comfortably with user-creators and their blurry cultural production-consumption patterns, alongside their nuanced (non)economic use of internet memes.

Three theses on informal housing in Europe

This editorial introduction to the Special Issue ‘The rules, institutions and politics of housing informality in Europe’ argues for a more holistic interpretation to housing informality in Europe as a critical heuristic for re-thinking the dynamics of informality in the global North. In so doing, it offers three modest theses. First, housing informality is an endogenous phenomenon in the development of European cities, closely connected to the logics of capitalist modernity and currently located at the intersection of new patterns of forced migration and an ever-intensifying housing crisis. Second, housing informality is (also) a by-product of direct forms of public support, toleration and legitimation, as well as the consequence of deliberate (in)action by the State. This results in a clear public politics of informal space, in the framework of which informal housing is an instrument of governmentality in the hands of ruling elites. Third, housing informality is normatively ambiguous. In fact, informal dwelling practices create an archipelago of institutional micro-geographies at the city scale, that generate, in turn, heterogeneous spheres of urban citizenship rights. This selective spatial autonomy can be inhabited as much by processes of rights expansion, emancipation and solidarity as well as by practices of right-restriction, exploitation and precarization.

Horses’ Cardiovascular and Glucocorticoid Responses to Equine-Assisted Therapy with Women with Intellectual Disability: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT Research on equine-assisted therapy (EAT) has primarily been centered on human health. Relatively few studies have addressed the impact of EAT on horses. This study sought to monitor four experienced therapy horses’ cardiovascular and glucocorticoid activity over the course of standardized EAT sessions designed to support women with intellectual disability. In the control condition, horses completed the EAT protocol solely with the therapist, thereby resembling a training session. Descriptive data analysis revealed higher levels of heart rate during an experimental EAT session and increased salivary cortisol when horses were navigated by the client through an obstacle course during the “challenge” phase of the protocol, pointing at a greater physical demand due to the recipient on horseback. Given the parasympathetic activity and overall heart rate variability across experimental EAT sessions and the cortisol recovery after the sessions, the findings do not give rise to any acute animal welfare concerns. For a more holistic interpretation of the present research results, further investigation into the horse perception of EAT, based on a bigger sample size and additional markers of welfare, is needed.

Realizing the potential for circularity in Glasgow through the socio-spatial dimension of urban systems

ABSTRACT With urbanization trends impacting on levels of greenhouse gas emissions, environmental degradation, resource consumption and associated waste; the quest for stronger mitigation and adaptation approaches has put more pressure on solutions to be viewed at the city scale. A plethora of concepts has emerged under the umbrella of sustainable cities, aiming to make cities greener, smarter, resilient, eco-friendly, decarbonized, and more recently, ‘Circular’. This research aims to contextualize the alignment of the circular economy to socio-spatial issues by leveraging the discussions on the implications of circularity in urban planning and design. Drawing on a combination of methods: literature review, stakeholder interviews and the exploration of Glasgow as a case study; a synthetic view of an urban circularity framework is aided by the visualization of four urban systems (building and property assets, social-productive, energy and mobility, and natural and ecological) and initiatives affecting them (policies, plans, projects) enabling a socio-spatial perspective to circularity. Applied to Glasgow, the maps showcased current practices and their potential for moving towards a circular city, promoting inclusive, collaborative planning and stakeholder engagement not only on the macro scale (city) but at the meso (neighbourhood) and micro (buildings/sites/citizens) scales. The framework presents the potential for advancing urban metabolism in a way that is visual and relatable to urban decision-making, and encourages a more holistic interpretation of circularity in the built environment.

Deixis and dementia: Insights from phenomenological philosophy

This article provides an overview of the relevance of deixis in dementia from the perspective of phenomenological philosophy with an inter- and transdisciplinary scope. A key objective is to integrate existing approaches and develop hypotheses for future research. The paper seeks to explore the potential of deixis to enhance interaction and communication in the most common form of dementia, Alzheimer's disease. The paper prepares the ground for three sub-goals: (1) Developing a general taxonomy of deixis, differentiating between verbal deixis (e.g., pronouns), corporeal deixis (e.g., pointing gestures), and medial deixis (e.g., arrows). (2) Investigating the diagnostic, therapeutic and care applications of deixis in Alzheimer's disease in the face of the progressive loss of higher cognitive skills. (3) Pinpointing the desiderata emerging from the relation between deixis and dementia at both conceptual and empirical levels. This paper argues for viewing deixis not solely as a deficit-indicator but also as a resource-indicator. Deixis in dementia can serve on two interconnected yet distinct levels: one for diagnosis, and another for therapy and care. On the one hand, verbal indexicals have a deficit-indicating function for the loss of higher cognitive skills, such as language, orientation and memory. This function is relevant for linguistically shaped dementia diagnosis and a holistic interpretation of key symptoms. On the other hand, all three kinds of deixis, the verbal, the corporeal, and the medial, do have a resource-indicating function. The threefold deixis helps us to advance orientation, communication and interaction in both private and institutional living environments. For example, the corporeal deixis is an important communicative resource, which helps to navigate and maintain attention, intention, and emotion. Finally, the paper proposes an index-ability scale to identify personalized communication resources for individuals with dementia.

A literature review of “lawful” text and data mining.

Text and data mining (TDM) is a process, typically automated, that looks for patterns in data that may otherwise remain unnoticed. In a world where data driven solutions play a progressively more important role, TDM has become a vital tool in sectors ranging from medicine, to commerce, gaining widespread attraction. Nevertheless, a variety of regulatory frameworks not always specifically attuned towards regulating TDM continue to apply concurrently. The literature within the context of regulatory frameworks governing TDM is a fragmented piecemeal of valuable insights into what “lawful” TDM resembles. This literature review adopts a grounded theory approach analysing 82 pieces of literature, collating views regarding “lawful” TDM, ultimately providing a holistic assessment of academics’ and practitioners’ views and opinions regarding the regulatory framework which governs TDM. A total of 7 categories were identified and each of these are analysed. Tables are provided in the Appendix (Refer to the extended data) highlighting which scholarly works were used for each section of the literature review, but also how those works were used. It is ultimately concluded that the regulatory frameworks that apply to users conducting TDM are multifaceted, and ever-changing on a case-by-case basis. There is an ever-growing need for a holistic interpretation of the regulatory frameworks which apply, creating a map which would allow for users conducting TDM to navigate this complex web of legal rules.

Internal legitimacy as a benchmark criterion for the inclusion of NSAGs in the making of IHL

Currently, non-state armed groups (NSAGs) are bound by customary international humanitarian law (IHL) without their consent or inclusion in its making. On the one hand, NSAGs’ inclusion in law-making would make IHL more adapted to situations of rebel governance, the capabilities of NSAGs, and could result in a compliance pull vis-à-vis NSAGs. On the other hand, such inclusion might be undesirable, unreasonable, and unfeasible. Nevertheless, all arguments pro and contra NSAGs’ inclusion do not necessarily apply to all types of NSAGs. However, scholarship lacks a convincing criterion to decide which NSAGs could participate in the formation of customary IHL. This article attempts to provide such a criterion by approaching the discussion in a non-state-centered manner and puts those most affected by armed conflict at the center: communities under rebel governance. It proposes a more holistic interpretation of the practice-criterion for custom-making in combination with the criterion of internal legitimacy to decide which NSAGs to include in customary IHL’s making. Internal legitimacy is generated when communities consent and support rebel governance in a non-coerced manner, motivated by performance-based and symbolic catalysts for legitimacy. This article elaborates on what is understood by the notions of procedural fairness and non-coerced community consent and support; and how it answers the concerns about delegitimizing national governments, legalizing armed struggle, and the detrimental impact of NSAGs’ practice on the substantive protection offered by IHL.

Panpipes: a pipeline for multiomic single-cell and spatial transcriptomic data analysis

Single-cell multiomic analysis of the epigenome, transcriptome, and proteome allows for comprehensive characterization of the molecular circuitry that underpins cell identity and state. However, the holistic interpretation of such datasets presents a challenge given a paucity of approaches for systematic, joint evaluation of different modalities. Here, we present Panpipes, a set of computational workflows designed to automate multimodal single-cell and spatial transcriptomic analyses by incorporating widely-used Python-based tools to perform quality control, preprocessing, integration, clustering, and reference mapping at scale. Panpipes allows reliable and customizable analysis and evaluation of individual and integrated modalities, thereby empowering decision-making before downstream investigations.

Nepal's Rapid Rural Electrification Achievement: A Review

Nepal has been able to accelerate electricity access to rural areas very rapidly from early 2000s. Though the existing literature provides insights into the factors, enablers, challenges, and institutional models influencing rural electrification in Nepal, there is currently very little assessment of the specific factors that led to Nepal’s rapid rural electricity access in the first two decades of this century. This review paper investigates what spurred this rapid rural electrification in Nepal. The study employs a literature review approach and uses the multi-level perspective and energy justice frameworks for a holistic interpretation of findings of the literature review. Analysis of the findings from the literature review indicate that Nepal's rapid electrification can be assessed primarily through the perspectives of governance and policies. The discussion also touches on the institutional context, the politics surrounding the electrification transition, and policy innovations. The effectiveness of the polices is also analysed through an energy justice perspective. The analysis highlights challenges and disparities in geographical distribution and energy justice. The paper argues that Nepal’s rural electricity access was boosted by political and socio-economic conditions, like advent of democracy and large-scale foreign employment, and was propelled by innovative government policies for grid based and off-grid rural electrification. However, it also concludes that work still needs to be done from an energy justice perspective to bring about geographical and economic equity in the effort.

A Comprehensive Analytical Review of Polyphenols: Evaluating Neuroprotection in Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD), a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder, is the primary cause of dementia. Despite significant advancements in neuroscience, a definitive cure or treatment for this debilitating disease remains elusive. A notable characteristic of AD is oxidative stress, which has been identified as a potential therapeutic target. Polyphenols, secondary metabolites of plant origin, have attracted attention due to their potent antioxidant properties. Epidemiological studies suggest a correlation between the consumption of polyphenol-rich foods and the prevention of chronic diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders, which underscores the potential of polyphenols as a therapeutic strategy in AD management. Hence, this comprehensive review focuses on the diverse roles of polyphenols in AD, with a particular emphasis on neuroprotective potential. Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar were used as leading databases for study selection, from 2018 to late March 2024. Analytical chemistry serves as a crucial tool for characterizing polyphenols, with a nuanced exploration of their extraction methods from various sources, often employing chemometric techniques for a holistic interpretation of the advances in this field. Moreover, this review examines current in vitro and in vivo research, aiming to enhance the understanding of polyphenols' role in AD, and providing valuable insights for forthcoming approaches in this context.

A nonparametric proportional risk model to assess a treatment effect in time-to-event data.

Time-to-event analysis often relies on prior parametric assumptions, or, if a semiparametric approach is chosen, Cox's model. This is inherently tied to the assumption of proportional hazards, with the analysis potentially invalidated if this assumption is not fulfilled. In addition, most interpretations focus on the hazard ratio, that is often misinterpreted as the relative risk (RR), the ratio of the cumulative distribution functions. In this paper, we introduce an alternative to current methodology for assessing a treatment effect in a two-group situation, not relying on the proportional hazards assumption but assuming proportional risks. Precisely, we propose a new nonparametric model to directly estimate the RR of two groups to experience an event under the assumption that the risk ratio is constant over time. In addition to this relative measure, our model allows for calculating the number needed to treat as an absolute measure, providing the possibility of an easy and holistic interpretation of the data. We demonstrate the validity of the approach by means of a simulation study and present an application to data from a large randomized controlled trial investigating the effect of dapagliflozin on all-causemortality.

Response Item Network (ResIN): A network-based approach to explore attitude systems

Belief network analysis (BNA) refers to a class of methods designed to detect and outline structural organizations of complex attitude systems. BNA can be used to analyze attitude-structures of abstract concepts such as ideologies, worldviews, and norm systems that inform how people perceive and navigate the world. The present manuscript presents a formal specification of the Response-Item Network (or ResIN), a new methodological approach that advances BNA in at least two important ways. First, ResIN allows for the detection of attitude asymmetries between different groups, improving the applicability and validity of BNA in research contexts that focus on intergroup differences and/or relationships. Second, ResIN’s networks include a spatial component that is directly connected to item response theory (IRT). This allows for access to latent space information in which each attitude (i.e. each response option across items in a survey) is positioned in relation to the core dimension(s) of group structure, revealing non-linearities and allowing for a more contextual and holistic interpretation of the attitudes network. To validate the effectiveness of ResIN, we develop a mathematical model and apply ResIN to both simulated and real data. Furthermore, we compare these results to existing methods of BNA and IRT. When used to analyze partisan belief-networks in the US-American political context, ResIN was able to reliably distinguish Democrat and Republican attitudes, even in highly asymmetrical attitude systems. These results demonstrate the utility of ResIN as a powerful tool for the analysis of complex attitude systems and contribute to the advancement of BNA.

FusionVision: A Comprehensive Approach of 3D Object Reconstruction and Segmentation from RGB-D Cameras Using YOLO and Fast Segment Anything.

In the realm of computer vision, the integration of advanced techniques into the pre-processing of RGB-D camera inputs poses a significant challenge, given the inherent complexities arising from diverse environmental conditions and varying object appearances. Therefore, this paper introduces FusionVision, an exhaustive pipeline adapted for the robust 3D segmentation of objects in RGB-D imagery. Traditional computer vision systems face limitations in simultaneously capturing precise object boundaries and achieving high-precision object detection on depth maps, as they are mainly proposed for RGB cameras. To address this challenge, FusionVision adopts an integrated approach by merging state-of-the-art object detection techniques, with advanced instance segmentation methods. The integration of these components enables a holistic (unified analysis of information obtained from both color RGB and depth D channels) interpretation of RGB-D data, facilitating the extraction of comprehensive and accurate object information in order to improve post-processes such as object 6D pose estimation, Simultanious Localization and Mapping (SLAM) operations, accurate 3D dataset extraction, etc. The proposed FusionVision pipeline employs YOLO for identifying objects within the RGB image domain. Subsequently, FastSAM, an innovative semantic segmentation model, is applied to delineate object boundaries, yielding refined segmentation masks. The synergy between these components and their integration into 3D scene understanding ensures a cohesive fusion of object detection and segmentation, enhancing overall precision in 3D object segmentation.

Time as image of the manifold: Heidegger and the rules of synthesis

AbstractIn our experience, we see more than what we see in a strict sense. We see things as identical through (and despite) multiple spatio‐temporal appearances; we recognize things as something. In this article, I address this issue by asking how temporality allows us to see more in the present than what the present actually contains. I argue that presence and absence are “available,” not just as they are perceived through our senses, but as they are encountered through time, and notably, according to the relations that unify past, present, and future. To support this view, I refer to Heidegger's interpretation of Kant's notion of synthesis. Specifically, I consider Heidegger's reading of the so‐called A‐Deduction, where Kant describes our relation with objects as enabled by three syntheses (i.e., apprehension, reproduction, and recognition). I reconstruct Heidegger's holistic interpretation of the threefold synthesis as an interplay of past, present, and future. I show how in such interplay, temporal dimensions are unified by relations that do not rely on perception; these “time‐relations,” which Heidegger also calls “rules,” allow us to see what we see not just as it is literally perceived, but as part of an “image” of the manifold.

Rethinking some roots of ecosystem approach in aquatic ecology: between the food cycle and lake metabolism.

The present study provides new insight into the key aspects of the early formative period of the ecosystem concept in aquatic ecology. Raymond Lindeman's trophodynamics is known to be a starting point for the development of the modern concept of ecosystem. The trophodynamic approach in ecology was proposed by Lindeman in his widely cited paper of 1942. Lindeman's views are analyzed in comparison with the contemporary production studies in aquatic ecology. It is shown that a similar theoretical system has been proposed in the USSR at the end of the 1930s by Georgiy G. Vinberg. He introduced the concept of biotic balance based on the wide appraisal of the dark and light bottles method. The study shows that both Lindeman's trophodynamics and Vinberg's concept of biotic balance relied on an energy-based approach in considering the wholeness of a water body. The two scientists, however, differed in several important aspects concerning the interpretation of the role of living organisms. The holistic interpretation of ecosystem by Lindeman and Vinberg can be seen as part of the dilemma between physicalism and organicism. At the same time, the main emphasis in the concepts of both Vinberg and Lindemann was on the primary production component, a feature that was common to the first holistic systems in production hydrobiology (e.g., E. Naumann's regional limnology). It is clear that modern problems of aquatic ecology should be addressed from the perspective of the organismocentric understanding of the ecosystem, but undoubtedly at the new level of development of this view.

Sparsity-Guided Holistic Explanation for LLMs with Interpretable Inference-Time Intervention

Large Language Models (LLMs) have achieved unprecedented breakthroughs in various natural language processing domains. However, the enigmatic ``black-box'' nature of LLMs remains a significant challenge for interpretability, hampering transparent and accountable applications. While past approaches, such as attention visualization, pivotal subnetwork extraction, and concept-based analyses, offer some insight, they often focus on either local or global explanations within a single dimension, occasionally falling short in providing comprehensive clarity. In response, we propose a novel methodology anchored in sparsity-guided techniques, aiming to provide a holistic interpretation of LLMs. Our framework, termed SparseCBM, innovatively integrates sparsity to elucidate three intertwined layers of interpretation: input, subnetwork, and concept levels. In addition, the newly introduced dimension of interpretable inference-time intervention facilitates dynamic adjustments to the model during deployment. Through rigorous empirical evaluations on real-world datasets, we demonstrate that SparseCBM delivers a profound understanding of LLM behaviors, setting it apart in both interpreting and ameliorating model inaccuracies. Codes are provided in supplements.

Still losing the race with technology? Understanding the scope of data controllers’ responsibility to implement data protection by design and by default

ABSTRACT Privacy by Design (PbD) is crucial for fundamental privacy protection. However, PbD remains a voluntary initiative without any means to ensure its effective implementation. Article 25 GDPR codifies PbD as a legal obligation requiring technologies processing personal data to follow Data Protection by Design and by Default (DPbDD). However, Article 25 is only binding on controllers which limits its scope. For instance, the design of technologies may not coincide with the entry of the controller into the digital value chain. This implies that the burden of implementing DPbDD lies on the users of technology and not on its designers, questioning the true extent of protection by design if stages like product development and innovation are excluded. This paper explores the legislative motivation behind the personal scope of Article 25. A holistic interpretation of Article 25 in light of other provisions of the GDPR shows a possibility, albeit not direct, to influence the design phase of technologies. However, it remains unclear whether this possibility ensures a co-division of responsibility. To address this, we propose examining corporate supply chain due diligence, specifically the due diligence obligations of mother companies for actions of their subsidiaries and business relationships.