Individual Consent Research Articles

Predictive model for the diagnosis of benign/malignant small pulmonary nodules.

There is some doubt that all nodules <8 mm are really mainly benign and that simple follow-up is adequate in all cases. The purpose of this study is to create a predictive model for the diagnosis of benign and malignant small pulmonary nodules.This was a retrospective case–control study of patients who had undergone pulmonary nodule resection at the Zhejiang University Jinhua Hospital. Patients with pulmonary nodules of ≤10 mm in size on chest high-resolution computed tomography were included. Patients’ demographic characteristics, clinical features, and high-resolution computed tomography findings were collected. Logistic regression and receiver-operating characteristic analysis were used to create a predictive model for malignancy.A total of 216 patients were included: 160 with malignant and 56 with benign nodules. Nodule density (odds ratio [OR] = 0.996, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.993–0.998, P = .001), vascular penetration sign (OR = 3.49, 95% CI: 1.39–8.76, P = .008), nodule type (OR = 4.27, 95% CI: 1.48–12.29, P = .007), and incisure surrounding nodules (OR = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.04–0.84, P = .03) were independently associated with malignant nodules. These factors were used to create a mathematical model that had an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 0.744. Using a cut-off of 0.762 resulted in 63.1% sensitivity and 75.0% specificity.This study proposes a pulmonary nodule prediction model that can estimate benign/malignant lung nodules with good sensitivity and specificity. Mixed ground-glass nodules, vascular penetration sign, density of lung nodules, and the absence of incisure signs are independently associated with malignant lung nodules.

인공지능의 소프트웨어 오류로 인한 민사책임

Artificial intelligence refers to the fact that some or all of human intellectual abilities, such as learning, reasoning, judgment, understanding, and behavior, have been implemented through computer programs. Therefore, software is very important. Nevertheless, not much research has been done regarding artificial intelligence software.It is necessary to update to the latest OS before OS support is terminated in order to prevent accidents while using artificial intelligence with end-of-support OS. In order to enable such automatic updating, consumers must have prior consent to automatic updating. Such consent shall be freely made, specific, sufficient information should have been provided and should be a clear indication. In addition, consent for these automatic updates is likely to be made comprehensively in advance, and obtaining consent in this way constitutes a 'conventions'. Therefore, it is subject to the Terms and Conditions Act. Furthermore, since continuous updates are necessary for the safety of the software, solutions such as receiving individual consent whenever there is an update, even if there is an objection to automatic updating. If, in the process of obtaining individual consent, a failure of the software that has not been upgraded results in loss of artificial intelligence, etc., it is reasonable to ensure that the liability for the damage is borne by the owner.If the manufacturer does not make an update, the consumer may claim the update from the seller on the basis of the liability. However, it is not desirable to claim an update from a seller who has only sold a simple product, and it would be most desirable to claim an update from a manufacturer because it is the manufacturer who knows the most about the software.However, artificial intelligence's software is likely to claim what it calls an &quot;ambition of development risk&quot; that the level of science and technology at the time the manufacturer supplied the product was not able to detect the existence of the defect. In this respect, moreover, the need for a manufacturing observation obligation arises. However, the Product Liability Act of Korea provides only for the effect of violating the Product Observation obligation, but does not stipulate how the obligation is fulfilled. Therefore, it is likely that these parts will need to be specified. Therefore, it is likely that regulations on specific methods of implementing active manufacturing observation obligations will be necessary, and that changes in design and legalization of recovery obligations will be required as a means of implementing such active manufacturing observation obligations.In addition, the Manufacturing Accountability Act imposes a heavy burden on manufacturers as it is responsible for no fault. In addition, the burden is likely to be greater if, as mentioned, the recovery obligation and design change, one of the methods for implementing the manufacturing observation obligation are required. This burden will eventually lead to higher prices for manufactured goods, or artificial intelligence, which will lead to consumer burdens. Mandatory manufacturing reimbursement insurance is required to address these problems.

Identifiable relatives in the family history: not without individual consent.

The family history is a traditional section of the clinical record. Data on family members in the clinical record may be anonymous but yet these may be easily identifiable; therefore, exposing the relatives of the patient to the fact that a written record is produced, mentioning them, without their consent. This is in direct contradiction with European data protection and other regulations and in contradiction with a reasonable ethical perspective. For the purpose of obtaining an image of the present state of affairs, we used as a convenience sample, the series of Case Records published in 2019 in The New England Journal of Medicine (January to December). From a total number of 40 reports, identifiable relatives were present in 30. The number of identifiable relatives varied between none and 6. It is not the right of each individual to disclose sensitive clinical information regarding other persons, without consent from these latter. Family history should no longer include identifiable relatives, unless consent is obtained from each identifiable person. The authors offer the following guidelines on this topic: (1) Do not mention any identifiable relative of the patient in the medical history without consent from the said relative; (2) Do not mention in the family history clinical conditions seemingly unrelated to the present clinical situation; (3) Do not mention in the family history clinical conditions that the patient does not (him/) herself have and that may be seen as social stigmata; (4) Consult the institutional Ethics committee in case of reasonable doubt.

UK speech and language therapists' views and reported practices of discourse analysis in aphasia rehabilitation.

Discourse assessment and treatment in aphasia rehabilitation is a priority focus for a range of stakeholder groups. However, a significant majority of speech and language therapists (SLTs) infrequently conduct discourse analysis, and do not feel competent in doing so. Known barriers identified in other countries, specifically a lack of time, training, expertise and resources, affect use of discourse analysis in clinical practice. To investigate UK SLTs' reported practices and views of discourse analysis, barriers and facilitators, and clinical feasibility in aphasia rehabilitation. An online survey of 52 questions adapted from existing research and incorporating behaviour change literature was created for the study and piloted. UK SLTs working in aphasia rehabilitation for at least 6 months were invited to participate. Potential participants were contacted through national and local clinical excellence networks, a National Health Service (NHS) bespoke e-mail list, and national magazine advertisement, and the study was also advertised on social media (Twitter). Therapists read an online participant information sheet and submitted individual electronic consent online; then progressed to the Qualtrics survey. Descriptive, correlational and inferential statistical analyses were conducted, and content analysis was carried out on the questions requiring text. A total of 211 valid responses were received from primarily female SLTs, aged 20-40 years, working full-time in the NHS in England, in community, inpatient and acute/subacute multidisciplinary settings. A total of 30% SLTs collected discourse analysis often, were mostly very experienced, and working part-time in community settings. Years of experience was predictive of use. Discourse was most often collected using standardized picture descriptions and recounts during initial assessment. Samples were infrequently recorded, and typically transcribed in real-time. Most SLTs (53-95%) reported making clinical judgements or manually counted words, sentences, communication of ideas and errors, and were confident in doing so. Barriers included time constraints; lack of expertise, confidence, training, resources and equipment; and patient severity. Discourse 'super-users' were distinguished by significantly higher professional motivation for discourse and workplace opportunity than other SLTs, and 'non-users' were distinguished by significantly less knowledge and skills in discourse analysis than other SLTs. SLTs reported a desire and need for training, new/assistive tools and time to do more discourse analysis in practice. Clinicians were highly engaged and relatively active in at least some aspects of discourse analysis practice. Interventions that target individual clinicians as well as organizations and systems are needed to improve the uptake of discourse analysis in practice. What this paper adds What is already known on the subject? Discourse in aphasia rehabilitation is a priority in clinical practice and research. However, the majority of clinicians infrequently collect and analyse discourse. Research in Australia and the United States indicated that lack of time, assessment resources and relevant knowledge and skills are the main barriers to use. What this paper adds to existing knowledge Compared with existing research, UK SLTs were more likely to see discourse analysis as part of their role and experienced fewer barriers, and more SLTs did it at least sometimes in clinic. However, practices were limited by lack of training, giving rise to challenges in selecting and interpreting findings for clients. More use was predicted by more experience and commitment to discourse analysis, particularly where workplaces supported this approach. Less use was associated with less knowledge and skills in discourse analysis. Practice and decision-making were influenced by client factors and constrained to a lesser degree by logistical challenges. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this study? Education and training in discourse analyses and in specific procedures are needed to improve individual clinicians' knowledge, skills and confidence in using discourse analysis for clients' rehabilitation. Equally, organizational and systems changes are needed to promote, support and reinforce discourse analysis in the workplace.

Temperature Variation and Preterm Birth Among Live Singleton Deliveries in Shenzhen, China: A Time-to-Event Analysis

Background: Although previous studies have examined the preterm birth (PTB) risk due to ambient temperature extremes including heat and cold events, there is little available epidemiological evidence on the effects of temperature variation (TV). This study aimed to investigate the relationship between inter- and intraday TV and PTB in Shenzhen, China. Methods: A total of 1,388,994 live singleton births were collected from January 2003 to December 2012, from the Shenzhen Birth registry system. Daily temperature range (DTR) was defined as the difference between the highest and lowest recorded daily temperature. Intraday TV was defined as the maximum daily diurnal temperature range (Max-DTR) in a given week. Inter-day TV was defined as the maximum increase or decrease in daily mean temperature between days t and t-1 in a given week; either an increase (Temp-inc) or a decrease (Temp-dec). We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate TV-related PTB risks during the first trimester, the second trimester, and in late pregnancy. Findings: The maximum values for DTR, Temp-inc, and Temp-dec were 17° C, 8° C and 11° C, respectively. The greatest TV-related PTB risk occurred in the second trimester, with 5.8% (95%CI: 3.3%, 8.3%), 23.7% (95%CI: 19.6%, 27.9%), and 4.4% (95%CI: 1.8%, 7.1%) differences per 1° C increase in Max-DTR, Temp-inc, and Temp-dec, respectively. Greater TV was associated with elevated PTB risk during the warm season, but Temp-inc was negatively associated with PTB during the cold season. The TV-PTB association was modified by maternal education and chronic conditions. Interpretation: Sharp temperature variation is a likely risk factor for PTB. Policy makers and clinicians should recognize the potential role of temperature variation in the etiology of PTB so that interventions can be designed to protect pregnant women and their fetuses against extreme temperatures. Funding: This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No: 2018YFA0606200). Declaration of Interest: We declare that there is no competing financial interests. Ethical Approval: The study protocol was approved by the medical ethics committee of School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University. The data used were anonymized and so individual patient consent was not required.

Public Interest, Health Research and Data Protection Law: Establishing a Legitimate Trade-Off between Individual Control and Research Access to Health Data

The United Kingdom’s Data Protection Act 2018 introduces a new public interest test applicable to the research processing of personal health data. The need for interpretation and application of this new safeguard creates a further opportunity to craft a health data governance landscape deserving of public trust and confidence. At the minimum, to constitute a positive contribution, the new test must be capable of distinguishing between instances of health research that are in the public interest, from those that are not, in a meaningful, predictable and reproducible manner. In this article, we derive from the literature on theories of public interest a concept of public interest capable of supporting such a test. Its application can defend the position under data protection law that allows a legal route through to processing personal health data for research purposes that does not require individual consent. However, its adoption would also entail that the public interest test in the 2018 Act could only be met if all practicable steps are taken to maximise preservation of individual control over the use of personal health data for research purposes. This would require that consent is sought where practicable and objection respected in almost all circumstances. Importantly, we suggest that an advantage of relying upon this concept of the public interest, to ground the test introduced by the 2018 Act, is that it may work to promote the social legitimacy of data protection legislation and the research processing that it authorises without individual consent (and occasionally in the face of explicit objection).

The Impact of Heat Waves on Emergency Department Visits in Roanoke, Virginia

The Impact of Heat Waves on Emergency Department Visits in Roanoke, Virginia

A review of Automatic end-to-end De-Identification: Is High Accuracy the Only Metric?

ABSTRACTDe-identification of electronic health records (EHR) is a vital step toward advancing health informatics research and maximizing the use of available data. It is a two-step process where step one is the identification of protected health information (PHI), and step two is replacing such PHI with surrogates. Despite the recent advances in automatic de-identification of EHR, significant obstacles remain if the abundant health data available are to be used to the full potential. Accuracy in de-identification could be considered a necessary, but not sufficient condition for the use of EHR without individual patient consent. We present here a comprehensive review of the progress to date, both the impressive successes in achieving high accuracy and the significant risks and challenges that remain. To best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to present a complete picture of end-to-end automatic de-identification. We review 18 recently published automatic de-identification systems -designed to de-identify EHR in the form of free text- to show the advancements made in improving the overall accuracy of the system, and in identifying individual PHI. We argue that despite the improvements in accuracy there remain challenges in surrogate generation and replacements of identified PHIs, and the risks posed to patient protection and privacy.

Characteristics Associated With Recruitment and Re-contact in Mayo Clinic Biobank.

Objective: To better understand the characteristics associated with a participant's willingness to consent to the Mayo Clinic Biobank (MCB) and examine factors associated with willingness to participate in follow-up studies embedded within MCB that require re-contact and participant approval.Participants and Methods: Consent rates were compared across patient demographics to the MCB. Rates of participation to follow-up studies were also compared across demographics and request types.Results: Among 272,102 Mayo Clinic patients invited to the MCB, 48,314 (19%) consented across the three recruitment sites within 90 days of initial invitation. A significant age by gender interaction was identified, showing young males consent at a lower rate than young females and older males consent at a higher rate than older females. Over the recruitment time frame of 2009–2015, there was a significant decrease in consent rates (decline of 2.5%/year). Of the 57,041 consented MCB participants, 33,487 participants (59%) have been invited to participate in follow-up studies via re-contact. Follow-up studies of the MCB may require participants to provide additional samples, complete questionnaires, and/or release their identity to a research team. MCB participants have been invited to enroll in a median of two studies (IQR: 1–3). Seventy-one percent of participants consented to at least one follow-up study, with individual follow-up study consent rates ranging from 14 to 87% depending on study type, with a median consent rate of 61% (IQR: 47–70%). Studies requesting return of a questionnaire had the highest participation rates. White participants, older participants, and participants with some college or a degree were significantly more likely to participate to follow-up studies, while there was no association with gender.Conclusion: Consent rates among younger and non-white patients were lower than in older, white patients. However, we also found that participation rates among those already enrolled in the biobank were much higher than those seen in new recruitment efforts, external to an existing biobank. We thus demonstrate an important way that biobanks can advance precision medicine goals: through provision of populations from which studies can draw participants for future studies.

Robotic assisted minimally invasive thymectomy with simultaneous bilateral thoracoscopy and contralateral phrenic nerve visualization.

Thoracoscopic approaches to thymectomy and anterior mediastinal mass resection has become increasingly common due to the potential for decreased blood loss and hospital length of stay. However, contralateral mediastinal and phrenic nerve visualization if often difficult from these unilateral approaches, which may affect the ability to achieve a full phrenic to phrenic dissection Herein, we present our early experience of robotic assisted minimally invasive thymectomy (RAMIT) with simultaneous bilateral thoracoscopy and contralateral phrenic nerve visualization. This was a retrospective review of all sequential patients undergoing RAMIT with simultaneous bilateral thoracoscopy from January 2015 to May 2016. This study was approved by our Institutional Review Board (PRO15080367). Individual patient consent was waived. Twenty-six patients [median age 58 (range, 29-76) years] were included in this study. Sixteen operations were performed for anterior mediastinal mass, 7 for non-thymomatous myasthenia gravis, and 3 for concurrent myasthenia gravis and thymoma. Median blood loss and hospital stay were 25 mL (range, 3-150 mL) and 3 days (range, 2-8 days), respectively. Twenty-one (80.8%) patients experienced an uncomplicated hospital course. The highest graded complication by Clavien Dindo Classification was a grade III due to pleural effusion requiring drainage via pleural catheter. One patient experienced asymptomatic hemidiaphram palsy postoperatively. There were no 90-day postoperative deaths. RAMIT with simultaneous bilateral thoracoscopy is a feasible approach that may allow for enhanced visualization and more complete thymic resection compared to existing unilateral minimally invasive operations. Comparative studies and long-term follow up are needed to adequately assess the potential benefits of RAMIT.

A Consent Model for Blockchain-Based Health Data Sharing Platforms

In modern healthcare systems, being able to share electronic health records is crucial for providing quality care and for enabling a larger spectrum of health services. Health data sharing is dependent on obtaining individual consent which, in turn, is hindered by a lack of resources. To this extend, blockchain-based platforms facilitate data sharing by inherently creating a trusted distributed network of users. These users are enabled to share their data without depending on the time and resources of specific players (such as the health services). In blockchain-based platforms, data governance mechanisms become very important due to the need to specify and monitor data sharing and data use conditions. In this paper, we present a blockchain-based data sharing consent model for access control over individual health data. We use smart contracts to dynamically represent the individual consent over health data and to enable data requesters to search and access them. The dynamic consent model extends upon two ontologies: the Data Use Ontology (DUO) which models the individual consent of users and the Automatable Discovery and Access Matrix (ADA-M) which describes queries from data requesters. We deploy the model on Ethereum blockchain and evaluate different data sharing scenarios. The contribution of this paper is to create an individual consent model for health data sharing platforms. Such a model guarantees that individual consent is respected and that there is accountability for all the participants in the data sharing platform. The evaluation of our solution indicates that such a data sharing model provides a flexible approach to decide how the data is used by data requesters. Our experimental evaluation shows that the proposed model is efficient and adapts to personalized access control policies in data sharing.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Transmission in Educational Settings: Cross-Sectional Analysis of Clusters and Outbreaks in England

Background: There are limited data on SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission in educational settings. This information is critical for policy makers and practitioners to ensure the safety of staff, students and the wider community during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Public Health England initiated enhanced national surveillance following the reopening of educational settings during the summer mini-term on 01 June 2020. COVID-19 related situations in educational settings across England were reviewed daily and followed-up until 31 July 2020. SARS-CoV-2 infection and outbreak rates were calculated for staff and students attending early year settings, primary and secondary schools during June 2020. Findings: There were 67 single confirmed cases, 4 co-primary cases and 30 COVID-19 outbreaks during June 2020, with a strong correlation between number of outbreaks and regional COVID-19 incidence (0.51 outbreaks for each SARS-CoV-2 infection per 100,000 in the community; p=0.001). Overall, SARS-CoV-2 infections and outbreaks were uncommon across all educational settings. Staff members had an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infections compared to students in any educational setting, and the majority of cases linked to outbreaks were in staff. The probable transmission direction for the 30 confirmed outbreaks was: staff-to-staff (n=15), staff-to-student (n=7), student-to-staff (n=6) and student-to-student (n=2).Interpretation: SARS-CoV2 infections and outbreaks were uncommon in educational settings during the first month after the easing of national lockdown in England. The strong correlation with regional SARS-CoV-2 incidence emphasises the importance of controlling community transmission to protect educational settings. Additional interventions should focus on reducing transmission in and among staff members.Funding: NoneDeclaration of Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.Ethics Approval Statement: PHE has legal permission, provided by Regulation 3 of The Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002, to process patient confidential information for national surveillance of communicable diseases and as such, individual patient consent is not required.

Understanding Broad Consent.

Background: The 2018 revisions to the Common Rule that were effective in January 2019 introduced a new category of informed consent: broad consent.Methods: Investigators and institutional review board (IRB) members need to understand (1) what broad consent is, (2) the role of broad consent under the revised Common Rule, (3) how and when broad consent can be used, (4) exempt research categories that relate to broad consent, and (5) the scope of limited IRB review as it relates to broad consent.Results: Under the prior regulations, researchers had two consent options: obtain study-specific informed consent or request the IRB to waive the requirement to obtain informed consent. The revision to the Common Rule introduced the third option of broad consent, but its applicability is limited. Broad consent can only be used to obtain an individual's consent for the storage, maintenance, and secondary research use of identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens. The regulatory authority for broad consent is at 45 CFR §46.116(d). None of the required elements of broad consent can be omitted or altered because each element is considered essential. Broad consent shares many of the requirements for study-specific informed consent, but several elements are unique: a description of the types of secondary research that may be conducted; statements describing the private information or biospecimens that might be used in research, whether sharing of the information or biospecimens might occur, and the types of institutions or researchers that might conduct research with the information or biospecimens; information on how long the information or biospecimens may be stored, maintained, and used; a statement that subjects will or will not be informed of the details of any subsequent research; a statement that research results will or will not be disclosed to subjects; and contact information for obtaining answers to questions about the subjects’ rights regarding storage and use of information or biospecimens and whom to contact regarding research-related harm.Conclusion: Broad consent provides flexibility that did not exist prior to the revision, giving researchers the option to obtain broad consent for the storage, maintenance, and secondary research use of identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens. With an understanding of the regulations, an investigator can plan how best to organize his or her research plan and decide whether to obtain study-specific informed consent, to apply for a waiver of consent, or to obtain broad consent.

Informed consent in biomedical research-Its Importance and current global guidelines-A review of literature

Informed consent plays a critical role in the ethical regulation of the human research. The article aims to trace the evolution of guidelines for obtaining informed consent knowledge of which is required in the conduct of biomedical and health sciences research by researchers with varied background and experiences and also highlights the challenges in obtaining a valid informed consent.The challenge to global research ethics is to apply universal ethical principles to biomedical research and to obtain a understood valid informed consent in a multicultural world with a multiplicity of health-care systems and considerable variation in administration of standard health care. Informed consent is much more than a signed form. It is a process often methodical in which the potential participant is given sufficient information about a study in order that they can make a truly informed decision about participation.There is no alternative to obtaining individualrsquos informed consent and what should be the content of the informed consent is also a critical issue. In spite of obtaining informed individual consent it is most likely that the participants patients may not be fully aware of their rights and in this regard the role of investigator is crucial. Investigator should remain vigilant and conscious of her his obligations towards the participantrsquos subjects all through the course of the studies. The electronic databases were searched for relevant articles with relevant keywords related to informed consent process and selected articles are reviewed in this article.

Secure Linking of Data from Population-Based Cancer Registries with Healthcare Data to Evaluate Screening Programs.

The evaluation of population-based screening programs, like the German Mammography Screening Program (MSP), requires collection and linking data from population-based cancer registries and other sources of the healthcare system on a case- specific level. To link such sensitive data, we developed a method that is compliant with German data protection regulations and does not require written individual consent. Our method combines a probabilistic record linkage on encrypted identifying data with 'blinded anonymisation'. It ensures that all data either are encrypted or have a defined and measurable degree of anonymity. The data sources use a software to transform plain-text identifying data into a set of irreversibly encrypted person cryptograms, while the evaluation attributes are aggregated in multiple stages and are reversibly encrypted. A pseudonymisation service encrypts the person cryptograms into record assignment numbers and a downstream data-collecting centre uses them to perform the probabilistic record linkage. The blinded anonymisation solves the problem of quasi-identifiers within the evaluation data. It allows selecting a specific set of the encrypted aggregations to produce data export with ensured k-anonymity, without any plain-text information. These data are finally transferred to an evaluation centre where they are decrypted and analysed. Our approach allows creating several such generalisations, with different resulting suppression rates allowing dynamic balance information depth with privacy protection and also highlights how this affects data analysability. German data protection authorities approved our concept for the evaluation of the impact of the German MSP on breast cancer mortality. We implemented a prototype and tested it with 1.5 million simulated records, containing realistically distributed identifying data, calculated different generalisations and the respective suppression rates. Here, we also discuss limitations for large data sets in the cancer registry domain, as well as approaches for further improvements like l-diversity and how to reduce the amount of manual post-processing. Our approach enables secure linking of data from population-based cancer registries and other sources of the healthcare system. Despite some limitations, it enables evaluation of the German MSP program and can be generalised to be applicable to other projects.

General Data Protection Regulation—A Global Standard? Privacy Futures, Digital Activism, and Surveillance Cultures in the Global South

This paper asks the question whether current data regulations designed to curb digital surveillance are enabling for Global South activists seeking to create systemic social change in today’s data-driven societies. This text proposes five measures to answer this question and devise a decolonial pathway to improve the human condition, namely: a) Recognize the long legacy of distrust of the law among activists; b) Channel our energies more on local governance and less on (trans)national regulation; c) Shift focus from the individual to the collective rights approach; d) Attend to motivations for publicity over privacy; e) Re-frame activism from grand movements to everyday creative insurgencies. This paper starts with the premise that laws and regulations have deep political interests often rooted in neocolonial ideologies and are not necessarily designed and executed for the protection of all citizens. Laws may evoke different meanings among the world’s marginalized communities, far from the sacrosanct position they hold among many in the West. This work argues for a decolonial approach—to go beyond the data-centric and individual consent framework to genuinely understand the complex relationship between surveillance, privacy, activism, and law at the peripheries in the Global South and to foster dignity for all.

New presbyter meets old priests: Conciliarism and conscience in Samuel Rutherford’s Free Disputation

ABSTRACTIn 1649 Samuel Rutherford, the leading theorist of the Covenanter revolution, published his Free Disputation Against Pretended Liberty of Conscience. The situation of this celebrated anti-tolerationist argument, which famously roused the ire of Milton, in the political and ecclesiological strife of mid-seventeenth-century Britain and Ireland is well known, and has been frequently discussed in scholarship. The focus of this paper is rather on Rutherford’s connection to a broader intellectual tradition, namely the vibrant Conciliarist movement of the late medieval and early modern period. It argues that Rutherford drew on Conciliarist thought in order to articulate an account of individual rights and consent within an over-arching framework of unity and uniformity. In doing so he was able to develop a nuanced understanding of conscience and the right of resistance, while always maintaining its subordination to the law of God. The paper also compares Rutherford’s covenantal vision of politics with Locke’s contractual understanding as a way of beginning to recontextualise early modern debates concerning tolerance, its character and its scope.

The Role of Consent in Cross-Border Insolvency Proceedings: European and Comparative Perspectives From the Unilateral Undertaking Under Article 36 EIRR

Properly balancing between public and private interests is one of the most significant and complex challenges presented by modern insolvency law. The European Union insolvency law has recently embraced that challenge, by reinforcing the role that private actors, such as creditors and stakeholders, are called upon to play within the context of insolvency proceedings. That approach to insolvency has gradually reduced the impact of public actors, such as judges and public officers, in managing the debtor’s financial difficulties. The individual consent seems to be the new way of facing the debtor’s insolvency. First, this Article examines the role of individual consent in insolvency proceedings in terms of economic efficiency. It focuses on the tendency to favor agreements between the debtor and creditors or the insolvency practitioner in several European legal systems when they increase the likelihood to produce efficient results for both the parties. The second part of this Article focuses on the European Regulation on cross-border insolvency proceedings no. 848/2015. I offer some critical thoughts about the unilateral undertaking under article 36 of the European Regulation. It represents a relevant means of managing the debtor’s cross-border insolvency through an agreement between the insolvency practitioner in the main insolvency proceedings and local creditors in order to avoid the opening of inefficient secondary proceedings.

Data intensive science and the public good: Results of public deliberations in British Columbia, Canada

IntroductionResearch using linked data sets can lead to new insights and discoveries that positively impact society. However, the use of linked data raises concerns relating to illegitimate use, privacy, and security (e.g., identity theft, marginalization of some groups). It is increasingly recognized that the public needs to be consulted to develop data access systems that consider both the potential benefits and risks of research. Indeed, there are examples of data sharing projects being derailed because of backlash in the absence of adequate consultation. (e.g., care.data in the UK).&#x0D; Objectives and methodsThis talk will describe the results of public deliberations held in Vancouver, British Columbia in April 2018 and the fall of 2019. The purpose of these events was to develop informed and civic-minded public advice regarding the use and the sharing of linked data for research in the context of rapidly evolving data availability and researcher aspirations.&#x0D; ResultsIn the first deliberation, participants developed and voted on 19 policy-relevant statements. Taken together, these statements provide a broad view of public support and concerns regarding the use of linked data sets for research and offer guidance on measures that can be taken to improve the trustworthiness of policies and process around data sharing and use. The second deliberation will focus on the interplay between public and private sources of data, and role of individual and collective or community consent I the future.&#x0D; ConclusionGenerally, participants were supportive of research using linked data because of the value such uses can provide to society. Participants expressed a desire to see the data access request process made more efficient to facilitate more research, as long as there are adequate protections in place around security and privacy of the data. These protections include both physical and process-related safeguards as well as a high degree of transparency.

A Comparative Study of Pulmonary Function Test in School Children of Industrial Area and Non Industrial Area

Background&#x0D; Pulmonary function test is an important tool in the diagnosis, assessment and management of respiratory diseases in adults and older children. The main objective was to study the pulmonary function test in school children of industrial and Non industrial area.&#x0D; Method&#x0D; The study was carried out in a school of industrial area i.e., Advani Arlicon Higher secondary School, Urla Road, Birgaon and a school of Non Industrial area i.e., Vivekananda Higher Secondary School, Mana Camp of Raipur city from April to August 2012.. The subjects were evaluated through pulmonary function test by using Spirometry method. A total of 400 subjects aged between 11–18 years were included. For the study Permission from Institutional Ethics Committee was obtained. Initially informed individual consent was taken from all the patients included in the study.&#x0D; Results&#x0D; When Mean FEV1 (in liters) for Males in Cases was compared with Controls, p value was found to be &lt;0.0001. When Mean FEV1 (in liters) for Females in Cases was compared with Controls, p value was found &lt;0.0001. When PEFR (in liters/Sec) for Males in Cases was compared with Controls, p value was found to be 0.0290. When PEFR (in liters/Sec) for Females in Cases was compared with Controls, p value was found to be 0.3117.&#x0D; Conclusion&#x0D; To conclude, the problems are diverse, but it is important to keep close control over pollutants. Some preventable strategies need to be taken for acceptable environment for the future generations.