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The advent and momentum gained by Generative AI erupted into the EU regulatory scene signalling a significant paradigm shift in the AI landscape. The AI Act has struggled to embrace the eruption and extraordinary popularity of Generative AI and managed to provide for specific solutions designed for these models. Nonetheless, there are legal and regulatory implications of Generative AI that may exceed the proposed solutions. Understanding the paradigm shift that Generative AI is likely to bring will allow us to assess the sufficiency and adequacy of the measures adopted and to identify possible shortcomings and gaps in the current EU framework. Generative AI raises specific problems in the compliance of AI Act obligations and in the application of liability rules that have to be acknowledged and properly addressed. Multimodality, emergence factor, scalability or generality of tasks may mismatch the assumption underlying the obligations and requirements laid down for AI systems. The chapter explores whether the current ecosystem of existing and still-to-be adopted rules on AI systems does fully and adequately address the distinctive features of Generative AI, with special consideration to the interaction between the AI Act and the liability rules as provided for the draft AILD and the revPLD.
Aims: The primary objective of this descriptive systematic review of case reports is to describe the clinical commodities, presentations and outcomes in children and adolescents presenting with onset of non-delirious psychosis during or shortly after a SARS-CoV-2 infection and to find out statistically various other factors that might be linked to demographics of young people. The review also explores if the clinical presentation of the Covid-19 psychosis is different from early onset non-organic psychosis occurring in children and adolescents.
Methods: On 23 September 2023, the author searched six electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycInfo, Google Scholar, and CINAHL, using the following search terms: (COVID-19 OR SARS-CoV-2* OR Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2* OR COVID*) AND (Psychosis) AND (Adolescent OR Children OR Teenager). An updated search was completed on 10 August 2024. Search results from six databases were manually checked to remove any duplication. The extracted data was then arranged in a standardised template. The extracted data included: demographic characteristics of the patients including age, gender, ethnicity, past personal and family psychiatric history, clinical features including neurological and psychotic symptoms and management including outcome.
Results: This descriptive systematic review identified 15 cases of incident psychosis in patients with antecedent or concurrent Covid-19. Out of 15 cases, 9 were males, 4 were females and 2 did not report any sex. The mean age of patients in our sample was 15.1 years with 2 cases not reporting the actual age. Delusions were present in all cases (100%) of patients, whereas hallucinations were reported in only 33% of the cases. Disorganised speech or behaviour was reported in 40% of the cases. Psychotic symptoms lasted from approximately 7–90 days. Family history was positive for 2/15 cases (7.5%) with psychosis and BPAD respectively. Only 2 cases had past personal history of mental illness (Depression and anxiety). All patients received anti-psychotic medications as a part of the treatment, whereas 33% patients received intravenous immunoglobulins concurrently with antipsychotic medication. Full remission was obtained in nearly all cases after treatment.
Conclusion: Covid-19 related psychosis differs in various aspects and should be considered as a separate entity when considering the assessment and management. It differs in many ways from a typical early onset psychotic episode both in presentation and treatment response.
Vegetation cover in drylands tends to be sparse and organised as a mosaic of patches with high biomass interspersed within a bare soil component. Water availability and vegetation are tightly coupled in these environments, where landscape function is determined by hydrologic and sediment connectivity. In this chapter, we analyse and synthesise previous studies describing how understanding, measuring and modifying connectivity can be used to guide the design of management strategies aiming at improving landscape resilience. We describe how drylands are very sensitive to both water and wind erosion, which have the potential to increase connectivity beyond tipping points at which the system transitions abruptly to a degraded state that may be irreversible. We discuss methods for the identification of early warning indicators of transition to degraded states, which could be used as a preventive management tool. We also describe existing strategies and approaches to reduce connectivity at different spatial scales as a way of managing degraded landscapes.
The Paper aims to explore whether the current ecosystem of existing and still-to-be adopted rules on artificial intelligence (AI) systems in the European Union does fully and adequately address the liability for damages caused by Generative AI system. It maps first and primarily the distinctive features and functional characteristics of Generative AI likely to impact on regulatory and legal considerations and, in particular, on determining the specific regulatory regime governing Generative AI and on tracing and allocating liability along the value chain pursuant to the AI Act. On the basis of this mapping exercise, the Paper focuses on testing the liability rules as provided for the draft Artificial Intelligence Liability Directive and the Revised Product Liability Directive and assessing their sufficiency and effectiveness in the face of Generative AI. Beyond the assessment of the rules laid down in the above-referred texts, the Paper briefly describes other liability scenarios to be explored in future works.
The assessment of technology in hospital settings is a crucial step towards ensuring the delivery of efficient, effective, and safe healthcare.
Objective
This study conducts a Hospital-Based Health Technology Assessment to evaluate the efficacy of a screening rapid test for mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mild TBI) utilizing blood biomarkers, specifically Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) and Ubiquitin C-terminal Hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1). The assessment focuses on the clinical utility and performance characteristics of the proposed rapid test within a hospital setting.
Methods
The screening model was meticulously examined for its ability to accurately detect mild TBI, considering the sensitivity and specificity of GFAP and UCH-L1 as blood biomarkers. The study involved a thorough evaluation of the test’s diagnostic accuracy, comparing its outcomes with established standards for mild TBI diagnosis.
Results from the Hospital-Based Health Technology Assessment highlight the potential of the GFAP and UCH-L1 blood biomarker-based rapid test as an efficient screening tool for mild TBI within a hospital environment. The evidence results show that the test is highly sensitive (91 percent to 100 percent) for the prediction of acute traumatic intracranial lesions, which helps rule out injury when the result is negative. When used within 12 hours of injury in adult patients with mild TBI, this test holds promise in reducing the utilization of CT.
Conclusion
The findings contribute valuable insights into the feasibility and reliability of implementing this technology for timely and accurate identification of mild TBI, enhancing clinical decision making and patient care in hospital settings.
Digital assets have burst onto global markets as a new class of assets for investment, trade and finance. Their growing popularity and economic relevance have been, however, accompanied by legal uncertainties and regulatory concerns. Together with domestic and regional responses, a strong case for international harmonisation is to be made. This Paper explores the emergence of principles and best practices on proprietary rights, insolvency and enforcement as a crucial process of international legal harmonisation of rules for digital assets.
The potential of AI solutions to enhance effective decision-making, reduce costs, personalise offers and products, and improve risk management have not gone unnoticed by the financial industry. On the contrary, the characteristics of AI systems seem to perfectly accommodate to the features of financial services and to masterly address their most distinctive and challenging needs. Thus, the financial industry proves to provide a receptive and conducive environment to the growing application of AI solutions in a variety of tasks, activities, and decision-making processing. The aim of this paper is to examine the current state of the legal regime applicable in the European Union to the use of AI systems in the financial sector and to reflect on the need to formulate principles and rules that ensure responsible automation of decision-making and that serve as a guide for widely and extensively implementing AI solutions in banking activity.
The aim of this contribution is to present an innovative approach to the use of Open Access AI in teaching the Classical era at high school and university level. The paper first explains the growing interest in AI technology and its main applications in the subjects of philology, history and other related areas. The following sections show the different steps of the proposal, which uses the Midjourney program, as well as its pros and cons.
Smoking prevalence in patients with mental illness ranges between two to 4 times higher than general population. This higher prevalence has a multifactorial origin, and some of the possible causes are still unknown.
They have a higher prevalence of tobacco-associated diseases and higher mortality.
Additionally, these patients have greater difficulty in treating and quitting smoking.
A relationship has been found between severity of mental illness and smoking. Risk of suicide seems to be higher in patients with higher tobacco consumption. Schizophrenia is the mental illness that has been most closely related to smoking, with a prevalence close to 90%.
Objectives
The aim of this work is reviewing the current bibliography referring to smoking treatments for patients with mental illness
Methods
A literature search using electronic manuscripts available in PubMed database published during the last ten years and further description and discussion of a single-patient clinical case
Results
The treatment of tobacco dependence in patients with mental illnesses is sometimes waited until there is psychiatric stability, which can take a long time in those cases with more severe mental disorders, which can have negative physical and psychiatric consequences.
The combined treatment of cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacological treatment is the most effective approach. Nicotine replacement therapy can be useful, while combined use of antidepressants or anxiolytics is also recommended.
Bupropion has shown efficacy. In patients with schizophrenia it does not seem to worsen positive symptomatology, but improving the negative one. It should not be used in patients with bipolar disorder or bulimia.
Varenicline has shown efficacy in the general population, but limitations were established in patients with mental illness, although it is the drug that has shown greater efficacy. However, is not currently available in our country.
Cytisine is a drug with limited number of studies in the psychiatric population but it may be a reasonable treatment alternative.
Conclusions
The prevalence of tobacco use in patients with mental illness is higher than the general population, especially in paranoid schizophrenia. The consequences on physical health and the evolution of psychiatric illness are very relevant. Based on above, a multidisciplinary and coordinated management involving psychiatrists and other specialists in the treatment of these patients should be desirable.
The aim of this contribution is to provide a new methodology regarding the use of photogrammetry and 3D modelling in the classroom. By means of a practicum taught at Complutense University of Madrid and a survey conducted afterwards, we show the different steps of the activity, as well as the reception of the students, who learnt to elaborate 3D figures.
Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) was proposed by Richard A. Gardner in 1985. It is assumed to occur in some distressing marriage break-ups, when a parent “brainwashes” his children so they reject the other parent in an unjustified way. But, is it the result of a conscious act as Gardner suggests? Or could it also appear as part of a shared psychosis?
Objectives
To assess the possibility of the appearance of PAS as a consequence of paranoid contagion or shared psychosis.
Methods
We present the case of a 45-year-old patient and her 9-year-old daughter, who is allegedly assaulted by her father during visits, according to both. Mother and daughter continually request attention in the emergency department for this reason, with no obvious injuries. A bibliographic review is carried out on the PAS and shared psychosis. We compare the existing data with our case.
Results
A paranoid cognitive style is observed in the 45-year-old patient, and it is observed that her daughter stops rejecting the father when she spends time separated from her. The contagion of delirium is the nuclear mechanism of shared psychosis. It is known that children with PAS may have distorted memories and incorporate beliefs of others through suggestion. There is also an inverse relationship between the number of visits by the alienated parent and the undervaluation of the child. We have not found any studies linking shared psychosis with PAS.
Conclusions
The existing bibliography on PAS is scarce. The possibility of an existing paranoid contagion mechanism has not been addressed yet.
It has been suggested that dysregulation of sex hormones is associated with schizophrenia. However, obesity and metabolic syndrome are very common between schizophrenic patients, and it can also dysregulate sex hormones so they could act as confounders.
Objectives
To determine if estradiol and progesterone are abnormally elevated regardless of obesity or metabolic syndrome in men with SCZ.
Methods
We measured serum levels of progesterone and estradiol in 56 schizophrenic male patients at treatment with a depot antipsychotic. Subsequently, we studied the association or independence of our results with obesity or metabolic syndrome by a Chi Square Test.
Results
66.07% of our patients elevated progesterone levels, 19.64% of our patients elevated estradiol levels, and 16.07% of our patients elevated both, progesterone and estradiol, simultaneously. We found no relationship between increased estradiol and / or progesterone with obesity and / or metabolic syndrome.
Conclusions
Estradiol and progesterone are abnormally elevated regardless of obesity and / or metabolic syndrome in male schizophrenic patients on depot treatment.
To examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal (2-year follow-up) associations between dietary diversity (DD) and depressive symptoms.
Design:
An energy-adjusted dietary diversity score (DDS) was assessed using a validated FFQ and was categorised into quartiles (Q). The variety in each food group was classified into four categories of diversity (C). Depressive symptoms were assessed with Beck Depression Inventory-II (Beck II) questionnaire and depression cases defined as physician-diagnosed or Beck II >= 18. Linear and logistic regression models were used.
Setting:
Spanish older adults with metabolic syndrome (MetS).
Participants:
A total of 6625 adults aged 55–75 years from the PREDIMED-Plus study with overweight or obesity and MetS.
Results:
Total DDS was inversely and statistically significantly associated with depression in the cross-sectional analysis conducted; OR Q4 v. Q1 = 0·76 (95 % CI (0·64, 0·90)). This was driven by high diversity compared to low diversity (C3 v. C1) of vegetables (OR = 0·75, 95 % CI (0·57, 0·93)), cereals (OR = 0·72 (95 % CI (0·56, 0·94)) and proteins (OR = 0·27, 95 % CI (0·11, 0·62)). In the longitudinal analysis, there was no significant association between the baseline DDS and changes in depressive symptoms after 2 years of follow-up, except for DD in vegetables C4 v. C1 = (β = 0·70, 95 % CI (0·05, 1·35)).
Conclusions:
According to our results, DD is inversely associated with depressive symptoms, but eating more diverse does not seem to reduce the risk of future depression. Additional longitudinal studies (with longer follow-up) are needed to confirm these findings.
OBJECTIVES/GOALS: MgSO4 is a frequently used to treat asthma exacerbations. Its role in the management of pediatric asthma remains controversial. Our objective is to demonstrate that the response of the small (peripheral) airways depends on airway de novo sphingolipid synthesis, clinically and experimentally. The small airways are the main site of asthma pathology. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We investigated airway reactivity in response to MgSO4 in murine small airways and children 1. Precision-cut lung slices (PCLS): Using heterozygous knockouts mice of one of the Sptlc2 subunit of the serine palmitoyl-CoA transferase (SPT) which results in reduced tissue sphingolipid levels compared to wild-type control littermates (Sptlc2+/+). We compared small airway dilation to MgSO4 in Sptlc2+/- and Sptlc2+/+ mice. This was assessed by directly visualization of small airway contractility in PCLS from Sptlc2+/- mice using video phase-contrast microscopy 2. Clinical response to MgSO4 in children by using a respiratory score before and after the treatment. The response to MgSO4 was the correlated to asthma-associated 17q21 specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from DNA isolated from buccal swabs RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Sphingolipid-mediated activity alters magnesium response in small airways. We assessed whether downregulation of SPT could lead to alterations in MgSO4-induced small airway dilation and in MgSO4 responsiveness in mouse tracheal rings and found that the magnesium-induced relaxation of airways pre-contracted with methacholine was impaired in Sptlc+/- mice compared to the control group (p=<0.05) Clinical response to MgSO4 in children with status asthmaticus. A respiratory score was assessed in a cohort of 5 to 21-year-old who received IV MgSO4. An increase of 3 or more points was considered positive. Only 32% of the patients showed a favorable improvement to the medication, showing variability of response between individuals. The correlation of sphingolipid-deficient SNPs and MgSO4 responsiveness is ongoing DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This suggest that decreased SPT activity in the respiratory track alters the response of the airways to magnesium. Connecting decreased de novo SL synthesis to alterations in cellular magnesium homeostasis provides a mechanistic link to differential airway reactivity to MgSO4 in pediatric asthma management.
Psychiatry has had long standing recruitment difficulties. Many efforts have been made to explore strategies that encourage interest in the specialty, with early university experience being an important factor in ultimate career choice. The Royal College of Psychiatrists ‘Choose Psychiatry’ guidance for medical schools outlines four key areas of focus: teaching excellence, placement quality, leadership and enrichment activities, with other research reporting similar conclusions. The aim of this study was to assess attitudes towards psychiatry amongst first year medical students, examine what input they would welcome from psychiatrists at this stage of their career and consider if their wishes are in keeping with the ‘Choose Psychiatry’ guidance.
Method
All first-year medical students at St George's University of London were approached in October 2019 and offered the opportunity for early psychiatry exposure. 60 students were recruited. Data were collected in November 2019 via an online questionnaire comprising of baseline demographics, the 30-item Attitudes Towards Psychiatry questionnaire (ATP-30) and a free-text question asking what students would like from psychiatry at this stage of their education. Quantitative data were analysed using Excel, whilst qualitative data were analysed thematically.
Result
The mean ATP-30 score was 113.83 (SD 12.57, range 70-135). Gender, ethnicity and religious background were not associated with a change in ATP score. Undergraduates’ attitudes were more positive than those of postgraduates (independent t-test revealed a p-value of 0.087). Seven themes were identified outlining what students wanted from psychiatry, the most prominent being: (a) learning about the lifestyle of a psychiatrist and finding a role model, (b) exploring the patient perspective, (c) exploring the interaction between psychiatry and specialities and (d) having an opportunity to develop communication skills.
Conclusion
The findings demonstrate higher ATP-30 results than previous literature has reported, potentially due to mental health awareness campaigns in recent years. As undergraduates were found to have a higher mean score, targeting them for additional psychiatry contact may be beneficial. Themes identified by students in this study support ‘Choose Psychiatry’ guidance, whilst also highlighting the potential for combining some psychiatry with other specialties in the curriculum. Integration with communication skills teaching might help engage those not initially psychiatry-inclined. Further study will be required to establish whether implementing the suggested strategies can lead to improvement in student ATP-30 scores and ultimately increased recruitment rates.
Within an art exhibition, the disposition of space is fundamental in experiencing artworks. A study of the exhibition space as discourse enmeshes art within a framework of relationship and processes instead of viewing art as an isolated and autonomous object. This paper features the case study of Art ‘76, the inaugural exhibition of Singapore's first large-scale institution of art, the National Museum Art Gallery (NMAG). The NMAG's opening in 1976 had been much anticipated by artists and the art audience since the 1960s, it was also an important milestone in the National Museum of Singapore's process of modernisation and revitalisation. During Singapore's post-independent period, the National Museum began to redefine itself as a civic museum focussing on Singapore's history and culture, shifting away from its previous incarnation of a research-focused colonial institution, the Raffles Library and Museum. Singapore was not alone in exploring the role of modern art in nation-building, as neighbouring Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand also began to moot for their own institution of modern art around the same period of time. Art ‘76 and the NMAG represent a case of distinct spatial typology that arose out of unique institutional and socio-political dynamic in post-independent Singapore. In analysing the legacy as well as the relationships and contentions that shaped the spatial articulation of Art ‘76, this paper studies existing visual and oral archive, as well as critically evaluating the concepts of space as a subject of historical study.
Arbitration enjoys a long tradition in Spain.2 It has been consistently recognized by and promoted throughout historical laws3 as an alternative method for dispute resolution. The recognition of arbitration in legal texts can be traced to Spanish medieval law.4Breviario de Alarico, or Lex Romana Visigothorum,5 promulgated on February 2, 506, and Liber Iudiciorum,6 among others, acknowledged that the value of arbitration was definitively enshrined in the fundamental Siete Partidas.7 Since then, a series of famous arbitral awards – Compromiso de Caspe 1321 and 1363 (the Covenant of Caspe), Sentencia Arbitral de Guadalupe 1486 (the Arbitral Award of Guadalupe) – and regal laws in Castile fostered the institution by ordering the enforcement of commitments agreed by the parties (Ordenanza de Madrid of 1502). These legal and arbitral decisions paved the way to the incorporation of the institution of arbitration into the Novísima Recopilación (1804).8 The resort to arbitration for solving disputes among merchants and guilds, as a response to their aversion to ordinary courts, gave a lot of impetus to arbitration during that period.
Although deficits in affective processing are a core component of anorexia nervosa (AN), we lack a detailed characterization of the neurobiological underpinnings of emotion regulation impairment in AN. Moreover, it remains unclear whether these neural correlates scale with clinical outcomes.
Methods
We investigated the neural correlates of negative emotion regulation in a sample of young women receiving day-hospital treatment for AN (n = 21) and healthy controls (n = 21). We aimed to determine whether aberrant brain activation patterns during emotion regulation predicted weight gain following treatment in AN patients and were linked to AN severity. To achieve this, participants completed a cognitive reappraisal paradigm during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Skin conductance response, as well as subjective distress ratings, were recorded to corroborate task engagement.
Results
Compared to controls, patients with AN showed reduced activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during cognitive reappraisal [pFWE<0.05, threshold-free cluster enhancement (TFCE) corrected]. Importantly, psycho–physiological interaction analysis revealed reduced functional connectivity between the dlPFC and the amygdala in AN patients during emotion regulation (pFWE<0.05, TFCE corrected), and dlPFC-amygdala uncoupling was associated with emotion regulation deficits (r = −0.511, p = 0.018) and eating disorder severity (r = −0.565, p = .008) in the AN group. Finally, dlPFC activity positively correlated with increases in body mass index (r = 0.471, p = 0.042) and in body fat mass percentage (r = 0.605, p = 0.008) following 12 weeks of treatment.
Conclusions
Taken together, our findings indicate that individuals with AN present altered fronto-amygdalar response during cognitive reappraisal and that this response may serve as a predictor of response to treatment and be linked to clinical severity.