This paper provides an outline analysis of the evolving governance framework for artificial intelligence (AI) in Singapore. Across the Singapore government, AI solutions are being adopted in line with Singapore’s “Smart Nation Initiative” to leverage technology to make impactful changes across society and the economy. In tandem, Singaporean authorities have been assiduous to release a growing number of governance documents, which we analyse together to chart the city-state’s approach to AI governance in international comparison. The characteristics of Singapore’s AI governance approach include an emphasis on consensus-building between stakeholders (particularly government and industry but also citizens) and voluntary or “quasi” regulation, lately with an emphasis on promulgating standards (AI Standards, n.d.) and audit-like frameworks. Singaporean regulators have also been early movers (globally, and especially in the region) in the promulgation of normative instruments on AI governance including developing the world’s first AI Governance Testing Framework and Toolkit, AI Verify. The Singapore approach may be compelling for other jurisdictions in the region and around the world with an interest in a collaborative, balanced and consensual approach to governing AI outside of strict regulatory mechanisms. However, any jurisdiction adopting aspects of its evolving model would have to duly account for relevant differences in social and institutional conditions.

The washing of synthetic materials has been named as the largest contributor of microplastic pollution to our oceans. With the consumption of petrochemical-based synthetic materials expected to grow, due to an increased demand, the release of microplastic fibres to our environments is expected to also accelerate. To combat microplastic fibre release, this study explores source-directed interventions within the design and manufacturing process of textiles to reduce the amount of pollution released from the surface and the edges of the fabric structure. Using standardised wash tests and polyester fabric swatches that were created in-house with systematic structural adjustments, single jersey knit fabrics were shown to release over three times more microplastic pollution than twill woven fabric. This illustrates that increasing the tightness of a fabric could be implemented within the design of fabrics for environmental benefits. Additionally, the laser cutting technique reduced microplastic fibres released by over a third compared to scissor cutting and overlock serging, showing that the edge of the fabric is a significant source of microplastic pollution released during laundering. This research highlights the adaptable and innovative eco-design approaches to clothing production which is necessary to help the sector reach international sustainability targets and regulations.

The systematic review examined the phenomenon of trust during public health emergency events. The literature reviewed was field studies done with people directly affected or likely to be affected by such events and included quantitative, qualitative, mixed-method, and case study primary studies in English (N = 38) as well as Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish (all non-English N = 30). Studies were mostly from high- and middle-income countries, and the event most covered was infectious disease. Findings from individual studies were first synthesized within methods and evaluated for certainty/confidence, and then synthesized across methods. The final set of 11 findings synthesized across methods identified a set of activities for enhancing trust and showed that it is a multi-faceted and dynamic concept.

The construct of quality of life (QOL), which has both subjective and objective components, has gained increasing importance in psychiatric research for several important reasons, not the least being the current importance of pharmacoeconomic issues. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been suggested to be the worlds 10th most disabling disorder, and pharmacoeconomic studies have indicated that its cost to the world economy runs into the billions of dollars. The use of QOL scales derived from general medicine and other areas of psychiatry has demonstrated the enormous negative impact of OCD on several domains, including occupational function, social function, and family function. Further work to ascertain the extent of changes in QOL during treatment of OCD is necessary.

Background: Agitation is common in people with dementia, is distressing to patients and stressful to their carers. Drugs used to treat the condition have the potential to cause particularly severe side effects in older people with dementia and have been associated with an increased death rate. Alternatives to drug treatment for agitation should be sought. The study aimed to assess the effects of bright light therapy on agitation and sleep in people with dementia.

Methods: A single center randomized controlled trial of bright light therapy versus standard light was carried out. The study was completed prior to the mandatory registration of randomized controls on the clinical trials registry database and, owing to delays in writing up, retrospective registration was not completed.

Results: There was limited evidence of reduction in agitation in people on active treatment, sleep was improved and a suggestion of greater efficacy in the winter months.

Conclusions: Bright light therapy is a potential alternative to drug treatment in people with dementia who are agitated.

Objectives: To report our experience in providing cardiac technician led paediatric echocardiography services in a district general hospital in the United Kingdom. Methods: We have collected prospectively the numbers of referrals, and the proportion of abnormal echocardiograms, since inception of the service in 2000. In additional, for a period of 12 months, we have audited in detail the patterns of referral to the service, and outcomes, assessing the effect of the service on the outreach clinic run by a visiting paediatric cardiologist. Results: Use of the system resulted in detection of a wide range of abnormalities, with our audit showing that the patients received appropriate management. The total referrals to the service increased 10 fold over the 4 year period of the study. The proportion of abnormal hearts detected by echocardiography, however, dropped from 90 per cent to 16 per cent over the same period. The numbers of patients seen in the outreach cardiology clinic remained unaltered. Conclusions: Having been proved to be an effective model for the triage of children with suspected congenital cardiac disease, adoption of a cardiac technician led echocardiographic service has seen a dramatic increase in the numbers of echocardiograms requested, without decreasing the workload of the visiting paediatric cardiologist.

Excavations undertaken at Quarrington, near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, revealed part of an Early and Middle Saxon settlement with associated fields or enclosures. Several timber buildings were identified, both round and rectangular, and there was evidence of ferrous and non-ferrous metalworking at the site. Finds included a large and regionally significant pottery assemblage, showing that Quarrington had an extensive trading network and obtained pottery from Lincolnshire and Leicestershire in the Early Saxon period. Pottery from the Northamptonshire area dominated the assemblage in the Middle Saxon period, with a smaller component from Lincolnshire and a limited quantity from Ipswich. Spatial variations in the Saxon ceramic assemblage suggest that the focus of settlement shifted towards the west or north west in the Middle Saxon period.

Few rural sites of Early and Middle Saxon date have produced sufficient faunal material to permit an analysis of changes during the fifth to eighth centuries until now; the large bone assemblage from Quarrington indicates changes in diet and the husbandry of domestic animals through time, with sheep becoming more important as pig diminished. Alterations to the slaughter profiles of cattle and sheep were also evident and may indicate changes from subsistence to surplus production. An apparently isolated Neolithic cremation and a post-medieval stone building were also revealed.

Except for the interest aroused by their cemeteries, the extramural territories of the Roman cities of Britain have never aroused sufficient interest for them to have been subjected to systematic exploration. Nevertheless, as a sensitive barometer to chart their changing fortunes, the margins of a city have considerable potential, as Esmonde Cleary's review of the evidence from the cities and towns of Roman Britain amply demonstrated. Much of what we know derives from the results of adventitious rescue excavation carried out in the context of inter- and post-War city and town development, but comparatively little has emerged from greenfield sites like Calleva which have very largely escaped modern interference. Since the final season of the Society of Antiquaries’ excavation of Silchester in 1909 when attention focused on the ditches surrounding the town wall, only limited investigations have been made of the extramural territory of Calleva. Both Cotton and Boon excavated parts of the Outer Earthwork on the western side, but the evaluation of the defensive sequence was their principal objective, rather than an understanding of the extramural terrritory per se. That has had to wait for the systematic study of the aerial photography and material collected by field-walking which has given us a first glimpse of the organization and use of the extramural territory, and which has now been complemented by the publication of all the aerial photography from Silchester. The two types of survey have shown that the main axis of extramural activity is east-west along the roads leading to London and Cirencester/Bath. However, there is almost no aerial photography to illuminate our understanding of the north-south routes to Dorchester-on-Thames and Chichester/Winchester, although surface collection has revealed spreads of material extending over three hundred metres south of the South Gate through to trie fourth century.6 To the north, however, extensive semi-permanent pasture has hindered non-intrusive investigation and only the evidence of major structures such as the road to Dorchester, and elements of lanes and streets, have been evident from the aerial photography.

Autism is currently detected only at about three years of age. This study aimed to establish if detection of autism was possible at 18 months of age. We screened 41 18–month-old toddlers who were at high genetic risk for developing autism, and 50 randomly selected 18–month-olds, using a new instrument, the CHAT, administered by GPs or health visitors. More than 80% of the randomly selected 18–month-old toddlers passed on all items, and none failed on more than one of pretend play, protodeclarative pointing, joint-attention, social interest, and social play. Four children in the high-risk group failed on two or more of these five key types of behaviour. At follow-up at 30 months of age, the 87 children who had passed four or more of these key types of behaviour at 18 months of age had continued to develop normally. The four toddlers who had failed on two or more of these key types of behaviour at 18 months received a diagnosis of autism by 30 months.