Search Results (568)

As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) accelerates its transition toward smart mobility under Vision 2030, establishing a robust digital infrastructure is paramount for the safe deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs). High-definition (HD) maps serve as a critical foundation for this infrastructure, yet their deployment is severely bottlenecked by extreme operational costs, massive data processing payloads, and rapid environmental variations across vast highway networks. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a comprehensive, localized national strategy structured around three key tasks. First, it establishes a unified national HD map standard to guarantee seamless interoperability and data sharing among competing AV manufacturers and government transport authorities. Second, it implements an AI-powered baseline workflow using Mobile Mapping Systems (MMS) for high-fidelity static map construction, anchored and validated within designated pilot zones, including the King Abdulaziz University campus and key sectors in the Kingdom. Third, it deploys a decentralized, vision-based crowdsourcing system that leverages active public and commercial vehicle fleets for real-time map maintenance. By integrating a sovereign edge-cloud AI infrastructure that respects local Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL), this framework bridges the gap between high-accuracy baseline mapping and long-term economic sustainability, offering an actionable technical roadmap for scaling a resilient digital transport layer across the Kingdom. Full article

Article 5 GDPR sets out the core principles governing the lawful processing of personal data and occupies a central place in the EU data protection framework. However, empirical evidence on how Article 5 is reflected in supervisory practice across the European Economic Area remains limited. This article addresses that gap through an empirical analysis of 790 national data protection authority decisions involving infringements related to Article 5 GDPR, drawn from an initial GDPRhub retrieval pool of 1660 publicly available decisions issued between 25 May 2018 and 15 September 2025. Using structured content analysis, the article identifies recurring infringement patterns, examines the co-occurrence of Article 5 with other GDPR provisions, and analyses selected sectoral, contextual, and outcome-related dimensions of supervisory practice. The findings show that Article 5-related infringements most frequently concern lawfulness, fairness and transparency, data minimisation, integrity and confidentiality, and accountability, and that they often appear alongside infringements of Article 6, Articles 12 to 14, and Article 32 GDPR. The analysis further points to meaningful sectoral variation, while organisation-size findings remain exploratory. Although only a limited subset of the analysed decisions was explicitly AI-related, the recurring legal weaknesses identified in the published decision record remain highly relevant for automated and data-intensive processing environments. Full article

The study examines judicial practice regarding claims for damages and non-pecuniary damages (hereinafter: NPDs) arising from violations of the duty to inform in healthcare by comparing two periods (2008–2010 and 2018–2020) in the context of patient self-determination and European trends in patient rights. The 193 final judgments selected from the Wolters Kluwer Law Database based on keyword searches underwent qualitative content analysis and quantitative processing using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, SPSS version 25.0). A selection criterion was that the judgment should assess on its merits whether the duty to inform had been fulfilled or violated. The real value of the adjudged compensation was compared and normalized in relation to the minimum wage (multiplied by the minimum wage) in order to reveal the actual socio-economic weight of the compensation. The results show that while in 2008–2010, the lack of information was mostly considered an additional element of professional negligence, by 2018–2020, it was recognized as a separate violation of personality rights that infringed on the right to self-determination, and the rate of complete rejection of claims for NPDs decreased. However, the increase in nominal amounts was accompanied only to a limited extent by an increase in the real value of compensation. The findings suggest that Hungarian judicial practice is moving closer to the autonomy-centred European approach, while strengthening the reparative function of NPDs—ensuring compensation that is perceptible in real terms—remains an open task. Full article

This paper reviews the significant steps of the atomic–molecular theory, after Avogadro’s intimation of the equal volume/equal number of particles hypothesis until the final assertion embodied in Cannizzaro’s Sunto. Berzelius’s atomism, authoritatively present among chemists in the first decades of nineteenth century, is outlined. Applying volume theory, atomic weights were determined and later revised considering heat capacity experiments on solid elements and the law of isomorphism. The peculiar traits of Berzelius’s atomism are (a) the restricted validity of Avogadro’s hypothesis to only elementary gases, and (b) the opposition to the existence of elementary polyatomic molecules. Next, Dumas’ experiments on vapors are described, aimed at supporting Avogadro’s hypothesis, whose perplexing results were ingeniously resolved by Gaudin assuming that the elementary molecules may contain unequal numbers of component atoms. In the fifth decade of the century, Gerhardt and Laurent established molecular formulae with reference to standard volumes. Finally, at the end of the sixth decade, Cannizzaro published Sunto di un Corso di Filosofia Chimica, in which he fully acknowledges Avogadro’s hypothesis, together with all its implications, and describes how to arrive at molecular and atomic weights from gaseous densities. A brief account of the Karlsruhe congress is included, emphasizing the scientific personality of Cannizzaro. Full article

This article analyses the Italian Legislative Delegation Bill of 4 September 2025 (DDL 2025), which proposes the recontextualization of healthcare liability through the introduction of Article 590-septies into the Italian Criminal Code (c.p.) and the amendment of Article 590-sexies c.p. and of Articles 5 and 7 of the Gelli-Bianco Act (Law No. 24/2017). The study examines the extent to which the reform, if enacted, would produce a shift of criminal negligence liability from the individual frontline clinician towards the apex management figures of healthcare organizations—at both the corporate and hospital levels—and under what conditions such a shift would be compatible with the constitutional principle of personal criminal responsibility (Art. 27 Const.) and with the evidentiary criteria for criminally relevant omission. Adopting a doctrinal and jurisprudential analysis approach, the study formulates a falsifiable hypothesis, accompanied by four ex post verifiability indicators observable over a five-year time horizon following the possible entry into force of the provision. The analysis demonstrates how the DDL 2025 would recontextualize the notion of culpa—encompassing imperizia (lack of skill), negligenza (negligence), and imprudenza (imprudence), functionally comparable to forms of criminal negligence in common law systems—by linking fault assessment to contextual factors such as organizational deficiencies and resource scarcity. This approach would adopt a deflationary framework, establishing a distinction between avoidable human error and errors caused by systemic dysfunctions and foreshadowing a potential shift of liability towards apex management, who are required to ensure organizational models adequate to patient safety. This orientation, far from constituting a doctrinal novelty, would formalize ex lege a trajectory already established in civil and criminal case law of the Court of Cassation (Cass. No. 6386/2023, “Travaglino”), further intersecting with the administrative liability regime for organizations under Legislative Decree 231/2001. Significant interpretive challenges remain, related to the application of criminal liability criteria to the omissive conduct of healthcare managers, as well as to the contrasting international evidence on the behavioural effectiveness of medical liability reforms. The redefinition of top-management liability would therefore be configured not merely as a tool for the protection of the individual professional but as a derived constitutional guarantee of the right to health and the safety of care, pursued through formalized risk governance, the integration of incident reporting and organizational audit systems, the transition towards Enterprise Risk Management models, and the traceability of apex decision-making processes. Examples drawn from other European jurisdictions illustrate the heterogeneity of legal approaches to medical fault and frame the Italian proposal as a context-specific solution that nonetheless could contribute to the international debate on institutional and organizational accountability for patient safety. Full article

Firearm homicide is a leading cause of death among children and young men in the U.S. (ages 1–19), with young Black males in urban environments facing rates 18-to-24-fold higher than their non-Hispanic White peers in 2023. A key precursor to firearm violence victimization is weapon-carrying behavior (WCB), defined as carrying, concealing, or displaying firearms or other weapons in community or social contexts that elevate risk for injury, interpersonal threats, or law enforcement contact. Several structural, behavioral, and trauma-based risk factors fuel weapon-carrying. Yet these WCBs are rarely studied in tandem, leaving a critical gap in our understanding of these high-risk behaviors for youth. This cross-sectional study leveraged baseline data from a convenience sample of 226 violence-exposed urban young Black males, ages 15–24 (M_age = 18.3 years; SD = 3.1) enrolled in a trauma-informed digital firearm violence prevention pilot study. Eligibility required prior personal or witnessed experience of youth violence; reported prevalence therefore characterizes a high-risk subgroup rather than urban young Black males as a whole. Past-30-day weapon-carrying frequency was measured across five YRBS-aligned categories (0, 1, 2 to 3, 4 to 5, and 6+ days) and modeled as a categorical index under negative binomial regression. Associations with peer and community violence exposure, substance use, sociodemographic, and socioeconomic factors were estimated as incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% CI. Past-30-day weapon carrying was reported by 42.5% of participants, with carrying frequency ranging from 1 day to 6 or more days. Participants reported high levels of direct victimization (64.8%), witnessing community violence (76.4%), and use of nonprescribed medications, including in instances preceding violence. In the fully adjusted model, indicators of violence exposure were the most consistent correlates of carrying. Direct victimization (IRR = 1.15, p < 0.05), general exposure to violence or aggression (IRR = 7.82, p < 0.01), and physical fighting (IRR = 1.11, p < 0.05) remained independently significant. Conversely, associations with substance use, dating aggression, and employment were attenuated, suggesting shared ecological vulnerability rather than independent causal pathways. Findings underscore the central role of chronic violence exposure and support the need for trauma-informed, multilevel prevention strategies in clinical and community settings. Full article

In her final novel, Daniel Deronda (1876), George Eliot (1819–1880) repeatedly stages moments in which gentile characters project expectations onto Jewish women, drawing on inherited cultural representations from literature, history, and the performing arts. These moments reveal how limited their real-world knowledge of Jews—particularly Jewish women—was, and how readily they relied on cultural templates rather than lived experience. George Eliot herself, however, had undertaken extensive study of Jewish history, religion, and culture in preparation for the novel, including research into the Talmud, Mishna, kabbalah, and halacha (Jewish law). Yet this knowledge is purposefully not afforded to her characters. This article examines George Eliot’s increasing understanding of Jewish society, and her shifting attitudes towards Judaism, and explores how allusions to Jewish women in history, literature, and performance shape the gentile characters’ othering of Mirah Lapidoth, a young Jewish woman fleeing enforced familial exploitation, whom Daniel rescues from drowning in the Thames. Two significant conceptual terms underpin my argument. Objectification refers here not only to eroticisation or aestheticisation, but to the broader process by which Mirah is perceived as a symbolic figure—as an image, a type, or role—rather than a fully realised person. Othering denotes the interpretative habit by which gentile characters position Mirah through pre-existing stereotypes or literary precedents, instead of understanding her as a subject with her own history and interiority. Rescue describes the narrative mechanisms by which Mirah is brought into focus, first through Daniel’s intervention, then through her placement within the Meyrick household, and finally through marriage, though always within structures that continue to idealise, discipline, or contain her. I argue that George Eliot’s deployment of familiar stereotypes does not reinforce them; instead, she exposes them as cultural constructions that must be deconstructed or exorcised before she reconstructs her own version of Jewish culture and identity, which she referred to as “the inner life of modern Judaism” in her notebooks. I also argue that Daniel’s rescue of Mirah, rather than an act of pure benevolence, becomes a further site of objectification, othering her as an idealised model of Jewish womanhood rather than acknowledging her as an autonomous individual. Full article

For personalized treatments, including soft tissues repair, the use of in situ bioprinting is of increased interest. Many soft tissues, such as sphincters, have poorly known mechanical properties and a complex structure, with limited options for a medical practitioner to assess where the injections should be made and how much should be injected. The rate of injection and its variation have a direct implication on pain sensation for patients, but post-injection efficacy largely depends on the ability of the hydrogel to adapt to local loads and displacements, keeping the 3D structure compliant to the surrounding tissues. Such a method is known as ‘in situ bioprinting’. There are, however, limited data regarding hydrogels’ functionalities for such applications, and many commercial hydrogels, as medical devices, are used off-label. This study aims to introduce an innovative, robust, and reliable approach for evaluating the ejection-related mechanical properties of various commercial hydrogels. The ejectability of six clinically approved hydrogels was assessed through their rheological properties, characterized by measuring apparent viscosity using a mechanical testing device in a novel setup combined with the dynamic syringe pump analysis (for a pre-set constant ejection rate). It was shown that a well-established power-law approximation offers a straightforward, less computationally intensive approach than more complex models that attempt to account for viscosity, shear rate, and wall slip. It assesses hydrogel performance within an actual system, including the syringe and nozzle, rather than just characterizing the material in isolation, thus making it particularly valuable for predicting how gels will behave under real conditions. This method can be adapted for specific clinical bioprinting applications, including sphincter repair, lipoatrophy correction, or deep dermal/transdermal targets, optimizing speed, flow rate, and applied force. Full article

In recent years, electronic commerce (e-commerce) platforms catering to Saudi users have experienced significant growth. Analyzing the privacy policies of these platforms is crucial to ensure data protection and transparency for Saudi users, especially in light of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. However, existing studies on these platforms are limited in scope and fail to address key dimensions comprehensively. This study investigates the current state of privacy policies across 500 e-commerce websites serving Saudi users. The analysis focuses on policy availability, language, readability, and compliance with Saudi Arabia’s Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL). The findings reveal that 19.40% of websites lack privacy policies, and 2.01% fail to provide an Arabic version. On average, the privacy policies are lengthy, with approximately 981 words and 115 sentences, and are written in complex language that is difficult for users to understand. This study also identifies gaps in compliance with the PDPL, particularly in clarifying how data is collected and processed, and in explaining user rights. This study highlights the need for clearer, more accessible, and legally compliant privacy policies to enhance user trust and data protection. Full article

Climate change and environmental degradation are increasingly recognized as major drivers of human mobility, operating through both sudden-onset disasters and slow-onset processes such as sea-level rise, desertification and resource scarcity. Although estimates vary widely, projections suggest that millions of people may become displaced by 2050 because of climate change, predominantly within their own countries but also across international borders. This article examines the emerging phenomenon of “environmental migration” against the backdrop of international refugee law and broader human rights frameworks. It first maps the diverse environmental scenarios that trigger displacement before analyzing the existing international legal landscape. Particular attention is paid to the contested terminology surrounding “climate refugees”, “environmental migrants” and “environmentally displaced persons” and to the protection gaps that arise from current categorizations. This article argues that, while existing norms on human rights, disaster risk reduction and internal displacement offer partial safeguards, they do not provide coherent legal status or systematic protection for people displaced across borders by climate-related harms. It concludes that climate-related displacement should be addressed through a combination of evolving human rights-based climate litigation, enhanced use of existing instruments and the progressive elaboration of specific normative frameworks. Full article

Background: Intensive care units (ICUs) are high-acuity environments that require respiratory therapists (RTs) to maintain vigilance, manage emotions, and make rapid clinical decisions. In such settings, performance stability is critical for patient safety. Although emotional intelligence (EI) and work–life balance (WLB) have been linked to professional outcomes in health care, their independent and direction-specific associations with job performance among ICU respiratory therapists remain underexamined. Methods: A national cross-sectional survey was conducted among respiratory therapists working in ICUs across Saudi Arabia (June 2025–January 2026). EI was measured using the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale. WLB was assessed using the work interference with personal life (WIPL), personal life interference with work (PLIW), and work–personal life enhancement (WPLE) scales. Job performance was evaluated using the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire. Correlation and multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to estimate independent associations. Results: A total of 392 RTs were included in the final analysis. Higher EI was independently associated with greater task performance (B = 0.21, p < 0.01) and contextual performance (B = 0.30, p < 0.001), and with lower counterproductive work behaviours (B = −0.24, p < 0.001). Among WLB dimensions, PLIW showed the strongest adverse association, predicting lower task performance (B = −0.20, p < 0.05) and higher counterproductive behaviours (B = 0.39, p < 0.001), but was not significantly associated with contextual performance in the fully adjusted model. WPLE demonstrated modest positive associations with performance, whereas WIPL was not significant in adjusted models. Conclusions: Job performance among ICU respiratory therapists is shaped by both emotional regulatory capacity and cross-domain strain. Personal life interference with work emerged as the most influential adverse predictor, whereas EI was associated with constructive performance patterns. Findings should be interpreted in light of the cross-sectional design and self-reported data. Sustaining performance in high-acuity settings requires attention to emotional competencies and structural sources of role conflict alongside clinical expertise. These findings inform workforce strategies to support performance and sustainability in critical care settings. Full article

Collecting a large number of dangerous omen scenarios from drivers’ first-person perspective is of great significance for training and improving end-to-end autonomous driving models. In this study, we aim at capturing driver-perspective scenarios when recognizing dangerous omens. Firstly, through the design and implementation of vehicle and virtual driving experiments, the electroencephalogram, electrocardiogram and eye movement data of the subjects are collected. Statistical tests are conducted to analyze the characteristic differences among drivers across three distinct states. It also reveals that the driver can perceive and distinguish the dangerous omen clearly. Secondly, the evolution law of drivers’ perception state is analyzed to accurately judge the time period of drivers’ dangerous omen perception. Thirdly, the Hidden Markov Model is used to build the driver perception state transition model, and then the model is calibrated and verified. Finally, the model is utilized to identify drivers’ dangerous omen perception states and extract the corresponding perspective objective scenarios, which can provide sufficient samples for training end-to-end autonomous driving models. This study is of great significance to enable the capability of vehicles to recognize dangerous omens, advancing end-to-end and other high-level autonomous driving technologies and further securing vehicle safety. Full article

Over the past five years, the number of new United States laws banning gender-affirming care, restricting public access to services and spaces for transgender and gender-diverse persons, and forcibly outing transgender youth in schools has increased dramatically. Much of the focus in the media and research has been on the domestic political and social causes of these anti-transgender and anti-gender-affirming care laws and their devastating effects on vulnerable transgender and gender-diverse communities. This article argues that the current wave of anti-transgender and anti-gender-affirming care laws violates civil and human rights in the context of international human rights resolutions and principles on healthcare and displacement. I explore the implications of using international human rights to challenge anti-transgender and anti-gender-affirming care legislation and what coalitional possibilities exist when expanding the fight against these laws transnationally. Full article

Background: Firearm injuries are the leading cause of mortality among youth in the United States and legislation is a key strategy in reducing youth firearm injuries and deaths. Maryland recently enacted a stronger child access prevention (CAP) law known as Jaelynn’s Law, which mandates secure firearm storage and imposes stricter penalties for violations. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine firearm storage practices and beliefs in a pediatric and adult emergency department in Baltimore before and after the implementation of Jaelynn’s Law. Method: This descriptive study recruited 396 adult participants from pediatric and adult EDs at Johns Hopkins Hospital before and after the implementation of Jaelynn’s Law. Participants completed a survey on demographics, firearm ownership, and storage practices. Those with unsafe storage practices were provided educational pamphlets and safe storage devices. Data were analyzed using SPSS Statistics 28, with descriptive statistics, t-tests, and Chi-square analyses used to assess differences pre- and post-law implementation. Results: Of the participants, 29% owned firearms, with 86% of firearm owners having children in the home. Firearms were primarily stored locked and unloaded. No significant differences in storage practices were observed after implementation of Jaelynn’s Law. Participants cited quick access for personal protection as a key barrier to safe storage. Conclusions: We found no significant change in safe storage practices post-implementation of Jaelynn’s Law. Concerns about personal safety continue to be of primary concern and public health campaigns, legislative measures, and community investment are necessary to enhance safety and safe storage compliance. Full article

Cyberattacks and data breaches expose individuals and firms to liability in civil courts. Despite regulators’ efforts to standardize cybersecurity laws, judges, justices and attorneys have offered a plethora of interpretations to the same laws, causing a great deal of confusion. The current investigation utilizes the Jordanian civil code to illustrate how complex liability becomes in data breaches cases. Through a comprehensive examination of liability rules 256–291 within the civil code, the Supreme Courts’ liability precedents, and the new personal data protection law, this analysis finds that liability could be established under strict conditions. Liability claims in Jordanian courts must satisfy the standing doctrine, the presence of injury requiring compensation, and causality, and must demonstrate the clear links between data breaches and the harm/injury suffered. The novelty of the personal data protection law in Jordan is likely to impact how liability is interpreted and established in cybersecurity cases. Full article