USPS; ‘Outraged’ letter carriers demand action to stop robberies

By DAVID SHARP

yesterday

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A postal worker uniform shirt is attached to a tree at a makeshift memorial in Milwaukee on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, where Aundre Cross, a 44-year-old U.S. Postal Service employee was shot and killed while delivering mail the previous week. Robberies of postal carriers have exploded, surging 78% to nearly 500 in 2022, according to data provided by U.S. Postal Inspection Service to The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act. 

(Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Postal carriers have more worries than snow, rain or the gloom of night keeping them from their appointed rounds. They’re increasingly being robbed, often at gunpoint, from Maine to California.

Robberies of postal carriers have exploded, surging 78% to nearly 500 in 2022, according to data provided by U.S. Postal Inspection Service to The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act.

Letter carriers are demanding action from the U.S. Postal Service.

“The National Association of Letter Carriers is outraged and angered by the assaults, armed robberies and even murders that America’s letter carriers increasingly face as they deliver the mail. These attacks are completely unacceptable,” said Paul Barner, the union’s executive vice president.

The Postal Service said it’s adapting and implementing new measures to address the robberies, which are taking a toll on letter carriers tasked with delivering about 162.1 million pieces of first-class mail each day.

“Every postal employee deserves to work in safety and to be free from targeting by criminals seeking to access the public’s mail,” said Michael Martel, spokesperson for the inspection service.


The robberies have more than quadrupled over a decade, the data show. Weapons were used in most of the 496 robberies, injuring 31 postal carriers, last year. One, Milwaukee letter carrier Aundre Cross, was shot to death, leading to three arrests.

“They definitely need some type of security,” said Cross’s friend, Jared Tangle. “They need someone watching their back, so they can do their jobs safely.”

Many of these criminals are becoming more sophisticated and organized. Some are targeting the special keys that carriers use to access collection boxes and to deliver mail in apartment buildings.

A case this January north of Boston was typical. A letter carrier in Peabody was on his route when a 20-year-old man told him, “Give me your keys” and “Hurry up or I’ll shoot you” while pointing a semi-automatic handgun at the carrier, law enforcement officials said. The assailant fled but was later arrested.

In March, a postal carrier was slashed with a machete in Lowell, Massachusetts. That assailant also was located and arrested.

The Postal Service leadership is preparing to announce more measures to address the problem, USPS spokesperson Dave Partenheimer said.

Already, the service is working to enhance collection box key and lock technology; implement dual authentication to make keys less attractive targets for criminals; and “harden” blue collection boxes to prevent tampering, while continuing to work closely with other law enforcement agencies to bring the criminals to justice, Partenheimer said.

Partenheimer added Monday that the USPS is in the process of briefing congressional committees on its responses to postal crime.

Theft of mail carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, and possession, concealment or disposal of property carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, Martel said. Assault carries a sentence of up to 10 years for a first offense, and up to 25 years for a subsequent offense, he said.

“We will continue to adapt to evolving security threats and implement expanded measures to safeguard our employees and preserve the security of the mail that our customers expect and deserve,” Partenheimer said.

But Barner said letter carriers “demand solutions now.”

“While we will continue to engage with the Postal Service and relevant law enforcement agencies to develop measures that will enhance the safety of letter carriers, the fear and the danger that letter carriers are confronting has to end,” Barner’s statement said.

___

Follow David Sharp on Twitter @David_Sharp_AP

Biden calls for ‘fair deal’ for striking Hollywood writers

today

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Actor Ke Huy Quan hugs President Joe Biden after he introduced Biden to speak before a screening of the series "American Born Chinese" in the East Room of the White House in Washington. The screening was held in celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Monday, May 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)



WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden called for a “fair deal” for Hollywood’s striking writers on Monday as he hosted a White House screening of the the upcoming streaming series “American Born Chinese” to mark Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Biden made his first public comments on the strike, which hits the one-week mark Tuesday, in remarks ahead of the pilot’s screening. He was joined by an overflow crowd of hundreds of community leaders, elected officials and cast members and producers from the show in the East Room and the State Dining Room.

“Nights like these are a reminder of stories and the importance of treating storytellers with the dignity, respect and the value they deserve,” Biden said. “I sincerely hope the writers strike in Hollywood gets resolved and the writers are given a fair deal they deserve as soon as possible.”

He added: “This is an iconic, meaningful American industry. And we need the writers and all the workers and everyone involved to tell the stories of our nation and the stories of all of us.”





“American Born Chinese” is an adaptation of a graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang, and stars Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. It will premiere on Disney+ May 24.

JOE BIDEN


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Biden used his brief remarks onstage to outline his administration’s efforts to highlight the accomplishments of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities and to speak out against prejudice and violence targeting them.

“Hate can have no safe harbor in America,” Biden said. “Silence is complicity and we will not remain silent”

Quan, who introduced Biden, reflected on his journey from arriving in the U.S. as an 8-year-old refugee from Vietnam to making his first visit to the White House months after winning an Oscar.

“I do not take this moment lightly, because I know this building is a monument to a country that opened its arms to me,” he said.

ChatGPT's work lacks transparency and that is a problem

By Carter C. Price

ChatGPT can provide a summary of the consensus view of the COVID-19 pandemic. And that is the problem. 

File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

May 8 (UPI) -- After getting a set of questions about the COVID-19 pandemic and putting together my responses, I thought that I would see how ChatGPT would do.

While ChatGPT could not provide concrete data or citations to back up its point, even with more prompting, and it missed some nuance, this is a nice first start for a summary of the consensus view on the key takeaways about from the pandemic -- and that is the problem.

At their core, ChatGPT and other Large Language Models estimate the most likely next word, phrase or sentence to follow a prompt from a user. To make these estimates, LLMs are trained on millions or even billions of texts that include recent news stories, articles and other work. When asked about lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, ChatGPT pulls from this vast corpus to predict the most likely set of sentences to respond.

To that end, the response can be seen as an amalgamation of the training pool of writing on COVID-19, text on lessons learned and the general rules of language from the full corpus. This works well, but when prompted for more details about the specifics of the points presented, a LLM may not have the appropriate details in its corpus and can't necessarily predict the best information to provide. This can make the content of the responses to followup questions underwhelming or even false (when asked for sources, ChatGPT produced three references that appear to be fictitious).

Samsung bans AI tools like ChatGPT in workplace

The first point regarding public health infrastructure is not necessarily inaccurate but is by no means obvious or a settled question. Many of the poorest countries with relatively weak health infrastructure fared quite well due in large part to their populations being much younger than those in wealthier nations.

Comparing only rich nations, there was substantial variation in COVID-19 outcomes and health spending. While public health infrastructure was important in the COVID-19 response, this is not a clear takeaway from international comparisons as stated (there may be a stronger case within the United States). The other points made by ChatGPT are stronger but not without their shortcomings.

With these content critiques in mind, ChatGPT's five points provide a useful start for a summary of key takeaways. However, the fact that it is coherently written and, on first glance, very reasonable, is quite problematic because of the lack of transparency.

When someone reads a research study or a newspaper article, facts are typically sourced, and those sources have (hopefully) been verified. While there have been high- profile cases of a few journalists making up facts, the fact that this occurrence is so rare is what makes these cases high profile. This is not true for LLMs at present.

In a world with LLMs, there is a growing need for modernized data literacy. While basic numeracy is useful when reading statistical analysis, that is not sufficient to understanding how to treat outputs from LLMs and other modern AI. Developers need to be more transparent about their algorithms and data sources so that people can assess the inherent sources of bias or problems with the approach.

Users of LLMs may find them to be a nice shortcut to drafting material, but should be warry of factual statements made and read with a careful and critical eye. While LLMs like ChatGPT have a lot of uses, providing deep commentary or useful policy analysis is not one of those uses, for now.

Here's how ChatGPT handled the assignment of writing about the pandemic:

Prompt: What are some key take aways from the COVID-19 pandemic?

"The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on individuals, societies and the global community as a whole. Here are some key takeaways that have emerged from this crisis:The importance of public health infrastructure: The pandemic has highlighted the critical role of public health infrastructure in preventing and responding to outbreaks. Countries with robust healthcare systems and effective public health measures, such as testing, contact tracing and vaccination campaigns, have generally fared better in controlling the spread of the virus.
The importance of scientific research and innovation: The rapid development of vaccines and therapeutics to combat COVID-19 is a testament to the power of scientific research and innovation. The pandemic has also underscored the need for continued investment in scientific research to better understand the nature of infectious diseases and to develop new treatments and preventive measures.
The impact of social and economic inequality: The pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing social and economic inequalities, with marginalized communities and vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the virus. This has highlighted the need for policies that address social and economic inequality and prioritize the health and well-being of all individuals.
The need for global cooperation: The pandemic has shown that infectious diseases do not respect national borders and require a coordinated global response. It has highlighted the need for international cooperation in sharing information, resources and expertise to control the spread of the virus and mitigate its impact on health and the economy.
The importance of personal responsibility: The pandemic has demonstrated the importance of personal responsibility in preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Measures such as mask-wearing, physical distancing and hand hygiene can all help reduce the transmission of the virus and protect vulnerable populations. Vaccination is also an important tool in preventing the spread of the virus and reducing its impact on individuals and society."

Carter C. Price is co-director of the Center for Scalable Computing and Analysis, research quality assurance manager for the Homeland Security Research Division and a senior mathematician at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corp.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

Could AI pen ‘Casablanca’? 

Screenwriters take aim at ChatGPT

By JAKE COYLE

May 5, 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — When Greg Brockman, the president and co-founder of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, was recently extolling the capabilities of artificial intelligence, he turned to “Game of Thrones.”

Imagine, he said, if you could use AI to rewrite the ending of that not-so-popular finale. Maybe even put yourself into the show.

“That is what entertainment will look like,” said Brockman.

Not six months since the release of ChatGPT, generative artificial intelligence is already prompting widespread unease throughout Hollywood. Concern over chatbots writing or rewriting scripts is one of the leading reasons TV and film screenwriters took to picket lines earlier this week.

MORE ON THE WRITERS STRIKE

– Why Hollywood writers are striking and the immediate impact

– What do striking Hollywood writers want? A look at demands

– Late-night TV shows go dark as writers strike for better pay

Though the Writers Guild of America is striking for better pay in an industry where streaming has upended many of the old rules, AI looms as rising anxiety.

“AI is terrifying,” said Danny Strong, the “Dopesick” and “Empire” creator. “Now, I’ve seen some of ChatGPT’s writing and as of now I’m not terrified because Chat is a terrible writer. But who knows? That could change.”

AI chatbots, screenwriters say, could potentially be used to spit out a rough first draft with a few simple prompts (“a heist movie set in Beijing”). Writers would then be hired, at a lower pay rate, to punch it up.

Screenplays could also be slyly generated in the style of known writers. What about a comedy in the voice of Nora Ephron? Or a gangster film that sounds like Mario Puzo? You won’t get anything close to “Casablanca” but the barest bones of a bad Liam Neeson thriller isn’t out of the question.

The WGA’s basic agreement defines a writer as a “person” and only a human’s work can be copyrighted. But even though no one’s about to see a “By AI” writers credit at the beginning a movie, there are myriad ways that regenerative AI could be used to craft outlines, fill in scenes and mock up drafts.

“We’re not totally against AI,” says Michael Winship, president of the WGA East and a news and documentary writer. “There are ways it can be useful. But too many people are using it against us and using it to create mediocrity. They’re also in violation of copyright. They’re also plagiarizing.”

The guild is seeking more safeguards on how AI can be applied to screenwriting. It says the studios are stonewalling on the issue. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains on the behalf of production companies, has offered to annually meet with the guild to go over definitions around the fast-evolving technology

“It’s something that requires a lot more discussion, which we’ve committed to doing,” the AMPTP said in an outline of its position released Thursday.

Experts say the struggle screenwriters are now facing with regenerative AI is just the beginning. The World Economic Forum this week released a report predicting that nearly a quarter of all jobs will be disrupted by AI over the next five years.

“It’s definitely a bellwether in the workers’ response to the potential impacts of artificial intelligence on their work,” says Sarah Myers West, managing director of the nonprofit AI Now Institute, which has lobbied the government to enact more regulation around AI. “It’s not lost on me that a lot of the most meaningful efforts in tech accountability have been a product of worker-led organizing.”

AI has already filtered into nearly every part of moviemaking. It’s been used to de-age actors, remove swear words from scenes in post-production, supply viewing recommendations on Netflix and posthumously bring back the voices of Anthony Bourdain and Andy Warhol.

The Screen Actors Guild, set to begin its own bargaining with the AMPTP this summer, has said it’s closely following the evolving legal landscape around AI.

“Human creators are the foundation of the creative industries and we must ensure that they are respected and paid for their work,” the actors union said.

The implications for screenwriting are only just being explored. Actors Alan Alda and Mike Farrell recently reconvened to read through a new scene from “M(asterisk)A(asterisk)S(asterisk)H” written by ChatGPT. The results weren’t terrible, though they weren’t so funny, either.

“Why have a robot write a script and try to interpret human feelings when we already have studio executives who can do that?” deadpanned Alda.

Writers have long been among notoriously exploited talents in Hollywood. The films they write usually don’t get made. If they do, they’re often rewritten many times over. Raymond Chandler once wrote “the very nicest thing Hollywood can possibly think to say to a writer is that he is too good to be only a writer.”

Picketing outside CBS Television City in Los Angeles

 (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Screenwriters are accustomed to being replaced. Now, they see a new, readily available and inexpensive competitor in AI — albeit one with a slightly less tenuous grasp of the human condition.

“Obviously, AI can’t do what writers and humans can do. But I don’t know that they believe that, necessarily,” says screenwriter Jonterri Gadson (“A Black Lady Sketchshow”). “There needs to be a human writer in charge and we’re not trying to be gig workers, just revising what AI does. We need to tell the stories.”

Dramatizing their plight as man vs. machine surely doesn’t hurt the WGA’s cause in public opinion. The writers are wrestling with the threat of AI just as concern widens over how hurriedly regenerative AI products has been thrust into society.

Geoffrey Hinton, an AI pioneer, recently left Google in order to speak freely about its potential dangers. “It’s hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things,” Hinton told The New York Times.

“What’s especially scary about it is nobody, including a lot of the people who are involved with creating it, seem to be able to explain exactly what it’s capable of and how quickly it will be capable of more,” says actor-screenwriter Clark Gregg.

The writers finds themselves in the awkward position of negotiating on a newborn technology with the potential for radical effect. Meanwhile, AI-crafted songs by “Fake Drake” or “Fake Eminem” continue to circulate online.

(AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

“They’re afraid that if the use of AI to do all this becomes normalized, then it becomes very hard to stop the train,” says James Grimmelmann, a professor of digital and information law at Cornell University. “The guild is in the position of trying to imagine lots of different possible futures.”

In that way, the long work stoppage that many are expecting — Moody’s Investor Service forecasts that the strike may last three months or longer — could offer more time to analyze how regenerative AI might reshape screenwriting.

In the meantime, chanting demonstrators are hoisting signs with messages aimed at a digital foe. Seen on the picket lines: 

“ChatGPT doesn’t have childhood trauma”; 

“I heard AI refuses to take notes”;

 and “Wrote ChatGPT this.” ___

 Associated Press Writer Krysta Fauria in Los Angeles and Robert Bumsted and Aron Ranen in New York contributed to this report.

___ Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

VIDEO https://apnews.com/ba42e8d70a4a48e989ae98269c80d741

ICYMI

Why Hollywood writers are striking and the immediate impact

By ANDREW DALTON

May 5, 2023

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Striking writers rally in front of Netflix offices, Wednesday, May 3, 2023, in Los Angeles. Television and movie writers launched a strike Tuesday for the first time in 15 years, as Hollywood girded for a walkout with potentially widespread ramifications in a fight over fair pay in the streaming era. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The union representing 11,500 writers of film, television and other entertainment forms are now on strike. It’s the first writers’ strike — and the first Hollywood strike of any kind — in 15 years. Here’s a look at the storylines the fight has spawned.

WHY ARE THE WRITERS STRIKING?

Streaming and its ripple effects are at the center of the dispute. The guild says that even as series budgets have increased, writers’ share of that money has consistently shrunk.

Streaming services’ use of smaller staffs — known in the industry as “mini rooms” — for shorter stints has made sustained income harder to come by, the guild says. And the number of writers working at guild minimums has gone from about a third to about half in the past decade.

“On TV staffs, more writers are working at minimum regardless of experience, often for fewer weeks,” the guild said in a March report.

The lack of a regular seasonal calendar in streaming has depressed pay further, the report says. And scheduled annual pay bumps under the current contract have fallen well short of increases in inflation.

The weekly minimum for a staff writer on a television series in the 2019-2020 season was $4,546, according to industry trade outlet Variety. They work an average of 29 weeks on a network show for $131,834 annually, or an average of 20 weeks on a streaming show for $90,920. For a writer-producer, the figure is $6,967 per week. Writers of comedy-variety shows for streaming have no minimum protections at all, the guild says.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Hollywood’s studios, streamers and production companies, says the writers’ demands would require that they be kept on staff and paid when there is no work for them. “If writing needs to be done, writers are hired, but these proposals require the employment of writers whether they’re needed for the creative process or not,” the group said in a document outlining its positions.

And the AMPTP says its offers included the first-ever minimums for streaming comedy-variety writers.

The group also said that writers’ healthcare, child care and pension benefits set them far apart from the “gig economy” workers the writers have compared themselves to.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Months of negotiations still left considerable distance between writers and the AMPTP. The Writers Guild of America — whose East and West versions are technically two unions that act as a unit in these negotiations.

Talks, which often extend for hours or days past a contract deadline, instead ended hours before the most recent contract expired Monday night. By that point writers, who voted overwhelmingly to authorize their leaders to call a strike, had already begun making signs for picket lines, Which they promptly put to use Tuesday.

The AMPTP said that it had offered “generous increases in compensation for writers as well as improvements in streaming residuals,” including the highest first-year wage increase in a WGA contract in more than 25 years, and the creation of a new category of rates that would mean a new, higher minimum for mid-level writers. The group said it was prepared to improve its offers, but the union was asking for so much more than companies were willing to offer that it cut off negotiations hours before the contract expired.

WHAT SHOWS WILL BE AFFECTED FIRST?

Late-night talk shows, heavily dependent on same-day, current-events-based comedy writing, were the first to feel the strike’s effect. The shows have been the de facto frontline during previous writers strikes. NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” ABC’s “ Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and CBS’s “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” all went immediately into hiatus and will air reruns. James Corden’s Thursday night farewell to his “Late Late Show” was well-timed.

“Saturday Night Live,” nearly as dependent on last-minute writing, has already axed this week’s episode with host Pete Davidson. The final two episodes in the season that follow it are in serious jeopardy.

Forthcoming awards shows are keeping plans in place for now, but those could easily fall apart.

HOW WILL THE STRIKE AFFECT SCRIPTED SERIES AND MOVIES?

The strike’s impact on scripted series could take far longer to manifest. Noticeable effects on the movie release calendar could take even longer.

Shows where writers had begun work on forthcoming seasons — including Showtime’s “Yellowjackets” — have now paused the process, and would have to scramble after the strike to stay on schedule.

Production on finished screenplays can proceed as planned (without the benefit of last-minute rewrites). In general, Hollywood’s other unions — including guilds for actors and directors, both of which face expiring deals with AMPTP in the coming months — are forbidden by their contracts to join the current strike and must continue working, though both members and leaders have expressed solidarity with the WGA.

Productions, long aware of the looming deadline, sought to wrap before it arrived. FilmLA, which hands out location permits for the Los Angeles area, say that none have been requested for television dramas or sitcoms this week.

Depending on their media consumption methods, many viewers and moviegoers may not notice the effects of a strike until long after it’s over, if at all. The menus on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video will look no different next week, but because this would be the first writers’ strike of the streaming era, there is no template for how they will look months down the line.

During the last strike, when broadcast and cable networks with well-established seasonal schedules were still predominant, many shows, including “30 Rock,” “CSI,” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” shortened their seasons.

WHAT HAPPENS NOW FOR THE WRITERS?

The full stop to work will mean major economic losses for screenwriters, though many say it’s worth it to fight the day-to-day dwindling of income.

Guild strike rules prevent members from striking new deals, making new pitches, or turning in new scripts. They are allowed to accept payment for any writing that’s already been done.

Those known in the industry as “hyphenates,” including showrunners who act as head writer-producers, performer-writers, and people like Quinta Brunson of “Abbot Elementary” who do all the above, are allowed to do the non-writing parts of their jobs under union rules, though that work may be minimal as they seek solidarity with their writing staffs. (At Monday’s Met Gala, Bruson said “I’m a member of the WGA and support WGA and ... We, us, us getting what we need. ... No one wants a strike, but I hope that we’re able to rectify this, whatever that means”)

HOW PREVIOUS WRITERS STRIKES HAVE PLAYED OUT

Writers have gone on strike six times, more than any group in Hollywood.

The first came in 1960, a Writers Guild walkout that lasted nearly five months. Strikes followed in 1973, 1981, and 1985. The longest work stoppage, lasting exactly five months, came in 1988.

The 2007-2008 strike was resolved after three months. Among the main concessions the writers won were requirements that fledgling streaming shows would have to hire guild writers if their budgets were big enough. It was an early harbinger of nearly every entertainment labor fight in the years that followed.


Hollywood Writers Strike picket lines begin out of New York

Bus drivers in Massachusetts school district strike for new contract


May 8 (UPI) -- School bus drivers in Marlborough, Mass., went on strike Monday leaving hundreds of parents to find rides to school for their children, while a work stoppage was avoided in Farmington and Westborough.

Teamster Local 170 negotiators talked with transportation vendor North Reading Transportation Bus, Inc. through Sunday night in hopes to reach a deal, but efforts fell short in Marlborough.

"We are physically on strike in Marlborough," Local 170 business manager Jim Marks said. "We will be on strike until we resolve the contract. We are hoping NRT brings an offer back to the table that will be responsible and good for the drivers, and we will go from there."

Drivers in Westborough, though, opted to come to work on Monday without a contract, but Marks declined to give an update on their negotiations other than to say the union members are "not on strike at this time."

There was a breakthrough in Farmington, with Teamsters and NRT settling on pact details there.

"Potentially, we could have had thousands of students not come to school for the duration that the strike may have lasted," said Framingham Public Schools Superintendent Robert Tremblay.

"And there might have been steps taken from there. Fortunately, as we understand it and heard it all together, in real time, that is not the case. But we were prepared for the worst, hoping for the best. And as it turns out, the best has come to fruition."

NRT said in a statement it is working to get contracts with Marlborough and Westborough drivers resolved as quickly as possible.

"The attention now shifts to the Marlborough and Westborough contracts, where the dedicated NRT team continues to focus on their number-one priority: transporting children to and from school safely every day," the bus company said.

Billions of dollars in healthcare costs tied to oil and gas, researchers believe


Authors of a peer-reviewed study urged the federal government to move quickly on regulations meant to curb some of the emissions coming the oil and gas sector. More than $70 billion in health-related costs are associated with these emissions, they said. File photo by Ryan Tong/EPA-EFE


May 8 (UPI) -- Pointing to the billions of dollars of what they said are health-related costs associated with pollution from the oil and gas industry, researchers called on the federal government to hurry up with new regulations to prevent further ailments in a study released Monday.

"Curbing oil and gas emissions is one of the fastest, most cost-effective ways to reduce methane and other air pollutants, which improves air quality, protects public health and slows climate change," said study co-author Ananya Roy, a senior researcher at the Environmental Defense Fund, in a news release.

Roy was joined by scientists at Boston University and the University of North Carolina in writing details abut their study in the journal Environmental Research: Health, which suggests air pollution from the oil and gas sector has a "substantial" impact on public health.

The federal government early last year outlined a global plan along with the European Union that aims to reduce methane by 30% from a 2020 baseline by 2030.

Part of that effort includes $1.15 billion to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells, and another $1 billion to modernize the existing natural gas pipeline network.

The Environmental Protection Agency, meanwhile, introduced proposals in November to strengthen existing regulations on methane emissions. Roy said it was "critical" that the EPA finalizes its rules as soon as possible.

Methane is a potent energy carrier, but as a greenhouse gas, it has a greater warming potential than carbon dioxide.

Elsewhere, scientists said nitrogen oxide, fine particulate matter and ozone from the oil and gas sector contributed to more than 7,500 deaths and 2,200 new cases of childhood asthma. The health challenges alone account for $77 billion in costs each year, they wrote.

"The health impacts are not just from the combustion of oil and gas," said Boston University's Jonathan Buonocore, a corresponding author of the study.

The Energy Information Administration, the statistics arm of the Energy Department, estimated in its monthly market report for April that energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide decline by 3% relative to 2022 levels, but then increase "slightly" in 2024.

The EPA, meanwhile, shows that emissions for most major greenhouse gases, including methane, most likely peaked in 2007, based on 2020 data.

Oregon State University leading $5M effort to accelerate robotics research via standardized robot

Grant and Award Announcement

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: BILL SMART AND NAOMI FITTER WITH A QUORI ROBOT. PHOTO BY SHIVANI JINGER. view more 

CREDIT: BILL SMART AND NAOMI FITTER WITH A QUORI ROBOT. PHOTO BY SHIVANI JINGER.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers at Oregon State University are part of a $5 million National Science Foundation effort to accelerate robotics research by making standardized humanoid robots available to the scientific community.

Bill Smart and Naomi Fitter, who study human-robot interaction in the OSU College of Engineering, will lead the project, part of the NSF’s Computer and Information Science and Engineering Community Research Infrastructure program.

The NSF’s goal for the program is to drive discovery and learning in computing and communication foundations, computer and network systems, and information and intelligent systems.

The Oregon State investigators will partner with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s GRASP Laboratory and a Los Angeles-based software company, Semio, that specializes in robotics applications.

The project involves building and distributing 50 Quori robots to serve as a standardized hardware and software platform for researchers. Quori robots have an expressive face, gesturing arms and a bowing spine and are designed for experimentation in the lab and also “in the wild,” i.e. real-world types of settings.

“A big hurdle in robotics research has been the lack of a common robot to work with,” Smart said. “It’s tough to compare results and replicate and build on each other’s work when everyone is using a different type of robot. Robots come in many shapes and sizes, with different types of sensors and varying capabilities.”

Oregon State’s primary contributions to the project will be setting up and maintaining a network of resources surrounding the use of the Quori robot and helping to beta test the robot and the resources.

“The team will build on the success of an earlier NSF-funded project by the University of Pennsylvania, Semio and the University of Southern California that designed, built and tested 10 prototype Quori robots and awarded them to research teams,” Fitter said. “The current work will incorporate the lessons learned to improve the robot’s design, making it easier to manufacture at scale, and to distribute it to a broader set of research groups.”

Fitter and Smart say the project team will connect students and researchers using Quori through online collaboration tools, events and opportunities to work together – building a community of roboticists that can learn from one another and advance the pace of research.

“Part of the focus is bringing new teams into the community and helping them get up to speed by pairing them with more experienced researchers,” Smart added. “This will increase the diversity of people involved in robotics research in the United States and accelerate progress, especially in the field of human-robot interaction.”

Wakefulness-promoting agents effective for excessive daytime sleepiness but patients may discontinue due to side effects

Embargoed News from Annals of Internal Medicine

Peer-Reviewed Publication

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS

1. Wakefulness-promoting agents effective for excessive daytime sleepiness but patients may discontinue due to side effects
Abstract: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M22-3473
URL goes live when the embargo lifts
A systematic review and analysis of 14 trials found that solriamfetol, armodafinil–modafinil, and pitolisant reduce excessive daytime sleepiness (ESA) for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) already using conventional therapy. However, patients may be more likely to discontinue the use of these medications due to adverse events including headache, anxiety, and insomnia. The review is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Symptoms of EDS are often improved with standard treatment of OSA, but it may persist in up to 18 percent of OSA patients despite ongoing conventional therapy. EDS is associated with neuropsychological impairment and decreased quality of life, and treatment is a continued priority for clinicians. Pharmacological interventions for OSA include solriamfetol and armodafinil–modafinil, which are approved for OSA treatment in the U.S., and pitolisant, which has been studied in previous trials but is not approved for treatment of OSA.

Researchers from McMaster University, Dalhousie University, and the University of Toronto conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 trials enrolling 3,085 patients and included the use of armodafinil, modafinil, solriamfetol, and pitolisant–H3-autoreceptor antagonist. The authors found that solriamfetol, armodafinil–modafinil and pitolisant reduced daytime sleepiness for patients with OSA already on conventional therapy, and solriamfetol was likely superior in effectiveness. However, adverse events including headache, insomnia, and anxiety were associated with an increased risk for discontinuation in several trials. According to the authors, future research should address potential long-term and rare harms that may be associated with these drugs and potential differential effects of these drugs in patients who are not adherent to conventional OSA treatment.

Media contacts: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Angela Collom at acollom@acponline.org. To speak with corresponding author Dena Zeraatkar, PhD, please email Veronica McGuire at vmcguir@mcmaster.ca.
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2. GLP1RA, but not SGLT2i, associated with reduced hospitalizations for heart failure, stroke, and death compared with DPP4i
Abstract: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M22-2751
Editorial: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-0958
URL goes live when the embargo lifts
A cohort study of older persons without heart disease found that the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1RA) reduced major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and heart failure (HF) hospitalization compared with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4i). However, the use of sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) was not associated with similar reductions. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

More than 30 million adults in the United States have diabetes mellitus and it’s a condition that carries a high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Previous trials have demonstrated benefits for using GLP1RA and SGLT2i to reduce MACE risk in persons with diabetes and preexisting CVD, but the use of these medications in preventing complications among persons with CVD remains unclear.

Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Veterans Health Administration Tennessee Valley Healthcare System conducted a retrospective cohort study of older veterans with diabetes and without heart disease who received care between 2001 and 2019. The authors found that compared with DPP4i, the addition of GLP1RA to baseline diabetes therapy was associated with reduced MACE and HF hospitalization events. However, the addition of SGLT2i was not associated with reduced MACE and HF hospitalizations compared with adding DPP4i. According to the authors, their findings in aggregate suggest that GLP1RA may have a role in CVD prevention. Diabetes and its complications represent an enormous health care burden and prevention of heart disease for those who are at highest risk is an important goal of doctors, scientists and patients.

An accompanying editorial by Steven S. Nissen, MD of the Cleveland Clinic discusses the limitations of using observational studies for clinical decision making. This type of research may overemphasize its value or applicability. He highlights that large observational studies can be useful and informative, but the choice of outcomes measured, and the study method must be carefully considered, and the results interpreted within the context of the study’s limitations.

Media contacts: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Angela Collom at acollom@acponline.org. To speak with corresponding author Christianne L. Roumie, M.D., MPH, please email Paul Govern at paul.govern@vumc.org.
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3. At the right cost, screening for 3 selected genetic disorders could be cost effective

Abstract: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M22-0846
FREE Summary: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/P23-0002
URL goes live when the embargo lifts
A cost-effectiveness analysis of screening tests for three common genetic disorders found that conducting these tests in adults under the age of 40 could be cost-effective at a population level if test costs are sufficiently low. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) designated three genetic tests as having evidence-based guidelines and recommendations to prevent morbidity and mortality associated with genetic risk. These genetic conditions include Lynch syndrome (LS), which is associated with a higher risk for colorectal cancer, hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC), and familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), which is associated with a greater risk for early heart disease and stroke. However, modeling studies to date have suggested that screening for these genetic conditions independently is not cost-effective.

Researchers from the University of Washington, Geisinger, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of multiple cohorts aged 20 to 60 that reflect the current U.S. population. The authors found that if all three conditions are bundled together in the same test, which was assumed to cost $250 and confirmed with a second test, one-time screening of US adults age 40 and under was cost-effective according to commonly used thresholds. For every 100,000 individuals screened with genomic testing, 101 cancers and 15 cardiovascular events were prevented compared to testing based on family history alone, which translated to 495 quality-of-life-adjusted years of additional survival. To address considerations beyond cost-effectiveness, the authors recommend that a policy analysis be conducted that considers budgetary impact, availability of trained genetic counselors and other resources, longitudinal follow-up in primary care settings, and assessment by clinical guidelines and reimbursement policymakers.

Media contacts: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Angela Collom at acollom@acponline.org. To speak with corresponding author Josh F. Peterson, M.D., MPH, please contact josh.peterson@vumc.org.
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JOURNAL

Annals of Internal Medicine

DOI

10.7326/M22-3473 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Literature review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Wakefulness-Promoting Agents for Excessive Daytime Sleepiness in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

9-May-2023

THE LANCET: An estimated one million stillbirths and newborn baby deaths could be prevented each year by implementing low-cost pregnancy interventions in low- and middle-income countries

Peer-Reviewed Publication

THE LANCET

 

IMAGE: SMALL VULNERABLE NEWBORNS—A NEW DEFINITION FOR IMPROVING GLOBAL NEWBORN AND MATERNAL HEALTH view more 

CREDIT: THE LANCET

Eight low-cost and easily implementable proven interventions for pregnant women in 81 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) could prevent an estimated 566,000 stillbirths and 5.2 million babies a year from being born preterm or small for gestational age—some with low birth weight—the impacts of which would also affect long-term health and economic output, says a new four-paper Series published in The Lancet.

 

Additionally, the eight interventions,

• multiple micronutrient supplements
• balanced protein energy supplements
• aspirin
• treatment of syphilis
• education for smoking cessation
• prevention of malaria in pregnancy
• treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria
• progesterone provided vaginally,

along with two proven interventions that can reduce the complications of preterm births,

• antenatal corticosteroids 
• delayed cord clamping,

have the potential to prevent 476,000 newborn baby deaths. The Series estimates the cost of implementing these interventions at $1.1 billion in 2030.

 

In a new analysis, the Lancet Series on small vulnerable newborns estimates that, of the 135 million babies born alive in 2020, one in four (35.3 million) were born preterm or small for gestational age —some with low birth weight. The Series brings this group together under a new term: small vulnerable newborns (SVN). These babies were born in every country, with the majority in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia.

 

The authors highlight that, in every region, progress for reducing preterm birth and low birthweight is a flat line and off track of targets—the Global Nutrition Target calls for 30% reduction of babies with low birthweight by 2030 from a 2012 baseline, however the estimated annual rate of reduction is only 0.59%.

 

In a global call to action, the Series argues for a higher quality of care for women during pregnancy and at birth, and specifically for the scale-up of pregnancy interventions in 81 LMICs, which the Series estimates could prevent approximately 32% of stillbirths, 20% of newborn baby deaths and 18% of all SVN births in those countries.

 

Given over 80% of births are in facilities, the authors underline that better data collection and use of data is possible now, ensuring that every pregnancy is dated with accurate gestational age and all newborns—as well as all stillbirths—weighed and classified by SVN type. In addition to helping ensure good quality care, the Series says better data collection is essential to inform progress and drive accountability. Counting stillbirths is important to capture the full burden, since new analyses in the Series highlights that 74% of stillbirths were born preterm for a subset of countries. 

 

Prof Per Ashorn, Tampere University, Finland and a lead author on the Series, says: 

“Despite several global commitments and targets aimed at reducing SVN outcomes since 1990, every fourth baby in the world is 'born too small' or 'born too soon'. Our Series suggests that we already have the knowledge to reverse the current trend and save the lives of 100,000s of babies a year at a cost of $1.1 billion, a fraction of what other health programmes receive. We need national actors, with global partners, to urgently prioritise action, advocate and invest.”

 

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JOURNAL

The Lancet

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

The Lancet Small Vulnerable Newborns Series

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

8-May-2023

Can tiny brain tissues legally be a person? Researchers say not yet

Peer-Reviewed Publication

HIROSHIMA UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: SHOULD A "BRAIN ORGANOID" BE TREATED AS A PERSON BY LAW? view more 

CREDIT: LAIMAN-ARIGA/KYOTO UNIVERSITY THE INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCED STUDY OF HUMAN BIOLOGY

Grown in labs, human brain organoids are cultivated from stem cells, feed on nutrient broth and serve as a model of human brain development in miniature. Their growth and structure mimic portions of real brains, allowing scientists to better investigate the origins and potential treatments of neural diseases. How similar are they to actual human brains, though? Are they close enough to be considered people in their own right?

The question is complicated in myriad ethical and moral ways, but researchers based in Japan and Taiwan propose that the legal lens may prove critical when understanding the potential personhood of human brain organoids. 

They published their argument for a legal framework to guide the conversation on April 3 in the Journal of Law and Biosciences.

“The moral status of human brain organoids has often been discussed, but their legal status has rarely been discussed,” said corresponding author Tsutomu Sawai, associate professor in the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hiroshima University. “To clarify the legal status of human brain organoids will illuminate issues such as what information should be informed to the cell donor, to what extent the donor’s consent justifies the research, and what uses are acceptable.”

Legal person refers to any entity that holds legal rights and obligations — it can be human or not, according to Sawai. Human legal persons are called natural persons, and they are defined by being born of a womb and whether they can be considered legal dead once their heart or brain stops working. Nonhuman legal persons are called juridical persons and can include corporations and governmental agencies. 

In their paper, Sawai and his team explore how the legal definition of what it means to be a natural or a juridical person applies to human brain organoids. Currently, the organoids do not fulfill basic requirements of what it means to be a natural person, Sawai said, but research may bridge the existing gaps. 

“Although human brain organoids do not constitute natural persons at present, the likelihood of their potential to become natural persons in the near future requires more thorough consideration in advance of that reality occurring,” said first author Masanori Kataoka, researcher in Hiroshima University’s Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences. “Research on linking human brain organoids with bodies is expected to advance rapidly in the coming years, whereas the conditions of natural personhood, especially viability and birth are becoming increasingly flexible and contentious.”

The researchers noted that previous discussions on this topic have focused almost exclusively on natural personhood, overshadowing questions about the potential juridical personhood of human brain organoids. Corporations, for example, are considered juridical persons so that they can participate in legal matters, such as entering contracts. According to Kataoka, whether this applies to human brain organoids would depend on what legal purposes such consideration may have, and the matter should be considered separately from whether they are natural persons. 

“Current brain organoid technology is in many ways quite limited, and it has not yet reached a stage where human brain organoids could become natural or juridical persons,” Sawai said.  “However, as we have emphasized, this issue will soon become urgent once brain organoid technology has been further developed. In preparation for that time, it is essential to examine the accompanying questions thoroughly and in advance; we have taken the first step in that direction.”

##

Sawai is also affiliated with Kyoto University’s Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology. Tsung-Ling Lee with Taipei Medical University’s Graduate Institute of Health and Biotechnology Law also co-authored this paper. 

The Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Uehiro Foundation, the Mitsubishi Foundation, the Japan Science and Technology’s Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society funded this work.

About Hiroshima University

Since its foundation in 1949, Hiroshima University has striven to become one of the most prominent and comprehensive universities in Japan for the promotion and development of scholarship and education. Consisting of 12 schools for undergraduate level and 5 graduate schools, ranging from natural sciences to humanities and social sciences, the university has grown into one of the most distinguished comprehensive research universities in Japan. English website: https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en

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JOURNAL

Journal of Law and the Biosciences

DOI

10.1093/jlb/lsad007 

ARTICLE TITLE

The legal personhood of human brain organoids