Virtual Labs and Designer Bugs - Generative AI, Synthetic Biology and National Security.

AI technologies can pose a major national security concern. AI programs could be used to develop chemical and biological agents which circumvent existing protective measures or medical treatments, or to design pathogens with capabilities they do not naturally possess (gain-of-function research). Although Australia has a strong legislative framework relating to research into genetically modified organisms, the framework requires the interaction of more than 10 different government departments, universities and funding agencies. Further, there are few guidelines about the responsible use of AI in biological research where existing laws and policies do not apply to research that is conducted "virtually", even where that research may have national security implications. This article explores these under-scrutinised concepts in Australia's biological security frameworks.

An international relations quantitative evaluation model (IRQEM) based on an integrated method.

International relations (IR) have great uncertainty and instability. Bad IR or conflicts will bring about heavy economic losses and widespread social unrest domestically and internationally. The accurate prediction for bilateral relations can support decision making for timely responses, which will be used to find ways to maintain development in the complex international situation. An international relations quantitative evaluation model (IRQEM) is proposed by integrating a variety of research models and methods like the interpretative structural modeling method (ISM), Bayesian network (BN) model, the Bayesian search (BS), and the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, which is novel for IR research. Factors from several different fields are identified as BN nodes. Each node is assigned different state values. The hierarchical structure of these BN nodes is obtained by ISM. The data collection of 192 cases is used to construct the BN model by GeNIe 4.0. The IRQEM can be used to evaluate the influence of emergencies on IR. The critical factors of IR also can be explored through our proposed model. Results show that the prediction of bilateral relations under emergencies can be realized by updating the indicator set when emergencies occur. The capability to anticipate threats of IR changes is advanced by optimizing the reporting information of IR forecasting through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, charts, and texts. Relevant analysis results can provide support for national security decision making.

Toward the European Health Data Space: The IMPaCT-Data secure infrastructure for EHR-based precision medicine research.

BACKGROUND: Art. 50 of the proposal for a Regulation on the European Health Data Space (EHDS) states that "health data access bodies shall provide access to electronic health data only through a secure processing environment, with technical and organizational measures and security and interoperability requirements". OBJECTIVE: To identify specific security measures that nodes participating in health data spaces shall implement based on the results of the IMPaCT-Data project, whose goal is to facilitate the exchange of electronic health records (EHR) between public entities based in Spain and the secondary use of this information for precision medicine research in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). DATA AND METHODS: This article presents an analysis of 24 out of a list of 72 security measures identified in the Spanish National Security Scheme (ENS) and adopted by members of the federated data infrastructure developed during the IMPaCT-Data project. RESULTS: The IMPaCT-Data case helps clarify roles and responsibilities of entities willing to participate in the EHDS by reconciling technical system notions with the legal terminology. Most relevant security measures for Data Space Gatekeepers, Enablers and Prosumers are identified and explained. CONCLUSION: The EHDS can only be viable as long as the fiduciary duty of care of public health authorities is preserved; this implies that the secondary use of personal data shall contribute to the public interest and/or to protect the vital interests of the data subjects. This condition can only be met if all nodes participating in a health data space adopt the appropriate organizational and technical security measures necessary to fulfill their role.

How COVID-19 is reshaping U.S. national security policy.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States is actively reshaping parts of its national security enterprise. This article explores the underlying politics, with a specific interest in the context of biosecurity, biodefense, and bioterrorism strategy, programs, and response, as the United States responds to the most significant outbreak of an emerging infectious disease in over a century. How the implicit or tacit failure to recognize the political will and political decision-making connected to warfare and conflict for biological weapons programs in these trends is explored. Securitization of public health has been a focus of the literature over the past half century. This recent trend may represent something of an inverse: an attempt to treat national security interests as public health problems. A hypothesis is that the most significant underrecognized problem associated with COVID-19 is disinformation and the weakening of confidence in institutions, including governments, and how adversaries may exploit that blind spot.

Penicilina: da descoberta ao patenteamento do processo de produção em larga escala / Penicillin: from discovery to patenting the large-scale production process

Resumo A partir de pesquisa sobre a descoberta, a invenção e a inovação relacionadas à penicilina, por amostra de atividades de resolução de problemas tecnológicos rastreada pela distribuição, no período de 1929 a 1945, de trabalhos científicos, relatórios de governo, inovações e patentes, o artigo propõe uma reflexão sobre a importância do progresso científico para a segurança nacional. A análise destaca a trajetória tecnológica e os resultados na área de propriedade intelectual, considerando um fator importante a política implementada nos EUA para catalisar processos de inovação e oferecer condições institucionais para atender às demandas de defesa nacional, o que não significa necessariamente unicidade de solução em outros contextos.

Abstract This article examines discoveries, inventions, and innovations related to penicillin by sampling activities to solve technological problems which can be traced by the distribution of scientific articles, government reports, innovations, and patents between 1929 and 1945, and proposes reflection on the importance of scientific progress for national security. The analysis highlights the technological trajectory and outcomes in the area of intellectual property, considering US policy implemented to catalyze innovation and provide institutional conditions to meet national defense needs as an important factor, although this did not necessarily imply a unique solution in other contexts.

Ethical Implications of Biosecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China / 中国医学伦理学

Safeguarding biosecurity is an important subject under the rapid development of biotechnology. There are four explicit references to ethical concepts in Biosecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China. This paper interpreted and analyzed Biosecurity Law from three perspectives of ethical stipulation, ethical connotation and institutional construction. By clarifying the ethical content involved in the national Biosecurity Law, explaining the ethical connotation, and putting forward suggestions on the construction of ethical related systems. So as to provide reference for the understanding of the law and promote the protection of national biosecurity.

Body Composition and Cardiovascular Risk: A Study of Polish Military Flying Personnel.

(1) Background: Military personnel worldwide exhibit high rates of obesity. Obesity, and especially visceral obesity, contribute to various health issues, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). While BMI is commonly used to diagnose obesity, it has limitations and does not consider factors like fat distribution or muscle mass. This study aims to assess the relationship between BMI, percent body fat, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and cardiovascular risk factors in Polish military flying personnel. Methods: This study involved 200 men from the Polish Air Force aged 38.8 ± 8.5 years. Anthropometric tests, body composition tests, and tests of biochemical markers of CVD were conducted. (2) Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity varied based on the evaluation criterion; they were present in 63.5% of soldiers by BMI and in 52.5% by percent body fat; abdominal obesity was present in almost half (47%) of the surveyed soldiers according to WC and in 62.5% according to WHtR. All markers of obesity correlated positively with various biochemical markers of CVD, and 8.5% of subjects met the criteria for metabolic syndrome. (3) Conclusions: The prevalence of obesity in Polish military flying personnel, regardless of the evaluation criterion, is associated with significant metabolic complications in the form of lipid disorders and insulin resistance.

Analyzing the influence of total petroleum stocks and entitlement programs on sustainable development policy formulation in the United States.

Numerous nations' policies have integrated the imperative of restraining the expansion of CO2 emissions, recognizing the increasingly dire and unmanageable consequences it entails. Despite empirical literature identifying diverse drivers of CO2, the impact of national security, healthcare, entitlement programs, and total petroleum stocks has largely been overlooked. Thus, this study aims to bridge this gap by investigating, for the first time, the role of these economic variables in determining whether they contribute to CO2 reduction or escalation in the United States. To evaluate the interconnections among these variables, this study utilizes monthly data spanning from 1985 to 2022. Employing contemporary quantile approaches like Recursive CQ correlations, Cross-Quantilogram, and nonparametric quantile causality, the study effectively accommodates the nonlinear nature of the variables. These analytical techniques offer a comprehensive assessment of the relationships among the variables under scrutiny. The outcomes of the Cross-Quantilogram analysis reveal that health care, national security, and entitlement programs enhance ecological quality at different quantiles. Conversely, total petroleum stocks are associated with ecological deterioration. Based on these results, the study recommends a focus on raising awareness regarding sustainable procurement strategies, embracing environmentally friendly technologies, and improving energy efficiency in healthcare facilities.

Neurodiversity and National Security: How to Tackle National Security Challenges with a Wider Range of Cognitive Talents.

National security organizations need highly skilled and intellectually creative individuals who are eager to apply their talents to address the nation's most pressing challenges. In public and private discussions, officials and experts addressed the need for neurodiversity in the national security community. They described missions that are too important and too difficult to be left to those who use their brains only in typical ways. Neurodivergent is an umbrella term that covers a variety of cognitive diagnoses, including (but not exclusive to) autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dyscalculia, and Tourette's syndrome. Neurodivergent individuals are already part of the national security workforce. The purpose of this study is to understand the benefits that people with neurodivergence bring to national security; the challenges in recruiting, working with, and managing a neurodiverse workforce; and the barriers in national security workplaces that prevent agencies from realizing the full benefits of neurodiversity. To carry out this research, the authors conducted a review of primary, secondary, and commercial literature; they conducted semistructured interviews and held discussions with government officials, researchers and advocates for the interests of neurodivergent populations, and representatives from large organizations that have neurodiversity employment programs; and they synthesized findings from across these tasks to describe the complex landscape for neurodiversity in large organizations in general and in national security specifically.

An Accurate Millimeter-Wave Imaging Algorithm for Close-Range Monostatic System.

An efficient and more accurate millimeter-wave imaging algorithm, applied to a close-range monostatic personnel screening system, with consideration of dual path propagation loss, is presented in this paper. The algorithm is developed in accordance with a more rigorous physical model for the monostatic system. The physical model treats incident waves and scattered waves as spherical waves with a more rigorous amplitude term as per electromagnetic theory. As a result, the proposed method can achieve a better focusing effect for multiple targets in different range planes. Since the mathematical methods in classical algorithms, such as spherical wave decomposition and Weyl identity, cannot handle the corresponding mathematical model, the proposed algorithm is derived through the method of stationary phase (MSP). The algorithm has been validated by numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. Good performance in terms of computational efficiency and accuracy has been observed. The synthetic reconstruction results show that the proposed algorithm has significant advantages compared with the classical algorithms, and the reconstruction by using full-wave data generated by FEKO further verifies the validity of the proposed algorithm. Finally, the proposed algorithm performs as expected over real data acquired by our laboratory prototype.

Border Governance, Migration Securitisation, and Security Challenges in Nigeria.

Nigerian politicians accuse foreigners of contributing to the many security challenges in the country. As a result, the government of Nigeria securitised foreigners' immigration to justify its policy of land border closure in 2019, which it claimed was aimed at mitigating the security problems bedevilling Nigeria. This study analyses how Nigeria's national security is impacted by the securitisation of border governance and migration. Relying on the securitisation theory and qualitative methods based on focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and desk reviews of existing literature, it found that the securitisation of migration to establish strict border governance represents the interests of the political elite who have failed to address security challenges in Nigeria. The study concludes that government should de-securitise foreigners' immigration by addressing underlying domestic and external factors driving insecurity in Nigeria.

The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence for Intelligence Analysis: a Review of the Key Challenges with Recommendations.

Intelligence agencies have identified artificial intelligence (AI) as a key technology for maintaining an edge over adversaries. As a result, efforts to develop, acquire, and employ AI capabilities for purposes of national security are growing. This article reviews the ethical challenges presented by the use of AI for augmented intelligence analysis. These challenges have been identified through a qualitative systematic review of the relevant literature. The article identifies five sets of ethical challenges relating to intrusion, explainability and accountability, bias, authoritarianism and political security, and collaboration and classification, and offers a series of recommendations targeted at intelligence agencies to address and mitigate these challenges.

"Flattening the curve": Communication, risk and COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey.

This study examines Turkish online news media coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. It explores media framing narratives, particularly how they reflected and promoted elite polarization or consensus in the COVID-19 debate. The findings shed light on Turkish political power dynamics during the first stage in the national response to the pandemic. The study highlights the calculations of political partisans who are keen on building a fragile consensus in an increasingly polarized society.

Law abidance leadership education for university students in Hong Kong: Post-lecture evaluation.

Law abidance is very important for effective leaders. Without law abidance, abuse of power and corruption would easily happen, which would eventually erode organizational health. To promote law abidance leadership in university students in Hong Kong, we developed a law abidance leadership program with 3 h of face-to-face lecture and 7 h of self-study of materials disturbed to students. To understand students' perception of the 3-h lecture, we conducted a post-lecture evaluation study using a 26-item measure (N = 914). Results showed that the scale possessed good reliability and validity. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the assessment tool has three internally consistent and factorial invariant dimensions: program attributes, appreciation of law abidance, and teacher attributes. Regarding students' perception of the program, students were generally satisfied with the lecture attributes, including design, content, lecture atmosphere, teaching quality, and benefits to students. In particular, students agreed that the lecture helped them understand the importance and value of law abidance and national security; over 95% of the students indicated that they would try their best to serve as law-abiding citizens and socially responsible leaders. Multiple regression analyses showed that program attributes, appreciation of law abidance, and teacher attributes predicted overall satisfaction with the lecture. Qualitative comments of the student echoed the quantitative findings, with most of the comments being positive in nature. The present study replicated the findings reported previously. Local and international contextual factors relevant to the interpretations of the findings are highlighted.

Symptoms of Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as Predictors of Separation from the U.S. Military.

Populations affected by psychological distress are at risk of adverse career outcomes. The authors use data from the 2014 RAND Military Workplace Study and administrative personnel records of 17,502 U.S. military service members from 2014 to 2016 to evaluate the relationship between self-reported symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the U.S. military and subsequent service member separation rates. The authors find that self-reported symptoms of depression and PTSD were significantly associated with the odds of service member separation from the U.S. military. The odds that service members with symptoms suggestive of depressive disorders would separate from the military within the next 28 months were 2.62 times greater than the odds of service members with no symptoms of depression (95-percent confidence interval [CI] = 2.12, 3.22). Also, the odds that service members who reported symptoms of PTSD would separate from the military were 2.14 times greater than the odds of service members with no such symptoms (CI = 1.82, 2.51). The study's findings suggest that depression and PTSD symptoms, including subclinical symptoms, are related to subsequent separation from the military. Addressing mental-health needs could reduce negative employment outcomes that are costly for both the military and individual service members.

A state-by-state and regional analysis of the direct medical costs of treating musculoskeletal injuries among US Army trainees.

INTRODUCTION: Low physical activity (PA) and physical fitness (PF) are well-known factors for chronic diseases generally and cardiovascular diseases specifically. The economic burden from these chronic diseases is also well documented, as is their disproportionate prevalence among states in the Southern region of the U.S. Low PA and PF have also become recognized factors impacting military readiness and national security. Specifically, low PA and PF are highly correlated with musculoskeletal injures (MSKIs), now considered the greatest medical impediment to military readiness. Prior research shows low PF and MSKI incidence are greater among Army recruits from Southern states, however no previous research has investigated the economic impact of MSKIs at the state- and regional-level. The aim of this study was to determine the economic impact of MSKIs among U.S. Army initial military trainees on a state- and regional-basis. METHODS: Rosters for recruits entering U.S. Army Initial Military Training (IMT) for fiscal year 2017 were obtained (n = 103,487). Roster data included the unique personal identifier, demographics with postal zip code, training start/end dates, and height and weight and were subsequently linked to medical encounters and cost data from the Military Health System Data Repository. Trainees with one or more MSKIs were considered injury cases (n = 33,509) and were stratified by gender. The percent of trainee MSKI cases was calculated as number of injury cases divided by total number of trainees. For each injury case, the direct medical cost for MSKIs was calculated. The percent of trainees and direct medical costs for MSKIs were aggregated to home-state and regional-levels for the four U.S. Census tract regions. A test for equality of proportions was performed at state- and regional-levels to investigate differences in percent of trainees with MSKIs by state/region. A one-way ANOVA was used to investigate possible differences in medical cost/trainee by region. RESULTS: 34% (n = 33,509) of all trainees sustained at least one MSKI. State-specific MSKI percentages showed ten states having the greatest percentage of trainees with at least one MSKI, eight of which were from the South region (AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN). The South was the only region to have a statistically significantly higher percentage of trainees with MSKIs at 34% (p < 0.001), as compared to all other regions. The total direct medical cost of treating MSKIs among all trainees was $14,891,563. The South was the costliest region ($7,168,997), accounted for nearly 50 % of the total national cost, and had the highest mean MSKI cost/trainee. DISCUSSION: This study was the first in demonstrating the disproportionate economic burden Southern states pose to the U.S. Department of Defense resulting from its significantly higher MSKI cost. PA and PF are known to ameliorate chronic disease and MSKI burden among general and military populations. Therefore, increasing PA and PF among all young Americans, and specifically those living in Southern states, is imperative for improving public health and reducing the economic and practical burden of MSKIs on military readiness and national security.

Regressive Federalism, Rights Reversals, and the Public's Health.

As the United States emerges from the worst public health threat it has ever experienced, the Supreme Court is poised to reconsider constitutional principles from bygone eras. Judicial proposals to roll back rights under a federalism infrastructure grounded in states' interests threaten the nation's legal fabric at a precarious time. This column explores judicial shifts in 3 key public health contexts - reproductive rights, vaccinations, and national security - and their repercussions.

Hong Kong Universities in the Shadow of the National Security Law.

How did Hong Kong's transition from a largely free, semi-independent city to a full-blown Communist Party dictatorship affect its academic life? A watershed moment was Beijing's imposition, in June 2020, of a National Security Law. The author examines the impact of that law on the conduct of university senior managements, on local and expatriate faculty, and on students. Senior management responded to the new law by disciplining students, monitoring faculty, and cleansing universities of anything deemed hostile to the new order. Faculty rapidly capitulated to government and management edicts, though locals showed more grit than expatriates did. Students were the most defiant actors of all until university managements severed ties with their students' unions, effectively defunding them. A case of surveillance in Lingnan University, the author's former place of employment, is related and its implications considered. The author describes how, and explains why, journalists in Hong Kong acted with greater defiance than professors did. He suggests that Identity Politics, a Western import, is congenial to Chinese Communist Party rule in Hong Kong.

Satisfaction with HyFlex Teaching and Law-abiding Leadership Education in Hong Kong University Students Under COVID-19.

Since the early days of COVID-19, university teaching has changed from face-to-face format to online mode. With the gradual containment of the pandemic, there is no need for school lockdown. As a result, the teaching format has changed to HyFlex mode integrating both face-to-face and online modes. Obviously, it is necessary to understand the academic quality of life among students under the Hyflex teaching mode. In this paper, we report an evaluation study on a leadership subject in Hong Kong delivered via HyFlex teaching using a post-lecture evaluation strategy. In one of the lectures, we covered law-abiding leadership in university students, including abiding by the Hong Kong National Security Law. The post-lecture evaluation showed that students generally held positive views toward the HyFlex teaching and they perceived that the subject promoted their well-being indexed by psychosocial competence. Regarding the lecture on law-abiding leadership, students agreed that the lecture promoted their psychosocial competence, personal development, knowledge about law-abiding behavior and national security (including the Hong Kong National Security Law), and readiness to serve as socially responsible leaders. Positive perceptions of the lecture design, teacher performance, lecture content of law-abiding leadership and national security, and benefits positively predicted students' overall satisfaction with the lecture on law-abiding leadership and national security.