Month: September 2021

The anonymous meta-analysis that’s convincing people to use ivermectin

What happens when you leave the analysis out of a meta-analysis?

Image of a woman in protective clothing dispensing pills.

Enlarge / A pharmacist prepares to dispense ivermectin prescriptions. (credit: Picture Alliance / Getty Images)

If you've looked into the controversy regarding the use of ivermectin for treating COVID-19, chances are you've come across links to a site called c19ivermectin.com (or one of its many relatives) that claims to host a regularly updated aggregation of all the latest studies into a single meta-analysis of the effects of the drug. We here at Ars have been asked—by email, in the comments, and via our feedback form—to check out c19ivermectin.com, which purports to provide evidence ivermectin is an effective therapy.

So we have. And we're suggesting you don't, because it's not a reliable source of information.

We want an old drug

Why is anyone talking about ivermectin at all? Early on in the pandemic, before the development of effective vaccines, there was a rush to find treatments that could be rapidly rolled out to the public. As such, researchers focused on testing drugs that were already approved for other problems, since this would lower the regulatory hurdles and safety testing needed. Plenty of existing drugs were tested in cell culture, and a few were trialed in humans.

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Nato-Gottheit und Menschenzukunft

Wir haben die Wahl: Angesichts des zivilisatorischen Ernstfalls gehören Anhänger der militärischen “Heilslehre” in die Geschichtsbücher, aber nicht auf eine Regierungsbank. Ein Einwurf

Wir haben die Wahl: Angesichts des zivilisatorischen Ernstfalls gehören Anhänger der militärischen "Heilslehre" in die Geschichtsbücher, aber nicht auf eine Regierungsbank. Ein Einwurf

Restored Vermeer painting finally reveals hidden Cupid in background

Art historians have known about the Cupid’s existence since an X-ray analysis in 1979.

Side-by-side comparison of painting before and after restoration.

Enlarge / A new restoration of Johannes Vermeer's Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window has revealed a Cupid in the background. The restored painting will be the centerpiece of a new exhibition at the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, Germany, from September 10, 2021, through January 2, 2022. (credit: Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, SKD)

Since 1979, art historians have known that Johannes Vermeer's Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (circa 1657-1659) featured an overpainted figure of a Cupid in the background. Most assumed Vermeer himself had painted over the figure. Now, thanks to a major restoration by the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden in Germany, the overpainting has a been removed to reveal the Cupid. That process also revealed that someone else painted over the Cupid in the 18th century, after the artist's death, causing a rethinking of how the painting should be interpreted. The fully restored canvas is now on view to the public for the first time at the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, one of many galleries that form the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.

The use of various X-ray imaging techniques—especially synchrotron radiation—has become a powerful tool for the nondestructive analysis of great works of art. For instance, European scientists in 2008 used synchrotron radiation to reconstruct the hidden portrait of a peasant woman painted by Vincent van Gogh. The artist (known for reusing his canvases) had painted over it when he created 1887's Patch of Grass. The synchrotron radiation excites the atoms on the canvas, which then emit X-rays of their own that can be picked up by a fluorescence detector. Each element in the painting has its own X-ray signature, so scientists can identify the distribution of each in the many layers of paint.

In 2019, we reported on the work of a team of Dutch and French scientists who used high-energy X-rays to unlock Rembrandt's secret recipe for his famous impasto technique, believed to be lost to history. And in 2020, an international team of scientists used synchrotron radiation to determine the cause of alarming signs of degradation to Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream. The team's analysis revealed that the damage is not the result of exposure to light, but humidity—specifically, from the breath of museum visitors, perhaps as they lean in to take a closer look at the master's brushstrokes.

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WLAN und 6 GHz: Was bringt Wi-Fi 6E?

Der Standard Wi-Fi 6E erweitert WLAN das erste Mal seit Jahren um ein neues Frequenzband. Das hat viele Vorteile und ein paar Nachteile. Von Oliver Nickel (Wi-Fi 6, WLAN)

Der Standard Wi-Fi 6E erweitert WLAN das erste Mal seit Jahren um ein neues Frequenzband. Das hat viele Vorteile und ein paar Nachteile. Von Oliver Nickel (Wi-Fi 6, WLAN)

Appeals Court Revives Canadian Reverse Class Action Against BitTorrent Pirates

Canada’s Federal Court of Appeals has revived a reverse class-action lawsuit from Voltage Pictures, which plans to go after alleged BitTorrent pirates. The lower court rejected this approach, as it would not suitable for file-sharing cases, but in a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeals sees things differently.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

canada flagMovie studio Voltage Pictures has gone after alleged movie pirates for many years now.

The company and its subsidiaries have filed numerous lawsuits against alleged pirates in the United States, Australia, and Europe, which likely brought in substantial revenues.

Last week, we reported that Voltage just launched a new legal campaign in the UK. At the same time, there is news coming from Canada as well, where Voltage hopes to hold alleged pirates responsible through a novel strategy.

Reverse Class-action Against BitTorrent Pirates

In Canada, Voltage is attempting to obtain the personal details of a large group of copyright infringers through a reverse class-action lawsuit, which is relatively rare. The movie company argued that this is a cheaper way to target large numbers of infringers at once.

The lawsuit in question was initially filed in 2016 and has dragged on for years. The case revolves around a representative defendant, Robert Salna, who provides WiFi services to tenants. Through Salna, Voltage hoped to catch a larger group of infringers.

As the case progressed it garnered the interest of the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC). The group, which is connected to the University of Ottawa, eventually intervened in the Federal Court proceeding to represent anonymous defendants.

Case Dismissed

This intervention helped to get the case dismissed in 2019. At the time, the Federal Court concluded that the case deals with multiple infringers which will all have different circumstances. Reverse class-action lawsuits are less suited to this scenario.

“A class proceeding is not a preferable procedure for the just and efficient resolution of any common issues which may exist. The proposed proceeding would require multiple individual fact-findings for each class member on almost every issue,” Judge Boswell wrote at the time.

This was good news for the large group of anonymous defendants, who had yet to be named. However, Voltage was not planning to let the matter go. The movie company appealed, and not without success, as the Federal Court of Appeals has just reversed the lower court’s judgment.

Court of Appeals Revives Class-Action

Justice Rennie set aside the 2019 Federal Court ruling and pointed out several reversible errors. For example, the argument that the reverse class-action is a novel approach should not be a reason to dismiss the matter. Voltage should get the chance to test its arguments in court.

The Court further notes that the criteria to join two or more defendants in a class action has a low standard, and it sees no reason to prevent the case from moving forward on that ground.

In the order, Justice Rennie writes that there is not enough evidence to determine whether a class action is the preferable procedure and whether Mr. Salna is a representative defendant, so this question was sent back to the lower court.

The ruling further clarified that copyright holders can use the “notice-and-notice” regime to send litigation updates to accused subscribers. These notices will be forwarded by ISPs, a practice that was barred by the lower court.

Minimizing Costs

The ruling once again puts thousands of alleged movie pirates at risk. If Voltage wins the lawsuit it can go after a large group of defendants while minimizing its legal costs.

Interestingly, Justice Rennie notes that the reverse class-action approach can be beneficial for accused pirates as well. They will be able to pool their resources to fight the matter.

While the ruling is a clear victory for Voltage, the Federal Court has to review the matter once again, so it’s far from clear that the movie company will eventually get the green light to go after thousands of alleged pirates.

If Voltage fails, the company still has other options. As we have previously reported, more traditional copyright lawsuits have also been effective against hundreds of alleged pirates. They may be a bit more expensive but, as long as they’re profitable, they will probably not go away.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.