Cross-Border Transfers of Personal Data After Schrems II: Supplementary Measures and new Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)

This article analyses the legal challenges of international data transfers resulting from the recent Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decision in Case C-311/18 Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland Limited, Maximillian Schrems (Schrems II). This judgement invalidated the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework but upheld the use of standard contractual clauses (SCCs). However, one caveat is that organisations would have to perform a case-by-case assessment on the application of the SCCs and implement ‘supplementary measures’ to compensate for the lack of data protection in the third country, where necessary. Regrettably, the CJEU missed the opportunity to specify what exactly these ‘supplementary measures’ could be. To fill this gap, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted guidelines on the measures that supplement transfer tools to ensure compliance with the EU level of protection of personal data. In addition, on June 4th, 2021 the European Commission issued new SCCs which replaced the previous SCCs that were adopted under the previous Data Protection Directive 95/46. These new developments have raised the bar for data protection in international data transfers. In this article, we analyse the current regulatory framework for cross-border transfers of EU personal data and examine the practical considerations of the emerging post-Schrems II legal landscape.

National Innovation System: Construction in Progress

The article examines the evolution of the innovation system in Russia over the past years, based on international data. A comparative analysis of the strengths is carried out and development problems are shown, among which the main attention is paid to the low degree of connectedness of the main actors: science, education, the business sector and the state. In recent years, numerous state initiatives have been undertaken with the purpose to place Russia among the countries - world leaders in the field of science, technology and innovation. The strengths of Russia have been and remain the quality of human capital (secondary and tertiary education) and the knowledge creation (number of researchers, number of patents).Opportunities for transforming generated knowledge into innovative goods and services are limited by the low quality of regulatory and political institutions and weak interaction of individual elements of the innovation system

The Impact of COVID-19 on Individual Oral Health: A Protocol for a Systematic Scoping Review

Poor oral health continues to be one of the most prevalent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide consuming one-fifth of out-of-pocket health expenditure [1-3]. In 2017, it was estimated that oral diseases affect close to 3.5 billion people worldwide, with caries (dental decay) of permanent teeth being the most common condition [4]. It is estimated that 44% of all people worldwide are suffering from untreated caries in primary and permanent teeth [5]. International data indicates that dental caries is one of the most prevalent health conditions [6-8] and a leading cause of preventable hospitalization [6]. Poor oral health is also associated with a number of other chronic diseases including stroke and cardiovascular disease [9, 10]. People’s ability to look after their oral health is impacted by a range of social, economic, environmental and political determinants [11] and the impact of COVID-19 on oral health is hypothesised to be significant.

To the publication of the textbook "Immunology" (2021, 4th ed., Revised and enlarged) authored by academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences R.M. Khaitov

A pleasant event for specialists in immunology and specialties related to immunology took place this year. A new, 4th edition of the textbook "Immunology" has been published, prepared by the famous Russian immunologist, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Rakhim Musaevich Khaitov. Compared to the previous edition, issued in 2018, this version is a substantially updated and revised version, replenished with information obtained during this relatively short period by world immunology, one of the most rapidly developing areas of scientific knowledge. With all the complexity of modern immunology, this training manual has achieved a perfect in form, consistent and at the same time accessible presentation of the material in accordance with the latest international data. Attention is drawn to the appropriate placement of perfectly done illustrations that explain the text material and create liveliness, interest and accessibility to its development. Special attention should be paid to the fact that after getting acquainted with the deeply and easily presented material about the structure and function of the immune system, the reader is fully prepared for an easier perception of special clinic-oriented information, in particular, on allergies in the chapter "Allergic diseases" presented in in accordance with the principles of evidence-based medicine, modern international and national guidelines and consensus documents. Undoubtedly, the textbook will be an irreplaceable guide for students and teachers of medical and biological educational institutions, researchers, doctors of various specialties interested in immunology and allergology.

Assay of frequency and spectrum of genetic variants in TTN in healthy russian population

Background. Gene TTN associated with all types of cardiomyopathy, however its large size (294 b.p.) warrants a lot of individual unique genetic variants or variants with low frequency, that aggravates their interpretation. Besides that nowadays there is no data about spectrum of variants in this gene in healthy Russian population. Recognition frequency and spectrum of variants in gene TTN in healthy Russian population will allow us to use it for interpretation results of molecular genetic research for patients with different heart pathology, and define prognosis for different heart diseases.Objective. Recognize frequency and spectrum of single nucleotide and truncating variants in gene TTN in healthy Russian population and compare it with international data bases, and evaluate level of pathogenicity these variants and their distributing across titin structure.Design and methods. 192 men in age 55,8±6,6 years were tested with next-generation sequencing. Identified genetic variants were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Results. Allele missense variant frequency (with frequency less than 0.1%) in TTN in healthy Russian population amount to 15.1 %, and truncating variants — 0.52 %. 37,9 % of them were variants of unknown significance, 62 % — likely-benign and 0.1 % — benign. There was no pathological and likely-pathological variants. Identified genetic variants distributed throughout the titin structure.Conclusion. Received result is congruent с international data bases and researches. Expended laboratory method (Next generation sequencing and confirmation with Sanger sequencing) can be used both in clinical practice, and in creating data bases of genetic variants in healthy Russian population.

How much does sleep vary from night-to-night? A quantitative summary of intraindividual variability in sleep by age, gender, and racial/ethnic identity across eight-pooled datasets

Study Objectives: Habitual sleep duration and efficiency vary widely by age, gender, and racial/ethnic identity. Despite growing research on the importance of night-to-night, intraindividual variability (IIV) in sleep, few studies have examined demographic differences in sleep IIV. The present study describes typical sleep IIV overall and by demographics among healthy sleepers. Methods: Eight international data sets of healthy sleepers (N = 2404; 26,121 total days of sleep data) were synthesized to examine age, gender, and racial/ethnic identity differences in sleep IIV measured via diaries, actigraphy, and electroencephalography. Sleep IIV estimates included the intraindividual standard deviation (iSD), root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), coefficient of variation (CV), and a validated Bayesian Variability Model (BVM). Results: Sleep duration and efficiency varied widely from night-to-night within people (duration iSD: 67.04–85.80 minutes; duration RMSSD: 91.93–118.91 minutes; duration CV: 18.57–19.19%; duration BVM: 48.60–60.60 minutes; efficiency iSD: 5.18–6.46%, efficiency RMSSD: 7.01–8.44%; efficiency CV: 5.80–8.14%; efficiency BVM: 3.40–4.16%). Different metrics of IIV were strongly correlated for sleep duration (rs .58–.97) and sleep efficiency (rs .53–1.00). Younger adults had more IIV in diary and actigraphy sleep duration. Gender differences were inconsistent. White and non-Hispanic/Latinx adults had less IIV in sleep duration and efficiency compared to racial/ethnic minority groups. Conclusions: Even among healthy sleepers, sleep varies widely from night-to-night. Like mean sleep, there also may be disparities in IIV in sleep by demographic characteristics. Study results help characterize normative values of sleep IIV in healthy sleepers.

Data Quality and Network Considerations for Mobile Contact Tracing and Health Monitoring

Machine Learning (ML) has been a useful tool for scientific advancement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contact tracing apps are just one area reaping the benefits, as ML can use location and health data from these apps to forecast virus spread, predict “hotspots,” and identify vulnerable groups. However, to do so, it is first important to ensure that the dataset these apps yield is accurate, free of biases, and reliable, as any flaw can directly influence ML predictions. Given the lack of criteria to help ensure this, we present two requirements for those exploring using ML to follow. The requirements we presented work to uphold international data quality standards put forth for ML. We then identify where our requirements can be met, as countries have varying contact tracing apps and smartphone usages. Lastly, the advantages, limitations, and ethical considerations of our approach are discussed.

International Data Transfers post Schrems – Moving Towards Solutions

International data transfers are both essential for the modern world and a major source of risksto the protection of personal data. In this, we can speak of a clash between an important multifacetedobjective and the protection of a complex fundamental human right with implicationsgoing far beyond that right itself.The goal must be to facilitate data privacy respecting international data transfers. However,agreement on this goal – even if widespread – does not necessarily signal agreement on how wereach that goal. To make progress, we must proceed with caution and yet avoid getting boggeddown in the unavoidable challenges, such as definitional challenges, we will face.This article canvasses a selection of key considerations that ought to be kept in mind whenwe discuss approaches to international data transfers. However, to prepare ground for that discussion,it first sets the scene by examining the so-called Schrems II decision, its larger contextand background, as well as some of the reactions we have seen to that decision.

Problems of creating predictive models of the COVID19 coronavirus pandemic

Relevance. The article is devoted to creating prognostic models based on epidemiological and immunological data. Objective: to study the comparative dynamic epidemiological and immunological characteristics of patients with COVID-19. Materials and methods. Methodological approaches to the use of system analysis of epidemiological and immunological characteristics of patients with COVID-19 using multivariate analysis are described. The used technologies of computer-aided analysis systems, algorithms for recognizing, measuring and identifying the condition of patients, and methods of statistical data processing made it possible to create a universal information predictive model for calculating the dynamics of infectious diseases prone to generalization (pandemics), as well as to understand in which groups these new infectious diseases are most dangerous. Results and discussion. Using the methods of system analysis, the epidemiological and immunological aspects of predictive models of the coronavirus pandemic were evaluated using the most objective international data, which increased the information content of the analysis. Conclusions . Creating predictive epidemiological and immunological models of the pandemic is an urgent and promising task to combat the medical and social consequences of the spread of coronavirus infection in Russia.