University of Buckingham

This paper argues that digital identity in AI-mediated environments has become a central mechanism through which contemporary societies organise recognition, participation, and belonging. Digital identity is no longer simply a technical representation of the individual. It is produced through infrastructural processes of classification, ranking, and credibility signalling that determine who becomes visible, who is treated as legitimate, and who is able to participate meaningfully in social and civic life. The paper develops a conceptual framework that treats AI-driven platforms as social infrastructures rather than neutral intermediaries. It shows how identity is inferred through data-driven systems rather than negotiated through social interaction, how recognition is operationalised through visibility and credibility metrics rather than ethical judgement, and how participation becomes conditional on algorithmic allocation of attention rather than guaranteed by access alone. Visibility is identified as the key conversion point through which inferred identity becomes social consequence. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature, the analysis demonstrates that misrecognition, exclusion, and inequality in platform environments are not primarily the result of isolated error or intentional bias. They are patterned outcomes of ordinary optimisation processes that distribute legitimacy and opportunity unevenly across social groups. These dynamics reshape group formation, harden social boundaries, and concentrate risk among populations that are already more vulnerable to misrecognition and reduced contestability. The paper concludes that governing digital identity is a societal challenge rather than a purely technical one. As platforms increasingly perform institutional functions without equivalent accountability, digital identity governance becomes a critical site of social ordering. Addressing this challenge requires public standards for how visibility, recognition, and participation are allocated, meaningful avenues for contestation, and protections against the normalisation of stratified belonging in AI-mediated societies.

The rapid evolution of genomic technologies is poised to transform patient care during the next decade, integrating precision medicine with artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance diagnostic accuracy, therapeutic decision making, and personalized healthcare strategies. This review explores key advancements in genomics, including whole-genome sequencing, single-cell genomics, pharmacogenomics, and gene-editing technologies, and their potential impact on clinical practice. AI is emerging as a critical tool in genomic data interpretation, improving disease risk prediction, patient stratification, and drug-response assessments. The synergy between AI and genomics is fostering novel insights into complex diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular conditions, and neurodegenerative disorders. In addition, epigenomics and liquid biopsies are expanding early disease detection capabilities, allowing for minimally invasive diagnostics and real-time treatment monitoring. Despite these promising developments, challenges remain in accessibility, cost, and ethical considerations, particularly regarding genomic data privacy and algorithmic bias. This review highlights ongoing global initiatives, such as the UK Biobank and the 100,000 Genomes Project, as models for integrating genomic data into mainstream health care. Furthermore, the widespread adoption of gene-editing techniques such as CRISPR holds potential for curative interventions in hereditary diseases. By 2030, genomics will likely be embedded in routine clinical practice, shifting medicine toward a predictive, preventive, and personalized model. Equitable access and ethical governance must be prioritized to ensure the responsible implementation of these transformative technologies, however. This review underscores the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to maximize the clinical and societal benefits of genomic innovation.

Small and Medium sized Enterprises, SMEs, represent the vital economic backbone of emerging economies, yet they contend with an increasingly asymmetric threat environment characterised by sophisticated cyberattacks and severe resource scarcity (Sultan, 2025; Hadap et al., 2025). This paper provides an empirical investigation into the necessary link between robust Cyber Resilience, CR, capabilities and the effective achievement of Business Continuity, BC, in these resource constrained settings. By synthesising existing empirical data on the quantifiable economic and operational risks of cyber incidents, this study asserts that traditional, reactive BC planning is insufficient, robust proactive CR is an indispensable prerequisite for sustainable operational survival (Splunk, 2025; Everbridge, 2025; Sultan, 2025). Findings indicate that successful breaches impose substantial financial losses, averaging $30,000 USD for sampled SMEs post breach, alongside significant operational downtime, evidenced by a mean system disruption of 12.5 hours (Sonkar et al., 2025). This level of disruption is linked to an estimated 60 per cent business failure rate among unprepared small businesses following a major cyber attack (Sonkar et al., 2025). The paper details strategic, cost-effective interventions including risk-based governance, high return on investment employee training, and the leveraging of scalable open-source security stacks, all of which offer a pragmatic pathway for SMEs to enhance their defences and secure long-term viability in the digital economy (Ejaz & Matthew, 2024; Ilca et al., 2023).

Spinous process fractures of the cervical spine are generally considered stable injuries, particularly when they resemble the classic clay-shoveler’s fracture, which typically results from indirect traction forces. However, in certain traumatic settings, these fractures may serve as markers of underlying spinal instability.We report the case of a 93-year-old woman who sustained a fall following a syncopal episode, striking her head on furniture. On initial evaluation, she was neurologically intact, and computed tomography (CT) of the head and cervical spine revealed no clear fracture or dislocation. Within 24 hours, she developed progressive quadriparesis.Repeat CT demonstrated a subtle C6 spinous process fracture with posterior facet joint subluxation and anterior displacement of C5 on C6. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a C5-C6 fracture-dislocation with marked anterolisthesis and significant ligamentous injury. The patient underwent spinal traction followed by anterior cervical discectomy, fusion, and plating, resulting in substantial neurological improvement.This case highlights that even subtle spinous process fractures may indicate serious underlying injury. Unlike isolated clay-shoveler’s fractures, trauma-associated spinous process fractures should prompt further evaluation, particularly with MRI, in patients presenting with delayed or evolving neurological deficits. Early recognition of ligamentous instability is essential to prevent secondary deterioration and optimize clinical outcomes.

Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Inflammation plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and despite advances in treatments, challenges still exist. Recent studies have explored the use of colchicine in reducing the risk of CVDs. Therefore, the present systematic review aimed to evaluate the impact of colchicine in terms of efficacy, safety, and therapeutic role in managing CVD patients. A comprehensive literature search was performed from different electronic databases, such as PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library, using keywords associated with the aim of the study, using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA). Methodological quality assessment was performed using the Cochrane risk of bias-2.0 (RoB-2.0) and the Risk of Bias in Non-Randomized Studies-Intervention (ROBINS-I) tools for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs, respectively. For the meta-analysis, RevMan 5.4 was used to construct forest plots. Finally, 19 studies were included for qualitative and quantitative analyses. Both male and female patients were included in the studies; however, studies were more skewed toward male patients reported with different types of CVDs, including acute pericarditis, coronary artery disease (CAD), heart failure, and myocardial infarction, and also reported comorbidities, like hypertension (HTN), diabetes, and dyslipidemia. Overall, a low dose of 0.5 mg/daily of colchicine was used. A high adherence rate (>85%) was observed in the studies, with few cases of discontinuation of medications. Numerous studies have reported that colchicine successfully benefits in reducing the inflammatory and other biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), Interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1β. The pooled estimate size for comorbidities, like diabetes, was 0.94, odds ratio (OR) (95% CI, 0.86-1.02, p = 0.13, I2 = 0%). For hypertension and dyslipidemia, it was 1, OR (95% CI, 0.93-1.07, p = 0.95, I2 = 9%) and 0.89, OR (95% CI, 0.66-1.2, p = 0.46, I2 = 0%), respectively. Meanwhile, the overall effect size was 0.97, OR (95% CI, 0.92-1.02, p = 0.29, I2 = 0%). The pooled estimate size for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and all complications was 0.68, OR (95% CI, 0.36-1.26, p = 0.22, I2 = 47%) and 1.60, OR (95% CI, 1.11-2.31, p = 0.01, I2 = 65%). The overall effect size was 1.26, OR (95% CI, 0.92-1.72, p = 0.16, I2 = 63%). Furthermore, the pooled estimate size for mortality associated with CVDs and all-cause mortality was 0.77, OR (95% CI, 0.56-1.06, p = 0.11, I2 = 17%) and 1.11, OR (95% CI, 0.72-1.71, p = 0.65, I2 = 48%), with the overall effect size of 0.89, OR (95% CI, 0.70-1.12, p = 0.32, I2 = 40%). These outcomes suggest that colchicine offers potential anti-inflammatory benefits in CVD patients, but its clinical impact on outcomes, like MACE and mortality, remains uncertain due to the non-significant difference, warranting further large-scale, high-quality multicenter studies.