bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
External involvement
Authors: Toft Monica Duffy
Published: August 2024

A common phenomenon in the modern history of civil wars has been third-party intervention, or an outside state or international body deciding to get involved in another state’s internal conflict. But not all interventions are due to civil war externalities like drug smuggling or refugees. Individual states, the United Nations, or regional organizations may choose to intervene for geopolitical gain, humanitarian concerns, or economic benefit, along with many other reasons. This chapter outlines the rationales for intervention, and how they affect civil wars.
A puzzle about weak belief
Authors: Pearson Joshua Edward
Published: August 2024

I present an intractable puzzle for the currently popular view that belief is weak – the view that expressions like ‘S believes p’ ascribe to S a doxastic attitude towards p that is rationally compatible with low credence that p. The puzzle concerns issues that arise on considering beliefs in conditionals. I show that proponents of weak belief either cannot consistently apply their preferred methodology when accommodating beliefs in conditionals, or must deny that beliefs in conditionals can be used in reasoning.
Triangulating evidence in health sciences with Annotated Semantic Queries
Authors: Liu Yi , Gaunt Tom R
Published: August 2024

Motivation

Integrating information from data sources representing different study designs has the potential to strengthen evidence in population health research. However, this concept of evidence “triangulation” presents a number of challenges for systematically identifying and integrating relevant information. These include the harmonization of heterogenous evidence with common semantic concepts and properties, as well as the priortization of the retrieved evidence for triangulation with the question of interest.

Results

We present Annotated Semantic Queries (ASQ), a natural language query interface to the integrated biomedical entities and epidemiological evidence in EpiGraphDB, which enables users to extract “claims” from a piece of unstructured text, and then investigate the evidence that could either support, contradict the claims, or offer additional information to the query. This approach has the potential to support the rapid review of preprints, grant applications, conference abstracts, and articles submitted for peer review. ASQ implements strategies to harmonize biomedical entities in different taxonomies and evidence from different sources, to facilitate evidence triangulation and interpretation.

Availability and implementation

ASQ is openly available at https://asq.epigraphdb.org and its source code is available at https://github.com/mrcieu/epigraphdb-asq under GPL-3.0 license.
LineageVAE: reconstructing historical cell states and transcriptomes toward unobserved progenitors
Authors: Majima Koichiro , Kojima Yasuhiro , Minoura Kodai , Abe Ko , Hirose Haruka , Shimamura Teppei
Published: August 2024

Motivation

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) enables comprehensive characterization of the cell state. However, its destructive nature prohibits measuring gene expression changes during dynamic processes such as embryogenesis or cell state divergence due to injury or disease. Although recent studies integrating scRNA-seq with lineage tracing have provided clonal insights between progenitor and mature cells, challenges remain. Because of their experimental nature, observations are sparse, and cells observed in the early state are not the exact progenitors of cells observed at later time points. To overcome these limitations, we developed LineageVAE, a novel computational methodology that utilizes deep learning based on the property that cells sharing barcodes have identical progenitors.

Results

LineageVAE is a deep generative model that transforms scRNA-seq observations with identical lineage barcodes into sequential trajectories toward a common progenitor in a latent cell state space. This method enables the reconstruction of unobservable cell state transitions, historical transcriptomes, and regulatory dynamics at a single-cell resolution. Applied to hematopoiesis and reprogrammed fibroblast datasets, LineageVAE demonstrated its ability to restore backward cell state transitions and infer progenitor heterogeneity and transcription factor activity along differentiation trajectories.

Availability and implementation

The LineageVAE model was implemented in Python using the PyTorch deep learning library. The code is available on GitHub at https://github.com/LzrRacer/LineageVAE/.
Interictal intracranial EEG asymmetry lateralizes temporal lobe epilepsy
Authors: Conrad Erin C , Lucas Alfredo , Ojemann William K S , Aguila Carlos A , Mojena Marissa , LaRocque Joshua J , Pattnaik Akash R , Gallagher Ryan , Greenblatt Adam , Tranquille Ashley , Parashos Alexandra , Gleichgerrcht Ezequiel , Bonilha Leonardo , Litt Brian , Sinha Saurabh R , Ungar Lyle , Davis Kathryn A
Published: August 2024

Patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy often undergo intracranial EEG recording to capture multiple seizures in order to lateralize the seizure onset zone. This process is associated with morbidity and often ends in postoperative seizure recurrence. Abundant interictal (between-seizure) data are captured during this process, but these data currently play a small role in surgical planning. Our objective was to predict the laterality of the seizure onset zone using interictal intracranial EEG data in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. We performed a retrospective cohort study (single-centre study for model development; two-centre study for model validation). We studied patients with temporal lobe epilepsy undergoing intracranial EEG at the University of Pennsylvania (internal cohort) and the Medical University of South Carolina (external cohort) between 2015 and 2022. We developed a logistic regression model to predict seizure onset zone laterality using several interictal EEG features derived from recent publications. We compared the concordance between the model-predicted seizure onset zone laterality and the side of surgery between patients with good and poor surgical outcomes. Forty-seven patients (30 female; ages 20–69; 20 left-sided, 10 right-sided and 17 bilateral seizure onsets) were analysed for model development and internal validation. Nineteen patients (10 female; ages 23–73; 5 left-sided, 10 right-sided, 4 bilateral) were analysed for external validation. The internal cohort cross-validated area under the curve for a model trained using spike rates was 0.83 for a model predicting left-sided seizure onset and 0.68 for a model predicting right-sided seizure onset. Balanced accuracies in the external cohort were 79.3% and 78.9% for the left- and right-sided predictions, respectively. The predicted concordance between the laterality of the seizure onset zone and the side of surgery was higher in patients with good surgical outcome. We replicated the finding that right temporal lobe epilepsy was harder to distinguish in a separate modality of resting-state functional MRI. In conclusion, interictal EEG signatures are distinct across seizure onset zone lateralities. Left-sided seizure onsets are easier to distinguish than right-sided onsets. A model trained on spike rates accurately identifies patients with left-sided seizure onset zones and predicts surgical outcome. A potential clinical application of these findings could be to either support or oppose a hypothesis of unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy when deciding to pursue surgical resection or ablation as opposed to device implantation.
Computational insights into the molecular dynamics of the binding of ligands in the methanol dehydrogenase
Authors: Lee One-Sun , Lee Sung Haeng
Published: August 2024

Methanol dehydrogenase is a promising biocatalyst for industrial use, converting methanol to formaldehyde. Our molecular modeling revealed methanol binds to methanol dehydrogenase with ∼7 kcal/mol free energy, while formaldehyde binds with ∼4 kcal/mol. This suggests that methanol remains longer in the active site, and formaldehyde exits more readily postreaction. These insights are crucial for designing more efficient methanol dehydrogenase variants for industrial applications.
Reasons for fear of cancer recurrence after endoscopic treatment of T1 esophageal adenocarcinoma. A semi-structured interview study
Authors: Rosmolen Wilda D , Pouw Roos E , Bergman Jacques J , Sprangers Mirjam A G , Nieuwkerk Pythia T
Published: August 2024

Prior research has shown that patients with early Barrett’s neoplasia treated endoscopically report at least the same level of fear for cancer recurrence as patients treated surgically for a more advanced disease stage. The aim of this qualitative study was to gain insight into the reasons why endoscopically treated patients fear or not fear cancer recurrence. Patients treated endoscopically for T1 esophageal adenocarcinoma participated in a semi-structured interview. Patients were asked open questions about their fear of cancer recurrence and presented an a priori list of possible reasons for experiencing or not experiencing fear of cancer recurrence. Data saturation was reached with 12 patients who added 7 new reasons. Reasons that induced fear of cancer recurrence were related to physical symptoms, if cancer was diagnosed as an accidental finding and experiences with cancer in close relations. Endoscopic surveillance was mentioned as a reason for not experiencing fear of cancer recurrence. Patients reduced their fear of cancer recurrence by talking to close relations and seeking distraction. Caregivers reduced patients fear of cancer recurrence by giving adequate information and by showing photo of the treatment and the results of the treatment. According to patients with early Barrett’s neoplasia, receiving comprehensible information about the risk of recurrence and potential symptoms that may or may not be indicative of cancer recurrence, and continuing endoscopic surveillance, reduced fear of cancer recurrence. We recommend that healthcare providers discuss fear of cancer recurrence with their patients to enable tailoring information provision to their needs.
Expanding outpatient management of low-risk pulmonary embolism to the pregnant population: a case series
Authors: Vinson David R , Roubinian Nareg H , Pai Ashok P , Sperling Jeffrey D
Published: August 2024

Background

Outpatient treatment of pregnant patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is recommended by some obstetric and haematology societies but has not been described in the literature. Little is known about patient selection and clinical outcomes.

Case summary

We report two cases of pregnant patients diagnosed with acute PE. The first, at 9 weeks of gestational age, presented to the emergency department with 12 h of pleuritic chest pain and was diagnosed with segmental PE. She was normotensive and tachycardic without evidence of right ventricular dysfunction. She received multispecialty evaluation, was deemed suitable for outpatient management, and, after 12 h of monitoring, was discharged home on enoxaparin with close follow-up. The second case, at 30 weeks of gestational age, presented to obstetrics clinic with 3 days of dyspnoea. Vital signs were normal except for tachycardia. She was referred to labour and delivery, where she was diagnosed with segmental PE. Her vital signs were stable, and she had no evidence of right ventricular dysfunction. After 6 h of monitoring, she was discharged home on enoxaparin with close follow-up. Neither patient developed antenatal complications from their PE or its treatment.

Discussion

This case series is the first to our knowledge to describe patient and treatment characteristics of pregnant patients with acute PE cared for as outpatients. We propose a definition for this phenomenon and discuss the benefits of and provisional selection criteria for outpatient PE management, while engaging with professional society guidelines and the literature. This understudied practice warrants further research.
A professional training to make English language instructors AI-ready
Authors: Kaya M Haldun
Published: August 2024

This qualitative case study aims to investigate the impact of a specially designed professional development course on three aspects: English language instructors’ (1) knowledge, (2) skills, and (3) self-efficacy in integrating AI into their teaching. Cognitive apprenticeship and socio-constructivism set the theoretical foundations of this course. Working with 20 instructors at university, the researcher used two data sources (participants’ opinions and their recorded lessons) and four data collection tools (pre-post course interviews, weekly-assigned implementations, their self-reflections on their AI use, and feedback on the course) to evaluate the impact of this course. The data suggest that this AI course for English language instructors likely made a significant difference, enhancing AI integration into teaching. This training could serve as a model for AI-ready instructors, improving their knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy. There are also some data that highlight challenges and limitations, unveiling different aspects of this complex field of study.
Music in a vanished kingdom: medieval polyphony in the Teutonic Order state in Prussia
Authors: Gancarczyk Paweł
Published: August 2024

The state of the Teutonic Order in Prussia, or Ordensstaat (1228–1525), belongs to those ‘vanished kingdoms’ which—devoid of any contemporary heirs—remain on the margins of historical narratives about music. The aim of this article is to describe polyphonic practices in medieval Prussia on the basis of archival and musical sources. Although the information they contain is of a fragmentary character, referring mainly to the first half of the 15th century, it does indicate that a variety of music was cultivated: from simply polyphony in chant notation to international Ars Nova. Outside the major ecclesiastic centres, conditions for the cultivation of polyphony could have existed at the court of the Grand Master, at which musicians—mostly instrumentalists—from across Europe appeared. Particular attention is devoted in the article to fragments from the Gdańsk Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Ms. 2153a) which contain works in the style of Central European polyphony, belonging to the genres of motet, cantio and rotulum. These and other sources indicate that the culture of medieval Prussia should be seen from the perspective of various European connections, and not as Germanic or Polish culture, as has often occurred in the past.
Design and implementation of a scalable high-performance computing (HPC) cluster for omics data analysis: achievements, challenges and recommendations in LMICs
Authors: Ghedira Kais , Khamessi Oussema , Hkimi Chaima , Kamoun Selim , Dhamer Nader , Daassi Kamel , Ben Salah Wassim , Othman Houcemeddine , Belhadj Wahbi , Ghorbal Youssef
Published: August 2024

Background

The advent of high-throughput technologies, including cutting-edge sequencing devices, has revolutionized biomedical data generation and processing. Nevertheless, big data applications require novel hardware and software for parallel computing and management to handle the ever-growing data size and analysis complexity. On-premise, high-performance computing (HPC) is increasingly used in biomedical research for big data stewardship.

Findings

In this work, we present Tunisia’s first high-performance computational infrastructure for omics research.

Method

We highlight measurements and recommendations that may help institutions in other low- and middle-income countries that are eager to implement local HPC in facilities for bioinformatics research and omics data analyses.
Singlestick purchases: a comparative cross-country analysis in 10 African countries, Global Adult Tobacco Survey, 2012–21
Authors: Mbulo Lazarous , Blutcher-Nelson Glenda , Chowdhury Pranesh P , Egbe Catherine O , Bouhabib Abdallahi , Palipudi Krishna
Published: August 2024

We utilized Global Adult Tobacco Survey data to examine singlestick purchases and related demographic characteristics in 10 African countries (Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Mauritania, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania). Results show the weighted percentages and prevalence ratios with predicted marginal means to evaluate significant differences between groups (P < 0.05). The prevalence of singlestick purchases among the 10 African countries ranged from 48.4% in South Africa to 92.0% in Tanzania. Across countries, the incidence of singlestick purchases was higher in urban areas than rural areas in Kenya; among those aged 15–24 years versus those aged 45 years and older in Botswana, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Nigeria and South Africa; and among those aged 25–44 years versus those aged 45 years and older in Botswana, South Africa and Tanzania. The incidence in Botswana was higher among adults with no formal or primary education than among those with secondary or higher education. In South Africa, the incidence was higher among adults in the middle or lower wealth index than among those in the high or highest wealth index. The findings suggest opportunities for strengthening efforts to prevent singlestick purchases through effective legislation and enforcement in line with Article 16 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
CGD: a multi-omics database for Chrysanthemum genomic and biological research
Authors: Ye Jingxuan , Wang Chun , Liu Ye , Chen Shaocong , Jin Jinyu , Zhang Lingling , Liu Peixue , Tang Jing , Zhang Jing , Wang Zhenxing , Jiang Jiafu , Chen Sumei , Chen Fadi , Song Aiping
Published: August 2024

Asteraceae is the largest family of dicotyledons and includes Chrysanthemum and Helianthus, two important genera of ornamental plants. The genus Chrysanthemum consists of more than 30 species and contains many economically important ornamental, medicinal, and industrial plants. To more effectively promote Chrysanthemum research, we constructed the CGD, a Chrysanthemum genome database containing a large amount of data and useful tools. The CGD hosts well-assembled reference genome data for six Chrysanthemum species. These genomic data were fully annotated by comparison with various protein and domain data. Transcriptome data for nine different tissues, five flower developmental stages, and five treatments were subsequently added to the CGD. A fully functional ‘RNA data’ module was designed to provide complete and visual expression profile data. In addition, the CGD also provides many of the latest bioinformatics analysis tools, such as the efficient sgRNA search tool for Chrysanthemum. In conclusion, the CGD provides the latest, richest, and most complete multi-omics resources and powerful tools for Chrysanthemum. Collectively, the CGD will become the central gateway for Chrysanthemum genomics and genetic breeding research and will aid in the study of polyploid evolution.
Construction and optimization of data model based on knowledge feature in transmission line equipment state recognition
Authors: Chen Jiangqi , Zhang Zhisong , Zhang Guoliang , Kong Qingyu , Qiu Shoudong
Published: August 2024

Transmission lines are a vital component of the power system, and their operational status directly affects the safety and stability of the entire grid. This study utilizes the association rules algorithm to conduct an in-depth analysis of the historical data of the lines' status, achieving the mining of knowledge features. Based on this, a key state quantity system is constructed, and a transmission line operational status recognition model is established, combined with the random forest algorithm, and further optimized. Through the selection of association rules and confidence, 8 components and 81 indicator state parameters that can reflect the operational status of transmission lines are determined, quantified into a key parameter system. For the improved model, the accuracy of the evaluation of the four state levels is more than 90%. Through comparative experiments with classical models on the national grid data set, the applicability and rationality of the proposed classification algorithm are verified. The model based on the random forest algorithm is capable of efficiently handling large-scale data sets and high-dimensional features, and resisting overfitting in the classification task of transmission line equipment status recognition, while also effectively managing imbalanced data sets. With an increase in the amount of collected data and improvement in data quality, future research can continue to focus on optimizing the model to improve recognition accuracy.
Land Loss and Labour Control: The Intersection of Land Dispossession and Labour Law in South African History
Authors: van Staden Marthinus
Published: August 2024

This article considers the intricate relationship between labour law and the dispossession of property, with a focus on the profound impact this interplay had on the lives of indigenous South Africans. Central to this discourse is the thesis that the dispossession of land catalysed a transition for indigenous populations from landowners to labourers, a shift that markedly diminished their quality of life. This exploration is contextualised through the lens of the landmark case of Izaacs v Government of the Republic of South Africa and Others, which serves as a contemporary reference point for understanding the enduring effects of historical injustices. The article explores the nature of labour or work prior to colonisation, offering insights into the indigenous socio-economic structures and their transformation post-colonisation. It traces the history of colonisation in South Africa, with a particular emphasis on how the systematic dispossession of land was instrumental in forcing indigenous populations into a new form of labour and servitude. This historical analysis is crucial in understanding the genesis of the socio-economic challenges faced by these communities. Furthermore, the article scrutinises the evolution of labour in the context of this dispossession. It argues that the legal framework surrounding labour, especially the contract of employment, played a pivotal role in perpetuating the subjugation of dispossessed populations. It is shown how the contract of employment, with its inherent element of control, became a tool for entrenching the disadvantaged position of indigenous peoples within the labour market. In its conclusion, the article synthesises these historical and legal analyses to argue that the legacy of land dispossession and the subsequent transformation of labour law have had a lasting and detrimental impact on the lives of indigenous South Africans. This exploration will not only shed light on a significant aspect of South African history but also contributes to the broader understanding of how legal frameworks can both reflect and perpetuate social inequalities.
Ethnicity, Women's Empowerment and Decisions about Children's Education in Ghana
Authors: Dimova Ralitza , Fielding David
Published: August 2024

There is evidence from some low-income countries that women's empowerment is associated with better child health and education outcomes, suggesting that mothers value these outcomes more than fathers do, on average. We hypothesise that this difference will be smaller in matrilineal societies, and using a Ghanaian household survey that includes data on children's education, we find evidence consistent with this distinction between matrilineal and patrilineal cultures. Women's empowerment is higher, on average, in matrilineal households, but this does not explain why their mean educational expenditure is higher, because empowerment in matrilineal households has no significant effect on expenditure. One possible explanation for these findings is cross-cultural heterogeneity in parental preferences: in the matrilineal society, women are more empowered, on average, and more money is spent on children's education, but the first difference is not the cause of the second.
Suburbanization and transportation in European cities
Authors: Garcia-López Miquel-Àngel , Pasidis Ilias , Viladecans-Marsal Elisabet
Published: August 2024

We study whether highway and railroad improvements cause population suburbanization in Europe’s cities. We construct a unique population and transportation dataset covering 579 cities from 29 European countries for the period 1961–2011. In order to make a causal inference, we rely on historical instruments. Our average results indicate that highways, but not railroads, were responsible for the suburbanization process: each additional highway ray decreased the share of the central city population by 5 percentage points, whereas new railroads had no impact. The heterogeneity analyses provide evidence of different patterns based on the time of the investment, the city’s size and density, and its geographical location.
Genomic implications of the repeated shift to self-fertilization across a species’ geographic distribution
Authors: Lucek Kay , Flury Jana M , Willi Yvonne
Published: August 2024

The ability to self-fertilize often varies among closely related hermaphroditic plant species, though, variation can also exist within species. In the North American Arabidopsis lyrata, the shift from self-incompatibility (SI) to selfing established in multiple regions independently, mostly since recent postglacial range expansion. This has made the species an ideal model for the investigation of the genomic basis of the breakdown of SI and its population genetic consequences. By comparing nearby selfing and outcrossing populations across the entire species’ geographic distribution, we investigated variation at the self-incompatibility (S-)locus and across the genome. Furthermore, a diallel crossing experiment on one mixed-mating population was performed to gain insight into the inheritance of mating system variation. We confirmed that the breakdown of SI had evolved in several S-locus backgrounds. The diallel suggested the involvement of biparental contributions with dominance relations. Though, the population-level genome-wide association study did not single out clear-cut candidate genes but several regions with one near the S-locus. On the implication side, selfing as compared to outcrossing populations had less than half of the genomic diversity, while the number and length of runs of homozygosity (ROHs) scaled with the degree of inbreeding. Selfing populations with a history of long expansion had the longest ROHs. The results highlight that mating system shift to selfing, its genetic underpinning and the likely negative genomic consequences for evolutionary potential can be strongly interlinked with past range dynamics.
Derivational morphology and suffixing bias on linguistic and nonlinguistic material
Authors: Polyanskaya Leona , Skopeteas Stavros , Halama Peter , Hollenbach Robin , Ordin Mikhail
Published: August 2024

Across world languages, grammatical meanings tend to be expressed by suffixes. Whether this bias is defined by shaping language so that it is easily processed by domain-general cognitive mechanisms or whether the bias is specific to the language domain has not been resolved. Most evidence supporting these competing hypotheses focuses on the effect of suffixing bias on inflectional morphology and ignores derivational morphology. Here, we explored suffixing bias in German and Slovak populations. These languages are strongly suffixing in terms of inflectional morphology but differ in verbal derivational morphology. Verbal prefixes can be detached from the root in the German language and are always attached to the root in the Slovak language. We explored whether suffixing bias can be observed in both populations while detecting and memorizing linguistic and nonlinguistic sequences in a continuous sensory input by means of statistical learning mechanisms. We found that suffixes facilitate statistical learning more than prefixes on linguistic material, and the effect was not observed on nonlinguistic material, suggesting that suffixing bias is specific to speech. When people are forced to choose between suffixed and prefixed sequences from the familiarization stream, German speakers show a stronger preference for suffixed sequences, while Slovak speakers do not show any preference; hence, properties of derivational morphology of the ambient language can modulate suffixing bias.
Deservingness, humanness, and representation through lived experience: analyzing first responders’ attitudes
Authors: Lofaro Ryan J , Sapat Alka
Published: August 2024

Representative bureaucracy theory has mainly been used to understand how identities related to race, ethnicity, and gender influence how bureaucrats administer public services. Although representation through lived experience has expanded the scope of the theory, this theoretical thread has mostly focused on the perspectives of management. The purpose of this article is to employ lived experience representative bureaucracy theory to understand the influence of first responders’ experiences with substance use disorder (drug addiction) on their viewpoints regarding the humanness and deservingness of clients with opioid use disorder. We analyze data from a survey of emergency medical services (EMS)-providers and police officers in the United States (N = 3,500) with ordinary least squares regression and Hayes’ PROCESS macro to test for mediation. Results show that indirect and direct lived experiences—respectively, having a family member or friend who has experienced addiction and believing addiction has had a direct impact on respondents’ lives—predict increases in client deservingness, mediated by ascribed humanness and driven largely by EMS-providers. However, responding to opioid overdoses—an on-the-job lived experience—is associated with reduced deservingness and ascribed humanness. The study adds to the literature by expanding representative bureaucracy theory beyond race, ethnicity, and gender; broadening representation through lived experience beyond a focus on managers to include street-level bureaucrats; and incorporating concepts from social and political psychology that have yet to be integrated into representative bureaucracy studies.
The Elements of Article 101 TFEU/Chapter I of the UK Competition Act 1998: Collusion
Authors: Lianos Ioannis , Korah Valentine , Siciliani Paolo
Published: August 2024

This chapter examines the elements of Article 101 TFEU and Chapter 1 of the UK Competition Act of 1998 (CA98) with regard to collusive practices. It begins with a discussion of what Article 101 TFEU and Chapter I CA98 say about the concepts of ‘agreement’, ‘concerted practice’ and ‘decisions by association of undertakings’, focusing on agreement as ‘concurrence of wills’, agreement and coercion (private and public), and the doctrine of state compulsion. It then considers the subjective/intentional element and material element of a concerted practice, ‘apparently unilateral conduct’ in the context of a distribution network within the scope of Article 101 TFEU, the concept of ‘single and continuous infringement’, and Hub and Spoke conspiracies. The chapter concludes with an analysis of communications-based vs. effects-based approaches in defining collusion, placing emphasis on the debate over the scope of Section 1 of the Sherman Act and its relevance for EU competition law.
Horizontal Restrictions of Competition
Authors: Lianos Ioannis , Korah Valentine , Siciliani Paolo
Published: August 2024

This chapter focuses on the horizontal restrictions of competition. It first provides an overview of how competition law deals with horizontal collusion (collusion between competitors) before discussing the boundaries of the cartel category, the harm caused by cartels, and the underlying economic theory explaining their assessment in competition law. It then considers the use of effects-based approaches vs. formalism in assessing the competitive implications of cartels, the application of Article 101(1) TFEU and Chapter I of the UK Competition Act of 1998 to horizontal restrictions, collusion between competitors and restrictions of competition by object, horizontal price fixing and output restrictions, market sharing, bid rigging/collusive tendering, collective boycott agreements, and information exchange as an object restriction. The chapter also examines collusion between competitors and restrictions of competition by effect and concludes with an analysis of possible justifications for horizontal restrictions to competition.
Supplement to Chapter 1
Authors: Lianos Ioannis , Korah Valentine , Siciliani Paolo
Published: August 2024

This supplement to Chapter 1 reviews the history of competition law in the UK. It first considers the issue of administrative control, focusing on the enactment of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices (Inquiry and Control) Act in 1948 and the establishment of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission by virtue of section 3(1) of this Act. It then examines the Monopolies Commission's general report on the effect of collective discrimination on the public interest, the relevant provisions of the Restrictive Trade Practices Act (RTPA) 1956, the decision to subject the resale price maintenance to the Restrictive Trade Practices Act in 1964, and the Monopolies and Mergers Act of 1965. It also provides an overview of the Fair Trading Act 1973 and the Restrictive Trade Practices legislation that was consolidated and amended in the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976.
Supplement to Chapter 7
Authors: Lianos Ioannis , Korah Valentine , Siciliani Paolo
Published: August 2024

This supplement to Chapter 7 presents case studies on horizontal restrictions of competition. It begins with a discussion of airline alliances, citing the various reasons for extensive cooperation between airlines as well as the main concerns about competition raised by such alliances. It then considers the cooperation among competitors in the financial services sector and how competition law is applied to banking, insurance and paying systems before analysing access network agreements and cooperation among mobile network operators (MNOs). The European Commission's decision in the case of the Star alliance for their revenue-sharing joint venture agreement is also mentioned, along with the experience of the UK with respect to network sharing.
Supplement to Chapter 10
Authors: Lianos Ioannis , Korah Valentine , Siciliani Paolo
Published: August 2024

This supplement to Chapter 10 on distribution agreements begins with a discussion of how the Internet has transformed the distribution segment of supply chains, followed by a review of the origins of a differentiated application of competition law to vertical integration and vertical contractual restraints, new challenges for the application of EU and UK competition law to vertical restraints, and online vertical restraints. Vertical restraints involving e-commerce or the digital economy, such as absolute and partial online sales bans, online RPM or RPM facilitating conduct, and Geographic Price Discrimination (GPD), are also analysed. Finally, competition enforcement activity in the food sector is examined, with a focus on the emergence of fairness-driven competition law to address superior bargaining power, the local competition between various retail stores, and platform competition between the various actors of the food value chain.
Relationship with Other EU Regulations
Authors: Wilderspin Michael
Published: August 2024

This chapter looks into the relationship of the Brussels IIb Regulation with other EU Regulations. It elaborates on the jurisdiction of the relationship between divorce and matters of parental responsibility. Since the Brussels IIb Regulation contains no choice of law rules, the forum must determine whether another EU Regulation to which it is party or a Convention to which it or the EU is party contains such rules. The chapter clarifies that each Regulation contains its own system of recognition and enforcement in line with its regimes. Under the Brussels IIb Regulation, all decisions that require enforcement can be enforced without the need to obtain a declaration of enforceability (exequatur).
Brazil
Authors: de Souza Marcelo Inglez , de Gouvêa Leão Fernanda , Machado Cesar Rossi
Published: August 2024

This chapter provides an overview of the arbitration system of Brazil, first by tracing the history of the country’s arbitration law and then discussing the current status of the law. It also considers the distinction between national and international arbitration, the practice of arbitration in Brazil, and the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal. In particular, it considers the arbitration agreement itself (eg, arbitration clauses and submission agreements, law applicable to the interpretation of arbitration clauses), arbitrability (‘personal arbitrability’, ‘objective arbitrability’), and enforcement of an arbitration agreement within or by court proceedings. The chapter goes on to examine the constitution of the arbitral tribunal (eg, appointment of arbitrators, legal grounds, and procedure for challenging and replacing an arbitrator), general principles of arbitral procedure, deliberations and agreement on the arbitral award, and the question of liability of arbitrators. Finally, it explains the enforcement rules for national awards and foreign awards in Brazil.
Disaster Aid
Authors: Bacon Kelyn
Published: August 2024

This chapter deals with aid directed at compensating for the damage caused by natural disasters or other exceptional occurrences. It presents the general and specific conditions for the application of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) to such aid, and sets out the situations in which aid falling outside the scope of the GBER will be authorised directly under Article 107(2)(b).
Culture, Heritage, Sport and Local Infrastructure
Authors: Bacon Kelyn
Published: August 2024

This chapter considers the application of the State aid rules in three residual areas: culture and heritage, sport (including sports infrastructure) and local infrastructure. In relation to each area, specific issues relating to the existence of aid, the application of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), and direct authorisation of aid under Article 107(3) are considered. Specific issues addressed include the exemption for aid to promote culture and heritage conservation under Article 107(3)(d), and the application of the State aid rules to professional football and support for sports stadia.
Responsibility of Directors of Financial Institutions
Authors: Schwarcz Steven L , Jones Aleaha , Yan Jiazhen
Published: August 2024

This chapter details the governance responsibilities of directors of financial institutions in the United States and worldwide. The fiduciary duties of directors of firms, including financial institutions, are owed primarily to the firm to act in the firm’s best interests. Invariably, the fiduciary duties of directors to the firm include the duty to consider the interests of the firm’s shareholders. Both in the United States and in the European Union, directors' fiduciary duties are often discussed as a duty of care and a duty of loyalty. While its exact formulation varies in different jurisdictions, the duty of care addresses the standard by which directors conduct business operations and activities. On the other hand, the duty of loyalty addresses conflicts of interest between a director and the firm. The chapter then examines the mechanisms for enforcing fiduciary duties.
Expropriation in Investment Treaty Arbitration
Authors: Cox Johanne M
Published: August 2024

In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the number of investors seeking compensation from states perceived to have expropriated their projects. Part of the Oxford International Arbitration Series, this book provides a comprehensive guide to expropriation and how it is applied in practice. The book begins by introducing the law of expropriation from a historical standpoint, charting some of the key decisions in the history of expropriation and how it has evolved to become an accepted principle in international law today. It then proceeds to offer a detailed examination of existing case law, from which common substantive principles of the international law on expropriation are drawn out. Relevant international cases from the ICJ, ECHR, Iran–US Tribunal, ICSID, NAFTA, and the ECT are considered to complement the focus on investment treaty arbitration. The book also examines the interplay between expropriation and other standards of treaty protection, namely fair and equitable treatment. The final chapters comment on current trends and assess the relevance of expropriation in the present day.
Rights and Interests Protected Under Investment Treaties
Authors: Cox Johanne M
Published: August 2024

This chapter examines which rights and interests are protected as investments under investment treaties in the context of expropriation. It first considers the meaning of investment, taking into account the definitions given by investment treaties. Many bilateral investment treaties (BITs) identify a non-exhaustive list of assets that may comprise an investment, such as shares, stock, and other forms of equity participation in an enterprise; bonds, debentures, other debt instruments, and loans; futures, options, and other derivatives; and intellectual property rights. The NAFTA contains an exhaustive definition or what constitutes and does not constitute an investment. The chapter proceeds by discussing the relevance of property rights in national law, the test used in ICSID arbitrations to define investment, and the question of whether separate assets may be regarded as a single investment. Finally, it tackles the issue of whether goodwill and market share constitute an investment.
Methods of Valuation
Authors: Cox Johanne M
Published: August 2024

This chapter considers a variety of methods used in the valuation of damages in investment treaty arbitration. The method of calculating damages in investment treaty arbitration depends primarily on which of the alternative methods of valuation, either singularly or in combination, is deemed appropriate by the tribunal in a case. The valuation is also contingent upon the valuation date determined by the tribunal. There are two approaches for calculating damages in investment treaty arbitration: forward-looking methods and backward-looking methods. The chapter first explains forward-looking approaches, which include income-based models such as the discounted cashflow (DCF) method, and market-based models such as the ‘Quoted Market Price’ (QMP) approach. It then examines backward-looking approaches, which include asset-based models (liquidation valuation method, replacement value, book value method) and cost-based models. It also describes alternative methods of valuation adopted by arbitral tribunals and cites a number of cases relevant to valuation of damages.
Legal Aspects of Electronic Communication and Recording of Information
Authors: Goldby Miriam
Published: August 2024

This chapter discusses the legal aspects of electronic communication and recording of information. In recent decades, businesses have begun to harness electronic forms of communication in order to facilitate all aspects of commerce, including the bringing together of buyers and sellers, the negotiation of agreements, the formation of binding contracts, and the processing and settlement of transactions. In many jurisdictions, legislators have enacted laws aimed at facilitating the use of electronic communications for these purposes. However, the use of electronic communication methods adds a dimension of complexity to the legal relationship between parties. Issues relating to the point at which a binding contract is formed, as well as questions regarding authenticity, confidentiality, and security of communications, may arise. Questions may also arise as to whether, and to what extent, the persons sending and receiving electronic messages are bound by or liable for those messages.
A Guide to the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration
Authors: Khodykin Roman , Mulcahy Carol
Published: August 2024

The IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration (the ‘Rules’) are widely used in international arbitration cases, regardless of the administering institution or the legal background of the parties. The updated Rules were adopted in 2010 and include mechanisms for the presentation of documents, witnesses of fact, and expert witnesses, as well as guidance on the conduct of evidentiary hearings, and the admissibility and assessment of evidence. They are widely accepted by the arbitration community and have become an international applicable standard. That said, the Rules are, at times, unclear and open to interpretation, leading to potential disputes or uncertainty as to how they should be applied in practice. This book provides a comprehensive, article-by-article commentary on the Rules, pulling together in one volume an in-depth analysis of the relevant case law, reports of the IBA working groups, academic authorities, and professional experience. The chapters offer practical guidance on issues that frequently arise in practice and provide a resource for practitioners seeking to advance or defend particular propositions. They also analyse how the Rules work in tandem with other applicable provisions and include templates and checklists that practitioners can use to support their daily practice.
Financial Regulation in the New World
Authors: Gleeson Simon
Published: August 2024

This chapter argues that although financial regulation touches almost every aspect of the financial industry, the one thing that it carefully avoids regulating is the use of money itself. The basis of financial regulation is permissioning, accompanied by some sort of prohibition of non-permissioned individuals engaging in the activities concerned. Since more or less everybody needs to use money on a regular basis, the use of money cannot be made a regulated activity. Thus, those items of virtual currency which are characterised as money will fall outside the scope of financial regulation altogether. However, the chapter points out that there are a number of different types of virtual currency unit, and these are by no means always clearly ‘money’ even for regulatory purposes.
The Implied Terms of Description, Fitness, and Quality
Authors: Bridge M G
Published: August 2024

This chapter deals with terms concerning the description, fitness, and quality of the contract goods that are implied by statute into the contract unless the parties have excluded them within the limits permitted by the law. An examination of the general law of contract shows that it is not easy to pin down the nature of implied contractual terms. Expressed as a simple dichotomy, they come in two different versions: first, terms agreed in fact by the parties that take two different forms. There are terms so obvious that they do not need to be stated or that the parties have not troubled to record in writing, and there are terms implied into contracts to give them a minimum of business efficacy. The second form consists of terms implied in law that may once have expressed the actual agreement of parties to contracts of a particular type but that have, under the weight of case law and inherited assumptions, become over time automatic accessories of particular contract types.
Unfair Contract Terms
Authors: Bridge M G
Published: August 2024

This chapter deals with the exclusion or limitation of duties owed by a seller to a buyer under or in connection with a contract of sale. The duties may be those imposed by the implied terms of title, description, fitness for purpose, satisfactory quality, and correspondence to sample, as well as by the contract itself in relation to matters such as the amount and time of delivery. There are also duties imposed on the seller by operation of law, principally the duty of care in negligence, where the necessary degree of proximity is brought about between seller and buyer as a result of their entry into a contract of sale. A seller's attempt to exclude or limit its liability is subject to various controls existing at common law or under statute. In reviewing clauses, these controls have to be separately applied and the dividing line between them ought not to be blurred.