bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Confirmation
Authors: Titelbaum Michael G.
Published: May 2022

This chapter presents the Bayesian theory of confirmation. It begins by laying down adequacy conditions for a formal confirmation theory, starting from Hempel’s work on the subject. It then considers Carnap’s confirmation theory based on probabilistic relevance. It presents and assesses Goodman’s grue problem for Objective Bayesian approaches to confirmation like Carnap’s. Then it describes the rival, Subjective Bayesian analysis of confirmation. This includes a discussion of Bayesian measures of degree of confirmation.
Comparative Confidence, Ranged Credences, and Dempster-Shafer Theory
Authors: Titelbaum Michael G.
Published: May 2022

This chapter presents three formal epistemologies that are related to Bayesianism but deploy the probability calculus in a different way. First we consider comparative confidence rankings, and different sets of normative rules they might be required to satisfy. Second, we describe formalisms that assigns ranges of real numbers-rather than single real values-to propositions. Finally, we briefly investigate Dempster-Shafer functions, which use numerical distributions to represent not only an agent’s attitudes but also her evidence.
The Greek East
Authors: Plested Marcus
Published: May 2022

Chapter 5 explores the theology of wisdom in the Greek East from Dionysius the Areopagite to St Gregory Palamas. While offering a general account of wisdom in the authors covered, the chapter also explores the space or gap for Sophiology that can be traced through Dionysius’ beneficent processions, Maximus’ doctrine of the logoi, and Palamas’ doctrine of the divine energies. In all these figures wisdom can, in different but profoundly compatible ways, be construed as divine but without reduction to categories of essence or hypostasis alone. Palamas is of particular import here in that he became, for Bulgakov, a source of patristic reference and validation without equal. These figures are treated in tandem with some indispensable monastic material in the shape of the lived wisdom of Evagrius of Pontus and Macarius (Macarius-Symeon, pseudo-Macarius).
Microbiology of Infectious Disease
Authors: Primrose Sandy R.
Published: May 2022

In the late 1990s, the first complete sequences of two bacterial genomes were published. From the analysis of the sequence data, it became possible to elucidate all the biochemical reactions that these bacteria could undertake and all the molecules that they could synthesize, many of which had hitherto been unknown. Now that hundreds of microbial genomes have been sequenced, we can decipher those biochemical features that make an organism a successful pathogen and recognize common strategies for overcoming host defences. We also can get insights to how each pathogen evolved. The objective of this book is to put the new sequence-derived information in the context of the natural history of the organisms. That is, to tell a story and get a sense of how each organism evolved, what it can do, and how it interacts with its environment. Each chapter is devoted to a different pathogen, be it viral, bacterial or eukaryotic, and describes how they infect plants and animals but particularly humans.
The Accidental Pathogen: Legionella pneumophila
Authors: Primrose Sandy B.
Published: May 2022

Legionella pneumophila, the causative organism in Legionnaires’ disease, is a natural inhabitant of freshwater environments. Unlike most aquatic bacteria which are digested by protists, Legionella multiplies inside protists after engulfment. Water distribution and air-conditioning systems in modern buildings have provided Legionella pneumophila with an ideal environment for growth. Legionella in aerosols from air-conditioning plants are inhaled by potential victims and deposited in the lung alveoli. Legionella escape digestion by alveolar macrophages in the same way that they escape digestion by protists in the environment. It does so by injecting over 300 effectors into the macrophages. Many of these effectors resemble eukaryotic proteins, or have motifs found only in eukaryotes, and enable Legionella to turn phagosomes into sites of replication.
Two Related Pathogens: One Ancient, One Modern
Authors: Primrose Sandy B.
Published: May 2022

Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae are the only Neisseria species to cause infections in immune competent individuals. The gonococcus has existed for thousands of years but the meningococcus emerged about 400 years ago. Both bacteria use phase variation of surface antigens to escape host defences. Both bacteria are naturally competent for transformation and the large number of DNA uptake sequences in their genomes indicate that they have acquired a lot of genes by horizontal gene transfer. A key virulence determinant of the meningococcus is the capsule and the ability to synthesize it was acquired from the unrelated Haemophilus influenzae. Because of its importance, the capsule has been used in the development of vaccines. Meningococci produce many virulence factors, but how these help the bacteria to invade the bloodstream is not known. Gonococci can exist both extracellularly and intracellularly. When residing extracellularly the gonococci attract neutrophils and these constitute most of the characteristic discharge seen in patients with gonorrhoea. Numerous virulence factors prevent destruction of the bacteria on the mucosal surface. The PorA protein probably plays a key role in internalization.
The Enigmatic Pathogens: Syphilis, Yaws, Pinta, and Bejel
Authors: Primrose Sandy B.
Published: May 2022

Treponema pallidum causes four different diseases: syphilis, yaws, bejel, and pinta. The only differences between the strains causing these diseases are in the pathogenicity islands that they have in their genome. Sequencing has shown that the Treponema pallidum genome has no insertion sequences, phages, or plasmids. Because of the absence of mobile genetic elements, the bacterium has not acquired resistance to the first-line antibiotic, penicillin. Resistance to the second-line drug, azithromycin, is developing because of mutations the target protein. Treponema pallidum is an obligate pathogen and genome sequencing has provided an explanation: the bacterium cannot synthesize nucleotides, amino acids, fatty acids, or vitamins, and has no tricarboxylic acid cycle. Treponema pallidum is able to escape immune detection and does this by changes in the seven variable regions of the tprK protein. The World Health Organization is trying to eliminate yaws but resistance to azithromycin may make this target difficult. The question whether syphilis existed in Europe before the discovery of the Americas or was brought to Europe from the Americas is unresolved but on balance, probably pre-existed Columbus’s voyages.
Plasmids and Pathogenicity: The Bacillus cereus Complex
Authors: Primrose Sandy B.
Published: May 2022

Bacillus cereus, Bacillus anthracis, and Bacillus thuringiensis comprise the Bacillus cereus complex. They are more related to one another than to all other Bacillus species. Bacillus anthracis causes anthrax and there are different forms of the disease: cutaneous, inhalation, and injection. If used as a bioweapon, Bacillus anthracis will cause a fatal inhalation anthrax. The key virulence factors are the plasmid-encoded capsule and components of the oedema toxin and the lethal toxin. Bacillus cereus can cause two types of food poisoning: diarrhoeal disease and emetic disease. Emetic disease is caused by a plasmid-encoded toxin, cereulide. Diarrhoeal disease is caused by three chromosomally encoded toxins. Bacillus thuringiensis strains produce a number of plasmid-encoded toxins that are insecticidal. Different toxins are lethal for different insects. The parent of the Bacillus cereus complex most likely was a diarrhoeal strain of Bacillus cereus because it has no plasmid-borne toxins. This strain then acquired different plasmids to generate the different pathogens in the complex as we know it today.
Tracking Horizontal Gene Transfer: Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Primrose Sandy B.
Published: May 2022

Staphylococcus aureus is a much-feared pathogen that can cause a number of different diseases depending on the strains involved and the site of entry to the body. Staphylococcus has many different virulence factors. Staphyloxanthin (pigment), coagulase, staphylokinase, and the capsule interfere with host defences. Other virulence factors are toxins that cause food poisoning (enterotoxins) or tissue damage (proteases). Ninety genes encoding virulence factors have been identified and these are split between the core genome and the accessory genome. Of these genes, thirty-five have been found in all strains. Strains that are resistant to methicillin (MRSA) have the mecA gene. This is encoded by a mobile genetic element that also harbours other antibiotic-resistance genes. Using ribotyping it has been shown that certain clonal complexes of MRSA predominate worldwide. Community-acquired MRSA are more virulent than hospital-acquired MRSA because they produce the Panton–Valentine leucocidin. Pigs have been shown to be a source of MRSA. Vancomycin is one of a small number of antibiotics that can be used to treat MRSA. Resistance to this antibiotic only occurs sporadically. Mupirocin can be used to eliminate nasal carriage of MRSA in patients being admitted to hospital for cold surgery.
The Ubiquitous Pathogen: Trichomonas vaginalis
Authors: Primrose Sandy B.
Published: May 2022

Trichomonas vaginalis is an obligate pathogen that infects over 100 million people annually. As it lives in anaerobic environments it does not have mitochondria and eliminates excess electrons by forming hydrogen in an organelle known as the hydrogenosome. Mycoplasma hominis can exist symbiotically inside Trichomonas vaginalis to the mutual benefit of both partners. In order to colonize the vagina, Trichomonas needs to raise the pH and it does this by killing off lactobacilli and other acid-producing bacteria by secreting peptidoglycan hydrolases. Trichomonas vaginalis adheres to the epithelium of the vagina and urinary tract but is not internalized. Instead, it sheds exosomes and microvesicles which fuse with epithelial cells and release a range of protein and RNA effectors. The net effect is epithelial cell lysis and inflammation which manifest themselves in the disease symptoms. Genome sequencing has revealed that Trichomonas has a very large genome (160 Mb) containing many repeated sequences and fifty-nine families of transposable elements. There are a very large number (~ 1,000) of genes for surface adhesion molecules and many different virulence factors have been identified including 4 RNA viruses. As Trichomonas vaginalis is an anaerobe, the antibiotic of choice is metronidazole, especially as this will have little effect on the normal flora. However, resistance to metronidazole is increasing but no transmissible elements are involved.
The Most Famous Plant Pathogen: Phytophthora infestans
Authors: Primrose Sandy B.
Published: May 2022

Late blight of potatoes and other solanaceous plants is caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans. It reproduces from sporangia and up to 300,000 sporangia can be produced from a single necrotic lesion meaning that disease spreads quickly. The organism also can grow in dead tissue such as diseased tubers. The best defence against crop destruction is to grow a wide variety of different potatoes; the Irish Famine was caused by dependence on a single variety. Global food corporations are driving a dependence on just a few varieties and these can be maintained only by heavy fungicide use. Attempts have been made to breed resistant potatoes by introducing resistance determinants from other solanaceous crops but the pathogen quickly overcomes the new varieties. Genome sequencing has provided an explanation: the genome is enriched for many gene families of effectors.
Morbilliviruses: Measles, Rinderpest, and Canine Distemper
Authors: Primrose Sandy B.
Published: May 2022

Morbilliviruses are RNA viruses that infect humans and a wide variety of domestic and wild animals. They are highly infectious, spread via the respiratory route, cause immune suppression, and are associated with high morbidity and mortality. The best-known examples are measles, rinderpest, and canine distemper. Rinderpest is a disease of cattle and other ungulates. It is believed to have evolved in Asia around the time that humans transitioned from hunter gatherers to farmers. Invading armies brought the disease to the West with their animals. The European colonialists then took the disease to Africa. The disease now has been eliminated by vaccination. Measles is highly infectious and one of the leading causes of death among young children. Maintenance of measles virus in a population requires a constant supply of susceptible individuals. Vaccination is very effective at preventing the disease but misplaced anti-vaccination campaigns are resulting in a surge in cases. Measles was introduced to the Americas, with devastating effects, by early colonialists. By contrast, canine distemper was absent from Europe in the pre-Columbian era. The dogs of colonialists caught the virus in the Americas and brought it to Europe. It is believed that measles arose when rinderpest jumped species. Sequence analysis of different morbilliviruses shows that it would take only a few mutations for them to jump species.
The Origins of HIV and the AIDS Pandemic
Authors: Primrose Sandy B.
Published: May 2022

There are two types of human immunodeficiency virus: HIV-1 and HIV-2. There are four sub-types of HIV-1 and sub-type M is responsible for the global AIDS pandemic. HIV-1 arose when an immunodeficiency virus jumped species from a chimpanzee to a human in Cameroon at the beginning of the twentieth century. The virus circulated locally through sexual intercourse. Movement of workers took the virus to Kinshasa in the Belgian Congo where it was spread through sexual intercourse. An influx of Haitian administrators following independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960 led to the virus being taken to Haiti. As a result of sexual tourism, HIV was taken to the United States in the 1970s. This led to the current AIDS pandemic. The four sub-types of HIV-1 were the result of spillover from chimpanzees (twice) and gorillas (twice). The nine sub-types of HIV-2 resulted from spillover from sooty mangabeys. HIV-1 sub-type M has a particular mutation not found in all the other HIV sub-types and which allows it to overcome host defences. This explains its predominance in individuals with AIDS.
The Benefits of a Segmented Genome: Influenza
Authors: Primrose Sandy B.
Published: May 2022

Influenza is caused by a virus with a segmented RNA genome. The virus can infect humans, pigs and other mammals and birds. The viral envelope contains two key proteins, haemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). There are sixteen known variants of the HA and nine of the NA. During an infection, HA binds to receptors on airway epithelial cells. Human influenza viruses and bird influenza viruses have different receptors. Some animals, such as pigs have both types of receptors. NA removes sialic acid residues from viral glycoproteins and plays a role in the infection process. The RNA polymerase of influenza is error-prone and this results in mutations in HA and NA (antigenic drift). Some of these mutants are more infectious and cause seasonal influenza. If an avian influenza virus and a human influenza virus infect an animal with both virus receptors, such as a pig, reassortment of the eight RNA segments from each virus can occur. If any of the 256 possible new combinations (antigenic shift) has increased virulence then it can cause a pandemic. Seasonal vaccination of those most at risk is the best preventative strategy but occasionally the virus changes in unexpected ways and the vaccines in use have reduced effectiveness.
Third Time Unlucky: SARS, MERS, and COVID-19
Authors: Primrose Sandy B.
Published: May 2022

There have been three serious human diseases caused by coronaviruses since the beginning of the twenty-first century: SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. The case fatality rate with SARS and MERS was much higher than seen with COVID-19 but the infectivity was much lower. The increased mortality with SARS and MERS may be due to their propensity to cause cytokine storms in patients. COVID-19 and SARS use the same receptor (ACE2) on target cells but COVID-19 has ten times the affinity of SARS. This probably explains the much higher infectivity of COVID-19. A survey of large numbers of animals to identify potential reservoirs of coronaviruses found that 98% of infected animals were bats and that 9% of bats were carriers. Rapid industrialization in China with associated disturbance of bat habitats might explain the recent emergence of coronavirus infections. The existence of wet markets in China will exacerbate infection of humans.
Some Common Pathogenicity Themes
Authors: Primrose Sandy B.
Published: May 2022

Many new pathogens have been identified in the last fifty years and there are three reasons for this. First, many of these new pathogens are zoonoses whose spread to humans can be linked to habitat destruction. Second, there has been a massive increase in air travel and this has facilitated global dissemination of diseases that otherwise might have remained very local. Third, there has been a huge rise in opportunistic infections by organisms originally thought to be non-pathogenic as a result of a concomitant rise in the numbers of immunocompromised individuals because of chemotherapy, organ transplant, or HIV/AIDS. Examination of these pathogens has identified a number of common themes. Horizontal gene transfer, particularly mediated by plasmids and/or lysogenic conversion, has driven the evolution of cellular pathogens. In the case of viral pathogens, a key driver of evolution has been error-prone replication via RNA-dependent RNA polymerase generating mutants that can overcome barriers to cross-species transmission.
‘A state in anarchy’
Authors: Day Adam
Published: May 2022

This chapter provides an overview of the failed states discourse and the major critiques of statebuilding. It suggests that the explanations to date for the failure of statebuilding to achieve its objectives have proven inadequate, offering only a partial description of the ways in which conflict settings respond to international interventions. Instead, it argues that complexity theory offers a more accurate and holistic description of how change takes place in conflict-prone settings, one that accounts for the networked relationships between state and non-state actors. Rather than following the liberal statebuilder’s logic that governance can be improved by gradual, linear improvements in state institutional capacity, this chapter argues that governance is the emergent outcome of dynamical relationships among a range of actors. Tracking the evolution of these relationships allows for a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of how change takes place in societies, offering new models for governance beyond the Western liberal vision of the state.
A European Movement
Authors: von Greyerz Kaspar
Published: May 2022

Chapter 2 offers a close look at 102 actors-authors (mainly British, Dutch, German, Swiss, and Swedish, as well as handful of Frenchmen and a couple of Italians) and approximately two hundred works they published. More details on the 102 men are provided by Appendix 2: ‘Biographical Shortlist of Physico-theologians’. On the European scale these works were published at forty-eight printing locations. While returning to the concept of an intellectual movement, developed in Chapter 1, this succeeding chapter looks at the role of bestsellers, e.g. by John Ray, William Derham, Bernard Nieuwentijt, and translations of their works, as well as of works of Robert Boyle, John Woodward, and Friedrich Christian Lesser, into other European languages sustaining the growth and consolidation of the movement. The examination of the 102 actors-authors mentioned above shows that relatively few among these were scientists working at the forefront of contemporary research and that many more were virtuosi, the majority of which had a clerical or medical background.
Early Central European Physico-theology
Authors: von Greyerz Kaspar
Published: May 2022

Scholars have frequently associated the spread of physico-theology in Germany with the proliferation of vernacular physico-theological treatises whose linguistic aspects were closely related to the didactic aims of the early Enlightenment. However, I argue that there was an earlier, Latinate phase of physico-theology in Central Europe which began in the late 1670s. Its pioneer was Johann Christoph Sturm, professor at the University of Altdorf near Nuremberg. He stood at the beginning of a whole series of academic disputations at the universities of Altdorf and Jena and beyond that celebrated human physiology as an area of study that led to the recognition of a wise Creator. Sturm’s connections with the Dutch University of Leiden, one of the leading academic institutions in late seventeenth-century Europe are investigated, as are his contacts with members of the Royal Society. The last section of this chapter looks at the use of human anatomy as a field of knowledge that offered strong arguments against atheism.
‘The great English pilgrimage’
Authors: Reynolds Luke
Published: May 2022

The battlefield tourism and relic collecting covered in this chapter were crucial to the British rediscovery of the continent following 1815. Although the field of Waterloo saw visitors from every social level that had disposable income, it was of particular significance to Britain’s newly modernizing middle class, for whom a trip to the kingdom of the Netherlands/Belgium and Waterloo was the equivalent of the eighteenth century’s aristocratic grand tour. Battlefield tourism was also inevitably shaped by questions of international ownership. Waterloo saw a continued four-way international skirmish over its ownership between Britain, Prussia, the kingdom of the Netherlands/Belgium, and France. Thus, Waterloo became a site of British national pilgrimage, which was shaped by poetry, guidebooks, and tourists who were aware that it was just as important to be seen to visit Waterloo as it was to actually visit.
‘Grand Military and National Spectacle’
Authors: Reynolds Luke
Published: May 2022

This chapter examines representations of Waterloo in the arts, where the informal approval of veterans at the centre of the previous chapter took on the more traditional trappings of patronage. Artists such as Sir Thomas Lawrence, Jan Willem Pieneman, and William Salter benefited significantly from the access granted by Wellington and his fellow veterans, while those veterans effectively employed their patronage to shape their depictions and the memory of the battle captured in the resulting paintings. On the stage, Astley’s Royal Amphitheatre’s phenomenally popular hippodrama The Battle of Waterloo took the same approach as the exhibitions discussed previously, burnishing its credentials with reports of attendance by, and thus the approval of, Wellington and other senior military figures.
Pandemics and Environmental Crises
Authors: Morin Jean-Frédéric , Jinnah Sikina , Orsini Amandine
Published: May 2022

Pandemics and environmental degradation are both deadly global crises, which often disproportionately impact the world’s most vulnerable populations. The scale of devastation for both pandemics and environmental problems can also be immense. The political science literature often assumes that policymakers rationally design governance systems according to the underlying problem structures they aim to address. This chapter argues that the problem structures of pandemics and environmental crises are similar on several accounts. Yet their governance systems differ in significant ways. The chapter explains this incongruity by pointing to systemic perceptions biases and structural power differentials. Addressing these biases and establishing new linkages could improve the global governance of both issue areas.
COVID-19
Authors: Smith Julia
Published: May 2022

Like previous pandemics, COVID-19 exposes how gender inequities structure and are exacerbated by health crises. This chapter applies interdisciplinary feminist analysis to provide an overview of the gender dimensions of pandemics, as well as to analyse if, where, and how these have been responded to by governments and global health institutions. It draws on evidence from past outbreaks and emerging evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic to discuss: direct and indirect health disparities; how the economic effects of pandemic responses particularly affect women’s labour, both in terms of paid work and unpaid care responsibilities; and how pandemic responses can exacerbate inequities in access to education and risks of violence. It argues that in addition to a health crisis, COVID-19 is causing a gender equality crisis. While identifying gaps in past pandemic responses, it also documents a growing momentum to address the gendered effects of health crises through greater gender balance in decision-making and gender-informed policy development. Whether these efforts will be enough to mitigate the current inequities caused by COVID-19 remains to be seen.
The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Shifting Opportunity Structure of Organized Crime
Authors: Muggah Robert
Published: May 2022

Pandemics can alter the opportunity structure of organized crime. The combination of contagion, state-imposed restrictions, weakening of state presence, and disruption of global supply chains impact illicit markets and the behaviour of criminal actors. During the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis and associated lockdown measures in 2020, several types of violent and non-violent crime registered short-term declines. At the same time, many organized crime groups, such as cartels, gangs, mafia, and militia, diversified their activities to account for structural changes in supply and demand. A number also migrated to cyberspace, aware of the tremendous opportunities by the large-scale digital onboarding and digital dependence of hundreds of millions of people. Several organized crime groups likewise took advantage of the pandemic to expand their power and influence, consolidating their territorial reach at a time of more limited state presence. This chapter considers the ways in which organized crime adapted to a pandemic and considers an array of responses from the global to the national and municipal levels.
COVID-19 and the Economics of Population Health
Authors: Herrmann Markus , Isabelle Maripier
Published: May 2022

This chapter addresses the components of the social cost of a pandemic, including morbidity and mortality, but also how individuals behave when facing an infection outbreak. Spreading often without much warning, pandemics put governments and public health authorities under tremendous pressure to respond with an array of measures to attempt to gain some control over the disease beyond the anticipation, early detection, and mitigation phases. In addition to testing and contact tracing, some common measures are social distancing, shutting down non-essential economic sectors, confining the elderly, and quarantining symptomatic individuals. These actions are taken to avoid the potentially devastating health costs directly stemming from contagion. In the short run, government action should account for these elements as well as the cost put on the economy to determine effective and efficient public health measures. However, by inducing important economic slowdowns, such measures impose a non-trivial burden on some individuals that may not be inconsequential from a health perspective. This chapter also investigates the dramatic changes to labour markets and income distributions in the control and mitigation phase of pandemics, and how a new potential health crisis may arise. It explores how governments and individuals can respond and proposes a reflection on the distribution of a category of private short- and long-run health costs of pandemics. As not all individuals have the same capacity to mitigate these costs, understanding the resulting inequalities is crucial to designing post-pandemic policies that can foster sustainable and inclusive growth.
COVID-19
Authors: Parent Geneviève
Published: May 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic is having major negative impacts on the current food systems. Some of its consequences on global food security include: (1) disruption in the global food supply chain; (2) decrease in household income; and (3) social inequities and movements restrictions affecting migrant farmworkers. However, COVID-19 is in fact highlighting a dramatic planetary health crisis caused largely by the lack of resilience and sustainability of the current food systems. This chapter advocates that a reform of food systems based on the improvement of the international legal order and the emergence of a networked and inclusive global governance are major avenues to avoid future pandemics and to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We argue that the reflection launched by United Nations’ Food Systems Summit in 2021 is an opportunity to move beyond the traditional rhetoric opposing the global food system and more territorialized food systems in order to trigger an effective reform of all food systems so that they become powerful drivers for planetary health.
Recovery for Physical Harm: The Case of Medical Malpractice
Authors: Bussani Mauro , Sebok Anthony J. , Infantino Marta
Published: May 2022

This chapter focuses on medical malpractice as one of the paradigm examples of liability for personal injury. In this field, all the systems studied in the book provide a roughly identical answer to the question of when and to whom the obligation is owed in the context of medical malpractice. But, as this chapter illustrates, beneath relatively similar outcomes lay deep theoretical disagreements about the foundation of liability as well as pragmatic adjustments in the rules of causation and the burden of proof. In this light, the chapter analyzes, in each jurisdiction, the role played by the state in providing medical services as well as compensation for medical injuries, whether medical liability is framed in contract or tort, and the rules governing how legal persons in the medical sector can be held vicariously liable for the injuries brought about by their employees or agents. The chapter further delves into the solutions provided to specific problems of malpractice in treatment and informed consent, analyzing to whom medical providers can be liable (with special regard to wrongful birth and wrongful life cases) and the standard of care required to fulfill their obligations.
Non-economic Damage and Primary Victims
Authors: Bussani Mauro , Sebok Anthony J. , Infantino Marta
Published: May 2022

This chapter focuses on recovery for non-economic damages (i.e., losses that have no easily calculable market value) claimed by primary victims. After clarifying how the divide between primary and secondary victims is to be traced in the five jurisdictions surveyed in the book, the chapter explores the approaches and rules adopted in these jurisdictions to claims brought by persons who have suffered non-economic damage after being directly injured, either physically or personally. The chapter not only investigates the rationales and techniques through which the legal systems under review restrict recovery for such claims, but also sheds light on the interplay between contractual and tort liability when non-economic damages are at stake, on the special rules applying to comatose and exceptionally fragile victims, and on the different methodologies adopted by courts to determine the size of awards for such losses.
Compensation for Pure Economic Loss
Authors: Bussani Mauro , Sebok Anthony J. , Infantino Marta
Published: May 2022

This chapter focuses on pure economic loss, that is, loss without accompanying harm to a plaintiff’s person or property. Pure economic loss is one of the most discussed topics of tort law scholarship, even though a number of legal systems (France, Italy) do not recognize the legal category and in others (German, England, the United States) it is often associated with a rule of no liability. The comparative analysis carried on in this chapter makes clear how the results generated by the courts show a discontinuity with the overarching tort theories and rationales generally adopted in the legal systems under review. After outlining the notion of “pure economic loss” and the factual situations where this loss is likely to occur, the chapter looks through comparative lenses at the spectrum of national approaches to this kind of damage, offering a focused analysis on the discrete ways of dealing with the issue. The final part of the chapter sets the outcomes of the comparative survey against the basic arguments for and against an exclusionary rule.
Products Liability
Authors: Bussani Mauro , Sebok Anthony J. , Infantino Marta
Published: May 2022

This chapter surveys the development of the products liability law in the United States and in Europe. In particular, it describes the history of products liability law in America, starting from the nineteenth century, and discusses the debates that followed the adoption by the American Law Institute in 1998 of the Restatement Third on Torts—Products Liability. The chapter then charts parallel developments in Europe, and explores how England, France, Italy, and Germany have dealt with products liability claims before and after the enactment of the European Union of the Product Liability Directive in 1985. The chapter tells more than a simple binary story of comparison; it rather tells a story of convergence and divergence on multiple points, taking products liability as one of the most valuable standpoints to understand the dynamics of historical and contemporary tort law developments.
What Is Sjögren’s?
Authors: Vivino Frederick B.
Published: May 2022

Sjögren’s is an autoimmune rheumatic disease that can affect the entire body. Commonly, Sjögren’s causes dry eyes, dry mouth, arthritis, and fatigue. It can also affect internal organs and body systems, such as the nervous system. It is characterized by lymphocytic infiltration (inflammation) of the exocrine (moisture producing) glands in association with the production of autoantibodies in the blood. Proper evaluation usually requires a battery of tests to look for objective evidence of dry eyes, objective evidence of dry mouth, and proof of autoimmune disease processes. A correct diagnosis will facilitate more comprehensive treatment in order to help individuals avoid costly and devastating medical and dental complications. Patients should be monitored regularly for potential, serious complications.
Sjögren’s and the Immune System
Authors: Fox Robert I. , Carsons Steven E.
Published: May 2022

Sjögren’s disease is an autoimmune disorder in which environmental, genetic, and hormonal factors result in the disruption of the body’s innate and acquired immune systems. The activation of interferon, the presence of autoantibodies such as anti-SSA and anti-SSB, and dietary factors promote the release of inflammatory factors; this in turn produces the release of immune complexes that, when deposited in the patient’s tissue, lead to damage. Most of the damage produced by Sjögren’s disease reflects glandular disease, but approximately 10% of patients with Sjögren’s have extraglandular manifestations of the disease. Future interventions are expected to address defects in these pathways.
Diagnostic and Classification Criteria for Sjögren’s
Authors: Makara Matthew
Published: May 2022

The process of diagnosing a patient with Sjögren’s can differ depending on whether the diagnosis is being made for ongoing management in a physician’s office or for participation in a clinical trial. For the former, the diagnostic criteria are much looser and include the expert opinion of the diagnosing physician. For the latter, official, validated classification criteria are used, which are much more stringent. This chapter will discuss both diagnostic and classification criteria for Sjögren’s, including key differences and why and how they are used in clinical and research settings. The criteria rely upon certain biopsy findings, biomarkers, and exclusion of other related conditions and similar presenting disorders. Using the criteria allows for a more precise understanding of Sjögren’s epidemiology and provides a way to ensure uniformity in clinical trials.
Assessing the Salivary Gland Component in Sjögren’s
Authors: Jonsson Malin V. , Skarstein Kathrine , Baldini Chiara
Published: May 2022

The combination of imaging of salivary gland tissue and analysis of biopsy samples provides an optimal diagnostic tool for Sjögren’s disease. These techniques enable the treating physician to rule out lymphoma, infection, and other inflammatory or infiltrative processes. The clinician can use various imaging, biopsy, and scoring systems to rate the degree of disease involvement. Obtaining serial measurements can be used to assess the patient’s response to treatment and the degree of disease reversibility. Only a small percentage of patients with Sjögren’s disease undergo these studies, however, and the discussion offered in this chapter provides a rationale for their use.
Management of Dry Mouth in Sjögren’s
Authors: Sankar Vidya
Published: May 2022

Salivary dysfunction and a feeling of dryness of the mouth (xerostomia) are common characteristics in patients with Sjögren’s. Saliva serves many functions, and salivary dysfunction is associated with an increased risk of dental caries as well as a host of difficulties with the protective features of the oral cavity. Symptomatic and supportive care should include good oral hygiene, proper dietary control, and the use of saliva substitutes, fluoride, and a sialogogue. This chapter will review the role of saliva and treatments that are currently available and discusses ways to maximize the potential benefit of products the patients is either currently using or may have given up on due to improper use or understanding of what the product is intended to do.
Management of Peripheral Nervous System Complications in Sjögren’s
Authors: Mahajan Shalini , Wallace Daniel J.
Published: May 2022

Sjögren’s disease can affect the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems. Peripheral neuropathy, which is more common than central nervous system complications, may include sensory polyneuropathy, sensorimotor polyneuropathy, small fiber neuropathy, sensory ganglionopathy, or cranial neuropathies. Autonomic dysfunction may be characterized by feelings of lightheadedness, dizziness, changes in blood pressure, sweating abnormalities, and more. When managing these conditions, a three-pronged approach may be considered that includes treating the underlying pathophysiology and providing symptomatic and supportive treatments.
Management of Vasculitis in Sjögren’s
Authors: Noaiseh Ghaith
Published: May 2022

Vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels) can affect large, medium, or small vessels. The narrowing and/or complete occlusion of blood vessels causes decreased blood flow, ischemia, and damage to the supplied tissue, leading to a wide variety of symptoms. The most commonly involved organs include the skin and peripheral nerves. Symptoms can vary widely from mild to severe and life-threatening. Treatment is tailored to the specific clinical syndrome caused by vasculitis. In general, the presence of vasculitis in Sjögren’s patients denotes a more severe disease and requires careful monitoring to allow early identification and treatment of complications, including lymphoma and severe extraglandular manifestations.
Management of Kidney-Associated Involvement in Sjögren’s
Authors: Wallace Daniel J.
Published: May 2022

Renal involvement is clinically evident in about 10% of patients with Sjögren’s. The prevalence in Sjögren’s ranges from 5% to 15%, but with sophisticated studies that detect mild abnormalities it averages 27%. The most common kidney problem in patients with Sjögren’s is inflammation of the tissue around the kidney filters (interstitial nephritis). Interstitial nephritis is found early in the disease and has a benign course. It generally causes mild deterioration in kidney function, manifested as a mild elevation in the plasma creatinine concentration. This usually requires no treatment, and progression to end-stage renal disease is rare. Some patients develop renal tubular acidosis and kidney stones. Fewer individuals have inflammation of the glomerulus, and many have features that overlap with other autoimmune disorders. These patients warrant more aggressive management. All Sjögren’s patients should have their renal function assessed with a urinalysis.
Vitamin D and Sjögren’s
Authors: Wilson Jeffrey W.
Published: May 2022

For the Sjögren’s patient, as with the general patient population, vitamin D is increasingly important. Low vitamin D levels are associated with increased immune activation and decreased bone mineralization. In addition to its role in treating osteoporosis with special consideration for Sjögren’s patients taking corticosteroids or with associated autoimmune liver disease (primary biliary cirrhosis), vitamin D is also mentioned as a possible treatment for the arthralgias and fatigue seen so commonly in Sjögren’s patients. Studies of the role of vitamin D in Sjögren’s are few in number and generally lacking in quality. Nevertheless, vitamin D levels should be measured as indicated, and supplementation has no real downside. A well-balanced diet is also an important component of bone health.
Enhancing Resilience Through Mind–Body Interactions
Authors: Baim Margaret
Published: May 2022

This chapter explores how stress works within the body and reviews findings from the new science of mind–body medicine. Stress can come from many sources for Sjögren’s patients, whether from the biological inflammation that accompanies the disease, or from the multiple symptoms and their repercussions (including dryness, pain, fatigue, and sexual dysfunction), or from the fear of potential complications, such as developing cancer or having a baby with heart block. Stress is also exacerbated by the need to make lifestyle changes brought on by Sjögren’s and the not-always-helpful expectations and reactions from family, friends, and colleagues. Although stress leads to negative feelings such as worry, fear, sadness, and frustration, it can also prompt us to heal and develop greater resilience. Meditation and cognitive strategies to ease anxieties and stress and focus on more positive feelings and perspectives can be valuable tools.
Recent and Promising Scientific Developments
Authors: Carsons Steven E. , Singh Mabi , McNamara Nancy , Hammitt Katherine M.
Published: May 2022

After many years with little forward movement in Sjögren’s, promising approaches to disease management are on the horizon, including biomarker discoveries, new metrics to assess disease activity, and advanced imaging technologies. Some of the areas being explored are the microbiome, the role of innate immunity and the interferon pathway (with the imminent approval of anti-interferon agents), checkpoint inhibitors, new T- and B-cell therapies, as well as small interfering RNA modulators. Therapeutic targets that affect the B-cell activating factor (BAFF) are being studied by oral medicine experts along with gene therapies. Further insights elucidating what damages the ocular surface, especially from a peripheral nerve terminal standpoint, will have translational consequences. The Sjögren’s Foundation Clinical Trials Consortium has been working with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to make the disease a major focus in clinical investigation.
A Latent Legacy: France
Authors: Spalding Andrew
Published: May 2022

As the country prepares to host the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, France presents perhaps the biggest, but still unrecognized and untapped, human rights and anti-corruption legacy opportunity. In 2017, three extraordinary events occurred. First, a landmark anti-corruption law called Sapin II, and a cutting-edge corporate human rights statute called the Duty of Vigilance Law, went into effect. Second, this country, already awash in a wave of domestic anti-corruption and human rights reforms, won the rights to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. Third, the IOC amended its host city contract to impose, for the first time in history, anti-corruption and human rights obligations on the host country. This is a legacy opportunity if ever there were. However, while France’s legacy opportunity is large, it remains latent. At press time, France had not yet embraced the concept that hosting the Olympic Games could accelerate the implementation of their new laws and practices. Nor has the International Olympic Committee yet recognized the opportunity that France presents. France thus highlights both the opportunity that megasports now provide, and the need for various stakeholders to recognize and support the concept of a human rights and anti-corruption legacy if such an opportunity is to be realized. If France were to embrace this opportunity, France’s legacy would build upon Qatar’s precedent. France thus presents the first chance to implement a proactive, intentional, and two-dimensional legacy.
From Reforms To Legacies
Authors: Spalding Andrew
Published: May 2022

After the foundation of host-city/country human rights and anti-corruption obligations and expectations is set, the host entities will adopt a variety of measures. That such measures should prevent human rights or corruption violations is a truism. But how do preventative measure produce legacies? How does a host, either wittingly or not, leave a legacy of heightened human rights and anti-corruption norms, practices, policies, or laws? This chapter uses flow charts, and examples drawn from empirical research, to explain how the human rights and anti-corruption measures that various host-city/country actors might adopt can produce various kinds of legacies. Much of this model was developed in the course of a two-year research grant from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that included several group brainstorming sessions with IOC personnel. For this reason, the model is based primarily on the Olympic Games. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how the model would translate into the FIFA World Cup context.
Introduction
Authors: Kelly Piers
Published: May 2022

This chapter outlines a hypothesis that the Eskayan language and script were the result of intentional creative effort that took place within a single generation. A product of systematic engineering, the new language was a radical and deliberate departure from Boholano-Visayan, the principal language spoken on the island of Bohol. The chapter sets out a succinct agenda for addressing this hypothesis through the application of historical, linguistic, and ethnographic methods, giving a brief summary of the book as a whole. Central to this investigation are the ancestral creator Pinay, who is credited with inventing the language in prehispanic times, and Mariano Datahan, his charismatic twentieth-century spokesman. The chapter draws attention to the language and literacy ideologies that can be imputed to Pinay, and how it was that his language came to undergird Datahan’s anticolonial political project. The guiding concept of mimicry-and-rejection, and the dynamics of strategic evasion, held to be typical of ‘Zomia’ are introduced.