bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The House of the Brazilian Woman: impacts of a cross-sectoral public health policy for abused women
Authors: Almeida J , Rocha R , Signorelli M , Silva V , Prado S , Evans D
Published: October 2020

Issue

Violence against women is a serious public health concern in Brazil; the country ranks 5th globally for femicide and has high rates of intimate partner violence. In response, a national policy created the House of the Brazilian Woman (HBW). HBWs aimed at caring for abused women, are staffed 24/7 with multi-disciplinary teams; cross-sectoral services include: psychosocial support; healthcare; specialized police; courts; public attorney's offices; temporary shelter; and access to financial support.

Description of the Problem

The purpose of this study was to characterize the preliminary impacts of the HBW of Curitiba. Based on mixed-methods participatory action-research, data were collected between 2018-2020. We present quantitative measures describing the individuals served and a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with HBW staff.

Results

Since its opening, in 2016, the HBW of Curitiba has served around 50,000 users, including women and perpetrators. The most prevalent type of violence reported was psychological (67%, n = 14,343), followed by physical (25.8%, n = 5,531), economic (5.2%, n = 1,104) and sexual (2%, n = 428). Positive qualitative impacts perceived by staff were: 1) improved women's empowerment; 2) the importance of centralized resources; 3) acting as a support to ensure existing legal protections. The main challenges were: 1) high demand; 2) discontinuous care; 3) negative impacts on staff's health.

Lessons

The HBW of Curitiba is a key cross-sectoral service for abused women, part of a greater national policy to prevent violence and support women. Despite serving a large number of women in a short period of time challenges remain including integration with other parts of the network and considerations of staff burnout.

Key messages

Effective cross-sectoral policies for abused women are paramount for comprehensive women’s health. Having cross-sectoral services in just one place operating 24/7 has high impact for abused women.
Telemedicine system for improving maternal and neonatal health: an interventional trial in Tanzania
Authors: Incerti F , Paduano S , Borsari L , Perrone F A , Benski C , Stancanelli G , Borella P
Published: October 2020

Background

In Tanzania, maternal and neonatal mortality is still high, mainly due to poor quality of Antenatal Care (ANC) and Post Natal Care (PNC) services. PANDA (Pregnancy And Newborn Diagnostic Assessment) is a telemedicine system that uses mobile technology to perform adequate ANC/PNC visits according to WHO recommendations. Two pilot studies showed that PANDA is efficient in providing high-quality ANC and facilitating the continuity of care for underserved communities.

This project aims at testing the impact of PANDA in Tanzania for improving the adherence to both ANC and PNC WHO protocols.

Methods

This case-control study is conducted in two different areas of the Mufindi district, Tanzania. The PANDA system includes: - solar backpack containing instrumentation for communicable and non-communicable diseases screening; smartphone with an icon-based application, including 5 modules: socio-demographic information, medical history, clinical screening, health education and birth plan, postnatal care;hospital database with the data collected during the visits.

Results

At present, 405 women (1,066 ANC visits) were recruited in the implementation site and 200 in the control site. The preliminary results show that 60% of women attended ≥ 2 ANC visits in the implementation site. In this area, 52 women were found positive for HIV and 4 for syphilis. Data collection in both the sites is ongoing.

Conclusions

PANDA system allows the creation of electronic patient records and the identification of the high-risk pregnancies. The collection of population data is useful for health planning policies. The easy-to-use and easy-to-understand graphic interface overcomes language and literacy barriers and facilitates comprehension of women and compliance to visits. This can improve the quality of ANC/PNC services with an expected reduction in maternal and neonatal mortality.

Key messages

PANDA system increases access to high-quality ANC for pregnant women in low-income countries, improving the adherence to WHO recommendations. The telemedicine system PANDA is a useful tool for public health policy-makers, as it allows the collection of previously unavailable population data.
Identifying geographical heterogeneity of under-five child nutritional status in districts of India
Authors: Biswas M
Published: October 2020

The nutritional status of under-five children often cited as a sensitive indicator of household living standards as well as the economic condition and also an important determinant of child survival. Despite India has already achieved remarkable progress in reducing child malnutrition, progress toward reducing the number of malnourished children has been sluggish. improvements in nutrition still represent a massive unfinished agenda. The objective of this study identified the place-specific spatial dependencies and heterogeneities in the associations between socioeconomic and demographic factors and nutritional status among under-five children in India. The study used a geocoded database from the fourth wave of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4 2015-16) data for 640 districts. The dependent variables were stunting, wasting and underweight. Moran's I and univariate LISA were used to confirm the spatial autocorrelation and clustering of nutritional status. Multivariate Ordinary least square (OLS), Geographically weighted regression (GWR), spatial (lag/error) models were employed to decrypt the determinants of under-five nutritional status. Overall, the prevalence and spatial clustering (Moran's I statistics) of stunting, wasting and underweight were 38% (0.634), 21% (0.488) and 36% (0.721), respectively. GWR results disclosed that the relationships between the outcomes and its covariates were significantly place-specific and spatially clustering in terms of their respective magnitude, direction and strength. Regarding model performance and prediction accuracy, GWR better fits compared to traditional OLS models. The findings of the present study identified district-level nutritional conditions (hotspots) in India, where children are under severe risk of malnutrition can help health professionals, planners and policymakers in designing and implementing effective place-specific health policies to improve district-level under-five nutrition status in India.

Key messages

To identify the place-specific spatial dependencies and heterogeneities in the associations between socio-economic and demographic factors and nutritional status among under-five children in India. This study helps health professionals, planners and policymakers in designing and implementing effective place-specific health policies to improve district-level under-five nutrition status in India.
Trends in breastfeeding rates in Portugal: results from five National Health Interview Surveys
Authors: Kislaya I , Braz P , Dias C M , Loureiro I
Published: October 2020

Background

The World Health Organization advice breast milk as the perfect food for the newborn starting immediately after birth and exclusively up to at least 6 months of age. However, there are considerable differences in breastfeeding rates between countries related to their policies on breastfeeding promotion and duration of maternity leave. This study aims to describe changes in breastfeeding rates over time in Portugal as a way to inform social policies and public health initiatives on breastfeeding.

Methods

To examine the breastfeeding rates evolution we used data from five National Health Surveys. Breastfeeding was assessed based on information provided by the mothers of children born between 1982 and 2014. Birth cohorts were grouped in block of 3-year period. We estimated 3 and 6-months exclusive breastfeeding rates and 95% confidence intervals. Trends in breastfeeding rates for each outcome were assessed by linear regression weighting each cohort-specific estimate by the inverse of variance in the logit scale.

Results

We analyzed data on 9172 children; sample size by birth cohort ranged from 213 in 2012/14 to 1651 in 1994/96. Proportion of infants ever breastfed during the study period varied between 71.7% and 86.7%. The 3 months exclusive breastfeeding rate increased by 9.5% (CI95%:7.8-11.3%) per 3-year period, from 41.3% (CI95%:38.7-43.9%) in 1982/84 to 62.4% (CI95%:55.7-68.7%) in 2012/14. The 6 months exclusive breastfeeding rate raised up from 23.5% (CI 95%:21.2-25.7%) in 1982/84 to 31.9% (CI95%:26.0-38.5%) in 2012/14, corresponding to 5.6% increase per 3-year period.

Conclusions

This study shows a positive evolution in breastfeeding practices, with an increased in the prevalence of women who reported exclusively breastfeeding until the 3rd and 6th month after birth. Our results may be explained by changes in maternity leave duration. Furthermore, the results emphasize the need for further investment in breastfeeding support services and professionalś training.

Key messages

Positive evolution in breastfeeding practices in Portugal. Maternity leave duration could have a positive role.
Support to responsive parenting through communication tools
Authors: Jankovic S , Matijevic D , Grujicic A , Markovic M , Stefanovic N , Kovacevic N , Tamburkovski G
Published: October 2020

Issue

Counselling unit for positive parenting “Halobeba” has been established at Institute of Public Health of Belgrade with support of UNICEF in order to enable continuum of mother and child health care. Availability of information on child care and development was noticed as significant factor for parental confidence and practice.

Description of the problem

Trained nurses provide responses to parental questions through 24/7 phone and e mail communication to assist in problem solving and offer emotional support. Nurses are skilled in active listening, proper questioning, counselling and effective encouragement. Free mob app on breastfeeding was developed as knowledge base for parents. New interactive mob app was recently launched as parenting tool for child health and development monitoring.

Results

Since 2002, more than 1,700,000 responses were provided through phone communication and over 20,000 via email and number of beneficiaries has increased over the years. Most common topics were about breastfeeding, introducing solid food, treatment of fever and respiratory infections, gastrointestinal problems, injuries, immunization, and developmental milestones. Less than 15% of cases were referred to pediatric clinic. Level of parental overall satisfaction was very high and availability and effectiveness of service were especially valued as well as nurses communication skills.

Lessons

Family centered service that corresponds to caregivers needs is effective approach to support nurturing care for young children. Personalized M-health tools make child care more accessible and build capacities of caregivers.

Key messages

Sending consistent and trusted messages through different communication channels contribute to enhancing users' knowledge and skills. Knowledgeable and responsive caregivers properly interpret child’s needs, respond appropriately, facilitate the child’s social and emotional development, and provide proper care.
Evaluating a child-rearing family friendly community from user’s aspect in Japan
Authors: Osawa E , Ichikawa M , Ochi M , Mine T , Otaga M
Published: October 2020

Backgrounds

In Japan, some parents with an infant have limited network with others and are feeling anxious and less confident about their child rearing. Many measures for promoting a child-rearing family friendly community are implemented to promote families' healthy development in communities. However, a situation surrounding child-rearing in a community is diverse. The aim of this study is to examine possible indices to monitor and evaluate child-rearing family friendly community.

Methods

This was a cross sectional study with using two kinds of data in one city in Japan. The first one was public data providing information about physical environment related to child-rearing of each community. The second data was on questionnaire answered by a parent of infants from 3 months to 48 months through 2013 to 2019. We merged two kinds of data and examined the association between environment and parents' willingness to raise up children in their community (4 scales) by mixed effect regression model stratified by age of months (under 1 year, 1- and 2-years and 3-years).

Results

Targets of analysis included 2,952 parents of infant under 1 year, 2,342 of 1- and 2-years and 1,977 of 3-year. For parents of infant of 1- and 2-years and 3-years, the closer a child-rearing support center was, the bigger the willingness to raise up a child in their community (β[95%CI]:-0.007[-0.014-/-0.0004], -0.007[-0.012/-0.002, respectively). Also, for parents of 1- and 2-years infant, the closer the park was, the bigger the willingness (-0.014[-0.028/-0.0008]). On the other hand, for parents of infant under 1 year, environment was not statistically significant on their willingness.

Conclusions

It was indicated that user's easiness to visit a consulting space or playing place such as a child-rearing support center or a park become one of indicators for evaluating child-rearing family friendly community in Japan.

Key messages

Child-rearing family friendly environment in a community should be evaluated from the user’s aspect. Further studies including evaluation quality of places or services are needed.
Creation and validation of a questionnaire to assess pre-conceptional health needs of women in Italy
Authors: Orfino A , Zace D , Viteritti A M , de Waure C , Di Pietro M L
Published: October 2020

Background

Pre-conceptional health refers to women's conditions before pregnancy. Women's knowledge, behavior and lifestyle in this period greatly influence the health of the future mother and child. This study aimed at creating and validating a questionnaire to describe the knowledge, behaviors, health status and access to healthcare services of young women of childbearing age in Italy.

Methods

A systematic literature review on Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science was conducted to collect the relevant information for the questionnaire's construction. Based on the review's results, a first draft of the questionnaire was developed and, then, submitted to a panel of experts for validation through the Delphi Procedure. Twenty-one multidisciplinary experts reviewed the items for content, applicability, and rated each item in terms of validity and relevance by indicating a value from 1 to 5 on a Likert scale. Cronbach's Alpha and Internal Validity Index were calculated to verify the internal reliability and validity of content.

Results

After the screening process, thirty-one articles were included in the systematic review. The main results concerned knowledge on pre-conceptional health, physical, mental and social health, nutritional status, lifestyle and access to healthcare services. The first draft of the questionnaire, submitted to the experts' panel for consensus, consisted of 89 items and 13 sections. Consensus was reached after two rounds of Delphi Procedure. The final version of the questionnaire consisted of 88 items and 10 sections, reporting a Cronbach's Alpha of 0.99 and an Internal Validity Index of 0.93.

Conclusions

The questionnaire developed in this study is a valid tool to identify the pre-conceptional health needs of young women. The results may be used by policy makers and various guidelines concerning pre-conceptional health and for the implementation of personalized interventions, aimed to improve the health of this population.

Key messages

Women’s knowledge, behaviours and lifestyle in the pre-conceptional period greatly influence the health of the future mother and child. This study reports the process of creation of a questionnaire which is proved to be a valid tool to identify the pre-conceptional health needs of young women of childbearing age in Italy.
Outpatient follow-up of high-risk babies at Lapa Specialized Rehabilitation Center (SRC)
Authors: Stoever I , Alpius A , Stoever C S , Dias S E , Soares R S
Published: October 2020

Background

The Brazilian Ministry of Health has published, in 2012, the MS/GM Ordinance No. 793/12, establishing a Disability Care Network in order to extend access to people with temporary or permanent disabilities (progressive or stable, intermittent or continuous), to qualify the service care, to articulate and integrate the health services (from basic to specialized and hospital care) in such a way to guarantee an integrality care for these disabled people. The State and Municipal Health Departments of São Paulo have legitimized the guidelines with promotion, protection, prevention, monitoring, treatment and rehabilitation actions, providing, according to the principle of equity, greater emphasis on families with greater difficulty of access to health services due to issues of social vulnerability. Child health care is an essential task for health promotion, prevention of illness and identification of neuropsychomotor developmental delays by monitoring child development in the early years of life. As a consequence of low referral of high-risk babies to the Outpatient Care Plan established by SRC Lapa, the following consequences are expected: increase in children with physical, sensory, intellectual, social, emotional, speech and/or language disabilities.

Objective

To qualify the referral of high-risk babies to capacitate primary health care professionals (PHC) to identify them.

Methods

matrix support and permanent education meetings for PHC professionals in the Lapa region.

Results

After the proposed intervention, there was a significant increase in the number of at-risk infants referred to the outpatient clinic.

Conclusions

An integral and articulated care between the services of basic and specialized care of the Health Care Network made it possible to achieve greater functionality for children who presented some disability, thus allowing a future with more autonomy and social inclusion.

Key message

Prevention of diseases of at-risk babies an innovative technology in developing countries.
Food diversification: a retrospective survey over fifteen years in Monastir Tunisia
Authors: Bannour R , Ben Nasrallah C , Abroug H , Zemni I , Ben Fradj M , Kacem M , Sriha A
Published: October 2020

Introduction

Diversification is the transition phase between exclusive breastfeeding and adult-style feeding, taken independently by the child. Breast milk covers the nutritional needs of infants during the first months of life. With a view to prevention, in particular allergy and optimization of nutritional intake, food diversification is ideally undertaken between the 4th and 6th month. The age at which food is introduced can naturally vary depending on family cultural traditions. The objective of this work is to research the factors associated with the conduct of food diversification.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in the governorate of Monastir, including mothers consulting 6 dispensaries for the monitoring of their children. the collected data concerned their medical history, the course of pregnancy, breastfeeding and the age of food diversification. The relationships between the various diversification risk factors were analyzed using SPSS software.

Results

In total,1906 infants were included in our study. The delivery method was vaginal in 81.1% of cases, cesarean section in 17.7% and forceps in 1.1% of cases. The average of birth weight was 3338 ± 522.7 grams. The duration of breastfeeding was in average 3.65 months with extremes ranging from zero days to 24 months. The mean age of food diversification was 4.31 months with extremes ranging from 0 days to 24 months. The first food introduced was fruits, then vegetables. The family dish was introduced on average at the age of 10.28 months. There was no significant difference between mode of delivery, birth weight and age of food diversification.

Conclusions

Information efforts on infant feeding are necessary by focusing on simple messages must be used. This advice must be adapted to the child's family (place in the siblings, eating habits and resources) and to the child himself (taste, appetite).

Key messages

Information efforts on infant feeding are necessary by focusing on simple messages must be used The first food introduced was fruits, then vegetables.
Discussing weight loss opportunistically and effectively in family practice: a qualitative study of clinical interactions using conversation analysis in UK family practice
Authors: Albury Charlotte V A , Ziebland Sue , Webb Helena , Stokoe Elizabeth , Aveyard Paul
Published: October 2020

Background

GPs are encouraged to make brief interventions to support weight loss, but they report concern about these conversations, stating that they need more details on what to say. Knowing how engage in these conversations could encourage GPs to deliver brief interventions for weight loss more frequently.

Objective

To examine which specific words and phrases were successful in achieving conversational alignment and minimizing misunderstanding, contributing to effective interventions.

Methods

A conversation analysis of English family practice patients participating in a trial of opportunistic weight-management interventions, which incorporated the offer of referral to community weight-management services (CWMS). Qualitative conversation analysis was applied to 246 consultation recordings to identify communication patterns, which contributed to clear, efficient interventions.

Results

Analysis showed variation in how GPs delivered interventions. Some ways of talking created misunderstandings or misalignment, while others avoided these. There were five components of clear and efficient opportunistic weight-management referrals. These were (i) exemplifying CWMS with a recognizable brand name (ii) saying weight-management ‘programme’ or ‘service’, rather than ‘group’ or ‘club’ (iii) stating that the referral is ‘free’ early on (iv) saying the number CWMS visits available on referral (v) stating that the CWMS programme available was ‘local’.

Conclusions

When making a brief opportunistic intervention to support weight loss, clinicians can follow these five steps to create a smooth and efficient intervention. Knowing this may allay clinicians’ fears about these consultations being awkward and improve adherence to guidelines.
Social capital, resilience, and regional diversification in Italy
Authors: Antonietti Roberto , Boschma Ron
Published: October 2020

This article investigates the role of social capital for the entry and exit of industries in Italian provinces between 2004 and 2010. Results show that bridging social capital positively contributes to the net entry of new industries, especially when they are unrelated to existing specializations in a region, but it loses its impact on regional diversification during the economic crisis. Bonding social capital, instead, makes regions resilient in times of crisis, by reducing the probability of exit of industries. However, bonding social capital is also bad for regional resilience, as it keeps on having a negative impact on the entry of new industries in regions during an economic downturn.
Some like it hot, hungry tunas do not! Implications of temperature and plankton food web dynamics on growth and diet of tropical tuna larvae
Authors: Gleiber Miram R , Sponaugle Su , Cowen Robert K
Published: October 2020

Restricted to low-productivity environments near their thermal maxima, larval tunas may be threatened by warming global temperatures, yet our understanding of how they are constrained is limited. We examined blackfin tuna (Thunnus atlanticus, presumptive) diet and growth in the context of their prey and predators in the Straits of Florida in 2 years with contrasting summer conditions: low temperature (26.7–28.3°C)–high prey and high temperature (28.4–29.0°C)–low prey. In the cooler, high-prey conditions, larvae had 30% faster growth (0.45 mm d−1), fuller guts from predominantly feeding on calanoid copepods, and were 10× more abundant, dominating the larval fish assemblage. In contrast, in warm, low-prey conditions fewer, younger, and slower-growing (0.35 mm d−1) T. atlanticus fed predominantly on nauplii and had less full guts. Modelling individual growth across years revealed that growth peaked at an optimum of 28.5°C (5°C below known thermal maxima in the field) and high densities of predators selectively consumed slower-growing larvae. Low-prey availability may reduce the thermal optima of larvae, as growth and survival are diminished when low prey and high temperature coincide. Our results illustrate the importance of considering food web dynamics with temperature when predicting the response of organisms to ecosystem variability, particularly ongoing climate change.
Effect of aortic cross-clamp time on late survival after isolated aortic valve replacement
Authors: Swinkels Ben M , ten Berg Jurriën M , Kelder Johannes C , Vermeulen Freddy E , Van Boven Wim Jan , de Mol Bas A
Published: October 2020

OBJECTIVES

Longer aortic cross-clamp (ACC) time is associated with decreased early survival after cardiac surgery. Because maximum follow-up in previous studies on this subject is confined to 28 months, it is unknown whether this adverse effect is sustained far beyond this term. We aimed to determine whether longer ACC time was independently associated with decreased late survival after isolated aortic valve replacement in patients with severe aortic stenosis during 25 years of follow-up.

METHODS

In this retrospective cohort study, multivariable analysis was performed to identify possible independent predictors of decreased late survival, including ACC and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time, in a cohort of 456 consecutive patients with severe aortic stenosis, who had undergone isolated aortic valve replacement between 1990 and 1993.

RESULTS

Mean follow-up was 25.3 ± 2.7 years. Median (interquartile range) and mean ACC times were normal: 63.0 (20.0) and 64.2 ± 16.1 min, respectively. Age, operative risk scores and New York Heart Association class were similar in patients with ACC time above, versus those with ACC time below the median. Longer ACC time was independently associated with decreased late survival: hazards ratio (HR) 1.01 per minute increase of ACC time (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00–1.02; P = 0.012). Longer CPB time was not associated with decreased late survival (HR 1.00 per minute increase of CPB time [95% CI 1.00–1.00; P = 0.30]).

CONCLUSIONS

Longer ACC time, although still within normal limits, was independently associated with decreased late survival after isolated aortic valve replacement in patients with severe aortic stenosis.
Burn Prevention in the Elderly: Identifying Age and Gender Differences in Consumer Products Associated With Burn Injuries
Authors: Sen Soman , Romanowski Kathleen , Miotke Sam , Palmieri Tina , Greenhalgh David
Published: October 2020

Elderly suffer worse outcomes from burns; thus, it is important to identify the causes of burns in the elderly to develop burn prevention campaigns. We performed a 10-year review of burns that were registered in the NEISS database. We included patients at least 65 years old and analyzed the top five products that caused burn injury. In adults 65 to 74 years old, hot water was the most common cause of burns. Women suffered more burns by candles and cookware. Heaters/heating systems and gasoline were among the top five causes of burns in only men. For the age group 75 to 84 years old, the most common burn was from hot water in women and gasoline in men. For women, the top five included candles, nightwear, and cookware. Only men suffered gasoline burns. The majority of daywear, home/room fire, and ranges/ovens caused burns occurred in men. The majority of burns from hot water, ranges/ovens, electric heating pads, and bathtubs/showers occurred in women. For men, burns from gasoline, structural fires, and heaters are more prevalent. This data can be used to develop age- and gender-specific prevention campaigns to reduce the risk of burn injury.
Discriminating Between GARCH Models for Option Pricing by Their Ability to Compute Accurate VIX Measures
Authors: Chorro Christophe , Fanirisoa Zazaravaka Rahantamialisoa H
Published: October 2020

In this article, we discuss the pricing performances of a large collection of GARCH models by questioning the global synergy between the choice of the affine/nonaffine GARCH specification, the use of competing alternatives to the Gaussian distribution, the selection of an appropriate pricing kernel, and the choice of different estimation strategies based on several sets of financial information. Furthermore, the study answers an important question in relation to the correlation between the performance of a pricing scheme and its ability to forecast VIX dynamics. VIX analysis clearly appears as a parsimonious first-stage filter to discard the worst GARCH option pricing models.
Transnational Public Policy in International Arbitration
Authors: Brekoulakis Stavros
Published: October 2020

This chapter focuses on the role of transnational public policy in international arbitration. Public policy is a key concept for international arbitration because it has provided the underpinning foundations for the development of theories on transnational autonomy of arbitration. Moreover, it is enshrined in the 1958 New York Convention for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards as well as almost all national laws as a ground to resist enforcement of arbitral awards. The chapter then traces the historical evolution of transnational public policy and provides an overview of its legal function and rules and principles. The clear distinction between legal and non-legal conceptions of transnational public policy matters because it has important implications on the judicial function of tribunals in international arbitration.
Human Rights and International Investment Arbitration
Authors: Kriebaum Ursula
Published: October 2020

This chapter assesses the role of human rights in international investment arbitration. The treatment of human rights issues by investment tribunals has received increased attention in recent years, especially from the academic world. This is particularly so because tribunals have adopted varying approaches when confronted with human rights-based arguments. Some have responded in a negative way, declining to exercise jurisdiction when human rights were concerned. Others declined to discuss human rights arguments, noting that investment protection provisions were more favourable to investors than human rights law. Others applied human rights law where it composed part of the applicable law by virtue of the host State being a party to a human rights treaty. And some, when interpreting investment protection treaties, drew inspiration from approaches used by human rights courts, despite the decisive human rights treaty not being in force in the host state in the case at hand. The chapter then reflects upon the requirements for the application of human rights law in investment disputes.
The Control over Knowledge by International Courts and Arbitral Tribunals
Authors: d’Aspremont Jean
Published: October 2020

This chapter examines international courts and arbitral tribunals as bureaucratic bodies controlling the social reality created by the definitional categories of international law. In performing their wide variety of functions, international courts and arbitral tribunals not only make use of the social reality created by international law but also exert control over it. This control over the social reality created by the definitional categories of international law is approached as a form of control over knowledge and, it is argued, constitutes a feature of bureaucratic processes. In contending that international courts and arbitral tribunals control knowledge in this way, the chapter projects an image of international dispute resolution processes as bureaucratic sites of the exercise of power. The chapter then identifies the type of knowledge that falls within the ambit of the control of international courts and arbitral tribunals, as well as the modes of control they use to control knowledge.
The Arbitral Legal Order
Authors: Gaillard Emmanuel
Published: October 2020

This chapter focuses on the three representations of international arbitration, which attempt to explain which state, or states, provides the relevant source of legitimacy and validity for the arbitration agreement, the arbitral process, and the ensuing award. Under the first representation, the source of legitimacy and validity of arbitration lies in a single national order, that of the seat of the arbitration. The second representation anchors international arbitration in a plurality of national legal orders where recognition or enforcement of an award is sought. Finally, the third representation recognizes an autonomous character to international arbitration, viewed as having generated an authentic and independent legal order: the arbitral legal order. The chapter then explains the basic principles underlying each of the three representations of international arbitration, as well as the consequences of each. It also analyses the evolution of the rules governing the conduct of the arbitral proceeding and the rules applicable to the merits of the dispute from a monolocal view to a transnational view. Despite attempts to deny the existence or convenience of an arbitral legal order, its existence as a transnational legal order—autonomous from all national legal orders—is being increasingly acknowledged.
Epistemic Communities in International Arbitration
Authors: Bianchi Andrea
Published: October 2020

This chapter looks at epistemic communities in international arbitration. Epistemic communities are an explanatory key to classifying and understanding the behaviour of different groups of professionals operating in this area of the law. They are used to understand how ideas and their underlying values are formed and circulated in the field of international arbitration, and to show how the boundaries of this legal regime are designed, how knowledge is formed within the field, and how the varying perception by their members of their role as arbitrators may affect their practice. As such, epistemic communities may provide a new lens through which one can productively look at the operation of international dispute settlement mechanisms, and may even help determine why different types of adjudicators seem to come from different planets. The chapter then argues that international arbitrators should take no offence at epistemic communities having become a common way of looking at them as a group. If not the ultimate evidence of moral probity, membership in an ‘epistemic community’ certainly attests to a higher degree of respectability and acceptance by contemporary social standards.
Arbitration in its Psychological Context
Authors: Cole Tony , Ortolani Pietro , Wright Sean
Published: October 2020

This concluding chapter presents a program for a more ‘contextual’ approach to the application of psychology to arbitration than has been adopted within arbitration scholarship thus far. It specifically examines the area of Contextual Behavioral Science (CBS), which focuses on the ‘act in context’, treating behaviour as inseparable from the circumstances that surround it. Such a context-sensitive approach allows new light to be shed on the psychology of arbitration, while also unifying the existing literature within a new epistemic framework that offers the advantage of not only predicting but also of potentially influencing the behaviour of interest in arbitration. While psychology can be applied to arbitration in many ways, the chapter focuses on arbitrator reasoning. It addresses the professional context of arbitration, scrutinizing how individual conceptions of the role of the arbitrator can influence reasoning. The chapter also considers the social context of arbitration, analysing the relations between the hierarchical character of the arbitration community and the existence of cognitive biases.
The ominous fate of exomoons around hot Jupiters in the high-eccentricity migration scenario
Authors: Trani Alessandro A , Hamers Adrian S , Geller Aaron , Spera Mario
Published: October 2020

All the giant planets in the Solar system host a large number of natural satellites. Moons in extrasolar systems are difficult to detect, but a Neptune-sized exomoon candidate has been recently found around a Jupiter-sized planet in the Kepler-1625b system. Due to their relative ease of detection, hot Jupiters (HJs), which reside in close orbits around their host stars with a period of a few days, may be very good candidates to search for exomoons. It is still unknown whether the HJ population can host (or may have hosted) exomoons. One suggested formation channel for HJs is high-eccentricity migration induced by a stellar binary companion combined with tidal dissipation. Here, we investigate under which circumstances an exomoon can prevent or allow high-eccentricity migration of a HJ, and in the latter case, if the exomoon can survive the migration process. We use both semi-analytic arguments, as well as direct N-body simulations including tidal interactions. Our results show that massive exomoons are efficient at preventing high-eccentricity migration. If an exomoon does instead allow for planetary migration, it is unlikely that the HJ formed can host exomoons since the moon will either spiral on to the planet or escape from it during the migration process. A few escaped exomoons can become stable planets after the Jupiter has migrated, or by tidally migrating themselves. The majority of the exomoons end up being ejected from the system or colliding with the primary star and the host planet. Such collisions might none the less leave observable features, such as a debris disc around the primary star or exorings around the close-in giant.
Detection and analysis of cluster–cluster filaments
Authors: Pereyra Luis A , Sgró Mario A , Merchán Manuel E , Stasyszyn Federico A , Paz Dante J
Published: October 2020

In this work, we identify and analyse the properties of cluster–cluster filaments within a cosmological simulation assuming that they are structures connecting maxima of the density field defined by dark matter haloes with masses $M \, \ge 10^{14}\, h^{-1} \, \mathrm{M_{\odot }}$. To extract these filaments we develop an identification algorithm based on two standard tools: the Minimal Spanning Tree and the friends-of-friends algorithm. Focusing our analysis on the densest dark matter filaments, we found that the radial density profile, at scales around $1\, h^{-1} \, \mathrm{Mpc}$, approximately follow a power-law function with index −2. Without making any assumption about the velocity field, our algorithm finds that the saddle point arises as a natural characteristic of the filamentary structure. In addition, its location along the filament depends on the masses of the haloes at the filament ends. We also found that the infall velocities follow a cross-pattern near the saddle point, being perpendicular to the filament spine when approaching from low-density regions, and parallel away from the saddle point towards the ends of the filament. Following theoretical prescriptions, we estimate the linear density from the transverse velocity dispersion, finding a good correspondence with the measured mass per unit length of our filaments. Our results can be applied to observational samples of filaments in order to link the saddle point location and the mass per unit length with measurements obtained from observations such as cluster masses and the velocity dispersion of galaxies.
PHL 417: a zirconium-rich pulsating hot subdwarf (V366 Aquarid) discovered in K2 data
Authors: Østensen R H , Jeffery C S , Saio H , Hermes J J , Telting J H , Vučković M , Vos J , Baran A S , Reed M D
Published: October 2020

The Kepler spacecraft observed the hot subdwarf star PHL 417 during its extended K2 mission, and the high-precision photometric light curve reveals the presence of 17 pulsation modes with periods between 38 and 105 min. From follow-up ground-based spectroscopy, we find that the object has a relatively high temperature of 35 600 K, a surface gravity of $\log g / {\rm cm\, s^{-2}}\, =\, 5.75$ and a supersolar helium abundance. Remarkably, it also shows strong zirconium lines corresponding to an apparent +3.9 dex overabundance compared with the Sun. These properties clearly identify this object as the third member of the rare group of pulsating heavy-metal stars, the V366-Aquarii pulsators. These stars are intriguing in that the pulsations are inconsistent with the standard models for pulsations in hot subdwarfs, which predicts that they should display short-period pulsations rather than the observed longer periods. We perform a stability analysis of the pulsation modes based on data from two campaigns with K2. The highest amplitude mode is found to be stable with a period drift, $\dot{P}$, of less than 1.1 × 10−9 s s−1. This result rules out pulsations driven during the rapid stages of helium flash ignition.
Two human menopausal gonadotrophin (hMG) preparations display different early signaling in vitro
Authors: Casarini Livio , Riccetti Laura , Paradiso Elia , Benevelli Riccardo , Lazzaretti Clara , Sperduti Samantha , Melli Beatrice , Tagliavini Simonetta , Varani Manuela , Trenti Tommaso , Morini Daria , Falbo Angela , Villani Maria Teresa , Jonas Kim C , Simoni Manuela
Published: October 2020

Commercial hMG drugs are marketed for the treatment of infertility and consist of highly purified hormones acting on receptors expressed in target gonadal cells. Menopur® and Meriofert® are combined preparation of FSH and hCG and are compared in vitro herein. To this purpose, the molecular composition of the two drugs was analyzed by immunoassay. The formation of FSH receptor and LH/hCG receptor (FSHR; LHCGR) heteromer, intracellular Ca2+ and cAMP activation, β-arrestin 2 recruitment and the synthesis of progesterone and estradiol were evaluated in transfected HEK293 and human primary granulosa lutein cells treated by drugs administered within the pg-mg/ml concentration range. Molecular characterization revealed that Meriofert® has a higher FSH:hCG ratio than Menopur® which, in turn, displays the presence of LH molecules. While both drugs induced similar FSHR-LHCGR heteromeric formations and intracellular Ca2+ increase, Meriofert® had a higher potency than Menopur® in inducing a cAMP increase. Moreover, Meriofert® revealed a higher potency than Menopur® in recruiting β-arrestin 2, likely due to different FSH content modulating the tridimensional structure of FSHR-LHCGR-β-arrestin 2 complexes, as evidenced by a decrease in bioluminescence resonance energy transfer signal. This drug-specific activation of intracellular signaling pathways is consistent with the molecular composition of these preparations and impacts downstream progesterone and estradiol production, with Menopur® more potent than Meriofert® in inducing the synthesis of both the steroids. These findings are suggestive of distinct in-vivo activities of these preparations, but require cautious interpretation and further validation from clinical studies.
High resolution biosensor to test the capping level and integrity of mRNAs
Authors: Moya-Ramírez Ignacio , Bouton Clement , Kontoravdi Cleo , Polizzi Karen
Published: October 2020

5′ Cap structures are ubiquitous on eukaryotic mRNAs, essential for post-transcriptional processing, translation initiation and stability. Here we describe a biosensor designed to detect the presence of cap structures on mRNAs that is also sensitive to mRNA degradation, so uncapped or degraded mRNAs can be detected in a single step. The biosensor is based on a chimeric protein that combines the recognition and transduction roles in a single molecule. The main feature of this sensor is its simplicity, enabling semi-quantitative analyses of capping levels with minimal instrumentation. The biosensor was demonstrated to detect the capping level on several in vitro transcribed mRNAs. Its sensitivity and dynamic range remained constant with RNAs ranging in size from 250 nt to approximately 2700 nt and the biosensor was able to detect variations in the capping level in increments of at least 20%, with a limit of detection of 2.4 pmol. Remarkably, it also can be applied to more complex analytes, such mRNA vaccines and mRNAs transcribed in vivo. This biosensor is an innovative example of a technology able to detect analytically challenging structures such as mRNA caps. It could find application in a variety of scenarios, from quality analysis of mRNA-based products such as vaccines to optimization of in vitro capping reactions.
Global Substance Registration System: consistent scientific descriptions for substances related to health
Authors: Peryea Tyler , Southall Noel , Miller Mitch , Katzel Daniel , Anderson Niko , Neyra Jorge , Stemann Sarah , Nguyễn Ðắc-Trung , Amugoda Dammika , Newatia Archana , Ghazzaoui Ramez , Johanson Elaine , Diederik Herman , Callahan Larry , Switzer Frank
Published: October 2020

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) have collaborated to publish rigorous scientific descriptions of substances relevant to regulated products. The FDA has adopted the global ISO 11238 data standard for the identification of substances in medicinal products and has populated a database to organize the agency's regulatory submissions and marketed products data. NCATS has worked with FDA to develop the Global Substance Registration System (GSRS) and produce a non-proprietary version of the database for public benefit. In 2019, more than half of all new drugs in clinical development were proteins, nucleic acid therapeutics, polymer products, structurally diverse natural products or cellular therapies. While multiple databases of small molecule chemical structures are available, this resource is unique in its application of regulatory standards for the identification of medicinal substances and its robust support for other substances in addition to small molecules. This public, manually curated dataset provides unique ingredient identifiers (UNIIs) and detailed descriptions for over 100 000 substances that are particularly relevant to medicine and translational research. The dataset can be accessed and queried at https://gsrs.ncats.nih.gov/app/substances.
In Vitro Hollow-Fiber Studies Assessing Antibacterial Activity of Ceftolozane/Tazobactam Against Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas Aeruginosa
Authors: Carr Donna , Zhang Zufei , Si Qian , Racine Fred , Xiao Jing Chen , Katwaru Ravi , Wismer Michael K , Johnson Matthew G , Feng Hwa-Ping , Young Katherine , Rizk Matthew L , Motyl Mary
Published: October 2020

Our hollow-fiber infection model simulated the projected steady-state pharmacokinetics of ceftolozane and tazobactam in lung epithelial lining fluid of patients with pneumonia receiving 3 g of ceftolozane/tazobactam every 8 hours. Results confirmed the previously established in vitro activity of ceftolozane/tazobactam at and above approved breakpoints against multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, regardless of Pseudomonas-derived cephalosporinase allele.