bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Worldwide Digital Legal Research: Forging New Media for the Electronic Age
Authors: Medina Rubens
Published: March 2019

In September 2004 the Law Library of Congress unveiled a suite of enhanced navigation, search, language, accessibility, and user-friendly features to support broad public use of the Global Legal Information Network (GLIN). Placing this standard-setting achievement in the larger context of the Law Library's continuing commitment to acquiring, processing, and disseminating legal information on a global scale, the legal research community will benefit from an overview of the initiatives, principles, and processes that combined to shape the system for maximum accessibility and uncompromising reliability.
Environmental Protection in the Arctic and Antarctic: Can the Polar Regimes Learn From Each Other?
Authors: Koivurova Timo
Published: March 2019

There has been increasing dissatisfaction with the way Arctic-wide cooperation under the Arctic Council operates. Scholars and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have taken up the idea of finding a new direction for the work of the Council by drawing on the experience of the other pole, the Antarctic, and its well-established structures of governance. At first sight, this may seem like a misdirected idea, given that the two poles show more differences than similarities: the Arctic consists of ocean surrounded by continents, whereas the Antarctic is a continent surrounded by ocean; the Antarctic has no permanent human habitation, while the Arctic is inhabited by indigenous peoples and other local communities. Yet, the two polar areas also resemble each other in many respects. Both have extreme climatic conditions, receiving less radiation from the sun than other parts of the globe, and the ecosystems have had to adapt to very cold and dark environments with short and light-filled growing seasons. In such conditions, the ecosystems are simple, containing only a few key species, and are thus more vulnerable to human-induced pollution than those of more temperate areas.
Foreign Ships in Vulnerable Waters: Coastal Jurisdiction over Vessel-Source Pollution with Special Reference to the Baltic Sea
Authors: Hakapää Kari
Published: March 2019

Protection and preservation of the marine environment is a topical issue around the Baltic Sea. Not least does it refer to vessel-source pollution. The Baltic Sea is a particularly vulnerable sea area with its narrow waters, often severe climatic conditions, and growing tanker traffic, especially to and from Russian ports at the far end of the Gulf of Finland. By way of example, oil transports in the Gulf of Finland tripled in 1995 to 2003, recently reaching to some 78 million tons a year.
Repatriation of Cultural Property–Who Owns the Past? An Introduction to Approaches and to Selected Statutory Instruments
Authors: Roehrenbeck Carol A.
Published: March 2019

Should cultural property taken by a stronger power or nation remain with that country or should it be returned to the place where it was created? Since the 1990s this question has received growing attention from the press, the public and the international legal community. For example, prestigious institutions such as the J. Paul Getty Museum of Art in Los Angeles and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York have agreed to return looted or stolen artwork or antiquities. British smuggler Jonathan Tokeley-Parry was convicted and served three years in prison for his role in removing as many as 2,000 antiquities from Egypt. Getty director Marion True defended herself against charges that she knowingly bought antiquities that had been illegally excavated from Italy and Greece. New books on the issue of repatriation of art and antiquities have captured the attention of the public. A documentary based on one of these books was shown in theaters and aired on public television. The first international academic symposium on the topic was convened in New York City in January 1995.
Who Owns the Past? Turkey's Role in the Loss and Repatriation of Antiquities
Authors: Price Kathleen
Published: March 2019

“Every flower is beautiful in its own garden. Every antiquity is beautiful in its own country. “ Sign in Ephesus Museum lobby, quoted in Lonely Planet Turkey (11th ed.) at 60.

“History is beautiful where it belongs.”—OzgenAcar[Acar Erghan], imprinted on posters in Turkish libraries, classrooms, public buildings and shops and quoted in S. Waxman, Loot at 151; see also S. Waxman, Chasing the Lydian Hoard, Smithsonian.com, November 14, 2008.
The Law and Neuroscience Bibliography: Navigating the Emerging Field of Neurolaw†
Authors: Shen Francis X.
Published: March 2019

In the past five years, we have witnessed extraordinary growth in the amount of legal scholarship, legal practice, and public policy at the intersection of law and neuroscience. For instance, in 2010 the firstDauberthearing was held on the admissibility of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) lie detection evidence; a Florida court was the first in the nation to admit quantitative encephalography (qEEG) evidence; and a Supreme Court decision on life imprisonment for minors cited brain development research. In France, the Prime Minister established the first Neuroscience and Public Policy program within the France Ministry for Social Affairs, and in the United States, multiple state legislators proposed bills related to neuroscience and law. Academics, too, have taken notice, with a number of symposia being offered around the country over the past few years.
Comparative Law and the Ad Hoc Tribunals: The Dangers of a Narrow Inquiry†
Authors: Borda Aldo Zammit
Published: March 2019

This article focuses on the distinctions that the ad hoc Tribunals have drawn between the comparative law method and the review of evidence for clarifying customary international law and general principles of law. It outlines the dangers in the readiness of some international judges to accept narrow inquiries, which at best attach special weight and at worst restrict the scope of inquiry to a single, specific legal system. The readiness of some international judges to simply elevate legal rules and concepts with which they are familiar from their own legal education and practice to the level of universal truths may imply a failure to understand the other legal traditions on offer. The article concludes by showing that, unless the dangers inherent in the readiness to accept narrow inquiries are clearly emphasized, the achievement of an international criminal justice that is truly tolerant of plurality is a long way off.
Citation of Finnish Authorities under the Bluebook System†
Authors: Honkasalo Pessi
Published: March 2019

For the present, The Bluebook does not contain a uniform system of citation for legal authorities of Finnish origin. This contribution fills in that gap. Following national conventions and the standard set forth in the “Foreign Jurisdictions” tables of The Bluebook, I suggest a compatible method for citing cases, statutes and legislative materials stemming from Finland.
Islamic Banking in Malaysia†
Authors: Kunhibava Sherin
Published: March 2019

Islamic banking is the conduct of banking according to Shariah or Islamic law. Statistically Islamic banking has had phenomenal growth, according to the Asian Banker Research Group, the world's 100 largest Islamic banks have set an annual asset growth rate of 26.7% and the global Islamic finance industry is experiencing an average growth of 15-20% annually1. Recently the Prime Minister of Malaysia commented that Malaysia has been maintaining its leadership in Islamic banking and finance for over three decades2. As an International leader in Islamic banking, it would be interesting to explore the development of Islamic banking in Malaysia. This will be the objective of this paper. This paper will focus on the historical development of Islamic banking in Malaysia, from the creation of the Haj Pilgrim's Fund Board in the 1960s to the current Islamic banking scene of 17 local Islamic banks and five International Islamic banks in operation. This paper will also explore the unique regulatory and governance framework of Islamic banking in Malaysia, by touching on the Islamic banking Act 1983, the Central Bank of Malaysia Act 2009, the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 and the Shariah Governance Framework introduced in 2011 by the Central Bank of Malaysia. This paper will also briefly introduce how Islamic banking works.
Opening Remarks
Authors: Kauffman S. Blair
Published: March 2019

The papers in this issue were presented at the IALL's 21st Annual Course on International Law Librarianship, held at Yale Law School, October 20 through October 23, 2002. The program featured several of America's great scholars in international law and drew on the rich resources of Yale University and its environs. It also introduced participants to the history of legal education in America and included excursions to America's first national law school, in Litchfield, Connecticut, and to the United Nations headquarters, in New York City. A pre-conference reception was held at the nearby Quinnipiac University School of Law Library, on Sunday afternoon, October 20th, in Hamden, Connecticut, and a post-conference institute on Islamic Law, was held on October 24th, at Harvard Law School, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Contemporary and Future Directions in American Legal Research: Responding to the Threat of the Available
Authors: Danner Richard A.
Published: March 2019

Histories of law publishing in the United States can be found in a number of sources, several of which are listed in the bibliography that accompanies this article. Although there are no completely up-to-date treatments of the subject, the most comprehensive is probably Erwin C. Surrency'sA History of American Law Publishing(1990). Surrency discusses American legal publishing from the colonial era to the late twentieth century, but his book closes before the far-reaching changes resulting from the growth of electronic publishing and dissemination of legal information in the latter years of the twentieth century. A few sources discuss the initial impacts and implications of computer-assisted legal research databases. More recent literature on the Internet's effects on legal research is discussed in section IV of this article. Other useful sources for exploring the history of U.S. law book publishing are found in two edited collections: George S. Grossman'sLegal Research: Historical Foundations of the Electronic Age(1994); and Betty Taylor and Robert Munro's four volume set:American Law Publishing 1860-1900: Historical Readings(1984).
The Legal History of the Twentieth Century
Authors: Coquillette Daniel R.
Published: March 2019

All self-respecting legal history is supposed to end by the twentieth century. As we approach our own lives, experience and training — and those events that we have actually witnessed — we allegedly lose that “objectivity” which makes the “science” of history itself possible. Certainly, there is no point in burdening the reader with the “original” materials, including cases and statutes, that make up the bulk of any legal education. But there are good reasons to reflect on our own legal century from an “historical perspective.”
Making Human Rights Treaties Work: Global Legal Information & Human Rights in the 21st Century
Authors: Hathaway Oona A.
Published: March 2019

The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the wake of the horrors of the Second World War established human rights as a legitimate focus of international attention. In the half-century since, there have arisen nearly 100 universal and regional human rights agreements governing issues as diverse as discrimination against women, state-sponsored torture, and fair trials. Yet, as we embark on the twenty-first century, accompanied by the ongoing war on terrorism, there has been surprisingly little talk of these agreements. I want to take this opportunity to consider why, despite their ubiquity, human rights treaties have been largely ignored in current debates over how to address the myriad problems in the Middle East, and to suggest how we can make international agreements work more effectively to prevent abuses of human dignity.
Scenes from a Ramallah Law School
Authors: Shalakany Amr
Published: March 2019

The following is not by way of apology, I just want to set the record straight. Diaries offer a view from somewhere - a perspective that is usually skewed, partial and incomplete. They are subjective reflections on a particularly situated experience. So let me begin from the beginning:

I moved to Palestine early in September 2000. Two weeks later, the Intifada broke out. I had come to Palestine after finishing my PhD in the U.S. and working as a corporate lawyer in London. I had gone there with some vague urge “to be useful” - and if I thought being useful in Palestine meant saying farewell to middle-class life, I was soon proven wrong. For over a year I was teaching at Birzeit University and working as a legal adviser with the PLO Negotiations Support Unit. My interactions were mostly with middle-class Palestinians, sometimes the post-Oslo elite, often foreigners, seldom with the poor living in refugee camps. I lived in Al-Tireh, an upper-middle-class neighborhood in Ramallah. I had access to a car with yellow license-plates. Yellow was a very important color there. It meant I could drive my car anywhere I wanted, to Jerusalem and beyond - unlike most Palestinians, who had green license plates and, hence, could not drive outside the cantons created by the Oslo Accords. I had a foreign passport, which meant I could leave the Occupied Territories whenever I wanted to through Tel Aviv airport – again, unlike most Palestinians, who could not use the airport without first applying for a security permit.
A Century of Milestones of Non-Muslim Islamic Law Scholarship
Authors: Bearman Peri
Published: March 2019

My assignment has an added degree of difficulty in that I follow Frank Vogel's presentation on Islamic law, which captured your intellectual interest, and precede Lesley Wilkins’ talk on building a library collection, which will interest you professionally. I have chosen to offer a talk on the achievements made in non-Muslim — here primarily European and American — scholarship on Islamic law, scholarship in the making, as it were, hoping that it will segue easily from the one talk to the other. I will not be describing the Islamic Legal Studies Program and what we do, but if you have any questions about the research program we run, I will be happy to answer them afterwards.
Moving from Impunity to Accountability in Post-War Liberia: Possibilities, Cautions, and Challenges
Authors: Scott Rena L.
Published: March 2019

Liberia has become the quintessential example of an African failed state. Though Liberia's civil war is officially over, war criminals are free and some are even helping run the transitional government under the authority of Liberia's Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). This peace agreement calls for the consideration of a general amnesty for those involved in the Liberian civil war alongside the parceling of governmental functions among members of various rebel groups. The drafters of the agreement claim that this was the only viable solution for sustainable peace in Liberia. Meanwhile, Charles Taylor relaxes in Nigeria's resort city of Calabar.
The Archaeology of Land Law: Excavating Law in the West Bank
Authors: Orpett Natalie
Published: March 2019

Land law in the West Bank is a mess of multi-layered legal regimes representing the complicated political history of the region. From this confusion flow some of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict today, such as the legitimacy of settlements and the legality of the security barrier. Whether one's concerns regarding the “Question of Palestine” are humanitarian or political, one fact is clear: the legal muddle of land law must be addressed.

But addressing the law first requires that we understand what that law is. This paper is not an investigation of the relative legitimacy under domestic or international law of each of the innumerable changes that were made to land law over the course of multiple legal regimes. Rather, it attempts to develop a purely descriptive answer to the seemingly straightforward question: what is the state of land law? To do this, I reconstruct the law of land as much as possible, from the still-operative, sedimentary layers of Ottoman, British, Jordanian, Israeli, Palestinian and international law. In compiling this information, I hope to contribute to the efforts to fully understand where we are, so we can honestly assess where we may go from here.
Welcome Comments
Authors: Raleigh Juan Carlos Valle
Published: March 2019

“There cannot be a mantle of oblivion. No society can start a new stage on an ethical claudication like” – Raúl Alfonsín

It is a matter of pride for the Argentine Foreign Affairs Ministry and especially for the National Foreign Service under my direction, to give you a very warm welcome and to be able to host the 33rdCourse on International Law and Legal Information organized by the prestigious International Association of Law Libraries (IALL).
Human Rights in Argentina: Its International Projection
Authors: Beltrán Federico Villegas
Published: March 2019

The international law of human rights is a set of standards that each day increases the sphere of protection of our rights. But, how does one build a space of this nature? The response includes various actors: families and victims reporting and crying for justice, Human rights defenders, legal practitioners, government officials, international civil servants, academics, independent experts, among others.
The Power of Social Movements and the Limits of Pluralism: Tracing Rastafarianism and Indigenous Resurgence through Commonwealth Caribbean Law and Culture
Authors: Becker Emily
Published: March 2019

In the post-colonial era, social movements in the Commonwealth Caribbean have empowered citizens to reclaim, redefine and further develop their identity. These movements, combined with a history of colonialism and transatlantic slavery in the region, have yielded a Caribbean culture “too diverse to be labeled.” Indeed, the Caribbean culture is composed of “a bastion of discrete identities as well as quarries of very invaluable raw material that can be used to build the bridges across cultural boundaries.” These distinct but potentially overlapping identities make the Commonwealth Caribbean a truly pluralistic region, at least at the cultural and social level. As modern legal and political systems, however, the states of the Commonwealth Caribbean have, in many ways, failed to sufficiently protect the non-dominant groups within Caribbean. Indeed, attempts to balance the majoritarian demands of democracy against the pluralist notion of minority rights protection have landed largely on the side of majorities.
Tax Confidentiality in Sweden and the United States—A Comparative Study
Authors: Hambre Anna-Maria
Published: March 2019

This article, based on my PhD thesis:“Tax Confidentiality: A Comparative Study and Impact Assessment of Global Interest, “compares Swedish and US tax confidentiality legislation concerning public opportunities of accessing tax information held by their respective tax administrations. The article concerns itself with the historical development of tax confidentiality legislation, the general legal framework, the reasons behind tax confidentiality, and the main content of the tax confidentiality rules. The overall comparative conclusion is that Sweden provides a high level of tax transparency based on the right of public access to official documents, while the United States offers a high-level of confidentiality and protection of taxpayer information based on the individual's right to privacy. Notwithstanding this overall difference, there are certain similarities, such as public accessibility being source-based. That is, if the individual's tax information is contained in a tax return, then the information is confidential, however, if it is contained in public court records, then the information is public.
An Outline for the Study of Ethiopian Constitutional Law
Authors: Beru Tsegaye
Published: March 2019

This outline is prepared based on the 1995 Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (“The 1995 Constitution”). It is important to acknowledge at the outset that the 1995 Constitution cannot be studied in isolation. Like its forerunners, it is not distinctively Ethiopian, save for the customary and religious laws that it recognized. Ethiopian constitutions, both past and present, have been derived, in part, from foreign constitutions including constitutions from western and eastern countries, including Japan. Although its immediate sources can be traced back to the Charter of the Transitional Government of 1991, this 1995 Constitution was built upon the constitutions that preceded it, the laws that have been promulgated since the 1930s, and the religious and customary laws that predated it.
Frontiers of Legal Information: The U.S. Law Librarians of the Future*
Authors: Lee Jootaek
Published: March 2019

It is necessary to guess a new probable future for law libraries and librarians. A future that is based on history, yet accounts for new contemporary backgrounds and data. A future that not only considers the widespread accessibility to the Internet and the incredible development of search algorithms for legal information retrieval on user-friendly platforms, but one that also considers the tremendous increase in the amount of digitized materials available to the average patron. Here, I will take an opportunity to look at the past and present and offer what I foresee as the future for U.S. law libraries and librarians.
Why and How Human Rights
Authors: Sinha S. Prakash
Published: March 2019

The existing state of human beings, to which the present international movement for human rights addresses itself, is no reason for applause for the success of that movement. It is true that there are several reasons for the lack of success and not all blame is to be borne by the deficiencies in the present approach. True also is the fact that the struggle for protection of the human being from excesses of the state or powerful elements within society is a continuing saga of organized society with only the promise that the struggle and its causes have more of an enduring existence than the various efforts for seeking protection for the human being attempted in the history of mankind, of which human-rights is one instance. However, to the extent it is legitimate to explore if improvements in the present approach are possible, one might well be permitted to raise anew questions about the philosophical foundation for human rights and the pragmatic approach to their achievement.
The Liability of the Government in France as a Consequence of its Legal Activities
Authors: Ahmedouamar M. Tahar
Published: March 2019

The concept of liability on the part of the government as a consequence of its legal activities in the legislative as well as in the judicial field is one of the major achievements of French legal doctrine and jurisprudence. Although conditions for such liability still present some difficulties, the fact that the government now accepts liability as a principle for any harm created by the laws or by court decisions has uncovered a new area of legal development.
Legal Materials from Latin America and the Caribbean: Some Ideas for Acquisition
Authors: Schaffer Ellen G.
Published: March 2019

The proceedings of the fifteenth Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials, held at the University of Toronto, June 23-26, 1970, include a number of papers addressing issues relevant to the acquisition of Latin American legal resources. Fourteen years later I would like to report that many of the difficulties described therein have changed sufficiently to allow for the development of orderly selection and acquisition processes. Unfortunately, this is not generally the case. In 1970, Fernando J. Figueredo quoted a Spanish proverb: “suerte te dé Dios, que el saber te vale poco”, or in English, “ask God for luck, since knowledge will be of little help to you”. I suggest that good fortune combined with language knowledge, a familiarity with the legal systems involved, a tenacity of spirit, and a sense of humour are all requisites to the successful pursuit of Latin American and Caribbean legal materials. Since SALALM XV's proceedings are published and available for consultation, I prefer not to review all of the problems outlined there. Instead, this paper will offer what will hopefully be some creative, unusual methods of identifying and locating copies of legal publications.
Astreinte in Belgian Law
Authors: Glos George E.
Published: March 2019

Astreinte proceedings, a well known feature of the French law of civil procedure, has been recently introduced into the Belgian legal system. The introduction was brought about by statutory means, the Law of January 31, 1980, that actually introduced into Belgian law the provisions of a Benelux convention on astreinte to apply uniformly in Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. The provisions are based on those of the Dutch law rather than French law so that what is taken over from the French law relates mainly to the fundamental concept of astreinte and its name.
Researching the U.S.-Canada free Trade Agreement
Authors: Louis-Jacques Lyonette
Published: March 2019

This is a research guide and bibliography concerning American and Canadian sources of and about the United States—Canada Free Trade Agreement. The Agreement is also called the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, Canada-American Free Trade Agreement, or the FTA. Formal negotiations concerning the Agreement began on March 18, 1985 at the “Shamrock Summit” (also called the “Quebec Summit”) with the signing of the Declaration on Trade in Goods and Services by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. The history of the FTA negotiations is set forth in the Winham book listed below, in the Department of State Bulletin, in newspapers, and in documents created during U.S. Congressional consideration of implementing legislation such as Senate Report No. 100–509. See also Battram, Canada-United States Trade Negotiations: Continental Accord or a Continent Apart?, 22 International Lawyer 345 (1988). The Agreement was signed by President Reagan and Prime Minister Mulroney on January 2, 1988 and, after implementing legislation was enacted in the United States and Canada, the Agreement entered into force on January 1, 1989. Its main purpose is the elimination of all tariffs on trade between the U.S. and Canada by January 1, 1998.
Adjudication of International Crime in the Netherlands
Authors: van Rossum Roel
Published: March 2019

During the Second World War, the government of the Netherlands realized that it had no adequate penalization system in place for wartime offences. Thus, the Criminal Law Wartime Occupation Decree of 22 December 1943 (BBS, Stb. D 61) was enacted to penalize offences committed during wartime. This emergency legislation was recognized as legally valid after the war. It then took until the Wartime Offences Act of 10 July 1952 (effective date 5 August 1952, the “WOS”) for wartime offences to be subjected to specific penalties. This was followed by separate statutes penalizing genocide (Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 2 July 1964, effective date 24 October 1970) and torture (Torture Convention Implementation Act of 29 September 1988, effective date 20 January 1989).
Catalan Law in the European Context
Authors: Aguilera-Vaqués Mar
Published: March 2019

This paper provides an overview of the Catalan law at the European context. How the Catalan institutions can tackle on the Spanish Government policies and decisions in front of the European Union. And how the European Union Law and policies are implemented in a decentralized country such Spain where Autonomous Communities have their own Governments and Parliaments. There will also be examined how this Spanish territorial decentralized structure affect the implementation of such EU norms and its control. Finally, there will be exposed how Catalan institutions manage to participate in front of the European Union institutions. Which are the instruments that can guarantee this participation and which are the EU responses to them.
Same-Sex Couples in Spain and Catalonia
Authors: Navarro-Michel Monica
Published: March 2019

This paper aims to provide an overview of the legal regulation of same sex couples in Spain and Catalonia. It will present how regulations have evolved, from legal disregard of same sex couples to the admission of same sex marriages by the Spanish Law in 2005, upheld by the Spanish Constitutional Court. Reference will be made to Catalan law, as it provided the first comprehensive regulation on same-sex cohabitation. And finally, it will highlight some challenges still faced by same sex couples, as regards assisted reproduction.
Urban Planning and Legal Framework for Sustainable Communities: Affordable Housing, Social Cohesion and Ghettos
Authors: Ponce Juli
Published: March 2019

Land use law or zoning law (Derecho urbanístico, in Spanish, orDroit de l'urbanisme, in French) deals with the regulation ofland use. The regulation of urban planning is a part of that legal branch. Urban planning decides about the existence and situation of housing (including affordable housing), green areas, schools and other important infrastructures in the cities.
A false promise? Regulating land-grabbing and the post-colonial state
Authors: Tzouvala Ntina
Published: March 2019

Since 2008, a global ‘land rush’ has been unfolding and so have efforts by international, national and regional actors to position themselves as the principal authorities in the determination of appropriate usages of land. This article examines three of the most influential ‘soft law’ instruments: the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment; the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems and; the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure. Despite their substantive differences, all three documents share a specific form of state-centrism. They imagine the host state of such large-scale investments as internally unitary and externally independent and entrust it with the bulk of responsibilities regarding the management of land investments. However, I argue that this particular form of state-centrism obscures the legal and administrative realities of the post-colonial state that is often legally bifurcated and subject to pervasive forms of international authority. Rather, an appreciation of the multitude of actors who claim jurisdiction over the lands of the South enables a better understanding of the legal mechanics of land-grabbing. Sierra Leone, which has been positioned as a ‘poster child’ for the implementation of such ‘soft law’ instruments, serves as the focal point of this jurisdictional approach to land-grabbing. In this context, the promise of ‘soft law’ instruments to make the post-colonial state the guarantor of universally beneficial large-scale land acquisitions is shown to be a false one.
Prevalence and genotypes of anal human papillomavirus infection among HIV-positivevs. HIV-negative men in Taizhou, China
Authors: Liu X. , Lin H. , Chen X. , Shen W. , Ye X. , Lin Y. , Lin Z. , Zhou S. , Gao M. , Ding Y. , He N.
Published: March 2019

This study aims to investigate the prevalence and genotype distribution of anal human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among men with different sexual orientations with or without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in China. A cross-sectional study was conducted during 2016–2017 in Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province. Convenient sampling was used to recruit male participants from HIV voluntary counselling and testing clinics and Center for Disease Control and Prevention. A face-to-face questionnaire interview was administered and an anal-canal swab was collected for HPV genotyping. A total of 160 HIV-positive and 113 HIV-negative men participated in the study. The prevalence of any type HPV was 30.6% for heterosexual men, 74.1% for homosexual and 63.6% for bisexual men among HIV-positive participants, while the prevalence was 8.3%, 29.2% and 23.8% respectively among HIV-negatives. The most prevalent genotypes were HPV-58 (16.9%), HPV-6 (15.6%) and HPV-11 (15.0%) among HIV-positive men, and were HPV-16 (4.4%), HPV-52 (4.4%) and HPV-6 (3.5%) among HIV-negative men. Having ever had haemorrhoids and having ever seen blood on tissue after defaecation was associated with HPV infection. One-fourth of the HPV infections in this study population can be covered by the quadrivalent vaccine in market. The highly prevalent anal HPV infection among men especially HIV-infected men calls for close observation and further investigation for anal cancer prevention.
Antimicrobial resistance patterns of bacteria isolated from dogs with otitis
Authors: Bourély C. , Cazeau G. , Jarrige N. , Leblond A. , Madec J.Y. , Haenni M. , Gay E.
Published: March 2019

Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in dogs can be transmitted to humans and close contact between dogs and people might foster dissemination of resistance determinants. The aim of our study was to describe the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pattern of the major causative agents of canine otitis – one of the most common diseases in dogs – isolated in France. Data collected between 2012 and 2016 by the French national surveillance network for AMR, referred to as RESAPATH, were analysed. Resistance trends were investigated using non-linear analysis (generalised additive models). A total of 7021 antibiograms were analysed. The four major causative agents of canine otitis in France were coagulase-positive staphylococci,Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Proteus mirabilisand streptococci. Since 2013, resistance to fluoroquinolones has been on the decrease in bothP. aeruginosaandStaphylococcus pseudintermediusisolates. ForP. aeruginosa, 19.4% of isolates were resistant to both enrofloxacin and gentamicin. The levels of multidrug resistance (acquired resistance to at least one antibiotic in three or more antibiotic classes) ranged between 11.9% forP. mirabilisand 16.0% forS. pseudintermedius.These results are essential to guide prudent use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine. They will also help in designing efficient control strategies and in measuring their effectiveness.
Associations between antibiotic prescriptions and recurrent urinary tract infections in female college students
Authors: Rich S. N. , Klann E. M. , Almond C. R. , Larkin E. M. , Nicolette G. , Ball J. D.
Published: March 2019

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common among college-aged women and often recur. Some antibiotics recommended to treat UTIs trigger dysbiosis of intestinal and vaginal microbiomes – where uropathogens originate, though few studies have investigated associations between these therapies with recurrent infections. We retrospectively analysed the electronic medical records of 6651 college-aged women diagnosed with a UTI at a US university student health centre between 2006 and 2014. Women were followed for 6 months for incidence of a recurrent infection. In a secondary analysis, associations in women whose experienced UTI recurrence within 2 weeks were also considered for potential infection relapse. Logistic regression was used to assess associations between infection recurrence or relapse and antibiotics prescribed, in addition to baseline patient characteristics including age, race/ethnicity, region of origin, year of encounter, presence of symptomology, pyelonephritis, vaginal coinfection and birth control consultation. There were 1051 instances of infection recurrence among the 6620 patients, indicating a prevalence of 16%. In the analysis of patient characteristics, Asian women were statistically more likely to experience infection recurrence whereas African American were less likely. No significant associations were identified between the antibiotic administered at the initial infection and the risk of infection recurrence after multivariable adjustment. Treatment with trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole and being born outside of the USA were significantly associated with increased odds of infection relapse in the multivariate analysis. The results of the analyses suggest that treatment with trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole may lead to an increased risk of UTI relapse, warranting further study.
School sessions are correlated with seasonal outbreaks of medically attended respiratory infections: electronic health record time series analysis, Wisconsin 2004–2011
Authors: Temte J. L. , Meiman J. G. , Gangnon R. E.
Published: March 2019

Increased social contact within school settings is thought to be an important factor in seasonal outbreaks of acute respiratory infection (ARI). To better understand the degree of impact, we analysed electronic health records and compared risks of respiratory infections within communities while schools were in session and out-of-session. A time series analysis of weekly respiratory infection diagnoses from 28 family medicine clinics in Wisconsin showed that people under the age of 65 experienced an increased risk of ARI when schools were in session. For children aged 5–17 years, the risk ratio for the first week of a school session was 1.12 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.93–1.34), the second week of a session was 1.39 (95% CI 1.15–1.68) and more than 2 weeks into a session was 1.43 (95% CI 1.20–1.71). Less significant increased risk ratios were also observed in young children (0–4 years) and adults (18–64 years). These results were obtained after modelling for baseline seasonal variations in disease prevalence and controlling for short-term changes in ambient temperature and relative humidity. Understanding the mechanisms of seasonality make it easier to predict outbreaks and launch timely public health interventions.
Mean-field optimal control as Gamma-limit of finite agent controls
Authors: FORNASIER M. , LISINI S. , ORRIERI C. , SAVARÉ G.
Published: March 2019

This paper focuses on the role of a government of a large population of interacting agents as a meanfield optimal control problem derived from deterministic finite agent dynamics. The control problems are constrained by a Partial Differential Equation of continuity-type without diffusion, governing the dynamics of the probability distribution of the agent population. We derive existence of optimal controls in a measure-theoretical setting as natural limits of finite agent optimal controls without any assumption on the regularity of control competitors. In particular, we prove the consistency of mean-field optimal controls with corresponding underlying finite agent ones. The results follow from a Γ -convergence argument constructed over the mean-field limit, which stems from leveraging the superposition principle.
The short- and long-term impact of an incentive intervention on healthier eating: a quasi-experiment in primary- and secondary-school cafeterias in Brazil
Authors: Ferreira Claudio M , Goldszmidt Rafael , Andrade Eduardo B
Published: March 2019

Objective

To assess the short- and long-term effectiveness of a lottery incentive intervention to promote the purchase of healthy products in school cafeterias.

Design

A quasi-experiment in which students’ purchases in intervention schools were analysed in a pre–post analysis and also compared with a control school in a difference-in-differences model. A hierarchical linear model assessed the mean number of promoted healthy products purchased daily per participant before (twenty-six weekdays), during (nine weekdays) and after (twenty-eight weekdays) the intervention period. Sex, age and prior purchasing behaviour served as covariates.

Setting

Convenience sample of school cafeterias using a debit-card payment method that allowed for the assessment of students’ purchasing behaviour.

Participants

Students who used the pre-paid card to buy snacks at the school cafeteria. A total of 352 students (208 in intervention schools and 144 in control school) were included in the final analyses.

Results

The incentives programme significantly increased the purchase of promoted healthy products during (v. before) the intervention period in intervention schools (P<0·001), especially among younger children (P=0·036). Among the students who purchased the promoted healthier products during the intervention, there was an increase in total number of purchased products (healthy non-promoted, but also of less healthy products). Sex and past consumption behaviour did not influence the response to incentives in the short term. On average, no long-term effect was observed.

Conclusions

Long-term and negative spillover effects must be taken into consideration for a complete understanding of the effects of incentives on healthier eating.
A practical model for identification of children at risk of excess energy intake in the developing world
Authors: Gaskin Pamela S , Chami Peter , Ward Justin , Goodman Gabriela , Sing Bernd , Jackson Maria D , Broome Hedy
Published: March 2019

Objective

We describe diet quality by demographic factors and weight status among Barbadian children and examine associations with excess energy intake (EI). A screening tool for the identification of children at risk of excess EI was developed.

Design

In a cross-sectional survey, the Diet Quality Index–International (DQI-I) was used to assess dietary intakes from repeat 24h recalls among 362 children aged 9–10 years. Participants were selected by probability proportional to size. A model to identify excess energy intake from easily measured components of the DQI-I was developed.

Setting

Barbados.

Participants

Primary-school children in Barbados.

Results

Over one-third of children were overweight/obese, and mean EI for boys (8644 (se174·5) kJ/d (2066 (se41·7) kcal/d)) and girls (8912 (se169·9) kJ/d (2130 (se40·6) kcal/d)) exceeded the RDA. Children consuming a variety of food groups, more vegetables and fruits, and lower percentage energy contribution from empty-calorie foods showed reduced likelihood of excess EI. Intake of more than 2400 mg Na/d and higher macronutrient and fatty acid ratios were positively related to the consumption of excess energy. A model using five DQI-I components (overall food group variety, variety for protein source, vegetables, fruits and empty calorie intake) had high sensitivity for identification of children at risk of excess EI.

Conclusions

Children’s diet quality, despite low intakes of fruit and vegetables, was within acceptable ranges as assessed by the DQI-I and RDA; however, portion size was large and EI high. A practical model for identification of children at risk of excess EI has been developed.
Using multiple correspondence analysis to identify behaviour patterns associated with overweight and obesity in Vanuatu adults
Authors: van Horn Andrew , Weitz Charles A , Olszowy Kathryn M , Dancause Kelsey N , Sun Cheng , Pomer Alysa , Silverman Harold , Lee Gwang , Tarivonda Leonard , Chan Chim W , Kaneko Akira , Lum J Koji , Garruto Ralph M
Published: March 2019

Objective

The present study evaluates the use of multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), a type of exploratory factor analysis designed to reduce the dimensionality of large categorical data sets, in identifying behaviours associated with measures of overweight/obesity in Vanuatu, a rapidly modernizing Pacific Island country.

Design

Starting with seventy-three true/false questions regarding a variety of behaviours, MCA identified twelve most significantly associated with modernization status and transformed the aggregate binary responses of participants to these twelve questions into a linear scale. Using this scale, individuals were separated into three modernization groups (tertiles) among which measures of body fat were compared and OR for overweight/obesity were computed.

Setting

Vanuatu.

Participants

Ni-Vanuatu adults (n 810) aged 20–85 years.

Results

Among individuals in the tertile characterized by positive responses to most of or all the twelve modernization questions, weight and measures of body fat and the likelihood that measures of body fat were above the US 75th percentile were significantly greater compared with individuals in the tertiles characterized by mostly or partly negative responses.

Conclusions

The study indicates that MCA can be used to identify individuals or groups at risk for overweight/obesity, based on answers to simply-put questions. MCA therefore may be useful in areas where obtaining detailed information about modernization status is constrained by time, money or manpower.
Association of age and colostrum discarding with breast-feeding practice in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analyses
Authors: Alemu Sisay Mulugeta , Alemu Yihun Mulugeta , Habtewold Tesfa Dejenie
Published: March 2019

Objective

To investigate whether maternal/caregiver’s age, infant age (0–6 months) and discarding colostrum affects timely initiation of breast-feeding (TIBF) and exclusive breast-feeding (EBF) in Ethiopia.

Design

A systematic search of PubMed, SCOPUS, EMBASE, CINHAL, Web of Science and WHO Global Health Library electronic databases was done for all articles published in English from 2000 to January 2018. Two reviewers independently screened, extracted and graded the quality of studies using Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. A weighted inverse-variance random-effects model meta-analysis, cumulative meta-analysis and mixed-effects meta-regression analysis were done.

Setting

All observational studies conducted in Ethiopia.

Participants

Mothers of children aged less than 2 years.

Result

A total of forty articles (fourteen studies on TIBF and twenty-six on EBF) were included. TIBF was associated with colostrum discarding (OR=0·38; 95 % CI 0·21, 0·68) but not with maternal/caregiver’s age (OR=0·98; 95 % CI 0·83, 1·15). In addition, colostrum discarding (OR=0·53; 95 % CI 0·36, 0·78) and infant age (OR=1·77; 95 % CI 1·38, 2·27) were significantly associated with EBF but not maternal/caregiver’s age (OR=1·09; 95 % CI 0·84, 1·41).

Conclusions

There was no association between maternal/caregiver’s age and breast-feeding practice (EBF and TIBF). Colostrum discarding was associated with both EBF and TIBF. This evidence could be helpful to counsel all mothers of reproductive age and who discard colostrum.
Dancing with Jim Crow: The Chattanooga Embarrassment of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Authors: Harris Paul W.
Published: March 2019

After the Civil War, northern Methodists undertook a successful mission to recruit a biracial membership in the South. Their Freedmen's Aid Society played a key role in outreach to African Americans, but when the denomination decided to use Society funds in aid of schools for Southern whites, a national controversy erupted over the refusal of Chattanooga University to admit African Americans. Caught between a principled commitment to racial brotherhood and the pressures of expediency to accommodate a growing white supremacist commitment to segregation, Methodists engaged in an agonized and heated debate over whether schools intended for whites should be allowed to exclude blacks. Divisions within the leadership of the Methodist Episcopal Church caught the attention of the national press and revealed the limits of even the most well-intentioned efforts to advance racial equality in the years after Reconstruction.