bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Is the Obligation Not to Refoule a Positive Obligation? An Intermediate Approach Toward the Classification Dilemma
Authors: Katsoni Spyridoula 
Published: December 2024

ABSTRACT
Although the distinction of international obligations as positive or negative ones is well-established in international law, the classification of the obligation not to refoule has given rise to a disagreement in relevant academic writings. The present article contributes to this academic discussion by arguing for an intermediate position, whereby the obligation not to refoule is perceived as a mixed obligation, which is comprised of both negative and positive obligations. Doing so, the article outlines the series of positive and negative obligations that have been identified as stemming from non-refoulement and further evinces that the intermediate approach toward the obligation’s classification better corresponds to the recent scholarly and jurisprudential developments, embraces non-refoulement’s peremptory character, allows a consistent classification of the obligation in all fields of international law and enhances the overall protection that may be afforded to protection-seekers under non-refoulement by ‘hardening’ the obligations that are interpreted as stemming therefrom.
Anti-integrin αvβ6 Antibodies Predict Pouchitis in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis After Restorative Proctocolectomy With Ileal Pouch-Anal Anastomosis
Authors: Nakanishi Risa , Kuwada Takeshi , Shiokawa Masahiro , Nishikawa Yoshihiro , Ota Sakiko , Yamazaki Hajime , Yanaidani Takafumi , Sawada Kenji , Hirata Ayako , Yasuda Muneji , Takimoto Ikuhisa , Chikugo Koki , Yokode Masataka , Muramoto Yuya , Matsumoto Shimpei , Matsumori Tomoaki , Uza Norimitsu , Chiba Tsutomu , Seno Hiroshi 
Published: December 2024

Abstract

Background
Pouchitis is the most common complication of restorative proctocolectomy (RPC) with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). We previously reported the presence of anti-integrin αvβ6 antibodies in the serum of patients with UC. This study investigated the association between anti-integrin αvβ6 antibodies and the development of pouchitis in patients with UC.

Methods
Serum levels of anti-integrin αvβ6 antibodies were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 16 patients with UC who underwent RPC with IPAA. Integrin αvβ6 expression in the colonic, terminal ileal, and pouch epithelium was examined using immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis.

Results
Anti-integrin αvβ6 antibody levels in patients with UC were significantly decreased at 3, 9, and 12 months after RPC (P &lt; .05). However, in patients who developed pouchitis, antibody levels remained high. The antibody levels at the time of RPC were significantly higher in patients who developed pouchitis compared to those who did not. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a significantly higher incidence of pouchitis in patients with antibody levels above the cutoff at the time of RPC. Although integrin αvβ6 was not expressed in the terminal ileal epithelium at the time of RPC, expression became positive in the pouch epithelium of patients with pouchitis.

Conclusions
The anti-integrin αvβ6 antibody levels in patients with UC were decreased after RPC but remained high in patients who developed pouchitis. The antibody levels at the time of RPC may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker for predicting the risk of pouchitis in patients with UC.
Mediators of Filgotinib Treatment Effects in Ulcerative Colitis: Exploring Circulating Biomarkers in the Phase 2b/3 SELECTION Study
Authors: Nakase Hiroshi , Danese Silvio , Reinisch Walter , Ritter Timothy , Liang Yan , Wendt Emily , Levesque Barrett G , Yoon Oh Kyu , Tian Yuan , Zhuo Luting , Karouzakis Emmanuel , Bauer Yasmina , Oortwijn Alessandra , Kaise Toshihiko , Malkov Vladislav A , Hibi Toshifumi 
Published: December 2024

Abstract

Background
We utilized patient samples from the large, phase 2b/3 SELECTION trial to identify circulating biomarkers of ulcerative colitis (UC) and potential early mediators of filgotinib treatment effects.

Methods
Samples were collected at baseline and during the induction phase of the SELECTION trial. Evaluated biomarkers comprised serum and stool proteins (measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), whole-blood cell counts, and whole-blood RNA-seq-derived gene-expression factors identified via exploratory factor analysis. Biomarker levels were assessed by baseline disease severity (endoscopy/bleeding/stool and Mayo Clinic Score) and biologic status (naive vs experienced). Effects of filgotinib on biomarker levels, including week 4 biomarker changes that may mediate week 10 clinical improvements, were assessed.

Results
The biomarker analysis set included 598 biologic-naive patients and 592 biologic-experienced patients. Systemic inflammatory biomarkers (C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin-6 [IL-6], serum amyloid A [SAA], and platelet cell counts) had the strongest positive correlations with baseline UC disease severity. CRP, IL-6, SAA, and neutrophil activation biomarkers (including neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin [NGAL], tumor necrosis factor ɑ, and oncostatin M [OSM]), as well as platelet, neutrophil, and monocyte cell counts were increased in biologic-experienced versus biologic-naive patients. Gene-expression-derived plasmablast and cell proliferation factors were positively correlated with disease severity; B cell, T-cell activation, and plasmacytoid dendritic cell factors were negatively correlated. Filgotinib reduced nearly all proinflammatory biomarkers correlated with baseline UC disease activity; reduced SAA, CRP, IL-6, NGAL, and OSM at week 4 were identified as mediators of improved week 10 clinical scores.

Conclusions
Filgotinib significantly impacted circulating biomarkers related to UC pathology. Several proinflammatory and neutrophil activation biomarkers may be early mediators of filgotinib treatment effects.

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier
NCT02914522
Providing solutions to mitigate, adapt, and build resilience to the effects of climate change
Authors: Robinson Carol , Sabine Christopher , Isensee Kirsten 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
This Quo Vadimus article is a summary of the Ocean Vision 2030 White Paper—Challenge 5: Unlock Ocean-based solutions to Climate Change (2024). We highlight the obstacles to harnessing the potential of ocean-based solutions to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Recommendations to overcome these obstacles include (i) research into marine renewable energy, ways of reducing marine pollution and of expanding vegetated coastal ecosystems, (ii) controlled field testing of marine carbon dioxide removal co-designed with invested communities, (iii) improved co-designed governance and cooperation as well as capacity development, (iv) adaptive governance and management supported by decision support tools for the assessment of vulnerability and risk, and (v) prioritization of fairness and inclusivity in the execution of mitigation and adaptation measures to ensure all stakeholders benefit equitably.
Viral niche-partitioning: comparative genomics of giant viruses across environmental gradients in a high Arctic freshwater-saltwater lake
Authors: Pitot Thomas M , Girard Catherine , Rapp Josephine Z , Somerville Vincent , Culley Alexander I , Vincent Warwick F , Moineau Sylvain , Roux Simon 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Giant viruses (GVs; Nucleocytoviricota) impact the biology and ecology of a wide range of eukaryotic hosts, with implications for global biogeochemical cycles. Here, we investigated GV niche separation in highly stratified Lake A at the northern coast of Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. This lake is composed of a layer of ice-covered freshwater that overlies saltwater derived from the ancient Arctic Ocean, and it therefore provides a broad gradient of environmental conditions and ecological habitats, each with a distinct protist community and rich assemblages of associated GVs. The upper layer (mixolimnion) had measurable light and oxygen, and contained diverse GVs linked to photosynthetic protists, indicating adaptation to surface biotic and abiotic conditions. In contrast, the saline lower layer (monimolimnion), lacking oxygen and light, hosted GVs associated with predicted heterotrophic protists, some of which are known for a predatory lifestyle, and with several viral genes suggesting adaptation to deep-water anaerobic conditions. Our observations underscore the coupling between physical and chemical gradients, microeukaryotes and their associated GVs in Lake A, and provide insight into the potential for GVs to directly and indirectly impact host metabolism. There were similarities between the genetic composition of GVs and the metabolic processes of their potential hosts, implying co-evolution and niche-adaptation within the lake habitats. Notably, we found a greater presence of viral rhodopsins in deeper water layers, suggesting an evolutionary relationship with potential hosts capable of supplementing their energetic needs to thrive in low energy, anoxic conditions.
IMF Lending Programs and Repression in Autocracies
Authors: Nelson Stephen C , Dinkel Christopher P 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Do International Monetary Fund (IMF) lending programs increase repression in borrowing countries? We argue that repression worsens when autocratic governments enter conditional lending arrangements with the IMF. Autocracies are likelier than democracies to harshly crackdown during episodes of heightened protest and unrest triggered by IMF-mandated adjustment and structural reform programs. But harsh repression of anticipated spikes in dissent spurred by liberalization-oriented IMF conditions may also be used by autocrats to proactively signal their commitment to preserve regime insiders’ advantages. We present several tests of the arguments in the article. In the first test, we use a compound instrumental variable to estimate the conditional difference in human rights scores between IMF program participation and non-participation in both democratic and autocratic country-years (1975–2014). We do not find evidence for clear links between IMF program participation and human rights in developing democracies. In autocracies, however, the relationship between IMF lending programs and human rights respect is consistently negative and significant. In further tests, we isolate the impact of different types of IMF conditionality. Evidence suggests that IMF programs with more numerous structural reforms (namely, pro-privatization conditions) are associated with lower human rights protections in autocratic countries.
Effect of empiric antibiotics against Pseudomonas aeruginosa on mortality in hospitalized patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Hunter Cameron J , Marhoffer Elizabeth A , Holleck Jürgen L , Ein Alshaeba Samer , Grimshaw Alyssa A , Chou Andrew , Carey George B , Gunderson Craig G 
Published: December 2024

Abstract

Background
Empiric antibiotics active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa are recommended by professional societies for certain infections and are commonly prescribed for hospitalized patients. The effect of this practice on mortality is uncertain.

Methods
A systematic literature search was conducted using Embase, Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, Scopus and Google Scholar from earliest entry through 9 October 2023. We included studies of patients hospitalized with P. aeruginosa infections that compared mortality rates depending on whether patients received active empiric antibiotics.

Results
We found 27 studies of 12 522 patients that reported adjusted OR of active empiric antibiotics on mortality. The pooled adjusted OR was 0.40 (95% CI, 0.32–0.50), favouring active empiric antibiotics. In practice, the mortality effect of empiric antibiotics against P. aeruginosa depends on the prevalence of P. aeruginosa and baseline mortality. The estimated absolute mortality benefit was 0.02% (95% CI, 0.02–0.02) for soft tissue infections, 0.12% (95% CI, 0.10–0.13) for urinary tract infections and community-acquired pneumonia, 0.3% (0.25–0.34) for sepsis without shock, 1.1% (95% CI, 0.9–1.4) for septic shock and 2.4% (95% CI, 1.9–2.8) for nosocomial pneumonia.

Conclusions
The mortality effect for empiric antibiotics against P. aeruginosa depends crucially on the prevalence of P. aeruginosa and baseline mortality by type of infection. For soft tissue infections, urinary tract infections and community-acquired pneumonia, the mortality benefit is low. Meaningful benefit of empiric antibiotics against P. aeruginosa is limited to patients with approximately 30% mortality and 5% prevalence of P. aeruginosa, which is largely limited to patients in intensive care settings.
Resilience of tigecycline heteroresistance phenotype in Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Jo Jeongwoo , Kim Sun Ju , Kwon Ki Tae , Ko Kwan Soo 
Published: December 2024

Abstract

Background
Heteroresistance, frequently observed in diverse bacterial species, imposes clinical challenges. For this study, we investigated the stability and resilience of tigecycline heteroresistance in Acinetobacter baumannii.

Methods
Four tigecycline-heteroresistant (HR) A. baumannii strains and resistant populations (RPs) obtained from them were subjected to laboratory evolution assays for 30 days in antibiotic-free media. The heteroresistance phenotype was determined using a population analysis. Bacterial growth curves and in vitro competitiveness were determined to investigate the fitness cost of heteroresistance. Tigecycline efficacy was evaluated using an in vitro time–killing assay. Genetic mutations were identified using whole genome sequencing, and expression of genes in the two-component systems was also evaluated.

Results
Tigecycline heteroresistance was preserved even in antibiotic-free media, and tigecycline-RPs reverted to heteroresistance during serial culture without tigecycline pressure. The tigecycline-RPs showed a higher fitness cost than their respective HR strains, and the HR strains exhibited a survival advantage upon tigecycline treatment. Although the AdeABC efflux pump was overexpressed in the tigecycline-RPs, it was down-regulated in the HR strains.

Conclusions
Our data indicate that tigecycline heteroresistance is a highly resilient phenotype in A. baumannii that gives a high fitness advantage to bacteria in terms of competitiveness and response to antibiotic pressure.
Politics, Techno-Science, and the Environment: The Late Twentieth-Century Challenges of Locust Control in Post-Colonial Southern Africa
Authors: Mseba Admire 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
This article tells the history of the management of invasive locust swarms in southern Africa in the 1970s and early 1980s. It examines the threats the pests posed to African livelihoods and the challenges in combating them. The article argues that in the 1970s, postcolonial southern African states’ attempts to manage the environment with the help of international organizations were intimately tied to the region’s experiences under colonial rule, their commitment to ensure the whole region’s independence, and the new realities of their dependence on international donor support. This support entrenched a reliance on techno-chemical interventions at a time when the global environmental movement against pesticides was particularly strong. Southern Africa’s international collaborators ultimately ignored this global movement, and locust control in the region continued to depend on the application of organochlorines. However, faith in techno-science failed to address the social, political, and ecological conditions that allowed locusts to flourish. Consequently, the pests remained a threat.
Furry, Feral, Foe: Temporalizing Heath and Invasion on an English Chalk Stream
Authors: Pearson Maddy 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
This article explores framings of life, death, health, and invasion on an English chalk stream. It focuses on the ways in which these notions have been put to work in recent history, in relation to each other, and in relation to particular species and spaces. By 2019, narratives of a chalk stream in South-East England as a dead river expanded beyond retort to intermittent waterlessness. The river’s death came to be framed as part of a wider ecology of chalk stream (ill)health, influenced by twenty-first century biodiversity conservation narratives and hauntological effects, which rendered deathly chalk stream futures present and requiring of human-action now. These narratives and effects conditioned a powerful sense of which non-human life belonged and counted, and which non-human life did not. Absent flagship chalk stream species, water voles, and efforts to resurrect them, were made synonymous with restoring the river itself to life and health. Contrarily, the ongoing presence of “invasive” American mink served as a continued reminder of the river’s demise and death as a chalk stream. The resurrection of chalk streams to health relied on their being dispatched. Once considered to belong as extracted “lively capital” dominating the fur industry and later tolerated as feral escapees in the wild of the UK, American mink had been resituated and their history progressively obscured. Humans became manager-come-saviors of chalk streams, whose lost health was agreed and rendered visible through the ghostly image of the water vole that must be saved from the invasive foe, American mink.
Challenging Practices of Victim-Centeredness in Consultations on Transitional Justice: Creating Space for the Voices of the Disappeared in Sri Lanka
Authors: Raheem Mirak 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
This article explores what it means to be victim-centered in a transitional justice (TJ) consultation process through the case study of the state-commissioned process in Sri Lanka in 2016. The author who was a member of the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms (CTF) uses an insider perspective and the CTF reports to examine victim-centeredness. While noting the limited available literature on the specific issue of consultations in TJ processes, the article draws on work focused on victim participation in TJ and, more broadly, public participation in governance and development. This article attempts to unpick the concept of victim-centeredness through focusing on three key aspects, namely: representation, the listening to and integration of victims’ voices, and the role of experts. It highlights the need to examine the internal operations of TJ structures so as to better understand the factors that contribute to creating spaces for meaningful victim participation.
Prosecutions Across Borders
Authors: Mehta Kalika , Imani Sarah , Melchior Leokadia 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
The practice of universal jurisdiction (UJ), meaning the prosecutions of international crimes before national courts regardless of where the crimes took place, who committed the crimes and against whom these crimes were committed, has been facing critique and praise alike. This article analyses the practice of UJ from the perspective of the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). It has been argued that over the years, UJ practice has also reflected the double standards that characterize the practice of international criminal law (ICL) more broadly. The reasons for this are manifold. UJ, like international (criminal) law in general, comes with certain foundational challenges, systematically and substantively. On the one hand, the modern practice of ICL is often critiqued for its selective and uneven enforcement, both in international and national courtrooms. On the other hand, we encounter systemic and doctrinal obstacles to the prosecution of Western actors, including most importantly Western corporations. There are only limited grounds within the UJ system for addressing the root causes of the structural violence that inform a hegemonic ‘dynamic of difference’ between the ‘Third World’ peoples and Western states and corporations. This article explores the duality of this system and practice as it unfolds in Germany under the Code of Crimes Against International Law (‘V ölkerstrafgesetzbuch’, VStGB), using a TWAIL lens. We argue that the practice of UJ needs to be viewed in a nuanced manner: while there is a risk of furthering Eurocentrism, with Western European states selectively pursuing low- to mid-level perpetrators predominantly from countries of the so-called Global South, while Western actors enjoy impunity, this practice is also the result of mobilization and efforts of victims/non-state actors who see UJ processes as an important avenue for accountability, empowerment and agency.
Arts, cultural heritage, sciences, and micro-/bio-/technology: Impact of biomaterials and biocolorants from antiquity till today!
Authors: De Mol Maarten L , Vandamme Erick J 
Published: December 2024

Abstract

Nature has inspired and provided humans with ideas, concepts, and thoughts on design, art, and performance for millennia. From early societies when humankind often took shelter in caves, until today, many materials and colorants to express feelings or communicate with one another were derived from plants, animals, or microbes. In this manuscript, an overview of these natural products used in the creation of art is given, from paintings on rocks to fashionable dresses made from bacterial cellulose. Besides offering many examples of art works, the origin and application of various biomaterials and colorants are discussed. While many facets of our daily lives have changed over millennia, one certainty has been that humans have an intrinsic need to conceptualize and create to express themselves. Driven by technological advances in the past decades and in the light of global warming, new and often more sustainable materials and colorants have been discovered and implemented. The impact of art on human societies remains relevant and powerful.

One-Sentence Summary
This manuscript discusses the use of biomaterials and biocolorants in art from a historical perspective, spanning 37,000 bc until today.
Choice of law in trade secret cases: a Chinese perspective
Authors: Nanrui Chen 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
In consequence of the growth of global trade, cross-border protection of trade secrets is of vital importance for any business, whether to stimulate innovation or promote competition. In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the number of disputes over cross-border misappropriation of trade secrets. Given the inconsistencies in substantive laws for trade secret protection among countries, conflict of laws thus has a significant impact on the effectiveness of cross-border protection as it does affect the determination of the applicable law. With the in-depth implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, China has stepped up efforts to enhance IP protection, with special emphasis on trade secrets. This article reviews the relevant Chinese conflict rules and their judicial application in trade secret misappropriation cases to clarify whether they are appropriate or need further improvement instead. This article holds that the relevant Chinese conflict rules and their judicial application require further improvement. First, ‘the country for which protection is sought’ is appropriate as the principal connecting factor for trade secret misappropriation, but it should be interpreted according to the factual circumstances of the case at different stages of misappropriation. Second, the parties should be allowed to choose or change any law as applicable any time before the ending of the court debate at first instance, and the court may apply public policy or mandatory rules as last resort in exceptional cases. Third, China may employ the closest connection doctrine as a supplementary rule to determine the applicable law.