The Legal Fog of an Illusion: Three Reflections on Organization and Intensity as Criteria for the Temporal Scope of the Law of Non-International Armed Conflict

The organization of the non-State armed group and the intensity of the violence between it and its opponent(s) have emerged as the two key criteria to determine the temporal scope of the law of non-international armed conflict. These criteria have served to lift the fog of law in some important respects. Yet, several aspects of the temporal scope of the law of non-international armed conflict remain unsettled. This article addresses three of them, namely the assertion that the factors for ascertaining organization and intensity that have evolved in the jurisprudence of international criminal courts and tribunals are indicative rather than determinative, to whom the criterion of organization is to be applied, and whether the requisite level of intensity of armed violence can be cumulative when multiple organized armed groups are pitted against each other and government forces even though the armed violence that arises in the bilateral relations between two opposing parties does not reach the requisite level of intensity

Soldier 2.0: Military Human Enhancement and International Law

Advances in technologies that could endow humans with physical or mental abilities that go beyond the statistically normal level of functioning are occurring at an incredible pace. The use of these human enhancement technologies by the military, for instance in the spheres of biotechnology, cybernetics and prosthetics, raise a number of questions under the international legal frameworks governing military technology, namely the law of armed conflict and human rights law. The article examines these frameworks with a focus on weapons law, the law pertaining to the detention of and by “enhanced individuals,” the human rights of those individuals and their responsibility for the actions they take while under the influence of enhancements

Cell mediated immune response dominates in experimental mammary gland Candida krusei infection in immunocompetent and immuno - compromised (nu/nu) mice

Experimental local mammary gland Candida krusei infection in immuno-competent and in congenic athymie nude BALB/c mice over a period of 21 days demonstrated that the immunocompetent mice readily cleared the infection whereas the infection persisted in the athymic mice. The fungal burden, however, was similar in the nude mice and in the immuno-compctcnt mice until day 18 after infection. The ratio Ofinterferony/interleukin-4 (1FN-y/IL-4) concentrations in supernatants from (ZonA stimulated splenocytcs of the infected mice indicated a predominant Th1 response to the C. krusei infection. Stimulated splenocytes of the infected immuno-competent mice synthesised significantly higher concentrations of the two eytokines than did the  splenocytes from the infected nude mice. The present study indicates that local C. krusei infection is associated with a predominant IFN-y-Th1 response although a gradual activation of the Th2 -arm (IL-4) of the immune system may beindicated late in the course of infection

Constrained firms, not subsistence activities: evidence on capital returns and accumulation in Peruvian microenterprises

We investigate the returns to capital and capital accumulation using panel data of Peruvian micro enterprises (MEs). Marginal returns to capital are found to be very high at low levels of capital, but rapidly decreasing at higher levels. The dynamic analyses of capital accumulation in MEs suggest that credit constraints explain a major part of the variation in firm growth. We find a very large positive effect of household non-business wealth on capital stocks of MEs. We also show a sizable effect of risk on accumulation and pronounced interactions between wealth and risk. The presented evidence is consistent with poorly endowed entrepreneurs who operate in imperfect capital markets and a very risky environment

The unilateralization of international humanitarian law

Traditionally, international humanitarian law (IHL) is conceptualized as a body of mutually binding, horizontal international legal rules that are agreed upon by States and that govern the relationships between parties to armed conflicts. Yet, there is discernible evidence that contemporary IHL – and the broader normative environment that pertains to the regulation of armed conflicts in which it is situated – is incorporating elements of unilateralization, manifested in legal and non-legal norms that regulate armed conflicts taking the form of commitments whose validity is not dependent on being reciprocated. This article examines some of the systemic implications of unilateralization of IHL and considers its pitfalls and potential.https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-review-of-the-red-crosshj2023Centre for Human Right

Plasma lyso-phosphatidylcholine concentration is decreased in cancer patients with weight loss and activated inflammatory status

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It has been observed that ras-transformed cell lines in culture have a higher phosphatidylcholine (PC) biosynthesis rate as well as higher PC-degradation rate (increased PC-turnover) than normal cells. In correspondence to these findings, the concentrations of the PC-degradation product lyso-phosphatidylcholine (LPC) in cancer patients were found to be decreased. Our objective was the systematic investigation of the relationship between LPC and inflammatory and nutritional parameters in cancer patients. Therefore, plasma LPC concentrations were assessed in 59 cancer patients and related to nutritional and inflammatory parameters. To determine LPC in blood plasma we developed and validated a HPTLC method.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Average plasma LPC concentration was 207 ± 59 μM which corresponds to the lower limit of the reported range in healthy subjects. No correlation between LPC and age, performance status, body mass index (BMI) or fat mass could be seen. However, LPC correlated inversely with plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) and whole blood hydrogen peroxides (HPO). Further, a negative correlation could be observed between LPC and whole body extra cellular fluid volume (ECF) as well as with relative change in body weight since cancer diagnosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In conclusion, LPC concentrations were decreased in cancer patients. LPC plasma concentrations correlated with weight loss and inflammatory parameters and, therefore, might be a general indicator of severity of malignant disease.</p

The role of public actors in construction logistics: effects on and of relational interfaces

Public actors are increasingly enforcing the use of specifically designed construction logistics setups (CLS) to cope with logistical challenges and minimising disturbances on third parties in large construction projects. The organising of these CLS is contingent on the interaction among several types of actors. The purpose of the paper is to advance the understanding of the design and use of CLS and the distribution of various outcomes of such arrangements on the actors involved. The paper analyses the role of public actors in the initiating of CLS and how this affects the relational interfaces in the CLS triad of developers, contractors and logistics service providers, and the outcomes of their interactions. First, the main reason for a public actor to initiate a CLS is not cost, productivity or innovativity gains, but to decrease disturbances on third parties. Second, developers and contractors are forced to use the CLS initiated by the public actor. This makes them take on a forced customer role, explaining why these actors are often resistant to adopt to a certain CLS. Third, ripple effects, such as unintended costs and productivity impacts, occur in the construction supply chain because of the use of CLS

The novel BET inhibitor UM-002 reduces glioblastoma cell proliferation and invasion

Bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) proteins have emerged as therapeutic targets in multiple cancers, including the most common primary adult brain tumor glioblastoma (GBM). Although several BET inhibitors have entered clinical trials, few are brain penetrant. We have generated UM-002, a novel brain penetrant BET inhibitor that reduces GBM cell proliferation in vitro and in a human cerebral brain organoid model. Since UM-002 is more potent than other BET inhibitors, it could potentially be developed for GBM treatment. Furthermore, UM-002 treatment reduces the expression of cell-cycle related genes in vivo and reduces the expression of invasion related genes within the non-proliferative cells present in tumors as measured by single cell RNA-sequencing. These studies suggest that BET inhibition alters the transcriptional landscape of GBM tumors, which has implications for designing combination therapies. Importantly, they also provide an integrated dataset that combines in vitro and ex vivo studies with in vivo single-cell RNA-sequencing to characterize a novel BET inhibitor in GBM

Changes in catastrophic health expenditure in post-conflict Sierra Leone: an Oaxaca-blinder decomposition analysis.

BACKGROUND: At the end of the eleven-year conflict in Sierra Leone, a wide range of policies were implemented to address both demand- and supply-side constraints within the healthcare system, which had collapsed during the conflict. This study examines the extent to which households' exposure to financial risks associated with seeking healthcare evolved in post-conflict Sierra Leone. METHOD: This study uses the 2003 and 2011 cross-sections of the Sierra Leone Integrated Household Survey to examine changes in catastrophic health expenditure between 2003 and 2011. An Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition approach is used to quantify the extent to which changes in catastrophic health expenditure are attributable to changes in the distribution of determinants (distributional effect) and to changes in the impact of these determinants on the probability of incurring catastrophic health expenditure (coefficient effect). RESULTS: The incidence of catastrophic health expenditure decreased significantly by 18% from approximately 50% in 2003 t0 32% in 2011. The decomposition analysis shows that this decrease represents net effects attributable to the distributional and coefficient effects of three determinants of catastrophic health expenditure - ill-health, the region in which households reside and the type of health facility used. A decrease in the incidence of ill-health and changes in the regional location of households contributed to a decrease in catastrophic health expenditure. The distributional effect of health facility types observed as an increase in the use of public health facilities, and a decrease in the use of services in facilities owned by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also contributed to a decrease in the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure. However, the coefficient effect of public health facilities and NGO-owned facilities suggests that substantial exposure to financial risk remained for households utilizing both types of health facilities in 2011. CONCLUSION: The findings support the need to continue expanding current demand-side policies in Sierra Leone to reduce the financial risk of exposure to ill health