Law by human intent or evolution? Some remarks on the Austrian school of economics' role in the development of law and economics

In the late nineteenth century, economic analysis of law experienced an outright rejection by the German-speaking legal community. In the second half of the twentieth century, it became a dominant approach in American legal inquiry. We argue that this success was partly due to the insights of Austrian economics which the second wave of law and economics has incorporated. We argue that Austrian legal and economic scholars marked the two cornerstones between which the subsequent discussion oscillated: social planning versus evolution (spontaneous order

Medien-Capabilities als polit-ökonomisches Konzept. Theoretische Grundlagen und mögliche Anwendungen

Das theoretische Konzept der Medien-Capabilities ist eine Erweiterung der in Kommunikationswissenschaft und Medienökonomie verwendeten Konstrukte der Medien-Kompetenz und des Medien-Konsums. Diese scheinen sich gerade in der neoklassisch geprägten Medienökonomie auf utilitaristisch (zumindest nutzentheoretisch) geprägte Ansätze zu stützen, bzw. diese implizit vorauszusetzen. Es wird argumentiert, dass dieses Verständnis Auswirkungen auf weitere normative Fragen hat, v.a. auf die Konzeption von Gerechtigkeit in einer pluralistisch und massenmedial gesteuerten Gesellschaft. Dazu wird der „Capability Approach“ Amartya Sens verwendet, der ein politisch-ökonomisches Verständnis bereitstellt und hierbei der Medienpolitik als Reflexionsgrundlage dienen kann.EnglishMichael Litschka: Media Capability as a Politico-Economical Concept. Theoretical Basics and Possible Applications The theoretical concept of media capabilities is an extension of the constructs employed in the communication sciences and media economics concerning media competence and media consumption. In the neo-classically influenced media economics, these appear to be based on utilitarian (at least theoretical benefit/value/use) influenced approaches, respectively implicitly assume these. It is argued, that this understanding has repercussions regarding further normative questions, in particular regarding the concept of justice in a pluralistic and mass-medially controlled society. To this end, the “capability approach” of Amartya Sen is employed, which provides a politico-economical understanding that can serve media politics as a basis for reflection.

The urgent need to develop novel strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of snakebites

Snakebite envenoming (SBE) is a priority neglected tropical disease, which kills over one hundred thousand people per year. However, many millions of survivors also suffer through disabilities and long-term health consequences. The only treatment, antivenom, has a number of major associated problems, not least, adverse reactions and limited availability. This emphasises the necessity for urgent improvements to the management of this disease. Administration of antivenom is too frequently based on symptomatology, which results in wasting crucial time. The majority of SBE-affected regions rely on broad-spectrum polyvalent antivenoms that have a low content of case-specific efficacious immunoglobulins. Research into small molecular therapeutics such as varespladib/methyl-varespladib (PLA2 inhibitors) and batimastat/marimastat (metalloprotease inhibitors) suggest that such adjunctive treatments could be hugely beneficial to victims. Progress into toxin-specific monoclonal antibodies as well as alternative binding scaffolds such as aptamers hold much promise for future treatment strategies. SBE is not implicit during snakebite, due to venom metering. Thus, the delay between bite and symptom presentation is critical and when symptoms appear it may often already be too late. The development of reliable diagnostical tools could therefore initiate a paradigm shift in the treatment of SBE. While the complete eradication of SBE is an impossibility, mitigation is in the pipeline, and new treatments are emerging

Two snakebite antivenoms have potential to reduce Eswatini’s dependency upon a single, increasingly unavailable product: Results of preclinical efficacy testing

Background Snakebite is a major public health concern in Eswatini, where treatment relies upon one antivenom—SAIMR Polyvalent. Although effective in treating snakebite, SAIMR Polyvalent is difficult to source outside its manufacturing country (South Africa) and is dauntingly expensive. We compared the preclinical venom-neutralising efficacy of two alternative antivenoms with that of SAIMR Polyvalent against the lethal and tissue-destructive effects of venoms from five species of medically important snakes using in vivo murine assays. The test antivenoms were ‘Panafrican’ manufactured by Instituto Clodomiro Picado and ‘PANAF’ manufactured by Premium Serums & Vaccines. Principal findings In vivo murine preclinical studies identified both test antivenoms were equally or more effective than SAIMR Polyvalent at neutralising lethal and tissue-destructive effects of Naja mossambica venom. Both test antivenoms were less effective than SAIMR Polyvalent at neutralising the lethal effects of Bitis arietans, Dendroaspis polylepis, Hemachatus haemachatus and Naja annulifera venoms, but similarly effective at neutralising tissue damage induced by B. arietans and H. haemachatus venoms. In vitro immunological assays identified that the titres and toxin-specificities of immunoglobulins (iGs) in the test antivenoms were comparable to that of SAIMR Polyvalent. Plasma clotting disturbances by H. haemachatus and N. mossambica were neutralised by the test antivenoms, whereas SAIMR Polyvalent failed to neutralise this bioactivity of N. mossambica venom. B. arietans SVMP activity was equally reduced by all three antivenoms, and H. haemachatus and N. mossambica PLA2 activities were neutralised by all three antivenoms. Conclusions While both Panafrican and PANAF antivenoms exhibited promising preclinical efficacies, both were less poly-specifically effective than SAIMR Polyvalent in these murine assays. The efficacy of these antivenoms against the lethal and tissue-destructive effects of N. mossambica venom, the most common biting species in Eswatini, identify that Panafrican and PANAF antivenoms offer effective alternatives to SAIMR Polyvalent for the treatment of snakebite in Eswatini, and potentially for neighbouring countries

Snakebite epidemiology, outcomes and multi-cluster risk modelling in Eswatini

Halving snakebite morbidity and mortality by 2030 requires countries to develop both prevention and treatment strategies. The paucity of data on the global incidence and severity of snakebite envenoming causes challenges in prioritizing and mobilising resources for snakebite prevention and treatment. In line with the World Health Organisation's 2019 Snakebite Strategy, this study sought to investigate Eswatini's snakebite epidemiology and outcomes, and identify the socio-geographical factors associated with snakebite risk. Programmatic data from the Ministry of Health, Government of Eswatini 2019-2021, was used to assess the epidemiology and outcomes of snakebite in Eswatini. We developed a snake species richness map from the occurrence data of all venomous snakes of medical importance in Eswatini that was subjected to niche modelling. We formulated four risk indices using snake species richness, various geospatial datasets and reported snakebites. A multivariate cluster modelling approach using these indices was developed to estimate risk of snakebite and the outcomes of snakebite in Eswatini. An average of 466 snakebites was recorded annually in Eswatini. Bites were recorded across the entire country and peaked in the evening during summer months. Two cluster risk maps indicated areas of the country with a high probability of snakebite and a high probability of poor snakebite outcomes. The areas with the highest rate of snakebite risk were primarily in the rural and agricultural regions of the country. These models can be used to inform better snakebite prevention and treatment measures to enable Eswatini to meet the global goal of reducing snakebite morbidity and mortality by 50% by 2030. The supply chain challenges of antivenom affecting southern Africa and the high rates of snakebite identified in our study highlight the need for improved snakebite prevention and treatment tools that can be employed by health care workers stationed at rural, community clinics. [Abstract copyright: Copyright: © 2023 Padidar et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

RSTMH Special Report on Snakebite

To mark International Snakebite Awareness Day on Thursday 19 September, RSTMH is publishing a report on community groups from around the world who are currently leading the fight against snakebites locally, as well as hosting a day of events at the European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International, which we are hosting in Liverpoo

Připravenost jednotek PO na likvidaci nehod na dálnici D47

Import 08/12/2008Prezenční030 - Katedra požární ochrany a ochrany obyvatelstvaNeuveden