Ethical Reflections on the Institution of Asylum

This article explores the rationale for protecting and assisting refugees, from an ethical perspective. It also examines the relationship between a country’s obligation to provide asylum and that country’s affluence. The field of tension between statist and cosmopolitan ethics is analyzed. After showing that the former establishes weak and limited asylum obligations and after offering a brief argument for cosmopolitanism, the article explores cosmopolitan forms of utilitarianism, libertarianism, and egalitarianism. A reasonable synthesis of the last three perspectives is proposed: it includes a strong duty to provide asylum, a broad definition of the kinds of displacement that create entitlements to international protection and assistance, and international burden-sharing based on relative affluence.Cet article exploratoire se penche sur la raison d’être fondamentale — du point de vue de l’éthique — de l’aide et de la protection offertes aux réfugiés. Il examine ensuite la relation qui existe entre le devoir d’asile d’un pays et son niveau de richesse. Cette exploration se fait à l’intérieur de l’espace de tension qui existe entre l’éthique étatiste et l’éthique cosmopolite. L’article démontre que l’éthique étatiste ne propose, dans le meilleur des cas, que des devoirs faibles et limités. Il continue avec une brève plaidoirie pour le cosmopolitisme, avant d’examiner les formes cosmopolites de l’utilitarisme et des doctrines libertaires et égalitaires. Une synthèse équitable est proposée, qui inclut le devoir ferme d’offrir l’asile, une définition générale des types de déracinements donnant droit à la protection et à l’assistance internationales, et un système de partage des charges au niveau international basé sur les niveaux relatifs de richesse

The Ethics of Development-induced Displacement

This concluding piece on the ethics of development-induced displacement notes how all of the preceding articles find the displacement of people by development policies and projects morally objectionable and that it should be prevented. The question of why it is morally objectionable, how states attempt to justify it nevertheless, and how acceptable such justifications are, is addressed in some detail. This is a discussion that falls into the terrain of the new field of development ethics. Development's promise to reduce poverty and inequality have been used to justify large projects and disruptive policies. In assessing these justifications, three lines of ethical argument are explored, one in terms of the public interest, a second in terms of self-determination, and third in terms of distributive justice. The conclusion is that, while forced migration cannot be categorically declared unjustifiable, the conditions that must be met for its justifiability are considerable.Ce texte conclusif sur l'éthique du déplacement de populations du au développement fait d'abord observer combien toutes les contributions du présent numéro considèrent que le déplacement de populations causé par des politiques de développement est moralement condamnable et se doit d'être évité. La question du pourquoi de ce caractère moralement condamnable, la description des tentatives des gouvernements pour le justifier malgré tout, et la question du degré d'acceptabilité de telles justifications sont abordés ici en détails. La présente discussion s'inscrit dans le domaine nouveau de l'Éthique du Développement. La promesse que fait le développement de réduire la pauvreté et les inégalités a été utilisée pour légitimer des projets pharaoniques et des politiques déstabilisatrices. En évaluant de telles procédures de justification, on exploite ici trois types d'arguments éthiques. Le premier se formule en termes d'intérêt public, le second en termes d'auto-détermination, le troisième en termes de justice distributive. La conclusion est que la migration forcée ne peut être déclarée injustifiable de façon absolument catégorique, mais que les conditions devant être rencontrées pour que sa légitimité se fasse jour sont d'une complexité considérable

A new approach to quantum backflow

We derive some rigorous results concerning the backflow operator introduced by Bracken and Melloy. We show that it is linear bounded, self adjoint, and not compact. Thus the question is underlined whether the backflow constant is an eigenvalue of the backflow operator. From the position representation of the backflow operator we obtain a more efficient method to determine the backflow constant. Finally, detailed position probability flow properties of a numerical approximation to the (perhaps improper) wave function of maximal backflow are displayed.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

Association of MCP-1 -2518 A/G Single Nucleotide Polymorphism with the Serum Level of CRP in Slovak Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease, Angina Pectoris, and Hypertension

The aim of our work was to find if MCP-1 -2518 (A/G) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) influences somehow the serum concentrations of high-sensitive CRP (hsCRP) both in patients suffering from ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial infarction (MI), angina pectoris (AP), and hypertension (HT) and in control group of healthy subjects. Totally, 263 patients with the diagnosis of IHD, out of them 89 with MI, 145 with AP, 205 with HT, and also 67 healthy subjects were included in the study. First, we estimated the serum levels of hsCRP. We found that patients with AP had significantly higher serum level of hsCRP than both control group of healthy subjects (P = .043) and IHD patients without AP (P = .026). The presence of the mutant G allele statistically significantly correlated with the higher serum levels of hsCRP in patients with IHD (P = .016), AP (P = .004), and HT (P = .013). Higher correlations were found in men (AP: P = .019; HT: P = .047). In all cases the highest levels of hsCRP were found both in patients and healthy controls with homozygous GG genotype

Evaluation of Xpert® MTB/RIF and ustar easyNAT™ TB IAD for diagnosis of tuberculous lymphadenitis of children in Tanzania : a prospective descriptive study

Fine needle aspiration biopsy has become a standard approach for diagnosis of peripheral tuberculous lymphadenitis. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of Xpert MTB/RIF and Ustar EasyNAT TB IAD nucleic acid amplification assays, against acid-fast bacilli microscopy, cytology and mycobacterial culture for the diagnosis of TB lymphadenitis in children from a TB-endemic setting in Tanzania.; Children of 8 weeks to 16 years of age, suspected of having TB lymphadenitis, were recruited at a district hospital in Tanzania. Fine needle aspirates of lymph nodes were analysed using acid-fast bacilli microscopy, liquid TB culture, cytology, Xpert MTB/RIF and EasyNAT. Latent class analysis and comparison against a composite reference standard comprising "culture and/or cytology" was done, to assess the performance of Xpert MTB/RIF and EasyNAT for the diagnosis of TB lymphadenitis.; Seventy-nine children were recruited; 4 were excluded from analysis. Against a composite reference standard of culture and/or cytology, Xpert MTB/RIF and EasyNAT had a sensitivity and specificity of 58 % and 93 %; and 19 % and 100 % respectively. Relative to latent class definitions, cytology had a sensitivity of 100 % and specificity of 94.7 %.; Combining clinical assessment, cytology and Xpert MTB/RIF may allow for a rapid and accurate diagnosis of childhood TB lymphadenitis. Larger diagnostic evaluation studies are recommended to validate these findings and on Xpert MTB/RIF to assess its use as a solitary initial test for TB lymphadenitis in children