United States Response to Questionnaire Concerning \u3cem\u3eRemuneration for the Use of Works: Exclusivity v. Other Approaches\u3c/em\u3e

ALAI-USA is the U.S. branch of ALAI (Association Littèraire et Artistique Internationale). ALAI-USA was started in the 1980\u27s by the late Professor Melville B. Nimmer, and was later expanded by Professor John M. Kernochan

Enlargement and Legitimacy of the European Union

This article is part of a larger project on contemporary sources of legitimacy of the European Union. My prior inquiry into this subject argued that the primary legitimacy problem within the EU is not the so-called 'democratic deficit' or the EU's failure to produce certain outputs, but is instead the EU's ability to enact laws against a national government's will and dissent through Qualified-Majority Voting ('QMV') in the Council of Ministers. Based on an analysis of the EU's internal transformation through four successive treaties, that article argued that the EU can be legitimated based on two primary sources, national democracy and European citizenship, such that QMV decision-making could be justified based on promotion or protection of European citizenship, even against a national democracy's will. From this internal transformation of the EU, this article turns to the EU's external transformation through enlargement across Central and Eastern Europe. By examining the process of enlargement, the article argues that this practice also reflects the hypothesized dual legitimacy structure based on European citizenship and national democracy. In particular, the EU's primary focus during the enlargement process on the Copenhagen political criteria (rather than the economic or acquis criteria) - and in particular, ensuring the candidate countries' commitment to EU fundamental rights - was justified in light of the concurrent shift in EU decision-making from de facto unanimity to QMV. Since an EU democracy could now be outvoted in the Council and an EU decision could be taken against a nation's democratic will, the old EU Member States wanted to ensure that the new Member States would share their core political values, such that all Member States would be expected to pursue the same basic shared interests and could thus credibly claim to act on behalf of European citizens. Even as a pre-condition of accession negotiations, the EU required candidate countries to meet stringent political criteria reflecting the EU's new orientation around fundamental rights and excluded those countries that failed to do so, particularly based on human rights grounds; in contrast, it extended membership to countries even if they did not fully meet the economic or acquis criteria. In conclusion, the article proposes to formalize this consensus through a 'Strasbourg Compromise,' mirroring the Luxembourg Compromise that underpinned the European Communities, but orienting it around European citizenship rather than the national veto

United States Response to Questionnaire Concerning \u3cem\u3eRemuneration for the Use of Works: Exclusivity v. Other Approaches\u3c/em\u3e

ALAI-USA is the U.S. branch of ALAI (Association Littèraire et Artistique Internationale). ALAI-USA was started in the 1980\u27s by the late Professor Melville B. Nimmer, and was later expanded by Professor John M. Kernochan

Global Peace Operations Review : Annual Compilation 2015

Providing the most comprehensive overview of multilateral contributions to peacekeeping, conflict prevention, and post-conflict peacebuilding, the Review aims to initiate and inform discussions on the comparative advantages and appropriateness of different missions, and through constructive analysis to further strengthen existing partnerships necessary for them to succeed

Metabolic syndrome is associated with similar long-term prognosis in non-obese and obese patients. An analysis of 45 615 patients from the nationwide LIPIDOGRAM 2004-2015 cohort studies

Aims We aimed to evaluate the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and long-term all-cause mortality. Methods The LIPIDOGRAM studies were carried out in the primary care in Poland in 2004, 2006 and 2015. MetS was diagnosed based on the National Cholesterol Education Program, Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP/ATP III) and Joint Interim Statement (JIS) criteria. The cohort was divided into four groups: non-obese patients without MetS, obese patients without MetS, non-obese patients with MetS and obese patients with MetS. Differences in all-cause mortality was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses. Results 45,615 participants were enrolled (mean age 56.3, standard deviation: 11.8 years; 61.7% female). MetS was diagnosed in 14,202 (31%) by NCEP/ATP III criteria, and 17,216 (37.7%) by JIS criteria. Follow-up was available for 44,620 (97.8%, median duration 15.3 years) patients. MetS was associated with increased mortality risk among the obese (hazard ratio, HR: 1.88 [95% CI, 1.79-1.99] and HR: 1.93 [95% CI 1.82-2.04], according to NCEP/ATP III and JIS criteria, respectively) and non-obese individuals (HR: 2.11 [95% CI 1.85-2.40] and 1.7 [95% CI, 1.56-1.85] according to NCEP/ATP III and JIS criteria respectively). Obese patients without MetS had a higher mortality risk than non-obese patients without MetS (HR: 1.16 [95% CI 1.10-1.23] and HR: 1.22 [95%CI 1.15-1.30], respectively in subgroups with NCEP/ATP III and JIS criteria applied). Conclusions MetS is associated with increased all-cause mortality risk in non-obese and obese patients. In patients without MetS obesity remains significantly associated with mortality. The concept of metabolically healthy obesity should be revised

Pancreatic surgery outcomes: multicentre prospective snapshot study in 67 countries

Background: Pancreatic surgery remains associated with high morbidity rates. Although postoperative mortality appears to have improved with specialization, the outcomes reported in the literature reflect the activity of highly specialized centres. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes following pancreatic surgery worldwide.Methods: This was an international, prospective, multicentre, cross-sectional snapshot study of consecutive patients undergoing pancreatic operations worldwide in a 3-month interval in 2021. The primary outcome was postoperative mortality within 90 days of surgery. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore relationships with Human Development Index (HDI) and other parameters.Results: A total of 4223 patients from 67 countries were analysed. A complication of any severity was detected in 68.7 percent of patients (2901 of 4223). Major complication rates (Clavien-Dindo grade at least IIIa) were 24, 18, and 27 percent, and mortality rates were 10, 5, and 5 per cent in low-to-middle-, high-, and very high-HDI countries respectively. The 90-day postoperative mortality rate was 5.4 per cent (229 of 4223) overall, but was significantly higher in the low-to-middle-HDI group (adjusted OR 2.88, 95 per cent c.i. 1.80 to 4.48). The overall failure-to-rescue rate was 21 percent; however, it was 41 per cent in low-to-middle-compared with 19 per cent in very high-HDI countries.Conclusion: Excess mortality in low-to-middle-HDI countries could be attributable to failure to rescue of patients from severe complications. The authors call for a collaborative response from international and regional associations of pancreatic surgeons to address management related to death from postoperative complications to tackle the global disparities in the outcomes of pancreatic surgery (NCT04652271; ISRCTN95140761)