The sea as humanitarian space: Non-governmental Search and Rescue dilemmas on the Central Mediterranean migratory route

In 2016 only, more than 5000 migrants lost their lives while attempting to cross the Mediterranean. To mitigate this humanitarian emergency, ten different non-governmental organisations (NGOs) started conducting Search and Rescue (SAR) operations offshore Libya. While operating at sea ostensibly provides humanitarian relief organisations with the possibility to work free of political interference, non-governmental SAR entails operational and ethical dilemmas, forcing NGOs to accept uneasy compromises on the principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence that underlie humanitarian action.     

Large multifocal cardiac myxoma causing the sudden unexpected death of a 2-month-old infant--a rapidly growing, acquired lesion versus a congenital process?: a case report

We report the occurrence of a clinically undiagnosed biatrial myxoma with left ventricular involvement in a 2-month-old male infant, resulting in sudden death. During a routine well-baby examination, a grade (34) holosystolic murmur was detected at the left sternal border with radiation to the axilla and back. On the following day, the patient collapsed and died suddenly. An autopsy revealed a large multifocal neoplasm diffusely involving the aortic valve while displaying mitral, tricuspid, and left ventricular extensions. The ensuing histopathologic and immunohistochemical studies were diagnostic for myxoma. We discuss the occurrence of cardiac myxoma within the pediatric population and review the literature as to theorize whether this lesion was a congenital process versus a rapidly growing tumor that developed after the child was born. Lastly, we address the potential for sudden death in patients with such tumors.     

The detection of deception with the reality monitoring approach: a review of the empirical evidence

One of the verbal approaches to the detection of deceit is based on research on human memory that tries to identify the characteristics that differentiate between internal and external memories (reality monitoring). This approach has attempted to extrapolate the contributions of reality monitoring (RM) research to the deception area. In this paper, we have attempted to review all available studies conducted in several countries in order to yield some general conclusions concerning the discriminative power of this approach. Regarding individual criteria, the empirical results are not very encouraging: few criteria discriminate significantly across studies, and there are several variables that moderate their effect. Some of the contradictory findings may have emerged because of differences in the operationalizations and procedures used across individual studies. However, more promising results have been reported in recent studies, and the approach as a whole appears to discriminate above chance level, reaching accuracy rates that are similar to those of criteria-based content analysis (CBCA). Some suggestions for future research are made.     

Straightjacketing migrant rescuers? The code of conduct on maritime NGOs

In July 2017, Italy drafted an EU-sponsored code of conduct aimed at regulating non-governmental migrant rescuing NGOs offshore Libya. The code makes permission for NGO vessels to disembark migrants in Italian ports conditional on collaborating in the fight against smugglers and accepting the presence of law enforcement personnel on board. This article investigates the inception, content and likely consequences of the Code, arguing that most of its provisions are either redundant or counterproductive. As suggested by scholarship on civil–military cooperation and maritime rescuing, the code as it stands would only violate humanitarian principles without increasing existing rescuing capabilities.     

The non-governmental provision of search and rescue in the Mediterranean and the abdication of state responsibility

From January 2015 to December 2017, approximately 1.6 million migrants crossed the Mediterranean to reach Europe. The death toll was dramatic, with almost 15,000 drowning. In response to the void left by the ending of the Italian-led Mare Nostrum mission, several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) launched their own search and rescue (SAR) operations, rescuing over 110,000 migrants. In this article, we argue that states have the responsibility not only to coordinate, but also to directly provide adequate SAR operations in the Mediterranean, and that these responsibilities are presently being abdicated. Although much criticism of NGO maritime rescuing operations is misplaced, non-governmental SAR has notable limitations, and states are ultimately responsible for this shortfall.     

Alexy's Thesis of the Necessary Connection between Law and Morality

This paper criticizes Alexy's argument on the necessary connection between law and morality. First of all, the author discusses some aspects of the notion of the claim to correctness. Basically, it is highly doubtful that all legal authorities share the same idea of moral correctness. Secondly, the author argues that the claim to correctness is not a defining characteristic of the concepts of “legal norm” and “legal system”. Hence, the thesis of a necessary connection between law and morality based on such claim cannot be accepted. 1 Abstract by Antonino Rotolo.
     

A "politically robust" experimental design for public policy evaluation, with application to the Mexican universal health insurance program.

We develop an approach to conducting large-scale randomized public policy experiments intended to be more robust to the political interventions that have ruined some or all parts of many similar previous efforts. Our proposed design is insulated from selection bias in some circumstances even if we lose observations; our inferences can still be unbiased even if politics disrupts any two of the three steps in our analytical procedures; and other empirical checks are available to validate the overall design. We illustrate with a design and empirical validation of an evaluation of the Mexican Seguro Popular de Salud (Universal Health Insurance)program we are conducting. Seguro Popular, which is intended to grow to provide medical care, drugs, preventative services, and financial health protection to the 50 million Mexicans without health insurance, is one of the largest health reforms of any country in the last two decades. The evaluation is also large scale, constituting one of the largest policy experiments to date and what may be the largest randomized health policy experiment ever.     

mHealth and data protection – the letter and the spirit of consent legal requirements

In this article, the role of consent is discussed in the framework of fundamental rights and in the context of mobile health technologies (mHealth), such as smart phones, mobile phones or tablet/palm-held computing devices to provide healthcare. The authors surmise how, in practice, although there will be more emphasis on informed consent formally, there will be less space for genuine individual consent. This betrays a focus more on the letter of consent rules in data protection than their spirit. This risks reducing consent to a tick box operation in a manner analogous to consumer transactions, something manifestly unsuitable for consent, even if only in informational terms, during medical procedures.     

Grading a rape case followed by death from the study of autosomal STRs and STRs of the Y chromosome—Case study

Two women were found dead inside a residence. Choke causes death in one that had been naked in a bed and contusion injury in another that was found on a sofa. Were received samples of vaginal and anal swabs of the two victims of homicide with suspected of having suffered sexual violence. References also received samples of two victims and a suspect. We performed genetic analysis for identification of samples from the meeting of any possibility of overlap between patterns and profiles of sequences of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) based on genetic relationship between those involved. The reference samples were subjected to the procedure of extraction of nuclear DNA by Chelex method and the swabs samples by differential extraction. For all the samples were performed for amplification of STRs loci and autosomal STRs of chromosome Y. The profiles of DNA sequences were obtained by the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), using sequences starting with marked substances emitting fluorescence detected by reading the optical laser in 3100 Avant automatic sequencer from Applied Biosystems. The information of consecutive loci of Short Repeats or STRs of autosomal chromosomes and the Y chromosome was obtained using the systems or products sold in multilocus, methodologies recommended by the supplier and valid for analysis of DNA. We used the multilocus Identifiler and YFiler system of Applied Biosystems to the amplification of samples. The validation of results has shown a genetic profile in male anal secretion of the victims with a complete coincidence with the suspect.