Host State Research Articles

Can Multinational Enterprises be Taxed in an Egalitarian way?

Failure to properly tax multinational enterprises (MNEs) located in host states where their users are results in a loss of $155 billion annually. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) introduced two reform pillars in 2021 to address this gap. The first pillar provides a new taxing framework to replace the current one (Digital Services Taxes). It offers new taxing authority to host states where the consumers are located. The second pillar establishes a base rate for corporate taxes worldwide. Although the OECD proposals are a welcome step in the right direction, they fall short because they need to strike the proper balance between autonomy and flexibility. This paper promotes a compromise between incompetent digital services taxes (DSTs) and redistributing taxing authority. The proposal here aims to establish parameters that host states can work within while preserving countries’ independence to determine their rates. To tax MNEs “appropriately” means striking this balance. The proposals in this paper are driven by liberal egalitarianism and impure welfare philosophies of taxation, which emphasize equal opportunity for more equitable MNE taxation and a more equitable world.

Extending and improving metagenomic taxonomic profiling with uncharacterized species using MetaPhlAn 4.

Metagenomic assembly enables new organism discovery from microbial communities, but it can only capture few abundant organisms from most metagenomes. Here we present MetaPhlAn 4, which integrates information from metagenome assemblies and microbial isolate genomes for more comprehensive metagenomic taxonomic profiling. From a curated collection of 1.01 M prokaryotic reference and metagenome-assembled genomes, we define unique marker genes for 26,970 species-level genome bins, 4,992 of them taxonomically unidentified at the species level. MetaPhlAn 4 explains ~20% more reads in most international human gut microbiomes and >40% in less-characterized environments such as the rumen microbiome and proves more accurate than available alternatives on synthetic evaluations while also reliably quantifying organisms with no cultured isolates. Application of the method to >24,500 metagenomes highlights previously undetected species to be strong biomarkers for host conditions and lifestyles in human and mouse microbiomes and shows that even previously uncharacterized species can be genetically profiled at the resolution of single microbial strains.

METABOLIC PARAMETERS IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS WITH POSITIVE CANDIDA CULTURES

The gut microbiota plays an important role in host metabolism, immunity, digestibility and even behaviour. Candida spec. is common resident of the gastrointestinal tract and integral part of the microbiota. The aim of the study was to evaluate if positive Candida cultures in the stool influence metabolic parameters in type 2DM patients. 46 patients with type 2 DM and oral antidiabetic treatment, were divided into a study group (S=18 patients with positive Candida sp. cultures in stool) and the control group (C= remaining 28 patients). Besides medical history and clinical examination, all patients were tested for coproculture, fasting glycaemia (FPG), HbA1C, total cholesterol (CL) triglycerides (TG), high- density lipoproteins (HDL) and low- density lipoproteins (LDL). Study group patients had a significantly higher BMI (31.41 ± 5.29 vs. 25.18 ± 3.58; p<0.001); HbA1C (9.8 % ± 1.74 vs 6.9% ± 1.89; p<0.05) as well as FPG (10.87 ± 1.35 vs 7.47 ± 1.03; p<0.01), compared to the control group. Even though the study group patients had higher TG, CL, LDL and HDL, compared to the control group, there was no statistical significance verified. Uncontrolled glucoregulation is one of the host condition which favours candida colonization and subsequent infection. This may be related to the decrease in commensal bacteria, probably as the result of yeast-bacterial competition. On the other hand, we have to keep in mindthat a significantly increased number of Candida colonies can affect the rate of digestion and absorption of carbohydrates and consequently increase the level of glycaemia in patients with diabetes.

Life history matters: Differential effects of abomasal parasites on caribou fitness

Parasites can impact wildlife populations through their effects on host fitness and survival. The life history strategies of a parasite species can dictate the mechanisms and timing through which it influences the host. However, unravelling this species-specific effect is difficult as parasites generally occur as part of a broader community of co-infecting parasites. Here, we use a unique study system to explore how life histories of different abomasal nematode species may influence host fitness. We examined abomasal nematodes in two adjacent, but isolated, West Greenland caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) populations. One herd of caribou were naturally infected with Ostertagia gruehneri, a common and dominant summer nematode of Rangifer sspp., and the other with Marshallagia marshalli (abundant; winter) and Teladorsagia boreoarcticus (less abundant; summer), allowing us to determine if these nematode species have differing effects on host fitness. Using a Partial Least Squares Path Modelling approach, we found that in the caribou infected with O. gruehneri, higher infection intensity was associated with lower body condition, and that animals with lower body condition were less likely to be pregnant. In caribou infected with M. marshalli and T. boreoarcticus, we found that only M. marshalli infection intensity was negatively related to body condition and pregnancy, but that caribou with a calf at heel were more likely to have higher infection intensities of both nematode species. The differing effects of abomasal nematode species on caribou health outcomes in these herds may be due to parasite species-specific seasonal patterns which influence both transmission dynamics and when the parasites have the greatest impact on host condition. These results highlight the importance of considering parasite life history when testing associations between parasitic infection and host fitness.

The Host States’ Regulatory Obligation to Human Rights Violations by Transnational Corporations

The increasing importance of multinational corporations in the process of economic globalization, but the increasing number of human rights violations in the context of the operations of multinational companies has led to an increasing amount of research and reflection by the international community on such cases. In cases of human rights violations by transnational corporations, the victims are usually people living in the host country, and the violations are committed in the host country, so the host country has the right and the obligation to regulate and manage such cases. The obligation of States to protect human rights, the principle of mutual non-impairment of sovereignty and the necessary international cooperation are the main theoretical foundations of this obligation. According to the concept of due diligence, the state must take preventive measures when it knows or should know the risk of human rights violations and when it has the appropriate means or resources to prevent them. This paper summarizes the current dilemma of the host country concerning the corresponding regulatory obligations and analyses the corresponding causes through the research method of case studies and comparative research. It also summarizes the current views on the relationship between the duty of prevention and legal responsibility in the host country and the solutions to the host country’ s jurisdictional dilemma.

The Dilemma of Consent to International Arbitration in Investment Agreements without a Forum

Abstract This monograph addresses the sometimes overlooked yet fundamental principle that consent to international arbitration is forum-specific, and explores its significance and practical consequences in investment arbitration. This monograph contends that if there is no arbitral forum mentioned in the relevant dispute settlement provision of an investment agreement, the forum specified therein becomes unavailable for some reason, or a subsequent agreement on a forum is required between the parties to the dispute, there is only consent “in principle” to international arbitration in the investment agreement. Such expression of “consent” is unenforceable and ineffective, which means that a foreign investor would not be entitled to unilaterally initiate an investment claim against the host State under said agreement absent a subsequent agreement between the foreign investor and the host State on an arbitral forum. This monograph also shows that there is an explicit requirement of a forum-specific consent in the arbitral rules of the often-used arbitral institutions. In addition, the most-favored nation clause in investment agreements could not be applied to overcome the lack of forum in dispute settlement provisions. Finally, this monograph proposes possible avenues to tackle the absence of an agreed-upon forum in an investor-State dispute settlement provision, draws some conclusions and warns against the dangerous consequences of ignoring this basic principle.

Hierarchical Governance and the Refugee Compact in Central America: Host States, Containment, and the Absence of International Resettlement

Central America is experiencing rapidly-accelerating displacement crises. 400,000 have fled to neighboring states, and 500,000 throughout the Americas. In response, the international community implemented the Global Compact on Refugees through the MIRPS regional mechanism (Marco Integral Regional de Protección y Soluciones). Though framed as a platform for responsibility-sharing, MIRPS focuses narrowly on host states, and ignores resettlement or regularized mobility pathways. This article uses an International Relations lens to argue that the absence of regional governance means the scope for responsibility-sharing is dictated by hierarchical power dynamics and extraterritorial containment agendas, with regional states complying through coercion or allying.

Navigating through depoliticisation: international stakeholders and refugee reception in Jordan and Turkey

The reception of Syrian refugees has dominated negotiations between neighbouring host states, such as Jordan and Turkey, and donors in the Global North. Despite the growing literature on external funding, how international stakeholders navigate the domestic context is understudied. This article employs the lens of depoliticisation and analyses tools employed by international stakeholders manoeuvring domestic contexts in centralised states. We argue that international stakeholders adopt a depoliticised approach that portrays them and the actors they work with as service providers while working with national governments that engage in rent-seeking. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with donors and international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) as international stakeholders in Jordan and Turkey, the contribution of the article is two-fold. First, although the ‘local’ is ever present in policy and research discussions, research and policy often conflate regional organisations, national governments and municipalities. We therefore further disentangle the power relations between the various actors categorised as ‘local’. Second, we offer a conceptual understanding of how international stakeholders navigate the dynamics of local power relations and the domestic politics in centralised states with rent-seeking behaviours.

The less obvious effect of hosting the Olympics on sporting performance

Hosting the Olympics has long been claimed to bring a financial return on investment. When this cannot clearly demonstrated, the medal surplus associated with host status is usually highlighted. We investigate the magnitude of having a home advantage at the recent Summer Olympic Games (1996–2021) separately for each organising country and by gender. Beside the host effect, the ex-ante and post impact on the medal surplus is also investigated in the same way. We analyse this effect using three models at the level of total medals, and medals won by men, and by women. Because of the number of zero observation in the response variable, we employ a zero-inflated negative binomial estimator. Our results cast some doubt on the claim of a host effect of the Olympics: when we control for socioeconomic variables in the models, the host effect fades away. Any host effect is clearer for medals won by men. Ex-ante and post effects on host countries are detectable in some cases but also fade with the inclusion of control variables. Based on our results, the medal surplus associated with the hosting of the Olympics is less evident than reported in literature or public discourse.

Capacity Building as Intervention-Lite: Migration Management and the Global Compacts

ABSTRACT Many states lack the standing capacity – housing, food, medical, or legal assistance – if thousands of people cross their border in one day. In addition, developing countries often lack the administrative capacity, expertise, and legal frameworks to process immigration or asylum applications and issue visas or refugee statuses. In response, the United Nations and other international organisations (IOs) propose to build the capacity of states through direct aid, training schemes, consultancies, twinning programmes, and start-up funds. The 2018 Global Compacts on Refugees (GCR) and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) were in part created with the mandates to ‘build capacity’ in designated states. This article examines how the meaning of capacity building has changed in migration management over the last 70 years. First, we present a brief history of capacity building and theorise capacity building as a form of intervention-lite that relies on the invitation by the host state and reaffirms an absolutist interpretation of sovereignty. The emerging norm of ‘well-managed migration’ asserts that if a state is not able to make migration safe, then the international community has a responsibility to provide resources and training to those national institutions. The article traces this logic of intervention-lite and the norm of ‘well-managed migration’ in the Global Compacts, particularly UNHCR Asylum Capacity Support Group and UN Network on Migration’s capacity building mechanism. Methodologically, we draw on elite interviews, case studies, policy analysis, project workplans, evaluations, UN white papers and reports to examine the concept of ‘capacity building’ as framed in the Global Compacts and its implications for migration management and sovereignty. While the compacts affirm state responsibility for migration management, the GCR and GCM increase the capacity of international organisations to intervene in domestic institutions, rather than increase the capacity of national institutions.

Significance of Physical Status and Liver Function Reserve for Outcome of Patients with Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma Receiving Lenvatinib Treatment.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) remain the primary therapeutic option for patients with advanced-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the selection of a suitable TKI is an issue in real-world clinical practice. Thus, this study aimed to identify patients most likely to benefit from lenvatinib treatment. A retrospective review of 143 patients with unresectable advanced-stage HCC treated with lenvatinib between January 2020 and December 2021 was performed. Outcomes related to lenvatinib treatment were measured, and the clinical parameters affecting prognosis were analyzed. Overall, the median time of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 7.1 months and 17.7 months, respectively. Prognostic analyses found that Child-Pugh score > 5 (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.55-3.80, p = 0.001) was a significant factor affecting the PFS of HCC after lenvatinib treatment. Child-Pugh score > 5 (HR = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.20-3.74, p = 0.009), body weight ≥ 60 kg (HR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.32-0.90, p = 0.020), and additional trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment (HR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.21-0.70, p = 0.003) were significant prognostic factors for OS. However, early α-fetoprotein reduction was not significantly correlated with patient outcomes. Additionally, patients with pre-treatment neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio > 4.07 showed a significant worse PFS and OS than other patients. The outcome of patients with advanced-stage HCC remains poor. However, the host condition, including good physical status and better functional liver preservation, largely affected the outcome of patients receiving lenvatinib treatment. Moreover, additional locoregional therapy for intrahepatic HCC, other than TKI treatment, can be considered in certain patients to achieve a favorable outcome.

Evaluation of Solanaceous Species as Nonhost Trap Crops for Globodera pallida.

Globodera pallida, the pale cyst nematode (PCN), is a quarantine pest of potato posing a serious threat to the Idaho potato industry. Globodera pallida only hatches in the presence of a hatching stimulus produced by a host plant or closely related species. In the absence of this hatching stimulus, G. pallida can remain viable in the soil for decades. A trap crop stimulates hatch of G. pallida but is a nonhost, which means the nematode cannot develop or reproduce. This study evaluated the trap crop potential of several solanaceous species by determining G. pallida host status and hatching effect of each species. The species under investigation included Solanum aethiopicum, S. macrocarpon, S. quitoense, S. retroflexum, and S. douglasii. All species were determined to be nonhosts of G. pallida. The most promising trap crop candidates with a hatching stimulatory effect comparable to potato were S. quitoense and S. retroflexum. Further research is needed to assess whether these species could be effective G. pallida trap crops under Idaho field conditions.

The Morocco-Nigeria BIT: An Important contribution to Ensuring the Accountability of TNCs for Their Human Rights Violations?

Corporate accountability for human rights violations has been at the forefront of the business and human rights debate. This debate has focused on the establishment of binding human rights obligations on corporate entities, particularly following the Human rights Council’s initiative to establish a treaty on business and human rights– a mandate given to the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights. Joining this debate, this paper briefly comments on relevant provisions of the 2016 Morocco-Nigeria Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) which appears to contain innovative provisions that seek to ensure that investors (who are often corporate entities) are held accountable for their investment activities that adversely impact human rights within their host States. Although the Morocco-Nigeria BIT remains exceptional within the investment treaty framework, it reflects an initiative to ensure that the next generation of BITs encourages greater corporate accountability for their human rights violations.

HIV/AIDS infection in critical care: epidemiological profile and risk factors for mortality in a Colombian cohort

Outcomes of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) have improved with antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, whether the outcomes have improved in low- and middle-income countries, paralleling those of high-income countries is unknown. The objective of this study was to describe a cohort of HIV-infected patients admitted to ICU in a middle-income country and identify the risk factors associated with mortality. A cohort study of HIV-infected patients admitted to five ICUs in Medellín, Colombia, between 2009 and 2014 was done. The association of demographic, clinical and laboratory variables with mortality was analyzed using a Poisson regression model with random effects. During this time period, 472 admissions of 453 HIV-infected patients were included. Indications for ICU admission were: respiratory failure (57%), sepsis/septic shock (30%) and central nervous system (CNS) compromise (27%). Opportunistic infections (OI) explained 80% of ICU admissions. Mortality rate was 49%. Factors associated with mortality included hematological malignancies, CNS compromise, respiratory failure, and APACHE II score ≥ 20. Despite advances in HIV care in the ART era, half of HIV-infected patients admitted to the ICU died. This elevated mortality was associated to underlying disease severity (respiratory failure and APACHE II score ≥ 20), and host conditions (hematological malignancies, admission for CNS compromise). Despite the high prevalence of OIs in this cohort, mortality was not directly associated to OIs.

The Double-Edged Sword of Foreign Direct Investment on Domestic Terrorism

This paper studies the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on domestic terrorism. Using a cross-national, time-series analysis of 114 countries from 1991–2017, and employing structural equation modeling to test a number of mediating factors, we find that the impact of FDI on domestic terrorism depends on the host state’s level of economic development. For host countries at higher-income levels, FDI boosts economic development and global integration promoting prosperity, increasing counterterrorism resources, and reducing the economic grievances that foster terrorism. Conversely, for lower-income host countries, increased FDI fuels higher domestic terrorism, as it intensifies clashes between traditional and modern elements within society, raises economic discrimination, heightens perceptions of economic insecurity, and subsequently leads to grievances directed against the state. Our results indicate a curvilinear relationship between FDI inflows and domestic terrorism, suggesting that FDI produces a double-edged sword between promoting economic development and increasing domestic terrorism in host states.

Redefining shelter: humanitarian sheltering.

Shelter is one of the most 'intractable problems' in humanitarian aid and yet there is little clarity on an overarching definition. Terminology for shelter and housing is often conflated, and the most prominent definition does not fully reflect recent progress in the Shelter and Settlements Sector. This paper explores the varying terminology utilised in definitions of shelter within humanitarian aid since 1990, reflecting on the concepts of 'shelter' and 'housing', alongside surrounding perceptions of 'house' versus 'home', and related measures of adequacy. The current, most prolific definition is also deconstructed, demonstrating ambiguity in some of terminology such as 'dignity' and 'privacy', and revealing that interpretation of this definition depends on the reader's knowledge. Lastly, a new definition of 'sheltering' is proposed, encompassing five key reflections: the concept of process over object; the inclusion of communities and individuals; the commonality of long-term sheltering; the wider effects of shelter; and the impacts on host communities and environment.

Acetylation of Cyclic AMP Receptor Protein by Acetyl Phosphate Modulates Mycobacterial Virulence.

The success of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) as a pathogen is partly attributed to its ability to sense and respond to dynamic host microenvironments. The cyclic AMP (cAMP) receptor protein (CRP) is closely related to the pathogenicity of Mtb and plays an important role in this process. However, the molecular mechanisms guiding the autoregulation and downstream target genes of CRP while Mtb responds to its environment are not fully understood. Here, it is demonstrated that the acetylation of conserved lysine 193 (K193) within the C-terminal DNA-binding domain of CRP reduces its DNA-binding ability and inhibits transcriptional activity. The reversible acetylation status of CRP K193 was shown to significantly affect mycobacterial growth phenotype, alter the stress response, and regulate the expression of biologically relevant genes using a CRP K193 site-specific mutation. Notably, the acetylation level of K193 decreases under CRP-activating conditions, including the presence of cAMP, low pH, high temperature, and oxidative stress, suggesting that microenvironmental signals can directly regulate CRP K193 acetylation. Both cell- and murine-based infection assays confirmed that CRP K193 is critical to the regulation of Mtb virulence. Furthermore, the acetylation of CRP K193 was shown to be dependent on the intracellular metabolic intermediate acetyl phosphate (AcP), and deacetylation was mediated by NAD+-dependent deacetylases. These findings indicate that AcP-mediated acetylation of CRP K193 decreases CRP activity and negatively regulates the pathogenicity of Mtb. We believe that the underlying mechanisms of cross talk between transcription, posttranslational modifications, and metabolites are a common regulatory mechanism for pathogenic bacteria. IMPORTANCE Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the causative agent of tuberculosis, and the ability of Mtb to survive harsh host conditions has been the subject of intensive research. As a result, we explored the molecular mechanisms guiding downstream target genes of CRP when Mtb responds to its environment. Our study makes a contribution to the literature because we describe the role of acetylated K193 in regulating its binding affinity to target DNA and influencing the virulence of mycobacteria. We discovered that mycobacteria can regulate their pathogenicity through the reversible acetylation of CRP K193 and that this reversible acetylation is mediated by AcP and a NAD+-dependent deacetylase. The regulation of CRPMtb by posttranslational modifications, at the transcriptional level, and by metabolic intermediates contribute to a better understanding of its role in the survival and pathogenicity of mycobacteria.

Distribution of face masks in Kakuma refugee camp during a pandemic: Legal obligations and responsibilities

This article argues that the inhabitants of the Kakuma refugee camp are in a special relationship with the state, resulting in an increased duty of care of the latter towards the former. The effect of this increased duty of care ultimately results in a positive obligation to provide face masks to the inhabitants to protect them from COVID-19, based on the right to the best attainable standard of health and the right to life. The article then turns to the question of who is responsible to provide such face masks in the camp. After first analysing the situation on site, the article argues that a shift of responsibility of the host state to the UN Refugee Agency took place.

Bacterial lifestyle switch in response to algal metabolites.

Unicellular algae, termed phytoplankton, greatly impact the marine environment by serving as the basis of marine food webs and by playing central roles in the biogeochemical cycling of elements. The interactions between phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria affect the fitness of both partners. It is becoming increasingly recognized that metabolic exchange determines the nature of such interactions, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain underexplored. Here, we investigated the molecular and metabolic basis for the bacterial lifestyle switch, from coexistence to pathogenicity, in Sulfitobacter D7 during its interaction with Emiliania huxleyi, a cosmopolitan bloom-forming phytoplankter. To unravel the bacterial lifestyle switch, we analyzed bacterial transcriptomes in response to exudates derived from algae in exponential growth and stationary phase, which supported the Sulfitobacter D7 coexistence and pathogenicity lifestyles, respectively. In pathogenic mode, Sulfitobacter D7 upregulated flagellar motility and diverse transport systems, presumably to maximize assimilation of E. huxleyi-derived metabolites released by algal cells upon cell death. Algal dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) was a pivotal signaling molecule that mediated the transition between the lifestyles, supporting our previous findings. However, the coexisting and pathogenic lifestyles were evident only in the presence of additional algal metabolites. Specifically, we discovered that algae-produced benzoate promoted the growth of Sulfitobacter D7 and hindered the DMSP-induced lifestyle switch to pathogenicity, demonstrating that benzoate is important for maintaining the coexistence of algae and bacteria. We propose that bacteria can sense the physiological state of the algal host through changes in the metabolic composition, which will determine the bacterial lifestyle during interaction.

The Assignment of Investment Treaty Claims: Doctrinal and Policy Perspectives

Abstract The breach of an investment treaty vests the covered investor with a treaty claim, i.e. the right to claim reparation vis-à-vis the host State. Typically, the investor itself will bring this treaty claim before an arbitral tribunal. Yet, it might be the case that the investor is unwilling to commence arbitral proceedings against the host State. In this scenario, is the investor permitted to assign its treaty claim to another entity which will then initiate arbitration? In the affirmative, which are the jurisdictional hurdles that an assigned claim might face? And, bottom line, does such an assignment constitute a legitimate practice? It is these questions, that this study attempts to answer. It submits that the assignment of treaty claims is not only doctrinal-wise tenable but also policy-wise desirable, in view of the extensive and – to some extent – opaque third-party funding arrangements, to which the assignment provides an alternative.