An inspection of rail franchise procurement: first-class regulation for privatised passenger rail?

Examines the operation of rail franchise procurement in the UK. Reviews key aspects of such franchising, its legal framework, whether the process is open to competitive tendering or direct awards, and the rules on publication of opportunities, consultation, qualitative selection and the award criteria. Discusses the role of public sector operators, procurement reforms and challenges after privatisation, and whether further changes are needed

In Vitro Diagnostic Test Procurement During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learnt and Recommendations

This White Paper examines the procurement of in vitro diagnostics (“IVDs”), specifically, commonly used test kits during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research has been commissioned by the British In Vitro Diagnostic Association (“BIVDA”). The White Paper examines key areas which include how test kits were procured, technical validation for use and regulatory approval for placement on the market. It identifies what lessons can be learnt from this experience and makes a number of recommendations to improve future emergency preparedness and diagnostics procurement generally, supported by a sustainable diagnostics industry

No Man Is An Island In Defense Procurement: Developments In EU Defense Procurement Regulation And Its Implications For The U.S.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union have focused minds on the EU’s role as a defense actor. In the context of defense procurement, this includes whether the EU should itself co-fund cooperative programmes with Member States (through the European Defense Fund, for example, and Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) initiatives among Member States), what can be commonly procured (and what cannot, e.g., due to prohibitions against offsets), and how (for example, under the competing constraints of Article 346 of the Treaty on Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the 2009 European Defense Directive). The United States faces the obvious dilemma of needing to be seen to encourage EU initiatives which, if successful, would reduce reliance on the United States within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) while also securing U.S. industry’s continued access to the European defence market(s), for example through Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and under the reciprocal defense procurement agreements which open transatlantic defense markets. In the hope of advancing transatlantic cooperation in the broader procurement law community, this piece explores the latest EU initiatives in defense and security, with a particular emphasis on implications for the United States

Rail Franchises, Competition and Public Service

The use of franchises to deliver rail services has raised major problems. Franchises restrict competition in the market, whilst competitive bidding for franchises has met with difficulties, notably in relation to risk transfer and the recent use of short?term contracts that have not been awarded competitively. Further, franchise agreements are detailed and highly stipulative and do not achieve the flexibility and opportunities for innovation originally intended. This reflects an underlying lack of trust resulting from the arrangements adopted on privatisation. By contrast, in Sweden regional services have been procured through contracts with limited risk transfer, and in Italy provision of services has been entrusted to a dominant operator with comparatively limited detailed service specifications; both seem to have been more successful. For the future in the UK, possibilities include greater use of competition, a return to public ownership, regionalisation, and the use of concessions with limited risk transfer to secure stability

The internal market and national security:Transposition, impact and reform of the EU directive on Intra-Community Transfers of Defence Products

Whilst the Internal Market has been operational for decades, the free movement of defence products within the EU has been restricted by national licensing practices. Member States have treated “intra-EU” transfers as equivalent to third country exports. The Intra-Community Transfers Directive (ICT) introduced a harmonized transfer regime. This article provides a first legal analysis and a case study of the challenges facing harmonization where an evolving Internal Market competence meets a diversity of national security and other interests. The ICT constitutes a significant first step towards reducing barriers to trade, but an ambivalent approach to minimum harmonization has impacted its effectiveness; legal reform is required to further this objective

Radiative D∗D^* Decay Using Heavy Quark and Chiral Symmetry

The implications of chiral $SU(3)_L \times SU(3)_R$ symmetry and heavy quark symmetry for the radiative decays $D^{*0}\to D^0\gamma$, $D^{*+}\to D^+\gamma$, and $D_s^*\to D_s\gamma$ are discussed. Particular attention is paid to $SU(3)$ violating contributions of order $m_q^{1/2}$. Experimental data on these radiative decays provide constraints on the $D^* D\pi$ coupling.Comment: 9 pages plus 3 pages of figures in POSTSCRIPT file appended to TeX file (uses harvmac.tex and tables.tex), UCSD/PTH 92-31, CALT-68-1816, EFI-92-45, CERN-TH.6650/9

Chiral Perturbation Theory for B→D∗B \rightarrow D^* and B→DB \rightarrow D Semileptonic Transition Matrix Elements at Zero Recoil

Heavy quark symmetry predicts the value of $B \rightarrow D$ and $B \rightarrow D^*$ transition matrix elements of the current $\bar c \gamma_\mu (1 - \gamma_5)b$, at zero recoil (where in the rest frame of the $B$ the $D$ or $D^*$ is also at rest). We use chiral perturbation theory to compute the leading corrections to these predictions which are generated at low momentum, below the chiral symmetry breaking scale.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure (not included), CALT-68-1844, MIT-CTP-217

A revision of the early neotheropod genus <i>Sarcosaurus</i> from the Early Jurassic (Hettangian–Sinemurian) of central England

Neotheropoda represents the main evolutionary radiation of predatory dinosaurs and its oldest records come from Upper Triassic rocks (c. 219 Mya). The Early Jurassic record of Neotheropoda is taxonomically richer and geographically more widespread than that of the Late Triassic. The Lower Jurassic (upper Hettangian-lower Sinemurian) rocks of central England have yielded three neotheropod specimens that have been assigned to two species within the genus Sarcosaurus, S. woodi (type species) and S. andrewsi. These species have received little attention in discussions of the early evolution of Neotheropoda and recently have been considered as nomina dubia. Here, we provide a detailed redescription of one of these specimens (WARMS G667-690) and reassess the taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of the genus Sarcosaurus. We propose that the three neotheropod specimens from the Early Jurassic of central England represent a single valid species, S. woodi. The second species of the genus, 'S. andrewsi', is a subjective junior synonym of the former. A quantitative phylogenetic analysis of early theropods recovered S. woodi as one of the closest sister-taxa to Averostra and provides new information on the sequence of character state transformations in the lead up to the phylogenetic split between Ceratosauria and Tetanurae.Fil: Ezcurra, Martin Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Butler, Richard J.. University of Birmingham; Reino UnidoFil: Maidment, Susannah C. R.. University of Birmingham; Reino Unido. Natural History Museum; Reino UnidoFil: Sansom, Ivan J.. University of Birmingham; Reino UnidoFil: Meade, Luke E.. University of Birmingham; Reino UnidoFil: Radley, Jonathan D.. University of Birmingham; Reino Unid

The Cytokine Release Inhibitory Drug CRID3 Targets ASC Oligomerisation in the NLRP3 and AIM2 Inflammasomes

Background: The Inflammasomes are multi-protein complexes that regulate caspase-1 activation and the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1 beta. Previous studies identified a class of diarylsulfonylurea containing compounds called Cytokine Release Inhibitory Drugs (CRIDs) that inhibited the post-translational processing of IL-1 beta. Further work identified Glutathione S-Transferase Omega 1 (GSTO1) as a possible target of these CRIDs. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of the inhibitory activity of the CRID CP-456,773 (termed CRID3) in light of recent advances in the area of inflammasome activation, and to clarify the potential role of GSTO1 in the regulation of IL-1 beta production