THE ISSUE OF CORRUPTION IN THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE-QUESTIONING THE ARBITRATORS’ JURISDICTION?

Corruption and a private dispute resolution - two disciplines that have nothing in common? Contrarily. The area of international trade is, as a consequence of liberalization and globalization, free of many economical, legal and physical barriers between countries today. The international cooperation between subjects of different states and the exchange of goods and services is going hand in hand with a risky growth of international criminal activities. The jurisdiction of national judges has been limited in this field since the existence of an alternative dispute resolution that is more suitable to the global and commercial needs and claims. The aim of this paper is to analyze whether it is appropriate, in the context of the international arbitration proceedings, to raise an issue of corruption that may have affected or otherwise distorted the performance of a contract. The conclusion of this paper reveals that such issues should be permitted to be raised by the arbitrators in arbitral proceedings since the principal decision-making powers of the arbitrators in the area of international trade is undeniable

Understanding the impacts of temperature and soil moisture on the germination of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum sclerotia

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary is a necrotrophic fungal pathogen causing Sclerotinia disease in a variety of crops all over the world. Infection of most host plants is through airborne ascospores released from mushroom-like apothecia, produced following carpogenic germination of soilborne sclerotia. Disease control relies mostly on fungicides to kill the ascospores and but efficacy is dependent on the correct timing of the limited number of allowed sprays. Temperature and soil moisture are critical factors affecting carpogenic germination of S. sclerotiorum sclerotia with previous work suggesting a two-stage process; a “conditioning” phase (Stage 1, S1) requiring cold temperatures followed by a “germination” phase (Stage 2, S2) requiring warmer temperatures. Little is known about the conditioning process, and isolates within and between different geographic locations, vary in their individual temperature requirements. This study aimed to further investigate the effect of temperature and moisture on carpogenic germination of S. sclerotiorum sclerotia and model these underlying processes. Extensive controlled environment experiments identified clear differences in the temperature requirements of sclerotia from two UK S. sclerotiorum isolates (L5, L6) for carpogenic germination. Differences in optimum conditioning requirements were apparent in S1 and S2. Furthermore, a two temperature optima, “spring” and “summer” were identified for isolate L6, explaining a possible adaptation of an UK isolate to initiate further cycles of infection within a single year. Examination of the effect of a dry period during the S1 conditioning phase significantly limited and delayed germination, while dry periods introduced in S2 arrested germination but germination quickly resumed after moist conditions were restored. Sclerotia of S. sclerotiorum isolate L5, exposed to various temperatures regimes were also examined microscopically for the presence of primordia (apothecial initials). Primordia were observed in sclerotia incubated at 11 - 20°C as early as 7 days, and the number increased with time and temperature; however, no germination was observed in sclerotia at 20°C without conditioning. In contrast, primordia were not observed until after 70 days at 4°C. When sclerotia were conditioned at 4°C for 28 days and transferred to 17°C, primordia and stipe germination was observed 14 days after transfer. Data from these controlled environment experiments led to the formulation of a new model for carpogenic germination of S. sclerotiorum sclerotia, whereby conditioning and germination phases run in parallel rather than sequentially with each associated with low and high temperature respectively. Rates of conditioning and germination for times to 10, 25, 50, 75 and 90% sclerotial germination were determined for 8 temperatures in a first step of model parameter optimisation, which informed the shape of the temperature response curve with rate functions combining linear and logistic parts of the curve fitted to times to 10% germination. The utility of a potential model to forecast germination of S. sclerotiorum sclerotia in the field is discussed

Rozhodovanie podľa zásad spravodlivosti v prípadoch dotknutých korupciou v medzinárodnej obchodnej arbitráži

Rozhodovanie podľa zásad spravodlivosti v medzinárodnej obchodnej arbitráži sa stáva pomerne častým javom. Striktnosť národných pravidiel neumožňuje stranám flexibilitu v sporoch, ktorú vzhľadom na dlhotrvajúce obchodné vzťahy potrebujú. To, že sa v rozhodcovskom konaní neaplikujú národné právne predpisy neznamená, že by rozhodcovia nemali v rukách nástroje, ktoré môžu použiť v prípadoch, keď odhalia korupčné konanie strán priamo súvisiace s predmetným sporom. Rozhodcovia síce nemôžu prekročiť svoje právomoci, ale stále majú povinnosť skúmať a aplikovať verejný poriadok. Týmto sa musia riadiť aj v prípadoch, keď rozhodujú podľa zásad spravodlivosti.Decision-making ex aequo et bono in international commercial arbitration is a relatively common phenomenon. The strictness of national rules does not allow the parties flexibility in disputes, that they need in view of long-standing business relationships. The fact that national law does not apply to arbitration does not mean that the arbitrators do not have the tools they can use in cases where they detect the corruption of parties directly related to the dispute in question. While arbitrators cannot go beyond their powers, they still have an obligation to investigate and enforce public order. This must also be done in cases where they decide ex aequo et bono

The best, the worst and the semi-strong: optimal values in interval linear programming

Interval programming provides one of the modern approaches to modeling optimization problems under uncertainty. Traditionally, the best and the worst optimal values determining the optimal value range are considered as the main solution concept for interval programs. In this paper, we present the concept of semi-strong values as a generalization of the best and the worst optimal values. Semi-strong values extend the recently introduced notion of semi-strong optimal solutions, allowing the model to cover a wider range of applications. We propose conditions for testing values that are strong with respect to the objective vector, right-hand-side vector or the constraint matrix for interval linear programs in the general form.</p

Množina optimálních řešení úlohy intervalového lineárního programování

Určení množiny všech optimálních řešení lineárního programu s intervalovými daty je jedním z hlavních problémů intervalové optimalizace. Prezentujeme dvě metody založené na dualitě v lineárním programovaní, které jsou využívány k aproximaci optimální množiny. Dále je také navržena dekompoziční metoda založená na komplementaritě omezujících podmínek. Tato metoda poskytuje přesný popis optimální množiny pro problémy s pevnou maticí koeficientů. Druhá část práce se zabývá topologickými a geometrickými vlastnostmi optimální množiny. V této části zkoumáme postačující podmínky pro uzavřenost, omezenost, souvislost a konvexitu. Navíc je dokázáno, že testování omezenosti je co-NP-těžké pro problémy s omezeními ve formě nerovností a volnými proměnnými. Silnější výsledky jsou odvozeny pro některé speciální třídy intervalových lineárních programů, například programy s pevnou maticí koeficientů. Dále studujeme efekt transformací běžně používaných v lineárním programování na intervalové problémy, což umožňuje přímé zobecnění některých výsledků na různé typy intervalových lineárních programů. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)Determining the set of all optimal solutions of a linear program with interval data is one of the main problems discussed in interval optimization. We review two methods based on duality in linear programming, which are used to approximate the optimal set. Additionally, another decomposition method based on complementary slackness is proposed. This method provides the exact description of the optimal set for problems with a fixed coefficient matrix. The second part of the thesis is focused on studying the topological and geometric properties of the optimal set. We examine sufficient conditions for closedness, boundedness, connectedness and convexity. We also prove that testing boundedness is co- NP-hard for inequality-constrained problems with free variables. Stronger results are derived for some special classes of interval linear programs, such as problems with a fixed coefficient matrix. Furthermore, we study the effect of transformations commonly used in linear programming on interval problems, which allows for a direct generalization of some results to different types of interval linear programs. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)Department of Applied MathematicsKatedra aplikované matematikyMatematicko-fyzikální fakultaFaculty of Mathematics and Physic

Neoadjuvant Treatment in Rectal Cancer: Actual Status

Neoadjuvant (preoperative) concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) has become a standard treatment of locally advanced rectal adenocarcinomas. The clinical stages II (cT3-4, N0, M0) and III (cT1-4, N+, M0) according to International Union Against Cancer (IUCC) are concerned. It can reduce tumor volume and subsequently lead to an increase in complete resections (R0 resections), shows less toxicity, and improves local control rate. The aim of this review is to summarize actual approaches, main problems, and discrepancies in the treatment of locally advanced rectal adenocarcinomas

The role of the microbiome in drug resistance in gastrointestinal cancers.

Introduction: The microbiota is recognized for its impact on both human health and disease. The human microbiota is made up of trillions of cells, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The largest population of microbes reside in the gut, prompting research for better understanding of the impact of gastrointestinal microbiota in different diseases. Evidence from numerous studies has pointed out the role of commensal microbes as key determinants of cancer pathogenesis. Moreover, gut microbiota may play an important role in chemoresistance; consequently, this knowledge might be important for novel strategies to improve anticancer treatment efficacy. Areas covered: We describe the role of microbiota in different gastrointestinal cancer types (esophageal, gastric, colorectal, hepatocellular and pancreatic-biliary tract cancers). Moreover, we analyzed the impact of the microbiota on resistance to anticancer therapies, and, lastly, we focused on possibilities of microbiota modulation to enhance anticancer therapy efficacy. Expert opinion: Increasing evidence shows that gut microbiota might influence resistance to anticancer treatment, including conventional chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. Therefore, a better knowledge of gut microbiota and its interactions with anticancer drugs will enable us to develop novel anticancer treatment strategies and subsequently improve the cancer patients' outcome

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Role of MicroRNAs in the Chemoresistance of Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an extremely severe disease where the mortality and incidence rates are almost identical. This is mainly due to late diagnosis and limited response to current treatments. The tumor macroenvironment/microenvironment have been frequently reported as the major contributors to chemoresistance in PDAC, preventing the drugs from reaching their intended site of action (i.e., the malignant duct cells). However, the recent discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) has provided new directions for research on mechanisms underlying response to chemotherapy. Due to their tissue-/disease-specific expression and high stability in tissues and biofluids, miRNAs represent new promising diagnostic and prognostic/predictive biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Furthermore, several studies have documented that selected miRNAs, such as miR-21 and miR-34a, may influence response to chemotherapy in several tumor types, including PDAC. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the role of miRNAs in PDAC and recent advances in understanding their role in chemoresistance through multiple molecular mechanisms