The WTO Dispute Settlement System : A First Assessment from an Economic Perspective

We explore the incentives countries face in trade litigation within the new WTO Dispute Settlement System. Our analysis yields a number of interesting predictions. First, because sanctions are ruled out during the litigation process, the Dispute Settlement System does not preclude all new trade restrictions. However, the agenda-setting capacity of the complainant, including its right to force a decision, make trade restrictions less attractive than under the WTO's predecessor GATT. Second, the system's appellate review provides the losing defendant with strong incentives to delay negative findings, and both parties with a possibility to signal their determinacy in fighting the case. Third, a relatively weak implementation procedure potentially reinforces incentives to violate WTO trade rules. Fourth, bilateral settlements are more likely at an early stage in the process and are biased towards the expected outcome of the formal dispute settlement procedure. Empirical evidence based on a first data set of cases at an advanced stage of the litigation process provides qualitative support for our claims.World Trade Organization; dispute settlement; trade restrictions

Proteomic analysis in quest for biologic markers of psychiatric diseases

The aim of this paper is to present the concept of proteomic analysis, technologies and opportunity of utilization proteomic methods in quest for biologic markers of psychiatric diseases.Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie założeń badań proteomicznych, stosowanych metod i możliwości wykorzystania tych badań w poszukiwaniu markerów biologicznych dla chorób psychicznych

Epigenetic mechanisms in psychiatric disorders and cognitive functions

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie mechanizmów epigenetycznych wpływających na pozagenowe dziedziczenie predyspozycji do chorób psychicznych oraz zaburzeń funkcji poznawczych. W pierwszej części artykułu przedstawiono pojęcie epigenetyki i mechanizmy z nią związane wraz z dowodami wskazującymi na działanie konkretnych mechanizmów w zaburzeniach psychicznych. Druga część jest poświęcona plastyczności synaptycznej i zaburzeniom funkcji poznawczych, w których od dawna złożone mechanizmy epigenetyczne są postulowane i badane, a które mają związek z zaburzeniami procesów poznawczych występującymi w chorobach psychicznych.The aim of this paper is presentation of epigenetic mechanisms in non-genomic inheritance of predisposition to psychiatric disorders and cognitive dysfunctions. In the first part of this paper we describe epigenetic term and recent findings on the role and mechanisms of epigenetic codes in mental disorders. In second part of this review we present epigenetic regulation of synaptic plasticity and cognition. Dysfunctions of these processes are thought to be important in psychiatric disorders

Isothermal microcalorimetry provides new insights into biofilm variability and dynamics

The purpose of this study was to investigate a three-species in vitro biofilm with peri-implantitis-related bacteria for its variability and metabolic activity. Streptococcus sanguinis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Porphyromonas gingivalis were suspended in simulated body fluid containing 0.2% glucose to form biofilms on polished, protein-coated implant-grade titanium disks over 72 h using a flow chamber system. Thereafter, biofilm-coated disks were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and fluorescence in situ hybridization/confocal laser scanning microscopy. To assess metabolic activity within the biofilms, their heat flow was recorded for 480 h at 37 °C by IMC. The microscopic methods revealed that the total number of bacteria in the biofilms varied slightly among specimens (2.59 × 104 ± 0.67 × 104 cells mm−2), whereas all three species were found constantly with unchanged proportions (S. sanguinis 41.3 ± 4.8%, F. nucleatum 17.7 ± 2.1%, and P. gingivalis 41.0 ± 4.9%). IMC revealed minor differences in time-to-peak heat flow (20.6 ± 4.5 h), a trend consistent with the small variation in bacterial species proportions as shown by microscopy. Peak heat flow (35.8 ± 42.6 µW), mean heat flow (13.1 ± 22.0 µW), and total heat over 480 h (23.5 ± 37.2 J) showed very high variation. These IMC results may be attributed to differences in the initial cell counts and relative proportions of the three species, their distribution and embedment in exopolysaccharide matrix on the test specimens. The present results provide new insights into variability and dynamics of biofilms on titanium disks, aspects that should be explored in future studies of dental surface

Quantification of vital adherent Streptococcus sanguinis cells on protein-coated titanium after disinfectant treatment

The quantification of vital adherent bacteria is challenging, especially when efficacy of antimicrobial agents is to be evaluated. In this study three different methods were compared in order to quantify vital adherent Streptococcus sanguinis cells after exposure to disinfectants. An anaerobic flow chamber model accomplished initial adhesion of S. sanguinis on protein-coated titanium. Effects of chlorhexidine, Betadine®, Octenidol®, and ProntOral® were assessed by quantifying vital cells using Live/Dead BacLight™, conventional culturing and isothermal microcalorimetry (IMC). Results were analysed by Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance. Live/dead staining revealed highest vital cell counts (P0.05), indicating equivalent numbers of bacteria were created and disinfectants delayed growth but did not eliminate it. In conclusion, contrary to culturing, live/dead staining enables detection of cells that may be viable but non-cultivable. Microcalorimetry allows unique evaluation of relative disinfectant effects by quantifying differences in time delay of regrowth of remaining vital cell

Quality of life impairment in adult Moyamoya patients—preoperative neuropsychological assessment and correlation to MRI and H215O PET findings

Moyamoya angiopathy (MMA) related cerebral perfusion deficits or infarctions might influence quality of life (QoL). This study examines preoperative QoL in adult patients with MMA and correlates these with findings obtained via diagnostic imaging. Sixty-seven adult Moyamoya patients underwent preoperative neuropsychological testing including questionnaires to determine QoL, as well as psychiatric and depressive symptoms. The results were checked for correlation with territorial hypoperfusions seen in H215O PET with acetazolamide (ACZ) challenge (cerebrovascular reserve) and infarction patterns observed in MRI. Each vascular territory was analyzed separately and correlated with QoL. Physical role function was restricted in 41.0% of cases and emotional role function in 34.4% of cases (SF-36). Obsessive–compulsive disorder (39.3%) (SCL-90-R), psychoticism (34.4%) (SCL-90-R), and depression (32.7%) (BDI-II) were also very common. Psychoticism was significantly more frequent in cases where perfusion deficits in PET CT were observed in both MCA territories (left p = 0.0124, right p = 0.0145) and infarctions in MRI were present in the right MCA territory (p = 0.0232). Depression was significantly associated with infarctions in the right MCA territory (SCL-90-R p = 0.0174, BDI-II p = 0.0246). Women were affected more frequently by depression (BDI-II, p = 0.0234). Physical role function impairment was significantly associated with perfusion deficits in the left MCA territory (p = 0.0178) and infarctions in the right MCA territory (p = 0.0428). MMA leads to impairments in different areas of QoL. Approximately one-third of all adult MMA patients suffered from depression, with women being most affected. In addition to depression, presence of executive dysfunctions and mental disorders such as psychoticism, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and impaired physical and emotional role function affected QoL. These patients showed significantly more often infarctions and perfusion deficits in the right MCA territory. Long-term studies with follow-up results are necessary to clarify a possible beneficial impact of early surgical revascularization on QoL and depression in adult MMA patients

Association, Haplotype, and Gene-Gene Interactions of the HPA Axis Genes with Suicidal Behaviour in Affective Disorders

Family twin and adoption studies have noted the heritability of specific biological factors that influence suicidal behaviour. Exposure to stress is one of the factors that strongly contribute to suicide attempts. The biological response to stress involves the hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). Therefore, we found it interesting to study polymorphisms of genes involved in the HPA axis (CRHR1, NR3C1, and AVPBR1). The study was performed on 597 patients, 225 of whom had a history of suicide attempts. We did not observe any significant differences in the studied polymorphisms between the group of patients with a history of suicide attempts and the control subjects. Our haplotype analysis of the AVPR1b gene revealed an association between the GCA haplotype and suicide attempts; however, this association was not significant after correcting for multiple testing. We did not observe any other association in haplotype and MDR analysis. We report here a comprehensive analysis of the HPA axis genes and a lack of association for genetic variations regarding the risk of suicide attempts in affective disorder patients. Nonetheless, the inconsistencies with the previously published results indicate the importance of the further investigation of these polymorphisms with respect to the risk of suicide attempts

Response to the Draft of the ‘Global Code of Conduct for Investigating and Documenting Conflict-Related Sexual Violence’

Submission, The Murad Code Project, Institute for International Criminal Investigations and Foreign and Commonwealth Offic

Association between polymorphisms of 1287 A/G noradrenaline transporter gene and drug response for escitalopram and nortriptyline in depressed patients

Wstęp. Celem pracy była analiza możliwej asocjacji genu kandydującego związanego z układem noradrenergicznym - transportera noradrenaliny (NET) - z efektywnością leczenia przeciwdepresyjnego. Materiał i metody. W badaniu uczestniczyło 90 niespokrewnionych pacjentów (21 mężczyzn i 69 kobiet), ze średnią wieku 38 lat, z rozpoznaniem epizodu depresji niepsychotycznej, co najmniej umiarkowanego stopnia, którzy spełniali kryteria diagnostyczne DSM-IV i ICD-10. Pacjentów podzielono losowo na dwie grupy: 1) osoby leczone lekiem serotoninergicznym - escitalopramem (n = 51) w terapeutycznych dawkach 10-20 mg/d.; 2) osoby leczone lekiem noradrenergicznym - nortryptyliną (n = 39) w dawkach 75-100 mg/d. Skutecznością leczenia określano redukcję o ≥ 50% punktów w skali Hamiltona w 8. tygodniu leczenia w porównaniu z tygodniem 0. Oznaczenia genotypowe badanych polimorfizmów przeprowadzono na podstawie metody PCR-RFLP. Analizy statystyczne wykonano za pomocą programu Statistica versja 7.1. Wyniki. W niniejszej pracy nie wykazano asocjacji genotypowych i allelowych polimorfizmu 1287 A/G genu NET a efektem terapii, zarówno w grupie osób leczonych escitalopramem (genotypy: p = 0,767; allele: p = 0,651), jak i w grupie osób leczonych nortryptyliną (genotypy: p = 0,471; allele: p = 0,484). Wnioski. U osób chorujących na depresję nie wykazano związku badanego polimorfizmu genu NET z dobrą odpowiedzią zarówno na escitalopram, jak i nortryptylinę.Introduction. The aim of this study was to analyze the possible association of the candidate gene of noradrenergic system - noradrenaline transporter with efficacy of antidepressant treatment. Material and methods. In the study we analyzed 90 patients with major depression (21 males and 69 females) with a mean age of 38 years, suffering from depressive disorder of at least moderate severity, meeting the research criteria of ICD-10 and DSM-IV for major depression. Patients were randomized into two groups: 1) patients received the serotoninergic drug - escitalopram (n = 51) with specified dose range 10-20 mg/day. 2) Patients treated by noradrenergic drug - nortriptyline (n = 49) with dose range 75-150 mg/day. The response to the drug was defined by a reduction ≥ 50% of total score of Hamilton scale in the 8 week of treatment in comparison to the week 0. Genotypes for 1287A/G NET gene polymorphisms were established by PCR-RFLP method. Statistical analysis was performed with Statistica version 7.1. Results. We have not found an association of 1287A/G polymorphism of NET gene with treatment response neither to escitalopram (p = 0.767 for genotypes, p = 0.651 for alleles) nor to nortriptyline (p = 0.471 for genotypes, p = 0.484 for alleles) when comparing the group of patients with response to the group of patients without response to the drugs. Conclusions. The polymorphisms of NET gene analyzed in this study are not likely to be associated with treatment response to antidepressants, neither escitalopram nor nortriptyline in our group of patients with depression