Die bepaling van die ‘sentrum van hoofbelange’ by oorgrens insolvensies: Is die Parmalat-benadering voldoende om die behoeftes van moderne handel te bevredig?

Despite various viewpoints on the determination of the centre of main interest (COMI), the legal question in this investigation is whether, and to what extent, the approach in In re Eurofood IFSC Ltd (the Parmalat case) brings about an effective solution for the determination of the location of the COMI of individual companies, either unattached or as part of a group (in contrast with companies forming a so called economic unit). There exists a presumption that the COMI is situated there where the company’s registered office is. This is the physical factor in determining the COMI. There is also a mental or psychological factor. The COMI must correspond with the place which third parties (including foreigners) regard as the place where the debtor ordinarily manages its business and most prominent interests on a regular basis. If the registered office is situated at one place and the judgment of third parties with regard to the COMI is elsewhere, the presumption will not come into operation and the ordinary onus of proof will rest on the party concerned. If the subsidiary’s registered office and the opinion of third parties point to the same location (in order for the presumption to come into operation) the holding company should lead more substantial evidence so as to rebut the presumption. The presumption shall not be rebutted easily. An essential and delicate process of weighing up relevant factors should take place. The COMI must be identified with reference to criteria which are objectively foreseeable by all parties involved

Average velocities of some ocean currents as deduced from the recovery of plastic drift cards

Twenty-four drift cards, released in 1964 through 1966 in the vicinity of Cape Town and at various locations in the Atlantic Ocean, have been recovered on the coasts of: North and South America, three islands in the South Atlantic, England, France, Nigeria, and Australia. The travel times indicated by 19 of these cards have been used to estimate the mean velocities of the presumed current systems involved. The rate of card recovery and the long distances traveled by the cards have proved conclusively that the solid polythene drift card is durable

High-speed Civil Transport Aircraft Emissions

Estimates are given for the emissions from a proposed high speed civil transport (HSCT). This advanced technology supersonic aircraft would fly in the lower stratosphere at a speed of roughly Mach 1.6 to 3.2 (470 to 950 m/sec or 920 to 1850 knots). Because it would fly in the stratosphere at an altitude in the range of 15 to 23 km commensurate with its design speed, its exhaust effluents could perturb the chemical balance in the upper atmosphere. The first step in determining the nature and magnitude of any chemical changes in the atmosphere resulting from these proposed aircraft is to identify and quantify the chemically important species they emit. Relevant earlier work is summarized, dating back to the Climatic Impact Assessment Program of the early 1970s and current propulsion research efforts. Estimates are provided of the chemical composition of an HSCT's exhaust, and these emission indices are presented. Other aircraft emissions that are not due to combustion processes are also summarized; these emissions are found to be much smaller than the exhaust emissions. Future advances in propulsion technology, in experimental measurement techniques, and in understanding upper atmospheric chemistry may affect these estimates of the amounts of trace exhaust species or their relative importance

Spatial variation of Anopheles-transmitted Wuchereria bancrofti and Plasmodium falciparum infection densities in Papua New Guinea.

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.The spatial variation of Wuchereria bancrofti and Plasmodium falciparum infection densities was measured in a rural area of Papua New Guinea where they share anopheline vectors. The spatial correlation of W. bancrofti was found to reduce by half over an estimated distance of 1.7 km, much smaller than the 50 km grid used by the World Health Organization rapid mapping method. For P. falciparum, negligible spatial correlation was found. After mass treatment with anti-filarial drugs, there was negligible correlation between the changes in the densities of the two parasites

Nano Co-Crystal Embedded Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogels: A Potential Approach to Treat HIV/AIDS

Currently, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) can only be treated successfully, using combination antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. Lamivudine (3TC) and zidovudine (AZT), two compounds used for the treatment of HIV and prevention of disease progression to AIDS are used in such combinations. Successful therapy with 3TC and AZT requires frequent dosing that may lead to reduced adherence, resistance and consequently treatment failure. Improved toxicity profiles of 3TC and AZT were observed when combined as a nano co-crystal (NCC). The use of stimuli-responsive delivery systems provides an opportunity to overcome the challenge of frequent dosing, by controlling and/or sustaining delivery of drugs. Preliminary studies undertaken to identify a suitable composition for a stimulus-responsive in situ forming hydrogel carrier for 3TC-AZT NCC were conducted, and the gelation and erosion time were determined. A 25% w/w Pluronic® F-127 thermoresponsive hydrogel was identified as a suitable carrier as it exhibited a gelation time of 5 min and an erosion time of 7 days. NCC-loaded hydrogels were evaluated using in vitro dissolution and cytotoxicity assays. In vitro dissolution undertaken using membrane-less diffusion over 168 h revealed that 3TC and AZT release from NCC-loaded hydrogels was complete and followed zero-order kinetic processes, whereas those loaded with the micro co-crystal and physical mixture were incomplete and best described using the Korsmeyer–Peppas kinetic model. The release of AZT and 3TC from the physical mixture and MCC-loaded gel exhibited a value for n of 0.595 for AZT release from the physical mixture and 0.540 for the MCC technology, whereas the release exponent for 3TC was 0.513 for the physical mixture and 0.557 for the MCC technology indicating that diffusion and erosion controlled 3TC and AZT release. In vitro cytotoxicity assay data revealed that the addition of NCC to the thermoresponsive hydrogel resulted in an improved cell viability of 88.0% ± 5.0% when compared to the cell viability of the NCC of 76.9% ± 5.0%. The results suggest that the use of a thermoresponsive nanosuspension may have the potential to be delivered as an intramuscular injection that can subsequently increase bioavailability and permit dose reduction and/or permit use of a longer dosing frequency

An evaluation of metal removal during wastewater treatment: The potential to achieve more stringent final effluent standards

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2011 Taylor & Francis.Metals are of particular importance in relation to water quality, and concern regarding the impact of these contaminants on biodiversity is being encapsulated within the latest water-related legislation such as the Water Framework Directive in Europe and criteria revisions to the Clean Water Act in the United States. This review undertakes an evaluation of the potential of 2-stage wastewater treatment consisting of primary sedimentation and biological treatment in the form of activated sludge processes, to meet more stringent discharge consents that are likely to be introduced as a consequence. The legislation, sources of metals, and mechanisms responsible for their removal are discussed, to elucidate possible pathways by which the performance of conventional processes may be optimized or enhanced. Improvements in effluent quality, achievable by reducing concentrations of suspended solids or biochemical oxygen demand, may also reduce metal concentrations although meeting possible requirements for the removal of copper my be challenging