Europe and Overseas Commodity Traders v. Banque Paribas London: Zero Steps Forward and Two Steps Back

While international securities transactions have become the norm in today\u27s globalized economy, such transactions necessarily implicate the laws of more than one nation, thereby creating both conflict and confusion. Due to the depth and breadth of U.S. securities laws, plaintiffs often prefer to sue in the United States under U.S. law. Yet inappropriately applying U.S. law to transnational transactions may offend notions of comity. This Note discusses the different tools used to decide the following jurisdictional issues. First, under what circumstances do U.S. anti-fraud rules apply to securities transactions? Second, under what circumstances do U.S. registration laws apply? Over the past two decades, the judicially created conduct and \u27effects tests used to decide whether U.S. anti-fraud laws apply have produced inconsistent results and have created uncertainty and unpredictability for both investors and issuers. Conversely, Regulation S, used to determine whether U.S. registration laws apply, was designed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to promote predictability and clarity. While commentators have recommended revising the conduct and effects tests to more closely resemble the bright line of Regulation S, the Second Circuit did the reverse in 1998. In Europe and Overseas Commodities Traders, S.A. v. Banque Paribas London (EOC), the Second Circuit essentially revised Regulation S to more closely resemble the conduct and effects tests. This Note begins with an historical analysis of the United States securities laws and the effect of globalization on these laws. It then analyzes the issues and holding of EOC and the SEC\u27s response. Finally, it evaluates the weakness of the Second Circuit\u27s decision and predicts its international ramifications

Researcher Skill Development Framework (US English Edition)

Created by John Willison and Kerry O\u27Regan. www.rsd.edu.au Adapted for the US context by Sara K. Kuhn. Research Skill Development (RSD) is about making explicit and coherent in regular university coursework the incremental attainment of research skills in a specific discipline. In the RSD, there are six facets of the research process, identified from the literature and modified according to Bloom’s taxonomy and our experiences of using the framework in the disciplines. The meaning of ‘research’ in this context is: students actively finding information new to themselves. Underlying this notion is the ‘degree of knowness’ of knowledge: whether research involves developing knowledge that is commonly known to humanity, commonly unknown or totally unknown. We see that even inquiry into the commonly known is all part of the process of research skill development. Indeed, to overlook the development of skills in earlier years of education (such as First Year university) is to miss the potential development of skills required of ‘ blue-sky’ researchers or by industry and employment. -- https://www.adelaide.edu.au/rsd/framework/explanation/ Description adapted from: Willison, J., & O’Regan, K. (2007). Commonly known, commonly not known, totally unknown: A framework for students becoming researchers. Higher Education Research & Development, 26(4), 393-409. Retrieved from https://www.adelaide.edu.au/rsd/evidence/related-articles/RSD_article_web.dochttps://commons.und.edu/oers/1004/thumbnail.jp

RSD7: Researcher Skill Development Framework (US English Edition)

Created by John Willison and Kerry O\u27Regan. www.rsd.edu.au Adapted for the US context by Sara K. Kuhn. The seven-level Researcher Skill Development framework extends the RSD\u27s original 5 levels of student autonomy to include the degree of autonomy required for a successful research career. It therefore addresses not only students, but also early, middle and late career researchers. This involves the extension of the same facets of inquiry that appear in the original RSD framework to include two higher levels: 6 and 7. -- https://www.adelaide.edu.au/rsd/framework/rsd7/ For more information, see: Willison, J., & O’Regan, K. (2007). Commonly known, commonly not known, totally unknown: A framework for students becoming researchers. Higher Education Research & Development, 26(4), 393-409. Retrieved from https://www.adelaide.edu.au/rsd/evidence/related-articles/RSD_article_web.dochttps://commons.und.edu/oers/1005/thumbnail.jp

The Concentration of Manganese, Copper, Zinc, Lead and Thorium in Sediments of Paka Estuary,Terengganu, Malaysia

14 cm cores sediments from the Paka River were analyzed for Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb and Th using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Generally, the concentrations of all elements decreased with depth and have significantly higher concentration at the surface depth of the core. The concentration of Mn and Cu have average value of 151.1 ± 59.1 mg/g dry weights and 29.2 ± 6.9 mg/g dry weights, while Zn and Pb averaged at 72.5 ± 15.5 mg/g dry weights and 54.9 ± 2.5 mg/g dry weights, respectively. Th were slightly varied widely and ranged from 0.6 mg/g dry weights to 1.4 mg/g dry weights. In this study, only Mn and Th have enrichment factor (EF) values close to unity and may therefore be considered to be predominantly terrigenous in origin. On the contrary, the higher EF values found for Cu, Zn and Pb indicate that these metals might have some influenced from the anthropogenic inpu

Differential binding patterns of anti-sulfatide antibodies to glial membranes

Sulfatide is a major glycosphingolipid in myelin and a target for autoantibodies in autoimmune neuropathies. However neuropathy disease models have not been widely established, in part because currently available monoclonal antibodies to sulfatide may not represent the diversity of anti-sulfatide antibody binding patterns found in neuropathy patients. We sought to address this issue by generating and characterising a panel of new anti-sulfatide monoclonal antibodies. These antibodies have sulfatide reactivity distinct from existing antibodies in assays and in binding to peripheral nerve tissues and can be used to provide insights into the pathophysiological roles of anti-sulfatide antibodies in demyelinating neuropathies

Microarray screening of Guillain-Barré syndrome sera for antibodies to glycolipid complexes

Objective: To characterize the patterns of autoantibodies to glycolipid complexes in a large cohort of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and control samples collected in Bangladesh using a newly developed microarray technique. Methods: Twelve commonly studied glycolipids and lipids, plus their 66 possible heteromeric complexes, totaling 78 antigens, were applied to polyvinylidene fluoride–coated slides using a microarray printer. Arrays were probed with 266 GBS and 579 control sera (2 μL per serum, diluted 1/50) and bound immunoglobulin G detected with secondary antibody. Scanned arrays were subjected to statistical analyses. Results: Measuring antibodies to single targets was 9% less sensitive than to heteromeric complex targets (49.2% vs 58.3%) without significantly affecting specificity (83.9%–85.0%). The optimal screening protocol for GBS sera comprised a panel of 10 glycolipids (4 single glycolipids GM1, GA1, GD1a, GQ1b, and their 6 heteromeric complexes), resulting in an overall assay sensitivity of 64.3% and specificity of 77.1%. Notable heteromeric targets were GM1:GD1a, GM1:GQ1b, and GA1:GD1a, in which exclusive binding to the complex was observed. Conclusions: Rationalizing the screening protocol to capture the enormous diversity of glycolipid complexes can be achieved by miniaturizing the screening platform to a microarray platform, and applying simple bioinformatics to determine optimal sensitivity and specificity of the targets. Glycolipid complexes are an important category of glycolipid antigens in autoimmune neuropathy cases that require specific analytical and bioinformatics methods for optimal detection

Guillain-Barré Syndrome-related campylobacter jejuni in Bangladesh: ganglioside mimicry and cross-reactive antibodies

BACKGROUND: <br/> Campylobacter jejuni is the predominant antecedent infection in Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). Molecular mimicry and cross-reactive immune responses to C. jejuni lipo-oligosaccharides (LOS) precipitate the development of GBS, although this mechanism has not been established in patients from developing countries. We determined the carbohydrate mimicry between C. jejuni LOS and gangliosides, and the cross-reactive antibody response in patients with GBS in Bangladesh.<br/> METHODOLOGY:<br/> Sera from 97 GBS patients, and 120 neurological and family controls were tested for antibody reactivity against LOS from C. jejuni isolates from GBS patients in Bangladesh (BD-07, BD-39, BD-10, BD-67 and BD-94) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Cross-reactivity to LOS was determined by ELISA. The LOS outer core structures of C. jejuni strains associated with GBS/MFS were determined by mass spectrometry.<br/> PRINCIPLE FINDINGS:<br/> IgG antibodies to LOS from C. jejuni BD-07, BD-39, BD-10, and BD-67 IgG antibodies were found in serum from 56%, 58%, 14% and 15% of GBS patients respectively, as compared to very low frequency (<3%) in controls (p<0.001). Monoclonal antibodies specific for GM1 and GD1a reacted strongly with LOS from the C. jejuni strains (BD-07 and BD-39). Mass spectrometry analysis confirmed the presence of GM1 and GD1a carbohydrate mimics in the LOS from C. jejuni BD-07 and BD-39. Both BD-10 and BD-67 express the same LOS outer core, which appears to be a novel structure displaying GA2 and GD3 mimicry. Up to 90-100% of serum reactivity to gangliosides in two patients (DK-07 and DK-39) was inhibited by 50 µg/ml of LOS from the autologous C. jejuni isolates. However, patient DK-07 developed an anti-GD1a immune response while patient DK-39 developed an anti-GM1 immune response.<br/> CONCLUSION:<br/> Carbohydrate mimicry between C. jejuni LOS and gangliosides, and cross-reactive serum antibody precipitate the majority of GBS cases in Bangladesh

Incorporating the development of research skills into level I undergraduate human biology courses

The document attached has been archived with permission from the copyright holder.Within the Health Sciences research and employment sectors, there is an increasing expectation that graduates with a tertiary qualification in a health related field will have appropriate research skills as outlined in the program’s Graduate Attributes. While research training is available in Honours programs, until recently, there have been few attempts to incorporate the development of research skills into the delivery and assessment of undergraduate coursework programs. In the Bachelor of Health Sciences program, the development of research skills has been incorporated into the teaching and assessment of two level 1 Human Biology courses. The approach taken utilises the Research Skill Development (RSD) framework (Willison and O’Regan, 2007, Higher Education Research and Development 26(4)), to generate marking criteria for tasks prescribed as part of the courses. Each student’s RSD profile is tracked and compared with their initial skill level as indicated by a diagnostic test administered at the start of the year, and increasing levels of complexity and autonomy are introduced in tasks as the courses progress. Data show an improvement in skill levels for most students, regardless of their starting point. Interviews are now being undertaken with students to identify factors that facilitate/inhibit research skill development. Advantages of using the RSD framework include the ability to: (a) clearly track skill development for each student, (b) identify specific areas of skill weakness and provide remedial support, and (c) better match learning objectives with assessment criteria. We intend to expand the approach to level 2 and 3 Health Sciences courses and envisage that by the time of graduation, students will be more able to function in a research oriented environment.Eleanor Peirce, Mario Ricci, John Willison and Kerry O'Reganhttp://www.unisa.edu.au/health/teaching/program.pdfhttp://www.unisa.edu.au/health/teaching/conference2007.as

Neuromuscular synaptic function in mice lacking major subsets of gangliosides

Gangliosides are a family of sialylated glycosphingolipids enriched in the outer leaflet of neuronal membranes, in particular at synapses. Therefore, they have been hypothesized to play a functional role in synaptic transmission. We have measured in detail the electrophysiological parameters of synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) ex vivo of a GD3-synthase knockout mouse, expressing only the O- and a-series gangliosides, as well as of a GM2/GD2-synthase*GD3-synthase double-knockout (dKO) mouse, lacking all gangliosides except GM3. No major synaptic deficits were found in either null-mutant. However, some extra degree of rundown of acetylcholine release at high intensity use was present at the dKO NMJ and a temperature-specific increase in acetylcholine release at 35 °C was observed in GD3-synthase knockout NMJs, compared with wild-type. These results indicate that synaptic transmission at the NMJ is not crucially dependent on the particular presence of most ganglioside family members and remains largely intact in the sole presence of GM3 ganglioside. Rather, presynaptic gangliosides appear to play a modulating role in temperature- and use-dependent fine-tuning of transmitter output

Multigene expression of protein complexes by iterative modification of genomic Bacmid DNA

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many cellular multi-protein complexes are naturally present in cells at low abundance. Baculovirus expression offers one approach to produce milligram quantities of correctly folded and processed eukaryotic protein complexes. However, current strategies suffer from the need to produce large transfer vectors, and the use of repeated promoter sequences in baculovirus, which itself produces proteins that promote homologous recombination. One possible solution to these problems is to construct baculovirus genomes that express each protein in a complex from a separate locus within the viral DNA. However current methods for selecting such recombinant genomes are too inefficient to routinely modify the virus in this way.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This paper reports a method which combines the lambda red and bacteriophage P1 Cre-recombinase systems to efficiently generate baculoviruses in which protein complexes are expressed from multiple, single-locus insertions of foreign genes. This method is based on an 88 fold improvement in the selection of recombinant viruses generated by red recombination techniques through use of a bipartite selection cassette. Using this system, seven new genetic loci were identified in the AcMNPV genome suitable for the high level expression of recombinant proteins. These loci were used to allow the recovery two recombinant virus-like particles with potential biotechnological applications (influenza A virus HA/M1 particles and bluetongue virus VP2/VP3/VP5/VP7 particles) and the mammalian chaperone and cancer drug target CCT (16 subunits formed from 8 proteins).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><b>1</b>. Use of bipartite selections can significantly improve selection of modified bacterial artificial chromosomes carrying baculovirus DNA. Furthermore this approach is sufficiently robust to allow routine modification of the virus genome. <b>2</b>. In addition to the commonly used <it>p10 </it>and polyhedrin loci, the <it>ctx, egt, 39k, orf51, gp37, iap2 </it>and <it>odv-e56 </it>loci in AcMNPV are all suitable for the high level expression of heterologous genes. <b>3</b>. Two protein, four protein and eight protein complexes including virus-like particles and cellular chaperone complexes can be produced using the new approach.</p