Potential Disregard of the Corporate Entity & U.S. Subsidiary Invocation of Japanese Parent\u27s Treaty Rights

U.S. corporate subsidiaries of Japanese parent companies enjoy the same advantages of incorporation (e.g., liability limited to the amount of investment) and the same legal protections extended to domestically-held U.S. corporations (e.g., access to courts and various legal remedies). Thus, it would be a natural and logical assumption that U.S. subsidiaries of Japanese parent companies are required to comply with U.S. law in the same manner as domestically-held corporations. However, some U.S. subsidiaries, by asserting that they are, in reality, inseparable from their Japanese parent companies, have been allowed to avail themselves of exceptions to U.S. law under the U.S.-Japan Friendship, Commerce and Navigation Treaty ( FCN Treaty ). Thus, the paradox arises where Japanese subsidiaries are not required to comply with provisions of the U.S. legal system, but enjoy the same advantages of incorporation and legal protection as domestically-held U.S. corporations. A notable example of such use (or misuse) of the FCN Treaty is the avoidance of liability for discriminatory practices in employment, in particular, wrongful discharge. However, as this Article explains, such use of the FCN Treaty is not without consequence, as the invocation of Treaty rights by a U.S. subsidiary poses the potential danger of disregard of the corporate entity and thus unlimited liability to the Japanese parent company

Toward A Brain-Based Theory of Beauty

We wanted to learn whether activity in the same area(s) of the brain correlate with the experience of beauty derived from different sources. 21 subjects took part in a brain-scanning experiment using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Prior to the experiment, they viewed pictures of paintings and listened to musical excerpts, both of which they rated on a scale of 1-9, with 9 being the most beautiful. This allowed us to select three sets of stimuli-beautiful, indifferent and ugly-which subjects viewed and heard in the scanner, and rated at the end of each presentation. The results of a conjunction analysis of brain activity showed that, of the several areas that were active with each type of stimulus, only one cortical area, located in the medial orbito-frontal cortex (mOFC), was active during the experience of musical and visual beauty, with the activity produced by the experience of beauty derived from either source overlapping almost completely within it. The strength of activation in this part of the mOFC was proportional to the strength of the declared intensity of the experience of beauty. We conclude that, as far as activity in the brain is concerned, there is a faculty of beauty that is not dependent on the modality through which it is conveyed but which can be activated by at least two sources-musical and visual-and probably by other sources as well. This has led us to formulate a brain-based theory of beauty

OspA heterogeneity of Borrelia valaisiana confirmed by phenotypic and genotypic analyses

BACKGROUND: Although European Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato isolates have been divided into five genospecies, specific tools for the serotype characterization of only three genospecies are available. Monoclonals antibodies (mAbs) H3TS, D6 and I17.3 identify B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (ss.), B. garinii and B. afzelii respectively, but no mAbs are available to identify B. valaisiana. In the same way, specific primers exist to amplify the OspA gene of B. burgdorferi ss., B. garinii and B. afzelii. The aim of the study was to develop species-specific mAb and PCR primers for the phenotypic and genetic identification of B. valaisiana. RESULTS: This study describes a mAb that targets OspA of B. valaisiana and primers targeting the OspA gene of this species. As the monoclonal antibody A116k did not react with strains NE231, M7, M53 and Frank and no amplification was observed with strains NE231, M7 and M53, the existence of two subgroups among European B. valaisiana species was confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: The association of both monoclonal antibody A116k and primers Bval 1F and Bval 1R allows to specific identification of the B. valaisiana isolates belonging to subgroup 1

The Broad-Lined Type Ic SN 2012ap And The Nature Of Relativistic Supernovae Lacking A Gamma-Ray Burst Detection

We present ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared observations of SN 2012ap, a broad-lined Type Ic supernova in the galaxy NGC 1729 that produced a relativistic and rapidly decelerating outflow without a gamma-ray burst signature. Photometry and spectroscopy follow the flux evolution from -13 to +272 days past the B-band maximum of -17.4 +/- 0.5mag. The spectra are dominated by Fe II, OI, and Ca II absorption lines at ejecta velocities of nu approximate to 20,000 km s(-1) that change slowly over time. Other spectral absorption lines are consistent with contributions from photospheric He I, and hydrogen may also be present at higher velocities (nu greater than or similar to 27,000 km s(-1)). We use these observations to estimate explosion properties and derive a total ejecta mass of similar to 2.7 M-circle dot, a kinetic energy of similar to 1.0 x 10(52) erg, and a Ni-56 mass of 0.1-0.2 M-circle dot. Nebular spectra (t > 200 days) exhibit an asymmetric double-peaked [O I] lambda lambda 6300, 6364 emission profile that we associate with absorption in the supernova interior, although toroidal ejecta geometry is an alternative explanation. SN 2012ap joins SN2009bb as another exceptional supernova that shows evidence for a central engine (e. g., black hole accretion or magnetar) capable of launching a non-negligible portion of ejecta to relativistic velocities without a coincident gamma-ray burst detection. Defining attributes of their progenitor systems may be related to notable observed properties including environmental metallicities of Z greater than or similar to Z(circle dot), moderate to high levels of host galaxy extinction (E(B - V) > 0.4mag), detection of high-velocity helium at early epochs, and a high relative flux ratio of [Ca II]/[O I] > 1 at nebular epochs. These events support the notion that jet activity at various energy scales may be present in a wide range of supernovae.W.M. Keck FoundationDavid and Lucile Packard FoundationNSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship AST-1302771NSF AST-1211196, AST-1109801, AST-1211916, AST-1008343, PHYS-1066293Richard and Rhoda Goldman FundChristopher R. Redlich FundTABASGO FoundationWorld Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI Initiative), MEXT, JapanHungarian OTKA NN-107637Danish Agency for Science and Technology and Innovation2374014126800100Astronom

Pharmacokinetics and Brain Uptake of an IgG-TNF Decoy Receptor Fusion Protein Following Intravenous, Intraperitoneal, and Subcutaneous Administration in Mice

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α is a proinflammatory cytokine active in the brain. Etanercept, the TNF decoy receptor (TNFR), does not cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The TNFR was re-engineered for BBB penetration as a fusion protein with a chimeric monoclonal antibody (MAb) against the mouse transferrin receptor (TfR), and this fusion protein is designated cTfRMAb-TNFR. The cTfRMAb domain of the fusion protein acts as a molecular Trojan horse and mediates transport via the endogenous BBB TfR. To support future chronic treatment of mouse models of neural disease with daily administration of the cTfRMAb-TNFR fusion protein, a series of pharmacokinetics and brain uptake studies in the mouse was performed. The cTfRMAb-TNFR fusion protein was radiolabeled and injected into mice via the intravenous, intraperitoneal (IP), or subcutaneous (SQ) routes of administration at doses ranging from 0.35 to 10 mg/kg. The distribution of the fusion protein into plasma following the IP or SQ routes was enhanced by increasing the injection dose from to 3–10 mg/kg. The fusion protein demonstrated long circulation times with high metabolic stability following the IP or SQ routes of injection. The IP or SQ routes produced concentrations of the cTfRMAb-TNFR fusion protein in brain that exceed by 20- to 50-fold the concentration of TNFα in pathologic conditions of the brain. The SQ injection is the preferred route of administration, as the level of cTfRMAb fusion protein produced in brain is comparable to that generated with intravenous injection, and at a much lower plasma area under the concentration curve of the fusion protein as compared to IP administration