Set‐off under the European insolvency regulation (and English law)

This paper addresses critically the meaning and effect of the set‐off provisions in the European Insolvency Regulation. The Regulation sets out the authority of EU Member States to open insolvency proceedings and provides that, subject to exceptions, the law of the State that opens insolvency proceedings shall apply to those proceedings. Setoff is one such exception for the opening of insolvency proceedings does not affect the rights of creditors to demand the set‐off of their claims against the insolvent debtor. Set‐off is intended to perform a guarantee type function for creditor claims. Nevertheless, the Regulation does not define what is meant by set‐off nor clarify whether set‐off rights under the law of a third country (such as English law) ma y be relied upon. The paper provides valuable clarification and critical analysis

The maintenance and loss of reflexive anaphors in L2 English

This thesis is a generative-based investigation of second language (L2) attrition. L2 attrition research to now has measured the loss of lexical items, morphology, word order, and so on. However, none to my knowledge has examined attrition from within an established theoretical framework such as Chomsky's theory of Government and Binding (GB). In particular, this study considers the loss of reflexive binding in proficient L2 English speakers. Informants are six Japanese university students who spent their junior (third) years abroad in the United States. These six informants consisted of two groups: three who had childhood exposure to English, and three whose first exposure to English in the L2 environment was as adults during their university stay overseas. In order to observe attrition which might occur shortly after exposure to the L2 ceased, an important aspect of this research was to begin data collection as soon as possible after the informants' returns to Japan from studying abroad. Data collections occurred at various intervals for each informant and lasted up to 16 months. Data for this longitudinal study were collected via two tests: a truth value judgment test and a grammaticality judgement test. This study is unique in that it uses generative-based SLA research tools and methods to investigate L2 attrition. Furthermore, the truth value judgment test and the grammaticality judgment test provide results which support the hypothesis that principles of reflexive binding attrite in a manner not inconsistent with UG constraints. The general pattern exhibited by all six test subjects initially shows varying but high levels of knowledge of reflexive binding. Over the course of their data collection periods, the informants' knowledge of reflexive binding in English becomes unstable in the face of zero exposure to the target language. In particular, reflexives in finite subordinate clauses tend to remain bound grammatically to local antecedents to a greater degree than in nonfinite clauses. Reflexive binding in tensed clauses thus appears more resistant to attrition. Age at first exposure to the L2 was also considered as a factor in determining ultimate level of attrition. Evidence was found of a sensitive period up to age eight for the successful acquisition and long-term maintenance of knowledge of the principles of reflexive binding, even upon loss of exposure to the L2

Critical Current Peaks at 3BΦ3B_{\Phi} in Superconductors with Columnar Defects: Recrystalizing the Interstitial Glass

The role of commensurability and the interplay of correlated disorder and interactions on vortex dynamics in the presence of columnar pins is studied via molecular dynamics simulations. Simulations of dynamics reveal substantial caging effects and a non-monotonic dependence of the critical current with enhancements near integer values of the matching field $B_{\phi}$ and $3B_{\phi}$ in agreement with experiments on the cuprates. We find qualitative differences in the phase diagram for small and large values of the matching field.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures (3 color

Transplanting Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code into Singapore’s restructuring and insolvency laws: opportunities and challenges

In 2017, Singapore introduced wide-ranging reforms to its insolvency and restructuring laws with a view to enhancing its attractiveness as an international centre for debt restructuring. Central to these reforms is the transplantation (with modification) of certain provisions from Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code including the automatic moratorium, cross-creditor cram-down, rescue financing and prepacks. Drawing upon the US experience and similar reform proposals in the EU (including the UK), we critically evaluate the impact of the new Singapore law. We argue that there remain challenges in ensuring that the transplantation works well and highlight the possible unintended consequences of such transplantatio

A phylogeny of birds based on over 1,500 loci collected by target enrichment and high-throughput sequencing

Evolutionary relationships among birds in Neoaves, the clade comprising the vast majority of avian diversity, have vexed systematists due to the ancient, rapid radiation of numerous lineages. We applied a new phylogenomic approach to resolve relationships in Neoaves using target enrichment (sequence capture) and high-throughput sequencing of ultraconserved elements (UCEs) in avian genomes. We collected sequence data from UCE loci for 32 members of Neoaves and one outgroup (chicken) and analyzed data sets that differed in their amount of missing data. An alignment of 1,541 loci that allowed missing data was 87% complete and resulted in a highly resolved phylogeny with broad agreement between the Bayesian and maximum-likelihood (ML) trees. Although results from the 100% complete matrix of 416 UCE loci were similar, the Bayesian and ML trees differed to a greater extent in this analysis, suggesting that increasing from 416 to 1,541 loci led to increased stability and resolution of the tree. Novel results of our study include surprisingly close relationships between phenotypically divergent bird families, such as tropicbirds (Phaethontidae) and the sunbittern (Eurypygidae) as well as between bustards (Otididae) and turacos (Musophagidae). This phylogeny bolsters support for monophyletic waterbird and landbird clades and also strongly supports controversial results from previous studies, including the sister relationship between passerines and parrots and the non-monophyly of raptorial birds in the hawk and falcon families. Although significant challenges remain to fully resolving some of the deep relationships in Neoaves, especially among lineages outside the waterbirds and landbirds, this study suggests that increased data will yield an increasingly resolved avian phylogeny.Comment: 30 pages, 1 table, 4 figures, 1 supplementary table, 3 supplementary figure

The European preexposure prophylaxis revolution

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The review describes the European epidemic and the challenges in moving from clinical trials of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to routine practice. RECENT FINDINGS: Two European trials conducted in gay and other MSM and transgender women reported a high and consistent reduction in HIV incidence using oral PrEP with tenofovir/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC). The incidence of HIV infection in the control group was much higher than anticipated, based on routine surveillance data in MSM, in spite of the highest standard of HIV prevention available. SUMMARY: Recent results have highlighted the urgent need to make PrEP available to key populations in Europe as an additional prevention tool. Gilead has not yet submitted an application to use TDF/FTC as PrEP in Europe. Although regulatory approval would accelerate implementation, countries are already dispensing TDF/FTC as postexposure prophylaxis without this. Services for prevention are diverse across countries ranging from free, walk-in services for the diagnosis and treatment of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, to insurance-dependent reimbursement of private clinical services. Momentum is gathering in Europe with PrEP demonstration projects in MSM and a growing demand from community organizations. Each Member State urgently needs to identify their key populations and determine the service best placed to provide this new prevention strategy within a comprehensive prevention package

The use of Multiple Displacement Amplification to increase the detection and genotyping of <i>Trypanosoma</i> samples immobilised on FTA filters.

Whole genome amplification methods are a recently developed tool for amplifying DNA from limited template. We report its application in trypanosome infections, characterized by low parasitemias. Multiple displacement amplification (MDA) amplifies DNA with a simple in vitro step and was evaluated on mouse blood samples on FTA filter cards with known numbers of Trypanosoma brucei parasites. The data showed a 20-fold increase in the number of PCRs possible per sample, using primers diagnostic for the multicopy ribosomal ITS region or 177-bp repeats, and a 20-fold increase in sensitivity over nested PCR against a single-copy microsatellite. Using MDA for microsatellite genotyping caused allele dropout at low DNA concentrations, which was overcome by pooling multiple MDA reactions. The validity of using MDA was established with samples from Human African Trypanosomiasis patients. The use of MDA allows maximal use of finite DNA samples and may prove a valuable tool in studies where multiple reactions are necessary, such as population genetic analyses