UNCITRAL Receivables Convention: The Possibility for Trans-Tasman Harmonisation

This paper examines the UNCITRAL Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade as it affects New Zealand.  The focus of the paper is on the potential effect of the Convention on New Zealand's relationship with Australia.  The law in the two countries is very different especially since the passing of New Zealand's Personal Property Securities Act 1999, which is, the author concludes, highly compatible with the UNCITRAL Receivables Convention.  The paper considers two sample transactions to illustrate the effects of the Convention in a trans-Tasman context.  It concludes that where the Convention (if it enters into force in New Zealand and Australia) applies, there are relatively few complications.  Where it does not apply, however, parties to trans-Tasman receivables transactions face complicated applicable law arguments and general uncertainty.&nbsp

A Reflection on ‘Independence and the Creation of Nation-States in Iberian America’

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Impact of War: a Diplomatic History of New Zealand's Economic Relations With Britain, 1939-1954

This study is a diplomatic history of Anglo-New Zealand economic relations through World War II and the postwar decade. During this tine Britain's priorities were such as to sharply alter her economic interests in New Zealand, compared both with the pre-war and post-1954 eras. It is this transformation which gives the period its distinctive coloration. Throughout these years Britain wanted New Zealand to conserve and direct her resources, initially to assist in the war effort, subsequently to aid the tasks of reconstruction. New Zealand gave active support to Britain. Nonetheless, she could not completely disregard her own interests. In the short-term, there was always pressure to buy on the cheapest and sell on the dearest market. In the long-term, New Zealand faced more fundamental decisions. Should she seek economic security through close association with Britain? Should she diversify her economic relations? Should she try to insulate her domestic from the international economy? These longstanding concerns can be traced through the period. They, too, moulded the course of events. Chapter one looks at the record of economic diplomacy before 1939. Chapters two to five look at the World War II period. Chapter two examines the period from the perspectives of the restraint Britain sought to impose on New Zealand in the consumption of resources. Chapters three to five trace the history of New Zealand's export industries - her major contribution to the struggle - through the war. Chapters six to ten span the post-war decade. Chapter six follows the theme of chapter two through to 1949. Chapter seven looks at Britain's concern about the commercial implications of New Zealand's import policies - a concern which had taken a back seat through the war. Chapters eight and ten take the history of the food export industries through to 1954. Chapter nine picks up the themes of chapters six and seven and takes them through to 1954, and also looks at the wool trade after 1946. Lastly, chapter eleven looks at how the relationship between the two countries evolved after 1954. The end of the long period of stringency meant a return in some, but certainly not in all, respects to pre-war conditions

Global report on assistive technology

There is a large, unmet need for assistive technology worldwide. The Global report on assistive technology was developed in response to the World Health Assembly resolution (WHA71.8) on improving access to assistive technology adopted in May 2018. The Global report is expected to play an instrumental role in setting the global roadmap for improving access to assistive technology for everyone, everywhere. The Global report on assistive technology presents a comprehensive dataset and analysis of current assistive technology access, drawing the attention of governments and civil society to the need for, and benefit of, assistive technology, including its return on investment. The Global report sets out ten recommendations for improving access to assistive technology, which in turn support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, inclusive Universal Health Coverage, and alignment with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Guided by an Expert Advisory Group, the WHO and UNICEF have jointly developed this report in the context of an integrated approach, based on the best available scientific evidence and international experience, in collaboration with stakeholders from diverse settings, multiple countries, and all regions. It is primarily directed at policy-makers, providers of assistive technology, donors and funding agencies, and industry leaders. It is also aimed at broader stakeholders including users and potential users of assistive technology and their families or caregivers.publishedVersio

Analysis of the Nucleophilic Solvation Effects in Isopropyl Chlorothioformate Solvolysis

Correlation of the solvent effects through application of the extended Grunwald-Winstein equation to the solvolysis of isopropyl chlorothioformate results in a sensitivity value of 0.38 towards changes in solvent nucleophilicity (l) and a sensitivity value of 0.72 towards changes in solvent ionizing power (m). This tangible l value coupled with the negative entropies of activation observed indicates a favorable predisposition towards a modest rear-side nucleophilic solvation of a developing carbocation. Only in 100% ethanol was the bimolecular pathway dominant. These observations are very different from those obtained for the solvolysis of isopropyl chloroformate, where dual reaction channels were proposed, with the addition-elimination reaction favored in the more nucleophilic solvents and a unimolecular fragmentation-ionization mechanism favored in the highly ionizing solvents

Use of Empirical Correlations to Determine Solvent Effects in the Solvolysis of S-Methyl Chlorothioformate

The specific rates of solvolysis of S-methyl chlorothioformate (MeSCOCl) are analyzed in 20 solvents of widely varying nucleophilicity and ionizing power at 25.0 °C using the extended Grunwald-Winstein Equation. A stepwise SN1 (DN + AN) mechanism is proposed in the more ionizing solvents including six aqueous fluoroalcohols. In these solvents, a large sensitivity value of 0.79 towards changes in solvent nucleophilicity (l) is indicative of profound rearside nucleophilic solvation of the developing carbocation. In twelve of the more nucleophilic pure alchohols and aqueous solutions, the sensitivities obtained for solvent nucleophilicity (l) and solvent ionizing power (m) are similar to those found in acyl chlorides where an association-dissociation (AN + DN) mechanism is believed to be operative

Pathogenetics of alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins.

Alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins (ACDMPV) is a lethal lung developmental disorder caused by heterozygous point mutations or genomic deletion copy-number variants (CNVs) of FOXF1 or its upstream enhancer involving fetal lung-expressed long noncoding RNA genes LINC01081 and LINC01082. Using custom-designed array comparative genomic hybridization, Sanger sequencing, whole exome sequencing (WES), and bioinformatic analyses, we studied 22 new unrelated families (20 postnatal and two prenatal) with clinically diagnosed ACDMPV. We describe novel deletion CNVs at the FOXF1 locus in 13 unrelated ACDMPV patients. Together with the previously reported cases, all 31 genomic deletions in 16q24.1, pathogenic for ACDMPV, for which parental origin was determined, arose de novo with 30 of them occurring on the maternally inherited chromosome 16, strongly implicating genomic imprinting of the FOXF1 locus in human lungs. Surprisingly, we have also identified four ACDMPV families with the pathogenic variants in the FOXF1 locus that arose on paternal chromosome 16. Interestingly, a combination of the severe cardiac defects, including hypoplastic left heart, and single umbilical artery were observed only in children with deletion CNVs involving FOXF1 and its upstream enhancer. Our data demonstrate that genomic imprinting at 16q24.1 plays an important role in variable ACDMPV manifestation likely through long-range regulation of FOXF1 expression, and may be also responsible for key phenotypic features of maternal uniparental disomy 16. Moreover, in one family, WES revealed a de novo missense variant in ESRP1, potentially implicating FGF signaling in the etiology of ACDMPV