The Interpretation of International Investment Treaties: The Application of MFN Clauses to Matters of Dispute Settlement in BITs

The decisions of the arbitral tribunals have been under heavy attack for the inconsistent and unintended interpretations that went beyond the intent of the parties as it is expressed in the treaty provisions. One of these misinterpreted provisions is the MFN clause. Many tribunals have used this clause to allocate the adjudicatory authority between international arbitration and domestic courts. The problem of this application is a matter of treaty interpretation that is governed by the international rules of interpretation in the VCLT. These rules provide a balance approach to treaty interpretation and recognize equally the legitimate rights and interests of the host states and foreign investors. The root cause of the interpretive problems in investor-state arbitration is the neglect and misapplication of the international rules on treaty interpretation. Although, interpretation is not an exact science, it is still a science requiring the application of particular rules to produce correct results. These rules are established to respect the states\u27 intentions, not to deny any relevance of these intentions to interpretation. A full compliance with these rules will lead to correct interpretations and ensure that these interpretations are consistent with parties’ intentions as it is expressed in the terms of the treaty. The duty of adjudicators is to discover the meaning of the treaty provisions; examining evidence according to the logical sequence of the rules of interpretation in the VCLT, and provide the parties with impartial interpretations. It is not their duty to harmonize dispute settlement arrangements in BITs or impose this harmonized system upon states against their intent. The actual application of these rules of interpretation works as a roadmap to reach the consistent meanings of the treaty provisions and will give us a negative answer to the question of whether the MFN clause should be applied to dispute settlement provisions in BITs or not

Thermodynamic Parameters of the Uncatalyzed Complxation Reaction between Ni (II) Ion and Bioactive Isatin-Bishydrazone

The stoichiometries and stability constants of Nickel (II) ions with 2-pyridyl-3-Isatin bishydrazone have been determined spectrophotometrically at different temperatures 200C, 250C, 300C, 350C and 400C by using Job’s continuous variation method.  In all cases, the Job’s curves displayed a maximum at a mole fraction Xligand =0.5 indicating the formation of complex with 1:1 metal to ligand ratio. It was observed that metal-ligand stability constant decreases with increasing temperature indicating exothermic nature of the reaction. The thermodynamic parameters i.e., ?G0, ?H0 and ?S0 have also been calculated. Keywords:Isatin-bishydrazone ligands, Ni(II) complexes, thermodynamic parameters, Stability constant, spectrophotometrically

THE ROLE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON THE SUPPORT AND ENHANCE THE NATURAL BEHAVIOR OF STEM CELLS AND CHOSEN PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES FOR PLAYERS ATHLETICS

The CD34+ antigen is a single chain trans membrane glycoprotein, expressed on human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, endothelial progenitor cells, vascular endothelial cells, embryonic fibroblasts and some cells in fetal and adult nervous tissue. The antigen is absent in fully differentiated hematopoietic cells such as lymphocytes, monocytes and granulocytes, erythrocytes and platelets. Regular physical activity is related to lower rates of CVD, however the mechanisms underlying the benefits of exercise in the prevention of CVD are not fully clear. Exercise may improve the number (Laufs et al., 2005) and function (Hoetzer et al., 2007) of EPCS. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of physical activity on the support and enhance the natural behavior of stem cell CD34+ in aerobic and anaerobic exercise bouts, also after an aerobic and anaerobic training programs and the effect on some physiological parameters. - Results showed that Vo2max increased in aerobic training program than anaerobic one, also in case of aerobic exercise bout compared to anaerobic one. - Lactate concentration was decreased in aerobic training program than anaerobic one, also in case of aerobic exercise bout compared to anaerobic one. - HB, RBCs, WBCs and hematocrit value was increased after aerobic and anaerobic training program and exercise bout. - CD34+ HPC counts were increased in peripheral blood of aerobic and anaerobic training program also in case of anaerobic exercise bout than aerobic one. CD34+ HPC counts are higher in athletes compared to control indicating adaptation induced exercise. Results: VO2 max was increased significantly in case of aerobic training program compared to anaerobic one (63±2.2 ml/kg/min) (55±2.1 ml/kg/min). Hematological values increased significantly in anaerobic program compared to aerobic, RBCs (5.5±0.3 and 4.8±0.2 Mil. /ul), WBCs (6.6±0.5 and 6.1±0.4 Thous/ul), HB (15.4±0.4 and 14.2±0.5 g/de) Hematocrit (4.6±1.2 and 4.4±1.1 %), CD34+ stem cells count increased significantly in case of anaerobic program than aerobic (259.6±21.65 and 131±14.63) and sedentary (173±24.11). These findings suggest that anaerobic training program provoke better adaptation to exercise and stem cell counts may differ between trained and sedentary Circulating immature cells are likely to be involved in angiogenesis and repair process, both mechanisms being associated with strenuous exercise, knowledge of the physiological of effects of training on stem cells might be of potential clinical use

Heteroaromatization with 4-phenyldiazenyl-1-naphthol. Part II: Synthesis of some new benzochromens, benzochromenopyrimidines, benzochromenotriazolopyrimidines, benzochromenopyrimidotriazepine and antimicrobial activities

Synthesis of several new of benzochromenes (4-7), benzochromenopyrimidines (8 and 9), 14-(4-chlorophenyl)-12-(phenyldiazenyl)-14H-benzo[7,8]chromeno[3,2-e][1, 2, 4]triazolo[1, 5-c]pyrimidines, 4-amino-16-(4-chlorophenyl)-14-(phenyldiazenyl)-16H-benzo[7', 8']chro-meno[2',3':4,5]pyrimido[1,6-b][1,2,4]triazepine-3-carbonitrile (10a-e, 13) and 9-(benz-ylideneamino)-7-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-(phenyldiazenyl)-7, 9-dihydro-8H-benzo[7,8]chromeno [2,3-d]pyrimidin-8-imine (12), form starting from 2-amino-4-(p-chlorophenyl)-6-phenyl-diazenyl-4H-benzochromene-3-carbonitrile (3). The structure of these new compounds was confirmed using IR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR as well as MS spectroscopy. The structure activity relationship studies of the target compounds in agreement with the in vitro essays and confirmed higher potent antimicrobial activity against some of the tested microorganisms. The structure-activity relationship study revealed that the antimicrobial activity of benzochromenopyrimido triazepine nucleus was more beneficial than benzochromeno-triazolopyrimidine nucleus for antimicrobial activity

Surgical Management of Split Depression Fracture of The Lateral Tibial Plateau

Background: Tibial plateau fractures are one of the commonest intra-articular fractures resulting from indirect coronal or direct axial compressive forces. Fractures of tibial plateau constitute 1% of all fractures and 8% of fractures in the elderly. Objective: In the present study, we aimed to prevent the development of osteoarthritis and to correlate the radiological findings with this type of tibial plateau fracture.Patients and methods: This study was an interventional study, where 18 patients were conducted with tibial plateau fracture Schatzker type 2 and were operated in the Department of Orthopedics, Faculty of Medicine, at Zagazig University Hospital. Results: Most of cases (55.6%) were operated upon 2 days after occurrence of fracture, followed by 27.8%, 16.6% were operated upon after 7 days and 10 days respectively. Seventeen (94.4%) cases were fixed by buttress plate while 1 case (5.6%) was fixed by proximal tibial plate and 16 cases (88.9%) needed bone graft. Significant improvement in time regard function score (knee society score) and radiological score (Rasmussen Assessment score) were found. No complication was found in 66.7% of studied group; 16.7% had infection, 11.1% had valgus deformity and only one case 5.6% had stiffness.Conclusion: It could be concluded that the surgical management of tibial plateau fractures is challenging and gives excellent anatomical reduction and rigid fixation to restore articular congruity, facilitate early knee motion by reducing post-traumatic osteoarthritis and thus achieving optimal knee function

Role of Corticosteroids versus Hyaluronic Acid in Healing of Sciatic Nerve Injury in Male Albino Rats

Background: Peripheral nerve lesions are common and severe injuries that impact about 2.8% of traumatic patients annually, and result in lifetime disability if untreated. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of corticosteroids vs hyaluronic acid in peripheral nerve healing in rats. Patients and methods: This was experimental and histopathological study that had included (18) Sprague-Dawley rats with an average weight of 300–350 gm. All rats were divided into three groups (n=6 per group). Group 1; Corticosteroids was injected under epineurium after primary repair. Group 2; Hyaluronic acid group: the site of anastomosis was coated by hyaluronic acid after primary repair. Group 3; Primary repair only was done. Results: 100% of cases in group 1 and group 2 showed satisfactory wound healing and 83.3% in group3 showed satisfactory wound healing with no significant difference between them. Conclusion: There was an increase in the number of regenerated nerve fibers in the corticosteroids and hyaluronic acid especially on the distal end in comparison to the control group

Intraoperative internal iliac artery balloon occlusion versus ligation in cases of placenta previa accreta: A randomized trial

ABSTRACT Aims: The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of intraoperative bilateral internal iliac artery balloon occlusion versus bilateral internal iliac artery ligation before extraction of placenta previa accreta after fetal delivery. Methods: One hundred patients with preoperative diagnosis of placenta previa accreta were randomly allocated into two groups each including 50 patients; Group (A) intraoperative internal iliac artery (IIA) balloon occlusion was undergone and Group (B) internal iliac artery ligation was undergone

Systematic Literature Review

Abstract This study was conducted to assess the risk of cancer associated with air pollution in Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) by summarizing the existing knowledge from previous studies in the region and to identify knowledge and research gaps to support further research efforts. Combinations of search terms from three categories ("country" keywords AND 'air pollution" keywords AND "cancer" keywords) were used to search for the relevant literature published between January 2000 and June 2016 using MEDLINE and other databases. Six case-control studies and three studies of other designs had assessed the association between air pollution and cancer in the EMR and met the inclusion criteria. These studies have assessed the effect of various indoor and outdoor air pollutants on the risk of different types of cancer. In this review, cancers were classified into: lung cancer; nasopharyngeal cancer; urinary bladder cancer; overall incidence of cancer in adults; and childhood cancer incidence. Limited epidemiological studies were found in the literature that properly address cancer incidence and air pollution in the EMR countries. Outdoor air pollution was not properly addressed in the included studies. Studies showed that using fuel for heating and living near an electricity generator and diesel exhaust exposure were significant contributors to lung cancer. NO 2 has been shown to increase the risk of lung and breast cancer incidence. PAHs exposure did not increase the risk of cancer incidence. In conclusion, studies on the link between air pollution and cancer in EMR are limited to few studies in few countries. The reviewed studies have many limitations that make the evidence about the link between air pollution and cancer weak

External Validation of the DCD-N Score and a Linear Prediction Model to Identify Potential Candidates for Organ Donation After Circulatory Death:A Nationwide Multicenter Cohort Study

Donation after circulatory death (DCD) is a procedure in which after planned withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (WLST), the dying process is monitored. A DCD procedure can only be continued if the potential organ donor dies shortly after WLST. This study performed an external validation of 2 existing prediction models to identify potentially DCD candidates, using one of the largest cohorts. METHODS. This multicenter retrospective study analyzed all patients eligible for DCD donation from 2010 to 2015. The first model (DCD-N score) assigned points for absence of neurological reflexes and oxygenation index. The second model, a linear prediction model (LPDCD), yielded the probability of death within 60 min. This study determined discrimination (c-statistic) and calibration (Hosmer and Lemeshow test) for both models. RESULTS. This study included 394 patients, 283 (72%) died within 60 min after WLST. The DCD-N score had a c-statistic of 0.77 (95% confidence intervals, 0.71-0.83) and the LPDCD model 0.75 (95% confidence intervals, 0.68-0.81). Calibration of the LPDCD 60-min model proved to be poor (Hosmer and Lemeshow test, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS. The DCD-N score and the LPDCD model showed good discrimination but poor calibration for predicting the probability of death within 60 min. Construction of a new prediction model on a large data set is needed to obtain better calibration

Effects of Antioxidant Supplements on the Survival and Differentiation of Stem Cells

Although physiological levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are required to maintain the self-renewal capacity of stem cells, elevated ROS levels can induce chromosomal aberrations, mitochondrial DNA damage, and defective stem cell differentiation. Over the past decade, several studies have shown that antioxidants can not only mitigate oxidative stress and improve stem cell survival but also affect the potency and differentiation of these cells. Further beneficial effects of antioxidants include increasing genomic stability, improving the adhesion of stem cells to culture media, and enabling researchers to manipulate stem cell proliferation by using different doses of antioxidants. These findings can have several clinical implications, such as improving neurogenesis in patients with stroke and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as improving the regeneration of infarcted myocardial tissue and the banking of spermatogonial stem cells. This article reviews the cellular and molecular effects of antioxidant supplementation to cultured or transplanted stem cells and draws up recommendations for further research in this area