Reducing Glycosphingolipid Content in Adipose Tissue of Obese Mice Restores Insulin Sensitivity, Adipogenesis and Reduces Inflammation

Adipose tissue is a critical mediator in obesity-induced insulin resistance. Previously we have demonstrated that pharmacological lowering of glycosphingolipids and subsequently GM3 by using the iminosugar AMP-DNM, strikingly improves glycemic control. Here we studied the effects of AMP-DNM on adipose tissue function and inflammation in detail to provide an explanation for the observed improved glucose homeostasis. Leptin-deficient obese (LepOb) mice were fed AMP-DNM and its effects on insulin signalling, adipogenesis and inflammation were monitored in fat tissue. We show that reduction of glycosphingolipid biosynthesis in adipose tissue of LepOb mice restores insulin signalling in isolated ex vivo insulin-stimulated adipocytes. We observed improved adipogenesis as the number of larger adipocytes was reduced and expression of genes like peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ, insulin responsive glucose transporter (GLUT)-4 and adipsin increased. In addition, we found that adiponectin gene expression and protein were increased by AMP-DNM. As a consequence of this improved function of fat tissue we observed less inflammation, which was characterized by reduced numbers of adipose tissue macrophages (crown-like structures) and reduced levels of the macrophage chemo attractants monocyte-chemoattractant protein-1 (Mcp-1/Ccl2) and osteopontin (OPN). In conclusion, pharmacological lowering of glycosphingolipids by inhibition of glucosylceramide biosynthesis improves adipocyte function and as a consequence reduces inflammation in adipose tissue of obese animals

CONSUMER PROTECTION LEGISLATION AND PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW

Although South African private international law is primarily based on bilateral and multilateral reference rules, the legislator in recent consumer protection legislation rather employs unilateral conflict rules by the identification of rules of immediate application and in the form of scope rules. The relevant provisions in the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 and the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 are discussed, together with the role that the traditional conflict rules still play. A new rule of private international law for consumer contracts is proposed; in this regard the principle of preferential treatmentwill play a role in the context of alternative reference rules

International Commercial Law Emerging in Africa

This article provides an overview of the history of international commercial law in Africa with reference to instruments of the three sister organisations of private international law (in a wide sense): UNCITRAL (the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law), UNIDROIT (the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law) and the HCCH (the Hague Conference on Private International Law). The adoption of UNIDROIT's Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment of 2001 is identified as a possible watershed moment in respect of the future development of international commercial law in Africa. Following the creation of an African Continental Free Trade Area by member countries of the African Union, it is suggested that participating states reconsider joining the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods (1980) (CISG) and incorporating the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (1985/2006), which are in a certain sense the two founding documents of the modern lex mercatoria. Another priority, the author suggests, is that Africa needs a supporting instrument on the private international law of contract. The first draft of the African Principles on the Law Applicable to International Commercial Contracts is then discussed with an emphasis on the role of substantive law instruments, in particular the CIS

DIVORCE IN DUBAI OR PRETORIA – DOMICILE, JURISDICTION, APPLICABLE LAW, ANTI-SUIT INJUNCTION AV v WV [2017] ZAGPPHC 324 (case no 5881/17) (6 July 2017) (GDP)

Many South Africans work and live in the United Arab Emirates, especially in Dubai, which is one of the seven emirates. The emirate of Abu Dhabi is the seat of the federal government and the emirate of Dubai is the commercial and financial centre of the country. Numbers of South Africans in Dubai alone run into the tens of thousands. South Africans often move there to avoid crime in their home country and are enticed by the generally higher salaries. Nevertheless, most South Africans do not intend to settle in the United Arab Emirates permanently. Conflicts of family and succession law may readily ensue. Private international law has the function to delineate and harmonise the roles of domestic legal systems in this regard.AV v WV ([2017] ZAGPPHC 324) is typical in this regard. The case deals with the intended divorce of two South African parties resident in Dubai. Husband and wife are citizens of the Republic of South Africa and their domicile of origin was South African. After an armed robbery, the parties moved to Dubai, where the husband found employment as a pilot. Approximately eight or nine years later, the wife initiated divorce proceedings in the Gauteng Division, Pretoria, of the High Court of South Africa. However, the husband instituted divorce proceedings in Dubai and contended that the Pretoria High Court did not have jurisdiction, as the parties were not domiciled in its area of jurisdiction. The wife petitioned the Pretoria High Court to interdict the husband from proceeding with the divorce in Dubai. PM Mabuse J came to the conclusion that the Pretoria High Court had jurisdiction in the divorce proceedings between the parties and issued an interdict against the respondent, the husband, to refrain from proceeding with the divorce action in Dubai.  The case was marked as “not reportable” by the judge, being “not of interest to other judges”. However, it is suggested that the decision is of substantive social and legal interest and deserves a wide readership. The case discussed is the revised version, as reported on the Saflii website

Youth Initiated Mentors: Do They Offer an Alternative for Out-of-home Placement in Youth Care?

The present study evaluates the Youth Initiated Mentoring (YIM) approach in which families and youth care professionals collaborate with an informal mentor, who is someone adolescents (aged twelve to twenty-three) nominate from their own social network. The informal mentor can be a relative, neighbour or friend, who is a confidant and spokesman for the youth and a co-operation partner for parents and professionals. This approach fits with the international tendency in social work to make use of the strengths of families’ social networks and to stimulate client participation. The current study examined through case-file analysis of 200 adolescents (YIM group n = 96, residential comparison group n = 104) whether the YIM approach would be a promising alternative for out-of-home placement of youth with complex needs. A total of 83 per cent of the juveniles in the YIM group were able to nominate a mentor after an average of thirty-three days. Ninety per cent of the adolescents in the YIM group received ambulatory treatment as an alternative for indicated out-of-home-placement, while their problems were largely comparable with those of juveniles in Dutch semi-secure residential care. Results suggest that the involvement of important non-parental adults may help to prevent out-of-home placement of adolescents with complex needs

Youth Initiated Mentors: Do They Offer an Alternative for Out-of-home Placement in Youth Care?

The present study evaluates the Youth Initiated Mentoring (YIM) approach in which families and youth care professionals collaborate with an informal mentor, who is someone adolescents (aged twelve to twenty-three) nominate from their own social network. The informal mentor can be a relative, neighbour or friend, who is a confidant and spokesman for the youth and a co-operation partner for parents and professionals. This approach fits with the international tendency in social work to make use of the strengths of families’ social networks and to stimulate client participation. The current study examined through case-file analysis of 200 adolescents (YIM group n = 96, residential comparison group n = 104) whether the YIM approach would be a promising alternative for out-of-home placement of youth with complex needs. A total of 83 per cent of the juveniles in the YIM group were able to nominate a mentor after an average of thirty-three days. Ninety per cent of the adolescents in the YIM group received ambulatory treatment as an alternative for indicated out-of-home-placement, while their problems were largely comparable with those of juveniles in Dutch semi-secure residential care. Results suggest that the involvement of important non-parental adults may help to prevent out-of-home placement of adolescents with complex needs

Youth initiated mentors: Do they offer an alternative for out-of-home placement in youth care?

The present study evaluates the Youth Initiated Mentoring (YIM) approach in which families and youth care professionals collaborate with an informal mentor, who is someone adolescents (aged twelve to twenty-three) nominate from their own social network. The informal mentor can be a relative, neighbour or friend, who is a confidant and spokesman for the youth and a co-operation partner for parents and professionals. This approach fits with the international tendency in social work to make use of the strengths of families' social networks and to stimulate client participation. The current study examined through case-file analysis of 200 adolescents (YIM group n = 96, residential comparison group n = 104) whether the YIM approach would be a promising alternative for out-of-home placement of youth with complex needs. A total of 83 per cent of the juveniles in the YIM group were able to nominate a mentor after an average of thirty-three days. Ninety per cent of the adolescents in the YIM group received ambulatory treatment as an alternative for indicated out-of-home-placement, while their problems were largely comparable with those of juveniles in Dutch semi-secure residential care. Results suggest that the involvement of important non-parental adults may help to prevent out-of-home placement of adolescents with complex needs