Enforceability of Choice of Court Clauses in Transnational Agreements: the 2005 Hague Convention, Its Implementation in Contracting States, and the U.S. Approach

Parties involved in transnational business naturally expose themselves to peculiar international risks, including the possibility of having a foreign court resolve their future disputes. To reduce uncertainty, transnational contracts often contain a so-called “choice of court” (or “choice of forum”) clause to dictate where future disputes should be resolved. Chosen courts, however, do not always enforce such clauses. Indeed, absent a convention or a treaty, the enforcement of a choice of court clause is purely a matter of national law and, in the case of federal systems like the United States, even of sub-national domestic law. To guarantee predictability, several countries have ratified the Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements (the “Convention”), which aims at ensuring that the parties’ choice will be respected. The United States, however, was not among them, and U.S. courts continue to apply a variety of tests to determine whether they will follow the parties’ selection of forum. This Article analyzes recent judicial decisions involving the enforceability of choice of court clauses in transnational agreements under the Convention (i.e., Ermgassen & Co Limited v. Sixcap Financials Pte Limited, and Motacus Constructions Ltd v. Paolo Castelli SpA), and under the internal laws of selected jurisdictions (France, United Kingdom, Florida, New York, and California). Such analysis aims to ascertain whether the Convention was successful in guaranteeing the enforcement of choice of court clause in transnational contexts, and whether the United States should finally ratify it

Thermomechanical properties and thermal degradation kinetics of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polycarbonate (PC) filled with cerium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Ce:YAG) prepared by melt compounding

This paper reports on the thermomechanical properties and thermal degradation kinetics of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polycarbonate (PC) composites filled with cerium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Ce:YAG) at different contents ranging between 0.1 and 5 wt%, and prepared by melt compounding. The interaction between PMMA and the filler was much stronger than that between PC and the filler, and this resulted in a significant improvement in the dynamic mechanical properties of the PMMA composites. The presence of filler did not significantly increase the thermal stability of the PC, while an observable increase in the thermal stability was only observed at higher filler loadings for the PMMA composites. This was attributed to the stronger interaction between Ce:YAG and PMMA and/or its degradation volatiles

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF A CORN-SOYBEAN CROP ROTATION UNDER VARIOUS INPUT COMBINATIONS IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS

Eight input combinations of commercial fertilizer, insecticides, and herbicides on a corn-soybean crop rotation in the Brazos River Bottom of Texas are evaluated. Input combinations which do not fully utilize all three inputs are consistently ranked higher by all criteria as the preferred input strategy for the corn-soybean rotation system. These results, which indicate limited input crop rotations that fall somewhere between the extremes of conventional agricultural production and organic agriculture, deserve further attention as a possible production alternative.corn, limited input, soybean, Crop Production/Industries,

Analysis of the effects of an oncogenic stress on the cell cycle in human tumoral cells

Although differing only for the last 24 aminoacids, the three major isoforms of p21 Ras (Ha-, Ki- and N \u2013Ras) can trigger alternative pathways of signal transduction, at least in part as a consequence of different post-translational modifications and subcellular localization. Ras mutations are a common event in tumorigenesis. In colorectal carcinomas (CRCs) the mutations affect almost exclusively Ki-Ras, while Ha-Ras mutations are mostly found in bladder carcinomas and N-Ras mutations in leukemia cells. In almost all cases, the genetic alteration is a point mutation in codons 12 or 13, and less frequently in codon 61. By affecting the GTPase activity of the protein, they always lead to a constitutively active protein. However, data obtained in different experimental systems or by analysis of primary and metastatic tumors show that not only mutations of different isoforms of Ras, but also mutations in different codons or different mutations in the same codon of the same isoform of Ras may have diverse biological consequences. To shed more light on the molecular mechanisms responsible for the different effects of Ras mutations, we have obtained stable clones of HT-29 (a human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line in which the endogenous Ras genes are wild type) transfected with cDNAs codifying Ha-RasG12V, Ki-RasG12V and Ki-RasG13D, under the control of an hormone-inducible promoter. We found that the expression of each of these mutated Ras isoforms induces specific, different effects on cell morphology and growth rate. FACS analysis shows also a differential effect on the cell cycle. H-RasG12V expression, in addition, induces apoptosis, through caspase activation mediated by p53 independent, MEK-1 dependent expression of the CDK inhibitor p21

Morphology, interfacial interaction, and thermal degradation of polycarbonate/MCM-41 (nano)composites

This article reports on the morphology, interfacial interaction, thermal stability, and thermal degradation kinetics of polycarbonate (PC)/mesoporous silica (MCM-41) composites with various MCM-41 contents, prepared by melt compounding. The composites with low filler loadings (<0.3 wt%) maintained their transparency because of the well dispersed MCM-41 particles, but at higher filler loadings the composites lost their transparency due to the presence of agglomerates. The presence of agglomerates decreased the thermal stability of PC due to the reduced effectiveness of the particles to immobilize the polymer chains, free radicals, and volatile degradation products

Morphology, interfacial interaction, and thermal degradation of polycarbonate/MCM-41 (nano)composites

This article reports on the morphology, interfacial interaction, thermal stability, and thermal degradation kinetics of polycarbonate (PC)/mesoporous silica (MCM-41) composites with various MCM-41 contents, prepared by melt compounding. The composites with low filler loadings (<0.3\u2009wt%) maintained their transparency because of the well dispersed MCM-41 particles, but at higher filler loadings the composites lost their transparency due to the presence of agglomerates. The presence of agglomerates decreased the thermal stability of PC due to the reduced effectiveness of the particles to immobilize the polymer chains, free radicals, and volatile degradation products

Slowly, slowly in the wind: 3D hydrodynamical simulations of wind mass transfer and angular-momentum loss in AGB binary systems

Wind mass transfer in binary systems with AGB donor stars plays a fundamental role in the formation of a variety of objects, including barium stars and CEMP stars. We carry out a comprehensive set of SPH simulations of wind-losing AGB stars in binaries, for a variety of binary mass ratios, orbital separations, initial wind velocities and rotation rates of the donor star. The initial parameters of the simulated systems are chosen to match the expected progenitors of CEMP stars. We find that the strength of interaction between the wind and the stars depends on both the wind-velocity-to-orbital-velocity ratio ($v_\infty/v_\mathrm{orb}$) and the binary mass ratio. Strong interaction occurs for close systems and comparable mass ratios, and gives rise to a complex morphology of the outflow and substantial angular-momentum loss, which leads to a shrinking of the orbit. As the orbital separation increases and the mass of the companion star decreases, the morphology of the outflow, as well as the angular-momentum loss, become more similar to the spherically symmetric wind case. We also explore the effects of tidal interaction and find that for orbital separations up to 7-10 AU, depending on mass ratio, spin-orbit coupling of the donor star occurs at some point during the AGB phase. If the initial wind velocity is relatively low, we find that corotation of the donor star results in a modified outflow morphology that resembles wind Roche-lobe overflow. In this case the mass-accretion efficiency and angular-momentum loss differ from those found for a non-rotating donor. Finally, we provide a relation for both the mass-accretion efficiency and angular-momentum loss as a function of $v_\infty/v_\mathrm{orb}$ and the binary mass ratio that can be easily implemented in a population synthesis code to study populations of barium stars, CEMP stars and other products of interaction in AGB binaries.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 20 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables. Abstract abridged due to arXiv requirement

A step forward in disclosing the secret of stradivari's varnish by NMR spectroscopy

It is commonly thought that the varnishes used by the great violin-maker Antonio Stradivari may have a role in determining not only the esthetical features but also the acoustic properties of his instruments, and the idea of a "lost secret" is still widespread among musicians and violin-makers. Previous scientific researches on varnish samples of Stradivari's instruments revealed that they were generally made by a mix of linseed oil with and colophony or metal rosinates in different ratios ranging between 75/25 (oil/resin) and 60/40 (oil/rosinate). However, it is still not clear whether the mixture composition can be related to any structural and/or functional feature of the resulting varnish. To investigate this aspect, we prepared varnishes with different linseed oil/colophony (w/w) ratios and applied NMR techniques to achieve information about their chemical-physical characteristics. Here, we show that the two components strongly interact in the solid state and that only the varnish prepared from 75/25 (w/w) linseed oil/colophony mixture displays unique properties in terms of dynamic homogeneity unlike coatings with other compositions. Our results suggest that the so-called "secret" of Stradivari's finish could not be related to unknown ingredient(s) but to a specific oil/resin composition that provides the best performance

The colours of Segesta. Searching for the traces of the lost pigments

Many monuments and objects of the ancient civilizations were painted, but unfortunately the pigments are not still present and sometimes only small traces are evident. The analysis of the traces requires a multianalytical approach through the use of non-invasive techniques and only if necessary of a microsampling. Here, the study of the traces of colours found in some architectural elements and findings belonging to the Archeological Park of Segesta (Trapani, Italy) is reported. The traces are identified and characterised via several techniques such as Optical Microscopy, UV-Fluorescence Imaging, Fiber Optical Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and FT-IR Spectroscopy. Various pigments were identified, some of which are no longer clearly visible to the naked eye: hematite, umber, vegetable black and bone black. Despite the small amount of detectable pigment, the performed investigations allowed us to define part of the pictorial palette to imagine and relive the past in one place

Properties and Structural Studies of Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes-Phosphate Ester Hybrids

Long chain phosphate esters bearing at least one or two aryl groups have been synthesized and used for the preparation of stable multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) hybrids. The non-covalent interaction ester/MWCNT has been in- vestigated by several techniques (SEM, UV-vis, 31P-NMR, RAMAN). The used phosphate ester derivatives demon- strated the ability to produce an excellent dispersion of MWCNT in CHCl3. The obtained dispersions showed a great stability from one to at least three weeks in the range of concentration considered. Thermal analysis showed an increase in the decomposition temperature for the hybrids with respect to pristine MWCNT