Conflict of Laws in International Oil Contracts

The contract which is signed between different nationalities is called international agreement. International agreements are slightly more complex than domestic contracts. Because we are dealing with more than one rule and in addition, the existence of principles of international rules cannot be ignored. Nationality difference is the first case that is investigated in international contracts. The second factor is the domicile of the parties that is a communication element in international contracts. The third factor is the place of contract performance and the forth factor states the contracts between two sides. What is the main purpose of this article is the subject and purpose of the international oil conventions that investigates the governing principles over them, the governing law example of the contract and also provides solutions to adopt a law which has been proposed

High Risk Situations Predicting Relapse in Self-Referred Addicts to Bushehr Province Substance Abuse Treatment Centers

Background: Relapse prevention is a medical intervention designed for educating cognitive and behavioral skills to avoid continued drug abuse and relapse. Objectives: This study examined high risk situations for relapse for self-referred addicts are related in Bushehr province substance abuse treatment centers. Patients and Methods: The present study is descriptive cross-sectional. The sample size consisted of 609 self-referred addicts to Bushehr province substance abuse centers. IDTS Marlatt questionnaire was used. Analytical and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: The findings showed that 73.1% of addicts have used substance during the past 12 months, and 72% have experienced a full relapse. Unpleasant emotions and physical discomfort was the most important reason for relapse and testing personal control and pleasure emotions the least important reason. Interpersonal factors have also a great role in this regard. Conclusions: Considering the high rates of relapse, more attention should be paid to reasons for relapse. It seems necessary that both clinical and psychological approaches would be undertaken simultaneousl

Conflict of Laws in International Oil Contracts

The contract which is signed between different nationalities is called international agreement. International agreements are slightly more complex than domestic contracts. Because we are dealing with more than one rule and in addition, the existence of principles of international rules cannot be ignored. Nationality difference is the first case that is investigated in international contracts. The second factor is the domicile of the parties that is a communication element in international contracts. The third factor is the place of contract performance and the forth factor states the contracts between two sides. What is the main purpose of this article is the subject and purpose of the international oil conventions that investigates the governing principles over them, the governing law example of the contract and also provides solutions to adopt a law which has been proposed

Conflict of Laws in International Oil Contracts

The contract which is signed between different nationalities is called international agreement. International agreements are slightly more complex than domestic contracts. Because we are dealing with more than one rule and in addition, the existence of principles of international rules cannot be ignored. Nationality difference is the first case that is investigated in international contracts. The second factor is the domicile of the parties that is a communication element in international contracts. The third factor is the place of contract performance and the forth factor states the contracts between two sides. What is the main purpose of this article is the subject and purpose of the international oil conventions that investigates the governing principles over them, the governing law example of the contract and also provides solutions to adopt a law which has been proposed

Synthesis, characterization, and assessment of a CeO2@Nanoclay nanocomposite for enhanced oil recovery

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. In this paper, synthesis and characterization of a novel CeO2 /nanoclay nanocomposite (NC) and its effects on IFT reduction and wettability alteration is reported in the literature for the first time. The NC was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and EDS MAP. The surface morphology, crystalline phases, and functional groups of the novel NC were investigated. Nanofluids with different concentrations of 100, 250, 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 ppm were prepared and used as dispersants in porous media. The stability, pH, conductivity, IFT, and wettability alternation characteristics of the prepared nanofluids were examined to find out the optimum concentration for the selected carbonate and sandstone reservoir rocks. Conductivity and zeta potential measurements showed that a nanofluid with concentration of 500 ppm can reduce the IFT from 35 mN/m to 17 mN/m (48.5% reduction) and alter the contact angle of the tested carbonate and sandstone reservoir rock samples from 139◦ to 53◦ (38% improvement in wettability alteration) and 123◦ to 90◦ (27% improvement in wettability alteration), respectively. A cubic fluorite structure was identified for CeO2 using the standard XRD data. FESEM revealed that the surface morphology of the NC has a layer sheet morphology of CeO2/SiO2 nanocomposite and the particle sizes are approximately 20 to 26 nm. TGA analysis results shows that the novel NC has a high stability at 90◦C which is a typical upper bound temperature in petroleum reservoirs. Zeta potential peaks at concentration of 500 ppm which is a sign of stabilty of the nanofluid. The results of this study can be used in design of optimum yet effective EOR schemes for both carbobate and sandstone petroleum reservoirs

Immunogenic properties of empty pcDNA3 plasmid against zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis in mice

Background Leishmania (L) parasite, the causative agent of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL), effectively stimulates the mammalian cells to mount strong humoral responses by enhancing T-helper-2 (Th2)-associated cytokines for its survival. The best strategy to decrease the intensity of infection in the host is induction of cellular immunity. Methods We evaluated the effects of the empty bacterial pcDNA3 plasmid on mice infected with L. major and quantified the immune mediators including IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, IgG2a, IgG1, arginase activity and nitric oxide (NO) in the mice. Moreover, the footpad lesion size and parasite load were assessed. Results We observed that pcDNA3 could modulate the immune responses in favor of host cells and decrease the disease severity. Th2- associated mediators, including arginase, IL-4, and IL-10 are downregulated, while cellular responses are upregulated in line with an increase in the levels of nitric oxide (NO) and interfero-gamma (IFN-γ). Interestingly, pcDNA3 induced specific Th1-associated antibodies, IgG2a isotype; however, it suppressed the production of humoral IgG1. The stimulation of the immune response by the empty pcDNA3 is able to shift the immune function to predominant cellular responses caused by Th1, and it had a positive effect on the treatment of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL). Conclusions Altogether, we introduced the pcDNA3 as a potential interfering factor in the modulation of the immune system against ZCL. Since this vector has been widely used as a control group in different studies, we suggest that the potential function of the empty vector should be deeply assessed, as it exerts anti-parasitic effects on mice infected with L. major.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Effect of weekly physical activity frequency on weight loss in healthy overweight and obese women attending a weight loss program: a randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT Background: The effect of intensity and duration of physical activity (PA) on weight loss has been well described. However, the effect of the frequency of weekly PA on weight loss is still unknown. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the frequency of weekly PA sessions while maintaining the same total activity time on weight loss during a 24-wk weight loss program. Design: Overweight and obese women [n = 75; body mass index(BMI; in kg/m2): 27–37; age: 18–40 y] who had a normally sedentary lifestyle were randomly allocated to 1 of 2 intervention groups: a high-frequency physical activity (HF) or a low-frequency physical activity (LF) group. The HF group included 50 min/d PA, 6 d/wk (300 min/wk). The LF group included 100 min/d PA, 3 d/wk (300 min/wk). Both groups were advised to follow the same dietary weight loss program. Results: Both groups showed a significant decrease in anthropometric measurements and significant improvements in cardiometabolic disease risk characteristics over the 24 wk of the study. Compared with the HF group, the LF group had a greater decrease in weight (mean 6 SD; LF: 9.58 6 3.77 kg; HF: 7.78 6 2.68 kg; P = 0.028), BMI (LF: 3.62 6 1.56; HF: 2.97 6 1.02; P = 0.029) and waist circumference (LF: 9.36 6 4.02 cm; HF: 7.86 6 2.41 cm; P = 0.031). However, there were no significant differences in carbohydrate metabolism characteristics or lipid profile after the 24 wk of intervention. Conclusion: Weekly PA undertaken over fewer sessions of longer duration during the week could be more effective for weight loss than when undertaken as more frequent shorter sessions in overweight and obese women on a weight loss program. This may be helpful for those who are neither willing nor able to schedule time for PA almost every day to achieve weight loss. This trial was registered at www.irct.ir as IRCT201402157754N4

Twenty-three unsolved problems in hydrology (UPH) – a community perspective

This paper is the outcome of a community initiative to identify major unsolved scientific problems in hydrology motivated by a need for stronger harmonisation of research efforts. The procedure involved a public consultation through on-line media, followed by two workshops through which a large number of potential science questions were collated, prioritised, and synthesised. In spite of the diversity of the participants (230 scientists in total), the process revealed much about community priorities and the state of our science: a preference for continuity in research questions rather than radical departures or redirections from past and current work. Questions remain focussed on process-based understanding of hydrological variability and causality at all space and time scales. Increased attention to environmental change drives a new emphasis on understanding how change propagates across interfaces within the hydrological system and across disciplinary boundaries. In particular, the expansion of the human footprint raises a new set of questions related to human interactions with nature and water cycle feedbacks in the context of complex water management problems. We hope that this reflection and synthesis of the 23 unsolved problems in hydrology will help guide research efforts for some years to come