The 1997 Deregulation of Japan\u27s Holding Companies

In 1947, Japan enacted the Act Concerning Prohibition of Monopolization and Maintenance of Fair Trade ( AMA ), known to some as the Economic Constitution of Japan because of its fundamental role in structuring Japan\u27s economy. Among the most profound legislative provisions the 1947 AMA introduced to Japanese economic law are an absolute prohibition on pure holding companies and strict regulations upon stockholding by certain other types of companies. The legislature established these provisions as part of a plan to de-concentrate excessive economic power then wielded in the Japanese economy by large integrated enterprise complexes known as the zaibatsu. Fifty years later, in 1997, Japan enacted the Act for Partial Amendment of the AMA which eliminated the absolute prohibition on pure holding companies and relaxed regulations on stockholding by other types of companies. This Article discusses the 1997 AMA revisions and explores their historic legal, political, and economic significance, all of which have been a topic of great notoriety in Japan but thus far have received little comment from legal scholars in other nations

The 1997 Deregulation of Japan\u27s Holding Companies

In 1947, Japan enacted the Act Concerning Prohibition of Monopolization and Maintenance of Fair Trade ( AMA ), known to some as the Economic Constitution of Japan because of its fundamental role in structuring Japan\u27s economy. Among the most profound legislative provisions the 1947 AMA introduced to Japanese economic law are an absolute prohibition on pure holding companies and strict regulations upon stockholding by certain other types of companies. The legislature established these provisions as part of a plan to de-concentrate excessive economic power then wielded in the Japanese economy by large integrated enterprise complexes known as the zaibatsu. Fifty years later, in 1997, Japan enacted the Act for Partial Amendment of the AMA which eliminated the absolute prohibition on pure holding companies and relaxed regulations on stockholding by other types of companies. This Article discusses the 1997 AMA revisions and explores their historic legal, political, and economic significance, all of which have been a topic of great notoriety in Japan but thus far have received little comment from legal scholars in other nations

The Seroepidemiology of Haemophilus influenzae Type B Prior to Introduction of an Immunization Programme in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) is now recognized as an important pathogen in Asia. To evaluate disease susceptibility, and as a marker of Hib transmission before routine immunization was introduced in Kathmandu, 71 participants aged 7 months-77 years were recruited and 15 cord blood samples were collected for analysis of anti-polyribosylribitol phosphate antibody levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Only 20% of children under 5 years old had levels considered protective (>0.15 µg/ml), rising to 83% of 15-54 year-olds. Prior to introduction of Hib vaccine in Kathmandu, the majority of young children were susceptible to disease

Induction of Larval Metamorphosis of the Coral Acropora millepora by Tetrabromopyrrole Isolated from a Pseudoalteromonas Bacterium

The induction of larval attachment and metamorphosis of benthic marine invertebrates is widely considered to rely on habitat specific cues. While microbial biofilms on marine hard substrates have received considerable attention as specific signals for a wide and phylogenetically diverse array of marine invertebrates, the presumed chemical settlement signals produced by the bacteria have to date not been characterized. Here we isolated and fully characterized the first chemical signal from bacteria that induced larval metamorphosis of acroporid coral larvae (Acropora millepora). The metamorphic cue was identified as tetrabromopyrrole (TBP) in four bacterial Pseudoalteromonas strains among a culture library of 225 isolates obtained from the crustose coralline algae Neogoniolithon fosliei and Hydrolithon onkodes. Coral planulae transformed into fully developed polyps within 6 h, but only a small proportion of these polyps attached to the substratum. The biofilm cell density of the four bacterial strains had no influence on the ratio of attached vs. non-attached polyps. Larval bioassays with ethanolic extracts of the bacterial isolates, as well as synthetic TBP resulted in consistent responses of coral planulae to various doses of TBP. The lowest bacterial density of one of the Pseudoalteromonas strains which induced metamorphosis was 7,000 cells mm−2 in laboratory assays, which is on the order of 0.1 –1% of the total numbers of bacteria typically found on such surfaces. These results, in which an actual cue from bacteria has been characterized for the first time, contribute significantly towards understanding the complex process of acroporid coral larval settlement mediated through epibiotic microbial biofilms on crustose coralline algae

Pelvic trauma : WSES classification and guidelines

Complex pelvic injuries are among the most dangerous and deadly trauma related lesions. Different classification systems exist, some are based on the mechanism of injury, some on anatomic patterns and some are focusing on the resulting instability requiring operative fixation. The optimal treatment strategy, however, should keep into consideration the hemodynamic status, the anatomic impairment of pelvic ring function and the associated injuries. The management of pelvic trauma patients aims definitively to restore the homeostasis and the normal physiopathology associated to the mechanical stability of the pelvic ring. Thus the management of pelvic trauma must be multidisciplinary and should be ultimately based on the physiology of the patient and the anatomy of the injury. This paper presents the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) classification of pelvic trauma and the management Guidelines.Peer reviewe