Discovery From Non-Parties (Third-Party Discovery) in International Arbitration

International arbitration rules and many arbitration laws usually provide procedures that permit tribunals to order parties to disclose documents and other materials to the other parties.1 More complex are the rules that determine opportunities to obtain discovery from persons that are not party to the arbitration (third-party discovery). This article will review third-party discovery under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and the provisions of the US Code s.1782 that authorise US courts to act in aid of actions before foreign tribunals. Section 1782 has unique interest at this time because it figured prominently in the EU antitrust investigation of Intel that was initiated on request from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Early in that investigation, AMD filed a s.1782 request in the US District Court to obtain evidence from US sources for submission to the DG-Competition of the European Commission (EC). This request ultimately led to the Supreme Court’s decision in Intel Corp v Advanced Micro Devices Inc2 which appeared to significantly expand the scope of s.1782. Ironically, after AMD won on key legal issues in the Supreme Court, the District Court on remand exercised its discretion and denied the request for judicial assistance. This paper first describes the FAA non-party discovery rules and the split among the federal appellate courts concerning the authority of arbitrators to order prehearing discovery from non-parties. Next, it provides an analysis of the meaning of the terms “interested party” and “tribunal”—terms that were controversially interpreted by the Supreme Court in Intel and are essential to the application of s.1782. Finally, it discusses the “discretionary” factors used by the federal courts in deciding whether to grant a s.1782 request even when the statutory criteria are met. The opportunity to exercise this discretion seems to rebut the argument that the Supreme Court’s interpretation of s.1782 gives participants before foreign tribunals more discovery rights in the United States than are available to the parties in arbitrations covered by the FAA

Structures of ultrathin copper nanotubes

We have performed atomistic simulations for helical multi-shell (HMS) Cu nanowires and nanotubes. Our investigation on HMS Cu nanowires and nanotubes has revealed some physical properties that were not dealt in previous works that considered metal nanowires. As the diameter of HMS nanowires increased, their cohesive energy per atom and optimum lattice constant decreased. As the diameter of HMS nanotubes increases, their cohesive energy per atom decreased but optimum lattice constant increased. Shell-shell or core-shell interactions mainly affected on the lattice constant and the diameter of HMS nanowires or nanotubes. This study showed that HMS nanotubes for materials of fcc metal crystals can be maintained when forces exerted on atoms of inner shell of the HMS nanotubes are zero or act on the direction of the outside.Comment: 16 pages, 1 table, 5 figure

Arabidopsis ABCG14 is essential for the root-to-shoot translocation of cytokinin.

Cytokinins are phytohormones that induce cytokinesis and are essential for diverse developmental and physiological processes in plants. Cytokinins of the trans-zeatin type are mainly synthesized in root vasculature and transported to the shoot, where they regulate shoot growth. However, the mechanism of long-distance transport of cytokinin was hitherto unknown. Here, we report that the Arabidopsis ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter subfamily G14 (AtABCG14) is mainly expressed in roots and plays a major role in delivering cytokinins to the shoot. Loss of AtABCG14 expression resulted in severe shoot growth retardation, which was rescued by exogenous trans-zeatin application. Cytokinin content was decreased in the shoots of atabcg14 plants and increased in the roots, with consistent changes in the expression of cytokinin-responsive genes. Grafting of atabcg14 scions onto wild-type rootstocks restored shoot growth, whereas wild-type scions grafted onto atabcg14 rootstocks exhibited shoot growth retardation similar to that of atabcg14. Cytokinin concentrations in the xylem are reduced by similar to 90% in the atabcg14 mutant. These results indicate that AtABCG14 is crucial for the translocation of cytokinin to the shoot. Our results provide molecular evidence for the long-distance transport of cytokinin and show that this transport is necessary for normal shoot development.open118380Ysciescopu

The new joint Australian and New Zealand design standard for steel and composite bridges AS/NZS 5100.6 - Part 6 : Steel and composite construction

This paper presents some of the innovations that are included within the new Bridge Design Standard for Steel and Composite Construction AS/NZS 5100.6, which will be the first harmonized standard between Australia and New Zealand for the design of bridges. As Chairs of the Committees responsible for AS/NZS 5100.6 and AS/NZS 2327, the authors of this paper present the challenges faced from the introduction concrete compressive strengths up to 100 MPa and quenched and tempered steels with a yield strength up to 690 MPa. Perhaps one of the most innovative aspects of this standard is the introduction of an appendix that provides design rules for steel products that are not manufactured to Australia and New Zealand standards. This appendix is underpinned by rigorous structural reliability analyses undertaken by Australian and New Zealand researchers, which included the present authors of this paper

De novo formation of basal bodies in Naegleria gruberi: regulation by phosphorylation

The de novo formation of basal bodies in Naegleria gruberi was preceded by the transient formation of a microtubule (MT)-nucleating complex containing γ-tubulin, pericentrin, and myosin II complex (GPM complex). The MT-nucleating activity of GPM complexes was maximal just before the formation of visible basal bodies and then rapidly decreased. The regulation of MT-nucleating activity of GPM complexes was accomplished by a transient phosphorylation of the complex. Inhibition of dephosphorylation after the formation of basal bodies resulted in the formation of multiple flagella. 2D-gel electrophoresis and Western blotting showed a parallel relationship between the MT-nucleating activity of GPM complexes and the presence of hyperphosphorylated γ-tubulin in the complexes. These data suggest that the nucleation of MTs by GPM complexes precedes the de novo formation of basal bodies and that the regulation of MT-nucleating activity of GPM complexes is essential to the regulation of basal body number