Main Bronchial Reconstruction with Sparing of Pulmonary Parenchyma for Benign Diseases

Main bronchial reconstruction is anatomically suitable for benign main bronchial stenosis. But, it has been hardly recommended for operative mortality and morbidity. This study was aimed at providing validity and the proper clinical information of bronchoplasty for benign main bronchial stenosis by reviewing the results we obtained over the last ten years for main bronchial reconstruction operations. We retrospectively reviewed admission and office records. Twenty eight consecutive patients who underwent main bronchoplasty were included. Enrolled patients underwent main bronchial reconstruction for benign disease (tuberculosis in 21, trauma in 4, endobronchial mass in 3). Concomitant procedures with main stem bronchoplasty were performed in 19 patients. There were no incidences of postoperative mortality and significant morbidity. There were 2 cases of retained secretions, and these problems were resolved by bronchoscopy or intubation. All of the patients are still alive without obstructive airway problem. Bronchoplasty should be considered as one of the primary treatment modalities, if it is anatomically feasible

New Era of Air Quality Monitoring from Space: Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS)

GEMS will monitor air quality over Asia at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution from GEO for the first time, providing column measurements of aerosol, ozone and their precursors (nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and formaldehyde). Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) is scheduled for launch in late 2019 - early 2020 to monitor Air Quality (AQ) at an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution from a Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) for the first time. With the development of UV-visible spectrometers at sub-nm spectral resolution and sophisticated retrieval algorithms, estimates of the column amounts of atmospheric pollutants (O3, NO2, SO2, HCHO, CHOCHO and aerosols) can be obtained. To date, all the UV-visible satellite missions monitoring air quality have been in Low Earth orbit (LEO), allowing one to two observations per day. With UV-visible instruments on GEO platforms, the diurnal variations of these pollutants can now be determined. Details of the GEMS mission are presented, including instrumentation, scientific algorithms, predicted performance, and applications for air quality forecasts through data assimilation. GEMS will be onboard the GEO-KOMPSAT-2 satellite series, which also hosts the Advanced Meteorological Imager (AMI) and Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI)-2. These three instruments will provide synergistic science products to better understand air quality, meteorology, the long-range transport of air pollutants, emission source distributions, and chemical processes. Faster sampling rates at higher spatial resolution will increase the probability of finding cloud-free pixels, leading to more observations of aerosols and trace gases than is possible from LEO. GEMS will be joined by NASA's TEMPO and ESA's Sentinel-4 to form a GEO AQ satellite constellation in early 2020s, coordinated by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS)

The Present and Future of The Investor-State Dispute Settlement Paradigm

While the World Trade Organization (WTO) system remains faithful to the long-standing traditional paradigm of state-to-state dispute resolution, dispute resolution mechanisms in the area of international investment are undergoing a radical change. Traditionally, the paradigm of 'diplomatic protection' has served as a basis for the settlement of investment disputes among states. In earlier commercial agreements, including the Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation Treaties (FCNs) concluded from 1940s to 1960s, the resolution of international investment disputes took the form of state-to-state dispute resolution. This paradigm shifted in the 1970s when direct investor claims, modelled on treaties that European countries had been putting forward since 1959, were allowed under a series of bilateral investment treaties initiated by the United States. This shift has been reflected in subsequent efforts to reach a multilateral agreement on investment (MAI) and in many free trade agreements (FTAs). Also, in the area of international human rights law, it is an increasing trend to allow an individual to have direct recourse to international human rights protection bodies, such as the Human Rights Committee established under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, after the exhaustion of domestic remedies. The allowance of direct claims has helped to make up for the typical shortcomings of the diplomatic protection mechanism where, the espousing state has frequently exercised excessive discretion in deciding whether to advance claims due to considerations of a political nature, unrelated to the particular case, so that this mechanism can increase international friction. On the other hand, the strong point of diplomatic protection has been its capacity to screen out frivolous or dishonest claims by individuals. The question whether various international dispute settlement mechanisms may eventually converge into an effective system based on a direct claim procedure is a vexing one. It is uncertain whether the model of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) can play a pioneering role in this ongoing process. Any pertinent answers to such questions require a thorough comparison of the benefits and drawbacks of such a development. Lessons from the experiences under the ISDS system and its modification efforts should be fully taken into account so the newly emerging dispute resolution system will not lead to tension between nations in an area where precedent is scant, but the need is great. , Oxford University Press.

WTO Rules and Agricultural Development Cooperation between Developed and Developing Countries

For many developed countries with confined land resources and high costs of labour, agricultural farming in foreign territories provides attractive business opportunities. Such investment projects will also be welcomed by many hosting developing countries given the substantial effect of economic development and employment. In this sense, agricultural development cooperation at an international level could contribute to the solution of the North-South problem. Notwithstanding this necessity and potential contribution, it is doubtful whether the current WTO legal system can fully support this type of cooperation. Various governmental supports involving the cooperation projects could be determined as prohibited or actionable subsidies as well as discriminatory measures. WTO provisions regarding the special and differential treatment for the developing economies are of no help. This paper identifies legal problems involving agricultural development cooperation between developed and developing countries and explores ways to interpret relevant WTO rules and to amend them in order to solve the problems.

Aggressive Regionalism -super-† in Korea--U.S. FTA: The Present and Future of Korea's FTA Policy

The Korea--US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a result of a paradigm shift from traditional regionalism, which deals mostly with customs--border issues, to 'aggressive regionalism' that codifies a whole-scale problem-solving process. A series of age-old bilateral trade disputes, such as the automobile trade imbalance, unethical business practices in pharmaceuticals and medical devices and effective protection of copyrights, were actively addressed between Korea and the United States, and permanent solutions to the problems were sought in the form of stable and binding FTA rules. New global or regional issues, such as the non-implementation of WTO panel decisions and South and North Korea's economic cooperation, were also dealt with. When negotiating future FTAs, Korea will continue to take the problem-solving approach based on this aggressive regionalism. Particular focus will be given to such sensitive issues regarding the trade remedy system, unfair business practices, sanitary and food safety and economic engagement policies towards North Korea. As Korea becomes part of more FTAs, transaction costs caused by fragmented FTAs will become an economic issue. In order to reduce the costs of the aggressive regionalism policy, Korea must adopt the advanced level of accumulation system for the rules of origin and it should endeavour to ultimately harmonize varying rules among FTAs. This strategy may start by linking to other FTAs. It is suggested that achieving such 'multilateral regionalism' should be a long-term task for Korea. Oxford University Press 2009, all rights reserved, Oxford University Press.

Defragmenting Fragmented Rules of Origin of RTAs: A Building Block to Global Free Trade

Regional trade agreements (RTAs) provide countries with many benefits. The multilateral trading system also receives these benefits, as successive and overlapping RTAs are the building blocks for the most viable and realistic path to global free trade. Nonetheless, the spread of criss-crossing RTAs in the world has generated serious problems, including rising transaction costs. While pursuing the long-term goal of harmonizing preferential rules of origin (ROOs), countries need to actively implement the diagonal or full accumulation system on a sectoral basis, starting from the sectors in which identical product-specific rules among participating countries have been introduced. The adoption of coequality in the change in tariff classification and regional value content (VC) rules also give trading firms more flexibility. If WTO members are able to set up model ROOs, the degree of each RTA's deviation from this benchmark may be calculated and certain modalities for its reduction could be negotiated multilaterally. In the longer term, other systemic rules on top of ROOs need to be converged or harmonized across RTAs on a regional or global basis. The effort to defragment fragmented RTAs should continue even beyond the time when most favoured nation (MFN) tariff rates go down to zero worldwide. Even if all preferential origin regimes shall have become irrelevant by then, various other rules and procedures will still have to be converged and harmonized across RTAs. Oxford University Press 2010, all rights reserved, Oxford University Press.

PCL/gelatin nanofibers incorporated with starfish polydeoxyribonucleotides for potential wound healing applications

Conventional wound dressings have several shortcomings because they are unspecific and partially effective for wound healing. To enhance the therapeutic efficiency of wound dressings, we extracted polydeoxyribonucleotides (PDRN) from Patiria pectinifera, and characterized using absorbance-based analysis, chemical composition analysis, and electrophoresis. We evaluated their cytotoxicity and wound healing activity on human dermal fibroblast (HDF) and human keratinocytes (HaCaT). Next, we used electrospinning to fabricate polycaprolactone (PCL)/gelatin (Gel)/PDRN nanofibers for wound dressing application. The average fiber diameters of PCL (P), PCL/Gel (PG), and PCL/Gel/PDRN (PGP) nanofibers were 582.88 ± 202.65, 435.65 ± 149.87, and 334.63 ± 98.09 nm, respectively. The biocompatibility of the nanofibers was assessed using MTT assay and FDA/PI staining on HDF and HaCaT, no cytotoxicity was observed. In vivo experiments with full-thickness skin defect mouse models confirmed that the PGP nanofiber accelerated the initial wound healing process, as shown by wound closure analysis and histological analysis. Our results suggest that the PGP nanofiber has potential as a biomaterial for wound dressing applications and skin tissue engineering