Suchergebnisse

Abstract
The EU has now shifted from ad hoc investment arbitration to an envisaged Multilateral Investment Court. Its essential character is expected to be a two-instance standing court system, together with a random allocation of cases. This judicialized court system could address China's preference of correctness as to ISDS system to some extent, subject to the competence of judges, while at the same time it raises new problems and new concerns. Firstly, would the envisaged standing court, in the context of enhancing the regulatory powers of states, still be qualified as a neutral forum to strike the appropriate balance between the protection of investors' right and preservation of states' regulatory powers? Secondly, would the judicialized court system be effective and flexible enough to suit the current nature of ISDS? Thirdly, would the envisaged two-tier court system be put into efficient operation so as not to become a de facto bar to access of justice? In fact, a judicialized system has its pros and cons, and thus its successful establishment and operation would be subject to more detailed rules.

This book provides an original and critical analysis of the most contentious subjects being negotiated in the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). It focuseson the pathway of reforming investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) from both Chinese and European perspectives in the context of the China-EU CAI and beyond. The book is divided into three parts. Part I examines key and controversial issues of the China-EU CAI negotiations, including market access, sustainable development and human rights, as well as comparing distinct features between the China-EU CAI and the China-US BIT. Part II concentrates on the institutional reform of investor-state arbitration with an extensive analysis of the EU's approach to replacing the private nature of investment arbitration with the public nature of an investment court. Part III addresses the core substantive and procedural issues concerning ISDS, such as the role of domestic courts in investment dispute settlement, the status of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as investors, transparency and the protection of victims in investment dispute resolution. This book will be of interest to scholars and practitioners in the field of international investment and trade law, particularly investment dispute settlement.

Abstract
Background
Microcystins (MCs) are secondary metabolites of cyanobacteria that are hepatotoxic to humans through the ingestion of cyanobacteria-contaminated water and accidental inhalation from lake activities. MCs with diverse congeners in water can be precisely quantified using online solid-phase extraction-ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (online-SPE UPLC–MS/MS). A method was developed and validated to simultaneously quantify eight different MCs (microcystin-RR, -LR, -YR, -WR, -LA, -LF, -LY, and -LW) in water using online-SPE UPLC–MS/MS.

Results
The method achieved the highest efficiency and sensitivity by selecting acetonitrile with 0.1% formic acid and water with 0.1% formic acid as the best mobile phase conditions. The linearity, accuracy, and precision were validated using matrix-mixed water with a leucine enkephalin internal standard. The limit of detection (LOD) was calculated using the signal-to-noise ratio of three passes of the daily water-surface inspection for MCs. This method showed both high sensitivity and high resolution for the separation of eight MC congeners with LODs ranging from 0.020 to 0.371 ng L–1 and limits of quantitation ranging from 0.066 to 1.24 ng L–1. The detection time was reduced to 11 min. Except for MC-RR (58.8% recovery at high concentration) and MC-WR (45.1% and 40.9% recoveries at medium and high concentrations, respectively), the recoveries of the other MCs ranged from 70 to 135%, and the relative standard deviation was less than 10%.

Conclusion
Eight different MCs in 12 water samples collected from Chaohu Lake, China, were analyzed. The sum of all MC congeners was calculated to range from 101 to 585 ng L–1 (less than the World Health Organization's safe drinking water limit of 1 μg L–1 for MC-LR).

Abstract
Clade 2.3.4.4 avian H5Ny viruses, namely H5N2, H5N6, and H5N8, have exhibited unprecedented intercontinental spread in poultry. Among them, only H5N6 viruses are frequently reported to infect mammals and cause serious human infections. In this study, the genetic and biological characteristics of surface hemagglutinin (HA) from clade 2.3.4.4 H5Ny avian influenza viruses (AIVs) were examined for adaptation in mammalian infection. Phylogenetic analysis identified an amino acid (AA) deletion at position 131 of HA as a distinctive feature of H5N6 virus isolated from human patients. This single AA deletion was found to enhance H5N6 virus replication and pathogenicity in vitro and in mammalian hosts (mice and ferrets) through HA protein acid and thermal stabilization that resulted in reduced pH threshold from pH 5.7 to 5.5 for viral-endosomal membrane fusion. Mass spectrometry and crystal structure revealed that the AA deletion in HA at position 131 introduced an N-linked glycosylation site at 129, which increases compactness between HA monomers, thus stabilizes the trimeric structure. Our findings provide a molecular understanding of how HA protein stabilization promotes cross-species avian H5N6 virus infection to mammalian hosts.