Suchergebnisse

Article 207 TFEU confers upon the European Union exclusive competence with regard to 'foreign direct investment'. This article argues that this competence may be broad enough to cover most, if not all, the matters usually addressed in a Bilateral Investment Treaty. It covers both the initial 'admission' of investments and 'post-admission' matters, such as 'national treatment', 'most-favoured nation treatment' or 'equal and fair treatment'. Member States retain the right to expropriate the assets of foreign investors, but the Union may subject its exercise to certain conditions. Article 207 TFEU does not cover 'portfolio investments', but the Union may have implied exclusive competence by virtue of the common rules on capital movements (Articles 63-66 TFEU). Competence in the 'field of transport' remains, in principle, 'shared'. Member States may maintain the restrictions 'grandfathered' by Article 64(1) TFEU. It is arguable, but more doubtful, that Article 65(1)TFEU also provides an exception.

This is the accepted version of the following article: Barceló, S., Vidal-Puig, S. and Ferrer, A. (2011), Comparison of multivariate statistical methods for dynamic systems modeling. Qual. Reliab. Engng. Int., 27: 107–124, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/qre.1102. ; In this paper two multivariate statistical methodologies are compared in order to estimate a multi-input multi-output transfer function model in an industrial polymerization process. In these contexts, process variables are usually autocorrelated (i.e. there is time-dependence between observations), posing some problems to classical linear regression models. The two methodologies to be compared are both related to the analyses of multivariate time series: Box-Jenkins methodology and partial least squares time series. Both methodologies are compared keeping in mind different issues, such as the simplicity of the process modeling (i.e. the steps of the identification, estimation and validation of the model), the usefulness of the graphical tools, the goodness of fit, and the parsimony of the estimated models. Real data from a polymerization process are used to illustrate the performance of the methodologies under study. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ; This research was partially supported by the Spanish Government (MICINN) and the European Union (RDE funds) under grant DPI2008-06880-C03-03/DPI. ; Barceló Cerdá, S.; Vidal Puig, S.; Ferrer, A. (2011). Comparison of multivariate statistical methods for dynamic systems modeling. Quality and Reliability Engineering International. 27(1):107-124. https://doi.org/10.1002/qre.1102 ; S ; 107 ; 124 ; 27 ; 1 ; Box, G. E. P., Jenkins, G. M., & Reinsel, G. C. (2008). Time Series Analysis. Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics. doi:10.1002/9781118619193 ; Reinsel, G. C. (1997). Elements of Multivariate Time Series Analysis. Springer Series in Statistics. doi:10.1007/978-1-4612-0679-8 ; Wold, S. (1994). Exponentially weighted moving principal components ...

The five contributions in this legal working paper discuss various aspects of investment arbitration. They were originally presented at the ECB legal colloquium on 'The new challenges raised by investment arbitration for the EU legal order' which took place in Frankfurt am Main in 2019.

The five contributions in this legal working paper discuss various aspects of investment arbitration. They were originally presented at the ECB legal colloquium on 'The new challenges raised by investment arbitration for the EU legal order' which took place in Frankfurt am Main in 2019.

Wellcome Trust [102354/Z/13/Z] ; BHF [RG/18/7/33636] ; MRC [MC_UU_12012/2] ; Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [SAF2017- 88908-R] ; AstraZeneca ; Swedish Research council (M.A.: 2015-03582) ; Strategic Research Program in Diabetes at Karolinska Institutet (M.A.) ; European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007- 2013) ; EFPIA companies'

The non-essential fatty acids, C18:1n9, C16:0, C16:1n7, C18:0 and C18:1n7 account for over 75% of fatty acids in white adipose (WAT) triacylglycerol (TAG). The relative composition of these fatty acids (FA) is influenced by the desaturases, SCD1-4 and the elongase, ELOVL6. In knock-out models, loss of SCD1 or ELOVL6 results in reduced Δ9 desaturated and reduced 18-carbon non-essential FA respectively. Both Elovl6 KO and SCD1 KO mice exhibit improved insulin sensitivity. Here we describe the relationship between WAT TAG composition in obese mouse models and obese humans stratified for insulin resistance. In mouse models with increasing obesity and insulin resistance, there was an increase in scWAT Δ9 desaturated FAs (SCD ratio) and FAs with 18-carbons (Elovl6 ratio) in mice. Data from mouse models discordant for obesity and insulin resistance (AKT2 KO, Adiponectin aP2-transgenic), suggested that scWAT TAG Elovl6 ratio was associated with insulin sensitivity, whereas SCD1 ratio was associated with fat mass. In humans, a greater SCD1 and Elovl6 ratio was found in metabolically more harmful visceral adipose tissue when compared to subcutaneous adipose tissue. ; We thank the BBSRC, MRC and Wellcome trust for funding this work. The research leading to these results has also received support from the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking under EMIF grant agreement n° 115372, resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) and EFPIA companies' in kind contribution. We thank the MRC-MDU DMC for supporting all animal experiments in this publication. The authors state they have no conflict of interest, either financial or scientific. ; This is the final version of the article. It was first available from NPG via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep18366

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can progress from simple steatosis (i.e., nonalcoholic fatty liver [NAFL]) to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis, and cancer. Currently, the driver for this progression is not fully understood; in particular, it is not known how NAFLD and its early progression affects the distribution of lipids in the liver, producing lipotoxicity and inflammation. In this study, we used dietary and genetic mouse models of NAFL and NASH and translated the results to humans by correlating the spatial distribution of lipids in liver tissue with disease progression using advanced mass spectrometry imaging technology. We identified several lipids with distinct zonal distributions in control and NAFL samples and observed partial to complete loss of lipid zonation in NASH. In addition, we found increased hepatic expression of genes associated with remodeling the phospholipid membrane, release of arachidonic acid (AA) from the membrane, and production of eicosanoid species that promote inflammation and cell injury. The results of our immunohistochemistry analyses suggest that the zonal location of remodeling enzyme LPCAT2 plays a role in the change in spatial distribution for AA-containing lipids. This results in a cycle of AA-enrichment in pericentral hepatocytes, membrane release of AA, and generation of proinflammatory eicosanoids and may account for increased oxidative damage in pericentral regions in NASH. CONCLUSION: NAFLD is associated not only with lipid enrichment, but also with zonal changes of specific lipids and their associated metabolic pathways. This may play a role in the heterogeneous development of NAFLD. (Hepatology 2017;65:1165-1180). ; Medical Research Council (MRC). Horizon 2020 Framework Program of the European Union.

[EN] Higher education is continuously evolving to keep up with the challenges posed by the introduction of information and communication technologies (ICT) to education. In this sense, distance learning is booming, with an increasing number of higher education students taking advantage of the flexibility remote learning provides. The School of Agricultural Engineering and Environment (ETSIAMN) of Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) has been gradually incorporating ICT tools in its bachelor and master degrees for the last two decades. As a result, many college students and university instructors are familiar with ICT techniques. However, the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis has put distance learning in the spotlight like never before, forcing students, faculty, and staff to adapt to the new situation with hardly any preparation time. For that reason, it is convenient to analyse in depth the results and impact of the teaching and evaluation methodologies developed and applied during this critical period, as a way to detect and amend potential inefficiencies in the learning process. The specific goal of this study was to analyse the teaching period during the COVID-19 crisis in ETSIAMN, which covered the spring semester of the academic year 2019-2020. To this purpose, 114 instructors and 274 students were surveyed in July 2020, belonging to four bachelor degrees (agricultural and biological engineering; forestry engineering; food engineering; and biotechnology), and three master degrees (agricultural and biological engineering; forestry engineering, and oenology). Regarding the experimental design for the survey, three main blocks were identified: the first block corresponds to teaching methodologies, comparing students and faculty preferences for distance lecturing; the second block focuses on evaluation modalities and exam configurations; and the final block centers on the difficulties found by both students and lecturers along the adaptation process from conventional to distance teaching. Results showed that ...