The suspended provisions of Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP will not substantially affect the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Chapter 17 on State-owned enterprises (SOEs). As a consequence, the original TPP scheme remains an important treaty model and poses complex questions notwithstanding a growing literature. This article discusses TPP but unlike current writings which focus on comparative treaty methods of SOE regulation, we focus on how TPP/CPTPP will actually operate, paying attention to how its framers have defined an SOE not least in how they have viewed complex crossholdings, excluded non-profits, and preserved a role for State monopolies. Our answers differ from some of the existing literature – particularly on complex cross-holdings. We also provide detailed illustrations of how TPP's non-discrimination, commercial basis, and non-commercial assistance rules might work and comment on the chances of a rule cascade triggered by TPP, particularly in the current state of heightened Sino-American rivalry and allegations of State control in China's economy.

Nacre is a hierarchical multi-composite matrix consisting of mineral plate-like structures stacked up similar to brick and mortar. When impacted with a projectile this type of structure is expected to reduce the overall shock loading into the system as well as projectile velocity as a consequence of variations in structural stiffness between the composite plates and the organic interlayers. Bio-mimicked nacre derived from alumina as the base ceramic is also shown to have increased fracture toughness over an alumina monolith. One challenge to building the nacre alumina structure is the design and processing of the composite mineral plates which should be comprised of roughly 90-95% nano-filler and 5-10% organic binder. In order for these plates to accurately mimic the nacre mineral plates they must also emulate aspect ratios on the order of 1:10 to 1:20. This paper will discuss the design and processing of nacre-alumina plates for studies into the impact behavior of nacre composites.

Identification of priority populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM) is important in surveillance systems to monitor trends of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). We explored using routinely collected non-behavioural data as a means to establish MSM status in surveillance by assessing anorectal swab as a marker of male-to-male sexual exposure. We used chlamydia testing data from a sexual health clinic, 2007–2012. Men reporting any male sexual partner(s) in the previous 12 months were considered MSM. The dataset was split into development and validation samples to develop a univariate predictive model and assess the model fit. The dataset included 30 358 individual men and 48 554 episodes of STI testing; 45% were among reported MSM and an anorectal swab was performed in 40% of testing episodes. Anorectal swabbing had good diagnostic performance as a marker for MSM status (sensitivity = 87%, specificity = 99%, positive predictive value = 98·6%, negative predictive value = 90·3%). The model showed good fit against the internal validation sample (area under the curve = 0·93). Anorectal swabs are a valid marker of MSM behaviour in surveillance data from sexual health clinics, and they are likely to be particularly useful for monitoring STI trends among MSM with higher risk behaviour.

We report the discovery of carbonates in the Planetary Nebulae NGC 6302 and NGC 6537 (Kemper et al. 2002). In the ISO LWS spectra far-infrared features have been identified with calcite and dolomite by comparison with laboratory spectra of these minerals. This is the first time that carbonates have been identified outside the solar system. In a follow-up study (Kemper et al., in prep.) a detailed analysis of the mineral composition of the dust in NGC 6302 is presented.

During 1990 we surveyed the southern sky using a multi-beam receiver at frequencies of 4850 and 843 MHz. The half-power beamwidths were 4 and 25 arcmin respectively. The finished surveys cover the declination range between +10 and −90 degrees declination, essentially complete in right ascension, an area of 7.30 steradians. Preliminary analysis of the 4850 MHz data indicates that we will achieve a five sigma flux density limit of about 30 mJy. We estimate that we will find between 80 000 and 90 000 new sources above this limit. This is a revised version of the paper presented at the Regional Meeting by the first four authors; the surveys now have been completed.

The subsurface exploration of other planetary bodies can be used to unravel their geological history and assess their habitability. On Mars in particular, present-day habitable conditions may be restricted to the subsurface. Using a deep subsurface mine, we carried out a program of extraterrestrial analog research – MINe Analog Research (MINAR). MINAR aims to carry out the scientific study of the deep subsurface and test instrumentation designed for planetary surface exploration by investigating deep subsurface geology, whilst establishing the potential this technology has to be transferred into the mining industry. An integrated multi-instrument suite was used to investigate samples of representative evaporite minerals from a subsurface Permian evaporite sequence, in particular to assess mineral and elemental variations which provide small-scale regions of enhanced habitability. The instruments used were the Panoramic Camera emulator, Close-Up Imager, Raman spectrometer, Small Planetary Linear Impulse Tool, Ultrasonic drill and handheld X-ray diffraction (XRD). We present science results from the analog research and show that these instruments can be used to investigate in situ the geological context and mineralogical variations of a deep subsurface environment, and thus habitability, from millimetre to metre scales. We also show that these instruments are complementary. For example, the identification of primary evaporite minerals such as NaCl and KCl, which are difficult to detect by portable Raman spectrometers, can be accomplished with XRD. By contrast, Raman is highly effective at locating and detecting mineral inclusions in primary evaporite minerals. MINAR demonstrates the effective use of a deep subsurface environment for planetary instrument development, understanding the habitability of extreme deep subsurface environments on Earth and other planetary bodies, and advancing the use of space technology in economic mining.