Poly[µ2-L-alanine-µ3-nitrato-sodium(I)]

The title compound, [Na(NO3)(C3H7NO2)](n), was obtained unintentionally as the product of an attempted reaction of sodium molybdate in aqueous solution and the amino acid L-alanine ( ala), in order to obtain a gamma-type octamolybdate, Na-4[Mo8O26(ala)(2)].18H(2)O, coordinated by L-alanine. The coordination geometry around the Na atom can be considered as trigonal-bipyramidal, with three bidentate nitrate anions coordinating through their O atoms and two L-alanine molecules each coordinating through one carboxylate O atom

A preliminary field trial to compare control techniques for invasive Berberis aquifolium in Belgian coastal dunes

Non-native Berberis aquifolium is an invasive species in Belgian coastal dunes. With its strong clonal growth through suckers, this evergreen shrub outcompetes native species and affects dune succession. To prevent further secondary spread and mitigate its impact, there was an urgent need for knowledge on the effectiveness of control measures, both at the plant and habitat level. Here, we report on a first control experiment. Individual B. aquifolium clones were subjected to one of four treatments (manual uprooting, foliar herbicide application, stem cutting followed by herbicide or salt application), with regrowth being measured up to one year after treatment. We analyzed the relationship between kill rate, treatment, dune area, plant volume and number of plant stems using a generalized linear model. Berberis aquifolium plants proved most susceptible to foliar herbicide application (5% glyphosate solution), resulting in 88% (64%-97%) of the clones dying after treatment. The predicted kill rate decreased with an increasing number of stems under all treatments. We discuss the limitations of our experiment and the potential for actual field application of the different treatments. We present some guidelines for future control that may become further refined as experience builds up and we provide some recommendations for tackling invasive alien species in Atlantic dune ecosystems

La justice belge face au génocide rwandais : la symbolique de la compétence universelle en question (Belgian Justice facing the Rwandan Genocide: the Symbolism of Universal Jurisdiction in Question)

En 2001 eut lieu &agrave; Bruxelles, en Belgique, un proc&egrave;s d&rsquo;Assises au terme duquel quatre citoyens rwandais furent condamn&eacute;s pour crimes de guerre commis dans le cadre du g&eacute;nocide qui s&rsquo;est d&eacute;roul&eacute; au Rwanda en 1994. Instruit sur la base d&rsquo;une loi de &laquo;comp&eacute;tence universelle&raquo; de 1993 - loi qui sera r&eacute;vis&eacute;e ult&eacute;rieurement en 1999 puis en 2003 -, ce proc&egrave;s sera l&rsquo;occasion de soulever divers enjeux &eacute;thiques et politiques li&eacute;s au principe d&rsquo;une justice d&eacute;territorialis&eacute;e. Symbole d&rsquo;une justice cosmopolite fond&eacute;e sur la d&eacute;fense de valeurs universelles pour les uns, traduction d&rsquo;un n&eacute;ocolonialisme masqu&eacute; derri&egrave;re la promotion des droits de l&rsquo;homme pour les autres, le proc&egrave;s de Bruxelles montrera toutes les ambigu&iuml;t&eacute;s de la justice p&eacute;nale internationale. De m&ecirc;me, il sera l&rsquo;occasion de souligner l&rsquo;importance de la dimension symbolique de la justice p&eacute;nale. In 2001, in Brussels, Belgium, a trial of Assises was held, in which four Rwandan citizens were sentenced for war crimes committed during the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994. They were investigated on the basis of the law of universal jurisdiction of 1993 - a law that would be revised later in 1999 and then in 2003 - this trial was an opportunity to raise various ethical and political issues related to the principle of deterritorialized justice. A symbol of a cosmopolitan justice based on the defense of universal values for some, a translation of a masked neocolonialism behind the promotion of human rights for others, the Brussels trial showed all the ambiguities of international criminal justice. Similarly, it is an opportunity to highlight the importance of the symbolic dimension of criminal justice.En 2001, se celebr&oacute; un juicio penal en Bruselas (B&eacute;lgica), al t&eacute;rmino del cual cuatro ciudadanos ruandeses fueron sentenciados por cr&iacute;menes cometidos durante el genocidio de Ruanda de 1994. Se les investig&oacute; en base al principio de Jurisdicci&oacute;n Universal de 1993 &ndash;ley que ser&iacute;a revisada despu&eacute;s, en 1999 y tambi&eacute;n en 2003. Ese proceso dar&aacute; la oportunidad de reflexionar sobre varios temas &eacute;ticos y pol&iacute;ticos relacionados con el principio de justicia extraterritorial. S&iacute;mbolo de justicia cosmopolita basada en la defensa de los valores universales, para algunos, traslaci&oacute;n del colonialismo enmascarado tras la defensa de los derechos humanos, para otros, el juicio de Bruselas expuso todas las ambig&uuml;edades de la justicia penal internacional, pero tambi&eacute;n permite destacar la importancia de la dimensi&oacute;n simb&oacute;lica de la justicia penal. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=3103077</a

Entre idéal de bienfaisance et politique sécuritaire : la prévention selon le Landrecht prussien de 1794

Le Landrecht prussien de 1794 constitue un jalon sur la voie de la codification pénale moderne. Émergeant au cœur d'un des régimes les plus absolutistes d'Europe, il traduit dans son versant pénal la double influence d'une pensée pénale éclairée et d'un idéal de gouvernementalité rationnel. La politique de prévention telle qu'elle s'élabore dans le texte en est une des manifestations les plus claires : pénale, policière et sociale, la prévention se pense sur un modèle intégré, qui associe politique de peines, dispositifs de surveillance et mesures de bienfaisance pour les besoins du contrôle social dans un État « bien réglé ». Telle qu'elle se conceptualise à l'époque en Prusse, la prévention n'est pas sans rappeler les orientations impulsées aujourd'hui à la « nouvelle prévention » dans divers pays européens.The 1794 Prussian Landrecht is a milepost on the way to a modem code of criminal law. While it appeared within one of the most rigidly absolute regimes of Europe, the penal section shows the twofold influence of an enlightened conception of criminal law and an ideal of rational governance. One of the clearest manifestations of this dual influence is the policy of prevention, presented in the text as integrating the penal, police and social systems by combining sentencing policy, surveillance and welfare, in the service of the needs of social control in a « well-ordered » State. Prevention, as conceptualized in Prussia at that time is not without recalling the « new prevention » guidelines advocated in various countries of Europe today

Wild Boar in Flanders, Belgium: (Dis)agreements Between Key Stakeholders on Wild Boar Management Objectives, Actions, and Legal Provisions

Wild boar (Sus scrofa) reappeared in Flanders, Belgium in 2006 after more than half a century of absence. Besides being a native and highly valued game species in Europe, wild boar are also known to be responsible for car collisions, crop damage, disease transmission, and ecological damage at high densities. The management of wild boar therefore seeks to balance these positive and negative impacts. Given the highly fragmented landscape in Flanders and its multifunctional use, coexistence with wild boar is only possible through integrated management involving relevant stakeholder groups. However, to be successful, this requires that the management objectives, the overall wild boar policy of the Flemish authorities, and management actions are supported by the stakeholders. To assess the support for the current management, we conducted a survey among members of the 3 key stakeholder groups: farmers, hunters, and conservationists. Our survey assessed the importance stakeholders attribute to different management objectives, their support for the current legal provisions, and how desirable the different stakeholder groups considered possible management actions. The potential for conflict index was used to analyze the (dis)agreement between and within stakeholder groups. Reducing or preventing crop damage and the risk for car accidents are indicated as being the most important management objectives by all 3 stakeholder groups. Stakeholder groups differ strongly in their support for the current legal provisions. Those stakeholders that have to implement the legal provisions or are mostly affected by these laws are less supportive than others. The desirability of the possible management actions strongly varied according to the different stakeholder groups. Contrary to other studies, the desirability of a possible management action was hardly influenced by the management objective it tried to achieve

The clinical value of minimal invasive autopsy in COVID-19 patients

Background Minimally invasive autopsy (MIA) is a validated and safe method to establish the cause of death (COD), mainly in low-resource settings. However, the additional clinical value of MIA in Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients in a high-resource setting is unknown. The objective was to assess if and how MIA changed clinical COD and contributing diagnoses in deceased COVID-19 patients. Methods and findings A prospective observational cohort from April to May 2020 in a 981-bed teaching hospital in the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium was established. Patients who died with either PCR-confirmed or radiologically confirmed COVID-19 infection were consecutively included. MIA consisted of whole-body CT and CT-guided Tru-Cut (R) biopsies. Diagnostic modalities were clinical chart review, radiology, microbiology, and histopathology which were assessed by two independent experts per modality. MIA COD and contributing diagnoses were established during a multi-disciplinary meeting. Clinical COD (CCOD) and contributing diagnosis were abstracted from the discharge letter. The main outcomes were alterations in CCOD and contributing diagnoses after MIA, and the contribution of each diagnostic modality. We included 18 patients, of which 7 after intensive care unit hospitalization. MIA led to an alteration in 15/18 (83%) patients. The CCOD was altered in 5/18 (28%) patients. MIA found a new COD (1/5), a more specific COD (1/5), a less certain COD (1/5), or a contributing diagnosis to be the COD (2/5). Contributing diagnoses were altered in 14/18 (78%) patients: 9 new diagnoses, 5 diagnoses dismissed, 3 made more specific, and 2 made less certain. Overall, histopathology contributed in 14/15 (93%) patients with alterations, radiology and microbiology each in 6/15 (40%), and clinical review in 3/15 (20%). Histopathology was deemed the most important modality in 10 patients, radiology in two patients, and microbiology in one patient. Conclusion MIA, especially histological examination, can add valuable new clinical information regarding the cause of death in COVID-19 patients, even in a high-resource setting with wide access to premortem diagnostic modalities. MIA may provide important clinical insights and should be applied in the current ongoing pandemic

Etest® versus broth microdilution for ceftaroline MIC determination with Staphylococcus aureus: results from PREMIUM, a European multicentre study

Objectives: To compare the concordance of ceftaroline MIC values 24 by reference broth microdilution (BMD) and Etest (BioMérieux, France) for MSSA and MRSA isolates, respectively, in isolates from PREMIUM (D372SL00001), a European multi-centre study.  Methods: Ceftaroline MICs were determined by reference BMD and by Etest for 1,242 MSSA and MRSA from adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia or complicated skin and soft tissue infections collected between February and May 2012; tests were performed across six European laboratories. Selected isolates with ceftaroline resistance in broth (MIC >1 mg/L) were retested in three central laboratories to confirm their behaviour.  Results: Overall concordance between BMD and Etest was good, with >97% essential agreement and >95% categorical agreement. Nevertheless, 12 of the 26 MRSA isolates found resistant by BMD scored as susceptible by Etest, with MICs ≤1 mg/L, thus counting as very major errors, whereas only five of 380 MRSA found ceftaroline susceptible in BMD were mis-categorised as resistant by Etest. Twenty-one of the 26 isolates with MICs of 2 mg/L by BMD were then re-tested twice by each of three central laboratories: BMD MICs of 2 mg/L were consistently found for 19 of the 21 isolates. Among 147 Etest results for these 21 isolates (original plus six repeats per isolate) 112 were >1 mg/L.  Conclusions: BMD and Etest have good overall agreement for ceftaroline against Staphylococcus aureus; nevertheless, reliable Etest-based discrimination of the minority of ceftaroline-resistant (MIC 2 mg/L) MRSA is extremely challenging, requiring careful reading of strips, ideally with duplicate testing