Is metal theft committed by organized crime groups, and why does it matter?

Using the example of metal theft in the United Kingdom, this study used mixed methods to evaluate the accuracy of police estimates of the involvement of organised crime groups (OCGs) in crime. Police estimate that 20-30% of metal theft is committed by OCGs, but this study found that only 0.5% of metal thieves had previous convictions for offences related to OCGs, that only 1.3% were linked to OCGs by intelligence information, that metal thieves typically offended close to their homes and that almost no metal thefts involved sophisticated offence methods. It appears that police may over-estimate the involvement of OCGs in some types of crime. The reasons for and consequences of this over-estimation are discussed

Validity of willingness to pay measures under preference uncertainty

This paper is part of the project ACCEPT, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (grant number 01LA1112A). The publication of this article was funded by the Open Access fund of the Leibniz Association. All data is available on the project homepage (https://www.ifw-kiel.de/forschung/umwelt/projekte/accept) and from Figshare (https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3113050.v1).Recent studies in the marketing literature developed a new method for eliciting willingness to pay (WTP) with an open-ended elicitation format: the Range-WTP method. In contrast to the traditional approach of eliciting WTP as a single value (Point-WTP), Range-WTP explicitly allows for preference uncertainty in responses. The aim of this paper is to apply Range-WTP to the domain of contingent valuation and to test for its theoretical validity and robustness in comparison to the Point-WTP. Using data from two novel large-scale surveys on the perception of solar radiation management (SRM), a little-known technique for counteracting climate change, we compare the performance of both methods in the field. In addition to the theoretical validity (i.e. the degree to which WTP values are consistent with theoretical expectations), we analyse the test-retest reliability and stability of our results over time. Our evidence suggests that the Range-WTP method clearly outperforms the Point-WTP method.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Emerging methodologies for pathogen identification in positive blood culture testing

International audienceBloodstream infections (BSIs) represent a major cause of death in developed countries and are associated with long-term loss of functions. Blood culture remains the gold standard for BSI diagnosis, as it is easy to perform and displays a good analytical sensitivity. However, its major drawback remains the long turnaround time, which can result in inappropriate therapy, fall of survival rate, emergence of antibiotic resistance and increase of medical costs. Over the last 10years, molecular tools have been the alternative to blood cultures, allowing early identification of pathogens involved in sepsis, as well detection of critical antibiotic resistance genes. Besides, the advent of MALDI-TOF revolutionized practice in routine microbiology significantly reduced the time to result. Reviewed here are recent improvements in early BSI diagnosis and these authors' view for the future is presented, including innovative high-throughput technologies

Analysis of accidental sequence tests and interpretation of fission product release: interdependence of Cs, Mo, and Ba release

The behaviour of fission products (F.P.) during fuel life in a nuclear reactor is of particular importance as it plays a significant role in the release kinetics during hypothetical reactor severe accident transients. A description of (137 Cs, 99 Mo, 140 Ba) chemical states after some UO2 fuel irradiation stages is drawn. Molybdenum is supposed to be localised in a MoO2 precipitate (volatile over 1273K) and chemical reactions with condensed Cs oxides and/or uranates are possible. According to this description, a coherent interpretation is presented for some accidental sequence tests providing new ideas for release mechanisms of (Cs, Mo, Ba)

Modélisation par le code MFPR de l’évolution de la structure de défauts dans le combustible UO2 irradié

Les défauts de la structure UO2 peuvent influencer significativement le transport des gaz de fission hors des grains ainsi que leur relâchement hors de la pastille. Ces défauts sont à la fois des défauts ponctuels comme les lacunes, les interstitiels ou les atomes d’impuretés et des défauts étendus comme les bulles, les porosités et les dislocations. Un modèle de calcul de la formation et de l’évolution des dislocations dans le combustible UO2 irradié a été développé et implanté dans le code mécaniste MFPR, en liaison avec un modèle de densification du combustible.Associé aux équations décrivant le comportement des défauts ponctuels (lacunes et interstitiels) et leur interaction avec les bulles de gaz de fission, ce modèle permet une appréhension globale du système de défauts-gaz de fission dans le combustible irradié dans diverses situations.La nouvelle version ainsi obtenue du code MFPR a été testée sur des expériences en pile où la densité de dislocation ainsi la concentration et la taille des bulles de gaz de fission étaient mesurés à différents burn-up. Le code a aussi été testé sur des expériences de recuit à haute température après irradiation

Why new antibiotics are not obviously useful now

International audienceFor several years, the threat of antibiotic resistance and its health cost has dramatically risen and various alarming figures have been proposed to illustrate the mortality due to antibiotic resistance. However, predictions concerning different living beings are doomed to failure, as theorised in Alice's `living croquet' theory. Actors of antibiotic resistance are the doctors, the patient and the bacteria. Considering that animals and the environment are involved, future disasters are unpredictable. Here we evaluate in a rational manner the reliability of scientific sources showing increasing resistance to antibiotics or increasing mortality related to antibiotic resistance, and we finally consider antibiotic resources to face the situation. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. and International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved

Emerging methodologies for pathogen identification in bloodstream infections: an update

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Archeomicrobiology applied to environmental samples

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Analyse de tests de séquences d’accidents graves et interprétation du relâchement des produits de fission : interdépendance des relâchements du Cs, du Mo et du Ba

The behaviour of fission products during fuel life in a nuclear reactor is of particular importance as it plays a significant role in the release kinetics during hypothetical reactor severe accident transients.A description of (Cs, Mo, Ba) chemical states after some UO2 fuel irradiation stages is drawn. Molybdenum is supposed to be localised in a MoO2 precipitate (volatile over 1273K) and chemical reactions with condensed (Cs, Ba) oxides and/or uranates are possible.According to this description, a coherent interpretation is presented for some accidental sequence tests providing new ideas for release mechanisms of (Cs, Mo, Ba) and an attempt is done to calculate their release with MFPR code, which is being developed by IBRAE in collaboration with IRSN

Isolation of Acinetobacter junii strain carrying bla(OXA-58) from a rectal swab, Marseille, France

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