Issue Paper: Reintegration of Returnees from Syria and Iraq; InFoEx Workshop, Berlin, December 5-6, 2019

More than 5,000 people have left Western Europe since 2012 to join jihadist organizations such as the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq (Renard & Coolsaet 2018). By now, about one third have returned to their countries of origin. This illustrates the international dimension of what it means to prevent violent extremism. The group of “IS returnees” is heterogeneous and includes men, women, and children or adolescents. Some have committed crimes while abroad and need to be considered radicalized even after their return. However, due to the difficulty of obtaining evidence, many perpetrators receive only short prison sentences. Dealing with returnees is of great relevance for the field of tertiary prevention of (violent) Islamist extremism. At the same time, it poses new challenges for the actors. Exchanging knowledge at an international level is thus essential to enable an effective and sustainable response. An international workshop in Berlin in December 2019, which took place as part of the International Forum for Ex-pert Exchange on Countering Islamist Extremism (InFoEx), addressed the issue of reintegrating returnees from Syria and Iraq. The conference was organized by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in cooperation with the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and included about 30 participants from Belgium, France, and Germany. The workshop offered insights into the importance of having a structured and trusting cooperation between all relevant actors, providing returnees with access to psychotherapeutic treatment, giving children and adolescents special consideration, and working with highly radicalized returnees. This issue paper presents challenges and good practices for each of these aspects discussed during the workshop. The paper also offers practical recommendations from experts and some exemplary projects. From these findings, the following key recommendations for actors dealing with returnees from Syria and Iraq emerge: 1. Strengthen the overall case management and, depending on the case, involve other relevant actors such as teachers or youth welfare offices. 2. Make the relevant actors, including in particular the staff of youth welfare offices and the prison system, aware of the various issues linked to returnees. 3. If needed, enable returnees’ access to psychothera- peutic treatment. 4. Take into account the complexity of possible traumas and strengthen long-term protective factors, especially for children and adolescents in puberty. 5. Avoid stigmatization, e.g. at school, so as not to hamper reintegration. 6. Neither underrate nor overrate female returnees, but take into account commonalities as well as gender- specific differences, for example concerning their role in the structures of the IS

Molecular methods confirm the presence of the alien mussel Perna viridis Linnaeus, 1758 (Bivalvia, Mytilidae) in Southern Brazil

The mussel Perna viridis, commonly known as the green mussel, is native from the Indo-Pacific region and has been introduced in various sites around the globe. In Brazil, the species has already been recorded in Rio de Janeiro and Ceará states. With the aim of assessing the presence of mussels in the southern region of the country, 14 individuals were collected in the Paranaguá Estuarine Complex, Paraná. The mussels were found attached at a depth of 2 meters on the artificial structure of Ponta do Poço Marina. The DNA was extracted using a commercial kit, the COI gene was amplified through PCR by the primers forward dgLCO-1490 and reverse dgHCO-2198, sequenced by the Sanger method, assembled in CLC Genomics Workbench, and the species was identified through the BOLD Systems. The phylogenetic tree was built on MEGA11 using 28 sequences from three species within the genus Perna. Therefore, the present study represents the first to confirm the occurrence of the exotic species Perna viridis in Brazil through molecular identification and characterizes the third Brazilian state where the mollusk has been recorded. This indicates that Brazilian coastline provides optimal environmental conditions for the establishment and development of the P. viridisEl mejillón Perna viridis, comúnmente conocido como mejillón verde, es nativo de la región del Indo-Pacífico y ha sido introducido en varios lugares alrededor del mundo. En Brasil, la especie ya ha sido registrada en los estados de Río de Janeiro y Ceará. Con el objetivo de evaluar la presencia de mejillones en la región sur del país, se recolectaron 14 individuos en el Complejo Estuarino de Paranaguá, Paraná. Los mejillones fueron encontrados fijados a una profundidad de 2 metros en la estructura artificial de la Marina Ponta do Poço. El ADN fue extraído utilizando un kit comercial, el gen COI fue amplificado mediante PCR con los cebadores forward dgLCO-1490 y reverse dgHCO-2198, secuenciados mediante el método Sanger, ensamblados en CLC Genomics Workbench, y la especie fue identificada a través de los Sistemas BOLD. El árbol filogenético fue construido en MEGA11 utilizando 28 secuencias de tres especies dentro del género Perna. Por lo tanto, el presente estudio representa el primero en confirmar la presencia de la especie exótica Perna viridis en Brasil mediante identificación molecular y caracteriza al tercer estado brasileño donde el molusco ha sido registrado. Esto indica que el litoral brasileño proporciona condiciones ambientales ideales para el establecimiento y desarrollo del P. viridis.O mexilhão Perna viridis, comumente conhecido como mexilhão-verde, é nativo da região do Indo-Pacífico e foi introduzido em vários locais ao redor do mundo. No Brasil, a espécie já foi registrada nos estados do Rio de Janeiro e Ceará. Com o objetivo de avaliar a presença de mexilhões na região sul do país, foram coletados 14 indivíduos no Complexo Estuarino de Paranaguá, Paraná. Os mexilhões foram encontrados fixados a uma profundidade de 2 metros na estrutura artificial da Marina Ponta do Poço. O DNA foi extraído usando um kit comercial, o gene COI foi amplificado por PCR pelos primers forward dgLCO-1490 e reverse dgHCO-2198, sequenciados pelo método Sanger, montados no CLC Genomics Workbench, e a espécie foi identificada através dos Sistemas BOLD. A árvore filogenética foi construída no MEGA11 usando 28 sequências de três espécies dentro do gênero Perna. Portanto, o presente estudo representa o primeiro a confirmar a ocorrência da espécie exótica Perna viridis no Brasil através de identificação molecular e caracteriza o terceiro estado brasileiro onde o molusco foi registrado. Isso indica que o litoral brasileiro fornece condições ambientais ideais para o estabelecimento e desenvolvimento do P. viridis

PROCESIÓN DEL PENDÓN DE LA CONQUISTA EN SANTA ANA [Material gráfico]

Copia digital. Madrid : Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. Subdirección General de Coordinación Bibliotecaria, 201

Modified multivalent poly-N-acetyllactosamine glycans as novel ligands of human galectin-3

The carbohydrate moieties displayed by glycoconjugates are of significant importance for a homeostatic state of each living organism. The reversible interactions of carbohydrate binding proteins, e.g. galectins, define the cellular crosstalk which is often deregulated in disease states such as cancer. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) exclusively appears as oligomeric lectin and is involved in decisive regulatory processes. Gal-3 currently attracts special attention since identified as druggable target and biomarker for cancer and fibrotic diseases. In this work, main objective was the generation and evaluation of a glycan library to enable a selective attraction of Gal-3. For this purpose, we extended the repertoire of available glycan species by combinatorial biocatalysis using recombinant glycosyltransferases and methods for chemical modification. As a result, we obtained derivatives of the most abundant natural β-galactoside, (poly-)N-acetyllactosamine (LacNAc), which comprised a set of diverse glycosylation motifs, e.g. the N’,N’’-diacetyllactosamine (LacdiNAc). High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the normal phase (NP) or reversed-phase (RP) mode was a suitable technique for glycan analysis and purification in the (semi-)preparative scale. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy were used for structure confirmation. Selected glycan species were loaded on non-glycosylated bovine serum albumin (BSA) for a multivalent ligand presentation with the aim to address the ‘cluster glycoside effect’ during galectin interaction. And indeed, the screening of both univalent and multivalent glycan libraries in solid-phase binding assays confirmed a strengthening of galectin inhibition by several orders of magnitude. Their outstanding high affinity and selectivity made certain neo-glycoconjugates to effective agents for the capture and detection of Gal 3. After having identified most promising candidates, nature served as the model for the design of biomimetic chitin oligomers as inert spacers, which essentially ameliorated glycan accessibility and led to an elevated galectin interaction. Beyond that, we produced neo-glycoproteins carrying di-LacNAc type 1 tetrasaccharides. Using them as galectin ligands, we provided the first evidence for the discrimination of Gal 3 and Gal 3∆ (a truncated and tumor-associated version) on the basis of carbohydrate-lectin interaction. In another investigation, the enzymatic introduction of branching points on an oligomeric LacNAc building block in synergy with chemical coupling gave novel structures, which mimic branched I-antigen structures occuring on human erythrocytes. We assayed them as competitive Gal 3 inhibitors and confirmed a decasaccharide with two LacdiNAc-LacNAc branches as the most effective monovalent poly-LacNAc inhibitor of Gal 3 within the scope of the synthetic work up to now. In summary, a glycan library consisting of a variety of oligomeric LacNAc derivatives and corresponding multivalent neo-glycoconjugates was synthesized by biocatalytic and chemical methods, characterized by diverse analytical tools and evaluated as ligands for human Gal 3. We thereby envisaged putative applications of prepared conjugates in the context of cancer related glyco-medicine