Further insights into aspects of the EU illicit drugs market: summaries and key findings

This publication presents key findings and summaries of selected reports from the study ‘Further insights into aspects of the EU illicit drugs market’ (Trautmann, Kilmer and Turnbull, forthcoming 2013), which provides an analysis of characteristics and operations of the EU’s illicit drugs market, as called for by the European Commission. This study is a follow-up of the earlier European Commission study, which presented an analysis of the developments of the global illicit drug markets, the drug problems and drug policy responses in the period 1998-2007 (Reuter and Trautmann 2009). The discussions of that study resulted in a number of further research questions. Some of the questions considered most important by the European Commission have been put together in a call for a further analysis of the EU illicit drugs market and responses to it, focusing on a number of aspects in the following four areas: A. An analysis of specific characteristics, mechanisms and factors that govern the EU illicit drugs market, including a conceptual framework for thinking about the structure of drug suppliers in the EU, an assessment whether there have been significant shifts in how drugs are supplied in the EU and an assessment of the extent to which drug suppliers are involved in different drugs and other criminal activities. B. A detailed analysis of the size and share of the EU illicit drug market, providing an estimate of the volume of the ‘EU market’ in illicit drugs (production and trafficking), providing an estimate of the profits generated by this market, analysing whether the EU drugs market is more supply or demand driven and exploring various aspects of drug use: user types, availability and consumption estimates. C. A detailed analysis of a number of potential policy impacts on the EU drug market(s) in recent years, assessing the impact of opioid substitution treatment (OST) on the European heroin market and the impact of policy changes on two EU drug markets. D. Scanning the future – trends in the market and policy responses, exploring expert views on future key trends of the illicit drug markets and policy responses in the EU

Microbiological, biochemical and compositional changes during ripening of São Jorge – a raw milk cheese from the Azores (Portugal)

The microbial, compositional and biochemical profiles of São Jorge cheese (PDO) obtained from three distinct cheese plants, throughout the ripening period were determined. Fully ripened cheeses (i.e. by 130 days) contained a total of 3.1 107 CFU g 1 mesophilic bacteria, and a decrease in moisture content, concomitantly with an increase in salt content, was observed throughout the same time frame. The pH decreased until 30 days of ripening; thereafter, a slight increase was reported, up to 5.6 by the end of ripening. Urea-PAGE results showed extensive primary proteolysis, of both b-casein and as1-casein degraded at essentially similar rates; plasmin and chymosin accordingly appear to be active in the cheese curd. RP-HPLC profiles of water-soluble fractions showed minor differences between 1 and 130 day old cheeses, whereas equivalent profiles of 7% (v/v) ethanol-soluble fractions contained several peaks, indicative of a heterogeneous mixture of products of proteolysis, that evolved with time

Composition and properties of bovine colostrum: a review

International audienceAbstractColostrum is the initial milk secreted by mammals following parturition, the composition and physicochemical properties of which are highly dynamic and variable. The composition and physicochemical properties of colostrum during the initial post-partum period has not been systematically reviewed for many years, although the topic remains of interest both to milk producers and processors. In this article, the current understanding of the composition of colostrum, i.e. carbohydrates, proteins, growth factors, enzymes, enzyme inhibitors, nucleotides and nucleosides, cytokines, fats, vitamins and minerals, is reviewed. In addition, the physicochemical properties, i.e. pH and buffering capacity, colour, density and specific gravity, osmotic pressure, somatic cell count, properties of casein micelles, ethanol stability and rennet coagulation properties are discussed, as well as the effects of heat-treating colostrum

Colouring cryo-cooled crystals: online microspectrophotometry

A portable and readily aligned online microspectrophotometer that can be easily installed on macromolecular crystallography beamlines is described. It allows measurement of the spectral characteristics of macromolecular crystals prior, during, and after the X-ray diffraction experiment

SAFEGUARDS AND NONPROLIFERATION CONSIDERATIONS RELEVANT TO FUELS REFABRICATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Early in the Fuels Refabrication and Development (FRAD) program, it was recognized that safeguards and nonproliferation design criteria were needed to provide guidance to equipment, process, and facility designers. This need was highlighted by the recent attention given safeguards and proliferation. Because of this heightened concern, it was found that design criteria that adequately address safeguards and nonproliferation do not now exist. For this reason, a three-day workshop was convened to attempt to collect and organize existing information regarding design criteria. This document is a result of that undertaking and the subsequent efforts required to structure the information. In summary, it was found that domestic and international goals and objectives are reasonably well established. Goals and objectives for evaluating the proliferation resistance of a facility are less firmly defined. A listing of design criteria for domestic and international safeguards has not been compiled. This document presents a summary of considerations that must be incorporated into design criteria but stops short of developing a comprehensive list of design criteria. One is certainly needed and should be funded as a follow-on effort. Following the development of the design criteria, the next logical steps are the development of evaluation methodologies and acceptance criteria. These also were proposed as logical follow-on activities which would be needed before a major FRAD design activity could be initiated

How coenzyme B12 radicals are generated: the crystal structure of methylmalonyl-coenzyme A mutase at 2 å resolution

AbstractBackground: The enzyme methylmalonyl-coenzyme A (CoA) mutase, an αβ heterodimer of 150 kDa, is a member of a class of enzymes that uses coenzyme B12 (adenosylcobalamin) as a cofactor. The enzyme induces the formation of an adenosyl radical from the cofactor. This radical then initiates a free-radical rearrangement of its substrate, succinyl-CoA, to methylmalonyl-CoA.Results Reported here is the crystal structure at 2 å resolution of methylmalonyl-CoA mutase from Propionibacterium shermanii in complex with coenzyme B12 and with the partial substrate desulpho-CoA (lacking the succinyl group and the sulphur atom of the substrate). The coenzyme is bound by a domain which shares a similar fold to those of flavodoxin and the B12-binding domain of methylcobalamin-dependent methionine synthase. The cobalt atom is coordinated, via a long bond, to a histidine from the protein. The partial substrate is bound along the axis of a (β/α)8 TIM barrel domain.Conclusion The histidine–cobalt distance is very long (2.5 å compared with 1.95–2.2 å in free cobalamins), suggesting that the enzyme positions the histidine in order to weaken the metal–carbon bond of the cofactor and favour the formation of the initial radical species. The active site is deeply buried, and the only access to it is through a narrow tunnel along the axis of the TIM barrel domain

The Einstein Observatory catalog of IPC x ray sources. Volume 1E: Documentation

The Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2, launched November 13, 1978) achieved radically improved sensitivity over previous x-ray missions through the use of focusing optics, which simultaneously afforded greatly reduced background and produced true images. During its 2.5-yr mission, the Einstein X-Ray Telescope was pointed toward some 5,000 celestial targets, most of which were detected, and discovered several thousand additional 'serendipitous' sources in the observed fields. This catalog contains contour diagrams and source data, obtained with the imaging proportional counter in the 0.16 to 3.5 keV energy band, and describes methods for recovering upper limits for any sky position within the observed images. The main catalog consists of six volumes (numbered 2 through 7) of right ascension ordered pages, each containing data for one observation. Along with the primary documentation describing how the catalog was constructed, volume 1 contains a complete source list, results for merged fields, a reference system to published papers, and data useful for calculating upper limits and fluxes

‘Moving In’: Difficulties and Support in the Transition to Higher Education for In-service Social Care Students

This paper reports on the difficulties and supports experienced by social care practitioners within the educational institution during their transition to higher education. A life transition such as entering higher education causes stress for individuals and social support is essential in successfully dealing with this stress (Anderson et al., 2012). Fifteen social care practitioners were interviewed twice during and once at the end of their first academic year in college. Findings indicate that participants were reluctant to approach staff for help despite anxiety about classes and assignments. Discussion and debate in class helped learning and contributed to feelings of being valued. ‘Moving in’ was a slow process with a physical and emotional impact for which they were unprepared. Student peers were a source of emotional and cognitive support but developing relationships took time. By the end of the transition phase participants noted changes and gains in themselves and their work practices. Recommendations are made to aid the transition to higher education for in-service social care practitioners

Selecting CMIP5 GCMs for downscaling over multiple regions

The unprecedented availability of 6-hourly data from a multi-model GCM ensemble in the CMIP5 data archive presents the new opportunity to dynamically downscale multiple GCMs to develop high-resolution climate projections relevant to detailed assessment of climate vulnerability and climate change impacts. This enables the development of high resolution projections derived from the same set of models that are used to characterise the range of future climate changes at the global and large-scale, and as assessed in the IPCC AR5. However, the technical and human resource required to dynamically-downscale the full CMIP5 ensemble are significant and not necessary if the aim is to develop scenarios covering a representative range of future climate conditions relevant to a climate change risk assessment. This paper illustrates a methodology for selecting from the available CMIP5 models in order to identify a set of 8–10 GCMs for use in regional climate change assessments. The selection focuses on their suitability across multiple regions—Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa. The selection (a) avoids the inclusion of the least realistic models for each region and (b) simultaneously captures the maximum possible range of changes in surface temperature and precipitation for three continental-scale regions. We find that, of the CMIP5 GCMs with 6-hourly fields available, three simulate the key regional aspects of climate sufficiently poorly that we consider the projections from those models ‘implausible’ (MIROC-ESM, MIROC-ESM-CHEM, and IPSL-CM5B-LR). From the remaining models, we demonstrate a selection methodology which avoids the poorest models by including them in the set only if their exclusion would significantly reduce the range of projections sampled. The result of this process is a set of models suitable for using to generate downscaled climate change information for a consistent multi-regional assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation