Furanylfentanyl. ANNEX 1. Technical report on N-phenyl-N- [1-(2-phenylethyl)piperidin-4-yl]furan- 2-carboxamide (furanylfentanyl).

This publication presents the data and findings of the risk assessment on furanylfentanyl (N-phenyl-N-[1-(2-phenylethyl)piperidin-4-yl]furan-2-carboxamide), carried out by the extended Scientific Committee of the EMCDDA on 23 May 2017. The Risk Assessment Report, which was submitted to the European Commission and the Council of the European Union on 23 May 2017, examines the health and social risks of the drug, information on international trafficking and the involvement of organised crime, as well as a consideration of the potential implications of subjecting the drug to control measures. Furanylfentanyl is the fourteenth new psychoactive substance to be risk assessed under the terms of Council Decision 2005/387/JHA. On the basis of the Risk Assessment Report - and on the initiative of the European Commission - on 15 November 2017, the Council decided that furanylfentanyl should be subject to control measures across the Member States. This decision was adopted in the final stage of the three-step process - early warning, risk assessment and control of new psychoactive substances - established by the Council Decision 2005/387/JHA. This legal framework allows the EU institutions and Member States to act on all new and potentially threatening narcotic and psychotropic drugs which appear on the European drug scene, with the EMCDDA and Europol, in collaboration with their respective networks playing a central role in the early detection of such substances as well as the harms caused by their use - information that underpins risk assessment, and, ultimately, decision-making

Technical report on N-(4-fluorophenyl)-N-(1-phenethylpiperidin-4-yl)isobutyramide (4-fluoroisobutyrylfentanyl; 4F-iBF). Annex 1 to the Risk Assessment Report on N-(4-fluorophenyl)-N-(1-phenethylpiperidin-4-yl)isobutyramide (4-fluoroisobutyrylfentanyl; 4F-iBF)

In accordance with Article 6 of Council Decision 2005/387/JHA on the information exchange, risk assessment and control of new psychoactive substances

Technical report on N-phenyl-N-[1-(2-phenylethyl)piperidin-4-yl]oxolane-2-carboxamide (tetrahydrofuranylfentanyl; THF-F). Annex 1 to the Risk Assessment Report on N-phenyl-N-[1-(2-phenylethyl)piperidin-4-yl]oxolane-2- carboxamide (tetrahydrofuranylfentanyl).

In accordance with Article 6 of Council Decision 2005/387/JHA on the information exchange, risk assessment and control of new psychoactive substances

Media justice: Madeleine McCann, intermediatization and "trial by media" in the British press

Three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared on 3 May 2007 from a holiday apartment in Portugal. Over five years and multiple investigations that failed to solve this abducted child case, Madeleine and her parents were subject to a process of relentless ‘intermediatization’. Across 24–7 news coverage, websites, documentaries, films, YouTube videos, books, magazines, music and artworks, Madeleine was a mediagenic image of innocence and a lucrative story. In contrast to Madeleine’s media sacralization, the representation of her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, fluctuated between periods of vociferous support and prolonged and libellous ‘trial by media’. This article analyses how the global intermediatization of the ‘Maddie Mystery’ fed into and fuelled the ‘trial by media’ of Kate and Gerry McCann in the UK press. Our theorization of ‘trial by media’ is developed and refined through considering its legal limitations in an era of ‘attack journalism’ and unprecedented official UK inquiries into press misconduct and criminality

Technical report on N-(1-amino-3,3-dimethyl-1-oxobutan-2-yl)-1-(cyclohexylmethyl)-1H-indazole-3- carboxamide (ADB-CHMINACA). Annex 1 to the Risk Assessment Report on N-(1-amino-3,3-dimethyl-1-oxobutan-2-yl)-1- (cyclohexylmethyl)-1H-indazole-3-carboxamide (ADB-CHMINACA).

In accordance with Article 6 of Council Decision 2005/387/JHA on the information exchange, risk assessment and control of new psychoactive substances

Technical report on 1-(4-cyanobutyl)-N-(2-phenylpropan-2-yl)-1H-indazole-3-carboxamide (CUMYL-4CN-BINACA). Annex 1 to the Risk Assessment Report on 1-(4-cyanobutyl)-N-(2-phenylpropan-2-yl)-1H-indazole-3- carboxamide (CUMYL-4CN-BINACA).

In accordance with Article 6 of Council Decision 2005/387/JHA on the information exchange, risk assessment and control of new psychoactive substances

EMCDDA technical report on the new psychoactive substance methyl 3,3-dimethyl-2-{[1-(pent-4-en-1-yl)-1H-indazole-3-carbonyl]amino}butanoate (MDMB-4en-PINACA).

The purpose of this technical report is to provide an analysis of the available information on methyl 3,3-dimethyl-2-{[1-(pent-4-en-1-yl)-1H-indazole-3-carbonyl]amino}butanoate — also known as methyl 3,3-dimethyl-2-[1-(pent-4-en-1-yl)-1H-indazole-3-carboxamido]butanoate — (MDMB-4en-PINACA), a synthetic receptor cannabinoid agonist (synthetic cannabinoid) that has recently emerged on the drug market in Europe, in order to support the risk assessment of the substance which has been requested by the European Commission in accordance with Article 5c of Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 (as amended)

EMCDDA technical report on the new psychoactive substance methyl 2-{[1-(4-fluorobutyl)-1H-indole-3-carbonyl]amino}-3,3-dimethylbutanoate (4F-MDMB-BICA).

The purpose of this technical report is to provide an analysis of the available information on methyl 2-{[1-(4-fluorobutyl)-1H-indole-3-carbonyl]amino}-3,3-dimethylbutanoate (4F-MDMB-BICA), a synthetic receptor cannabinoid agonist that has recently emerged on the drug market in Europe, in order to support the risk assessment of the substance which has been requested by the European Commission in accordance with Article 5c of Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 (as amended)

High failure rate of the interspinous distraction device (X-Stop) for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis caused by degenerative spondylolisthesis

The X-Stop interspinous distraction device has shown to be an attractive alternative to conventional surgical procedures in the treatment of symptomatic degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis. However, the effectiveness of the X-Stop in symptomatic degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis caused by degenerative spondylolisthesis is not known. A cohort of 12 consecutive patients with symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis caused by degenerative spondylolisthesis were treated with the X-Stop interspinous distraction device. All patients had low back pain, neurogenic claudication and radiculopathy. Pre-operative radiographs revealed an average slip of 19.6%. MRI of the lumbosacral spine showed a severe stenosis. In ten patients, the X-Stop was placed at the L4–5 level, whereas two patients were treated at both, L3–4 and L4–5 level. The mean follow-up was 30.3 months. In eight patients a complete relief of symptoms was observed post-operatively, whereas the remaining 4 patients experienced no relief of symptoms. Recurrence of pain, neurogenic claudication, and worsening of neurological symptoms was observed in three patients within 24 months. Post-operative radiographs and MRI did not show any changes in the percentage of slip or spinal dimensions. Finally, secondary surgical treatment by decompression with posterolateral fusion was performed in seven patients (58%) within 24 months. In conclusion, the X-Stop interspinous distraction device showed an extremely high failure rate, defined as surgical re-intervention, after short term follow-up in patients with spinal stenosis caused by degenerative spondylolisthesis. We do not recommend the X-Stop for the treatment of spinal stenosis complicating degenerative spondylolisthesis

Theoretical study of the insulating oxides and nitrides: SiO2, GeO2, Al2O3, Si3N4, and Ge3N4

An extensive theoretical study is performed for wide bandgap crystalline oxides and nitrides, namely, SiO_{2}, GeO_{2}, Al_{2}O_{3}, Si_{3}N_{4}, and Ge_{3}N_{4}. Their important polymorphs are considered which are for SiO_{2}: $\alpha$-quartz, $\alpha$- and $\beta$-cristobalite and stishovite, for GeO_{2}: $\alpha$-quartz, and rutile, for Al_{2}O_{3}: $\alpha$-phase, for Si_{3}N_{4} and Ge_{3}N_{4}: $\alpha$- and $\beta$-phases. This work constitutes a comprehensive account of both electronic structure and the elastic properties of these important insulating oxides and nitrides obtained with high accuracy based on density functional theory within the local density approximation. Two different norm-conserving \textit{ab initio} pseudopotentials have been tested which agree in all respects with the only exception arising for the elastic properties of rutile GeO_{2}. The agreement with experimental values, when available, are seen to be highly satisfactory. The uniformity and the well convergence of this approach enables an unbiased assessment of important physical parameters within each material and among different insulating oxide and nitrides. The computed static electric susceptibilities are observed to display a strong correlation with their mass densities. There is a marked discrepancy between the considered oxides and nitrides with the latter having sudden increase of density of states away from the respective band edges. This is expected to give rise to excessive carrier scattering which can practically preclude bulk impact ionization process in Si_{3}N_{4} and Ge_{3}N_{4}.Comment: Published version, 10 pages, 8 figure