The interrogation of witnesses abroad in execution of a european investigation order: an examination from eyes of the defence

European Master Human Rights and DemocratisationThe objective of this study is to examine the position of the defence in a criminal case under the Initiative for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding the European Investigation Order in criminal matters of 29 April 2010. This proposal is under ongoing discussion at the European Union level and aims to increase efficiency in cross-border cooperation on obtaining evidence in criminal matters. Mutual recognition is the key word on which this cooperation is based. Any new evidence-gathering instrument must safeguard human rights, including the rights of the defence. This work concentrates particularly on the investigation measure of hearing a witness. In this regard, the relevant specific defence rights and their interpretation by the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice are revealed. Subsequently, the potential execution of the new instrument of a European Investigation Order is scrutinised in light of these observations. The results suggest concerns regarding the form and content of the current provisions of the Initiative from a defence perspective. Moreover, general counterbalancing measures are absent, rendering the new Proposal non-proportional to the aim it is willing to achieve. The principal conclusion is that alternative scenarios should be established in order to balance all the interests involved

Report on the State of Affairs of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) after Five Years

[Introduction]. The public sector has to cope with a lot of challenges and has to respond to many new needs and demands in society. Due to these challenges and pressures, the public sector is subject to many reforms. "Over the last two decades there appears to have been a huge amount of public management reform. Although there was also reform in earlier periods, the changes since 1980 have – in many countries – been distinguished by an international character and a degree of political salience which marks them out from the more parochial or technical changes of the preceding quartercentury".1 These reforms introduce new principles. A growing focus on efficiency and effectiveness, attention to transparency and accountability, awareness of public service delivery. Together with these principles, methods and techniques were constructed, focusing on one of these principles or trying to combine them. Techniques like ‘management by objectives’, ‘cost benefit analysis’, ‘market testing’, ‘performance related pay’, ‘value for money’ were introduced.

Salmonella Typhi, Paratyphi A, Enteritidis and Typhimurium core proteomes reveal differentially expressed proteins linked to the cell surface and pathogenicity

Background: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica contains more than 2,600 serovars of which four are of major medical relevance for humans. While the typhoidal serovars (Typhi and Paratyphi A) are human-restricted and cause enteric fever, non-typhoidal Salmonella serovars (Typhimurium and Enteritidis) have a broad host range and predominantly cause gastroenteritis. Methodology/Principle findings: We compared the core proteomes of Salmonella Typhi, Paratyphi A, Typhimurium and Enteritidis using contemporary proteomics. For each serovar, five clinical isolates (covering different geographical origins) and one reference strain were grown in vitro to the exponential phase. Levels of orthologous proteins quantified in all four serovars and within the typhoidal and non-typhoidal groups were compared and subjected to gene ontology term enrichment and inferred regulatory interactions. Differential expression of the core proteomes of the typhoidal serovars appears mainly related to cell surface components and, for the non-typhoidal serovars, to pathogenicity. Conclusions/Significance: Our comparative proteome analysis indicated differences in the expression of surface proteins between Salmonella Typhi and Paratyphi A, and in pathogenesis-related proteins between Salmonella Typhimurium and Enteritidis. Our findings may guide future development of novel diagnostics and vaccines, as well as understanding of disease progression. Author summary: With an estimated 20 million typhoid cases and an even higher number of non-typhoid cases the health burden caused by salmonellosis is huge. Salmonellosis is caused by the bacterial species Salmonella enterica and over 2500 different serovars exist, of which four are of major medical relevance for humans: Typhi and Paratyphi A cause typhoid fever while Typhimurium and Enteritidis are the dominant cause of non-typhoidal Salmonella infections. The proteome is the entire set of proteins that is expressed by a genome and the core proteome are all orthologous proteins detected in a given sample set. In this study we have investigated differential expression of the core proteomes of the Salmonella serovars Typhi, Paratyphi A, Typhimurium and Enteritidis, as well as the regulating molecules. Our comparative proteome analysis indicated differences in the expression of surface proteins between the serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A, and in pathogenesis-related proteins between Typhimurium and Enteritidis. Our findings in proteome-wide expression may guide the development of novel diagnostics and vaccines for Salmonella, as well as understanding of disease

An extra dimension in protein tagging by quantifying universal proteotypic peptides using targeted proteomics

The use of protein tagging to facilitate detailed characterization of target proteins has not only revolutionized cell biology, but also enabled biochemical analysis through efficient recovery of the protein complexes wherein the tagged proteins reside. The endogenous use of these tags for detailed protein characterization is widespread in lower organisms that allow for efficient homologous recombination. With the recent advances in genome engineering, tagging of endogenous proteins is now within reach for most experimental systems, including mammalian cell lines cultures. In this work, we describe the selection of peptides with ideal mass spectrometry characteristics for use in quantification of tagged proteins using targeted proteomics. We mined the proteome of the hyperthermophile Pyrococcus furiosus to obtain two peptides that are unique in the proteomes of all known model organisms (proteotypic) and allow sensitive quantification of target proteins in a complex background. By combining these 'Proteotypic peptides for Quantification by SRM' (PQS peptides) with epitope tags, we demonstrate their use in co-immunoprecipitation experiments upon transfection of protein pairs, or after introduction of these tags in the endogenous proteins through genome engineering. Endogenous protein tagging for absolute quantification provides a powerful extra dimension to protein analysis, allowing the detailed characterization of endogenous proteins