A Comparison of the American Model and French (-Inspired) Appellate Model

Both the American and the French legal system have a three-tiered structure. However, the respective roles and functions of the courts on each step of the ladder is vastly different in both. Whereas the general system in the U.S. is to have one trial court and two ‘higher’ courts (a court of appeals and a supreme court), the French / European continental system consists of two ‘factual’ courts (the basic level and the court of appeals), and one ‘legal’ (the supreme court) with limited or even inexistent possibilities to look at the facts. The purpose of this thesis is to look at these two models of division of labor between the three tiers through the lens of (i) the procedural leeway each of the courts has and (ii) their focus on fact or law, in function of what questions can be raised in appeal and have to be answered by the courts. We will add Germany to the comparison, as (i) the structure of its court system was inspired by the French, but (ii) has evolved over the years and has been recently (2002) overhauled specifically as to appeals, both to the second level of courts and to the supreme court. We will do so by examining the avenues open for the parties in filing an appeal as well as for the courts in adjudicating those. It will be clear that the distinct philosophies regarding the appellate systems have influence on the entire organization of the different court systems. We conclude that the present-day German system offers the best differentiation of roles between the three tiers while balancing access to the appellate and supreme court level

Effet utile reasoning by the Court of Justice of the European Union is mostly indirect : evidence and consequences

Published in EJLS online first Vol. 14, No. 1 in late July 2022Legal reasoning cannot merely be categorized by the content of the arguments used, such as reference to specific rules, principles or policies. Arguments can also be distinguished in terms of whether they are used directly (i.e. ostensively) to defend a certain position or interpretation or indirectly (i.e. apagogically) to contest it. Empirical analysis of the Court of Justice of the European Union judgments in the 'important pre-accession case law' demonstrates that effet utile arguments are mostly used indirectly: the Court points out how a certain interpretation of European Union law would undermine its effectiveness and concludes that the opposite interpretation should be followed. This empirical analysis therefore appears to counter the claim that the Court uses effet utile reasoning in a maximalist manner. Nevertheless, apagogic reasoning is not an innocent way of reasoning, since it can lead to fallacies and provides greater opportunities to hide the reasons for decisions

Statistical properties of flux closure induced by solar wind dynamic pressure fronts

peer reviewedWe present a statistical study of flux closure intervals induced by solar wind dynamic pressure fronts. We consider that a dynamic pressure front reaches the Earth when a dayside subauroral proton flash is observed in the SI2 channel of the IMAGE-FUV experiment. This pragmatic criterion selects both weak and strong pressure fronts. It is found that the preconditioning of the magnetosphere prior to the pressure pulse arrival mainly governs the magnetospheric response to a weak solar wind dynamic pressure front. This preconditioning includes the amount of open magnetic flux available in the magnetosphere prior to the pressure front arrival and the size of the magnetospheric cavity. However, in the case of a strong pressure pulse, the magnetospheric response is more sensitive to the solar wind properties characterizing the dynamic pressure front. The pressure jump is not the only one important, but also the variation of the solar wind velocity and IMF magnitude. In overall terms, we find that a strong dynamic pressure front is typically characterized by a dynamic pressure increase larger than Ë 2.8 nPa that takes place on timescales of the order of a few minutes

Aortic rupture complicating the fracture of an ankylosed lumbar spine

Background: A 79-year-old man was transferred to the emergency department after a fall on the forehead. On arrival, he seizured and went into shock and apnea. His medical history included ankylosing spondilitis and alcoholism with recurrent falls. An initial ultrasonographic examination was strongly limited by obesity and intestinal air. Therefore, a CT scan of the abdomen was immediately performed

Functional and biomechanical evaluation of a completely recellularized stentless pulmonary bioprosthesis in sheep

ObjectiveIn a previous study we showed that recellularization of a stentless bioprosthetic valve is stimulated 1 month after implantation in the pulmonary position, when its matrix (acellular photo-oxidized bovine pericardium) was preseeded by intraperitoneal implantation during a 3-day period.MethodsThe present study reports on the functional and biomechanical properties of such valves (n = 19) in sheep up to 5 months after implantation. Similar valves (n = 20) that were not intraperitoneally preseeded served as controls.ResultsRecellularization was partial in control valves and excessive in preseeded valves: 66% versus 223% of cellularity of native valves, respectively (P < .05). The valves were endothelialized and contained interstitial cells depositing new matrix (collagens and elastin). However, phenotyping revealed an increased proportion of cells with contractile properties (30%–40% alpha smooth muscle actin+) in both groups. Intraperitoneally seeded valves had thicker and shorter leaflets that were associated with mildly increased peak gradients and regurgitation. Characterization of the matrix properties revealed a gradually degrading matrix (±25% loss of collagen organization at 5 months) and a concomitant alteration of its biomechanical properties, that is, decreased strength, stiffness, and maximum force. However, overall valve function remained intact, and the biomechanical properties of the whole valves were superior to that of the native valves.ConclusionThe ectopic in vivo seeding paradigm provides full recellularization. However, the volume fraction of the cellular phenotypes is not optimal, resulting in inadequate remodeling of the valves

PEGASE: UN MODÈLE INTÉGRÉ BASSIN HYDROGRAPHIQUE/ RIVIÈRES: PREMIÈRE APPLICATION TEST À LA COCAÏNE.

Le modèle PEGASE (Planification Et Gestion de l’ASsainissement des Eaux), développé à l’Aquapôle de l’Université de Liège a été utilisé pour réaliser une première simulation test de la cocaïne dans le réseau hydrographique belge. La principale conclusion de cette simulation test est qu’il est possible de simuler le devenir des dérivés de la cocaïne dans les eaux de surface ; cela démontre également la cohérence des mesures réalisées dans le cadre de l’étude COWAT. Des améliorations mineures au modèle PEGASE et aux données d’entrée seraient cependant souhaitables pour améliorer cette modélisation (possibilité de faire varier l’équivalent-habitant par zones).PEGASE: UN MODÈLE INTÉGRÉ BASSIN HYDROGRAPHIQUE / RIVIÈRES: PREMIÈRE APPLICATION TEST À LA COCAÏNE

Histological correlation of diffusional kurtosis and white matter modeling metrics in cuprizone-induced corpus callosum demyelination

The cuprizone mouse model is well established for studying the processes of both demyelination and remyelination in the corpus callosum, and it has been utilized together with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate myelin and axonal pathology. Although some underlying morphological mechanisms contributing to the changes in diffusion tensor (DT) metrics have been identified, the understanding of specific associations between histology and diffusion measures remains limited. Diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) is an extension of DTI that provides metrics of diffusional non-Gaussianity, for which an associated white matter modeling (WMM) method has been developed. The main goal of the present study was to quantitatively assess the relationships between diffusion measures and histological measures in the mouse model of cuprizone-induced corpus callosum demyelination. The diffusional kurtosis (DK) and WMM metrics were found to provide additional information that enhances the sensitivity to detect the morphological heterogeneity in the chronic phase of the disease process in the rostral segment of the corpus callosum. Specifically, in the rostral segment, axonal water fraction (d = 2.6; p < 0.0001), radial kurtosis (d = 2.0; p = 0.001) and mean kurtosis (d = 1.5; p = 0.005) showed the most sensitivity between groups with respect to yielding statistically significant p values and high Cohen's d values. These results demonstrate the ability of DK and WMM metrics to detect white mater changes and inflammatory processes associated with cuprizone-induced demyelination. They also validate, in part, the application of these new WMM metrics for studying neurological diseases, as well as helping to elucidate their biophysical meaning.postprin