Off-Label Prescribing by Psychiatrists: What is the Practitioner's Liability?

In psychiatry, the molecules available and the dosages recommended when a drug receives marketing authorization are not always adequate to treat patients with major behavioral disturbances. Off-label prescribing is frequent in this context, with regard to the indications and the dosages given as well as to the drug combinations used. However, if complications or death occur, the practitioner's liability may be engaged. The authors report three deaths attributed to off-label prescribing in psychiatry and which led to charges against the physicians. They review the precautions to be taken when prescribing in such conditions (no other possible treatment, existence of sound scientific evidence, consent obtained from the patient, or their legal representatives except in cases of force majeure) and the physician's liability if adverse events occur that could be attributed to off-label prescribing.     

Single-metal deposition (SMD) as a latent fingermark enhancement technique: an alternative to multimetal deposition (MMD)

This paper proposes an alternative solution to multimetal deposition (MMD) for the development of latent fingermarks on non-porous and porous surfaces. MMD offers a good sensitivity, however it is very time-consuming and requires many reagents to be carried out. Single-metal deposition (SMD) replaces the silver enhancement of the gold colloids by a gold enhancement procedure. This reduces the number of baths by one as well as the number of reagents and their cost, utilizes reagents with a longer shelf life, and most importantly reduces the labor-intensity of the procedure. It offers quasi-identical results to MMD and thus makes a very attractive alternative.     

欧盟关于知识产权执法的建议

在中国、印度等发展中国家为达到《与贸易有关的知识产权的协议》(TRIPS)规定的知识产权保护标准而努力的时候,欧美等发达国家提出了知识产权保护的更高的标准。此种动向,值得我国业内人士关注。2003年,欧洲委员会提出的欧盟关于加强知识产权执法的建议,其中就提出了一些超TRIPS(TRIPS-Plus)的条款。在一次国际研讨会上,欧洲委员会贸易司主管官员Christophe De Vroey先生介绍了这项新建议以及欧盟有关知识产权保护的一些最新进展。应我们之约,Vroey先生特将讲话稿作了修改,以符合本刊发表的要求。在此,我们对Christophe De Vroey先生的帮助表示感谢。     

Are DNA data a valid source to study the spatial behavior of unknown offenders?

Studying the spatial behaviour of unknown offenders (i.e. undetected offenders) is difficult, because police recorded crime data do not contain information about these offenders. Recently, forensic DNA data has been used to study unknown offenders. However, DNA data are only a subset of the crimes committed by unknown offenders stored in police recorded crime data. To establish the suitability of DNA data for studying the spatial offending behaviour of unknown offenders, we examine the concentration and spatial similarity of detected but unsolved crimes in police recorded crime data (N?=?181,483) and DNA data (N?=?1913) over 27 Belgian judicial districts for four crime types. We established spatial similarity for certain crime types (in some districts). This offers opportunities for DNA data to be used to study unknown offenders' spatial offending behaviour. Implications for theory and research are discussed.     

Translating Technical Diplomacy: The Participation of Civil Society Organisations in International Standardisation

ABSTRACT

This article examines the participation of civil society organisations (CSO) in the various arenas of global governance with focus on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). While diverse studies recognise the difficulty of CSOs’ participation despite the growing importance of standards in the organisation of markets, little attention has been paid to how such involvement is likely to be reinforced in what we call “technical diplomacy”, the negotiating processes involving states and non-state actors geared toward setting specifications claiming to be based on scientific knowledge. Drawing upon scholarship in new forms of regulation in organisational studies, international relations, and science and technology studies, the paper argues that CSOs’ participation depends on multiple translation practices between lay- and expert-knowledge. Findings are based on an action-research project, INTERNORM, pooling academic and CSO participation in ISO technical committees. It suggests some promising directions for addressing the democratic deficit of technical diplomacy.