Organizational Disruption and Change in Mozambique's Peace Process
Mozambique returned to peace after a brutal civil war, despite imperfect disarmament. Many accounts make some appeal to the motivations of the parties to seek peace as a case of ‘political will’. While these explanations are not false, an approach that looks to the Renamo insurgency's organizational structure can flesh out explanations of how changing attitudes moved the insurgency as well as illuminate points at which outside peacekeepers may find leverage. In particular, the UN mission capitalized on Renamo's difficulties and exploited its military focus and narrow political base by widely dispersing Renamo combatants during demobilization and fostering political party structures. These tactics helped to disrupt Renamo's ability to act as a spoiler.
The United Nations, Elections and the Resolution of Conflict in Mozambique
‘In the light of recent experiences elsewhere, the recommendations in this present report may be thought to invite the international community to take a risk. I believe that the risk is worth taking; but I cannot disguise that it exists.’ (Boutros Boutros-Ghali, addressing the Security Council on the prospective UN mission to Mozambique, December 1992).1
Pharmacokinetics and Metabolism of 14C-Brivaracetam, a Novel SV2A Ligand, in Healthy Subjects
This study was designed to investigate the human absorption, disposition, and mass balance of 14C-brivaracetam, a novel high affinity SV2A ligand with potent anticonvulsant activity. Six healthy male subjects received a single p.o. dose of 14C-brivaracetam (150 mg, 82 μCi, or 3.03 MBq). Serial blood and complete urine and feces were collected until 144 h postdose. Expired air samples were obtained until 24 h. Brivaracetam was rapidly absorbed, with Cmax of 4 μg/ml occurring within 1.5 h of dosing. Unchanged brivaracetam amounted to 90% of the total plasma radioactivity, suggesting a modest first-pass effect. Plasma protein binding of radioactivity was low (17.5%). Urinary excretion exceeded 90% after 2 days, and the final mass balance reached 96.8% of the radioactivity in urine and 0.7% in feces. Only 8.6% of the radioactive dose was recovered in urine as unchanged brivaracetam, the remainder being identified as non–cytochrome P450 (P450)- and P450-dependent biotransformation products resulting from hydrolysis of the amide moiety (M9, 34.2%), hydroxylation of the n-propyl side chain (M1b, 15.9%), and a combination of these two pathways leading to the hydroxy acid (M4b, 15.2%). Minor amounts of taurine and glucuronic acid conjugates and other oxidized derivatives were also identified. Brivaracetam is completely absorbed, is weakly bound to plasma proteins, extensively biotransformed through several metabolic pathways, and eliminated renally.