Carisoprodol, meprobamate, and driving impairment

This paper considers the pharmacology of the centrally acting muscle relaxant carisoprodol, and its metabolite meprobamate, which is also administered as an anxiolytic in its own right. Literature implicating these drugs in impaired driving is also reviewed. A series of 104 incidents in which these drugs were detected in the blood of drivers involved in accidents or arrested for impaired driving was considered, with respect to the analytical toxicology results, patterns of drug use in these subjects, the driving behaviors exhibited, and the symptoms observed in the drivers. Symptomatology and driving impairment were consistent with other CNS depressants, most notably alcohol. Reported driving behaviors included erratic lane travel, weaving, driving slowly, swerving, stopping in traffic, and hitting parked cars and other stationary objects. Drivers on contact by the police displayed poor balance and coordination, horizontal gaze nystagmus, bloodshot eyes, unsteadiness, slurred speech, slow responses, tendency to doze off or fall asleep, difficulty standing, walking or exiting their vehicles, and disorientation. Many of these cases had alcohol or other centrally acting drugs present also, making difficult the attribution of the documented impairment specifically to carisoprodol and meprobamate. In 21 cases, however, no other drugs were detected, and similar symptoms were present. Impairment appeared to be possible at any concentration of these two drugs; however, the most severe driving impairment and most overt symptoms of intoxication were noted when the combined concentration exceeded 10 mg/L, a level still within the normal therapeutic range.     

The Effect of IMF Programs on Women’s Economic and Political Rights

Though much research has been devoted to the socioeconomic and political consequences of International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs for recipient countries, little is known about the impacts of these programs on the level of respect for women’s rights. We postulate that IMF-induced policy reforms of privatization and public spending cuts, and the growing political repression and instability following the implementation of IMF programs, undermine the government’s ability and willingness to protect women’s economic and political rights. To substantiate the theoretical claims, we combine data on women’s political and economic rights with data on IMF programs for the years 1981–2004. Our findings suggest that IMF involvement is likely to deteriorate the level of respect for women’s economic rights while having no discernible effect on women’s political rights. The results further indicate that the effect of these programs is not conditioned by political regime type and economic wealth of recipient countries. One major policy implication of our findings is that the IMF should start to recognize that the conditions attached to lending programs might be implemented at the expense of women’s economic rights and that more explicit protections of women’s rights need to be included in program negotiations.     

Collecting touch DNA from glass surfaces using different sampling solutions and volumes: Immediate and storage effects on genetic STR analysis

Touch DNA has become increasingly important evidence in todays' forensic casework. However, due to its invisible nature and typically minute amounts of DNA, the collection of biological material from touched objects remains a particular challenge that underscores the importance of the best collection methods for maximum recovery efficiency. So far, swabs moistened with water are often utilized in forensic crime scene investigations for touch DNA sampling, even though an aqueous solution provokes osmosis, endangering the cell's integrity. The aim of the research presented here was to systematically determine whether DNA recovery from touched glass items can be significantly increased by varying swabbing solutions and volumes compared with water-moistened swabs and dry swabbing. A second objective was to investigate the possible effects of storage of swab solutions prior to genetic analysis on DNA yield and profile quality when stored for 3 and 12 months, as is often the case with crime scene samples. Overall, the results indicate that adapting volumes of the sampling solutions had no significant effect on DNA yield, while the detergent-based solutions performed better than water and dry removal, with the SDS reagent yielding statistically significant results. Further, stored samples showed an increase in degradation indices for all solutions tested, but no deterioration in DNA content and profile quality, allowing for unrestricted processing of touch DNA samples stored for at least 12 months. One further finding was a strong intraindividual change in DNA amounts observed over the 23 deposition days which may be related to the donor's menstrual cycle.     

The first delinquency prevention experiment: a socio-historical review of the origins of the Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study’s research design

Objectives

Begun in 1939, the Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study (CSYS) is recognized as the first delinquency prevention experiment and the earliest example of a longitudinal–experimental study with criminological outcomes. This paper aims to develop a historical understanding of the origins of the study’s research design.

Methods

The present study is guided by the socio-historical approach and informed by past historical research in criminology. It draws upon a wide array of archival records and published works from the late nineteenth century to the present day.

Results

Richard Clarke Cabot designed and directed the CSYS. Major influences on the study’s research design can be traced to Cabot’s medical practice and research, his advocacy for social work practice and research, and his professional relationship with the Gluecks. The beginnings of experimentation in the social sciences during the early twentieth century may have also played a role. Joan McCord’s early involvement in the study proved instrumental to its longitudinal component.

Conclusions

The rigorous and innovative research design of the CSYS marks an important chapter in the history of experimental criminology, and its influence continues to this day. New experimental studies on the prevention of crime and delinquency must continue to strive to advance scientific knowledge and improve public policy.

     

Palynological Investigation of Mummified Human Remains

Pollen analysis was applied to a mummified homicide victim in Nebraska, U.S.A., to determine the location of death. A control sample showed the normal ambient pollen in the garage crime scene. Ambient windborne types, common in the air of the region, dominated the control. Internal samples were analyzed from the sacrum, intestine, and diaphragm. Microfossils were recovered from the rehydrated intestine lumen. The intestinal sample was dominated by Brassica (broccoli). The sacrum sample was high in dietary types but with a showing of ambient types. The pollen from the diaphragm was dominated by ambient pollen similar to the control samples. The discovery of diverse pollen spectra from within a single mummy was unexpected. They show that ingested and inhaled pollen mixed in the corpse. The data linked the decedent to a specific crime scene in her Nebraska home in the southern tier of eastern counties on the border with Kansas.     

Do the Mental Health Consequences of Sexual Victimization Differ Between Males and Females? A General Strain Theory Approach

Sexual assault is a traumatizing event linked to numerous mental health consequences. Although extant research has thoroughly examined the collateral consequences experienced by females, limited literature exists regarding how sexual violence comparatively affects males and females. Using data from the National Violence Against Women Survey (1995–1996) and a strain theoretical framework, the current study addresses this research gap to understand the effects of sexual assault and sex on depression. Results indicate that victims of sexual assault have higher depression scores than persons who have not been sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Moreover, we found no sex effect for sexual assault on depression. The methodology used eliminated a bias typically associated with regression analyses, caused from statistical inference after improper model selection. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Rural Identity in the Twenty‐first Century: A Community of Crofters or Crofting Communities?

Crofting has been subjected to a specific regulatory regime in Scots law since the introduction of the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act in 1886. The Act, introduced in response to the devastation caused by the Highland clearances, provided for security of tenure and associated rights and now provides for full ownership on both individual and collective bases. Consequently, the legal framework incorporates two distinct forms of crofting identity: one based on the crofting function and the other on a broader, place‐based definition incorporating all who live within crofting communities. Used as a basis for policymaking, each definition gives rise to different outcomes. In this paper, we use empirical research to show how such distinctions are manifested in specific conflicts of interest within contemporary crofting communities. This analysis is intended to inform the current debate surrounding the future of crofting as well as to contribute to the wider literature on the use of identity in the process of resource allocation.     

Comparison of the Plexor HY System, Quantifiler and Quantifiler Duo kits using the Roche LightCycler 480 System and the ABI 7900 real time PCR instrument

In this study, we used two real time PCR platforms (Roche LightCycler 480 System and the ABI 7900 real time PCR instrument) to compare three commercial kits for DNA quantification. Special emphasis was put on PCR efficiency, detection limit and detection range. Furthermore, we tested the influence of the calibrator DNA included in the different kits on the absolute values. 40 artificial stain samples as well as 40 reference saliva samples were tested and compared. Two main observations could be made: the kits had a strong influence on the amount of DNA determined (Quantifiler^® < Quantifiler Duo^® < Plexor^® kit) whereas the real time PCR platforms showed no significant influence on the outcome.