Organic explosives analysis using on column-ion trap EI/NICI GC-MS with an external source

In this study, a standard method by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for the analysis of classical organic explosives was developed. This method was validated in the EI mode, based on the XPT 90-210 standard method. Detection limits (LOD) and quantitation limits (LOQ) were both determined using electronic impact (EI) and negative ion chemical ionization (NICI) modes. These were compared and results showed that in the NICI mode, detection limits were lower than in the EI mode, thus NICI mode appeared to be the best way to analyze nitrate esters. Results of ion trap MS detection were then compared with those obtained in a previous study with single quadrupolar technology. Major ions that were obtained using ion trap MS detection in these two modes were reported.     

Nurture,Pleasure and Read and Resist!: Abolition Feminist Methodology for a Collective Recovery?

COVID-19 has magnified intersecting inequalities that are central to the functioning of capitalism. At the height of the crisis, the value of an economy based on the exchange of goods and services faded away to expose the importance of care across the public and private spheres. Undervalued and underpaid labour suddenly became critical to the survival of many. Drawing on Abolition Feminism, we argue for the need to seize this revaluation of labour to centre nurture and pleasure within our post-pandemic recovery. We apply an Abolition Feminist framework that conceptualises the prison as part of a network of violence that deflects attention from the root causes of harm. We reflect on the development of our Abolition Feminist web platform, Read and Resist!, a space where theory meets reflection on praxis. We consider how activist strategies within Abolition Feminism may support us in reimagining our relationships with law and justice post-COVID-19.

     

Comparison of four skeletal methods for the estimation of age at death on white and black adults

ABSTRACT: When analyzing human adult skeletal remains, it is often difficult to decide whether a single aging method will give a more reliable age estimation than a combination of methods. This study evaluates four macroscopic indicators for age estimation on 218 American White and Black individuals, ranging in age from 25 to 90 years of age, from the Terry collection. Individuals in the sample were selected to have a balanced race, sex, and age distribution. The following aging methods were applied to each skeleton by one experienced observer: the Suchey–Brooks (SB) pubic symphysis method, the Lovejoy auricular surface method, the monoradicular teeth Lamendin (LM) method, and the I?can (IC) method for fourth ribs. The statistical study involved the evaluation of inaccuracy and bias (based on median age) for each age indicator and the combination of methods using Principal component analysis (PCA). Analysis was performed on the entire sample, then by race, then sex, and then age group (25–40 years, 41–60 years, and >60 years). PCA was the most accurate method for both racial groups when all age groups are analyzed together. When the sample was divided into age groups, SB was the most accurate for young adults (25–40 years) and LM was the most accurate for middle adults (41–60 years). After the age of 60, all methods are highly inaccurate, although IC gives the lowest inaccuracy. As regards bias, the study highlights the tendency of all methods to overestimate the age of young individuals and to underestimate in the older age group. No single skeletal indicator of age at death is ever likely to reflect accurately the many factors that accumulate with chronological age. In fact, one must use as many dental and skeletal indicators as possible. However, in order to maximize the potential of each method, in the final evaluation one should consider mainly the method or methods that have a higher accuracy for a particular age range.     

Cross Border Health Care: An Analysis of Recent ECJ Rulings

Recent rulings of the European Court of Justice show a trend towards a virtual European health-care basket. Four developments underlie this trend. First, the competence of the European Union seems to mature in the field of health care. Secondly, through a variety of authorisation procedures, individual Member States can to a large extent determine the conditions for cross border care. Thirdly, recent court cases indicate that the co-ordination of cross border care increasingly becomes a EU matter. Finally, in particular border regions, more flexible procedures for cross border care are being developed. An analysis of these developments from an (economic) institutional/constitutional point of view shows that potential Pareto-improvements can be expected from recent changes. These improvements depend on the institutional/constitutional framework into which these rules and engagements are embedded. Our analysis suggests that, although the current (increasing) role for the EU seems desirable, diminishing the role that individual Member States can play is not. National authorisation procedures, local/regional arrangements and flexible rulings are mechanisms that can secure an efficient level of output and an optimal size of the jurisdiction responsible for cross border care. This leads to the following recommendations: Current authorisation procedures (which differ per Member State) have to be maintained in order to secure an optimal community size for cross border services and goods; Bilateral agreements and flexible procedures in cross border regions should be stimulated in order to adapt institutional arrangements to the demand for cross border care by (a group of) individuals. The increased competency of the EU in the field of health care can best be used to make authorisation procedures more consistent and stimulate regional cross border care arrangements.     

Le public suisse face à la science et aux institutions: des relations à explorer

The purpose of this research note is to examine if the attitude toward science of the Swiss citizens is related to their confidence in Swiss institutions, precisely in political institutions. Based on the results of one survey (Eurobarometer 2001), we show that the attitude toward science is moderately related to the confidence, that the number of significant relationship of each institution depend on the level of confidence of the institution, and that we distinguish two types of relation: linear and inverted U‐shaped.     

Solid phase micro extraction coupled with on-column GC/ECD for the post-blast analysis of organic explosives

Gas chromatographic analysis with electron capture detection is very sensitive to post-blast residues and useful for the determination of organic explosive molecules. But many compounds extracted from the matrices may interfere with the explosives. Using SPME, most interfering compounds are eliminated so the identification is easier. Another advantage of the technique is a low limit of detection. In this study, four different SPME fibers were tested to analyze the most common encountered organic explosives including nitro aromatics, nitramines and nitro-esters. Different parameters were tested (desorption time, agitation, ...) and a special device has been created to optimize the agitation. Direct desorption effect of the SPME fiber on the column compared to normal split-splitless injection is shown. In this way, the degradation of the most sensitive molecules is decreased. An application to a real case is also described in this paper.     

Friend or Foe? Digital Technologies and the Changing Nature of Party Membership

As membership levels decline, parties are developing new forms of linkage with supporters, many of which rely on Internet technologies. To date, the discussion of these new modes of affiliation has been largely theoretical in nature, with little, if any, systematic empirical analysis undertaken on their appeal and impact on formal membership. This article seeks to fill this gap by examining the presence of three new types of digital affiliation—audience, friends, and digital activists—among the French electorate using original survey data from the 2012 Presidential election. Our findings are important in showing that while the new methods of affiliation are increasing parties’ reach into society, they are not necessarily widening parties’ socioeconomic support base. Furthermore, digital activism is mostly a supplementary channel for members’ input although there are a smaller group of people engaging in these activities that avoid formal membership ties. Such results suggest that digital methods of affiliation might offer an important new resource to parties during campaigns.     

The substance of EU democratic governance promotion via transgovernmental cooperation with the Eastern neighbourhood

Existing studies of the European Union’s (EU) democratic governance promotion via transgovernmental cooperation in the EU’s neighbourhood seem to take the substance of what is being promoted by the EU for granted. In filling this gap, this article examines the substance of EU democratic governance promotion by assessing (1) to what extent norms of democratic governance appear in EU Twinning projects implemented in the Eastern neighbourhood, and (2) what factors account for differences in the presence of democratic governance norms across those projects. To explain possible variation, the article hypothesizes that the democratic governance substance of Twinning projects will vary with the country’s political liberalization, sector politicization, sector technical complexity, and EU conditionality attached to reform progress in a given policy sector. Data are retrieved from a content analysis of 117 Twinning project fiches from the Eastern neighbourhood and analysed via standard multiple regression. The article finds that the EU mostly promotes moderate, mixed democratic governance substance, which varies across different projects. This variation may be best explained by the level of political liberalization of the beneficiary country and the politicization and technical complexity of the policy sectors and institutions involved in respective Twinning projects.