Cannabinoids determination in oral fluid by SPME–GC/MS and UHPLC–MS/MS and its application on suspected drivers

The confirmation of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in oral fluid (OF) is an important issue for assessing Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID). The aim of this research was to develop a highly sensitive method with minimal sample pre-treatment suitable for the analysis of small OF volumes (100 μL) for the confirmation of cannabinoids in DUID cases. Two methods were compared for the confirmation of THC in residual OF samples, obtained from a preliminary on-site screening with commercial devices. An ultra high performance LC–MS (UHPLC–MS/MS) method and an SPME–GC/MS method were hence developed. 100 μL of the residual mixture OF/preservative buffer or neat OF was simply added to 10 μL of THC-D3 (1 μg/mL) and submitted to the two different analyses: A — direct injection of 10 μL in UHPLC–MS/MS in positive electrospray ionisation (ESI) mode and B — sampling for 30 min with SPME (100 μm polydimethylsiloxane or PDMS fibre) and direct injection by desorption of the fibre in the GC injection port.The lowest limit of detection (LLOD) of THC was 2 ng/mL in UHPLC–MS/MS and 0.5 ng/mL in SPME–GC/MS. In addition, cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN) could be detected in GC/MS equipment at 2 ng/mL, whilst in UHPLC–MS/MS the LLOD was 20 ng/mL.Both methods were applied to 70 samples coming from roadside tests. By SPME–GC/MS analysis, THC was confirmed in 42 samples, whilst CBD was detected in 21 of them, along with CBN in 14 samples. THC concentrations ranged from traces below the lowest limit of quantification or LLOQ (2 ng/mL) up to 690 ng/mL.     

Simple and simultaneous quantification of cyanide,ethanol, and 1-propanol in blood by headspace GC–MS/NPD with Deans switch dual detector system

Cyanide is a powerful and rapidly acting poison. In Japan, cyanide poisoning is rare, and regular cyanide testing can be costly and time consuming. In contrast, alcohol analysis is routinely performed in most forensic laboratories. In this study, we attempted to develop a method for the simultaneous quantification of cyanide and alcohols in blood using headspace gas chromatography (HS–GC). As nitrogen-phosphorus detection (NPD) is more sensitive to hydrogen cyanide than mass spectrometry (MS), a Deans switch was used to switch the detectors during a single run. The separation provided by three analytical columns, PoraBOND Q, CP-Sil 5 CB, and HP-INNOWax, was investigated, and PoraBOND Q was selected. The use of HS–GC–MS/NPD with a Deans switch enabled the simple and simultaneous quantification of cyanide, ethanol, and 1-propanol. Eighteen other volatile compounds were detected in the SIM/scan mode of the MS.     

Semi quantitative detection of signature peptides in body fluids by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS)

This study covers a modified semi-quantitative approach to detecting signature peptides for body fluid identification. A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometer normally used for toxicology was adapted to detect target ion transitions for five semen or saliva specific peptides. Peptide concentrations were measured based on a mixture of synthetic peptide standards. Samples were processed using a three-hour trypsin digestion and Microcon membrane filtration. This method generates PCR compatible DNA and peptide fractions that can be typed without any further treatment. Preliminary validation tests covered stains on different substrates, semen/saliva mixtures, limit of detection, and repeatability. All signature peptides were present at different concentrations, varied amongst donors, and were tissue specific. Saliva peptides were detected at lower concentrations and had a higher limit of detection (LOD). Semen peptides had higher concentrations and were detected even as a minor component in a mixture. All semen peptides and all, but one, saliva peptides were detected on the various substrates. Semen peptide concentrations had relative standard deviations (RSDs) lower than 20%, indicating high repeatability, different from saliva where higher RSDs were observed. DNA fractions did not show signs of degradation or PCR inhibition.     

Correlation of Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentrations determined by LC-MS-MS in oral fluid and plasma from impaired drivers and evaluation of the on-site Dräger DrugTest

Oral fluid (collected with the Intercept((R)) device) and plasma samples were obtained from 139 individuals suspected of driving under the influence of drugs and analyzed for Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major psychoactive constituent of cannabis, using a validated quantitative LC-MS-MS method. The first aim of the study was to investigate the correlation between the analytical data obtained in the plasma and oral fluid samples, to evaluate the use of oral fluid as a 'predictor' of actual cannabis influence. The results of the study indicated a good accuracy when comparing THC detection in oral fluid and plasma (84.9-95.7% depending on the cut-off used for plasma analysis). ROC curve analysis was subsequently used to determine the optimal cut-off value for THC in oral fluid with plasma as reference sample, in order to 'predict' a positive plasma result for THC. When using the LOQ of the method for plasma (0.5 ng/mL), the optimal cut-off was 1.2 ng/mL THC in oral fluid (sensitivity, 94.7%; specificity, 92.0%). When using the legal cut-off in Belgium for driving under the influence in plasma (2 ng/mL), an optimal cut-off value of 5.2 ng/mL THC in oral fluid (sensitivity, 91.6%; specificity, 88.6%) was observed. In the second part of the study, the performance of the on-site Dr?ger DrugTest for the screening of THC in oral fluid during roadside controls was assessed by comparison with the corresponding LC-MS-MS results in plasma and oral fluid. Since the accuracy was always less than 66%, we do not recommend this Dr?ger DrugTest system for the on-site screening of THC in oral fluid.     

Development and validation of a LC–MS/MS method for analysis of vortioxetine in postmortem specimens. First data from an authentic case

Vortioxetine is an antidepressant recently licensed in USA and EU for the treatment of major depressive disorder. Neither fatal case due to overdose nor data about postmortem concentrations on blood or other specimens have been reported. The aims of this study were the development and validation of a method for vortioxetine analysis by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) in postmortem samples and its application in an authentic case. The method was validated and applied on blood, vitreous humor, bile, brain, liver, kidney, and gastric content. After protein precipitation, the supernatant was directly injected into LC–MS/MS. Analysis was carried out by Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) mode. The authentic case concerned a 38 years-old woman, affected by depression, who was found hanged at home. The method determined an acceptable sensitivity, selectivity, linearity, precision, and accuracy for all matrices. No interference was shown for all matrices. The matrices do not significantly reduce the peak intensity of vortioxetine. No carryover was shown. Toxicological analysis of the authentic case showed vortioxetine in blood (234 ng/ml), vitreous humor (10.5 ng/ml), brain (490 ng/g), lung (479 ng/g), liver (3751 ng/g), kidney (798 ng/g), bile (2267 ng/ml) and gastric content (253 ng/ml). Our case suggests that even at blood concentrations of vortioxetine equal to 234 ng/ml, the subject was able to stage and carry out the hanging. Vortioxetine concentrations found in the other cadaveric samples (biological fluids, organs, and gastric content) may be helpful to evaluate further similar comparable cases.     

Determination of amphetamine-type stimulants,ketamine and metabolites in fingernails by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

A gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous qualification and quantification of methamphetamine (MA), amphetamine (AP), 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine (MDMA), 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-amphetamine (MDA), ketamine (KET) and norketamine (NKT) in fingernails. Fingernail samples (20 mg) were washed with distilled water and methanol, digested with 1.0 M sodium hydroxide at 95 °C for 30 min, and then extracted with ethyl acetate. Extract solutions were evaporated to dryness, derivatized using heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA) at 60 °C for 30 min, and analyzed by GC–MS. The linear ranges were 0.1–20.0 ng/mg for AP, MDMA and NKT, 0.2–20.0 ng/mg for MA and MDA, and 0.4–20.0 ng/mg for KET, with the coefficients of determination (r² ≥ 0.9989). The intra- and inter-day precisions were within 7.1% and 10.6%, respectively. The intra- and inter-day accuracies were ?10.9% to 0.8% and ?4.3% to 4.5%, respectively. The limits of detections (LODs) and the limits of quantifications (LOQs) for each analyte were lower than 0.094 ng/mg and 0.314 ng/mg, respectively. The recoveries were in the range of 72.3–94.9%. The average fingernail growth rates of two subjects for three years and six subjects for two months were 3.12 mm/month and 3.16 mm/month, respectively. The method proved to be suitable also for the simultaneous detection and quantification of MA, MDMA, KET and their metabolites in fingernails.     

Child–Parent Violence: An Empirical Analysis of Offender, Victim, and Event Characteristics in a National Sample of Reported Incidents

Child–parent violence (CPV) is arguably the most under-researched form of family violence, despite an extremely high rate of occurrence and increasing prevalence. Prior research has been plagued by shortcomings including, but not limited to, a reliance on small clinical samples, age parameter restrictions, antiquated data, undefined parental relationships, and conflicting findings across studies. The current research examined a large cross-national sample of reported offenders (n = 17,957), collected as part of the 2002 National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Extrapolated from past literature, victim and offender demographics and incident characteristics are analyzed using chi-square tests and logistic regression to establish baseline findings from a more comprehensive sample of data than previously existed. Aggregate results suggest, in part, that white biological mothers older than 40 years of age are most likely to be victimized by their male children 14–17 years of age. Further, a majority of assaults involve personal weapons and tend to result in minor injury or no injury with very few offenders under the influence of alcohol or drugs. This work both corroborates and contrasts past finding of CPV research providing new insights into this complex crime and the baseline data needed to inform theory and test hypotheses.

The urban household in Russia and the Soviet Union, 1900–2000: Patterns of family formation in a turbulent century

Starting from census data on co-residence and household composition, the authors analyse principles of family organisation and family formation in twentieth-century urban Russia and the Soviet Union. The article uses an adapted version of the classification of households developed by Peter Laslett and Eugene Hammel to study variation in household structure for successive population censuses. Changes in this variation between cross-sections are explained with the help of additional quantitative and qualitative data and are linked to the fundamental demographic, social and economic shifts which took place in Russian society in the course of the twentieth century. The article finds a family system characterised by a tendency towards nuclear family formation, but incorporating a fairly stable element of household extension. Co-residence of three generations was both an answer to a perennial housing problem and offered important advantages in the sphere of childcare and care for the elderly. Variation and fluctuation in household structure are found to be most pronounced during the turbulent first half of the century. After a period of stability during the post-war decades of Soviet rule, post-Soviet transformations provoke new changes.     

‘The beneficent and legal godfather’: a history of the guardianship of unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children in Australia, 1946–1975

Abstract

In Australia in 1946, the Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act was passed. This Act was intended to support the postwar migration to Australia of British children, unaccompanied by their parents, and provided them a guardian in Australia: the Immigration Minister. This key provision of the Act continues into the present, covering all unaccompanied child migrants, including refugees. Starting with the parliamentary debates which occurred at the formation of the Act in 1946, this article traces a history of the Act until its first High Court challenge in 1975. In doing so, a focus is placed on a series of key questions raised by its production of categories: How does the Act construct ideas of migranthood? What do the discussions it has provoked have to say about notions of parenthood and the ideal family? And, finally, what concepts of the child have been produced through this legislative and legal history? Through an examination of archival materials, parliamentary debates, court records, and newspaper coverage, this article explores the discursive productions of the Act, following the understanding that ideas of the family, of parenthood, of guardianship, of migrant status, and of the child are not natural, but instead are historically created and produced, here through racialized techniques of governmentality.     

Accumulating meaning,purpose and opportunities to change ‘drip by drip’: the impact of being a listener in prison

Established in 1991, the Listener scheme, regulated by the Samaritans, is currently the best-established peer support scheme in place to help reduce suicide in prisons. Each prison Listener team is comprised of a group of inmate volunteers who provide face-to-face emotional support to their peers. Although the scheme has been in operation for over 20 years, empirical research on the scheme is limited. A deeper understanding of how being a Listener affects prisoners' attitudes, beliefs, emotions and experiences of imprisonment is needed. The present study is a qualitative analysis on the experience of being a Listener and the impact it has on individuals and their prison experience. Interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The analysis revealed two main superordinate themes: ‘Listening and Personal Transformation’ and ‘Countering Negative Prison Emotions’. These themes are unpacked and the analysis focuses on their implications for desistance and offender reform. Results suggest that prisoners who adopt Listener roles experience profound internal changes, shifts in self-identity and gain meaning and purpose from prison. Implications for how such schemes may be utilised in the future and suggestions for further research are offered.     

Abandoned and illegitimate,a double mortality penalty? Mortality of illegitimate infants in the foundling hospital of Madrid,La Inclusa (1890–1935)

This paper examines the existence of a mortality penalty for illegitimate abandoned infants in the Foundling Hospital of Madrid, La Inclusa, during the period 1890–1935, in the context of the mortality experience of the city. A rich dataset on the life histories of all infants abandoned in the city of Madrid (almost 60,000 children), nominally linked to births, has allowed the study of the determinants of mortality of foundlings, newborns in the city, and the study of the determinants of abandonment. Contrary to previous findings, our results for La Inclusa show no evidence of an illegitimacy penalty among foundlings and, in some cases, show even better prospects for them. However, this situation did not reflect the circumstances of the city, as illegitimate infants were both more likely to suffer a neonatal death and to be abandoned. The explanation proposed in this paper is that the health of infants born of wedded couples that ended up resorting to abandonment was possibly poorer than that of those born of single or migrant mothers, as the situation triggering abandonment meant that infants were under very hard conditions, possibly worse than those single women faced in the event of a pregnancy.     

Traces of Yogācāra in the Chapter on Reality (<Emphasis Type="Italic">artha</Emphasis>) Within a Work on the Paths and Stages by Gling-ras-pa Padma rdo-rje (1128–1188)

This article aims to introduce some features of the literary output of Gling-ras-pa Padma rdo-rje, who was the teacher of the ‘Brug-pa bKa’-brgyud-pa school’s founder, gTsan-pa rGya-ras Ye-shes rdo-rje (1161–1211) in Tibet. The work that I draw upon here is titled A Torch of Crucial Points. A Condensation and Presentation of all Dharmas that are to be Practiced (gCes pa bsdus pa’i sgron ma ‘am| bslabs par bya ba’i chos thams cad mdor bsdus te bstan pa), a presentation of the entire outline of Buddhist practice that resembles the doctrinal stages (bstan rim) literary genre. Based on an edition and translation of the fifth chapter of the 17 that comprise the work, here I focus on several concepts, such as the three natures (trisvabhāva) and the allground consciousness (ālayavijñāna), that pertain to the system of Yogācāra and the terminology related to it. These are shown as they appear in the framework of the work, which is heavily influenced by the tradition of Mahāmudrā and the background of its author’s life as a wandering yogin in the lineage of Mi-la ras-pa (1040–1132).