Partition coefficient, blood to plasma ratio, protein binding and short-term stability of 11-nor-Delta(9)-carboxy tetrahydrocannabinol glucuronide

11-Nor-Delta(9)-carboxy tetrahydrocannabinol glucuronide (THCCOOglu) is a major metabolite of tetrahydrocannabinol in blood. Despite its mass spectrometric identification already in 1980, further physicochemical data of THCCOOglu have not been established. Therefore, the octanol/buffer partition coefficient P and the blood to plasma ratio b/p for THCCOOglu concentrations of 100 and 500ng/ml were investigated. Protein binding of the glucuronide was established from spiked albumin solutions at a level of 250ng/ml as well as from authentic samples. The data were compared to those of 11-nor-Delta(9)-carboxy tetrahydrocannabinol (THCCOOH). In addition, the short-term stability of THCCOOglu in plasma at different storage temperatures was studied. Analysis was performed by LC/MS/MS. The glucuronide partition coefficient P (mean: 17.4 and 18.0 for 100 and 500ng/ml, respectively) was unexpectedly lipophilic at pH 7.4. Its blood to plasma ratios averaged 0.62 and 0.68 at 100 and 500ng/ml, respectively. THCCOOglu was highly reversibly bound to albumin (mean: 97%), and the mean fraction bound did not differ from that determined from authentic samples. THCCOOglu degraded even at a storage temperature of 4 degrees C and THCCOOH was identified as a major decomposition product.     

Community engagement and public administration: Of silos,overlays and technologies of government

The public policy process in Australia is changing towards a more interactive, collaborative model, where governments seek to develop partnerships with civil society and private sector organisations to manage complex policy challenges. This article discusses research conducted into a project implemented by a Victorian government department that sought to involve stakeholders in addressing natural resource management issues in the agricultural sector. The research revealed that public administration practices associated with the new public management approach impeded the ability of the project to facilitate participation by diverse stakeholders in the decision‐making process. The article challenges the view that the discourse of collaboration and community engagement takes public administration down a constructivist path and suggests that agencies need to become reflexive about the way in which public administration practices are constitutive of the community engagement process if they are to facilitate genuine participation of other stakeholders.     

Book Reviews

Guy Edwards and J. Timmons Roberts, A Fragmented Continent: Latin America and the Global Politics of Climate Change. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2015. Table, figure, notes, bibliography, index, 274 pp.; hardcover $55, paperback $30, ebook $21. Owen Logan, John‐Andrew McNeish, and Axel Borchgrevink, eds., Contested Powers: The Politics of Energy and Development in Latin America. London: Zed Books, 2015. Tables, figures, bibliographies, index, 366 pp.; hardcover $95, paperback $28.95, ebook. Barbara Fritz and Lena Lavinas, eds., A Moment of Equality for Latin America? Challenges for Redistribution. Burlington: Ashgate, 2015. Tables, figures, bibliography, index, 284 pp.: hardcover $95.96, ebook. Mala Htun, Inclusion Without Representation in Latin America: Gender Quotas and Ethnic Reservations. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Tables, figures, acronyms, appendixes, bibliography, index, 226 pp.; paperback $29.99. Koonings, Kees, and Dirk Kruijt, eds., Violence and Resilience in Latin American Cities. London: Zed Books, 2015. Figures, tables, 208 pp.; paperback $29.95, ebook. Miguel Carter, ed., Challenging Social Inequality: The Landless Rural Workers Movement and Agrarian Reform in Brazil. Durham: Duke University Press, 2015. Photographs, maps, tables, figures, abbreviations, bibliography, index, 544 pp.; hardcover $109.95, paperback $31.95. J. Patrice McSherry, Chilean New Song: The Political Power of Music, 1960s–1973. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 2015. Notes, index, 229 pp.; hardcover $97.50, paperback $44.95, ebook $44.95. Bruce M. Bagley and Jonathan D. Rosen, eds., Colombia's Political Economy at the Outset of the Twenty‐First Century: From Uribe to Santos and Beyond. New York: Lexington Books, 2015. Figures, tables, notes, bibliography, index, 354 pp.; hardcover $100, ebook $99.99. Amy Reynolds, Free Trade and Faithful Globalization: Saving the Market. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Tables, abbreviations, bibliography, index, 198 pp.; hardcover $93, ebook $72.     

Effects of Different Temperatures on the Development of Dermestes Frischii and Dermestes Undulatus (Coleoptera,Dermestidae): Comparison Between Species

Dermestidae could be useful in forensic investigations to assess the PMI as adults and larvae colonize dried remains. We reared two species of Dermestidae (Dermestes frischii and Dermestes undulatus) to understand the effects of different temperatures on the length of their whole life cycle and on their immature stages. Both species were reared at 23°C ± 0.5, RH 75% and at 26°C ± 0.5, 75% RH. Our result shows that the temperature is the main factor that influences the development of those species; in fact, increasing temperature leads to a shorter development cycle (59.8 ± 0.5 and 38.1 ± 0.2 for D. frischii; 50.6 ± 0.6 and 36.2 ± 0.2 for D. undulatus). Furthermore, we found that the number of the molts before the pupa decreases from 5–7 to 5–6 for D. frischii and from 4–6 to 4–5 for D. undulatus, respectively, at 23°C and 26°C.     

Regulators and the quest for coherence in finance: The case of loss absorbing capacity for banks

After the international financial crisis, new financial regulation was adopted at the international, regional and national levels, raising the issue of how to promote regulatory coherence, defined as the consistency between the rules adopted at different governance levels and in a variety of policy venues. A major recent area of reform concerned the loss absorbing capacity (LAC) of banks. In practice, the lack of regulatory coherence concerning LAC hampers the effective resolution of large international banks in a timely manner, ultimately undermining financial stability. We examine the role of regulators in the quest for coherence on LAC, explaining the incentives they had and how they deployed their delegated competences at different levels to achieve coherent rules that ensure financial stability. Theoretically, we combine insights from the public administration and political economy literatures. Methodologically, we process trace the making of LAC rules on three governance levels and in multiple policy venues.     

A worldwide consensus on nudging? Not quite,but almost

Nudges are choice‐preserving interventions that steer people's behavior in specific directions while still allowing them to go their own way. Some nudges have been controversial, because they are seen as objectionably paternalistic. This study reports on nationally representative surveys in eight diverse countries, investigating what people actually think about nudges and nudging. The study covers Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Russia, South Africa, and South Korea. Generally, we find strong majority support for nudges in all countries, with the important exception of Japan, and with spectacularly high approval rates in China and South Korea. We connect the findings here to earlier studies involving Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Our primary conclusion is that while citizens generally approve of health and safety nudges, the nations of the world appear to fall into three distinct categories: (i) a group of nations, mostly liberal democracies, where strong majorities approve of nudges whenever they (a) are seen to fit with the interests and values of most citizens and (b) do not have illicit purposes; (ii) a group of nations where overwhelming majorities approve of nearly all nudges; and (iii) a group of nations that usually show majority approval, but markedly reduced approval rates. We offer some speculations about the relationship between approval rates and trust.     

Rethinking the Encounter Between Law and Nature in the Anthropocene: From Biopolitical Sovereignty to Wonder

Law and Critique - The rise of the idea of the Anthropocene is promoting multiple reflections on its meaning. As we consider entering this new geological epoch, we realize the pervasiveness of...