Use of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) for the determination of methadone and EDDP in human hair by GC-MS

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is a new extraction technique with many advantages: small sample volume, simplicity, quickness and solvent-free. It is mainly applied to environmental analysis, but is also useful for the extraction of drugs from biological samples. In this paper the use of SPME is proposed for the determination of methadone and its main metabolite EDDP in hair by GC-MS. The hair samples were washed, cut into 1-mm segments, and incubated with Pronase E for 12 h. A 100-micron polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film fibre was submerged for 30 min in a diluted solution of the hydrolysis liquid (1:4 with borax buffer) containing methadone-d3 and EDDP-d3 as internal standards. Once the microextraction was concluded the fibre was directly inserted into the CG injection port. Linearity was found for methadone and EDDP in the range studied, 1.0-50 ng/mg hair, with correlation coefficients higher than 0.99. Interassay relative standard deviation (R.S.D) was determined to be less than 13.30% for methadone and less than 8.94% for EDDP, at 3.0 and 30.0 ng/mg. Analytical recoveries were close to 100% for both compounds on spiked samples. The method was applied to the analysis of real hair samples from eight patients of a methadone maintenance programme. The concentration of methadone in hair ranged from 2.45 to 78.10 ng/mg, and for EDDP from 0.98 to 7.76 ng/mg of hair.     

Evaluation of cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis use in university students through hair analysis: preliminary results

The evaluation of drug abuse in a defined population was performed through toxicological hair analysis. Hair samples from university students ranging from 18 to 25 years of age were anonymously collected and screened for cocaine, amphetamines and cannabinoids by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Positive results (cut-off values adopted were 2 ng/mg for cocaine and amphetamines and 0.5 ng/mg for cannabinoids) were confirmed by GC/MS. Preliminary results showed 19% of positive results for cocaine on 200 samples analysed. No confirmed positive results were obtained for amphetamine analysis. RIA technique demonstrated its unsuitability for cannabinoids preliminary screening on hair, giving a high percent of false positive results.     

Local Governance and Redistributive Policy: Explaining Local Funding for Public Defense

In many American states, public defense is provided at the county rather than state level (Langton & Farole 2009 ). Local governments have discretion over implementing and funding the right to counsel, resulting in considerable variability in programs and funding levels. Placing this issue in the theoretical context of redistributive policies and politics, we investigate decisions on funding this service across upstate New York counties. Using as a point of departure Paul Peterson's classic explication of community politics, we first model variation in funding as a function of counties' fiscal capacity, need for services, and costs of supplying legal representation. We also test Peterson's prediction that local political factors will play little if any role in budget decisions. Second, through interviews with program administrators we explore the characters of twelve defender programs in which expenditures departed from the model's predictions. We find that three factors—which we term “influence,” “infrastructure,” and “ideas"”—also vary directly with levels of funding. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings for theoretical thinking about due process policies and local politics, and for policy debate over how best to ensure adequate counsel in criminal court.     

The analysis of an intracerebral hematoma for drugs of abuse

Toxicological investigations were performed on an intracerebral hematoma, antemortem blood, and postmortem blood of an individual who was found unresponsive in his home. The hematoma was found to have ethanol at a concentration of 0.05% (w/v), and benzoylecgonine (a cocaine metabolite) was also confirmed at a concentration of 0.43 mg/L by specific analysis using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). These results enabled the pathologist to record the cause of death as intracerebral hemorrhage due to acute cocaine intoxication.     

Violence and abuse in psychiatric in-patient institutions: a South African perspective

Institutionalisation of psychiatric patients was a prevalent treatment approach in the apartheid era of South Africa. Allegations of violence and abuse towards patients frequently arose during this time. The post-apartheid Department of Health prioritised improvements in mental health care by recommending, inter alia, deinstitutionalisation and reintegration of patients into the community. Ten years later, these interventions have proved difficult to institute and many patients are still hospitalised. The present study investigated whether currently hospitalised patients continued to experienced violence and abuse. This was an exploratory naturalistic study in which both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Of the 127 who completed the study, more than 50% reported experiences of abuse. The main perpetrators were other patients, although violence by staff was reported. Reasons for the tardiness of implementation of deinstitutionalisation and the prevalence of ongoing violence and abuse in psychiatric hospitals are complex. Factors inherited from the pre-democratic system coupled with increased urban violence and financial constraints appear to be some of the major causes of ongoing dependency upon hospitalisation of mental health care users. The present study highlighted the urgency of implementing mental health care improvements.     

Judicial Work and Judges’ Motivation: The Perceptions of Brazilian State Judges

The professional ethos of judges has undergone many changes in Brazil in recent years, generating conflicts about the role of these professionals in society. This article examines how Brazilian judges deal with those conflicts. The objective is to identify how judges perceive their social role and, based on that, what motivates them in their work. A series of twenty‐five in‐depth interviews was carried out with Brazilian state judges working in all regions of the country in different judicial specialties. The findings indicate that the judges interviewed can be classified into four different profiles according to the predominant social role: (1) social activist; (2) service provider; (3) judicial restraint; and (4) defender of the status quo. Each profile corresponds to a specific individual and social motivation.