Educational Intentions Among Prison Inmates

The aim of the study was to examine the impact of geographical and cultural affiliation and learning problems on prison inmates' intentions to embark on education above their obtained level of education. Younger inmates, inmates who had reading or writing problems and inmates with less geographical and cultural affiliation to Norway were significantly more likely to report that they wished to start upper secondary school than older inmates, inmates who had no reading or writing problems and inmates with a strong affiliation to Norway. Likewise, younger inmates, inmates who had a non-Norwegian affiliation and inmates who had no problems with arithmetic or mathematics were significantly more likely than others to say that they wished to embark on university studies or other higher education.     

A case of sudden cardiac death in connection with Salmonella typhimurium infection

A case of fatal myocarditis in a 24-year-old otherwise healthy man is described. It was possible to cultivate Salmonella typhimurium from the alimentary tract, the blood, the liver and skeletal muscles. The possibility of a solitary myocarditis with fatal outcome due to Salmonella typhimurium infection is discussed. Such a case seems not to have been mentioned previously in the literature.The problems concerning the statistical registration of such a death are briefly discussed.     

How does Intergroup Contact Generate Ethnic Tolerance? The Contact Hypothesis in a Scandinavian Context

As European majority members are often hostile toward ethnic minorities, it is important to identify sources that reduce opposition to immigrants. First, focusing on Denmark, this article examines whether intergroup contact influences attitudes toward ethnic minority rights (henceforth: ‘ethnic tolerance’). Second, this study tests whether the contact‐tolerance relationship is mediated by self‐disclosure and symbolic threat. Furthermore, contact is measured as workplace contact in order to reduce self‐selection biases. The empirical tests are performed on a Danish high‐quality national probability sample from 2009 (N = 1,929). Analysis shows that intergroup contact generates ethnic tolerance because workplace contact weakens threat perceptions and stimulates disclosure of personal information. Generally, these results suggest that regular intergroup contact can improve ethnic relations in contemporary democracies.     

Influence of CYP2D6 genotype on the disposition of the enantiomers of venlafaxine and its major metabolites in postmortem femoral blood

Venlafaxine (VEN) is an antidepressant drug mainly metabolized by the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme CYP2D6 to the active metabolite O-desmethylvenlafaxine (ODV). VEN is also metabolized to N-desmetylvenlafaxine (NDV) via CYP3A4. ODV and NDV are further metabolized to N,O-didesmethylvenlafaxine (DDV). VEN is a racemic mixture of the S- and R-enantiomers and these have in vitro displayed different degrees of serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibition. The aim of the study was to investigate if an enantioselective analysis of VEN and its metabolites, in combination with genotyping for CYP2D6, could assist in the interpretation of forensic toxicological results in cases with different causes of deaths. Concentrations of the enantiomers of VEN and metabolites were determined in femoral blood obtained from 56 autopsy cases with different causes of death. The drug analysis was done by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) and the CYP2D6 genotyping by PCR and pyrosequencing. The mean (median) enantiomeric S/R ratios of VEN, ODV, NDV and DDV were 0.99 (0.91), 2.17 (0.93), 0.92 (0.86) and 1.08 (1.03), respectively. However, a substantial variation in the relationship between the S- and R-enantiomers of VEN and metabolites was evident (S/R ratios ranging from 0.23 to 17.6). In six cases, a low S/R VEN ratio (mean 0.5) was associated with a high S/R ODV ratio (mean 11.9). Genotyping showed that these individuals carried two inactive CYP2D6 genes indicating a poor metabolizer phenotype. From these data we conclude that enantioselective analysis of VEN and ODV can predict if a person is a poor metabolizer genotype/phenotype for CYP2D6. Knowledge of the relationship between the S- and R-enantiomers of this antidepressant drug and its active metabolite is also important since the enantiomers display different pharmacodynamic profiles.