Development and Validation of a Method Using Dried Oral Fluid Spot to Determine Drugs of Abuse

A liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry method using dried oral fluid spots was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of cocaine, benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene, amphetamine, and 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine. The oral fluid was applied to a Whatman 903 grade paper and submitted to a drying time of 2.5 h. The extraction procedure was optimized by chemometric approach using simplex centroid design. Spots were extracted with a mixture of acetonitrile, buffer, and methanol. Calibration curves covered a linear concentration range of 40–500 ng/mL. Validation parameters of linearity, precision, accuracy, selectivity, carryover, matrix effects, and stability were evaluated and showed satisfactory results. Spot homogeneity was also satisfactory, with less than 15% of deviation from nominal concentration. Spot volume did not influence accuracy when less than 100 μL of the sample was applied to the spot. The validation of the proposed method suggests a potential application in different scenarios in toxicology.     

Increasing knowledge of food deserts in Brazil: The contributions of an interactive and digital mosaic produced in the context of an integrated education for sustainability program

As efforts to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition evolve within the context of United Nations' Global Compact and Sustainable Development Goals; such problems remain far from being solved due, in part, to their complex nature. Brazil exemplifies such multifaceted scenario as the country has left the “hunger map” in 2014 but now faces another issue: The quality of the food available to its population. Physical, social, economic, cultural, and political factors have impacted the Brazilian food environment, shaping new eating habits such as the replacement of traditional local food for processed foods. Within this context, educational institutions may play an important role in spreading knowledge about major social challenges such as this and their interdependent causes. This paper presents the case study of a project conducted by business and public administration students in a discipline called Integrated Education for Sustainability (FIS), offered to undergraduate students at one of Brazil's most important management schools. In 2017, the project worked on the topic of Food Deserts, challenging the students to develop a digital and interactive mosaic that uncovers the situation of the food deserts in São Paulo. Data were collected from participant observation, field trips, events, and interviews conducted in class with 18 professionals working on several areas related to the topic. The article provides insights into (a) the importance of education to tackle the sustainability challenges, (b) lessons learned from the 14th edition of FIS course, and (c) the several barriers to food access in the city of São Paulo.     

An Overview of Zoonotic Disease Outbreaks and its Forensic Management Over Time

Most emerging or re‐emerging infections are vector‐borne or zoonotic and can be disseminated worldwide by infected humans or animals. They are a major public health problem and cause a great impact on economy. Zoonotic outbreaks began to be characterized in the 90s, after the creation of Europol and the FBI. Such investigations are carried by forensic pathologists and other specialists to determine whether an outbreak is natural or deliberate. This review will discuss ten zoonotic outbreaks nonrelated to wars focusing on forensic management. In conclusion, some points should be highlighted in the management of a zoonotic outbreak: (i) its diagnosis and detection by forensic pathologists and the coordination of efforts between other specialists are key factors; (ii) communication guidelines and an efficient healthcare system are crucial for any emergency response; (iii) biosafety of all specialists involved must be guaranteed.     

Scientific Research on the Efficiency of Public Expenditures: How and Where is it Going?

ABSTRACT

Recent scientific research has advanced the measurement of the relative performance of organizations and the efficiency of public spending, based on analyzes of the services offered and results achieved. However, from the methodological point of view, there are several methods to analyze the performance and efficiency of spending in the private and public sectors. In this sense, the present study performs a systematic bibliometric review to analyze all scientific publications on the efficiency of public spending published in the last 20 years. The results show that most cost-efficiency analyzes have been limited to education and health expenditures and have used quantitative analysis, mainly through the application of data-involution analysis. The present review is a first step in mapping scientific publications on efficiency in public spending, which will support researchers and managers to make public spending more efficient.     

Teaching science and technology PhD students in entrepreneurship-potential learning opportunities and outcomes

The Journal of Technology Transfer - Whilst doctoral students comprise a large group of researchers at a university and will potentially play important roles in the utilization and transfer of...     

Economic crisis and the crisis of national identity in Slovenia: toward a new notion of social order

This paper addresses the influence of the economic crisis on national identity in Slovenia. It first analyzes the creation of the contemporary national identity following independence in 1991 that was established in relation to a negatively perceived Balkan identity, which represented “the Other,” and in relation to a “superior” European identity that Slovenia aspired to. With the economic crisis, the dark corners of Slovenia’s “successful” post-socialist transition to democracy came to light. Massive layoffs of workers and the bankruptcies of once-solid companies engendered disdain for the political elites and sympathy for marginalized groups. The public blamed the elites for the country’s social and economic backsliding, and massive public protests arose in 2012. The aftermath of the protests was a growing need among the people for a new social paradigm toward solidarity. We show that in Slovenia the times of crisis were not times of growing nationalism and exclusion as social theory presupposes but, quite the contrary, they were times of growing solidarity among citizens and with the “Balkan Other.”     

Collective memory and reputational politics of national heroes and villains

The politics of memory plays an important role in the ways certain figures are evaluated and remembered, as they can be rehabilitated or vilified, or both, as these processes are contested. We explore these issues using a transition society, Georgia, as a case study. Who are the heroes and villains in Georgian collective memory? What factors influence who is seen as a hero or a villain and why? How do these selections correlate with Georgian national identity? We attempt to answer these research questions using a newly generated data set of contemporary Georgian perspectives on recent history. Our survey results show that according to a representative sample of the Georgian population, the main heroes from the beginning of the twentieth century include Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Ilia Chavchavadze, and Patriarch Ilia II. Eduard Shevardnadze, Sergo Ordzhonikidze, and Vladimir Putin represent the main villains, and those that appear on both lists are Mikheil Saakashvili and Joseph Stalin. We highlight two clusters of attitudes that are indicative of how people think about Georgian national identity, mirroring civic and ethnic conceptions of nationalism. How Georgians understand national identity impacts not only who they choose as heroes or villains, but also whether they provide an answer at all.     

Support for Democracy in Times of Crisis: Diffuse and Specific Regime Support in Portugal and Greece

In the context of a cross-national economic crisis, questions about democratic legitimacy are again topical. We explore the question of democratic legitimacy in Portugal and Greece by employing the conceptual differentiation between diffuse and specific regime support. Our findings indicate that while specific support has fallen in both countries, only Greece has experienced a precipitous fall in diffuse support, suggesting a link between regime performance and support for democracy. Individual-level analyses do not reveal any clear patterns concerning the impact of long-term societal factors or short-term economic considerations. Due to data quality limitations the paper has a predominately exploratory nature.     

Recycling and expansion: an analysis of the World Bank agenda (1989–2014)

This article analyses the agenda of the World Bank after the Washington Consensus, arguing that it became more encompassing, politicised and intrusive. This agenda expanded and recycled itself since, in addition to liberalisation, privatisation and macroeconomic adjustment, it also advocated the wide-ranging reconstruction of the economy, the relationship between society and nature, the state, civil society and visions of the world and social practices from a neoliberal perspective. It is argued that the fight against poverty was incorporated by the institution, which functioned as an auxiliary mechanism for this liberalisation. The importance of the incorporation of New Institutional Economics for this expansion and recycling is highlighted.