Determination of ethyl glucuronide in human hair by SPE and LC-MS/MS

A method for the sensitive and selective determination of ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in hair has been developed using solid-phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Washed and cut hair segments were extracted by ultrasonication (3h, 50 degrees C) and the extracts were cleaned-up with aminopropyl SPE columns. LC-MS/MS analysis was performed using a polar-endcapped phenyl-hexyl-RP-phase with negative mode electrospray ionisation (ESI) using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (Sciex API 365) with a turboionspray source and post-column addition of acetonitrile for enhanced sensitivity. The MS/MS transitions monitored were m/z 221 -->75 for EtG and 226 -->75 for D(5)-EtG as an internal standard. The method was selective and sensitive, with a detection limit of 51 pg/mg hair at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1. The mean recovery was 96%, with an intra- and inter-day precision of less than 11.7% at a concentration of 200 pg/mg. The linearity was assessed in the range of 25-2000 pg/mg hair, with a correlation coefficient of 0.997. The method was successfully applied to 97 human hair samples which were taken at autopsies from persons with known alcoholism or were obtained from alcoholics who were hospitalized for ethanol withdrawal, from social drinkers and from children having not consumed any alcohol. Although, approximately two-third of the alcoholics showed EtG concentrations in hair of higher than 51 pg/mg (up to >4000 pg/mg), in one-third the EtG concentration was below the detection limit. However, only in one of five hair samples of "social drinkers", the EtG concentration was above the detection limit (51 pg/mg). No EtG has been detected in the hair of children. These investigations demonstrate that heavy alcohol consumption may be but not necessarily has to be detectable by EtG analysis in hair.     

Neuere Rechtsprechung zum Schächten aufgrund § 4a TierSchG

Das betäubungslose Schlachten warmblütiger Tiere durch Blutentzug, das sog. Schächten, sorgt seit den Entscheidungen des Bundesverfassungsgerichts im Jahr 2002 für erhebliches Aufsehen. Im Widerstreit zwischen Religionsfreiheit und Tierschutz hatte das Gericht der bis dahin eher restriktiven Genehmigungspraxis aufgrund von § 4a TierSchG eine Absage erteilt. Daraufhin gab der Gesetzgeber dem Tierschutz in Art. 20a GG n.F. Verfassungsrang. Seither müssen die unteren Verwaltungsbehörden besonders schwierige Einzelfallentscheidungen unter Berücksichtigung der verfassungsrechtlichen Wertentscheidungen treffen. Der folgende Beitrag erläutert die aufgetretenen Probleme und die Lösungsansätze der neueren Rechtsprechung. 1) Der Beitrag gibt die private Meinung des Verfassers wieder.     

Criminalizing Consequences of Sanctions: Embargo Busting and Its Legacy

The upsurge in the use of economic sanctions in the post-Cold War era has prompted much scholarly and policy debate over their effectiveness and humanitarian consequences. Remarkably little attention, however, has been devoted to their criminalizing consequences and legacy for the post-sanctions period. In this article, I develop an analytical framework identifying and categorizing the potential criminalizing effects of sanctions across place (within and around the targeted country) and time (during and after the sanctions period), and apply and evaluate this framework through an in-depth examination of the case of Yugoslavia. For comparative leverage and to assess the applicability of the argument beyond the Yugoslavia case, the analysis is briefly extended to other cases both within and outside the Balkans (Croatia and Iraq). The article suggests that sanctions can unintentionally contribute to the criminalization of the state, economy, and civil society of both the targeted country and its immediate neighbors, fostering a symbiosis between political leaders, organized crime, and transnational smuggling networks. This symbiosis, in turn, can persist beyond the lifting of sanctions, contributing to corruption and crime and undermining the rule of law. The article is one of the first efforts to integrate the study of sanctions and transnational crime, and suggests that the criminalized collateral damage from sanctions and its post-sanctions legacy should be made a more central part of the evaluation of sanctions.     

The case of a corpse found in a fox's den--forensic and criminological aspects

Whenever foul play is suspected in a death, the forensic pathologist is required to examine the corpse where it is found. In the case described here, the unusual location of the corpse initially led investigators to suspect a crime was involved. A thorough examination of the site and the autopsy results ultimately pointed to a not-violent manner of death, although the advanced state of decomposition made it impossible to determine the exact cause of death. The fact that the victim crawled into a fox's den to die can be interpreted as a primitive reaction in a case of death due to hypothermia. Criminological aspects of the case are also discussed.     

The influence of brain abnormalities on psychosocial development, criminal history and paraphilias in sexual murderers

The aim of this study was to investigate the number and type of brain abnormalities and their influence on psychosocial development, criminal history and paraphilias in sexual murderers. We analyzed psychiatric court reports of 166 sexual murderers and compared a group with notable signs of brain abnormalities (N = 50) with those without any signs (N = 116). Sexual murderers with brain abnormalities suffered more from early behavior problems. They were less likely to cohabitate with the victim at the time of the homicide and had more victims at the age of six years or younger. Psychiatric diagnoses revealed a higher total number of paraphilias: Transvestic fetishism and paraphilias not otherwise specified were more frequent in offenders with brain abnormalities. A binary logistic regression identified five predictors that accounted for 46.8% of the variance explaining the presence of brain abnormalities. Our results suggest the importance of a comprehensive neurological and psychological examination of this special offender group.     

Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff’s “Fürsten Stat” and the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha

This paper deals with the formation of the territorial state in Gotha during the time in which Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff was involved, starting in 1640, and with the relations between the theoretical explanations of the state in Seckendorff’s book “Teutscher Fürsten Stat,” first published in 1656, and his political environment in Gotha. It shows that Seckendorff’s maxims often corresponded to real politics there. But at the same time, there were grave differences in such fundamental issues as the personal regimen of the prince and the organization of the administration or the financing of the court.     

The ‘New Right' Vote: An Analysis of the Gender Gap in the Vote Choice for the SVP

Studying the Swiss national elections 2003, we find a pronounced gender gap in the SVP vote ‐ women are significantly less likely to vote for this party than are men. In order to explain this gender gap, this article combines two innovative approaches. On the one hand, it links the literature on gender gaps with research on the New Right. On the other, it makes a distinction between the conditional and compositional effects of explanatory factors. Our analysis reveals that conditional effects are of greater relevance than compositional ones. Explanatory factors regularly applied in research on the New Right have a conditional effect inasmuch as they only have an effect on male voters, but cannot explain the behaviour of women. This, in turn, also highlights the importance of a gender‐specific focus for further research.     

Authoritarianism or democracy? Marketization as a political problem

As the enormous scope of the reform task in Eastern Europe is becoming paintfully clear, there are growing doubts that the new democratic regimes will be capable of making the transition to the market successfully. A variety of plausible arguments suggest that pursuing the right economic reform policies may require the strong hand of authoritarian rule. This view derives from a faulty conception of the problem according to which economic transformation is a technical problem, to be solved by a set of well-established technocratic policies. This article identifies the weaknesses of this narrow conception, proposes an alternative view, and reassesses the potential contributions of democratic institutions and practices to economic transformation.The more dissension, the more contention and less consensus, the less you get on with the job. In the early stages you need to achieve clear-cut goals like universal education, high savings, high productivity, low consumption. Those are simple truths that everybody has to accept, in order to accumulate the surplus to build up the infrastructure. You need the capital to get going. And you can't have contention over these simple truths indefinitely.Lee Kuan Yew