Degradation in soil of precursors and by-products associated with the illicit manufacture of methylamphetamine: implications for clandestine drug laboratory investigation

Key precursors and by-products in the Leuckardt, Nagai and dissolving metal reductive syntheses of methylamphetamine undergo degradation in soil as a result of biotic and abiotic processes. Furthermore, methylamphetamine is a product of the degradation of 1-(1',4'-cyclohexadienyl)-2-methylaminopropane and N-formylmethylamphetamine. These findings have implications for the forensic assessment of buried residues recovered from clandestine laboratory sites because markers used to infer the synthetic methods used might be absent as a result of degradation and because methylamphetamine might be present in residues as a result of degradation rather than as a direct result of its manufacture in the laboratory.     

The impact of juveniles' ages and levels of psychosocial maturity on judges' opinions about adjudicative competence

This study investigated whether defendants' ages and levels of psychosocial maturity would affect judges' ratings of juveniles' adjudicative competence in juvenile and criminal court. Three hundred forty two judges reviewed a forensic psychological report about a hypothetical defendant; only the defendant's age (12-17) and maturity level (mature, immature) varied across reports. Results revealed a main effect of age, with older juveniles generally deemed more competent, and a main effect of maturity, with mature juveniles generally deemed more competent. No interaction was found. Results suggest that age and maturity play major roles in judicial determinations of juvenile competency.     

Introduction

Journal of Indian Philosophy -     

Estimating Sex Using Metric Analysis of the Scapula by Postmortem Computed Tomography

Postmortem computed tomography (CT) has been extensively used in the last decade for identification purposes and in various anthropologic studies. Postmortem CT measurements of scapulae, analyzed using logistic discriminant function developed in this study, showed 94.5% accuracy in estimating sex. Data analyzed using the Dabbs and Moore‐Jansen (2010) discriminant function and the discriminant function generated in this study provided nearly identical results with disagreement in only one case. Height and weight were not statically significant in sex prediction. The results of this study show that data obtained from volume rendered postmortem CT images can be considered reliable and treated as a practical option to standard anthropological methods, especially in mass fatalities as a rapid triage tool for sex determination.     

Evaluating suspected co-proxamol overdose.

In three instances of suicidal poisoning by co-proxamol (paracetamol and dextropropoxyphene) blood samples were obtained from 11 sites together with eight tissue samples, bile, urine, gastric contents and duodenal contents. Site-dependent differences in blood propoxyphene concentration varied between the three cases but concentrations were consistently lowest in peripheral blood and highest in central sites: 3.9-5.5 (pulmonary vein) mg/l; 4.6-25 (pulmonary vein) mg/l; 3.2-40 (aorta) mg/l. There was a less than twofold variation in corresponding blood paracetamol concentrations. Reference data on fatal propoxyphene blood concentrations do not specify the blood sampling site and can be misleading. The intra-individual variability of propoxyphene concentrations in blood in these three cases underscores this problem. Tissue concentrations of propoxyphene showed considerable inter-individual variability in degree and pattern. Tissue concentrations of paracetamol showed a less than twofold intra-individual variation. Body drug loads were calculated by two methods: from organ weights and tissue concentrations; from published volume of distribution data (Vd). For paracetamol the body drug load is underestimated by the organ weight calculation but the Vd calculation approximates the suspected dose based on anamnestic information. For propoxyphene the body drug load is seriously underestimated by the organ weight calculation and overestimated up to 2.5 times by the Vd calculation. Since the two drugs have a fixed ratio in co-proxamol then the dose of propoxyphene (the effective lethal agent) can be inferred from the paracetamol dose calculated by Vd. This approach may be applicable to cases of overdose with other compounded drug preparations.     

Recovery of genomic DNA from archived PCR product mixes for subsequent multiplex amplification and typing of additional loci: forensic significance for older unsolved criminal cases

A method for genomic DNA recovery from different types of PCR product mixes suitable for multiplex amplification and typing using the Profiler Plus STR typing system has been investigated. The application of this method is of significance in cases where the original DNA samples have been exhausted due to repeated typing analyses in an effort to maximize their evidentiary value. Such cases typically involve samples analyzed using the available DNA typing systems of the time which gave a markedly lower power of discrimination, either alone or in combination, compared to that of modern multiplex STR typing systems. It was found that an effective method for recovering genomic DNA from HLA-DQA1 +PM and CTT triplex amplification mixes, suitable for reproducible achievement of the complete Profiler Plus profile, involved the use of Amicon Microcon-100 microconcentrators. Interestingly, this method was not required to achieve the complete nine STR profile using D1S80 amplification mixes.     

From Safety Net To Trampoline: Labor Market Activation in the Netherlands and Denmark

In recent years Denmark and the Netherlands have made dramatic shifts from passive to active labor market policies. Though often portrayed as a necessary response to high levels of structural unemployment, such changes are more than a mere technical adjustment of welfare programs to a changing economic climate. They represent new ideas about the goals of public policy and the social rights of citizenship. This article surveys the politics of labor market policies in the two countries to demonstrate that the recent activation programs reflect a departure from the ideas and goals of the postwar welfare state.     

FINANCING THE WAR ON DRUGS: THE IMPACT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT GRANTS ON RACIAL DISPARITIES IN DRUG ARRESTS

This study estimates the impact of the discretionary Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program (EBMGP) on drug arrests and crime. The 1986 and 1988 Anti‐Drug Abuse Act allocated federal funds to state and local municipalities to combat illicit drug use and violent crime associated with drug sales and trafficking. The results show that the implementation of the EBMGP resulted in an increase in police hiring, an increase in drug sales arrest rates for Blacks and Whites, and a decrease in total crime. Nonetheless, Black‐White racial disparity in the drug sales arrest rate still significantly increases by approximately 1 for every 1,000 Black residents. Our findings highlight the role of federal crime control policies in state and local policing. Although, the EBMGP was a color‐blind policy initiative, it was not race neutral in its implementation.     

John and Jane Doe: the epidemiology of unidentified decedents

Abstract:  The number of people who cannot be identified at the time of death, sometimes referred to as John or Jane Does, is unknown, and little is known about them as a group. The study's objectives were to estimate the number of annual unidentified deaths, to identify demographic characteristics associated with dying unidentified, to determine whether the rates of such deaths vary geographically or over time, and to better characterize the causes of death. This was a population-based surveillance study of data collected from death certificates from 1979 to 2004 in the U.S. Subjects were selected by the absence of name, date of birth, and Social Security Number on their certificates. Main outcome measures were distributions by age, sex, and underlying cause of death and rates by sex, race, year, and state of death. An average of 413 unidentified persons died each year. The peak year was 1987 with 691 deaths, a rate of 28.5 per 10 million people. The rate declined to 9.7 per 10 million in 2004. Most unidentified decedents were male (80.6%). Unidentified death rates were highest among black people and in the Southwest. Among deaths for which the cause was known, 82.7% were due to injuries. Among injury deaths, 31.8% were homicides. Improvement in identification technology may have reduced rates of unidentified death since the 1980s. In addition, variations in rates of unidentified decedents may reflect changes in risk factors such as homelessness and substance abuse.