Voltammetric determination of Δ9-THC in glassy carbon electrode: An important contribution to forensic electroanalysis

Teeth are recently drawing attention for their potential as biological modeling investigation samples due to their ability to be collected and their slow substance metabolism. There is no active metabolism of elements after the completion of dentin. Dentin is surrounded by enamel and cementum, and is not affected by the oral environment. Therefore, the amount of trace elements in dentin may change with age, and this is considered to be a reliable biological load index. The objectives in this study are to demonstrate concentrations of elements in the dentin of healthy Japanese subjects by sex and age, and to reveal the relationship between element levels and age. 121 healthy teeth samples were extracted due to periodontal disease or orthodontic treatment. Each tooth was sliced from the crown to the root apex into 0.5-1mm thickness, then enamel, cementum, and the pulp were removed; the dentins were used as samples. The concentration of 10 trace elements (B, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, Mo, Cd, and Pb) in the dentin was measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). The differences Co and Pb in the dentin between men and women were significant (p<0.01). Significant positive correlation was observed between B, Co, Cu, Zn, Sr and Pb concentrations in the dentin and age (p<0.001). The results of the present study suggest that human dentin is an appropriate substance for relativity with sex and age at further future research.     

Constitutional Pluralism and the Question of the European Common Good

Constitutional pluralism seems to be one of the most inspiring theories of European constitutionalism. It can account for the multilayered institutional framework of the Union. Therefore, it is a natural candidate for explaining how to track the European public interest. Pluralism may serve as the best methodology for keeping into account and for respecting the multiple perspectives on the common good represented by every institutional layer of the Union. After having examined the theories of two of the most influential authors of constitutional pluralism, Mattias Kumm and Miguel Maduro, this essay tries to show how pluralism might improve its highly potential explanatory and normative force, that is, by including in the institutional picture not only courts but also political institutions. In this way, the constitutional dialogue between the European and the national layers would be enriched, and every European and national voice might have a say in the interactions between institutions, securing a fairer way of tracking the European common good.     

Rehabilitating Social Conflicts in European Public Law

Subject to conditions that public law can secure, social conflicts can be normatively appealing for their dividend in terms of dynamism, identity and stability. While this notion was key to post‐World War II European public law, it no longer holds true now that social conflicts are increasingly marginalised by the expansion of supranational law and its consensus culture. However, far from disappearing social conflicts re‐emerge as challenges to the current institutional setting, even despite the policy of constitutional gesture undertaken by EU institutions. This paper tracks the role of social conflicts in European public law and argues that as long as EU politics fails to embrace a culture of social conflicts, challenges to the authority of EU law can be normatively justified.     

Item Similarity in Scale Analysis

A statistic—the similarity coefficient—is developedfor assessing the property that a set of scale items measuresone and only one construct. This statistic is rooted in an explicitmeasurement model and is flexible enough to be used in exploratoryscale analyses, even in small samples. Methods for analyzingsimilarity coefficients are described and illustrated in analysesof Stimson's (1991) policy mood data and Markus' (1990) popularindividualism items. The Appendix discusses the statisticalproperties of similarity coefficients.     

An overview of the judicial protection of patents in China

Legal context: The present paper introduces how the patent protection systemis organized in China and the competence of various administrativeand judicial instances is reviewed with case studies as illustrativeexamples. Key points: The article describes the patent grant (or refusal) procedureand the means available to an applicant to have a decision reviewed,as well as the prosecution of invalidity actions. Practical significance: Finally, the authors examine responses to patent counterfeitingthrough administrative proceedings along with their practicalimplications. This might possibly involve agreement betweenthe parties, and judicial actions, including both civil andcriminal proceedings.     

Employee Rights on Transfer of Undertakings: Italian Legislation and EC Law

Abstract:  The authors examine the conformity with Community law of the recent regulatory changes introduced to the Italian legal system regarding the safeguarding of employees' rights during transfers of undertakings. The investigation takes place on the assumption that the principle of primacy of Community law applies, which first and foremost means that it must be verified whether the domestic legislation in question complies with the interpretation given to the relative provisions of Community law. According to the authors' opinion, domestic law could be judged as non-conforming to the interpretation that has been given by the Court of Justice, so that the question may be brought before the Court of Justice ex Article 226 EC or by recourse to the preliminary ruling procedure under Article 234 EC, which reveal cases of incorrect implementation of the Directive.     

Preventing Suicide in Jails and Prisons: Suggestions from Experience with Psychiatric Inpatients

Abstract:  Both among psychiatric inpatients and inmates of prisons and jails, suicide is highly prevalent with alarming rates. In many countries, there has been a call for action to prevent such deaths and to educate staff in the early recognition of suicide risk. A careful MedLine search was used to identify relevant papers dealing with suicide prevention in psychiatric inpatients. This paper reviews this research and the policy recommendations that have been developed for psychiatric hospitals in order to reduce the incidence of suicide in their patients. Results derived from this search indicated that these policy recommendations can be applied to suicide prevention in correctional settings, and it is argued that suicide prevention programs in correctional settings can benefit from the research conducted and the policy recommendations for suicide prevention in psychiatric facilities. In conclusion, the best practices for preventing suicides in jail and prison settings should include the following elements: training programs, screening procedures, communication between staff, documentation, internal resources, and debriefing after a suicide.