Rapid isolation with Sep-Pak C18 cartridges and capillary gas chromatography of triazine herbicides in human body fluids.

A simple and rapid method, for the isolation of eight triazine herbicides from human serum and urine, using Sep-Pak C18 cartridges is presented. After mixing with distilled water, serum and urine samples containing the herbicides, were loaded on Sep-Pak C18 cartridges and eluted with either chloroform only or chloroform/methanol (9:1). The herbicides were detected by capillary gas chromatography with both flame ionization detection (FID) and nitrogen-phosphorus detection (NPD). Separation of eight triazine herbicides from each other and from impurities was generally satisfactory with the use of a non-polar DB-1 capillary column. Recovery of most compounds was excellent for both chloroform and chloroform/methanol (9:1) as elution solvents. Backgrounds were cleaner and evaporation time was shorter for the chloroform only than for the chloroform/methanol (9:1). The NPD gave sensitivity more than 10-20 times higher than that of FID.     

The Rise and Fall of Christian Democracy in Europe

The role of Christian Democratic parties after World War II in helping to build stable parliamentary regimes in Western Europe deserves attention simply for their ability to survive. Such parties took root in Catholic countries and electorates and incorporated electoral organizations from the early twentieth century. After the war, Christian Democrats provided an alternative to the large Communist parties that were particularly strong in France and Italy. They also represented a link to the European past that was not implicated in the crimes of the Nazi era. Germany's Christian Democracy has proven the most successful of its kind. It moved beyond its original Catholic base to include a significant Protestant minority. And it has survived amidst the social and cultural changes and charges of corruption that have reduced their counterparts elsewhere to a secondary parliamentary force.