Forensic analysis of black coral (Order Antipatharia)

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), discriminate analysis, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), and stereoscopic microscopy were used to separate black coral forensic evidence items from similarly appearing items manufactured from plastics, bovid keratin, and mangrove wood. In addition, novel observations were made of bromine and iodine relationships in black coral that have not been previously reported.     

Assessing the Violent Offending and Violent Victimization Overlap Among Discharged Psychiatric Patients

Prior studies have documented linkages between mental disorder and both offending and victimization. However, few studies have examined the violent offending–violent victimization overlap among mentally disordered individuals and none have examined the factors that are jointly related to their covariation. Here, we assess this overlap during the first ten weeks following hospital discharge among a large sample of psychiatric patients from three large cities. Findings indicate that: (1) violent offending and violent victimization show substantial covariation; (2) although each of the two outcomes were predicted by a few unique risk factors, several risk factors were similarly predictive of both outcomes; and (3) even after adjusting for demographic, clinical, and social risk factors, the correlation between violent offending and violent victimization remained robust. Implications for theory, research, and policy are highlighted.     

Legal Statements and Normative Language

Can there be a non-reductivist, source-based explanation of the use of normative language in statements describing the law and legal situations? This problem was formulated by Joseph Raz, who also claimed to have solved it. According to his well-known doctrine of ‘detached’ statements, normative legal statements can be informatively made by speakers who merely adopt, without necessarily sharing, the point of view of someone who accepts that legal norms are justified and ought to be followed. In this paper I defend two theses. I argue, first, that the notion of a detached statement cannot be made to work, and that Raz’s problem is thus not thereby solved. But the problem itself, I also suggest, is a false one.     

Extraction of lambda-cyhalothrin from aqueous dioxan solutions

The results of extraction of lambda-cigalotrin from dioxan aqueous solutions by hydrophobic organic solvents are presented. It is shown that the degree of extraction depends on the nature of the extractant, the water to dioxan ratio, and saturation of the water-dioxan layer with the electrolyte. The highest efficiency of lambda-cigalotrin extraction was achieved using chlorophorm as a solvent under desalination conditions. The extraction factor was calculated necessary to obtain the desired amount of lambda-cigalotrin from the water-dioxan solution (4:1) with the help of the extractants being used.     

Reliable, sensitive, rapid and quantitative enzyme-based assay for gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB)

Several assays for gamma-hydroxybutyrate (4-hydroxybutyrate, GHB) have been developed based on the enzyme gamma-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (GHB-DH). Enzymatic oxidation of GHB by NAD+ is coupled to diaphorase-mediated reduction of pro-dye to yield colored product. GHB-DH from Ralstonia eutropha was cloned and expressed as a stable fusion protein easily purified by affinity chromatography. Quantitative initial velocity and endpoint versions of the assay in solution are described. Michaelis-Menten parameters for oxidation of GHB and ethanol were estimated. A semi-quantitative "dipstick" version of the assay on paper also is described. Both solution endpoint and "dipstick" assays are sensitive to about 0.05 mg GHB/mL using 10 microL of sample. Ethanol at concentrations possible in urine and agents used to stabilize physiological fluids for forensics analysis do not interfere significantly. The "dipstick" assay also allows detection of GHB in alcoholic beverages after evaporation of about one-fourth drop of beverage before testing. The enzymatic assay for GHB is reliable, sensitive, inexpensive and rapid.     

Identification of ascorbic acid and its degradation products in black powder substitutes

Low explosives such as smokeless powder, black powder, and black powder substitutes have been used in illicit pipe bombings throughout the United States. Some of the newer black powder substitutes are formulated with ascorbic acid, which gradually decomposes as the powder ages, making it difficult if not impossible for the forensic chemist to identify it by traditional bulk techniques. A sensitive method for the identification of residual levels of ascorbic acid in black powder substitutes is presented. Powder samples are extracted with a mixture of acetonitrile and bis(trimethylsilyl)acetamide (BSA), which converts carboxylic acid and alcohol functional groups to trimethylsilyl esters and ethers, respectively. Samples are then analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results have shown that trace amounts of ascorbic acid can be identified at detection limits that are well below those for traditional bulk techniques. Degradation products for ascorbic acid (hydroxylated carboxylic acids, furanones, and lactones) can also be detected.     

A laboratory incubation method for determining the rate of microbiological degradation of skeletal muscle tissue in soil

A controlled laboratory experiment is described, in principle and practice, which can be used for the of determination the rate of tissue decomposition in soil. By way of example, an experiment was conducted to determine the effect of temperature (12 degrees, 22 degrees C) on the aerobic decomposition of skeletal muscle tissue (Organic Texel x Suffolk lamb (Ovis aries)) in a sandy loam soil. Measurements of decomposition processes included muscle tissue mass loss, microbial CO2 respiration, and muscle tissue carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Muscle tissue mass loss at 22 degrees C always was greater than at 12 degrees C (p < 0.001). Microbial respiration was greater in samples incubated at 22 degrees C for the initial 21 days of burial (p < 0.01). All buried muscle tissue samples demonstrated changes in C and N content at the end of the experiment. A significant correlation (p < 0.001) was demonstrated between the loss of muscle tissue-derived C (Ct) and microbially-respired C (Cm) demonstrating CO2 respiration may be used to predict mass loss and hence biodegradation. In this experiment Q10 (12 degrees C-22 degrees C) = 2.0. This method is recommended as a useful tool in determing the effect of environmental variables on the rate of decomposition of various tissues and associated materials.