Determination of GHB in urine and serum by LC/MS using a simple one-step derivative

A sensitive and specific method for the determination of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in urine and serum is described. Prior to quantification by LC/MS in a Pauli-type ion trap, the molecule is converted by a fast and simple one-step procedure into its n-butyl ester derivative. Hexa-deutero GHB has been used as internal standard.     

Origin assignment of unidentified corpses by use of stable isotope ratios of light (bio-) and heavy (geo-) elements--a case report

An unknown male body was found near an expressway in Germany. As different criminalistic and forensic methods (e.g. tooth status, fingerprint or DNA-analysis) could not help to identify the person, multielement stable isotope investigations were applied. The combined analysis of stable isotope ratios of light (H, C, N) and heavy elements (Pb, Sr) on the man's body tissues supported to assign him to Romania. The case report demonstrates an application of multielement-isotope analysis in the forensic fields and its potential.     

The Silence of the Sirens

Risk is a projection of a specific temporality performed by the observer. However, this projection is doomed to impossibility because of the prohibiting problems of time, causality, subjectivity and relativity of risk. The observer is left only with a castrated projection that defies the role of science as a pedestal for the projection and institutes negation as its driving force. This projection is materialised within the Law in the form of the Precautionary Principle. Risk evokes undesired dualisms, especially the one between Idealism and Operationalism. The essay attempts to bring the two together by extrapolating the hard appearance of the legal system as seen through Luhmann’s autopoiesis and the need for critical openness of a contextualised environmental law. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Fisher Body revisited: Supply contracts and vertical integration

The vertical integration of Fisher Body by General Motors has been a leading example in both the transaction-cost theory and the property-rights theory of the firm. The present paper makes the following contributions. First, we show how a simple extension of the property-rights theory of the firm (which allows for contractible trade) is able to rationalize the observed ownership arrangements, supply contracts, and investment behavior both before and after integration. Second, the model lends support to Klein’s (2000) view that an increase in demand for closed automobile bodies was pivotal for vertical integration. JEL Classification L22 · L24 · L14 · K12     

Partisan Waves: International Business Cycles and Electoral Choice

Pundits have often claimed, but scholars have never found, that partisan swings in the vote abroad predict electoral fortunes at home. Employing semiannual Eurobarometer data on vote intention in eight European countries, this article provides statistical evidence of international comovement in partisan vote intention and its provenance in international business cycles. Electoral support for "luxury parties," those parties associated with higher spending and taxation, covaries across countries together with the business cycle. Both the domestic and international components of at least one economic aggregate—unemployment—prove a strong predictor of shifts in domestic vote intention. Globalization, by driving business cycle integration, is also synchronizing partisan cycles.     

The National Judiciary—Sword of European Court of Justice Rulings: The Example of the Kohll/Decker Jurisprudence

The role of the national judiciary in enforcing EC law, and particularly European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings, has been largely neglected by empirical legal and political science research. Existing research has categorised the role of the national judiciary as either shielding national legislation from the ECJ or as serving as a ‘sword’ to foster integration and to force change on reluctant governments. This article sides with the second assumption and attempts to empirically assess it using the example of the patient mobility jurisprudence by the ECJ, the so‐called Kohll/Decker jurisprudence. The three case studies on France, the UK and Germany show that national courts played an important role in overcoming the resistance against this jurisprudence: via a multiplication of national court cases that contradicted domestic legislation they forced the legislator to end judicial uncertainty.