Detection and confirmation of fentanyls in high clay-content soil by electron ionization gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Detection of illicit drugs in the environment, particularly in soils, often suggests the present or past location of a clandestine production center for these substances. Thus, development of efficient methods for the analysis and detection of these chemicals is of paramount importance in the field of chemical forensics. In this work, a method involving the extraction and retrospective confirmation of fentanyl, acetylfentanyl, thiofentanyl, and acetylthiofentanyl using trichloroethoxycarbonylation chemistry in a high clay-content soil is presented. The soil was spiked separately with each fentanyl at two concentrations (1 and 10 μg/g) and their extraction accomplished using ethyl acetate and aqueous NH₄OH (pH ~ 11.4) with extraction recoveries ranging from ~56% to 82% for the high-concentration (10 μg/g) samples while ranging from ~68% to 83% for the low-concentration (1 μg/g) samples. After their extraction, residues containing each fentanyl were reacted with 2,2,2-trichloroethoxycarbonyl chloride (Troc-Cl) to generate two unique and predictable products from each opioid that can be used to retrospectively confirm their presence and identity using EI-GC-MS. The method's limit of detection (MDL/LOD) for Troc-norfentanyl and Troc-noracetylfentanyl were estimated to be 29.4 and 31.8 ng/mL in the organic extracts. In addition, the method's limit of quantitation for Troc-norfentanyl and Troc-noracetylfentanyl were determined to be 88.2 and 95.5 ng/mL, respectively. Collectively, the results presented herein strengthen the use of chloroformate chemistry as an additional chemical tool to confirm the presence of these highly toxic and lethal substances in the environment.     

Brazilian Legal Culture: From the Tradition of Exception to the Promise of Emancipation

This article investigates the existence of an original Brazilian legal culture. It parts from a critical examination of the key moments in the history of Brazil through the accounts of its most important scholars, such as Caio Prado Júnior, Darcy Ribeiro, Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, Wilson Martins, Oliveira Viana, Roberto Damatta, José Murilo de Carvalho, among others. It identifies in the Brazilian legal culture something one might call tradition of exception, which can be found in many of its most prominent aspects, such as the persistent denial of any general or abstract regulatory standards, the uncritical introduction of foreign doctrines and legal patterns, the maintenance of aristocratic traditions in social life and the historical disregard of the Brazilian people as political subject. The article also offers a reflection on the problems and potentials of the current historic moment, in which for the first time Brazilians face the possibility of a genuine cultural emancipation.     

Homicidal Events Among Mexican American Street Gangs: A Situational Analysis

This article examines the complexity of street gang homicides and focuses on situational factors that lead to gang members' susceptibility to this violent behavior within the context of a disadvantaged minority community. This study is based on an analysis of 28 homicides involving Mexican American gang members. The absence of immigrant youth involvement in these types of violent crimes is discussed. Findings demonstrate how locally embedded social processes associated with specific gang types, ecology, drugs, circumstances, and motives unfold into homicidal events. These findings may contribute to the development of street-based social programs focused on gang mediation, dispute resolution, and crisis intervention.     

Does regulating remuneration affect the market value of European Union banks? Large versus small/medium sized banks

The aim of this paper was to analyze equity market reactions to the mandatory European Union regulation of remuneration policies in financial institutions. Using event study methodology, we investigated market reactions to the first European Directive on compensation policies after the financial crisis using a sample of 124 banks operating in the European Union. We divided the sample into two groups according to bank size considering four criteria: the US Dodd‐Frank Act 2010, the Liikanen Report 2012, Global Systemically Important Banks 2011, and the European Central Bank 2014. We found strong evidence of an average negative market reaction to compensation regulation. Moreover, this negative reaction is stronger for large banks than for small/medium sized banks.     

Banking Union's accountability system in practice: A health check-up to Europe's financial heart

The Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) form the Banking Union, which comprises EU authorities (ECB and SRB) and national authorities (NCAs and NRAs) with vast powers. Although crucial for its legitimacy, the Banking Union’s accountability is flawed, and not for the (stereo)typical reasons: accountability is a visible concept in SSM and SRM regulations, and political, administrative and judicial bodies are knowledgeable, engaged and thorough. Rather, this article posits that the SSM and SRM work very well because the legislature focused on practical details such as information flows, planning and continuity and coordination, while there has been no comparable effort to ensure the functioning of accountability tools. The result is a “system” characterised by limited access to crucial information, lack of continuity, and uncoordinated functioning. Changing this should not be hard but requires replacing blanket criticism and stereotypical views with greater attention to detail.     

Objective paper structure comparison: Assessing comparison algorithms

More than just being a substrate, paper can also provide evidence for the provenance of documents. An earlier paper described a method to compare paper structure, based on the Fourier power spectra of light transmission images. Good results were obtained by using the 2D correlation of images derived from the power spectra as a similarity score, but the method was very computationally intensive. Different comparison algorithms are evaluated in this paper, using information theoretical criteria. An angular invariant algorithm turned out to be as effective as the original one but 4 orders of magnitude faster, making the use of much larger databases possible.     

Southern Green Cultural Criminology and Environmental Crime Prevention: Representations of Nature Within Four Colombian Indigenous Communities

Critical Criminology - This exploratory study develops a “southern green cultural criminology” approach to the prevention of environmental harms and crimes. The main aim is to...     

Human Rights as Reputation Builder: Compliance with the Convention Against Torture

A strong record of human rights protections is an important factor for a state to maintain a positive international reputation. In this article, we suggest that states will use compliance with human rights treaties as a mechanism by which to improve their reputations to help achieve their foreign policy goals. We hypothesize that international human rights compliance is a means to improve a state’s reputation in three specific situations: when the state is facing regional pressures as the result of a desire to join a regional organization; when the state is facing regional pressures not to run afoul of a court within a regional organization; or when a state seeks foreign assistance from an entity with human rights requirements for the receipt of such assistance. We examine our theory by analyzing human rights reports regarding state compliance with specific treaty obligations outlined in the Convention Against Torture (CAT). While the evidence for our hypotheses is mixed, we do find some support for our assertion that state compliance is linked to reputational concerns. In particular, states comply with the CAT when they are part of a regional organization that has a human rights court, and when they are receiving conditional aid from the European Union.     

Private Property Concerning Digitized Cultural Goods: Artificial Scarcity and Appropriation through Reproduction

ABSTRACT

Intellectual property is a legal concept used to regulate cultural goods and artistic forms of expression. It constitutes a peculiar regulation, as it applies the categories of private property to intangible goods. With the spread of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), which has allowed for the reproduction and global diffusion of these cultural goods, conflicts concerning intellectual property have increased. This article attempts to analyze some difficulties in using a concept such as private property to approach the marketing of cultural goods, especially when technology eliminates the quality of scarcity of these goods, which can be infinitely reproduced at almost zero cost.