The determination of psilocin and psilocybin in hallucinogenic mushrooms by HPLC utilizing a dual reagent acidic potassium permanganate and tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) chemiluminescence detection system

This paper describes a procedure for the determination of psilocin and psilocybin in mushroom extracts using high-performance liquid chromatography with postcolumn chemiluminescence detection. A number of extraction methods for psilocin and psilocybin in hallucinogenic mushrooms were investigated, with a simple methanolic extraction being found to be most effective. Psilocin and psilocybin were extracted from a variety of hallucinogenic mushrooms using methanol. The analytes were separated on a C12 column using a (95:5% v/v) methanol:10 mM ammonium formate, pH 3.5 mobile phase with a run time of 5 min. Detection was realized through a dual reagent chemiluminescence detection system of acidic potassium permanganate and tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II). The chemiluminescence detection system gave improved detectability when compared with UV absorption at 269 nm, with detection limits of 1.2 x 10(-8) and 3.5 x 10(-9) mol/L being obtained for psilocin and psilocybin, respectively. The procedure was applied to the determination of psilocin and psilocybin in three Australian species of hallucinogenic mushroom.     

The retina in forensic medicine: applications of ophthalmic endoscopy: the first 100 cases

The retina reflects a variety of diseases in the living patient. However, the retina is not routinely examined in deceased persons, and therefore it is unknown if routine retinal examination would be a useful adjunct to the forensic autopsy. To examine this issue, the retinae of routine medical examiner cases were examined utilizing an ophthalmic endoscope. The results of the first 100 examinations are reported. Specific attention was given to changes that reflected the postmortem interval, the development of petechiae as related to cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the association of retinal hemorrhages to subconjunctival hemorrhages. The procedure was helpful in cases of suspected shaken baby syndrome, exsanguination, and carbon monoxide poisoning and in cases with sudden increased intracranial pressure (Terson syndrome). It appears that lividity patterns exist in the retina, and this may be potentially useful in determining body position after death. Some natural disease processes, such as hypertension, were also identified. Finally, the utility of the ophthalmic endoscope as a means of circumventing the problem of corneal clouding is discussed, and ideas for further research using this technology are presented.     

Eyewitness Identification Accuracy and Response Latency

Eyewitness identification research has reliably shown that accurate identifications are faster than inaccurate identifications. Recently, D. Dunning and S. Perretta (2002) claimed that an identification latency of 10-12 s not only best discriminates between accurate and inaccurate identifications but also produces extremely high accuracy rates, approaching 90%. Consistent with predictions from recognition memory theory, however, we show that the optimum time boundary varies with overall response latency under manipulations of retention interval and nominal lineup size, and that the accuracy rate inside the optimum time boundary is much less impressive than previously reported. We outline directions for clarifying the accuracy and latency relationship to assist the reliable diagnosis of identification accuracy.     

Fostering Juror Comfort: Effects of an Orientation Videotape

The purpose of the present study is to assess the impact of a juror orientation videotape on juror knowledge of the legal system and comfort levels regarding jury service. Juror knowledge and comfort were measured using the Juror Knowledge and Comfort Scale (JKCS). It was hypothesized that jurors exposed to the orientation videotape would be significantly more knowledgeable about the legal system and significantly more comfortable with their role as jurors. It was further hypothesized that there would be a significant correlation between the knowledge scale and comfort scale of the JKCS. Results indicate that jurors exposed to the orientation videotape scored significantly higher on both the knowledge scale and comfort scale than jurors not exposed to the orientation videotape. There is also a significant correlation between the juror knowledge and comfort components of the JKCS. The implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

A method for exposing the intraosseous portion of the carotid arteries and its application to forensic case work

A method that allows extraction of the intraosseous portion of the carotid arteries is presented, along with four cases to illustrate its application to forensic case work. The method described permits a cosmetically acceptable reconstruction.     

Integrating Management Systems and Occupational Health and Safety Regulation

'Best practice' in occupational health and safety (OHS) performance needs to recognize the declining emphasis that is being placed on the capacity of the regulatory state. This article argues that there are more appropriate forms of OHS regulation than direct command and control. The development of a systems-based approach acknowledges the importance of continuous improvement, benchmarking, and internal self-regulation. In order to encourage a systems-based approach, it is suggested that some form of persuasion by coercion by means of law remains a necessary condition for the establishment of an incentive-based 'voluntary' regime.     

Reviews

Harry Eckstein, Frederic J. Fleron, Erik P. Hoffmann & William M. Reisinger with Richard Ahl, Russell Bova & Philip G. Roeder, Can Democracy Take Root in Post‐Soviet Russia? Explorations in State‐Society Relations. Lanham: Rowan & Littlefield Publishers, 1998, xi + 418 pp., $64.00 h/b, $21.95 p/b.

Barnett R. Rubin & Jack Snyder (eds), Post‐Soviet Political Order. Conflict and State Building, London: Routledge, 1998, xi + 201 pp., £15.99.

Ben Fowkes (ed.), Russia and Chechnia: The Permanent Crisis. Essays on Russo‐Chechen Relations. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998, viii+ 188 pp., £42.50.

Anatol Lieven, Chechnya: Tombstone of Russian Power. London: Yale University Press, 1998, xii + 436 pp., £25.00.

Sebastian Smith, Allah's Mountains: Politics and War in the Russian Caucasus. London: I. B. Tauris, 1998, x + 288 pp., £19.95.

Taras Kuzio, Ukraine: Nation and State Building. London: Routledge, 1998, xiv + 298 pp., £50.00.

Lutz Hoffmann & Axel Siedenberg (eds), Aufbruch in die Marktwirtschaft. Reformen in der Ukraine von innen betrachtet. Frankfurt/New York: Campus Verlag, 1997, 296 pp.

OECD, OECD Economic Surveys. Russian Federation 1997. Paris: Centre for Co‐operation with the Economies in Transition and OECD, 1997, x + 275 pp.

Arista Maria Cirtautas, The Polish Solidarity Movement. Revolution, Democracy and Natural Rights. London: Routledge, 1997, xii + 324 pp., £50.00.

David Stark & Laszlo Bruszt, Postsocialist Pathways: Transforming Politics and Property in East Central Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, xi + 284 pp., £15.95.

Jon Elster, Claus Offe & Ulrich K. Preuss with Frank Boenker, Ulrike Goetting & Friedbert W. Rueb, Institutional Design in Post‐Communist Societies, Rebuilding the Ship at Sea. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, xii + 350 pp., £14.95.

Daniel Vaughan‐Whitehead (ed.), Paying the Price. The Wage Crisis in Central and Eastern Europe. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998, xxviii + 418 pp., £55.00.

David Clapham, József Hegedüs, Keith Kintrea & Iván Tosics with Helen Kay (eds), Housing Privatization in Eastern Europe. London: Greenwood Press, 1996, xiii + 205 pp., £42.50.

Fergus Carr (ed.), Europe: The Cold Divide. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998, xii + 208 pp., £42.50.

Ian Anthony (ed.), Russia and the Arms Trade. Oxford, Oxford University Press and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 1998, xiv + 304 pp., £35.00.

Hannes Adomeit, Imperial Overstretch: Germany in Soviet Policy from Stalin to Gorbachev. Baden‐Baden: Nomos, 609 pp., DM69.00.

Yongjin Zhang & Rouben Azizian (eds), Ethnic Challenges Beyond Borders: Chinese and Russian Perspectives of the Central Asian Conundrum. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998, xii + 240 pp., £42.50.

R. J. Crampton, Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century—and After. Second Edition. London: Routledge, 1997, xx + 526 pp., £50.00.

Richard & Ben Crampton, Atlas of Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century. London: Routledge, 1997, xv + 297 pp., £16.99.

Jeffrey L. Roberg, Soviet Science Under Control: The Struggle for Influence. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998, xii + 169 pp., £42.50.

Vincent Barnett, Kondratiev and the Dynamics of Economic Development. Long Cycles and Industrial Growth in Historical Context. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998, xiv + 251 pp., £50.00.

Ronald Kowalski, The Russian Revolution 1917–1921. London: Routledge, 1997, xv + 269 pp., £13.99.

Arto Luukkanen, The Religious Policy of the Stalinist State. A Case Study: The Central Standing Commission on Religious Questions, 1929–1938. Helsinki: SHS, 1997, 214 pp.

J. Otto Pohl, The Stalinist Penal System: A Statistical History of Soviet Repression and Terror, 1930–1953. London: Macfarland, 1997, ix + 165 pp. £31.50.

Judith Pallot, Transforming Peasants: Society, State and the Peasantry, 1861–1930. Selected Papers from the Fifth World Congress of Central and East European Studies, Warsaw, 1995. Basingstoke, Macmillan, 1998, xix + 264 pp., £45.00.

Amy C. Singleton, No Place Like Home. The Literary Artist and Russia's Search for Cultural Identity. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997, x + 193 pp, $17.95.

Stephen C. Hutchings. Russian Modernism: The Transfiguration of the Everyday. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, xiii + 295 pp., £40.00.