生态现代化理论:回顾和展望

生态现代化已经成为环境治理研究的主流理论,横跨经济学、社会学和管理学等多个学科,受到越来越多的关注。生态现代化的核心目标就是实现经济发展与环境退化的脱钩,它的六大假设已经或正在不同地区、不同层次被检验。生态现代化最为基本的要求就是解放生态,包括两大机制:通过技术创新实现经济生态化、通过制度创新实现生态经济化。生态现代化与可持续发展的不同主要体现在对代际公平的偏好程度,以及在对未来发展的乐观或悲观态度上。生态现代化理论对于指导中国社会发展的转型具有重大意义,展望其研究命题主要包括:国家生态现代化战略、环境治理模式改革、提升企业国际竞争力等。     

Improving automatic face recognition with user interaction

Face recognition systems aim to recognize the identity of a person depicted in a photograph by comparing it against a gallery of prerecorded images. Current systems perform quite well in controlled scenarios, but they allow for none or little interaction in case of mistakes due to the low quality of images or to algorithmic limitations. Following the needs and suggestions of investigators, we present a guided user interface that allows to adjust from a fully automatic to a fully assisted modality of execution, according to the difficulty of the task and to amount of available information (gender, age, etc.): the user can generally rely on automatic execution and intervene only on a limited number of examples when a failure is automatically detected or when the quality of intermediate results is deemed unsatisfactory. The interface runs on top of a preexistent automatic face recognition algorithm in such a way to guarantee full control over the execution flow and to exploit the peculiarities of the underlying image processing techniques. The viability of the proposed solution is tested on a classic face identification task run on a standard publicly available database (the XM2VTS), assessing the improvement to user interaction over the automatic system performance.     

A survey of the potency of Japanese illicit cannabis in fiscal year 2010

In recent years, increased 'cannabis potency', or Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content in cannabis products, has been reported in many countries. A survey of Japanese illicit cannabis was conducted from April 2010 to March 2011. In Japan, all cannabis evidence is transferred to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare after criminal trials. The evidence was observed at Narcotics Control Department offices in major 11 cities. The total number of cannabis samples observed was 9072, of which 6376 were marijuana. The marijuana seizures were further classified, and it was found that in terms of the number of samples, 65.2% of them were seedless buds, and by weight 73.0% of them were seedless buds. Seedless buds were supposed to be 'sinsemilla', a potent class of marijuana. THC, cannabinol (CBN) and cannabidiol (CBD) in marijuana seizures exceeding 1g were quantified. The number of samples analyzed was 1115. Many of them were shown to contain CBN, an oxidative product from THC. This was a sign of long-term storage of the cannabis and of the degradation of THC. Relatively fresh cannabis, defined by a CBN/THC ratio of less than or equal to 0.1, was chosen for analysis. Fresh seedless buds (335 samples) contained an average of 11.2% and a maximum of 22.6% THC. These values are comparable to those of 'high potency cannabis' as defined in previous studies. Thus, this study shows that highly potent cannabis products are distributed in Japan as in other countries.     

Evaluation of four oral fluid devices (DDS®, Drugtest 5000®, Drugwipe 5+® and RapidSTAT®) for on-site monitoring drugged driving in comparison with UHPLC-MS/MS analysis

New Italian legislation on driving under the influence of drugs considers oral fluid (OF) as a possible alternative drug testing matrix. On this basis, the present research was carried out to evaluate the applicability of four commercial on-site OF drug screening devices, namely DDS(?), Drugtest 5000(?), Drugwipe 5+(?) and RapidSTAT(?), in a real operative context. Preliminarily trained police officers tested randomly stopped drivers with two different kits side-by-side during roadside patrols. A central laboratory confirmed on-site kits' results by UHPLC-MS/MS analysis of the saliva specimen remaining after the screening analysis. 1025 drivers were submitted to the OF tests: 11.6% were positive for cocaine and metabolites, 11.1% for THC, 6% for amphetamines and amphetamine-type designer drugs and 2.3% for ketamine. The sensitivities of the kits were 81% (RapidSTAT(?)), 82% (DDS(?)), 90% (Drugwipe 5+(?)) and 97% (Drugtest 5000(?)) for cocaine and 38% (DDS(?)), 47% (Drugwipe 5+(?)), 72% (RapidSTAT(?)) and 92% (Drugtest 5000(?)) for THC. Drugtest 5000 was the only kit showing an acceptable sensitivity for on-site application. Only Drugtest 5000(?) and RapidSTAT(?) could be evaluated for amphetamines and methamphetamines: Drugtest 5000(?) showed a sensitivity of 100% in the case of amphetamines and 86% for methamphetamines, while RapidSTAT(?) 90% and 76% respectively. Nowadays, ketamine is not included in the target analytes of any on-site devices, but it was systematically included in the UHPLC-MS/MS confirmatory analysis. To ensure adequate reliability, MS confirmation of on-site OF screening tests is anyway always necessary, due to the presence of a significant number of false positive results even when using the commercial kit with the best performance.     

Diacetylene copolymers for fingermark development

In 1979, Miller and Patel showed that a solution containing two diacetylene monomers, 2,4-hexadiyne-1,6-bis(phenylurethane) (HDDPU) and 2,4-hexadiyne-1,6-bis(p-chlorophenylurethane) (HDDCPU) could be used to develop latent fingermarks on a non-porous surface. In the current work, the same mixture (HDDPU:HDDCPU=10:1, in acetone solution) was used to develop fingermarks on a wide variety of surfaces, both non-porous and porous, including paper. An airbrush system was optimized for the application of the reagent solution. Once the solution evaporates on a surface, the monomers co-crystallize in different ways, depending upon a number of factors, including the surface residue. "Active" co-crystallization leads (with heat or radiation) to the formation of purple polymer, while "inactive" crystallization results in a non-polymerizable white deposit. Fingermark contrast was achieved as a result of active co-crystallization (giving purple polymer) in either the ridges or the furrows, depending upon the surface and other factors. A general observation (supported by spot tests with linseed oil, salt and amino acid solutions) was that on paper, oily materials are more likely to lead to the formation of the purple polymer, while the presence of water inhibits polymerization. However, these observations are not consistent across all other substrates. It is hypothesized that water disrupts hydrogen bonding between diacetylene molecules, and thus prevents the topochemical polymerization of the diacetylenes, which occurs in the solid state between favourably aligned monomers. An interesting observation was the development of fingermarks deposited on paper that had already been treated with the diacetylene reagent.     

Examining the effect of dl-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and methamphetamine on the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests

dl-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and methamphetamine are commonly used illicit drugs that are thought to impair driving ability. The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) are utilized widely to detect impairment associated with drugs other than alcohol in drivers, although limited evidence concerning MDMA and methamphetamine consumption on SFST performance exists. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the SFSTs were a sensitive measure for identifying the presence of the specific isomer d-methamphetamine and MDMA. In a double-blind, within-subject, counter-balanced and placebo-controlled study, 58 healthy and abstinent recreational drugs users were administered three treatments: 100mg of MDMA, 0.42 mg/kg d-methamphetamine, and placebo. For each condition the SFSTs were administered at 4 and 25 h post treatment. d-methamphetamine was not found to significantly impair SFST performance unlike MDMA, which significantly impaired SFST performance in comparison to placebo with 22% of the sample failing the test at the 4h testing time-point. No differences were observed at the 25 h testing time-point for any of the conditions. It was concluded that the SFSTs are not efficient in identifying the presence of low level d-methamphetamine, and are significantly better at detecting the presence of MDMA at the levels assessed.