Identification and synthesis of by-products found in 4-methylthioamphetamine (4-MTA) produced by the Leuckart method

The synthesis of the designer drug 4-methylthioamphetamine (4-MTA) has been carried out using the well-known Leuckart reaction in four versions. The treatment of 4-methylthiophenylacetone with formamide, mixture of formamide/formic acid, ammonium formate, and mixture of ammonium formate and formic acid followed by acid hydrolysis brought about the formation of 4-MTA contaminated with a number of impurities. The gas chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of the reaction mixtures allowed identification of the most prominent impurities, such as diasteromers of N,N-di-[β-(4-methylthiophenyl)isopropyl]amine, N,N-di-[β-(4-methylthiophenyl)isopropyl]methylamine, N,N-di-[β-(4-methylthiophenyl)isopropyl]formamide, the Schiff bases derived from 4-MTA and 4-methylbenzaldehyde (benzaldimine) and 4-methylthiophenylacetone (ketimine) as well as some heterocycles: 4-methyl-5-(4'-methylthiophenyl)pyrimidine, 4-(4'-methylthiobenzyl)pyrimidine, 2,6-dimethyl-3,5-di-(4'-methylthiophenyl)pyridine, 2,4-dimethyl-3,5-di-(4'-methylthiophenyl)pyridine. The correctness of identification was confirmed by independent synthesis of these compounds. Each synthesized reference compound was characterized by means of MS, (1)H and (13)C NMR, and IR methods. The stereochemistry of (RR/SS) diasteromer of N,N-di-[β-(4-methylthiophenyl)isopropyl]amine was confirmed by a crystallographic method.     

Multiple perpetrator sexual assault: how does it differ from assault by a single perpetrator?

Research that attempts to identify characteristic features of multiple perpetrator sexual assault (MPSA) is limited. This study compared demographic and assault related characteristics of 135 cases of MPSA with 139 cases of single perpetrator sexual assault (SPSA) reported to the Haven sexual assault referral centre, Camberwell, London, over a 4-year period, and aimed to identify any unique features of MPSA victims, perpetrators and assault type. Victims of MPSA were younger, less likely to be White, more likely to report previous self-harm and more likely to sustain injuries than victims of SPSA. Multiple perpetrators were younger, less likely to be White and more likely to be strangers to the victim than single perpetrators. The nature of the assault was different in single and multiple perpetrator cases; in MPSA, there were more completed rapes and more multiple rapes, and perpetrators were more likely to meet the victim in an outside location before carrying out the assault in a place of residence that was not the victim's. These findings add to a scant but growing evidence base.     

The Law Applicable to Divorce as Test Ground for Enhanced Cooperation

Enhanced cooperation was introduced in the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997). Despite a lot of academic ink being spilled, the instrument had, until recently, never been applied in practice. In June 2010, the Council reached consensus on authorising a group of Member States to pursue, in the framework of enhanced cooperation, common rules in the area of the law applicable to divorce. The present paper critically analyses this first precedent. For that purpose, the background to the policy area will be explored. Subsequently, the desirability of enhanced cooperation shall be assessed. Finally, the content of Rome III, and its effects upon Member States not participating in the initiative, will be analysed. The paper will attempt to formulate an answer to the question whether enhanced cooperation should be the new approach to harmonisation of family‐related Private International Law.     

A European Constitutional Patriotism? The Case Restated

Abstract:  Especially since the failure of the European Constitutional Treaty, the idea of a European constitutional patriotism has become subject to ever more intense criticism. This article argues that many of the criticisms of the idea of a European constitutional patriotism have been based on philosophical misunderstandings (both of the notion of constitutional patriotism as such, and of the role it could play in Europe) or rely on implausible empirical claims. Accordingly, the normative idea of constitutional patriotism is first clarified; second, the article discusses some of the most common normative and empirical traps when trying to 'transfer' constitutional patriotism from a domestic nation-state context to the supranational level, as well as the tendency to overburden constitutional patriotism with expectations of solidarity and deliberative democracy; third, an EU-specific post-sovereign, pluralist version of constitutional patriotism is defended against critics who see even such a vision as insufficiently sensitive to value pluralism and cultural diversity.     

Besprechungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Mechanismen der Europäisierung: nationale Regulierungsmuster und europäische Integration

Der Schwerpunkt bisheriger Europaforschung konzentriert sich auf die Frage, in welchem Ausmass nationale Bedingungen den Aufbau von Institutionen und die politische Entscheidungsfindung auf der europäischen Ebene beeinflussen. Die Auswirkungen der europäischen Integration auf die Politikgestaltung und institutionelle Strukturen in den Mitgliedstaaten sind hingegen nur wenig erforscht worden. Erst seit kurzem gibt es eine zunehmende Anzahl von Analysen, die sich explizit mit der Europäisierung von nationalen Institutionen beschäftigen. Von besonderem Interesse ist dabei die Frage, in welchem Ausmass die Implementation europäischer Policies mit Veränderungen in bestehenden Regulierungsmustern auf nationaler Ebene einhergeht. Der Beitrag identifiziert drei Mechanismen, um die Wirkungsweise europäischer Policies auf nationale Regulierungsmuster zu charakterisieren. Europäische Politik kann ein konkretes institutionelles Modell für die nationale Umsetzung vorschreiben; sie kann sich auf die Beeinflussung nationaler Opportunity Structures beschränken; oder sie kann primär über die Veränderung nationaler Ideen und Überzeugungen (Framing) wirken.     

The New UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity: A Counterbalance to the WTO?

On 20 October 2005, the 33rd UNESCO General Conference adoptedby a majority of 148 votes to two the Convention on the Protectionand Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (CCD).The major objectives of the CCD are the recognition of the dualnature of cultural expressions as objects of trade and artefactsof cultural value and the recognition of the sovereign rightof governments to formulate and implement cultural policiesand measures for the protection and promotion of cultural diversity.The ambitious role assigned to the CCD by its proponents isto fill an existing lacuna for cultural objectives in publicinternational law and to serve as a cultural counterbalanceto the World Trade Organization (WTO) in future conflicts betweentrade and culture. Opponents, however, have criticized the CCDas an instrument of disguised protectionism and claimed thatit violates freedom of expression and information. This articleendeavours to explain how cultural diversity has become an issueof international law and provides a critical assessment of thestrengths and weaknesses of the CCD. It explores in particularthe possible linkages between the CCD and the WTO.     

Cerebral hypoxia and ischemia: the forensic point of view: a review

In cases with suspected brain anoxia/ischemia and hypoxia/hypoxemia a neuropathological investigation should give additional information to elucidate the cause of death and its pathophysiological mechanisms. Primary ischemic brain damage is associated with morphological and biochemical alterations. While acute ischemic neuronal injury reveals axon sparing and selective neuronal lesions due to the release of large quantities of glutamate, late neuronal death is associated with antiapoptotic growth factors, and decreased expression of microtubule-associated proteins and tubulin. On the morphological level ischemia can be detected by necrosis of neurons, proliferation of microglia, and astrocytes in vulnerable regions of the brain. In cases of permanent ischemia the so-called pale nervous cell injury is observed, in cases of partial perfusion the so-called dark nerve cell injury and apoptosis are detectable. In spite of the considerable advantages of recent research, presently there is no reliable qualitative marker to ascertain death due to acute hypoxic or ischemic events.