Profiling of volatile impurities in tetramethylenedisulfotetramine (TETS) for synthetic-route determination

In recent years, alcohol consumption has been considered an important public health problem. Ethanol, the alcohol used in beverages, is a drug that affects the central nervous system (CNS) and impairs driving skills and co-ordination, increasing risk of deaths and injuries derived from crashes and road accidents. Consumption of alcoholic beverages is implicated with premature deaths, injuries and damages caused by motor vehicle crashes, which result in high costs to government and society. Considering that alcohol consumption is the main responsible factor for deaths and disabilities in young people, the aim of this work was to evaluate the prevalence of blood alcohol in offenders and/or fatal and non-fatal victims of traffic occurrences in the region of Ribeir?o Preto, S?o Paulo State, from 2005 to 2007. The results revealed that in 2134 cases investigated, blood alcohol positivity was generally found in young adults, 25-45 years old and male. The study showed the high risk of drinking and driving and the importance in establishing actions of prevention and intervention to promote the reduction in the number of traffic occurrences related to consumption of alcoholic beverages.     

Analysis of active ricin and castor bean proteins in a ricin preparation, castor bean extract, and surface swabs from a public health investigation

In late February 2008, law enforcement officials in Las Vegas, Nevada, discovered in a hotel room, a copy of The Anarchist Cookbook, suspected castor beans and a "white powder" thought to be a preparation of ricin. Ricin is a deadly toxin from the seed of the castor bean plant (Ricinus communis). The United States regulates the possession, use, and transfer of ricin and it is the only substance considered a warfare agent in both the Chemical and the Biological Weapons Conventions. Six samples obtained from the hotel room were analyzed by laboratories at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention using a panel of biological and mass spectrometric assays. The biological assays (real time-PCR, time resolved fluorescence and cytotoxicity) provided presumptive evidence of active ricin in each of the samples. This initial screen was followed by an in-depth analysis using a novel, state-of-the-art mass spectrometry-based ricin functional assay and high sensitivity tandem mass spectrometry for protein identification. Mass spectrometric analysis positively identified ricin and confirmed that in each of the samples it was enzymatically active. The tandem mass spectrometry analysis used here is the most selective method available to detect ricin toxin. In each sample, ricin was unequivocally identified along with other R. communis plant proteins, including the highly homologous protein RCA120. Although database searches using tandem mass spectra acquired from the samples indicated that additional controlled substances were not present in these samples, the mass spectrometric results did provide extensive detail about the sample contents. To the best of our knowledge following a review of the available literature, this report describes the most detailed analysis of a white powder for a public health or forensic investigation involving ricin.     

Assessing the Latent Factor Association Between the Dysphoria Model of PTSD and Positive and Negative Affect in Trauma Victims from India

The recent release of the DSM-5 comes with the division of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms across four symptom clusters (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). This division is based on the support garnered by two four-factor models; Emotional Numbing (King et al., 1998) and Dysphoria (Simms et al., 2002) and a five-factor model; Dysphoric Arousal (Elhai et al., 2011). Much debate centered on the validity of the Dysphoria factor as a non-specific factor of PTSD within the Dysphoria model. In line with this, we assessed relations between the four factors of the Dysphoria model (Simms et al., 2002) and positive (PA) and negative affect (NA) in natural disaster victims (N?=?200) from Leh, India, using the PTSD checklist (PCL-S) and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS short form). Confirmatory factor analysis was implemented to assess the best-fitting model for both the PCL (PTSD) and the PANAS (affect). Two optimal models (the Dysphoria model and a two-factor model for affect) were subsequently used to assess latent variable associations across constructs. It was hypothesized that differential associations between latent factors would be evident with the Dysphoria factor being highly correlated with negative affect compared to alternative PTSD factors. Significant correlations were found between factors of the Dysphoria model and NA (0.52–0.65, p?<?0.001). Comparing the association of pairs of PTSD factors with NA and PA, Wald’s tests revealed that no single PTSD factor was more related to NA than the other. Avoidance and Hyperarousal factors were correlated with PA. Results are discussed in line with literature questioning Dysphoria factor’s unique association with general distress.     

Community violence to prison assault: A test of the behavioral continuity hypothesis

This large-scale study (N = 23,277) investigated the relationship between criminal history in the community and serious or assaultive prison misconduct, while controlling for the effects of inmate characteristics, general criminality, and custody level. Community violence variables included the rate of prior violent crime arrests and the types of prior violent crime, as well as a range of specific violent crimes of conviction. Behavioral continuity from community to prison was neither simple nor intuitively discernible, depending on the type, recency, and pattern of community criminality. Application of logistic regression models revealed that the omnibus measure of the rate of prior violent arrests was not related to either serious or assaultive prison misconduct. Prior arrests for assault and current convictions for robbery and/or assault, but not prior or current homicides, were associated with an increased risk for prison violence. Current conviction for a sexual assault had the strongest inverse relationship to prison violence, while prior arrests for sexual assault showed no relationship to prison violence. A more "nuanced" approach in assigning risk ratings based on prior criminal history and seriousness of offense is recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

A Tale of Two Fears: Exploring Media Depictions of Nuclear Power and Global Warming

Advanced technologies like nuclear power and looming environmental threats such as global climate change present major policy challenge for modern cultures. Public policy about such crucial and complex issues depends on public attitudes, which, in turn, tend to be strongly affected by mass media coverage. How “well” has the mass media portrayed these two evolving risk stories? Employing perspectives from both journalism and social science, this article will first review the history of mass media coverage of each topic, then analyze their differences.