The Appearance,Taste, and Concentrations of Zolpidem Dissolved in Still Water and Carbonated Beverages

Zolpidem is a sedative that could be used to drug victims, but its suitability to dissolve in drinks is unknown. In this small study, we added either crushed or whole tablets of zolpidem hemitartrate to carbonated beverages or still water to observe how this affected the taste and appearance. Also, concentrations were measured by ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry at different time intervals. Two crushed tablets (20 mg) in cider (250 mL) lead to a maximum concentration of 84 mg/L zolpidem base after 30 min, while the corresponding concentration after adding fifteen tablets (150 mg) was 467 mg/L. There was little change in taste, but froth and turbidity were observed when adding high doses to carbonated beverages. Carbonated beverages spiked with 20 mg of crushed zolpidem hemitartrate tablets reached concentrations that could cause impairment. Spiking with 150 mg could possibly be lethal if several mouthfuls were ingested.     

An unusual case of double death

The report presents the case of an alleged double homicide or a homicide followed by suicide of a couple, in which the court-ordered autopsy of both victims revealed that the homicide had been committed by the husband immediately before he died himself from cardiac failure. The article gives a short summary of the pathophysiological relations between emotional tension (stress) and physical strain and the effects on the cardiovascular system. The case report describes a homicide by strangulation immediately followed by the perpetuator's death from a natural cause.     

The probability of casting a decisive vote: The effects of a caucus

We study the effects of caucus formation upon a voting process with the aid of a Pólya-Eggenberger probability model. The model contains a parameter interpretable as cohesiveness between voters in a voting body. We examine relationships among members' voting power, satisfaction, and group cohesiveness. We also explore the likelihood of a distortion of opinion resulting from the caucus.     

Public Deficiencies: Comments on the Theory of Nonmarket Failure*

A theory of public policy cannot be based solely on the theory of market failure. It also requires a theory of nonmarket (or government) failure, argues the American economist Charles Wolf, Jr. In an important article from 1979 Wolf presents the outlines of such a theory of nonmarket failure. The present article critically discusses Wolfs theory and tries to demonstrate that even his theory is not sufficiently adequate. One point made is that nonmarkets cannot be directly compared to markets since they do not represent one elemental decision process, as markets do. A nonmarket is a composite decision system. Another point that is advanced is that there are more decision systems than markets and nonmarkets, and that a complete theory of public policy must reflect this fact. Here two such additional systems are suggested: cultures and networks.     

The Health Services System: The Interaction of Medical, Socio-Cultural, Economic, and Political Logics*

Health sector research has increased in quantity over recent years: qualitatively, however, it has scarcely escaped from traditional disciplinary boundaries. Since the health sector has become a meeting ground for several disciplinary research traditions, it would seem necessary now to attempt to view the sector as an entirety. This paper suggests how the health services system may be viewed as a whole, and sketches a possible theoretical foundation for, and possible topics within, an integrated health sector framework.     

Politics, Economics and the Measurement of Power

To what extent is political power fundamentally different from or, alternatively, comparable to economic power? While it is true that the basic institutions of democratic political life - the electoral arena and the sovereign representative assembly - differ from such capitalist economic institutions as the market and the joint-stock company, the logic of the power game which takes place in both settings is quite similar. In both institutions power will be a function of the capacity to enter decisive coalitions with other players: individuals, political parties, stockholders or groups of stockholders. Power indices may therefore be employed in order to reveal aspects of the strategic gaming that takes place both in representative assemblies and at yearly stockholders' meetings. This article discusses and compares various quantitative measures of voting power in the two kinds of voting bodies.