Aberrant radioimmunoassay results for cannabinoids in urine

False negative and false positive radioimmunoassay results for cannabinoids in urine are reported. Such results occur infrequently and appear to be due to non-specific binding of the radiolabel by interfering substances, possibly proteins, in the specimens. False negatives arise when these substances and the non-specifically bound radiolabel are precipitated by polyethylene glycol in the separation stage of the assay, increasing the radioactivity in the bound fraction and thus lowering the assay result. False positives occur when the interfering substances and non-specifically bound radiolabel remain in solution during the separation stage, increasing the radioactivity in the free fraction and giving an erroneously high result. False positives could also occur in assays involving solid-phase antibodies or second-antibody separations. Methanol treatment of the samples prior to analysis precipitates the interfering substances and eliminates the aberrant effect. The interfering substances have not been identified through common serum proteins and semen have been excluded. No common factor in the circumstances of the cases that can account for the results has been identified.     

Constitutional,legal and political problems of local government in Nigeria

The new Nigerian local government system was clearly intended by its creators to be a representative and democractic system of devolution. The speed with which elected councils have been dissolved and replaced by caretaker committees and state appointees contrasts strangely with the constitutional provision that there should be a system of local government by democratically elected local councils. The constitutionality of dissolution has been confused with the constitutionality of further local government reform. Dissolution should be seen as an emergency measure to be used rarely in cases of proven maladministration by a local government. Further reform and reorganization of a state's system of local government should be regarded as a legitimate power of the state legislature. The role given by the Constitution to local government should not be interpreted as entrenching the system. Constitutional amendment is not required should further reform be necessary.     

Drug use and pretrial misconduct in New York city

Is recent drug use significantly associated with pretrial misconduct? Does consideration of recent drug use enhance risk classification among a sample of persons who have time free pending the disposition of their cases? Using data on arrestees in Manhattan, this paper examines these issues and some related questions. To measure recent drug use, urine samples were collected from persons shortly after their arrest and tested for four drugs: heroin, cocaine, PCP, and methadone. Two measures of pretrial misconduct are considered: whether a defendant fails to appear for a scheduled court date (FTA) and whether a defendant is rearrested prior to case disposition. Censored probit models are used to estimate the statistical association between drug test results and pretrial misconduct. Results show that drug test results are significantly associated with pretrial misconduct over and above the information typically available to judges at the time release decisions are made. Some implications of these findings for pretrial decision making are discussed.     

Evaluation of a lactate dehydrogenase-nitro blue tetrazolium method of detecting unapparent myocardial infarction using a standardised sampling technique

Using a standardised block technique, the microscopic lactate dehydrogenase-nitro blue tetrazolium (LDH-nitro BT) and conventional haematoxylin and eosin staining methods were used to investigate the presence of myocardial infarction in a series of fifty forensic autopsies. The microscopic LDH-nitro BT method was found to be reliable; however, it did not reveal the presence of myocardial infarction in any of the cases where this had not been suspected.     

Conflict theory and racial profiling: An empirical analysis of police traffic stop data

Using data collected by the Richmond, Virginia Police Department, this article applies conflict theory to police traffic stop practices. In particular, it explores whether police traffic stop, search, and arrest practices differ according to racial or socioeconomic factors among neighborhoods. Three principal findings emanate from this research. First, the total number of stops by Richmond police was determined solely by the crime rate of the neighborhood. Second, the percentage of stops that resulted in a search was determined by the percentage of Black population. Third, when examining the percentage of stops that ended in an arrest/summons, the analyses suggest that both the percentage of Black population and the area crime rate served to decrease the percentage of police stops that ended in an arrest/summons. Implications for conflict theory and police decision-making are addressed.     

Bias in the formulation of local government budget problems

Government budgets are premised on forecasts of revenues and expenditures. These forecasts are subject to both stochastic error and strategic manipulation. Circumstantial evidence in the budgeting literature and in the popular media suggest that government officials routinely bias the forecasts underlying budgets. The research reported here asked three primary questions: To what extent are budget forecasts systematically biased? Why? (Are fiscal and electoral variables systematically related to the magnitude and direction of the biases?) What political and ethical difference do the biases make? From the literature and an analysis of the incentives facing politicians and bureaucrats, we developed hypotheses about budget biases. These hypotheses were tested using time series data for the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1941–1983); the City of San Diego, California (1950–1982); and the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) School District (1946–1983). In these locales over the periods examined, budgets were systematically pessimistic; revenues were underestimated and expenditures were overestimated. The fiscal and electoral factors hypothesized to account for this pessimism are, however, very mixed in their ability to explain the biases.