Detection of Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid in Various Drink Matrices via AccuTOF-DART*

Abstract: A new screening method for detecting gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in drink matrices, using the IonSense, Inc. (Saugus, MA) direct analysis in real time (DART) ion source coupled to a JEOL exact mass time-of-flight mass spectrometer (AccuTOF), was validated and compared with the current screening methodology. The DART ion source allows for analysis of samples under ambient conditions with little to no sample preparation. Fifty drink specimens were spiked at levels of 1, 2, 3, and 4 mg/mL GHB, and analyzed on the AccuTOF-DART. Positive detection of GHB occurred for each of the samples at each concentration level, giving 100% accuracy for the samples tested. Twenty-five of the 50 drink specimens were spiked at 1 mg/mL GHB and tested using a color test known as the GHB Color Test #3. Only two of these 25 specimens tested positive for the presence of GHB, giving only 8% accuracy. Implementation of this new methodology as a screening tool for GHB analysis will quickly eliminate negative specimens allowing the examiner to focus analysis time on those that screened positive.     

The legal aspects of corporate computer forensic investigations

The use of computer forensics was previously limited mainly to law enforcement agencies. However, UK organisations are increasingly undertaking computer forensics activities for incidents such as fraud, money laundering, accessing or distributing indecent images, harassment, industrial spying and identity theft amongst others. In this paper we examine the legal aspects of UK corporate computer forensic investigations.     

Block grants and state discretion: A study of the implementation of the partnership for health act in three states

This article examines the use of federal funds provided to state health departments under a grant consolidation of eight previously categorical health programs in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Alabama in a comparative context. The primary question addressed is why the three states chose to describe their allocations of funds within the total health department budget differently, and what political, administrative, and bureaucratic factors explained the differences. Although certain factors were found to be at work in all states (e.g. each had an incentive to concentrate the reported use of federal funds to simplify federal audits) these factors combined with circumstances unique to each state to produce different expenditure patterns. After examining the experience of three states, general hypotheses are developed. For example, it is hypothesized that more volatile changes in allocations will result from grant consolidations in policy areas which do not address basic service needs. Finally the decision-making process with respect to block grant funds is characterized as one in which a small group of professionals determined allocations autonomously with relatively little input from interest groups or other actors within state government; nevertheless, the external political and administrative environment severely limited the possibilities of realistic choice in each of the three states studied.I wish to thank the National Center for Health Services Research which supported this study under grant HS 01495. I am indebted to the state health department officials in Alabama, Michigan, and Pennsylvania who made this research possible. I would also like to thank Leonard Robins, Janet Shikles, William Schmalzreid, Bruce Vladeck, John Kingdon and Robert Baitty for comments on an earlier draft. Of course the views expressed are my own and in no way reflect the positions of the Department of Health and Human Services.     

地理的不确定性:关于俄罗斯、欧洲和亚洲的四个论题

针对俄罗斯归属于欧洲还是亚洲的问题,传统上公认的解说有:俄罗斯是一个欧洲国家;俄罗斯不同于亚洲;俄罗斯是一个欧亚国家。这些观点各有道理,但需细化。下面几个论题将有助于对俄罗斯属性的进一步认识:1)俄罗斯不仅是一个欧洲国家,而且是一个欧洲帝国。2)激进的欧亚主义者不反对俄罗斯的欧洲性,但反对认为俄罗斯是一个帝国。3)欧亚主义者宣称俄罗斯—欧亚不是亚洲的一个部分。欧亚主义者将欧亚理解为与欧洲或者亚洲完全不同的文明。4)欧亚主义者重新将俄罗斯—欧亚视为一个潜在的殖民地,而俄罗斯的使命是反殖民的领导者。