Elemental analysis of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA): A tool to determine the synthesis method and trace links

The elemental composition of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) powders and tablets was determined. The objective was the identification of the synthesis method and application of the elemental profile in comparative analysis. The developed analytical method comprised the digestion of a sample followed by quantitative analysis with inductive coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and inductive coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The sample collection consisted of a unique set of MDMA powders (57) from illicit production sites and MDMA tablets (97) taken from large seizures (over 500 tablets) in the Netherlands. The production method of MDMA could be determined for 89 of the 97 tablets. In 84 cases reductive amination using Pt as the catalyst was used, in four cases reductive amination using NaBH(4) or a similar reducing agent was employed and one mixed sample (Pt and B) was found. None of the MDMA tablets were assigned to the aluminium amalgam method. Using the elemental profile, 13 links were identified within the 97 MDMA tablets using cluster analysis based on Pearson correlations. Of these links 10 were corroborated by additional analyses.     

Allele frequencies data and statistic parameters for 13 STR loci in a population of the Brazilian Amazon Region

Allele frequencies for 13 short tandem repeat (D3S1358, vWA, D21S11, D18S51, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, TH01, TPOX, D16S539, CSF1PO, D8S1179 and FGA) loci were determined in a sample of 325 unrelated individuals from the population of the Amazon of Belém, Brazil. These loci are the most commonly used in forensic and paternity testing. The forensic parameters investigated presented high values. The power of discrimination and the probability of exclusion for these 13 STRs are 99.999999999992% and 99.9998%, respectively. In conclusion, these 13 markers are suitable for forensic analysis and paternity tests of the Amazonian population.     

National Human Rights Institutions in Europe

Since the 1990s, the number of national human rights institutions(NHRIs or ‘national institutions’) has been growingin Europe. The aim of these institutions is to help implementinternational human rights at the national level and narrowthe gap between government and civil society. After discussingthe history and role as well as the advantages of creating nationalinstitutions in European states, this article analyses the differentmodels of composition and the principal competences of NHRIsin light of the Paris Principles that provide guidelines forthese institutions. The NHRIs also create networks at nationaland regional levels. The article highlights how NHRIs in Europecan contribute to the implementation of human rights and whatstructure, functions and relationships they may adopt in orderto ensure their effectiveness.     

Dispositional empathy in neglectful mothers and mothers at high risk for child physical abuse

This study investigates whether mothers who are neglectful and at high risk for child physical abuse present a deficit in empathy. Participants were neglectful mothers (n=37), mothers at high risk for child physical abuse (n=22), and nonmaltreating mothers (n=37). The Interpersonal Reactivity Index, a self-report measure assessing specific dimensions of empathy, was used to assess dispositional empathy. No differences between neglectful and non-neglectful mothers were found for perspective taking, empathic concern, and personal distress. High-risk mothers reported less perspective taking and more personal distress than nonmaltreating mothers. No difference between groups was found for empathic concern. The present study supported the hypothesis that parents at high risk for child physical abuse show a deficit in particular aspects of dispositional empathy: personal distress and perspective taking. However, no differences were found between neglectful and nonmaltreating mothers in any dimension of dispositional empathy.     

Negotiated Case-ending Settlements: Ways of Speeding up the (Court) Process

The subject of this article is a special type of fast-tracked case-ending decisions called “negotiated case-ending settlements”. Those proceedings are based on a kind of agreement between the parties, end with a real conviction of the offender and their legal consequence is a true but mitigated punishment. They can be found in six of 11 countries studied, namely, in England & Wales, Croatia, France, Hungary, Poland and Spain. The English guilty plea procedures, the French appearance before a court after prior admission of guilt and the Polish prosecutor’s application for a conviction to be rendered without a trial as well as the voluntary submission to penalty are examined more closely here. The comparative study focuses on the stage, where the negotiation is made, the conditions for the use of these settlements and the PPS’s role therein.     

Age estimation by measurements of developing teeth: accuracy of Cameriere's method on a Brazilian sample

Developing teeth are commonly the criteria used for age estimation in children and young adults. The method developed by Cameriere et al. (Int J Legal Med 2006;120:49-52) is based on measures of teeth with open apex, and application of a formula, to estimate chronological age of children. The present study evaluated a sample of panoramic radiographs from Brazilian children from 5 to 15 years of age, to evaluate the accuracy of the method proposed by Cameriere et al. The results has proven the system reliable for age estimation, with a median residual error of -0.014 years between chronological and estimated ages (p = 0.603). There was a slight tendency to overestimate the ages of 5-10 years and underestimate the ages of 11-15 years.     

The use of seclusion in the Netherlands compared to countries in and outside Europe

The use of seclusion in psychiatric practice is a contentious issue in the Netherlands as well as other countries in and outside Europe. The aim of this study is to describe Dutch seclusion data and compare these with data on other countries, derived from the literature. An extensive search revealed only 11 articles containing seclusion rates of regions or whole countries either in Europe, Australia or the United States. Dutch seclusion rates were calculated from a governmental database and from a database covering twelve General Psychiatric Hospitals in the Netherlands. According to the hospitals database, on average one in four hospitalized patients experienced a seclusion episode. The mean duration according to the governmental database is a staggering 16 days. Both numbers seem much higher than comparable numbers in other countries. However, different definitions, inconsistent methods of registration, different methods of data collection and an inconsistent expression of the seclusion use in rates limit comparisons of the rates found in the reviewed studies with the data gathered in the current study. Suggestions are made to improve data collection, to enable better comparisons.