Effects of Different Temperatures on the Development of Dermestes Frischii and Dermestes Undulatus (Coleoptera,Dermestidae): Comparison Between Species

Dermestidae could be useful in forensic investigations to assess the PMI as adults and larvae colonize dried remains. We reared two species of Dermestidae (Dermestes frischii and Dermestes undulatus) to understand the effects of different temperatures on the length of their whole life cycle and on their immature stages. Both species were reared at 23°C ± 0.5, RH 75% and at 26°C ± 0.5, 75% RH. Our result shows that the temperature is the main factor that influences the development of those species; in fact, increasing temperature leads to a shorter development cycle (59.8 ± 0.5 and 38.1 ± 0.2 for D. frischii; 50.6 ± 0.6 and 36.2 ± 0.2 for D. undulatus). Furthermore, we found that the number of the molts before the pupa decreases from 5–7 to 5–6 for D. frischii and from 4–6 to 4–5 for D. undulatus, respectively, at 23°C and 26°C.     

Economic crisis and lawmaking. The impact of crisis on legislative agenda in Italy

Major economic crises are focal events that often drive changes in various aspects of political systems. Although extensive work has been done to investigate the effect of exogenous shocks on political phenomena such as government termination, public opinion and policy outcomes, the impact of major crises on the process of policymaking has so far received scarce attention. Building on existing literature on policy agendas and legislative organization, this paper explores how the Eurozone crisis has affected the legislative agenda of the Italian parliament. The data used include information on the 1,110 bills submitted to parliament during Legislature XVI (2008–2013). Our analysis shows that, with the worsening of the crisis, bill proposals related to macroeconomic issues become increasingly more likely to enter the legislative agenda, displacing legislation dealing with other topics. Our argument is corroborated by a comparison between Legislature XVI and a pre-crisis legislature (2001–2006), as in the latter term the legislative agenda follows different patterns.     

Accidental death of disoriented persons in long term care facilities

Five cases of accidental death occurring in connection with physical restraints in long-term care facilities are reported. The position in which the deceased were found, autopsy findings, police investigations as well as the evaluation of each case under criminal law are described. The investigations by the prosecution as well as the attention of the public media have meanwhile contributed to an improvement of the technical standards and a reduction of the risk in applying such restraints under the Law on Medical Devices.     

Community engagement and public administration: Of silos,overlays and technologies of government

The public policy process in Australia is changing towards a more interactive, collaborative model, where governments seek to develop partnerships with civil society and private sector organisations to manage complex policy challenges. This article discusses research conducted into a project implemented by a Victorian government department that sought to involve stakeholders in addressing natural resource management issues in the agricultural sector. The research revealed that public administration practices associated with the new public management approach impeded the ability of the project to facilitate participation by diverse stakeholders in the decision‐making process. The article challenges the view that the discourse of collaboration and community engagement takes public administration down a constructivist path and suggests that agencies need to become reflexive about the way in which public administration practices are constitutive of the community engagement process if they are to facilitate genuine participation of other stakeholders.     

Serum norharman and harman analysis using high pressure liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and value of beta-carbolines as blood alcohol markers

Firstly, a method for LC-MS/MS-analysis of the beta-carbolines norharman and harman in serum was established and validated. Secondly, serum samples from persons during ethanol loading conditions were investigated (n = 26). Norharman was regularly found positive only in persons with BAC > 1.6@1000. In this subgroup harman was detected in 5 out of 9 cases. The finding of norharman concentrations > 50 pg/mL in the serum of 4 out of 5 control persons was of high interest. In addition serum samples of smokers (n = 9) were analyzed for the beta-carbolines. All samples from smokers were tested positive for norharman with concentrations > 50 pg/mL in 7 cases. These results were in accordance with recent reports in literature and underline that the beta-carbolines norharman and harman do not meet the criteria of alcohol state-markers and positive serum sample testing may result from endogenous as well as from exogenous sources.     

Partition coefficient, blood to plasma ratio, protein binding and short-term stability of 11-nor-Delta(9)-carboxy tetrahydrocannabinol glucuronide

11-Nor-Delta(9)-carboxy tetrahydrocannabinol glucuronide (THCCOOglu) is a major metabolite of tetrahydrocannabinol in blood. Despite its mass spectrometric identification already in 1980, further physicochemical data of THCCOOglu have not been established. Therefore, the octanol/buffer partition coefficient P and the blood to plasma ratio b/p for THCCOOglu concentrations of 100 and 500ng/ml were investigated. Protein binding of the glucuronide was established from spiked albumin solutions at a level of 250ng/ml as well as from authentic samples. The data were compared to those of 11-nor-Delta(9)-carboxy tetrahydrocannabinol (THCCOOH). In addition, the short-term stability of THCCOOglu in plasma at different storage temperatures was studied. Analysis was performed by LC/MS/MS. The glucuronide partition coefficient P (mean: 17.4 and 18.0 for 100 and 500ng/ml, respectively) was unexpectedly lipophilic at pH 7.4. Its blood to plasma ratios averaged 0.62 and 0.68 at 100 and 500ng/ml, respectively. THCCOOglu was highly reversibly bound to albumin (mean: 97%), and the mean fraction bound did not differ from that determined from authentic samples. THCCOOglu degraded even at a storage temperature of 4 degrees C and THCCOOH was identified as a major decomposition product.     

Road aggression among drinking drivers: Alcohol and non-alcohol effects on aggressive driving and road rage

This study specified aggressive driving (AD) and road rage (RR) and examined a number of alcohol and non-alcohol effects on and the reciprocity between the two behaviors in a drinking driving population. The sample contained 431 clients (79 percent men) who volunteered to complete a self-report survey from fifty alcoholism and substance abuse treatment facilities across New York State. All subjects were undergoing alcoholism treatment because of a drinking driving-related reason. Structural equation modeling with the LISREL program was employed to estimate the reciprocal effects between AD and RR. The results demonstrated that AD and RR were two separate behaviors that simultaneously influenced each other. Additionally, AD and RR, as problem behaviors, tended to be affected mostly by other problem behaviors, such as alcohol problems, impaired driving, and feelings of depression, rather than general situations or behaviors, such as the frequency of alcohol use, driving after drinking, and the experience of stressful life events. The findings convey a message to the criminal justice field as well as alcoholism and substance abuse treatment professionals that addressing the problem of road aggression requires special attention to persons with alcohol problems and especially those with multiple drinking driving offenses.     

Book Reviews

Guy Edwards and J. Timmons Roberts, A Fragmented Continent: Latin America and the Global Politics of Climate Change. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2015. Table, figure, notes, bibliography, index, 274 pp.; hardcover $55, paperback $30, ebook $21. Owen Logan, John‐Andrew McNeish, and Axel Borchgrevink, eds., Contested Powers: The Politics of Energy and Development in Latin America. London: Zed Books, 2015. Tables, figures, bibliographies, index, 366 pp.; hardcover $95, paperback $28.95, ebook. Barbara Fritz and Lena Lavinas, eds., A Moment of Equality for Latin America? Challenges for Redistribution. Burlington: Ashgate, 2015. Tables, figures, bibliography, index, 284 pp.: hardcover $95.96, ebook. Mala Htun, Inclusion Without Representation in Latin America: Gender Quotas and Ethnic Reservations. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Tables, figures, acronyms, appendixes, bibliography, index, 226 pp.; paperback $29.99. Koonings, Kees, and Dirk Kruijt, eds., Violence and Resilience in Latin American Cities. London: Zed Books, 2015. Figures, tables, 208 pp.; paperback $29.95, ebook. Miguel Carter, ed., Challenging Social Inequality: The Landless Rural Workers Movement and Agrarian Reform in Brazil. Durham: Duke University Press, 2015. Photographs, maps, tables, figures, abbreviations, bibliography, index, 544 pp.; hardcover $109.95, paperback $31.95. J. Patrice McSherry, Chilean New Song: The Political Power of Music, 1960s–1973. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 2015. Notes, index, 229 pp.; hardcover $97.50, paperback $44.95, ebook $44.95. Bruce M. Bagley and Jonathan D. Rosen, eds., Colombia's Political Economy at the Outset of the Twenty‐First Century: From Uribe to Santos and Beyond. New York: Lexington Books, 2015. Figures, tables, notes, bibliography, index, 354 pp.; hardcover $100, ebook $99.99. Amy Reynolds, Free Trade and Faithful Globalization: Saving the Market. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Tables, abbreviations, bibliography, index, 198 pp.; hardcover $93, ebook $72.     

A Novel Method for Removing a Spinal Cord with Attached Cervical Ganglia from a Pediatric Decedent

A diagnosis of child abuse is dependent on a comprehensive and accurate assessment of injury in the context of a thorough investigation. However, signatures of trauma are often subtle and interpretation can be very difficult. Recently, researchers have refocused their attention from the head to the neck in search of traumatic signatures of abusive head trauma. HCIFS has developed a technique to remove the cervical spinal cord with the ganglia attached that is less destructive and more time and cost efficient than alternative methods previously published. Once removed, the dorsal nerve roots and ganglia are evaluated for the presence of hemorrhage. The authors performed a small pilot study using the novel method to evaluate 20 decedents with a history of blunt force trauma and eight without a traumatic history. Fifteen of the traumatic deaths and two of the nontraumatic deaths were found to have dorsal nerve root and/or ganglia hemorrhage.