Determination of drug levels in larvae of Protophormia terraenovae and Calliphora vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) reared on rabbit carcasses containing morphine

Two species of blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) were reared on tissues from rabbits administered different dosages of morphine. These species, Protophormia terraenovae and Calliphora vicina are among the first wave of insects colonizing a dead body. Two series of 3 rabbits were given dosages of 10, 20, and 40 mg/h of morphine over a 3 h period via ear artery perfusion. A morphine blood level plateau was attained after 1 h of perfusion. Two other rabbits were used as controls. Samples of tissues collected from rabbits using a coelioscopic technique were determined to have morphine concentrations similar to those encountered in human overdoses and were correlated with dosages of morphine administered. All samples from control rabbits were negative for morphine. Larvae and puparia of both species were regularly collected from each rabbit for toxicological analysis. Concentrations of morphine in larvae reared on rabbit carcasses containing morphine were significantly lower than concentrations found in the tissues. There was a decrease in concentration in morphine observed in transition from feeding 3rd instar larva to puparium. A correlation between larval concentration and tissue concentration was found only in feeding 3rd instar larvae.     

TBOR2 compliance plans: from rebuttable presumption to enforcement

This Article analyzes the implications and strategies of incorporating the Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2 ("TBOR2") into tax-exempt healthcare organizations' compliance plans. Beginning with a brief overview of TBOR2, the author examines the presumption of fair market value, how such organizations establish safe harbors, the current Internal Revenue Service (IRS or Service) position regarding enforcement of TBOR2, and the lurking potential for "whistleblowers" to start auditory procedures with an eye toward IRS bounties. Mr. Griffith concludes that the best advice for exempt organizations is to follow the rebuttable presumption procedure for all transactions involving potential disqualified persons, including staff and employed physicians, and seek to fit within the safe harbors for the less routine and larger of those transactions.     

Convergence Criteria for Participation in the Flexible Mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol

We suggest a multi-layered system of three convergence criteria – similar to those used in the run-up to the European monetary union – that define the notion of "demonstrable progress" towards reaching the emission commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. These are the existence of an independently evaluated national emissions inventory, the level of domestic policies and measures, and the quantitative convergence of emissions towards the Kyoto target. While the first of these criteria constitutes a necessary condition for use of the Kyoto Mechanisms, the other two should determine the degree of participation allowed for any given Annex I country.     

The New Water Legislation of Zimbabwe and South Africa – Comparison of Legal and Institutional Reform

Recently, several new pieces of water legislation have been promulgated in both Zimbabwe and the Republic of South Africa. The new acts are an attempt to correct injustices of a colonial past and to trigger development towards effective, equitable and efficient integrated water resources management influenced by the policy decisions in Agenda 21 and the need to respect economic and social human rights. This article aims at identifying and describing factors of prime importance in the process of legal and institutional reform. Major factors are earmarked and derived from the proceedings in Zimbabwe and are compared with the situation in South Africa. Thorough analysis by the author of proceedings, preambles, memoranda, legislation and addenda has induced roughly 5 major reform issues: The call for equitable water distribution based on a widely consented water resources management strategy; The need for effective and efficient integrated water resources management conducive to stakeholder participation through decentralisation processes; The redressing of legal shortcomings in former water legislation with the emphasis on the introduction of integrated approaches; The introduction of instruments of cost recovery for water resources management; The need to develop human resources capacity and institutional strength within the implementing agencies.For both Southern African states, these issues appear to be of comparable importance as major triggers for legal and institutional reform, although not always in the same sense.The resulting most important legal and institutional changes are presented, discussed and compared. Finally, prospects for and constraints on implementation of the new water legislation in these countries are compared.     

Delusional misidentification and aggression in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease has been associated with serious behavioral disturbances including aggressive behaviors and agitation. Aggression in dementia of the Alzheimer's type may be associated with psychotic symptoms, particularly delusional misidentification phenomena. These phenomena are complex and varied in Alzheimer's disease and so far have been only rudimentarily described. In this paper, we explore the association of delusional misidentification and aggression in an individual suffering from Alzheimer's disease.     

Combined homicide-suicide in Galveston County

Combined homicide-suicides have been classified based on the psychopathology of the perpetrator and the nature of the relationship between perpetrator and victim(s). To further understand the nature of this tragic phenomenon and to test the validity and practicality of a previously suggested classification system, investigators systematically collected data on all combined homicide-suicide events that occurred in Galveston County, Texas over a continuous 18-year period (n = 20). The most common psychopathological finding for perpetrators was high serum alcohol levels that suggested intoxication. Most combined homicide-suicides fell into one of the relational categories and most of these, as predicted, were of the consortial type, possessive subtype. As expected, due to the small sample size, the less common types of combined homicide-suicide were not represented in this sample.     

Deposition of 7-aminoflunitrazepam and flunitrazepam in hair after a single dose of Rohypnol

In recent years, there has been a notable increase in the number of reports on drug-facilitated sexual assault. Benzodiazepines are the most common so-called "date-rape" drugs, with flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) being one of the most frequently mentioned. The aim of this study was to determine whether flunitrazepam and its major metabolite 7-aminoflunitrazepam could be detected in hair collected from ten healthy volunteers after receiving a single 2 mg dose of Rohypnol using solid phase extraction and NCI-GC-MS. Such data would be of great importance to law enforcement agencies trying to determine the best time interval for hair collection from a victim of drug-facilitated sexual assault in order to reveal drug use. Ten healthy volunteers (eight women and two men, 21 to 49 years old) participated in the study. The following hair samples were collected from each volunteer: one before flunitrazepam administration, and 1, 3, 5, 14, 21, and 28 days after. In five volunteers, 7-aminoflunitrazepam was detected 24 h after flunitrazepam administration and remained in hair throughout the entire 28-day study period (0.6-8.0 pg/mg). In two cases, 7-aminoflunitrazepam appeared in hair 21 days after drug intake (0.5-2.7 pg/mg), and in two subjects 14 days later (0.5-5.4 pg/mg). In one volunteer, 7-aminoflunitrazepam was detected on day 14 and 21 but concentrations were below the quantitation limit. Flunitrazepam was detected in some samples but all concentrations were below the quantitation limit (0.5-2.3 pg/mg).     

Processes involved in the development of latent fingerprints using the cyanoacrylate fuming method

Chemical processes involved in the development of latent fingerprints using the cyanoacrylate fuming method have been studied. Two major types of latent prints have been investigated-clean and oily prints. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been used as a tool for determining the morphology of the polymer developed separately on clean and oily prints after cyanoacrylate fuming. A correlation between the chemical composition of an aged latent fingerprint, prior to development, and the quality of a developed fingerprint has been observed in the morphology. The moisture in the print prior to fuming has been found to be more important than the moisture in the air during fuming for the development of a useful latent print. In addition, the amount of time required to develop a high quality latent print has been found to be within 2 min. The cyanoacrylate polymerization process is extremely rapid. When heat is used to accelerate the fuming process, typically a period of 2 min is required to develop the print. The optimum development time depends upon the concentration of cyanoacrylate vapors within the enclosure.     

Immunostaining by complement C9: a tool for early diagnosis of myocardial infarction and application in forensic medicine

Before the first 12 hours, diagnosis of early myocardial infarctions is always difficult for forensic pathologists. We tested complement C9 expression in 121 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded heart samples by an immunohistochemical procedure. The heart specimens were separated into four groups: 33 cases in group 1 with typical ischemic damages histologically located, 20 cases in group 2 with death related to myocardial infarction on the basis of ischemic presentation on electrocardiogram but no obvious histological ischemic damage, 35 cases in group 3 with severe coronary disease without cause of death found at the autopsy, and 33 cases in group 4 without sign of myocardial infarction and without coronary disease. In the first group, all 33 heart samples showed a well-defined C9 expression in the necrotic areas. The second group in 17 of 20 cases showed positive areas for C9 expression. In the other three heart specimens, only few stained cells were observed whereas the painful symptoms had begun less than 1 h before death. The third group showed C9 immunopositive areas in six of 35 cases, few stained cells in 8 cases, and no C9 deposition in the 21 other cases. The last group showed no staining area. To avoid nonspecific C9 staining due to tissue autolysis, we studied C9 expression during a controlled putrefactive process in four cases included in group 1; staining was found only in infarcted myocardial areas, and was observed up to ten days. Specificity of C9 expression was evaluated to be 100% [89.4 to 100%] and sensitivity to be 85% [62.11 to 96.79%]. In conclusion, evaluation of immunohistochemical expression of C9 appears to be a highly sensitive and specific marker of early myocardial infarction, useful in forensic medicine if survival is more than 1 h after the beginning of myocyte damage.