Quantitation using GC-TOF-MS: example of bromazepam

Time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) offers new perspectives for forensic toxicology. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of a mixture of three selected benzodiazepines (diazepam, nordazepam and bromazepam) were used to compare gas chromatography (GC-TOF-MS, quadrupole GC-MS, GC-ECD) and liquid chromatography (HPLC-DAD) data. Method validation parameters like LOD, LOQ, S/N-ratios reflect the capabilities of GC-TOF-MS. Five-point calibrations for bromazepam in human peripheral blood (50, 100, 160, 200, 300 ng/ml) using medazepam as internal standard (1000 ng/ml) were performed. The calibrations using GC-TOF-MS (using the fragments of m/z 236 and 288), GC-ECD (dual system) and HPLC-DAD (at 235 nm) all showed correlation coefficients close or superior to 0.99. Quadrupole GC-MS data was not used in the comparison of extracted samples due to the low sensitivity in the full scan mode. Two analyses of real cases concerning bromazepam are presented. In the first case, the presence or absence of bromazepam could not be established with both HPLC-DAD and GC-ECD due to background signals. The extracted ion chromatograms and spectrum traces after the analysis with the GC-TOF-MS could clearly excluded the presence of bromazepam. The second case illustrates the quantitation of bromazepam, where both HPLC-DAD and GC-ECD were unable to give satisfactory results, again due to interfering background signals. The analyses performed on the GC-TOF-MS-system demonstrated high sensitivity and also high selectivity due to the high quality of mass spectra obtained. The advantages of GC-TOF-MS make it a promising analytical technique for forensic toxicology.     

Psychosocial Resources in First-Year University Students: The Role of Identity Processes and Social Relationships

The investigation involved the assessment of a model predicting that family and university relationship environments are linked with identity processes and identity states (statuses) that predict psychosocial resources among first-year university students. A sample of 351 university students, between the ages of 18 and 21 years, completed measures of psychosocial maturity based on Erikson's notions of ego virtues, a measure of identity processing styles (diffuse-avoidant, normative, and information styles), identity statuses (diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, and achievement), measures of family climate (conflict, expression, cohesion), and assessments of university relationships with faculty, advisors, and students. Based on linear structural equations, the model, with some adjustments, had a good fit with the data and demonstrates the complex association between perceived family and school climate, identity formation, and the association with psychosocial resources. The investigation demonstrates how multivariate model testing can be completed to assess some of the complexity suggested by Erik Erikson regarding identity formation. Gerald R Adams is a Professor of Family Relations and Human Development at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. His major interests focus on family relations, identity development, education, and prevention. Michael Berzonsky is Professor of Psychology at State University of New York at Cortland, New York. His major interests are identity styles, social cognition, and adolescent development. Leo Keating is a data analyst at the University of Guelph.     

Pubertal Maturation and African American Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms

The association of pubertal maturation with internalizing and externalizing symptoms was examined with a sample of 867 African-American 10 – 12-year-old children. Children reported their pubertal development status and timing using a self-report questionnaire, and symptoms were assessed through diagnostic interviews with the children and their primary caregivers. Pubertal status and timing were significantly associated with children's reports of the internalizing symptoms of social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and major depression and with the externalizing symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder, attention deficit disorder, and conduct disorder. Pubertal development also was associated with caregivers’ reports of children's externalizing symptoms. The pubertal transition was associated with internalizing and externalizing symptoms in both boys and girls.Xiaojia Ge is Professor at the University of California, Davis. He received his PhD in sociology from the Iowa State University. He is interested in the influences of biological changes and social transitions on emotional and behavioral development in children and adolescents.Gene H. Brody is a Regents’ Professor at the University of Georgia. He received his PhD in developmental psychology from the University of Arizona. His major research interests are contextual influences on cognitive and psychosocial development, particularly those factors that protect at-risk children and adolescents from negative outcomes.Rand. D. Conger is Professor at the University of California, Davis. He received his PhD in sociology from the University of Washington in Seattle. He is interested in the influences of family economic stress on emotional and behavioral adjustment of family members. He is currently conducting a large-scale study on Mexican American families in California.Dr. Ronald L. Simons is Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Georgia. He received his PhD in sociology from Florida State University. Much of his research has focused upon the manner in which family and community processes combine to influence child development. He has also been concerned with the effect of discrimination and racial socialization upon child adjustment.     

The precarious state of international order: Assessment and policy implications

The international order is becoming increasingly precarious as a result of the pressures of globalisation and inadequate policy responses by many states, most importantly the United States, which still holds a pivotal role in building and sustaining international order. The present state of affairs in global governance is characterised by 1) an overwhelming concentration of power at the level of interstate relations but 2) a diffusion of power if we look at the totality of international relations, 3) the erosion of state authority and political legitimacy, 4) the growing importance of markets and of 5) fundamentalist ideologies, 6) the declining utility and the paradoxical impact of force on political order, and 7) by the still indispensable but increasingly fragile base of international order in functioning statehood at the national level. Overall, this situation reflects a mismatch between political demands on and the actual supply of international order whose present state leaves much to be desired. By way of conclusion, the article offers some policy recommendations about how to change the present precarious situation.     

China's Unbalanced Economic Growth

This paper summarizes empirical findings and results from the author's most recent research publication in Chinese: China's Unbalanced Economic Growth. It studies China's economic growth with a special emphasis on its regional disparities. It provides an analysis of China's overall economic landscape as well as an empirical study of China's unbalanced regional development. Based on its quantitative findings and results, the author predicts the emergence of ten Chinese metropolitan economies in the early twenty-first century and recommends a regional development strategy as well as implementation policies for China's future development. The major empirical findings, results and conclusions of this research are outlined in three sections: the first describes China's economic future—the emergence of ten regional metropolitan economies, the second reports the empirical findings of China's national and regional economic disparities and discusses policy implications, and the third investigates China's future economic growth and discusses its growth limitations.     

Rise of the Automobiles: the costs of increased NO2 pollution in China's changing urban environment

China's rapidly growing motor vehicle fleet is changing the makeup of its urban atmosphere. While the two major problem pollutants historically have been particulates and sulfur dioxide, the growth in the number of automobiles has generated substantially increased levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). This paper examines and values the mortality health effects (reduced premature deaths) from cleaning up these three pollutants. Findings indicate that valued gains from reduced air pollution mortality can average 3% of a city's GDP. Moreover, the growing auto fleet may generate a ten-fold increase in NO₂-based mortality costs and offset other, ongoing cleanup efforts in many Chinese cities. Specifically, the paper explores how the increasing number of automobiles might diminish or offset environmental cleanup activities focused upon particulate and sulfur dioxide pollution.