Federal Goverment Credit Program: Privatization Through Loan Sales

Privatization by sale of governmental financial assets provides a means to achieve program goals but does not preclude continued policy involvement. By loan guarantees the government has already privatized some aspects of its credit programs. Issues raised by loan sales differ from those concerning capital assets.     

One hundred seventy two deaths involving the use of oxycodone in Palm Beach County

Oxycodone is a potent semi-synthetic narcotic prescribed for the management of pain. Previous investigators have reported that the abuse of oxycodone is most frequently seen in conjunction with the abuse of other drugs, although fatalities have been reported with oxycodone alone. We undertook a retrospective review of cases investigated by the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office in which postmortem toxicologic studies indicated the presence of oxycodone. A total of 172 consecutive cases were studied, including 18 in which death was attributed to oxycodone toxicity, 117 to combined drug toxicity, 23 to trauma, 9 to natural causes and 5 to another drug or drugs. The postmortem blood concentrations of oxycodone overlapped among the groups. The mean blood oxycodone concentration among the cases of oxycodone toxicity was 0.69 mg/L, combined drug toxicity 0.72 mg/L and trauma 0.62 mg/L. Concentrations were lower in cases of deaths attributed to natural causes and to another drug or drugs (mean each 0.087 mg/L). Benzodiazepines, detected in 96 cases, were the most common co-intoxicants in the cases of combined drug toxicity, followed by cocaine, which was found in 41. The most frequently encountered benzodiazepine was alprazolam. This study confirms that deaths in which oxycodone is a factor are most commonly cases of combined drug toxicity. The high incidence of alprazolam as a co-intoxicant has not been previously recognized.     

Incorporating Equity into International Water Agreements

River basins have provided resources for the advancement of human civilization from the earliest historic times. With river basin development has also come conflict, particularly in the past century. In response, the international community has developed generalized, global principles for the equitable allocation of water resources between nation-states, most notably through the 1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses. These principles, however, have rarely been explicitly put into practice. To resolve or avert conflict in the world's 261 international river basins, riparian nations have instead relied upon treaties that incorporate basin-specific needs and conditions and define equity at the most local level. An examination of the progression of geographic thought on river basin development reveals a spatial focus that has not evolved beyond the basin and landscape scales. The absence of theoretical underpinnings for global frameworks may explain why riparian nations have not widely adopted general principles for the equitable allocation of water resources in actual treaty practice.     

Sudden unexpected death due to a previously undiagnosed plasma cell dyscrasia

The plasma cell dyscrasias are a diverse group of disorders characterized by the production of a clonal paraprotein. Sudden death is a recognized complication of the plasma cell dyscrasias, most commonly in individuals with cardiac involvement by amyloidosis. However, the current forensic literature has no reported cases in which sudden death resulted from complications of a plasma cell dyscrasia that was first diagnosed by postmortem histologic examination. We present the case of a woman whose sudden and unexpected death resulted from a seizure. Postmortem examination revealed no evidence of trauma or a grossly identifiable natural disease process that would have accounted for her death. However, microscopic and immunohistologic studies revealed a previously undiagnosed plasma cell dyscrasia, the clonality of which was determined by immunohistochemical studies for immunoglobulin light chains, that was not associated with amyloid deposition. This case elucidates a previously unrecognized cause of sudden unexpected death and illustrates the importance of microscopic studies in selected cases examined in medical examiner/coroner offices.     

Analysis of the First- and Second-Generation Raving Dragon Novelty Bath Salts Containing Methylone and Pentedrone

In recent years, a large number of designer drugs sold as “Bath Salts” have appeared on the market. In July of 2011, Raving Dragon Novelty Bath Salts was obtained over the Internet. This product became unavailable in October of that year coinciding with the DEA issuing a temporarily schedule of mephedrone, methylone, and MDPV. Four months later in February of 2012, a new product was released from the same company under the new name Raving Dragon Voodoo Dust. The contents of both products were identified using spectroscopy methods: nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared, UV–visible, tandem mass spectrometry, and high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry. It was determined that Raving Dragon Novelty Bath Salts contained methylone. The replacement product Raving Dragon Voodoo Dust contained the unscheduled drug pentedrone. The Raving Dragon brand of products illustrates the rapid change of ingredients in these products to circumvent laws restricting availability, distribution, and use.     

Genetic Testing and the Future of Disability Insurance: Ethics, Law & Policy

Predictive genetic testing poses fundamental questions for disability insurance, a crucial resource funding basic needs when disability prevents income from work. This article, from an NIH-funded project, presents the first indepth analysis of the challenging issues: Should disability insurers be permitted to consider genetics and exclude predicted disability? May disabilities with a recognized genetic basis be excluded from coverage as pre-existing conditions? How can we assure that private insurers writing individual and group policies, employers, and public insurers deal competently and appropriately with genetic testing?     

CT‐Guided,Minimally Invasive,Postmortem Needle Biopsy Using the B‐Rob II Needle‐Positioning Robot

CT‐guided, minimally invasive needle biopsy techniques can be used to retrieve tissue or body fluid samples for histologic tissue diagnoses in forensic investigations. The purpose of this study was an evaluation of CT‐guided needle‐positioning robot B‐Rob II. To operate under CT guidance, we adopted the B‐Rob II robotic needle placement system and its workflow. The accuracy and speed of the procedure were tested on a gelatin phantom in a series of 21 biopsies. We achieved an average needle placement accuracy of 1.8 mm (±1.1 mm) using robotic assistance. The procedure required an average of 2 min 21 s. The needle placement accuracy for minimally invasive needle biopsies using the B‐Rob II biopsy robot is sufficiently accurate and fast for forensic postmortem examinations of focal organ changes. Further tests will be performed to test the feasibility of the robot for performing biopsies of focal organ changes in human bodies.     

Switzerland and the EU: the puzzling effects of Europeanisation without institutionalisation

Switzerland is not a member of the EU and in 1992 refused to join the European Economic Area (EEA) treaty in a popular vote. A conservative majority preferred to keep utmost national autonomy, and consequently, relations between the EU and Switzerland are regulated by a series of bilateral treaties. This process of Europeanisation without institutionalisation has led to profound changes of Swiss politics over the last two decades. While many effects of economic liberalisation and internationalisation are similar to those found in EU countries, some specific problems like the acceleration of immigration present rising social conflict. Social cleavages between urban and rural regions, and between capital and labour are deepening. The continuous rise of the conservative nationalist Swiss People's Party and the growing polarisation between the political Right and Left have put the traditional political culture of accommodation and power sharing at risk. Twenty years after the No-vote on the EEA-treaty, Switzerland is a divided country. Why do Swiss politicians still practice consensus democracy, and what does the divide mean for the future relations between the EU and Switzerland?     

Correspondence

‘Machiavelli's solitude’ is a new English translation by Ben Brewster of a lecture delivered by Louis Althusser in 1977, so far unpublished in French. O'Hagan presents it as exemplifying a side of Althusser which is often neglected: his skill as lecturer and stylist. He compares the content of this 1977 lecture with that of an earlier series of lectures on the same theme, delivered by Althusser at the École Normale Supérieure in 1972. He suggests that there is a striking shift in emphasis in Althusser's political and philosophical position between the two, in particular a move towards a more negative view of the role of the law in a popular democracy. In passing O'Hagan reflects on changing fashions in the writing of intellectual history.