A pharmacokinetic study of ethyl glucuronide in blood and urine: applications to forensic toxicology

This pharmacokinetic study investigated the kinetics of ethanol and its metabolite ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in blood and urine during the whole time course of absorption and elimination. There are few previous studies on the kinetics of EtG in blood, and we wanted to evaluate whether such knowledge could yield valuable information regarding the time of ethanol ingestion in forensic cases, such as, for instance, drunk driving. Ten male volunteers consumed ethanol at a fixed dose of 0.5 g/kg body weight in a fasted state. Blood samples were collected for 14 h and urine samples were collected for 45-50 h after the start of drinking. EtG reached its maximum concentration (C(max)) in blood after a median of 4 h (range 3.5-5), a median of 3 h (range 2-4.5) after C(max) for ethanol. The ethanol-to-EtG ratios in blood (ethanol in g/L, EtG in mg/L) were >1 only for the first median 3.5 h (range 2.5-3.5) after drinking. EtG elimination occurred with a median half-life of 2.2 h (range 1.7-3.1 h), and the renal clearance was 8.32 L/h (median, range 5.25-20.86). The concentrations of EtG were always much higher in urine than in blood. The total amount of EtG excreted in the urine was median 30 mg (range 21.5-39.7), representing 0.017% (median, range 0.013-0.022) of the ethanol given, on a molar basis. The information from the present study may be a valuable supplement to determine the time of ethanol ingestion. For this purpose, two subsequent increasing EtG values and a high ethanol-to-EtG ratio in blood would support information of recent drinking.     

Burden Sharing and Fairness Principles in International Climate Policy

One of the major challenges facing participants in the global climate change negotiations is to find a scheme of burden sharing that can be accepted as "fair" by all or at least most governments. In this article we first explore which basic principles of fairness seem to be sufficiently widely recognized to serve as a normative basis for such a scheme. We then examine a set of proposals for differentiating obligations that have been submitted by governments in the negotiations leading up to the Kyoto Protocol to see which principles have been honored. In the concluding section we discuss the implications of our analysis for the design of more specific burden sharing rules.     

Estimating the Impact of Education on Political Participation: Evidence from Monozygotic Twins in the United States,Denmark and Sweden

In this study we provide new evidence on the much-discussed effect of education on political participation by utilizing the quasi-experiment of twinning. By looking at the relationship between education and participation within monozygotic (MZ) twin pairs we are able to circumvent traditional sources of confounding of the relationship rooted in genes and early life family environment because MZ twins share both. The results of within-twin pair analyses based on surveys from the United States, Denmark and Sweden show that while the relationship between education and political participation is highly confounded by genes and/or familial environment in all three countries, a positive impact remains of years of education in the US and of high school completion in Denmark. No effect is found in Sweden. Robustness checks suggest that the observed effect is not confounded by within-twin pair differences in prenatal environment nor differential treatment during childhood, and, if anything, that it most likely constitutes a lower bound estimate.     

Structural stress or deliberate decision? Government partisanship and the disempowerment of unions in Denmark

The role of government partisanship in the era of retrenchment is debated. It is argued in this article that partisanship matters for only some aspects of policy. Irrespective of ideological bending, governments accommodate structural pressure as well as short‐term electoral interests to keep the economy on track and implement austerity measures in labour market policy that, in effect, reduce union resources and capacity to mobilise. But only governments of the right exploit structural stress to pursue long‐term interest in curbing the institutional privileges of unions. Aligning short‐ and long‐term interests is easier for social democratic governments during economic expansion, whereas governments of the right have an easier time aligning interests in periods of structural pressure. By analysing a sample of Danish labour market reforms, this article shows that today social democratic governments still defend the institutional privileges of unions and discusses the comparative significance of the Danish case.     

Disappearance of ethyl glucuronide during heavy putrefaction

Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is involved in systemic reactions to stress. The aim of the present study was a comprehensive analysis of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of ACTH, and the pituitary immunohistochemistry with special regard to fatal hypothermia in routine forensic autopsy cases (n=162: 5-97 years of age; 114 males and 48 females; 4 h to 3 days postmortem, median, 19.2 h). The ACTH concentrations were independent of the postmortem time, gender, or age of the subjects. The serum ACTH level was similar to the clinical reference value for sharp instrument injury, fire fatality, and hypothermia, but was lower in other groups including hyperthermia, in particular for asphyxia and poisoning. The CSF level was usually much higher than the serum level, but was significantly lower for hypothermia and hyperthermia than in other groups (p<0.01). The rate of ACTH-immunopositivity in the anterior pituitary was low in cases of fatal hypothermia and hyperthermia, while it was high in cases of blunt injury, fire fatality, and acute ischemic heart disease. These observations showed that ACTH levels in the serum and CSF depended on the cause of death. The serum level was maintained despite a low CSF level and pituitary immunopositivity for fatal hypothermia, while the serum and CSF levels as well as pituitary immunopositivity were decreased for hyperthermia.     

Exploring the foundational origins of public service motivation through the lens of behavioral genetics

Despite the proliferation of research on public service motivation (PSM), fundamental questions about its origins continue to evade scholars: Is PSM driven by genetics, socialized through experiences, or both? If PSM is socialized, when does socialization occur? Answering these questions is critical for reconciling the state versus trait debate, and for assessing the validity of practical implications prescribed by PSM studies. Utilizing “nature's own experiment,” we adopt a classical twin design with 1035 twin pairs to identify how genetic heritability, a common environment, or unique environment and experiences can explain variation in PSM. Results show that PSM is heavily influenced by individuals' unique environments and experiences; not by genetics. This lends strong evidence to PSM's uniqueness as a motivational construct as related “other-regarding” concepts show sizeable genetic components. Finally, our results corroborate that PSM is a human resource with dynamic properties organizations can cultivate to enhance productivity in public service workforces.     

Analyses of Beverage Remains in Drug Rape Cases Revealing Drug Residues ‐ The Possibility of Contamination from Drug Concentrated Oral Fluid or Oral Cavity Contained Tablets

In drug‐facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) cases, drug residues may be detected in beverage remains found in cups or glasses known to have been used by the victims. In this small naturalistic study, the possibility of beverages being contaminated, either by drug concentrated oral fluid or by oral cavity contained tablets, was investigated. Analysis of residues from cups containing soft drinks was performed by immunoassay and ultra‐performance liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (UPLC‐MS/MS). Beverage with both added tablets and spiked oral fluid was investigated, as well as simulation of swallowing tablets. Only the residues from added tablets were positive with immunoassay, while drugs were detectable in all cups using more sensitive UPLC‐MS/MS. In conclusion, the possibility of detecting drug residues in beverages due to a contamination, from either drug concentrated oral fluid or oral cavity contained tablets at a time of consumption, should be kept in mind when performing sensitive analysis.     

Drugged drivers in Norway with benzodiazepine detections

Norwegian drugged drivers with benzodiazepine (BZD) detections have been studied with regard to drug use pattern and rearrest rate. During 1995, 3343 drivers were apprehended by the police in Norway due to the suspicion of influence by drugs. Blood samples from all drivers were sent to the National Institute of Forensic Toxicology (NIFT). The samples were analysed using a standard program covering the most commonly abused drugs on the marked in Norway. BZDs, representing some of the most frequently detected drugs, were found in approximately 30% (n = 1051) of the cases, represented by 14% (n = 150) female and 86% (n = 901) male drivers. In 8% of the cases, one BZD only was detected, half of these cases with one BZD could reflect therapeutic use. One or more BZDs were combined with illegal drug(s) (73%), other prescribed drugs (10%), and/or alcohol (24%). 62% of the drivers with BZD detections, had earlier been arrested for the same offence, or six cases per rearrested driver. The frequency of earlier arrests were lower for female (34%) than for male (67%) drivers. Alcohol was most frequently found for those arrested for the first time before 1992, while BZD or illegal drugs were most frequently found for those with their first arrest during 1992-1995. Our study shows that apprehended drivers using BZD are mainly represented by drug abusers due to frequent multi-drug use, blood concentrations representing doses above therapeutic levels and high rearrest rate for the same offence. A treatment program or other reactions, are thus necessary in addition to fines, prison penalty and suspension of driving licence.     

Accountability by Professionalism or Managerialism? Exploring Attitudes Among Swedish and Norwegian Local Government Leaders

Most developed countries continue to experience problems with malfeasance and corruption, making accountability a fundamental concern of the public government. Still, the mechanisms which ensure accountability are not given. This article explores two different and apparently conflicting principles of accountability in public organizations: “Professionalism” based on values and internalized incentive structures and “Managerialism” based on externalized incentives and hierarchy. The empirical analysis is based on a comparative survey among local government leaders in Sweden and Norway. The analysis shows that both professionalism and managerialism are regarded as important means for accountability and tend to be understood as complementary more than competing principles.