A. Reviews: general

THE HISTORY OF AL‐TABARI (TA'RIKH AL‐RUSUL WA ‘L‐MULUK) [An annotated translation] (Bibliotheca Persica) (SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies):

VOLUME VI: MUHAMMAD AT MECCA. Translated and annotated by W. MONTGOMERY WATT and M.V. McDONALD. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1988. xlvi, 178pp.

VOLUME VII: THE FOUNDATION OF THE COMMUNITY [MUHAMMAD AT ALMADINA A.D. 622–626/HIJRAH‐4 A.H.]. Translated and annotated by W. MONTGOMERY WATT and M.V. McDONALD. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1987. xxxviii, 182pp.

AL‐TABARI: THE EARLY ‘ABBASI EMPIRE. Translated [and annotated] by JOHN ALDEN WILLIAMS:

VOLUME 1: THE REIGN OF ABU JA'FAR AL‐MAN?UR A.D. 754–775. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1988. xx, 263pp. £30.00 (US $49.50).

VOLUME 2: THE SON AND GRANDSONS OF AL‐MAN?UR. THE REIGNS OF AL‐MAHDI, AL‐HADI AND HARUN AL‐RASHID A.D. 775–808. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1989. xviii, 342pp. £35.00 (US $54.50).

AL‐FUSTAT: ITS FOUNDATION AND EARLY URBAN DEVELOPMENT. By WLADYSLAW D. KUBIAK. Cairo, The American University in Cairo Press, 1987. 186pp.

THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN THE MIDDLE EAST 1945–1951: ARAB NATIONALISM, THE UNITED STATES AND POSTWAR IMPERIALISM. By W. ROGER LOUIS. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1984. xix, 803pp. £45.00.

ISLAM IN A WORLD OF NATION‐STATES. By J. PISCATORI. Cambridge, Cambridge U.P., in association with RIIA, 1986. 193pp. H/B: £25.00. P/B: £10.95.

GADDAFI'S WORLD DESIGN: LIBYAN FOREIGN POLICY, 1969–1987. By R.B. ST JOHN. London, Saqi Books, 1987. 184pp. £14.95.

ÄGYPTEN UNTER MUBARAK; IDENTITÄT UND NATIONALES INTERESSE. By GUDRUN KRÄMER. Baden‐Baden, Nomos Verlaggesellschaft, 1986. 230pp. £29.95.

MERCHANTS OF ESSAOUIRA: URBAN SOCIETY AND IMPERIALISM IN SOUTHWESTERN MOROCCO, 1844–1886. By D.J. SCHROETER. (Cambridge Middle East Library.) Cambridge University Press, 1988. 343pp., 9 photographs, 17 figures, 7 maps, 20 tables. £30.00.

THE MIDDLE EASTERN VILLAGE: CHANGING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RELATIONS. Edited by RICHARD LAWLESS. London‐New York‐Sydney, Croom Helm, 1987. 304pp. 29 tables, 30 figures, 20 plates. £27.50.

CHANGE ON THE EUPHRATES: VILLAGERS, TOWNSMEN AND EMPLOYEES IN NORTHEAST SYRIA. By ANNIKA RABO. Stockholm, Department of Social Anthropology, University of Stockholm, 1986. viii, 222pp.

EDUCATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN EGYPT AND TURKEY: A STUDY IN HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY. By BILL WILLIAMSON. London, Macmillan Press, 1987. vii, 242pp. £35.00.

AL SABAH: HISTORY AND GENEALOGY OF KUWAIT'S RULING FAMILY 1752–1987. By ALAN RUSH. London, Ithaca Press, 1987. [x], 304pp. Illustrations, genealogical tables. £29.50.

OPEC: TWENTY‐FIVE YEARS OF PRICES AND POLITICS (Cambridge Energy Studies). By IAN SKEET. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1988. 263pp. Maps, tables. £25.00.

THE NEGLECTED GARDEN: THE POLITICS AND ECOLOGY OF AGRICULTURE IN IRAN. By KEITH McLACHLAN. London, I.B. Tauris, 1988. xxi, 266pp. 28 maps and figures. £24.50.

CHALLENGE OF ISLAMIC ECONOMICS. By MUHAMMAD AKRAM KHAN. Lahore, All‐Pakistan Islamic Education Congress, 1985. 93pp. $3.00.

THEORETICAL STUDIES IN ISLAMIC BANKING AND FINANCE. Edited by MOHSIN S. KHAN and ABBAS MIRAKHOR. Houston, Institute for Research and Islamic Studies, 1987. xvi, 245pp. $14.95.

RELIGION UND POLITIK BEI DEN SCHI'ITISCHEN HAZ#afARA IN AFGHANISTAN, IRAN UND PAKISTAN. ETHNIZITÄT UND GESELLSCHAFT: PROBLEME ETHNISCHER GRENZZIEHUNG IN GESELLSCHAFTEN DES VORDEREN UND MITTLEREN ORIENTS. By ROLF BINDEMANN. (Freie Universität Berlin Forschungsgebiets‐schwerpunkt, Occasional Papers No.7.) Berlin, Verlag Das Arabische Buch, 1987. 104pp.

ISLAM AND RESISTANCE IN AFGHANISTAN. By OLIVIER ROY. (Cambridge Middle East Library.) Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1986. 253pp. £30.00 (hardback), £10.95 (paperback).

THE CONTEMPORARY TURKISH ECONOMY. By Z.Y. HERSHLAG. London, Routledge, 1988. xi, 178pp. £30.00.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS: TURKEY UNDER DEVELOPMENTALISM. By RUSEN KELES and HIROMASA KANO. Tokyo, Institute of Developing Economies Middle East Series No.17, 1986. iv, 201pp.     

SNPs and MALDI-TOF MS: tools for DNA typing in forensic paternity testing and anthropology

DNA markers used for individual identification in forensic sciences are based on repeat sequences in nuclear DNA and the mitochondrial DNA hypervariable regions 1 and 2. An alternative to these markers is the use of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). These have a particular advantage in the analysis of degraded or poor samples, which are often all that is available in forensics or anthropology. In order to study the potential of SNP analysis in these fields, 41 SNPs were selected on the basis of following criteria: conservation, lack of phenotypic expression, and frequency of occurrence in populations. Thirty-six autosomal SNPs were used for genotyping 21 inclusionary and 3 exclusionary paternity cases. The behavior of 5 X-chromosome SNPs was analyzed in a French representative population. Our approach to SNP typing is a multiplex PCR based amplification followed by simultaneous detection by primer extension (PEX) analyzed by Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The selected autosomal SNPs showed independent inheritance and gave clear results in paternity investigation. All X-SNPs were useful as both paternity and identification markers. PEX and MALDI-TOF MS, with their high sensitivity, precision and speed, gave a powerful method for forensic and anthropological exploitation of biallelic markers.     

An unusual case of post-mortem redistribution of ethanol

We report an unusual case of post-mortem redistribution of ethanol in a woman diver who died by drowning in seawater. The ethanol concentrations were right heart blood 0.60 g/l, left heart blood 2.08 g/l, femoral venous blood 0.63 g/l, gastric contents 5.87 g/l, bile 0.83 g/l. The mechanisms of post-mortem redistribution of ethanol described in the literature, that is, early redistribution from the stomach or the lung parenchyma in the case of inhalation of gastric contents, are inadequate to account for the degree of variation observed between the measurements. We believe that this difference in concentration is explained by the presence of seawater in the pulmonary alveoli at the time of death.     

STR-genotyping from human medieval tooth and bone samples

We extracted the DNA contained in samples of bones and teeth from 10 skeletons excavated from the Gravette site (400-1000 AD, south of France). Ancient DNA was analysed by autosomal short tandem repeats (STRs). The DNA present in these ancient remains appeared very degraded, but nevertheless, better conserved in tooth than in bone samples. Moreover, we showed that the DNA extracted from ancient dental pulp was not exempt from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) inhibitors, which could result from extreme DNA fragmentation. An adapted protocol with a supplementary step of purification removed this inhibition.     

Concentration of drugs in blood of suspected impaired drivers

Analytical records concerning 440 living drivers suspected of driving under the influence of drug (DUID) were collected and examined during a 2 years period ranging from 2002 to 2003 in canton de Vaud, Valais, Jura and Fribourg (Switzerland). This study included 400 men (91%) and 40 women (9%). The average age of the drivers was 28+/-10 years (minimum 16 and maximum 81). One or more psychoactive drugs were found in 89% of blood samples. Half of cases (223 of 440, 50.7%) involved consumption of mixtures (from 2 to 6) of psychoactive drugs. The most commonly detected drugs in whole blood were cannabinoids (59%), ethanol (46%), benzodiazepines (13%), cocaine (13%), amphetamines (9%), opiates (9%) and methadone (7%). Among these 440 cases, 11-carboxy-THC (THCCOOH) was found in 59% (median 25 ng/ml (1-215 ng/ml)), Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in 53% (median 3 ng/ml (1-35 ng/ml)), ethanol in 46% (median 1.19 g/kg (0.14-2.95 g/kg)), benzoylecgonine in 13% (median 250 ng/ml (29-2430 ng/ml)), free morphine in 7% (median 10 ng/ml (1-111 ng/ml)), methadone in 7% (median 110 ng/ml (27-850 ng/ml)), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in 6% (median 218 ng/ml (10-2480 ng/ml)), nordiazepam in 5% (median 305 ng/ml (30-1560 ng/ml)), free codeine in 5% (median 5 ng/ml (1-13 ng/ml)), midazolam in 5% (median 44 ng/ml (20-250 ng/ml)), cocaine in 5% (median 50 ng/ml (15-560 ng/ml)), amphetamine in 4% (median 54 ng/ml (10-183 ng/ml)), diazepam in 2% (median 200 ng/ml (80-630 ng/ml)) and oxazepam in 2% (median 230 ng/ml (165-3830 ng/ml)). Other drugs, such as lorazepam, zolpidem, mirtazapine, methaqualone, were found in less than 1% of the cases.