Evaluation of the Cozart RapiScan drug test system for opiates and cocaine in oral fluid

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the Cozart RapiScan (CRS) drug test system for detecting opiates and cocaine in oral fluid. Oral fluid samples were collected using the Cozart RapiScan collection system from 358 donors who were receiving treatment for their addiction and were monitored for drug misuse. A further 103 oral fluid samples were collected from volunteer donors who were not drug users. The samples were analyzed in the laboratory using the two-panel Cozart RapiScan cartridge for opiates and cocaine and confirmed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The samples were stored frozen at -20 degrees C until analysis by GC-MS. The overall accuracy of the CRS for both opiates and cocaine was 100%. Samples spiked at 50% above and below the cut-off consistently gave negative and positive results respectively. A total of 88 samples were positive for various opiates and 111 samples were positive for cocaine and/or its metabolites. The CRS for opiates and cocaine in oral fluid, using a cut-off of 30 ng/mL morphine or benzoylecgonine equivalents in neat oral fluid, had overall efficiencies of 98% and 99%, respectively, versus GC-MS. A series of potential adulterants of oral fluid were evaluated and shown not to alter the outcome of the test result.     

Validation of the Cozart microplate EIA for analysis of opiates in oral fluid

The purpose of this study was to determine the performance characteristics of the Cozart microplate EIA for detecting opiates in oral fluid from patients in a drug misuse treatment program. Oral fluid samples were collected using the Cozart RapiScan Collection System from 216 donors who were receiving treatment for their addiction and were monitored for drug abuse. A further 40 oral fluid samples were collected from volunteer donors who were not drug users. The samples were analyzed in the laboratory by using the Cozart microplate EIA for opiates and confirmed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The samples were stored frozen until analysis by GC-MS. The intra-assay precision for the Cozart microplate oral fluid EIA for opiates over 40 assays was 0.43% to 9.13% CV (within assay) and 2.9% to 9.1% CV (within day). A total of 109 samples were positive for various opiates. The Cozart microplate EIA for opiates in oral fluid, using a cut-off of 30 ng/ml morphine equivalents in neat oral fluid, had a sensitivity of 99.1 +/- 2.1% and a specificity of 94.4 +/- 2.2% versus GC-MS. A series of potential adulterants of oral fluid were evaluated and shown not to alter the outcome of the test result.     

When is a child not a child? Child soldiers in international law

International humanitarian law and international human rights law both prohibit the use of child soldiers in armed conflict. The protection afforded to children is problematic because the age a child may become a soldier and what constitutes child “soldiering” fluctuates between States and cultures. Differing levels of children soldiers’ protection leave them vulnerable to particular abuses. This paper examines some different attitudes and approaches towards the use of child soldiers and concludes that international human rights law and international humanitarian law does not adequately protect children.     

Women and sport: A lost ideal

In their analyses of capitalism and patriarchy, socialists and feminists have tended not to view sport as a legitimate area for sustained study. Socialists have often been content to view sport as a peripheral and unimportant feature of a world order dominated by capitalist social relations and economic contradictions, or have viewed sport as essentially a cultural reflection of the material sphere.Similarly, feminists have focussed their attention on the primary loci of work, family and sexuality, thereby unconsciously reinforcing the patriarchal concept of sport as masculine. In this analysis we briefly outline women's involvement in the recent Olympics and assess competing strategies for overcoming women's subordination in the arena of sport.     

The solution to the Tullock rent-seeking game when R>2: Mixed-strategy equilibria and mean dissipation rates

In Tullock's rent-seeking model, the probability a player wins the game depends on expenditures raised to the power R. We show that a symmetric mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium exists when R>2, and that overdissipation of rents does not arise in any Nash equilibrium. We derive a tight lower bound on the level of rent dissipation that arises in a symmetric equilibrium when the strategy space is discrete, and show that full rent dissipation occurs when the strategy space is continuous. Our results are shown to be consistent with recent experimental evidence on the dissipation of rents.     

Deconstructing Minorities/Majorities in Parliamentary Gulf States (Kuwait and Bahrain)

Abstract

The notion of ‘minority’ has traditionally been understood as an ethnic or religious category based on primary identity markers, and as such only makes sense relative to a broader polity. On closer examination, however, the case of the smaller Gulf states illustrates the constructed nature of the minority/majority dialectic. In these societies, with mixed populations and transnational foundations—, monarchic regimes have historically asserted themselves by promoting some groups over others to secure their loyalty.

This is particularly true in the parliamentary regimes of Kuwait and Bahrain. This article contends that while the ethno-religious understanding of ‘minority’ makes little heuristic sense in these two countries, the minority/majority dialectic is part of a political praxis used to garner support for the regime and by manufacturing ‘minorities’ to evade the principle of majority rule. The article traces the post-2011 responses by the Kuwaiti and Bahraini regimes to the rise of an oppositional majority. For Kuwait, it analyses the emphasis placed on the nation’s unity and the discrediting of the Bedouin’s political claims for Bahrain, it looks at how the authorities stressed the nation’s multicultural character to undermine the representativeness of the dominant Shiite political movement. Both strategies are designed to deflect the threat of power sharing.     

Development and Validation of a Technique for Casting Anatomical Features and Toolmarks

Time may elapse between examination of marks inflicted on the body and comparison with a potential weapon. Two‐dimensional photographs may be inadequate for effective comparison of a three‐dimensional mark with a putative instrument. Taking a cast and producing a positive image results in a lasting three‐dimensional record. This project aimed to develop and demonstrate the accuracy of an easy technique for production of long‐lasting positive images (using plaster of Paris and dental alginate). Casts of facial features of embalmed cadavers were used to produce a positive image of the face (death mask). Measurements of distances between facial anatomical landmarks were compared with measurements of distances between the same landmarks on the death masks to assess accuracy of reproduction. There were no significant differences between cadaver and death mask in 6 of 9 measurements, indicating this technique has high accuracy with less mobile facial features, but produces deformation of pliable features.