The GMO food arena in the EU (1998–2001)

A highly politicised arena in the EU has been caused by the 1998 Commission legislative proposal with regard to genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The debate over different interests became more intense. During the EU decision‐making process concerning GMOs, two larger coalitions cutting across institutions and countries waged the fight: one was led by industry and was in favour of GMOs and the other was against and mainly rooted in nongovernmental lobby groups. In mid‐2001, the ‘anti’ movement had gained a (temporary) winning position. In an attempt to explain this, it was concluded that the industrial lobby has been nonchalant in its preparatory work for public affairs management, by not carefully studying the various stakeholders, issues, time developments and the boundaries of this arena. With the benefit of hindsight it can be seen that the industrial lobby itself has missed opportunities and made unforced errors. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications     

High performance liquid chromatographic determination of alcohols with reference to body distribution of methanol

A method has been developed on reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography for simultaneous determination of methyl, ethyl and isopropyl alcohols under refractive index detection using pure water as the mobile phase. A good separation has been achieved between these alcohols. Detector response was linear with a detection limit of 5 mg/100 ml. Recovery studies were performed by adding known amounts of methyl and ethyl alcohols to blood, lung and liver within the range 80–90%. The reproducibility of the results was always >90%. The quantitative distribution of methyl alcohol in postmortem body tissues and fluids has been reported in three cases of poisoning.     

In re Browning.

HELD: Prior judicial approval is not required for a surrogate to exercise the state constitutional right of self-determination of a patient who has become incompetent and who, while competent, specifically expressed her wishes regarding medical treatment decisions orally or in writing. The surrogate, in so exercising that right, must satisfy herself that certain requirements are met.     

An Australian Empire Patriot and the Great War: Professor Sir Archibald T. Strong (1876–1930)

Archibald T. Strong, born in Melbourne, was the son of an Australian scholar who went to an academic post at Liverpool. The younger Strong received his secondary and tertiary education in England. There, he became proficient in modern European languages and literature. He initially planned a career in the law, but for health reasons returned to Australia to the Department of English at the University of Melbourne. Prior to the First World War, Strong became prominent in Melbourne literary circles and also a prolific commentator on world affairs. As an early member of the Round Table group in Australia, Strong assessed Imperial Germany as posing an existential threat to the British Empire and hence to Australia's security. The nation's future, he believed, lay in unwavering defence of the Empire. Strong evinced a distinct impatience with fellow citizens, especially on the socialist left, who failed, in his view, to understand the realities of Australia's position in the world and what was at stake in the Great War.     

Indigenismo and the Avant‐garde: Jorge Sanjinés' Early Films and the National Project

Jorge Sanjinés' 1960s films Revolución and Ukamau challenge the class and ethnic hierarchies of Bolivian society by casting the proletarian and indigenous masses as revolutionary liberators. The new national imaginary they evoke is tightly bound to the experimental cinematic techniques they employ, since their rejection of rationalist, realist aesthetics signals a partial undermining of the linear time of the modern nation. Ukamau both recalls and resists previous Bolivian indigenismo, which sought to co‐opt the Indian into a national mestizo consciousness. Its exoticist portrayal of the Indian ultimately limits its political effectiveness, but textual and contextual analyses show subversive Indian agency leaking through.     

Effect of carcass size on rate of decomposition and arthropod succession patterns.

Decomposition studies were conducted using two carcasses of domestic pigs, Sus scrofa L., 8.4 kg and 15.1 kg in weight, to determine the effects of carcass size on the rate of decomposition, composition of the arthropod fauna, and succession patterns. A total of 46 arthropod taxa were recovered during this study. No size-related differences were observed between carcasses with respect to composition of the arthropod fauna or patterns of succession. A greater number of arthropods were observed attracted to the 15.1-kg carcass, and the rate of decomposition observed was more rapid for the 15.1-kg carcass than for the 8.4-kg carcass. Internal temperatures of the 8.4-kg carcass were more directly related to external ambient temperatures during the fresh and bloated stages of decomposition. During the decay stage, both carcasses generated internal temperatures significantly above ambient temperatures. Following this stage, internal temperatures fell to approximate ambient temperatures during the postdecay and remains stages.