Transfer of nitroglycerine to hands during contact with commercial explosives

The techniques of thin-layer chromatography, gas chromatography with electron capture detection, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry were used to analyze hand swab extracts for the presence of nitroglycerine. Both the amount of nitroglycerine transferred to the hands after handling commercial explosives and its persistence were measured. Gas chromatography-electron capture detection was found to be the most accurate and sensitive technique for making such determinations, especially if the extract was partially purified by thin-layer chromatography prior to analysis. The lowest limit of detection was 10 ng of nitroglycerine, and residues could be detected over 20 h after handling the raw explosive.     

Histologic thyroid gland findings in the newborn infant and infant, with special reference to sudden infant death

The morphological picture of the thyroid gland, the only endocrine organ with a follicle structure, allows a limited conclusion to be drawn with respect to the functional state in spite of any physiological variability. The thyroid of the newborn shows total colloid release and collapse of the follicles. The regular structure of the thyroid will be rebuilt within several weeks after birth. Total colloid absorption can be found in cases of stress-activated thyroids as well as in cases of death due to freezing. A histological examination was done on 88 thyroids of fetuses, newborns and infants. About 70% of the results on 27 cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) may be interpreted as a morphological correlate of a premortal chronic or recurrent stress reaction. The value of these results is discussed.     

RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN LEGAL SERVICES: Individual Attorney Decisions in Work Priorities

This article explores the issues of professional decision-making in legal resource allocation by examining theoretical models of professional decision-making, and applying them in the provision of legal services for the poor. Data collected from time sheets completed by attorneys in an urban legal services program suggest the relative importance of bureaucratic, external, client-centered, ideology, personal, and role concept factors in allocating time for practice routines. The implications of these findings for the rational (i.e., cost benefit) determination of the value of legal services are discussed.