A GC/MS study of the drying of ballpoint pen ink on paper

The determination of the age of an ink entry from a questioned document is often an essential problem and a controversial issue in forensic sciences. Therefore, it is important to understand the aging process of the different components found in ink. The aim of this work was to study the drying process of ballpoint ink, characterised by the disappearance of volatile solvents from the ink entry. Phenoxyethanol is of particularly high interest as it is found in more than 80% of the blue ballpoint pens at different concentrations. Liquid extraction followed by splitless gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in the selected ion mode was used to measure the quantitative decrease of solvents from ink entries made with a blue Parker ballpoint pen. Quantities of ethoxyethoxyethanol, dipropylene glycol, phenoxyethanol and phenoxyethoxyethanol were studied in ink entries up to 1.5 years old, thus allowing to calculate aging curves for this particular pen. The low quantities of solvents (in the microgram range for a 1 cm ballpoint entry) were found to decrease quickly after deposition of the ink on paper through the competitive processes of evaporation and diffusion. Losses of up to 75% of solvents were observed after a few seconds. The amount of ethoxyethanol stopped decreasing after about 10 days (quantities reached the nanogram range for a 1 cm ballpoint entry), while the aging curves of dipropylene glycol, phenoxyethanol and phenoxyethoxyethanol level off considerably after 2 weeks. It was observed that ethoxyethanol, dipropylene glycol and phenoxyethanol can also migrate from one sheet of paper to another if placed close enough (e.g. in a book or a stack of papers), therefore contamination from fresh ink strokes from other paper sheets has to be taken into account for those solvents. In this paper we demonstrate that differentiation between fresh ink (<2 weeks) and older inks is possible under laboratory storage conditions. For real cases samples, more parameters have to be studied and other possible pathways have to be considered.     

Necrophagous Caterpillars Provide Human mtDNA Evidence*

Abstract: Decomposition of large mammalian carcasses is greatly accelerated through the action of insects. Specialized feeders capable of digesting keratin and collagen found in skin, hair, and tendons and ligaments are attracted to corpses in late stages of dry decomposition and include Tinea pellionella, the casemaking clothes moth, and Tineola bisselliella, the webbing clothes moth (Lepidoptera; Tineidae). Until now, details of the caterpillar behavior as necrophagous insects were vague. Here, we detail the behavior of each species and document the incorporation of human hair into the portable larval shelters constructed by the caterpillars of T. pellionella. Hair of the decedent used as building material for caterpillar shelters provided enough starting template to amplify and sequence the HVI and HVII sections of the control region (mtDNA) of the decedent.     

Value-Based Integrity Management and Bureaucratic Organizations: Changing the Mix

ABSTRACT

This article examines integrity management initiatives designed to introduce more value-based elements in public bureaucracies. Incorporating value-based practices, which emphasize the personal ethical responsibilities of individual public servants, into a hierarchical, rule-based system may present difficult organizational problems. A central issue is to determine whether any change has actually occurred or whether the organization is simply functioning as it did previously. In addition, there are problems of implementation: new value-based initiatives may conflict with the pre-existing system; they may not be adequately reflected in training programs; and there may be differential impacts on departments and agencies. We analyze problems in this new organizational mix in a classical Weberian bureaucracy, the Hong Kong civil service. The findings are based on a 2011–2012 administrative ethics survey of 355 senior public servants, a separate survey of 70 Ethics Officers, and semi-structured interviews with 32 senior public servants.     

Cultural diplomacy: Should South Africa give it a try?

Conflicts often emanate when one society tries to enforce its own culture on others. Cultural diplomacy, as a form of diplomacy, is often an integral part of diplomatic activities of almost all states to alleviate cultural clashes and to assist cultural institutions in the dissemination of national culture. In practice, the under-deployment of cultural diplomacy very often results from false perceptions about its activities. The aim of this paper is to conceptualise the term ‘cultural diplomacy', provide a short history of its development, sketch its major functions and evaluate its importance in the process of foreign policy implementation. South Africa should diversify its diplomatic tools more effectively. Cultural diplomacy should receive more prominence by the practitioners of diplomacy and could serve as a useful means for the implementation of South African interests abroad. It could promote favourable conditions as a precursor for the effective achievement of the country's foreign policy goals.     

Determination of Herbicides Paraquat,Glyphosate, and Aminomethylphosphonic Acid in Marijuana Samples by Capillary Electrophoresis

In this work, two methods were developed to determine herbicides paraquat, glyphosate, and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in marijuana samples by capillary electrophoresis. For paraquat analysis, sample was extracted with aqueous acetic acid solution and analyzed by capillary zone electrophoresis with direct UV detection. The running electrolyte was 50 mmol/L phosphate buffer (pH 2.50). For glyphosate and AMPA, indirect UV/VIS detection was used, as these substances do not present chromophoric groups. Samples were extracted with 5 mmol/L hydrochloric acid. The running electrolyte was 10 mmol/L gallic acid, 6 mmol/L TRIS, and 0.1 mmol/L CTAB (pH = 4.7). The methods presented good linearity, precision, accuracy, and recovery. Paraquat was detected in 12 samples (n = 130), ranging from 0.01 to 25.1 mg/g. Three samples were positive for glyphosate (0.15–0.75 mg/g), and one sample presented AMPA as well. Experimental studies are suggested to evaluate the risks of these concentrations to marijuana user.     

Opening the Door to Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Self–Regulation in Ontario

This paper examines the steps that three complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) groups – naturopaths, acupuncturists/traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, and homeopaths – are taking to achieve statutory self–regulation in the province of Ontario. The regulatory framework created by the Regulated Health Professions Act of 1991 is outlined, and the differing approaches taken by each of the three groups to gain inclusion under its umbrella are compared and contrasted. The paper assesses the influence of current regulatory and socio–political environments, and queries the extent to which the paradigms of health and health care of these different groups can be accommodated in a regulatory regime heavily reliant on the conventional medical model.     

Domestic Violence, Character, And Social Change In The Welfare Reform Debate

This article addresses the recently discovered connection between domestic violence and welfare dependency." Empirical research among welfare populations shows that over 50% of women receiving welfare are or have recently been battered, and that partner abuse is a major reason for the continuing poverty of many women.
The question the author asks and begins to answer is why this connection has not previously been identified or publicized by either the battered women's movement or the anti‐poverty movement, and what the challenge may be to both movements as they attempt to address it in the context of welfare reform. The author argues that the connection has not been previously addressed because of the somewhat conflicting ideologies underlying both movements. The battered women's movement is defined in part by its strong moral denunciation of male abusers and assertion of the victimization of women by men. The anti‐poverty movement is reluctant to demonize half of the poor population, particularly in light of the conservative welfare reformers' emphasis on "character" as the main cause of poverty. The article argues that we must – and can – find a way to synthesize the feminist emphasis on interpersonal justice and morality with the anti‐poverty movement's recognition of the larger social causes of poverty. The perspectives of both movements must be enlarged to recognize the multiple layers of victimization which poor women and men endure; and both movements will be revitalized by this cross‐fertilization.