Development of the role of national anti-doping organisations in the fight against doping: from past to future

When action against doping began, sport itself was, as a rule, responsible for anti-doping measures and governments often had only a subsidiary function. However, due to doping scandals or doping allegations, the formation of independent anti-doping organisations (NADOs) was already discussed in the 1990s in some countries as guarantors for clean sports. In the course of the doping scandal at the Tour de France in 1998 and the systematic intervention of the French state, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was founded 1999 at an international level. In the following years, the WADA-model was often copied at a national level and a multitude of independent NADOs came into being. NADOs play a key role worldwide in combating doping. Their influence in developing an international anti-doping policy and implementing it in the form of standards and regulations is today, however, low; they are not directly represented in the decision-making bodies of the WADA. This should be changed with regard to elaborating the new World Anti-Doping Programme for 2014.     

Methadone determination in puparia and its effect on the development of Lucilia sericata (Diptera, Calliphoridae)

This paper describes a sensitive UPLC-MS/MS method for quantification of methadone and 2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine (EDDP) in single empty puparial case of Lucilia sericata. Larvae were reared on substrates spiked with different concentrations of methadone (0-4 μg/g). Methadone was quantified in puparia reared on high concentrated substrates (0.8-4 μg/g). The major metabolite of methadone (EDDP) was not detected, confirming rapid elimination of metabolites by the larvae before pupation. The effects of methadone on the development of L. sericata were also investigated. No effect on sex ratio was detected. A significant difference was calculated for emerged adults but no trends could be observed. Concerning the developmental curve, a significant difference was observed between control and high methadone concentrations using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test.     

From the national state to the rational state and back? An exercise in understanding politics and identity in Germany in the twentieth century

The end of the East‐West conflict and the unification of Germany in 1990 have dramatically altered the geopolitical shape of Europe. Speculations abound, in particular as regards Germany: have the spectres of German nationalism been banished for good? Is the new Berlin Republic different from the Bonn Republic? This article traces the national idea in Germany since the early nineteenth century and argues that the Bonn years have been crucial in the development of a civic culture which transcends the concept of a nation dominant in Germany from 1871 to 1945. Rather than marking a return of traditional nationalist concepts, the unification of Germany may well open the way for a lasting reorientation towards a civic concept of national identity in Germany.     

Hostile takeover and costly merger control

According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Merger Guidelines, mergers determined to be anticompetitive are more likely than not to be challenged. Within an adversarial system, the corresponding process of merger control exhibits two kinds of inefficiencies: First, both the antitrust authority and the buyer spend considerable amounts of resources during litigation. Second, the anticompetitive merger is only prevented with a probability less than one. We can show that these inefficiencies may be smaller under a hostile than under a friendly takeover although the top management of the target firm is introduced as third player, spending additional resources during litigation.     

Relationship security: the dynamics of keepers and kept

Hiring, training and supervising treatment staff who work closely with forensic patients at all levels of security requires careful planning. In particular, staff must identify and share feelings like fear and anger that are always generated when patients threaten or attack staff. Approaches to dealing with staff countertransference to patients are suggested in this article, and aids to breaking the aggression cycle are discussed. Relationship security is a working through of dynamics that are always in operation where there are keepers and kept.     

Are Voters Better Informed When They Have a Larger Say in Politics? – Evidence for the European Union and Switzerland

Public choice theory takes citizens as rationally ignorantabout political issues, because the costs of being informedgreatly exceed the utility individuals derive from it. Thecosts of information (supply side) as well as the utility ofinformation (demand side), however, can vary substantiallydepending on the political system under which citizens live.Using survey data from the European Union and Switzerland, wepresent empirical evidence that citizens are politicallybetter informed when they have more extended politicalparticipation rights. The results corroborate theoreticalarguments and circumstantial evidence that voter informationshould be treated as endogenously determined by politicalinstitutions.     

Capacity for physical action in traumatically-induced epidural hemorrhage

Authors report the case of a 55-year-old man with a nearly normal capacity to act for appr. 48 hours following epidural hematoma due to a blunt trauma of the head with skull fracture. The man was amnestic for the period of time since the trauma. According to the computertomographic findings, the cause for the mild clinical symptoms was a pre-existent atrophy of the brain.     

Detection of fetal DNA in a cell pellet after centrifugation of mountant

In order to obtain fetal cells (e.g., for paternity cases) after abortion, the centrifugation of mountant (in our case formalin) may be tried when the DNA examination of the fixed tissue itself gives limited or no (or not enough) information. The fixed tissue was microscopically negative for fetal cells and gave no satisfactory results when examined for DNA. Centrifugation of approximately 50 mL of reddish colored formalin resulted in a cell pellet that was examined for DNA, which gave enough information to confirm a case of sexual abuse.