Identification of two cannabimimetic compounds WIN48098 and AM679 in illegal products

Two synthetic cannabinoids have been identified, during a survey, as new adulterants; they might have been intended to be used as ingredients for smart drugs. The characterization of these compounds has been made by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), leading to the identification of WIN48098, a compound disclosed as a new adulterant in herbal and powder products, and AM679, identified in Italy for the first time.Taking into account the high number of synthetic cannabinoids seized during the last year in Italy, how quickly they appear on the illegal market and the rapidity required for analytical results, a method was developed for the simultaneous quantitation of several synthetic cannabinoids, using gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (GC–FID).     

The European Welfare State: Golden Achievements,Silver Prospects

For the welfare state the last 30 years have witnessed a turbulent transition from the ‘Golden Age’ of expansion to a ‘Silver Age’ of permanent austerity. This shift has been the result of external pressures and of internal transformations of domestic economies and social structures. Permanent austerity has entailed incisive institutional adaptations and has been accompanied by a ‘new politics’, centred on a plurality of ‘blame avoidance’ strategies on the side of parties and governments. The article summarises and discusses the main factual developments since the mid-1970s but it also surveys the main strands of academic debates on both the expansion and the crisis phases. The author argues that comparative welfare state research has been one of the liveliest fields of political economy – a field marked by important analytical and theoretical advances and by the accumulation of relevant and systematic empirical knowledge about a key institution of the European political landscape.     

Do it yourself: The national approach to the out‐of‐area question

European Union: Identity and international role

Birthmarks of Europe: the origins oj the European Community reconsidered / Edelgard Mahant. ‐ Ashgate : Aldershot, c2004. ‐ISBN 0–7546–1487–5

EU trade strategies : between regionalism and globalism I edited by Vinod K. Aggarwal and Edward A. Fogarty. ‐ Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, c2004. ‐ xiv, 249 p. ‐ ISBN 1–4039–3258–1 (pbk)

L'Europa potenza civile / Mario Telò. ‐ Bari : Laterza, c2004. ‐ XIV, 261 p. ‐ (Libri del tempo , 358). ‐ ISBN 88420–7258–3

European Union foreign and security policy : towards a neighbourhood strategy / edited by Roland Dannreuther. ‐ London : Routledge, 2004. ‐ xiv, 226 p. ‐ ISBN 0–415–32298–7 (pbk)

Paneuropa : geografia e storia di un'idea / a cura di Gianfranco Lizza; Sergio Balanzino [et al.]. ‐ Torino : UTET, C2004. ‐ x, 230 p. ‐ ISBN 88–7750–894–9

The politics of European security / edited by Jess Pligaard. ‐ Copenhagen : Danish Institute for International Studies, C2004. ‐ 198 p. ‐ ISBN 87–7605–015–7

Who are the Europeans now? I Edward Moxon‐Browne. ‐ Aldershot : Ashgate, c2004. ‐ viii, 202 p. ‐ ISBN 1–84014–429–7

China

China's role in Asia and the world economy .‐ fostering stability and growth / edited by Jan Joost Teunissen. ‐ The Hague .‐ FON‐DAD, 2003. ‐ xvi, 98 p. ‐ ISBN 90–74208–22–3

Integrating China into the global economy / Nicholas R. Lardy. ‐ Washington, D.C. : Brookings Institution Press, c2002. ‐xii, 244 p. ‐ ISBN 0–81–57–5136–2     

Russia and the EU Ten Years On: A Relationship in Search of Definition

Russia and the EU have dramatically expanded their relationship over the last ten years ever since the 1997 Partnership Cooperation and Agreement entered into force. The four spaces of cooperation agreed upon in 2003 have provided a myriad of opportunities for dialogue and cooperation. Yet, quantity does not equal quality in a relationship that lacks a clear endgame perspective. Russia's new cockiness and the EU's internal divisions do not help bridge the strategic gap. Energy and the common neighbourhood are today the main spoilers in the relationship. They could however be turned into major opportunities in developing a strategic partnership.     

Factors fostering academics to start up new ventures: an assessment of Italian founders’ incentives

Why do university researchers decide to start-up a new venture? How can we distinguish between the different factors influencing such an important decision? To what extent are specific policies activated within universities relevant in the process of new venture creation? In this paper we try to answer these very significant questions, through an empirical analysis performed on a sample of 88 Italian academics involved in the creation of 47 spin-offs between 1999 and 2005. Our findings show that the availability of technologies with a potential for commercial exploitation, the possibility to access university infrastructures and the personal benefits are the most important incentives for academics. More generally, academics’ involvement in creating new ventures is not driven by an entrepreneurial attitude, but rather by the expectation of generating results which will enhance their academic position. Additional investments and efforts made by some universities to create more mechanisms to support spin-offs are not perceived as additional incentives. These results hold after controlling for academic founders’ institutional affiliation, status, and the companies’ growth over their first two years of existence. Implications for public policy and organizational processes are discussed.     

Women in prison: unhealthy lives and denied well-being between loneliness and seclusion

The purpose of this study is to investigate the well-being of female inmates in Italian prisons. The hypothesis is that stress in women prisoners is strictly related both to “external” networks and “internal” support, and is more linked to the feeling of loneliness than to coping with the difficulties of prison life. Qualitative study involving adult female prisoners in the prisons of three Italian regions (Campania, Lazio, Emilia Romagna). 37 individual semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interviews were processed using the CAQDAS contents (Computer Assisted/Aided Qualitative Data Analysis Software) by the software Atlas.ti, to practice the Grounded Analysis method to attain the construction of categories and its relations. The interviews show multiple levels of reflection, crossbreeding mainly two plans: a situational one and a personal one. The main dimensions emerged are: the access to activities in prison (work, projects, sociality) experienced as a deterrent to depression and as an opportunity for the future reintegration into the “free” society; the motherhood, as a spur to a resilience, but also in reference to the difficulties associated with the conditions of segregation. The main theme that crossed all the conversations is the loneliness lived as a prison disease. More attention should be given to the re-socialization aspect of prisons, constructing new ways to guarantee the prisoners a valid alternative to deviant behaviours so as to help restore family relationships and the reintegration in society.     

Social Europe and its Components in the Midst of the Crisis: A Conclusion

The article starts by identifying the main institutional components of the (elusive) concept of Social Europe: the ‘National Social Spaces’, i.e. the social protection systems of the member states; the ‘EU Social Citizenship Space’, i.e. the coordination regime that allows all EU nationals to access the social benefits of other member states when they exercise free movement; the ‘Regional Social Spaces’, i.e. sub-national and/or trans-regional social policies; and the ‘EU Social Policy’ proper. Based on such reconceptualisation, the article then revisits the main analytical insights and substantive findings of the volume’s contributions, focusing in particular on dynamics of ‘social re-bounding’ during the crisis, on national implementation processes, on the relevance of ‘fits’ and ‘misfits’ for social policy compliance and on issues of democratic control. In the conclusion, some suggestions for future research and for the EU’s social agenda are put forward.