Determination of impurities in illicit methamphetamine samples seized in Iran

In this study fifty samples of crystalline methamphetamine obtained from antinarcotics police of Iran seized during the year 2010 were analyzed. In order to determine the chemical characteristics of these samples, anion test, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) were carried out on the samples. All of the samples containing methamphetamine tested positive for chloride anion. The range of methamphetamine hydrochloride content in these samples was 33-95%. One sample out of 50 contained no methamphetamine. The fact that 1,2-dimethyl-3-phenylaziridine was the most frequently found impurity in the analyzed samples, indicates that most of the methamphetamine samples seized in Iran have been synthesized from pseudoephedrine as starting material.     

Suicidal behavior by burns among adolescents in Kurdistan, Iran: a social tragedy

The aim of this study was to identify the epidemiologic features and current etiological factors of suicidal behavior by burns among adolescents in Kurdistan, Iran. A prospective population-based study was carried out on patients with suicidal behaviors by burns requiring hospitalization among adolescents during 2000-2001 in Kurdistan, Iran. Sociodemographic and etiological factors were obtained through interviews with each patient or with family, relatives, or friends of the patient. Of 54 hospitalized burn patients aged 13-19 years, 40 (74.1%) patients were hospitalized because of suicidal behaviors by burns (6 males and 34 females). The incidence rate of these behaviors was 18.1 per 100,000 person-years (P-Y) and varied by gender (the incidence rates for females and males were 31.6 and 5.3 per 100,000 P-Y, respectively, p(2) = .000004). Most of the patients (60%) were single, 70% were homemakers, and 60% were either illiterate or had a low level of education. The most common precipitating factors for suicidal behaviors by burns were a quarrel with a family member or relative (47.5%) and marital conflict (17.5%). Most of the patients who were able to communicate regretted their suicidal behaviors (85.7%). Adolescents in Kurdistan are at higher risk of suicidal behaviors by burns compared to adolescents in other areas of Iran. Factors likely to be associated with suicidal behaviors by burns include lower socioeconomic status and family problems. These factors should be investigated further to better elucidate the etiology of these events. It also is necessary to implement prevention programs and strategies known to be effective to reduce the incidence of suicide in this region.     

The pattern of suicide in Pakistan

There is paucity of information on suicide from Pakistan, an Islamic country in which data collection poses formidable challenges. A variety of social, legal, and religious factors make reporting and diagnosing suicide difficult. Paradoxically, incidents of suicide are regularly reported in newspapers in Pakistan. In the absence of other means these reports serve a useful, though basic information source for suicidal deaths. A 2-year analysis of all such reports in a major newspaper in Pakistan showed 306 suicides reported from 35 cities. Men (n = 208) outnumbered women by 2:1. While there were more single than married men, the trend was reversed in women. The majority of subjects were under 30 years of age and "domestic problems" was the most common reason stated. More than half the subjects used organophosphate insecticides, while psychotropics and analgesics were used infrequently. The study challenges the widely held belief that suicide is a rare phenomena in an Islamic country like Pakistan, and underscores the need for more culture specific research on this important public health problem.     

Dynamics of consumption distribution and economic fluctuations

Economic Change and Restructuring - This study aims to investigate the dynamics of consumption distribution and to determine how it is affected by macroeconomic fluctuations based on two different...     

Social capital,individual disorders and property offences

This paper examines the relevance to delinquency of social capital that is directly embedded in the relationships that teenagers have with peers, parents, and those in positions of authority and those indirect social capital that teenagers may benefit due their parents' relations with their school or friends. The analysis employs data from the Canadian National Survey of Children. The study shows that personality traits are the most important predictors of property offences. Nevertheless, we also show the importance of social relationships embedded directly in individuals themselves and these are more important than those embedded indirectly through their family. Well connected youth with good friends and quality teachers commit significantly less property offences when controlling for personality traits and parents' social capital.     

The innovative personality? Policy making and experimentation in an authoritarian bureaucracy

Why do local officials in an authoritarian bureaucracy experiment with policy, even when directed not to do so by central‐level officials? This study suggests that policy experimentation in this institutional environment can best be understood as an interaction between the structure in which local officials are embedded and individual‐level personality attributes. Leveraging a new data set from a series of original surveys with local policy makers in mainland China, conducted between 2016 and 2018, we discern three baseline personality types: authoritarian, consultative, and entrepreneurial. We thereafter examine the individual‐level characteristics of local officials who will innovate irrespective of a centralization of bureaucratic power and interests, as currently experienced under Chinese President Xi Jinping. We find that local policy makers engage in policy innovation when they are more focused on resolving governance problems and that increased risk reduces but does not eliminate their willingness to innovate. Based on these findings, we contend that future studies of policy innovation should use an evolutionary framework to examine the interaction between preferences and selection pressures.     

A Community of Practice for Chinese NGOs

Journal of Chinese Political Science - A community of practice represents an important resource for the sharing of sector-specific knowledge. Embracing a mature community of practice allows Chinese...     

Effectiveness of selective credit controls: An empirical test applied to India

This article examines the efficiency of the selective credit policies pursued by the Indian authorities aimed at curtailing inventory accumulation in the sugar industry. Based on the relationship between investment demand and credit availability, a methodology is developed to test the degree of substitutability of different types of credit in the inventory decision of the firm. The tests conducted indicate that the credit policies adopted by Indian authorities have been of limited effectiveness owing to the substitutability of the different sources of finance. The results also indicate that while a correctly designed selective credit policy can affect inventory accumulation, the same policy may have an adverse impact on overall investment of the firm.