Determination of Nicotine,Cotinine and Trans‐3′‐Hydroxycotinine using LC/MS/MS in Forensic Samples of a Nicotine Fatal Case by Oral Ingestion of e‐cigarette Liquid,

Nicotine is a potent neurotoxin alkaloid and is used in e‐cigarette liquid. The LC/MS/MS method was linear over 0.01–1.0 mg/L (r² = 0.992–0.995). Limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.001 mg/L (S/N = 3) and 0.003 (S/N = 10). The inaccuracy and imprecision were <13.2%. The recoveries were >99.3%. A 39‐year‐old dentist was found dead lying on the floor under the couch in his dental clinic. The concentration of nicotine, cotinine, and trans‐3′‐hydroxycotinine (heart blood/peripheral blood) was analyzed as follows: 87.2/85.2 mg/L (ratio 1.0), 1.4/1.1 mg/L (ratio 1.3), and 0.012/0.0089 mg/L (ratio 1.3), respectively. The concentration of nicotine was determined to be 6734.8 mg/kg in gastric contents and 7262.0 mg/L in remaining e‐liquid. Only, high concentration of nicotine was detected in the gastric contents as well as the two pieces of evidence collected from the death scene. This fatal case resulted from oral ingestion of e‐cigarette liquid. It is estimated that at least 714 mg of nicotine was orally ingested.     

Drivers of Policy Instrument Selection for Environmental Management by Local Governments

Local governments commonly pursue environmental objectives that exceed state and federal minimum requirements. Although research informs our understanding of factors that lead cities to adopt such policy goals, the underlying mechanisms employed to achieve them are not well understood. This article examines factors that drive the choice of policy instruments that cities use to pursue local environmental objectives. The literature links the structure of the local governing body, characteristics of the community and target populations, and the nature of the policy problem to instrument selection. Building on this, the authors model the dynamics shaping cities' use of regulations, financial incentives, or combination thereof, to pursue a variety of different environmental objectives. Results indicate that community racial composition and political leaning influence instrument choice when policy targets the public at large. Alternatively, when policy targets particular stakeholder groups, such as developers, the characteristics of the local governing body are of greater importance.     

Administrative reorganization as a signal: Bounded rationality,agency merger,and salience of policy issues

Although administrative reorganization has been a major political instrument in many democracies, there has been limited research on its effects. Aiming to address this gap, this study examines the reorganization of Korean government ministries, specifically, the impact of reorganization in the form of a merger of ministries performing interrelated but dissimilar functions. Examining the salience of policy issues expressed in official government press releases during the 12‐year period from 2001 to 2012, we found that administrative reorganization in the form of a merger has a significant impact on the relative salience of government policy agendas. Specifically, the interrupted time series estimates indicate that the salience of science and technology policy issues (in relation to education policy issues) decreased by approximately 12% to 17% following the dissolution of the Ministry of Science and Technology. We explain this finding based on the bounded rationality view of bureaucratic information processing.     

Parent-Adolescent Vocational Aspiration Congruence and its Relations with Academic Adjustment

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Adolescents’ own vocational aspirations and those of parents for their adolescent children play significant roles in adolescents’ development. The...