DART‐MS as a Preliminary Screening Method for “Herbal Incense”: Chemical Analysis of Synthetic Cannabinoids

Direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART‐MS) served as a method for rapid high‐throughput screening of six commercially available “Spice” products, detecting various combinations of five synthetic cannabinoids. Direct analysis in real time is an ambient ionization process that, along with high mass accuracy time‐of‐flight (TOF)‐MS to 0.0001 Da, was employed to establish the presence of cannabinoids. Mass spectra were acquired by simply suspending a small portion of sample between the ion source and the mass spectrometer inlet. The ability to test minute amounts of sample is a major advantage when very limited amounts of evidentiary material are available. In addition, reports are widespread regarding the testing backlogs that now exist because of the large influx of designer drugs. This method circumvents time‐consuming sample extraction, derivatization, chromatographic, and other sample preparative steps required for analysis by more conventional mass spectrometric methods. Accordingly, the synthetic cannabinoids AM‐2201, JWH‐122, JWH‐203, JWH‐210, and RCS‐4 were identified in commercially available herbal Spice products, singly and in tandem, at concentrations within the range of 4–141 mg/g of material. Direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry decreases the time necessary to triage analytical evidence, and therefore, it has the potential to contribute to backlog reduction and more timely criminal prosecution.     

Situating private equity capital in the land grab debate

This paper examines the private equity investment landscape in African land and agriculture markets by exploring two underlying questions: (1) Within the global land grab trend, how is power manifested for private equity investors? and (2) What are the development implications of private equity-backed investments? The essay begins with an overview of the recent rise of private equity in African land markets. It then analyzes the power relations embedded in this trend, particularly exploring the issues of information asymmetry and ‘creative destruction’ inherent in private equity finance, and their implications for governance and labour. Finally, the paper examines the power dynamics that characterize the relatively new relationship between private equity groups and development finance. Drawing on several illustrations of the World Bank Group's involvement in private equity-backed land investments, this paper demonstrates how the overlapping interests between development finance and private equity groups, in part, explain private equity's presence in emerging farmland markets.     

Health Care Institution Amendments to the National Labor Relations Act: an analysis.

Ira M. Shepard, J.D. herein analyzes the legislative history and the substantive provisions of the 1974 Health Care Institution Amendments to the National Labor Relations Act. The Amendments bring private, non-profit health care institutions and their employees under the coverage of the NLRA, the goal of Congress being to reach a successful compromise of the public's right to receive uninterrupted health care; the health care institution's obligation to provide these services to the fullest extent possible; and the right of health care employees to have the same voice in the determination of their wages, hours, and working conditions accorded other workers under the NLRA.     

Natural DNA mixtures generated in fraternal twins in utero

Analysis of multiple genetic loci using short tandem repeats (STR) is widely used in human identity testing because the extensive polymorphism at these loci allows for a high degree of discrimination among individuals. We recently received a forensic case that included several pieces of evidence and reference blood samples. Upon initial testing, one of the suspects had a DNA profile that included three alleles at four of the nine loci tested (vWA, FGA, TH01, and D5S818). At each locus, two of the alleles appeared to be "major" alleles with a third "minor" allele present. The profile appeared to be a mixture of two people. Contamination of this first reference sample was suspected and a second, unopened blood specimen was requested from this individual. The DNA profile from this second reference specimen was identical to that of the original specimen at each locus. One of the evidence samples also displayed an identical mixed DNA profile matching that of the reference specimens mentioned above. The relative peak heights of the two "major" and one "minor" allele remained constant in all three samples. Additional background information revealed that the suspect had not received a bone marrow transplant or blood transfusion. However, it was disclosed that this individual is a fraternal (dizygotic) twin. We hypothesize that an exchange of blood cells between the fetuses occurred in utero and that the additional alleles present in these reference samples are derived from cells contributed by his twin sibling. No additional specimens from the suspect or his twin could be obtained for confirmation, and our hypothesis remains untested. Forensic scientists should be aware of this possibility when faced with a DNA profile in which extra alleles at multiple loci are detected.     

Evaluating essential health packages from a human rights perspective

Many countries at all levels of development have formulated an essential health package, sometimes also referred to as a health benefit plan or a health benefit basket. As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), essential health packages (EHPs) are “health service interventions that are considered important and that society decides should be provided to everyone.” Although EHPs are not often formulated from an explicitly human rights perspective, since they are conceptualized as a guaranteed minimum of health services, much like core health obligations, they have obvious human rights import. This article evaluates the principles from which the plans are developed, the content of the packages, and the experience of countries seeking to implement them from a human rights perspective. In the process, it seeks to gain greater clarity about the health service requirements of the right to health.     

Is the Tobacco Settlement Constitutional?

In August 2005, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a conservative advocacy organization, filed a lawsuit in Louisiana challenging the legality of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). The suit alleges that the MSA, under which the states receive monetary payments and the four major tobacco companies are insulated from price competition, violates the Compact Clause and other provisions of the U.S. Constitution. This lawsuit threatens to unravel of one of the most significant opportunities to improve public health in United States history. We consider the merits of the lawsuit, the problems with the MSA that it highlights, and the potential consequences of the suit for public health.     

A policy critique of HIV/AIDS and demobilisation

The objective of this paper is to draw out and encourage debate on the relationship between HIV and the policy challenges that it poses for security. It explores how demobilisation programmes need to incorporate a development perspective, bringing together public health practitioners and security experts, in order to address the pandemic and the future security needs of Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular. It is hoped that integrating two very different disciplines, public policy and public health, will mark the beginning of attempts to establish some practical guidelines for policymakers and field practitioners that focus on prevention. Most important, the paper makes an urgent request for a cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral approach to tackling such a complex problem as HIV and the military. Development practitioners once shunned any working relationship with armed forces or defence ministries, but it is impossible now to avoid these institutions in countries with high rates of HIV/AIDS in the security sector.     

Site, type, and local mechanism of tibial shaft fracture in drivers in frontal automobile crashes

The location, type, and local mechanism of tibial shaft fracture were determined for 66 drivers injured in frontal automobile crashes. The results from the analyses showed that the distal third is the most common fracture location (p<0.05) and that bending is responsible for the majority of these fractures regardless of the fracture site. These findings indicate that the current injury criterion for predicting the occurrence of tibial shaft fracture in crash tests with anthropometric test devices is appropriate in terms of accounting for the primary mechanism of fracture but that increased protective effectiveness could be achieved by redefining the criterion for the distal third shaft section instead of the currently specified mid-shaft section of the tibia.