Method validation of a survey of thevetia cardiac glycosides in serum samples

A sensitive and specific liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI(+)-MS/MS) procedure was developed and validated for the identification and quantification of thevetin B and further cardiac glycosides in human serum. The seeds of Yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana) contain cardiac glycosides that can cause serious intoxication. A mixture of six thevetia glycosides was extracted from these seeds and characterized. Thevetin B, isolated and efficiently purified from that mixture, is the main component and can be used as evidence. Solid phase extraction (SPE) proved to be an effective sample preparation method. Digoxin-d3 was used as the internal standard. Although ion suppression occurs, the limit of detection (LOD) is 0.27 ng/ml serum for thevetin B. Recovery is higher than 94%, and accuracy and precision were proficient. Method refinement was carried out with regard to developing a general screening method for cardiac glycosides. The assay is linear over the range of 0.5-8 ng/ml serum. Finally, the method was applied to a case of thevetia seed ingestion.     

Juvenile female and male sex offenders: a comparison of offender, victim, and judicial processing characteristics

This research examines 61 juvenile female sex offenders in terms of their offending patterns, demographics, and victim characteristics; these findings are compared to 122 juvenile male sex offenders. Relying on sex offender registration data and criminal history records, bivariate analyses are conducted to assess male-female differences. Logistic regression is also employed to further assess group membership (male and female). Females were typically younger than males at the time of their arrest for a sex offense. Female offenders also chose male and female victims proportionately, whereas males were more likely to choose female victims. Logistic regression analysis revealed two significant predictors of the offender's sex: victim's sex and length of sentence. This research, therefore, indicates different modalities of offense characteristics for males and females, which predicates different management strategies in terms of identification for these groups of offenders.     

Winners and Losers: Politics, Casino Gambling, and Development in Atlantic City

Legalized gambling has been embraced by a number of local economic development organizations as a panacea. This paper offers the example of Atlantic City, New Jersey, as a cautionary tale. We trace the politics of gambling in New Jersey and the city, the massive flow of capital into casinos, and the resulting flows of funds in the local economy. City residents have, at best, gained minimally from gambling; the area, including suburbs, has gained from in-migration. However, even including such spillovers, gambling did not produce the expected gains. This apparent failure may be due to inadequate planning for the extremely rapid development associated with the massive flow of new private capital which followed legalization; the same risks exist with different major and rapid capital flows into local economies.     

Federal Preemption and State Regulation of Transportation and Telecommunications

Transportation and telecommunications are two of the most importantinfrastructural industries in the American economy. As theseindustries are so vital and because they exhibit characteristicsthat have frequently rendered them quasi-monopolistic, theirgrowth has been accompanied by state and federal regulation.We document how the imposition of regulation has led to continualconflicts over the extent to which federal regulation shouldtake precedence over state regulation. We illustrate how thejustifications for federal preemption have been applied notonly to the regulation, but also to the recent deregulation,of railroads, trucking, and telecommunications. We contend thatpolitical factors, such as congressional support, precedent-settingcourt rulings, and, most important, political pressure fromaffected interest groups that is related to the revenues stillgenerated within states by these industries, ultimately determinethe form of preemption that emerges from the Congress.     

Lethal intoxication with arsenic using prepared butter

The present case report deals with a lethal intoxication with arsenic mixed into butter. It describes the course of events over about two days on the basis of the statements by the persons involved, the clinical findings after the belated hospitalisation of the victim, the results of the first pathological autopsy, the forensic autopsy performed after exhumation and the results of the chemical-toxicological investigations. The results are discussed in relation to the later confession of the female perpetrator and her statements regarding a previous unsuccessful murder attempt by poisoning. It also presents the judgement pronounced by the court and the reasons given for it.     

What Research Can Tell Policymakers about School Choice

American school systems have implemented several different kinds of school choice policies, and most of them are controversial. The research literature on various forms of school choice reveals some areas of consensus, but other areas where the results of studies diverge. Consensus results show that parents are more satisfied with choice, that they report using academic preferences to make choices, and that they tend to be more involved with their child's education as a consequence of choice. There is some, though mixed, evidence of improved test scores for children involved with various forms of choice. Actual parental use of choice and gathering of information, however, show some evidence of stratification, not always by race or income, but often by the level of parental involvement and motivation. These results provide considerable evidence about the effects on students whose parents have made an active choice, but more policy research is needed on the effects of competition on students in schools that have not been chosen. © 2001 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.