Determination of lysergic acid diethylamide in body fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection--a more sensitive method suitable for routine use

A new method for determination of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in body fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection was developed based on previously published methods. The new method is suitable for confirmation of samples tested positive by immunoassay, avoiding loss of LSD by absorption to surfaces. The reduced loss of LSD results in improved sensitivity. This is achieved by adding ethylene glycol to the samples, which cover glass surfaces. This principle can similarly be used to improve analysis of other drugs. Body fluids for analysis included urine and whole blood. An internal standard was applied for quantification of LSD. The new method offers satisfying precision data and has a detection limit of less than 0.05 ng/nL.     

Neck extension as a cause of SIDS

The intradural sagittal diameter at the second cervical vertebra (SD/C2) of 62 SIDS cases was measured myelographically. This SD/C2 proved to be dependent on body size, body weight, and age. A clear, age-dependent difference is to be found in the primarily narrow spinal canal. This parameter (SD/C2), which is more precisely defined in adults on the basis of clinical, radiological, and autopsical findings is assumed to have the value of 0.5 cm in the first 2 months, 0.6 cm in the third month, and 0.65 cm in the fourth month. The resulting potential danger to infants is dependent upon their position. The SD/C2, was significantly decreased in extension as compared to a neutral posture. With consideration of the primarily narrow spinal canal in the infant, there is, according to our measurements, a potential hazard for the infant in any further, significant shortening of the SD/C2. This is independent of the width of the spinal canal under maximal extension. We found individual cases in which the SD/C2 was decreased by almost 50% from the normal value in neutral position. No correlation was found between the primary width of the spinal canal and the degree of luminal reduction upon extension.     

Violence,fear, and development in Latin America: a critical overview

This introduction presents the core concepts that shape this special issue on the impact of violence and the processes of development in Central and South America. The understanding of development is considered in terms broader than the economic context alone, in order to assess wider social and political aspects. With a similarly expansive scope, forms of violence are addressed that range from direct physical harm and bodily attack to the often more subtle aggression of racialised abuse or the pressures on community-centred production from dominant market forces. In these contexts, violence, economic initiatives, and political allegiances form unintended and often dangerous networks of consequence for development matters. All the articles in this volume exemplify further the spatial environments of violence and diverse ‘landscapes of fear’ that shape our existence and help to define our actions, territories, and understanding of what happens around us.     

Flourishing retail in the post-soviet sphere? Potentials and constraints of small-scale retail activities in rural Kyrgyzstan

The demise of the USSR led to the collapse of its centrally organised retail system. With this collapse the supply of consumer goods dried up, especially in the remote parts of the former USSR. At the same time the advent of capitalism offered a new institutional framework for independent retail activities. In the Kyrgyz Republic, where the economic liberalisation followed strictly the Washington Consensus, a large number of small shops emerged in both urban and rural areas. This study analyses the reasons for this boom in retail start-ups as well as the constraints the mainly inexperienced merchants encounter. As will be shown, any success in retail activities depends greatly on the performance of other economic sectors. The main goal of starting a retail business is to minimize risks within the overall livelihood strategies of households in rural Kyrgyzstan.