Rapid isolation with Sep-Pak C18 cartridges and capillary gas chromatography of triazine herbicides in human body fluids.

A simple and rapid method, for the isolation of eight triazine herbicides from human serum and urine, using Sep-Pak C18 cartridges is presented. After mixing with distilled water, serum and urine samples containing the herbicides, were loaded on Sep-Pak C18 cartridges and eluted with either chloroform only or chloroform/methanol (9:1). The herbicides were detected by capillary gas chromatography with both flame ionization detection (FID) and nitrogen-phosphorus detection (NPD). Separation of eight triazine herbicides from each other and from impurities was generally satisfactory with the use of a non-polar DB-1 capillary column. Recovery of most compounds was excellent for both chloroform and chloroform/methanol (9:1) as elution solvents. Backgrounds were cleaner and evaporation time was shorter for the chloroform only than for the chloroform/methanol (9:1). The NPD gave sensitivity more than 10-20 times higher than that of FID.     

THE TWELVE PEOPLE WHO SAVED REHABILITATION: HOW THE SCIENCE OF CRIMINOLOGY MADE A DIFFERENCE

Three decades ago, it was widely believed by criminologists and policymakers that “nothing works” to reform offenders and that “rehabilitation is dead” as a guiding correctional philosophy. By contrast, today there is a vibrant movement to reaffirm rehabilitation and to implement programs based on the principles of effective intervention. How did this happen? I contend that the saving of rehabilitation was a contingent reality that emerged due to the efforts of a small group of loosely coupled research criminologists. These scholars rejected the “nothing works” professional ideology and instead used rigorous science to show that popular punitive interventions were ineffective, that offenders were not beyond redemption, and that treatment programs rooted in criminological knowledge were capable of meaningfully reducing recidivism. Their story is a reminder that, under certain conditions, the science of criminology is capable of making an important difference in the correctional enterprise, if not far beyond.