An analytical evaluation of eight on-site oral fluid drug screening devices using laboratory confirmation results from oral fluid

A decaying cadaver emits volatile organic compounds that are used by necrophilous and necrophagous insects in order to find their brood substrate. Although volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are released by carcasses have been identified, little is known about the specific compounds that are used by these insects while searching for a brood substrate. Therefore, we have investigated the chemical ecology involved in the attraction of the necrophagous hide beetle Dermestes maculatus, which feeds as an adult and larva upon decomposing carcasses. Our aims have been to identify the responsible compounds in the odours of the carcass that are important for the attraction of the beetles. Furthermore, we have studied sex- and age-related differences in beetle attraction and tested whether the hide beetle can distinguish between various stages of decomposition by means of the emitted odours. Headspace collection of volatiles released from piglet carcasses (bloated stage, post-bloating stage, advanced decay and dry remains), coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatography with electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and bioassays were conducted to identify the volatiles responsible for the attraction of the beetles. Freshly emerged male beetles were attracted by the odour of piglets in the post-bloating stage (9 days after death; T(mean) = 27 °C) and the EAD-active compound benzyl butyrate. Statistical analysis revealed a higher relative proportion of benzyl butyrate in the odour bouquet of the post-bloating stage in comparison with the other stages. We therefore conclude that this compound plays an important role in the attraction of hide beetles to carcass odour. This underlines the potential use of D. maculatus for the estimation of the post mortem interval. The decomposition stage at which the female beetles are attracted to the odour of a cadaver remains unknown, as does the nature of this attraction. Pheromones (sexual or aggregation pheromones) might play an essential role correlated with their attraction to carrion and consequently with their attraction to the substrate for mating and ovipositioning.     

3D GPR in forensics: Finding a clandestine grave in a mountainous environment

In the present work we show a forensic case study carried out in a mountainous environment. Main objective was to locate a clandestine grave which is around 10–20 years old and contains human remains of one individual and a metallic tool, probably a pick. Survey design started with an experimental burial of a pick at the expected depth (1 m) as well as the calculation of synthetic radargrams in order to know if the 250 MHz antenna was suitable for its detection and to have a record of the reflection of the pick. Conclusions extracted from the experiments together with rough terrain conditions suggested the use of the 250 MHz antenna which allowed a good compromise between target detection and dense grid acquisition of an extensive survey area.     

An empirical analysis of aftermarket transactions by hospitals

Almost all U.S. hospitals procure their equipment through group purchasing organizations ("GPOs"). Some hospitals subject the prices secured by GPOs to a second round of competition in an "aftermarket," in which vendors both on and off the GPO contract compete for the hospital's business. To measure the extent of the potential benefit to hospitals from another round of competition, we analyzed a database of approximately 8,100 aftermarket transactions for hospital capital equipment. The transactions data suggest that hospitals were able to achieve average savings of approximately 10 to 14 percent across the entire database (2001 through 2010) and a savings of 15 percent on average for 2010 data. These savings may be attributable to many factors, including the compensation structure of GPOs.     

Water alternatives—who and what influences public acceptance?

• Water supports life, society, the environment and the economy, therefore, the task of ensuring a nation's water supply is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of every government. Water management has become a greater challenge due to the increased demand for water as a result of population growth and the impact of climate change on the variability of rainfall. In response, many cities have implemented plans to augment their traditional water supplies (e.g. dams and groundwater) with new or alternative sources (e.g. recycled wastewater and desalinated sea water). Historical evidence suggests that in order for water augmentation projects to be successfully implemented, the support of the general public is required. It is thus critical to understand the factors which influence people's attitudes regarding water‐related matters. The aim of this study is to identify these influencing factors. Results from an empirical study including both qualitative and quantitative components indicate that a number of factors are influential in the public's acceptance of alternative water sources, including research findings, the experience of water shortage, consideration for future generations and news, facts and other publicized information. Notably, politicians and the government were rated by respondents as having a low level of influence. Factors which may determine differences in influence were explored. This revealed a small number of differences for people with low acceptance levels of recycled and desalinated water, and for people with higher levels of education. Systematic differences were identified by comparing the general Australian population with that of Toowoomba, a regional town in Queensland where a referendum on a water recycling project was held. Policy implications are discussed.

Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Philosophers,Activists, and Radicals: A Story of Human Rights and Other Scandals

Paradoxically, the political success of human rights is often taken to be its philosophical failing. From US interventions to International NGOs to indigenous movements, human rights have found a place in diverse political spaces, while being applied to disparate goals and expressed in a range of practices. This heteronomy is vital to the global appeal of human rights, but for traditional moral and political philosophy it is something of a scandal. This paper is an attempt to understand and theorize human rights on the terrain of the social actors who put them to use, particularly radical activists that have a more critical relationship to human rights. Attempting to avoid the philosophical pathology of demanding that the world reflect our conception of it, we base our reflection on the ambiguous, and potentially un-patterned, texture of human rights practice—taking seriously the idea that human rights express a relationship of power, importantly concerned with its legitimate arrangement and limitation. In both the philosophical literature and human rights activism, there seems to be a consensus on basic rights as undeniable moral principles of political legitimacy. This use of human rights is contrasted with radical social movements that reject this conception of rights as ideological and illegitimate, making specific reference to the Zapatista movement (Chiapas, Mexico) and the Landless Peasant Movement of Brazil (MST, from the Portuguese Movimento dos trabalhadores rurais Sem Terra), which are critical of the human rights discourse, but also make strategic use of the idea and offer alternative articulations of political legitimacy.     

The Effectiveness of Administrative Reform in New Democracies

Practitioners and scholars of postcommunist politics disagree on the accomplishments of administrative reforms in new Eastern European democracies. The transformation of the public sector after 1989 has aimed to consolidate the democratic process and enhance economic development. Skeptics, however, argue that administrative reforms face serious challenges in the context of economic liberalization, insufficient capacity for modernization, and cultural legacies of the past. The authors judge reform effectiveness by testing the impact of civil service reform on government transparency and foreign direct investment. The results of the empirical analysis confirm that once reform is adopted, administrations become more effective at reducing corruption and attracting investment. Despite the delays and difficulties of implementation, the adoption of reform is important in and of itself, and countries can expect positive results sooner than skeptics predict.     

Cross‐Border Shopping and State Use Tax Liabilities: Evidence from eBay Transactions

Online commerce presents consumers with a convenient way of shopping outside of their local jurisdiction, and this online purchase decision is capable of affecting in significant ways the sales and use tax collections of state governments. However, the actual revenue impact has proven difficult to estimate. There is considerable work that examines the revenue impact of seller compliance with sales taxes. However, there is little work on buyer compliance with use taxes. In this paper, we investigate the potential impact of cross‐border shopping on state use tax liabilities of buyers, using data from the largest online consumer‐to‐consumer and business‐to‐consumer marketplace, eBay.com . We collect our own data on actual cross‐border shopping transactions from eBay, focusing upon a “representative” commodity classification and a “typical” day; these data consist of nearly 21,000 eBay listings generated by roughly 7,000 individual sellers with over 9,000 buyers. These data allow us to examine the extent of actual, not estimated, cross‐border shopping by buyers, and the subsequent potential impact of this cross‐border shopping on state use tax liabilities. Our results indicate that cross‐border shopping is highly prevalent on eBay, with out‐of‐state purchases accounting for on average 94 percent of the volume of a state's purchase transactions. Even so, given the limited volume of eBay‐based transactions relative to total sales transactions, the likely impact of cross‐border transactions on state use tax revenue streams is quite low, at least at present, typically less than one percent of actual state sales tax revenues.