The corporate shaping of GM crops as a technology for the poor

The status of international agricultural research as a global public good (GPG) has been widely accepted since the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. While the term was not used at the time of its creation, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) system that evolved at that time has been described as a ‘prime example of the promise, performance and perils of an international approach to providing GPGs’. Contemporary literature on international agricultural research as a GPG tends to support this view and focuses on how to operationalize the concept. This paper adopts a different starting point and questions this conceptualization of the CGIAR and its outputs. It questions the appropriateness of such a ‘neutral’ concept to a system born of the imperatives of Cold War geopolitics, and shaped by a history of attempts to secure its relevance in a changing world. This paper draws on a multi-sited, ethnographic study of a research effort highlighted by the CGIAR as an exemplar of GPG-oriented research. Behind the ubiquitous language of GPGs, ‘partnership’ and ‘consensus’, however, new forms of exclusion and restriction are emerging within everyday practice, reproducing North–South inequalities and undermining the ability of these programmes to respond to the needs of projected beneficiaries.     

Introduction to the Special Issue on Peircean Semeiotic

This special issue should go a long way towards increasing the understanding of Peirce’s semeiotic and its applicability for solving problems in legal studies. In fact, the New Science of Semiotics should result in developing a rigorous and systematic methodology for legal studies making it a true semiotic science which I suggest calling “jurisology.”     

Arsenic speciation of two specimens of Napoleon's hair

Since 1960, it has been demonstrated by various analytical procedures that high concentrations of arsenic were present in Napoleon's hair. Various authors, indicating that the detected arsenic levels are a consequence of external contamination, have challenged the results of these examinations. We have tested two strands of hair, referenced as Noverraz and Grand Maréchal Bertrand. Samples were incubated 6 h in water at 90 °C, and arsenic speciation was carried out by HPLC–ICP/MS. The residue was injected on a cation-exchange PRP-X200 column that allows the detection of arsenobetaine and on an anion-exchange PRP-X100 column to test for the mineral forms. In these conditions, the inorganic species As(III), As(V) and their metabolites (DMA and MMA) were separated. Analysis of hair samples highlighted massive amounts of total arsenic (42.1 and 37.4 ng/mg). Arsenical species found in the two samples of analyzed hair are distributed in the following: As(III) 31.1 and 44.7%; As(V) 66.3 and 53.2%; DMA 0.42 and 0.15%. Traces of MMA were detected, and 2% of the species could not be identified. These results prove that more than 97% of the arsenic found in the hair of Napoleon is in inorganic form, which is consistent with a chronic intoxication to arsenic.     

Simultaneous analysis of six amphetamines and analogues in hair, blood and urine by LC-ESI-MS/MS: Application to the determination of MDMA after low Ecstasy intake

A rapid and sensitive method using LC-MS/MS triple stage quadrupole for the determination of traces of amphetamine (AP), methamphetamine (MA), 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “ecstasy”), 3,4-methylenedioxyethamphetamine (MDEA), and N-methyl-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanamine (MBDB) in hair, blood and urine has been developed and validated. Chromatography was carried out on an Uptisphere ODB C₁₈ 5 μm, 2.1 mm × 150 mm column (Interchim, France) with a gradient of acetonitrile and formate 2 mM pH 3.0 buffer. Urine and blood were extracted with Toxitube A^® (Varian, France). Segmented scalp hair was treated by incubation 15 min at 80 °C in NaOH 1 M before liquid–liquid extraction with hexane/ethyl acetate (2/1, v/v). The limits of quantification (LOQ) in blood and urine were at 0.1 ng/mL for all analytes. In hair, LOQ was <5 pg/mg for MA, MDMA, MDEA and MBDB, at 14.7 pg/mg for AP and 15.7 pg/mg for MDA. Calibration curves were linear in the range 0.1–50 ng/mL in blood and urine; in the range 5–500 pg/mg for MA, MDMA, MDEA and MBDB, and 20–500 pg/mg for AP and MDA. Inter-day precisions were <13% for all analytes in all matrices. Accuracy was <20% in blood and urine at 1 and 50 ng/mL and <10% in hair at 20 and 250 pg/mg. This method was applied to the determination of MDMA in a forensic case of single administration of ecstasy to a 16-year-old female without her knowledge during a party. She suffered from hyperactivity, sweating and agitation. A first sample of urine was collected a few hours after (T + 12 h) and tested positive to amphetamines by immunoassay by a clinical laboratory. Blood and urine were sampled for forensic purposes at day 8 (D + 8) and scalp hair at day 60 (D + 60). No MDMA was detected in blood, but urine and hair were tested positive, respectively at 0.42 ng/mL and at 22 pg/mg in hair only in the segment corresponding to the period of the offence, while no MDA was detectable. This method allows the detection of MDMA up to 8 days in urine after single intake.     

甲基苯丙胺在家兔体内的毒物代谢动力学研究

目的研究甲基苯丙胺及其代谢物苯丙胺在家兔体内的毒物代谢动力学行为。方法GC/MS法测定家兔灌胃甲基苯丙胺后不同时间点血、尿中甲基苯丙胺和代谢物苯丙胺浓度,采用3P97程序进行房室模型拟合以及毒物代谢动力学参数计算。结果甲基苯丙胺和苯丙胺在家兔体内的毒物代谢动力学过程均呈一级动力学特征,符合二室开放模型。甲基苯丙胺在家兔体内Cm ax为1.457 mg/L±0.094 mg/L,Tm ax为1.557h±0.078h,t1/2 ka、t1/2α和t1/2β分别为0.384h±0.052h、1.614h±0.036h和3.007h±0.430h,CL为1.769 L/h/kg±0.114 L/h/kg。甲基苯丙胺的毒物代谢动力学方程为:C t=2.767 e-0.746 t+1.454 e-0.234 t+4.119 e-1.746 t。结论甲基苯丙胺在家兔体内吸收、消除和代谢都较快。建立的甲基苯丙胺毒物代谢动力学方程和参数可为甲基苯丙胺分析的合理取样、从血药浓度推断服毒时间以及甲基苯丙胺滥用的法医学鉴定提供理论依据。     

血尿肝中毒鼠强硅藻土提取GC／NPD检测法

目的建立硅藻土提取气相色谱测定血、尿、肝中毒鼠强的方法。方法原尿液、血液用水稀释、肝匀浆用6％高氯酸沉淀蛋白的上清液倒入硅藻土小柱中，血和尿用苯洗脱，肝用三氯甲烷洗脱，挥干洗脱液，用甲醇定容至0．1ml。结果血提取率98．4％，尿提取率95．6%，肝提取率98．1％。相对标准偏差低于3．2％，检出限低于20ng／ml（g）。结论该法简便、快速，提取率高，适合作为常规毒物分析方法。     

HPLC—ESI—MS／MS法测定全血中溴敌隆

目的建立全血中测定溴敌隆的高效液相色谱-电喷雾-质谱联用检测方法。方法血液样品经乙醚提取后，采用Ultra Cl8柱（150mm×2．1mm×5μm）；柱温：23℃；流动相：甲醇；流速：200μl／min；在负离子模式下，通过电喷雾电离（ESI），多反应监测（MRM）测定，外标法定量分析溴敌隆。结果在0．1-50mg／1范围内两者均呈良好的线性关系。溴敌隆的回收率为94．34％（RSD=7．3％），考察了方法的基质抑制作用（matrix effect，ME）（％）=B／A×100％=91．86％（RSD=4．78％）定量检出限为0．028ng。结论本方法简便、灵敏度高、定性定量准确，可以作为检验全血中溴敌隆检验的一种手段。     

并入提单仲裁条款之概念辨析

并入提单的仲裁条款通常存在于根据租船合同签发的提单中。根据租船合同签发的提单,出租人通常具有承运人的法律地位,出租人为了使其根据提单对货物运输承担的义务和享有的权利尽可能的与租船合同一致,常常在提单中订入援引租船合同某些规定的条款,称为"并入条款"。而并入提单的仲裁条款正是通过并入条款而成为提单中的一部分。并入条款根据措辞的不同分为一般并入条款和特别并入条款,各国对并入条款的要求不尽相同。     

高效液相色谱-质谱法测定人尿液中乙基葡萄糖醛酸苷

目的建立高效液相色谱-质谱法测定人尿液中乙基葡萄糖醛酸苷。方法取空白人尿液加入EtG-D5内标工作液和冷甲醇（4℃）,经涡旋、离心,取上清液于水浴氮气吹干,以沉淀杂质,采用Agilent Zorbax Bonus-RP色谱柱分离,以乙腈∶0.1%甲酸水溶液（5∶95）为流动相,采用负离子模式质谱检测,在选择离子监测模式下进行定性和定量测定。结果尿液中EtG在50～5 000ng/mL范围内线性关系良好,检出限为18ng/mL,方法回收率为90.2%～101.7%,相对标准偏差小于10%。结论所建方法简便,具有较高的回收率和精密度,适用于尿液中EtG的检测。     

Race-Based Peremptory Challenges: An Empirical Analysis of Litigation from the U.S. Court of Appeals, 2002–2006

This paper examines race-based peremptory challenges. Such challenges occur during the voir dire jury selection process. The process allows both the defense and the prosecution to strike jurors who they believe will not decide cases fairly. However, in the case of Batson v. Kentucky 476 U.S. 79 (1986), the Supreme Court ruled that race could not be used as a factor in eliminating prospective jurors. This paper examines federal litigation for five years in which it was alleged that race was used as a factor in removing a juror. An examination of the cases revealed that most of the cases involved sole male litigants who allege that there were multiple race-based peremptory challenges used in their cases. Moreover, most of the cases that led to the allegations involved violent offenses. Other case characteristics are noted, but of most significance was the finding that most appellants lost their cases. As such, the courts felt that most of the challenges were, in fact, race neutral. The implications of this research are discussed. This study was funded by an undergraduate research grant from Penn State University.