Nondestructive Differentiation of Polyester Single White Fibers Using Synchrotron Radiation Microbeam X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry with Vertical Focusing

In this study, the nondestructive differentiation of individual white polyester clothing fibers was accomplished via synchrotron radiation microbeam X-ray fluorescence (SR-μ-XRF) analysis. SR-μ-XRF with vertical focusing is a useful nondestructive method for the analysis of a single polyester clothing fiber. Kirkpatrick–Baez (KB) mirror was used to vertically focus 20 keV X-rays for the analysis of 22 individual white polyester fibers taken from clothing commonly sold in Japan. SR-μ-XRF with a vertical focused 2 μm (V) × 300 μm (H) beam was approximately 12.8 times more sensitive than SR-XRF with an unfocused 300 μm (V) × 300 μm (H) beam for the detection of elements in single fibers. The minimum detection limits (MDLs) of the SR-μ-XRF method were 8.15 ppm for Cl and 0.06 ppm for Br. In addition to Ti in TiO₂ delustering agents, Zr and Nb impurities in the delustering agents were detected in individual fibers. Sb from a polymerization catalyst and Co from a transesterification catalyst were also detected in individual fibers. Comparing the Ti K_β/Sb L_α,β and Zr K_α/Nb K_α X-ray intensity ratios was a useful way to distinguish individual clothing fibers, and 98% of the fibers were differentiated when additional trace elements were used as discrimination indicators.     

Cross-reactivities of various phenethylamine-type designer drugs to immunoassays for amphetamines, with special attention to the evaluation of the one-step urine drug test Instant-View™, and the Emit® assays for use in drug enforcement

Cross-reactivities of 76 kinds of phenethylamine-type designer drugs and related compounds to the urine drug tests Instant-View ? (IV) (the Methamphetamine (MA) test, the Amphetamine 300 test, and the MDMA test) have been investigated. An on-site urine test kit consisting of these three IV tests has been evaluated for the on-site screening of MA users, and the kit has been found to have satisfactory specificity for drug enforcement purposes by separately detecting both MA and its metabolite amphetamine. The cross-reactivity profiles of Emit(?) II Plus Amphetamines Assay, Emit(?) II Plus Ecstasy assay, and Emit(?) d.a.u.(?) Amphetamine Class assay have also been investigated and discussed.     

A fatal poisoning with 5-methoxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine, Foxy

A fatal overdose involving case by 5-methoxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine (5-MeO-DIPT) is reported. 5-MeO-DIPT and its two metabolites, 5-hydroxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine (5-OH-DIPT) and 5-methoxy-N-isopropyltryptamine (5-MeO-NIPT), were identified by LC-MS. The level of 5-MeO-DIPT, 5-OH-DIPT and 5-MeO-NIPT in blood and urine was 0.412, 0.327 and 0.020 microg/ml, and 1.67, 27.0 and 0.32 microg/ml, respectively. These blood and urine levels were higher than published data for such poisoning.     

Urinary endogenous concentrations of GHB and its isomers in healthy humans and diabetics

Urinary endogenous concentrations of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), alpha-hydroxybutyric acid (AHB) and beta-hydroxybutyric acid (BHB) have been investigated for both healthy humans and diabetics by using a newly optimized GC-MS procedure. The endogenous concentrations in healthy volunteers' urine ranged 0.16-2.14 microg/ml for GHB, 0.10-2.68 microg/ml for AHB and 8.51-34.7 microg/ml for BHB. In diabetics, the concentrations ranged 0.17-3.03 microg/ml for GHB, 0.14-124 microg/ml for AHB and 4.94-4520 microg/ml for BHB. Although notably elevated BHB and AHB concentrations were observed for severely uncontrolled diabetics, their GHB concentrations ranged within or near the range seen in healthy humans. The results of this study confirm the previously suggested 10 microg/ml cutoff concentration of urinary GHB to distinguish exogenous GHB, even for uncontrolled diabetic patients suffering severe ketoacidosis.     

Direct identification of various copper phthalocyanine pigments in automotive paints and paint smears by laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry

Direct identification of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) and chlorinated CuPcs in paints for discrimination between blue automobile paints by means of laser desorption mass spectrometry (LDMS) in the absence of a matrix is reported. The models consisted of eight commercially available CuPc pigments applied to a piece of plain white coating paper. The relationship between the peak intensity at m/z 575 of the CuPc, the number of pulsed laser shots, and laser power was compared to optimize laser abrasion. LDMS analysis of the model paints demonstrated that all characteristic components of the CuPc pigments in the paint films were in good agreement with those in the powder pigments. Further, the chlorinated CuPcs in the paint films could be distinguished. A quantity of 42 blue paint films, representing the paints used for painting Japanese domestic trucks, was examined by LDMS analysis. Results indicate that the paints can be classified into four categories based on the chlorinated CuPc components of the paints. Therefore, LDMS spectra of CuPc pigments would be useful for the identification of paints in forensic investigations. Herein, we report the successful identification of the CuPcs in a paint smear on the frame of a bicycle damaged in a hit-and-run accident, using the LDMS spectra.     

The atomic bomb and the citizens of Nagasaki

Abstract

Hiroshima is a universally recognized name today, but Nagasaki, the second city to suffer atomic bombing, is less well known, and in fact its destruction three days after Hiroshima seemed anticlimactic to many observers. The damage to both Japanese cities would be dwarfed in scale by any future nuclear holocaust, but the joint “Hiroshima-Nagasaki” experience, which changed the world forever, still constitutes the indispensable base of knowledge for an understanding of the human and environmental decimation which would be wrought by nuclear war. The way we choose to remember these two bombings will determine whether the human community can assimilate the meaning of these weapons before they are used again, and act decisively to spare our planet from the nuclear nightmare with which it is now threatened. This article is dedicated to helping cultivate the rationality, creative imagination and commitment to human welfare necessary to ensure that Nagasaki will be the last place on earth where nuclear weapons were ever used.     

Determination of a newly encountered designer drug "p-methoxyethylamphetamine" and its metabolites in human urine and blood

A newly synthesized designer drug, para-methoxyethylamphetamine (PMEA) was unexpectedly detected in the postmortem specimens of fatality involving drug intoxication in 2005, Japan. For unequivocal identification, the isomeric discrimination of PMEA and its positional-isomers was performed by GC/MS with the trifluoroacetylation. In order to prove the intake of PMEA, the characteristic metabolites of PMEA were also identified by GC/MS analysis of the urine specimen with trifluoroacetylation. As a result, para-methoxyamphetamine, para-hydroxyethylamphetamine (POHEA) and para-hydroxyamphetamine were identified as the major metabolites of PMEA. For the quantitative analyses of PMEA and its three metabolites in body fluids, an automated column-switching LC/MS procedure was developed, and applied to the postmortem blood and urine specimens. In this fatal case, blood concentration of PMEA was estimated to be 12.2 microg/mL and this level seemed extremely high in comparison with lethal blood-levels of its analogues, representing acute-intoxication of the victim. Based on the quantitative results, PMEA was found to be extensively metabolized to POHEA via O-demethylation, partly followed by its conjugation.     

Does strong patent protection facilitate international technology transfer? Some evidence from licensing contracts of Japanese firms

This paper examines how patent protection in a technology recipient country affects international technology transfer. A theory suggests that the effect of stronger patent protection on technology transfer is negative if the binding constraint is the imitation profitability and positive if it is the incentive for the licensor to undertake technology transfer. We evaluate these implications by examining the variations of the structure of licensing contracts across countries, based on a newly collected database of licensing contracts by Japanese firms. Our major findings are the following. First, the incidence of know-how licensing, either in the pure or in the bundled form, relative to that of pure patent licensing, declines significantly with the level of foreign patent protection. This indicates a limited role of patents for facilitating know-how licensing. Secondly, the probability and the strength of ownership control by a licensor declines with the level of patent protection, indicating a positive effect of stronger patent protection in expanding the scope of the recipients of technology transfer.