Demystifying "oxi" cocaine: Chemical profiling analysis of a "new Brazilian drug" from Acre State

Recent information from various sources suggests that a new illicit drug, called "oxi", is being spread across Brazil. It would be used in the smoked form and it would look like to crack cocaine: usually small yellowish or light brown stones. As fully released in the media, "oxi" would differ from crack cocaine in the sense that crack would contain carbonate or bicarbonate salts whereas "oxi" would include the addition of calcium oxide and kerosene (or gasoline). In this context, this work presents a chemical profiling comparative study between "oxi" street samples seized by the Civil Police of the State of Acre (CP/AC) and samples associated with both international and interstate drug trafficking seized by the Brazilian Federal Police in Acre (FP/AC). The outcome of this work assisted Brazilian authorities to stop inaccurate and alarmist releases on this issue. It may be of good use by the forensic community in order to better understand matters in their efforts to guide local law enforcement agencies in case such claims reach the international illicit market.     

The role of the high school professional in identifying and managing adolescent suicidal behavior

The ongoing contact of adolescents with high school staff may provide an opportunity for the early identification and effective management of suicidal behavior. In this study, the knowledge, attitude, and experience of 80 high school professionals regarding adolescent suicide were assessed through semistructured personal interviews. Respondents identified more than 30 signs of potential vulnerability — manifestations of depression, verbal and written cues, isolation, and self-destructive behaviors. Among predisposing factors, those related to alienation within the family were most prominent. Other important risk factors were low self-esteem, difficulty in peer relationships, and economic or ethnic differences from other students. When suicidal behaviors occurred, respondents saw students and staff as attempting to be helpful; families were more often viewed as defensive.     

The paradox of deinstitutionalization

Previously he taught at Clark University. He has received grants from the National Endowment for Humanities and the National Institutes of Health. Among his writings are Workers and Utopia, The State and the Mentally Ill, Mental Institutions in America, Mental Illness and American Society, From Asylum to Community,and The Mad Among Us.     

Legislative Foundations of U.S.–Taiwan Relations: A New Look at the Congressional Taiwan Caucus

Taiwan remains central to peace and stability in U.S.–China relations, and to prospects for democracy and prosperity in the Far East. The Taiwan Relations Act assigns to the U.S. Congress a greater role in the formulation of U.S. policy toward Taiwan than it exercises in other areas of foreign policy. Within the U.S. House of Representatives, the only organization that is explicitly supportive of a robust U.S.–Taiwan relationship is the Congressional Taiwan Caucus. Yet there exists, to our knowledge, no systematic empirical study of the correlates of Caucus membership. Few studies systematically analyze the factors that impel Members of Congress publicly to take positions that favor Taiwan. This paper addresses that gap with respect to the 109th Congress (2005–2006). We develop a method of analyzing Caucus membership and show that it yields new empirical findings about the micro-foundations of Taiwan policy making in Congress. Unlike previous studies, our unit of analysis is not the legislature, nor the legislative chamber, nor the parties within the chamber. We drill down further, collecting data at the level of the individual Member. For the 109th Congress, we find evidence that (1) Caucus membership is related in identifiable and quantifiable ways to left/right ideology, district demographics, personal interest and individual-level engagement with human rights. (2) Party has no independent effect on the likelihood of Caucus membership, but it does condition other factors. Put simply, Republicans and Democrats join the Caucus for different reasons. Election-induced changes in the composition of Congress may influence U.S. policy toward Taiwan. The findings presented here enhance our understanding of and ability to anticipate the nature of that influence.     

Mental health policy in the liberal state: the example of the United States

Mental health policy arises out of the interaction of many different variables. These include (but are not limited to) the composition of the population of persons with severe mental illnesses; the means of dealing with disease and dependency; concepts of the etiology and nature of mental disorders; the organization and ideology of psychiatry; funding mechanisms; and existing popular, political, cultural, and professional values. But an often neglected but crucial factor in shaping policy is the very structure of the American political system, which played a crucial role in shaping mental health policy. Rather than emphasizing the neo-liberal theory and its accompanying hostility toward "unsuccessful" people and disdain of welfare, this article suggests that an understanding of mental health policy in the latter half of the twentieth century is better served by an examination of what actually happened. Theory, however attractive, rarely can encompass the messy data of reality.