Organic impurity profiling of fentanyl samples associated with recent clandestine laboratory methods

Nearly a decade ago, fentanyl reappeared in the United States illicit drug market. In the years since, overdose deaths have continued to rise as well as the amount of fentanyl seized by law enforcement agencies. Research surrounding fentanyl production has been beneficial to regulatory actions and understanding illicit fentanyl production. In 2017, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began collecting seized fentanyl samples from throughout the United States to track purity, adulteration trends, and synthetic impurity profiles for intelligence purposes. The appearance of a specific organic impurity, phenethyl-4-anilino-N-phenethylpiperidine (phenethyl-4-ANPP) indicates a shift in fentanyl production from the traditional Siegfried and Janssen routes to the Gupta-patent route. Through a collaboration between the DEA and the US Army's Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC), the synthesis of fentanyl was investigated via six synthetic routes, and the impurity profiles were compared to those of seized samples. The synthetic impurity phenethyl-4-ANPP was reliably observed in the Gupta-patent route published in 2013, and its structure was confirmed through isolation and structure elucidation. Organic impurity profiling results for illicit fentanyl samples seized in late 2021 have indicated yet another change in processing with the appearance of the impurity ethyl-4-anilino-N-phenethylpiperidine (ethyl-4-ANPP). Through altering reagents traditionally used in the Gupta-patent route, the formation of this impurity was determined to occur through a modification of the route as originally described in the Gupta patent.     

Diagnosing Crime and Diagnosing Disease: Bias Reduction Strategies in the Forensic and Clinical Sciences

Cognitive effort is an essential part of both forensic and clinical decision‐making. Errors occur in both fields because the cognitive process is complex and prone to bias. We performed a selective review of full‐text English language literature on cognitive bias leading to diagnostic and forensic errors. Earlier work (1970–2000) concentrated on classifying and raising bias awareness. Recently (2000–2016), the emphasis has shifted toward strategies for “debiasing.” While the forensic sciences have focused on the control of misleading contextual cues, clinical debiasing efforts have relied on checklists and hypothetical scenarios. No single generally applicable and effective bias reduction strategy has emerged so far. Generalized attempts at bias elimination have not been particularly successful. It is time to shift focus to the study of errors within specific domains, and how to best communicate uncertainty in order to improve decision making on the part of both the expert and the trier‐of‐fact.     

Diagnosing Crime and Diagnosing Disease‐II: Visual Pattern Perception and Diagnostic Accuracy

Previously, we reviewed how general cognitive processes might be susceptible to bias across both forensic and clinical fields, and how interdisciplinary comparisons could reduce error. We discuss several examples of clinical tasks which are heavily dependent on visual processing, comparing them to eyewitness identification (EI). We review the “constructive” nature of visual processing, and how contextual factors influence both medical experts and witnesses in decision making and recall. Overall, studies suggest common cognitive factors uniting these visual tasks, in both their strengths and shortcomings. Recently forensic sciences have advocated reducing errors by identifying and controlling nonrelevant information. Such efforts could effectively assist medical diagnosis. We suggest potential remedies for cognitive bias in these tasks. These can generalize across the clinical and forensic domains, including controlling the sequencing of contextual factors. One solution is an agnostic primary reading before incorporation of a complete history and interpretation.     

Fifteen guns

Food Planning for Four Hundred Millions. By Radhakamal Mukerjee, Ph.D. 8 3/4” x 5 3/4”. Pp. xx+268. London: Macmillan. 1938. 7s. 6d.

The Wheel of Health. By G. T. Wrench, M.D. (Lond.). London: The C. W. Daniel Company, Ltd. No date. Pp. 146. Frontispiece. Price 6s.

The Mediterranean in Politics. By Elizabeth Monroe. 9"x6”. Pp. ix+ 259. Oxford University Press. 1938. 10s.

Foreign Affairs, 1919 to 1937. By E. L. Hasluck. Cambridge University Press. 8s. 6d. net.

Kamal Atatuf k's Land. The Evolution of Modern Turkey. By August Ritter von Krai. Translated by Kenneth Benton, published by Wilhelm Braunmuller, Universitats‐Verlagsbuchhandlung, Wien‐Leipzig. 1938.

Anglo‐Russian Relations Concerning Afghanistan 1837–1907. By William Habberton. Illinois Studies in die Social Sciences. Vol. XXI. No. 4. Published by the University of Illinois at Urbana, 1937. Paper covers. Price $1.50. Pp. 102. Two maps.

Q.V.O. Corps of Guides. The History of the Guides, 1846–1922. Gale and Polden.

The Greeks in Bactria and India. By W. W. Tarn, Litt.D. 9 1/2” x 6 1/2”. Pp. xxiv+540. Plate and three maps. Cambridge University Press. 1938. 30s.

The Valley of Flowers. (The Bhyundar Valley, Kamet Massif.) By Frank S. Smythe. 9” x 6”. Pp. xiv + 322. Sixteen coloured photographs. Two maps. Hodder and Stoughton. 18s.

Black River of Tibet. By John Hanbury‐Tracy. 8 3/4” x 5 3/4”. Pp. xiv + 305. 1938. Frederick Muller, Ltd. 12s. 6d. net.

Studien zur arabischen Musik auf Grund gegen wärtigen Theorie und Praxis in Ägypten von Alfred Berner. Schriftenreihe des Staatlichen Instituts fur Deutsche Musikforschung, II. 10” x 7”. Pp. 71 letterpress, 46 music, 3 addenda. Leipzig: Kister u. Siegel. RM. 4.

The Spoken Arabic of Iraq. By John Van Ess. Second edition. 7 1/4” x 4 1/4”. Pp. 280. Oxford University Press. 1938.

Other Ranks of Kut. By P. W. Long, M.M., Flight‐Sergeant, R.A.F.

L'Evolution Politique de 1'Iran. By M. Nakhai. Preface by M. H. Gregoire. 8 1/2” x 6 1/2”. Pp. xiv+158. Edition J. Felix. Brussels. 1938.

Silvestre de Sacy: ses Contemporains et ses Disciples. By Henri Deherain. Paul Geuthner. Paris. 150 francs.

Les Tribus Montagnardes de L'Asie Antérieure. Quelques aspects sociaux des populations Kurdes et Assyriennes. Par P. Rondot. Bulletin d'Etudes Orientates. Annee, 1936.

Week‐end Caravan. Compiled and edited by S. Hillelson. 61” x 51”. Pp. 352. Illustrated. Edinburgh: William Hodge. 7s. 6d. net.

The Message of the Gita, as Interpreted by Sri Aurobindo. Edited by Anilbaran Roy. 9 1/2” x 6 1/2”. Pp. xiv+281. Allen and Unwin. Agents in India: Allied Publishers and Stationery Manufacturers, Ltd. 1938. 7s. 6d. or Rs. 5 net.

Himalayas of the Soul: Translations from the Sanskrit of the principal Upanishads. By J. Mascaro, M.A. Cantab., Reader of English, University of Barcelona. Preface by Sir S. Radhakrishnan. Foreword by E. J. Thomas, M.A., Litt.D. Wisdom of the East Series. 6 1/2” x 5”. Pp. 93. John Murray. 1938. 3s. 6d. net.

The Psalm of Peace. An English translation of Guru Arjun's "Sukh‐mani.” By Teja Singh, M.A. With a Foreword by Nicholas Roérich. 7 1/2 x 5”. Pp. xviii + 122. Oxford University Press. 3s.

A History of Chinese Philosophy. The Period of the Philosophers. By Fung Yu‐lan, Ph.D. Translated by Derk Bodde, with Introduction, Notes, Bibliography and Index. Peiping: Henri Vetch. London: George Allen and Unwin. 1937. £15s.

Comptes‐rendus de Onze Années (1923–1933) de Séjour et d'Ex‐ploration dans le Bassin du Fleuve Jaune, du Pai Ho et des autres Tributaires du Golfe du Pei Tcheuly. Par Emile Licent, S.J. Tome III. (1930–1933) and Tables. Tientsin, China: Mission de Sienhsien. Agent de Vente, Henri Vetch, French Bookstore, Peking. 1936.

Affairs of China. By Sir Eric Teichman. Methuen and Co., Ltd. 12s. 6d.

Japan the Hungry Guest. By G. C. Allen. Allen and Unwin. 10s. 6d.

Japan's Gamble in China. By Freda Utlcy. Seeker and Warburg. 6s.

Sunburst. By Lorol Schofflocher. 8 3/4” x 5 1/2”. Pp. 320. Nineteen illustrations. London: Rider and Co. 1937.

Mi Fu on Ink‐Stones. A Study of the Yen‐shih. With Introduction and Notes by R. H. Van Gulik. Pp. xii+72. Illustrations and map of stone sites. Peking: Henri Vetch. 13s. 6d.

Buried Bethlehem. By D. R. Chalmers‐Hunt. 9 1/2” x 6 1/4”. Pp. vi + 46./ Historical Research Publishing Co. 1938. 5s.

The Antiquities of South Arabia. Being a translation from the Arabic, with Linguistic, Geographic and Historic Notes of the Eighth Book of Al‐Hamdani's Al‐Iklil. By Nabih Amin Faris. Pp. 119. One map. Princeton University Press, Princeton. Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press. 1938. English price us. 6d.

Ostturkistan Zwischen den Grossmächten. Ein Beitrag zur Wirtschafts‐kunde Ostturkistans. By Dr. Fuad Kazak. From Osteuropaische Forschun‐gen, Vol. XXIII. Pp. 160. Prussia: Osteuropa‐Verlag, Königsberg. 1937. M. 7.50.

The Russian Workers’ Own Story. By Boris Silver. 7 1/2 x 5 1/4” . Pp.iv + 251. George Allen and Unwin, Ltd. 1938. 7s. 6d.

Women in the Soviet East. By Fannina W. Halle. Translated from the German by Margaret M. Green. Pp. 351; bibliography and index. Seventy‐seven plates in half‐tone and sketch‐map. 8vo. Martin Seeker and Warburg, Ltd. 1938.

Assignment in Utopia. By Eugene Lyons. 1937.     

A note on the “ Hudud al‐'Alam “

The Sino‐Soviet Conflict 1956–61. By Donald S. Zagoria. Princeton University Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1962. Pp. 484. Notes. Appendices. Bibliog. Index. 50s.     

Impact of higher alcohol prices on alcohol-related attitudes and perceptions of suburban,middle-class youth

This study investigated the potential effects of alcohol price increases on alcohol-related attitudes and perceptions of youth. Data were collected through a survey of high school students conducted after the federal excise taxes on alcohol beverages were increased in January 1991. Survey data lend support to previous research showing that higher alcohol prices contribute to lower alcohol consumption by youth, as well as to a decrease in related problems such as driving while intoxicated. Survey data also suggest that a price of around $7.50 for a six-pack of beer or a four-pack of wine coolers would discourage purchases by youth. Further studies are called for to substantiate and to expand on these findings with more diverse adolescent populations.Received M.P.H. in health education from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Research interests are alcohol-impaired driving, alcohol taxation, and other alcohol policy issues. To whom correspondence should be addressed.Received Ph.D. in social psychology from Syracuse University. Research interests are impaired driving, adolescent risk taking, substance abuse, and health threat perception.Received M.S. in counseling from Bowie State University. Research interests are alcohol and drug abuse prevention, history of alcohol and drug abuse, and alcohol-impaired driving.The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the organizations with which they are affiliated. Computer time for this research was supported through funds from the Computer Science Center at the University of Maryland at College Park.