"Legal highs"-Toxicity in the clinical and medico-legal aspect as exemplified by suicide with bk-MBDB administration

The easily available "legal highs", which are products containing psychoactive substances, such as cathinones, piperazines and synthetic cannabinoids, are abused by adolescents in Poland and in the world as alternatives to classic drugs, such as amphetamines or marijuana. The majority of these potentially dangerous substances are still legal and they are associated with a risk of severe poisoning or even death, and provide new challenges in clinical and forensic toxicological practice. Investigations in the field of "designer drugs" may be well illustrated by the case of a suicide of a 21-year old male who ingested a specified dose of a preparation called "Amphi-bi-a" that contains bk-MBDB, chemically 2-methylamino-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl) butan-1-one, which belongs to the cathinone group, as a synthetic euphoric empathogen and psychoactive stimulant that is chemically similar to MDMA. It is one of more common components of "legal highs" examined in Poland and other countries. The documentation of the case includes a clinical assessment of the patient's health status performed during his almost 4-h hospitalization before death, autopsy and histological examinations supported by toxicological findings revealing bk-MBDB at extremely high concentrations (at 20mg/l in the blood and 33mg/kg in the liver); hence, this body of evidence contributes to knowledge in the field of "designer drugs". Inventions of designers of new psychoactive xenobiotics, which are much in demand, especially in view of the dynamic Internet marketing, which drums up narcobusiness, must be balanced by a national strategy developed by medical, legal and educational circles in the modern civilized world in order to prevent the spreading of the phenomenon.     

Occupational stress,supervisor support,job satisfaction,and work-related burnout: perceptions of Turkish National Police (TNP) members

The present study examines whether, and to what degree, occupational stress in law enforcement is associated with job satisfaction, work-related burnout, and supervisor support. A total of 538 Turkish National Police (TNP) members form seven cities in Turkey completed the study survey. The results of the study indicate that the more TNP members experience their organization as stress inducing, the lower their job satisfaction levels, and the higher their burnout levels. Perceived operational stress was found to be significantly associated with their work-related burnout, but not with their job satisfaction. This study also suggests that there is an indirect causal effect of both organizational and operational stress on job satisfaction via supervisor support as mediator. Overall, the findings of this study illustrate a need for internal policy reform and managerial change in how the executives of TNP organize their agency and policies since organizational stressors are the most prevalent factors determining the work-related wellbeing of TNP members.     

The inadequacy of the entitlement approach to explain and remedy famines

The article suggests further improvements in the methodology to analyse market integration. It provides corrections to and methodological extensions of recent work in this journal. It also presents a way of applying market integration techniques to the analysis of shocks such as market liberalisation and war. The method is applied to the effects of liberalisation and the end of the civil war on food markets in Ethiopia. The conclusion is that liberalisation had important effects on the long‐run and short‐run integration of food markets.     

Facial Tissue Depths in Children with Cleft Lip and Palate

Cleft lip and palate (CLP) is a craniofacial malformation affecting more than seven million people worldwide that results in defects of the hard palate, teeth, maxilla, nasal spine and floor, and maxillodental asymmetry. CLP facial soft‐tissue depth (FSTD) values have never been published. The purpose of this research is to report CLP FSTD values and compare them to previously published FSTD values for normal children. Thirty‐eight FSTDs were measured on cone beam computed tomography images of CLP children (n = 86; 7–17 years). MANOVA and ANOVA tests determined whether cleft type, age, sex, and bone graft surgical status affect tissue depths. Both cleft type (unilateral/bilateral) and age influence FSTDs. CLP FSTDs exhibit patterns of variation that differ from normal children, particularly around the oronasal regions of the face. These differences should be taken into account when facial reconstructions of children with CLP are created.     

Organizational Social Capital and Performance of Drug Law Enforcement Departments

Supply reduction efforts by drug law enforcement departments are a significant factor in improving the effectiveness of drug control policies. The performance of drug law enforcement departments is one of the most important concerns for policy makers. Therefore, improving the performance of these departments is crucial in order for governments to constrict illegal drug markets and prevent illegal drug distribution. The literature suggests that social capital may have significant impacts on organizational performance. Using survey data from 12 city law enforcement departments in Turkey, this study examines the effects of three social capital dimensions (structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions) on the perceived performance of drug law enforcement departments by using structural equation modeling. The results of this conceptually grounded and empirical study suggest that drug law enforcement departments should pay close attention to promoting social capital among officers in order to fight effectively against drug trafficking.     

The analysis of social interest rate in Trinidad and Tobago

In this article a Social Interest Rate (SIR) is derived for Trinidad and Tobago on the basis of an individualistic, independent and multi‐period consumption utility function. The component parameters of this rate are: a mortality‐based pure time discount rate, the growth rate of per capita real consumption and the elasticity of marginal utility of consumption. The final result is 6.2 per cent which is plausible and thus can be readily used by economic planners in various resource allocation policies in that country.     

The effects of fiscal decentralisation on the strength of political budget cycles in local expenditure

In this article we analyse the effects of political business cycles and fiscal decentralisation on the expenditure categories of Polish municipalities. We find convincing evidence demonstrating the impact of strong political business cycles in almost all expenditure categories, particularly for the categories of expenditure relevant to electoral success, such as infrastructure and social programmes. We find evidence that transfers to municipalities increase the strength of the electoral cycle.