|
|
|
Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental
illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods,
interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This
instability often disrupts family and work life, long-term
planning,...
Greetings For better Communication
Why do we greet each other?
Greetings are probably as old as the civilization. People always
greet each other whenever they meet or talk. A good morning,
hello, how are you, how are things at your end, etc are some of
the common ways to...
Parapsychology: Harnessing Your Etheric Energy
It is an unfortunate reality that society has inadvertently categorized the natural abilities associated with bio-etheric energy as a form of entertainment. Classifying skills such as precognitive event recognition alongside attractions like stage...
Superultramodern Science (SS) and The Millennium Problems in Mathematics
In this article I address 3 of the 7 millennium problems in mathematics announced by the Clay Mathematics Institute (CMI), USA. I propose solutions (not all of which are meant to be conclusive) to the problems using the ideas in Superultramodern...
The Bill Clinton Neuron And The Sweat Neuron
In the world of science, there is excited speculation about recent discoveries of individual neurons in the brain, with striking capabilities. They had discovered a neuron, which fired on recognition of just one special face. Scientists spotted this...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
What does statistics have to do with drug contaminated bank notes?
Does the topic pique your curiosity? Are you wondering what
indeed does statistics have to do with drug contaminated notes?
Let's suffice it to say: Everything. Yes, though the connection
may sound implausible, a team of conscientious and dedicated
researchers have discovered that a multivariate statistical
technique called Mass-spectroscopy can aid policemen in
detecting drug contaminated notes. A process that is
significantly faster than other previous methods, the
Mass-Spectroscopy method helps detect a distinct pattern of
contamination on banknotes. One that is different from the notes
seen in general circulation.
Before delving into the process of drug detection, it would be
good to deliberate on the meaning of Mass spectroscopy. Glossing
over the technicalities, Mass Spectroscopy can simply be
described as a technique used to determine the mass-to-charge
(m/z) ratio of ions. This analysis method helps find the
composition of a physical sample by generating a mass spectrum
that represents the masses of the sample's components. Effective
multivariate softwares like The Unscrambler® help researchers
perform Mass spectroscopy on data derived from a multitude of
industry verticals.
It is this seemingly easy- sounding technique that has emerged
as a critical tool to aid detection and control of drug-
trafficking. What makes it a handy and effective tool is that
Mass spectrometry can help determine the chemical nature of a
compound, even if only a minute sample is available.
In this process, banknotes recovered during police raids were
heated to 285º C to vaporize the chemicals. The vapors were
sucked into the detector and the chemicals smashed into
fragments. The short heating time helped remove sufficient
material from the notes without destroying them (a crucial
consideration to be kept in mind while conducting forensic
work).The logic behind this method is that if the notes were to
contain heroin, the mass spectrometer would detect two product
ions namely, (m/z 328 and 268) from the protonated molecular ion
(m/z 370). The presence of these 2 ions on a bank note would
confirm the presence
of diacetylmorphine (DAM), the major active
component of heroin.
What makes this method the apt solution is that: by using this
method around 500 notes can be analysed in one hour, including
the strict paperwork that is required for train of evidence. A
typical GC/MS analysis of 500 notes, on the other hand, would
have taken about 170 hours. In a scenario where time is of the
utmost importance, Mass spectrometry can prove to be timely
solution to the crime fighters. Tetrahydrocannabinol (cannabis),
Cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy) and DAM (heroin) are the main targets to
be tested through this method. Other drugs such as amphetamine
or cutting agents, such as caffeine, will be added as required.
The rapid analytical technique ensures the accurate analysis of
banknotes. Researchers opine that the techniques may be easily
adapted to the analysis of drugs found on other surfaces such as
mobile phones, car interiors and house furniture, in the near
future.
Multivariate statistical methods like Mass spectrometry are
extremely useful in research; as they have the ability to
compress data into a more easily managed form. This can assist
in visualizing, for example, how a given sample relates to other
samples.
Multivariate analysis is practically essential in the
fingerprinting approaches, such as the case discussed here.
While there are quite a few established statistical software
that can help investigators analyze and predict results of
spectral data, The Unscrambler® is the most comprehensive
software available that can aid researchers, cops,
spectroscopists and chemometricians in making an intelligent
interpretation of the spectral data procured from bank notes.
About the author:
Mahalakshmi is a Marketing Writer for CAMO Group, the creator of
the mulivariate data analysis tool
The Unscrambler®. The Unscrambler® can be used extensively
across a multitude of industry verticals including, Forensics;
Pharmaceutical & Biotech; Agriculture and Environmental; Oil and
Gas; Food Science and Nutrition; Chemicals; Polymers & Specialty
Materials.
|
|
|
|
|
| Science/AAAS | Scientific research, news and career information |
| International weekly science journal, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). |
| www.sciencemag.org |
|
| Science/AAAS | Table of Contents: 1 December 2006; 314 (5804) |
| This Week in Science: Editor summaries of this week's papers. Science 1 December 2006: 1349. ... 2006 American Association for the Advancement of Science. ... |
| www.sciencemag.org |
|
| Science.gov : FirstGov for Science - Government Science Portal |
| Science.gov is a gateway to government science information provided by US Government science agencies, including research and development results. |
| www.science.gov |
|
| ScienceDaily: Your source for the latest research news and science ... |
| ScienceDaily -- the Internet's premier online science magazine and science news web site -- brings you the latest discoveries in science, health & medicine, ... |
| www.sciencedaily.com |
|
| Science News - New York Times |
| Find breaking news, science news & multimedia on biology, space, the environment, health, NASA, weather, drugs, heart disease, cancer, AIDS, mental health ... |
| www.nytimes.com |
|
| Science News Online |
| Weekly magazine offers featured articles from the current issue along with special online-only features. Includes photo collection, archives, ... |
| www.sciencenews.org |
|
| Science in the Yahoo! Directory |
| Explore the fields of astronomy, biology, geology, mathematics, and physics and all of their related disciplines with resources designed for professionals, ... |
| dir.yahoo.com |
|
| Open Directory - Science |
| Agriculture (2454); Anomalies and Alternative Science (525); Astronomy (4208); Biology (20593); Chemistry (4852); Computer Science@ (2358) ... |
| dmoz.org |
|
| BBC - Science & Nature |
| The best of BBC Science and Nature, from TV and radio, to the web and beyond. Take a tour from the smallest atoms, to the largest whales and the most ... |
| www.bbc.co.uk |
|
| Science - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Sciences versus Science: the plural of the term is often used but is difficult to ... Science education is also a very vibrant field of study and research. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Popular Science |
| Monthly magazine about current science and technology. |
| www.popsci.com |
|
| Science/AAAS | ScienceNOW: The Latest News Headlines from the ... |
| AAAS web magazine. Some free sample stories, subscription required for full text. |
| sciencenow.sciencemag.org |
|
| ScienceCareers.org | Science Jobs, Funding, Meetings, and Advice ... |
| Searchable database of jobs, sorted by field specialty. Can post resume and curriculum vitae. Includes tips for improving the workplace for employers and ... |
| sciencecareers.sciencemag.org |
|
| American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| Research news, issue papers. Educational programs, science policy (US and international). |
| www.aaas.org |
|
| NASA - Science@NASA |
| News and features about NASA research, aimed at the general public. Includes sections on astronomy, space science, beyond rocketry, living in space, ... |
| science.nasa.gov |
|
| Science NetLinks: Resources for Teaching Science |
| Resources for K-12 science educators. |
| www.sciencenetlinks.com |
|
| Cool Science for Curious Kids |
| Fun and interactive site to help kids appreciate science. Why are snakes like lizards, and monkeys like moose? Find out here. |
| www.hhmi.org |
|
| Welcome to the Science Museum |
| London museum and library of science. Exhibitions cover all areas of science and technology. Includes online exhibits and a learning area. |
| www.sciencemuseum.org.uk |
|
| New Scientist - International News, Ideas, Innovation |
| Weekly science and technology news magazine, considered by some to be the world's best, with diverse subject matter. Articles from current issue and ... |
| www.newscientist.com |
|
| CNN.com - Science and Space |
| Offers news stories related environmental issues, archeology, astronomy, technology, geology and other science topics. |
| www.cnn.com |
|
|