First degree murder and complicity—conditions for parity of culpability between principal and accomplice

The Law Commission for England and Wales has published for consultation a proposal for an offence of first degree murder. A person found guilty of this offence whether as a principal or an accomplice will receive a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. It is argued that the conditions for liability as an accomplice put forward by the Commission do not fulfil the Commission's aspiration for a "parity of culpability" between principals and accomplices. The discussion has general implications for the reform of complicity laws.

Justice for All? Factors Affecting Perceptions of Environmental and Ecological Injustice

Moving beyond the typical focus on individual injustices, we examine individual-level and contextual factors affecting perceptions of justice with regard to the environment. Specifically, we examine decision-making procedures pertaining to environmental resource use and harms across groups of people; the distribution of environmental harms; and the direct treatment of the natural environment (i.e., procedural environmental justice, distributive environmental injustice, and ecological injustice, respectively). To test our hypotheses, we use data from a survey administered to a cohort of first-year college students at a southeastern university. Results demonstrate that environmental identity and perceptions of the extent to which the university context encourages sustainability consistently enhance perceptions of all three types of justice. Other factors differentially affect each type of justice. We discuss the importance of the patterns that emerge for environmental and sustainability education and speculate on the implications of moving from thinking about (in)justice related to the environment as an individual issue to one of the collectivity.     

Methods for detection and confirmation of Hematide™/peginesatide in anti-doping samples

Since the 1990's, cheating athletes have abused substances to increase their oxygen transport capabilities; among these substances, recombinant EPO is the most well known. Currently, other investigational pharmaceutical products are able to produce an effect similar to EPO but without having chemical structures related to EPO; these are the synthetic erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs). Peginesatide (also known as Hematide?) is being developed by Affymax and Takeda and, if approved by regulatory authorities, could soon be released on the international market. To detect potential athletic abuse of this product and deter athletes who consider cheating, we initiated a collaboration to implement a detection test for anti-doping purposes. Peginesatide is a synthetic, PEGylated, investigational, peptide-based erythropoiesis-stimulating agent that is designed and engineered to stimulate specifically the erythropoietin receptor dimer that governs erythropoiesis. It is undetectable using current anti-doping tests due to its lack of sequence homology to EPO. To detect and deter potential abuse of peginesatide, we initiated an industry/antidoping laboratory collaboration to develop and validate screening and confirmation assays so that they would be available before peginesatide reaches the market. We describe a screening ELISA and a confirmation assay consisting of immune-purification followed by separation with SDS-PAGE and revelation with Western double blotting. Both assays can detect 0.5 ng/mL concentrations of peginesatide in blood samples, enabling detection for several days after administration of a physiologically relevant dose. This initial report describes experimental characterization of these assays, including testing with a blinded set of samples from a clinical study conducted in healthy volunteers.     

Coexistence and concentrations of ethanol and diazepam in postmortem blood specimens: risk for enhanced toxicity?

Both ethanol and diazepam are classified as depressants of the central nervous system and exert their effects via the GABAA receptor complex. We report the coexistence and concentrations of ethanol, diazepam, and its primary metabolite nordiazepam in a case series of 234 forensic autopsies collected over a ten-year period. Diazepam, nordiazepam, and ethanol were determined in femoral venous blood by highly selective gas chromatographic methods. The mean (median) femoral blood concentrations were ethanol 0.24 g/100 mL (0.25 g/100 mL), diazepam (D) 0.23 microg/g (0.10 microg/g), nordiazepam (ND) 0.24 micro/g (0.20 microg/g), sum (D + ND) 0.43 microg/g (0.30 microg/g), and the ratio D/ND was 1.19 (1.0). When cause of death was attributed to alcohol and/or drug intoxication (N = 50), the mean and median blood-ethanol concentration was higher, being 0.36 g/100 mL and 0.38 g/100 mL, respectively, whereas the mean (median) and range of blood-diazepam concentrations were about the same, 0.23 microg/g (0.10 microg/g) and 0.05 to 1.2 microg/g. The femoral-blood concentrations of diazepam and nordiazepam were highly correlated (r = 0.73), but there was no correlation between the concentrations of ethanol and diazepam (r = -0.15). In another 114 fatalities (all causes of death) with diazepam and/or nordiazepam as the only drugs present, the mean (median) and range of blood-diazepam concentrations were 0.22 microg/g (0.10 microg/g) and 0.03 to 3.5 microg/g. The pathologists report showed that none of these deaths were classed as drug intoxications. The impression gleaned from this study of ethanol-diazepam deaths is that high blood-ethanol concentration is the major causative factor. We found no evidence that concurrent use of diazepam enhanced the acute toxicity of ethanol, although interpretation is complicated by the high blood-ethanol concentration (median 0.38 g/100 mL), making it difficult to discern an added effect of diazepam.     

Journal for Party and Administ

rative Cadres41D920.5G114;4;GG114_4;赵炳贵000400040001000739深化教学改革 抓好℃定,制定本条例。 第二条 货币政策委员会是中国人民银行制定货币政策的咨询议事机构。 货币政策委员会依照本条例组成。 第三条 货币政策委员会的职责是,在综合分析宏观经济形势的基础上,依据国家的宏观经济调控目标,讨论下列货币政策事项,并提     

Testing for Structural Change in Cointegrated Relationships: Analysis of Price–Wages Models for Poland and Hungary

In previous studies concerning short- and long-run relationships for price–wage models, the cointegration analysis has been developed assuming the existence of a unique cointegration parametrisation. These empirical results reveal the presence of significant relationships, both in the short and in the long run, among prices, wages, labour productivity and exchange rate. In this paper we intend to develop the possibility of a more general type of cointegration, allowing for a change at an unknown time period in the sample. At this end we will consider mainly the long-run relationship among these variables using the testing procedure suggested by Gregory and Hansen (1996a,b). This permits us to consider a multivariate extension of the endogenous break univariate approach and, in the meantime, this enables us to test for cointegration in the presence of possible structural breaking cointegrated relationships under the alternative. The empirical analysis of a multivariate model for price–wage relationship both for Poland and Hungary, over the period 1970–1996, is presented and discussed.     

The Dynamics of Staying and Leaving: Implications for Battered Women’s Emotional Well-Being and Experiences of Violence at the End of a Year

Much of the discourse on intimate partner violence assumes that women must end their relationship with their abusive partner to increase their safety and emotional well-being. Few studies, however, exist to support this assumption. Equally problematic, those studies that do exist have failed to distinguish women who leave and stay out from those who leave only to later return. Comparing emotional well-being and experiences of violence for 206 low-income, primarily Black battered women following different relationship trajectories, this longitudinal study found that women both separated from and together with their partner for the entire year of the study fared best at the end of that year compared to women “in” and “out” of the relationship over time. Beyond challenging common assumptions, these findings highlight the importance of considering the larger context within which an individual instance of leaving occurs.

Rapid screening for the detection and differentiation of γ-hydroxybutyrate using ion chromatography

The analysis of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) is problematic because it is hygroscopic, it lacks a good UV chromophore, and it undergoes heat-induced cyclization. This paper presents a new method utilizing ion-exchange chromatography (IC) with conductivity detection. The simple sample preparation, rapid analysis time, and inorganic anion detection capabilities are all advantages over the current methods. The detection of inorganic salts (formed during GHB synthesis) gives insight into the synthetic route utilized and can aid in drug seizure comparison. The developed method has a detection limit for GHB anions of 0.57 mg/L and chloride of 0.22 mg/L. A comparison of this technique with a current gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technique is presented, and a t-test found that the two methods' results are not statistically different at the 99.9% confidence level demonstrating the merits of this fast, simple, and informative IC method as a routine screening tool.     

Public perceptions of police efficacy and image: The “fuzziness” of support for the police

Most studies concerning police-community relations have operationalized support for-law enforcement agencies in unidimensional terms. The present study dissects the notion of support for the police into two distinct dimensions: efficacy and image. Efficacy includes perceptions of the police ability to protect citizens, solve crime, and prevent crime. Image includes perceptions of friendliness and fairness of the police. A series of conventional individual-level and contextual variables are modeled in an effort to explore their relative influence on citizen perceptions of police efficacy and image. Data gathered from a national telephone survey of 1,005 citizens reveal that support for local police is both complex and multidimensional. Moreover, the results demonstrate that efficacy and image are independent dimensions, and that each is susceptible to quite different ratings depending upon which independent and dependent variables are modeled. Thanks go to Dennis Longmire, Barbara Sims, and Timothy Flanagan for providing the data used in this study.     

Could NF-kappaB and caspase-3 be markers for estimation of post-interval of human traumatic brain injury?

BACKGROUND: Previous studies in a rat model showed expressions of caspase-3 (p20) and NF-kappaB (p65) in different time after TBI. We test the activation changes of caspase-3 and NF-kappaB of human specimen after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in this study to see whether they could be markers to estimate post-intervals of TBI for forensic practice. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Caspase-3 (p20) and NF-kappaB (p65) immunohistochemical staining were performed on 39 TBI specimens (dead from TBI) and eight controls (dead from none TBI reasons) grouped 0, 12, 24, 48, 72, 168, 264 and 480 h. Positive cells were counted and image analysis techniques were used to determine the morphological changes in each group. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical analysis showed a marked induction of caspase-3 (p20) in every injured group compared with normal controls; each positive group has it's morphological character with variant positive cell count. NF-kappaB (p65) did not showed markedly change compared with normal controls until 168 h after TBI and almost all nerve cells were stained by NF-kappaB (p65) in 264 and 480 h groups. CONCLUSION: NF-kappaB (p65) could contribute to estimate delayed death cases after TBI for forensic applications. Caspase-3 (p20) estimating post-TBI intervals are dubious but could suggest TBI exists.     

The Consequences of Social Inequality for the Health and Development of India’s Children: The Case of Caste,Sanitation, and Child Height

Social Justice Research - The links among social inequality, economic inequality, and health have long been of interest to social scientists, but causal links are difficult to investigate...     

Transnational convergence of public procurement policy: a ‘bottom-up’ analysis of policy networks and the international harmonisation of accessibility standards for information and communication technology

This article seeks to examine how public procurement policies for information and communication technology (ICT), aimed at improving the accessibility of ICT for persons with disabilities, have converged internationally. Convergence, in this instance, refers to the international harmonisation or acceptance of common standards and norms. Distinguishing itself from the predominant authorship in the area, this article seeks to explore convergence from a ‘bottom-up’ perspective, by examining the influence of networks of public and private actors on the design of public procurement standards for accessible ICT. Specifically, it will seek to answer how these actors and networks (varying in their level of coordination) have contributed to policy design in a unique area, public procurement of ICT goods and services. The influence of these networks will be discussed through the use of policy documents and semi-structured interviews, to provide empirical support for examining this ‘bottom-up’ analysis and distinguish it from the standard ‘top-down’ model usually employed in this field. This article also focuses on the role of policy actors in the United States and European Union that participated in the harmonisation of public procurement policy and the legal norms and instruments that give these policies their legal effect.     

A Lust for Treasure and a Love of Gold…or Desperation? Global Facilitation of Piracy,Neoliberal Policies and the Control of the Somali Pirate

The issue of piracy is most often framed as being the product of dangerous individuals plundering and murdering for personal gain. What is less often discussed are the state, political, economic, and corporate interests that intersect with piracy (i.e. the corporate interest demand for protection of global shipping routes that are instrumental for capital accumulation in the world market). Here I utilize the concept of crimes of globalization to demonstrate that the motivations that undergird policies aimed at controlling piracy today are not dissimilar to those promoted through international financial institutions in their effort to advance the economic interests of highly empowered countries at the expense of addressing localized needs.     

Validity of Demirjian and Willems methods for dental age estimation for Malaysian children aged 5–15 years old

BackgroundOne of the most commonly used method for dental age assessment is the method reported by Demirjian and coworkers in 1973. It was later modified by Willems and coworkers whereby they “performed a weighted ANOVA” in order to adapt the scoring system.AimTo evaluate the applicability of Demirjian and Willems methods for dental age estimation for Malaysian children and to correlate the accuracy of the findings with the chronology of tooth development of premolars and second molars.Materials and methodsA total of 991 dental panoramic radiographs of 5–15-year-old Malaysian children were included in the study. The mean Demirjian and Willems estimated ages were compared to the mean chronological age.ResultsThe mean chronological age of the sample was 10.1 ± 2.8 and 9.9 ± 3.0 years for males and females respectively. Using the Demirjian method, the mean estimated dental age was 10.8 ± 2.9 years for males and 10.5 ± 2.9 years for females. For Willems method, the mean estimated age was 10.3 ± 2.8 years males and 10.0 ± 3.0 years respectively.ConclusionsWillems method was more applicable for estimating dental age for Malaysian children. Overestimation in Demirjian method could be due to advanced development of second bicuspids and molars.     

Updating,subtyping, and perceptions of the police: Implications of police contact for youths’ perceptions of procedural justice

Individuals enter police encounters with expectations about how these interactions will unfold. These expectations are often rooted in racialized personal, vicarious, and collective experiences with the police. Bayesian updating posits that the way youth perceive treatment by the police during stops and arrests combines with prior expectations and perceptions to shape current views of the law, whereas subtyping suggests this process differs by race. This study examines intra- and interracial variability in these processes using longitudinal survey data from 3,085 Black and White youth. Regardless of race, youth who indicate they were treated with disrespect during police encounters had lower perceptions of procedural justice than did those with no contact, whereas contact perceived as respectful had no significant effects. For White but not Black youth, police encounters rated as “neutral” are associated with more negative views of the police. Other forms of legal socialization are also racialized, including messages conveyed in the media and by parents. Limited evidence exists that prior views of the police moderate the effect of police encounters on procedural justice or that these conditioning effects vary by race. Findings support updating, but race differences do not neatly align with findings expected with updating or subtyping theory.     

Validation of benzodiazepine β-glucuronide primary reference materials for hydrolysis and quality assurance controls

The major metabolite of hydroxylated benzodiazepines is the β-glucuronide metabolite, thus a hydrolysis step is included in benzodiazepine analyses in urine. We evaluated the new Alltech (R,S) oxazepam and lorazepam β-glucuronide primary reference materials as hydrolysis controls and for use in proficiency testing. Using HPLC analysis and GC/MS analysis following acid and β-glucuronidase hydrolysis, we found that the lorazepam β-glucuronide material was >95% pure, but the oxazepam β-glucuronide material was only 54.0% pure. Recovery after hydrolysis with β-glucuronidase at 60 °C for two hours and 22 °C for 24 h was compared. There was no difference in the recovery of either drug incubated under both conditions. Using HPLC analysis to separate the R and S isomers of the glucuronides, we found that the S isomer hydrolyzes faster than the R isomer, but at optimal conditions hydrolysis of both isomers is complete. Alltech's glucuronide materials can be valuable as hydrolysis controls in method development and routine benzodiazepine analyses, but each laboratory must validate the purity of the materials and determine the acceptable references ranges for in-house controls made from these materials. The reference materials were also evaluated for possible use as quality control material for urine drug screening. The material had to be added at 130% of the reported cutoff concentration to produce a positive result on the Triage^™ Panel for Drugs of Abuse. For the Triage^™ Plus TCA Panel for Drugs of Abuse lorazepam β-glucuronide was added at 154% of the cutoff concentration, but addition of the oxazepam β-glucuronide at >200% of the reported cutoff concentration did not produce a positive result. Discrepancies may be due to preferential binding of antibodies to the S isomer, because the Alltech glucuronide materials do not contain the isomers in the same ratio as that excreted in human urine.     

Do Motivations for Malingering Matter? Symptoms of Malingered PTSD as a Function of Motivation and Trauma Type

Psychological disorders associated with traumatic events, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), may be prone to malingering due to the subjective nature of trauma symptomology. In general, symptoms tend to be inflated when an external reward (i.e., compensation) is associated with the claim. The present study was designed to test whether malingered claims of PTSD symptoms differed as a function of the type of trauma being malingered (accident, disaster, sexual assault) and the motivation for malingering (compensation, attention, revenge, no motivation). Participants were randomly assigned into conditions, given malingering instructions, and then asked to complete three measures of trauma symptoms (Impact of Event Scale??Revised; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist; Trauma Symptom Inventory). Results indicated that participants in the sexual assault condition produced higher symptom reports on nearly all scales. Revenge and compensation motivations yielded elevated symptom scores. Further, individuals rated high in fantasy proneness and dissociation produced elevated scores on atypical responding and most clinical scales. More research is needed to examine the extent to which different motivations and trauma types influence symptom reporting.