Trace detection of meglumine and diatrizoate from Bacillus spore samples using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, letters containing Bacillus anthracis were distributed through the United States postal system killing five people. A complex forensic investigation commenced to identify the perpetrator of these mailings. A novel liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry protocol for the qualitative detection of trace levels of meglumine and diatrizoate in dried spore preparations of B. anthracis was developed. Meglumine and diatrizoate are components of radiographic imaging products that have been used to purify bacterial spores. Two separate chromatographic assays using multiple mass spectrometric analyses were developed for the detection of meglumine and diatrizoate. The assays achieved limits of detection for meglumine and diatrizoate of 1.00 and 10.0 ng/mL, respectively. Bacillus cereus T strain spores were effectively used as a surrogate for B. anthracis spores during method development and validation. This protocol was successfully applied to limited evidentiary B. anthracis spore material, providing probative information to the investigators.     

Overview of: “Getting the Law Involved a Quasi-Experiment in Early Intervention Involving Collaboration Between Schools and the District Attorney's Office”

Research Summary Precursors to serious and chronic delinquency often emerge in childhood, stimulating calls for early interventions. Most intervention efforts rely solely on social service programs—often to the exclusion of the juvenile justice system. The juvenile justice system has been reluctant to become involved in the lives of relatively young children fearing net widening or further straining resources that could be used for older youth with documented delinquency histories. We report here the results of an early intervention program sponsored by and housed in a district attorney's office in Louisiana. Using a quasi-experimental design, we examined outcomes associated with program involvement as well as whether the obvious involvement of the prosecutor's office was associated with further reductions in problem behavior.

• 1 : The results revealed that significant reductions in problem behaviors of young children could be attributed to program participation.
• 2 : The obvious involvement of the district attorney's office, however, was associated with limited, albeit significant, reductions in specific problem behaviors.
• 3 : These findings show that successful early intervention efforts can be made part of the juvenile justice system and that in some limited situations prosecutorial involvement can result in positive outcomes.

Policy Implications The expansion of early intervention programming into the juvenile justice system offers opportunities to address early problem behavior. Our study and its results have the following policy implications.

• 1 : Closely coupled partnerships between schools and the juvenile justice system can effectively address, mitigate, and perhaps prevent an early onset of antisocial behavior.
• 2 : Even so, coupling early intervention efforts to the mission of the juvenile justice system warrants debate. Net-widening, resource diffusion, and the potential for officials to rely too heavily on the deterrent characteristics of the justice system represent serious threats to the integrity of effective early intervention programs.
• 3 : We suggest substantial debate and consideration is given before coupling early intervention efforts to the juvenile justice system.

     

Fundamental studies of bloodstain formation and characteristics

A detailed understanding of blood droplet impact dynamics and stain formation is an essential prerequisite to the interpretation of both individual bloodstains and spatter patterns. The current literature on theoretical models for the spreading and splashing of liquid drops on surfaces relevant to the forensic context of bloodstain formation has been reviewed. These models have been evaluated for a paper substrate using experimental data obtained as function of droplet size, impact velocity and angle. It is shown that for perpendicular impact there are fairly simple mathematical models for the spreading diameter and the number of scallops or spines formed around the stain though these have quite limited ranges of validity in their basic form. In particular, predictions for the diameter are best for small droplets impacting at high velocity and the number of spines saturates for higher impact velocities. In the case of spreading, a modification to the energy conservation model is found to provide excellent agreement with experimental stain diameters across a wide range of impact velocities. For non-perpendicular impact, the width of stains is found to depend principally on the normal component of impact velocity and may be predicted by an appropriate modification to the expression for the perpendicular case. Limitations in the calculation of impact angle from the stain aspect ratio are identified and a theoretical basis for the prediction of spines around an elliptical stain is proposed. Some key issues for future research are identified which include a systematic, quantitative study of the effect of surface properties on bloodstain formation.     

Innovative work behaviour in the public sector: The roles of task characteristics,social support,and proactivity

This study examines the roles of task characteristics, organisational social support, and individual proactivity on innovative work behaviour (IWB) in the public sector. Analysing empirical data from 154 employees from a government agency in Australia, we found that task characteristics, organisational social support, and proactive personality have a positive impact on IWB. Proactive personality is also found to be a moderator in the relationship between task characteristics and IWB. The findings suggest the need to design human resource practices that better identify proactive and innovative job applicants in the recruitment and selection process. Further, we highlight the requirement to organise and design work that recognises the need to develop social support to improve IWB. The implications of the study for further research on IWB are discussed.     

Cyber Security Responsibilization: An Evaluation of the Intervention Approaches Adopted by the Five Eyes Countries and China

Governments can intervene to a greater or lesser extent in managing the risks that citizens face. They can adopt a maximal intervention approach (e.g., COVID-19) or a hands-off approach (e.g., unemployment), effectively “responsibilizing” their citizens. To manage the cyber risk, governments publish cyber-related policies. This article examines the intervention stances the governments adopt in supporting individual citizens managing their personal cyber risk. The authors pinpoint the cyber-related responsibilities that several governments espouse, applying a “responsibilization” analysis. Those applying to citizens are identified, thereby revealing the governments' cyber-related intervention stances. The analysis reveals that most governments adopt a minimal cyber-related intervention stance in supporting their citizens. Given the increasing number of successful cyber attacks on individuals, it seems time for the consequences of this stance to be acknowledged and reconsidered. The authors argue that governments should support individual citizens more effectively in dealing with cyber threats.     

Fiscal Responses to COVID-19: Evidence from Local Governments and Nonprofits

The rate of expansion and the breadth of COVID-19 caught the world by surprise. From the perspective of nonprofit and public entities responsible for service provision, this pandemic is also unprecedented. The authors offer a RISE framework for navigating the fiscal effects of COVID-19 and rely on recent surveys to assess the response strategies of local governments and nonprofit organizations. They find that many nonprofits were hit fastest and hardest by the pandemic and that local governments are, essentially, trying to figure out their financial condition moving into the next budget cycle.     

Psychological factors influencing religious congregation members’ reporting of alleged sexual abuse

ABSTRACT

The sexual abuse of children within religious institutions has become a topic of increasing public concern in recent decades. However, to date there has been little in the way of psychological analyses of the processes by which congregation members judge the credibility of alleged abuses, or whether they would intend to report such allegations to the police. In this study, we examined the roles of ingroup identity, moral foundations, and social dominance orientation on reporting intentions and allegation credibility assessments among Church of England congregation members (n?=?454) and non-religious controls (n?=?457). While there were few predictors of reporting intentions, we found that churchgoers were consistently more sceptical of allegations of abuse, with these trends being differentially moderated by ingroup identification, the endorsement of various moral impulses, and anti-egalitarianism. We discuss our data in light of ongoing attempts to improve reporting procedures within the Church.     

An Appraisal of Decomposition Cases Received at the Johannesburg Forensic Pathology Service Medico‐legal Mortuary During 2010–2011

Decomposed bodies pose many questions for researchers regarding environmental effects, cause of death, and patterns. This study aimed to observe the factors associated with decomposed bodies autopsied at the Johannesburg Forensic Pathology Service Medico‐legal Mortuary. A total of 4876 autopsies were conducted from 2010 to 2011, of which 109 were decomposed. Black individuals made up the largest proportion (67%) followed by White (26%). Males comprised 86.2%, while 12.8% were female. The mean age was 42.78 years. Most cases were in the early stages of decomposition (49.5%), with 32.1% bloated, 11.9% in active decay, 2.8% in advanced decay, and 3.7% were skeletal. Insect activity was identified in 25.7% of decomposition cases. Cause of death was determined in 48.6% of cases. Of all the cases, 64% were found indoors and 23% outdoors, while 23% had insufficient information regarding the location. Of considerable interest was the number of cases from hospitals and clinics.     

Casting Aside Clanking Medieval Chains: Prerogative,Statute and Article 50 after the EU Referendum

This article confronts the controversies surrounding Article 50 by analysing the relationship between statute and prerogative in the UK. The piece focuses on domestic constitutional issues and suggests a new way of classifying the relationship between statute and prerogative into two types falling under ‘the abeyance principle’ or ‘the frustration principle’. The abeyance principle means that where statute and prerogative overlap, the prerogative goes into abeyance. The frustration principle means that where statute and prerogative give rise to potential inconsistencies, but do not overlap, the prerogative cannot be used inconsistently with the intention of parliament as expressed in the relevant legislation. It then argues that Article 50 has the status of primary or ‘primary‐equivalent’ legislation which could justify applying the abeyance principle. This would mean that the trigger power would be exercised on statutory authority rather than through prerogative powers. If the courts are unable thus to construe the relevant legislation it argues EU law requires the courts to bridge the gap. Alternatively, if the abeyance principle is not applicable, it argues the frustration principle could apply but the circumstances in this litigation fall outside it. In the further alternative, EU law could require the frustration principle itself to be set aside in this case.     

An Exploratory Study of the Mental Toughness Psychological Skills Profile Psychometrics,and the Mediating Effect of Social Support Sources on Mental Toughness and Suicidal Ideation Among Military Police

Research suggests that social support and mental toughness (i.e., the ability to effectively cope with stress despite adversity and/or failure) may be associated with decreased suicide risk, although methods for measuring mental toughness remain largely undeveloped. The relationship remains largely unknown. In response to this research gap, the psychometric properties of the Mental Toughness Psychological Skills Profile (MTPSP; Asken 2005), and its association with suicide ideation, were evaluated in a sample of active duty U.S. Air Force Security Forces personnel, a subpopulation especially vulnerable to suicide risk. 273 participants from two Air Force bases completed self-report scales including the MTPSP. Results indicated that the MTPSP is comprised of five subscales: Negative Mindset, Positive Mindset, Confidence, Achievement, and Health Behaviors. All five MTPSP factors were independently correlated with general distress, somatic anxiety, positive affect, presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life, positive self-bias, social support sources, and suicide ideation. The Confidence factor was the only factor that had a significant association with suicide ideation when all five factors were considered simultaneously (β?=??0.18, p?=?.016), but was fully mediated by social support (β?=??0.17, p?=?.033). Self-confidence may be associated with reduced suicide risk because those individuals tend to report higher social support.