Science and the courts: a fruitful experiment of interaction.

The authors report on the European Seminar on Hot Genetic Issues and the Courts, held in Pavia (I), September 2005. They examine the new possible concerns regarding bio-sciences practical applications and the stronger need for a closer interaction between jurists, judges and scientists. They highlight the importance of the ENLSC's networking experience in judicial education and the originality of its approach.     

Child Development and Migrant Transnationalism: The Health of Children Who Stay Behind in Ghana and Nigeria

This paper examines the relation between parental migration and children’s health in Ghana (N = 2760) and Nigeria (N = 2168) and considers four dimensions of parental migration: the type of separation, parental migration and the caregiver, stability of care arrangements, and the availability of remittances. By employing an ordered scale of children’s self-rated health, we found that children with international migrant parents who are divorced/separated are less likely than children in non-migrant families to have good health. The magnitude of the effects are higher in Nigeria, attesting for a greater vulnerability of Nigerian children in divorced migrant families. Among children with parents living abroad who are stably married, specific dimensions of children’s transnational life are associated with negative health, while others are not. This study highlights the sensitivity of results to the context of parent-child separation and to the transnational dimension being measured.     

Intangible heritage: traditional medicine and knowledge governance

Legal context: Although traditional medicine constitutes a component part ofthe identity of the cultural communities concerned, this formof intangible cultural heritage is vulnerable in a globalizingworld where little place is left for the protection of beliefsystems. Key points: While much has been written on traditional knowledge and IPrights, less scholarly attention has focused on the culturaldimension of traditional medicine. Further, no solution hasbeen reached on the best way to ensure its protection. Thiscontribution attempts to establish a linkage between differentsectors of international law, addressing the complex interplaybetween traditional medicine, intended as a special form ofintangible cultural heritage, and international knowledge governance. While the TRIPS Agreement adopts only proprietary approachesto knowledge governance, it has been questioned whether, inthe case of pharmaceuticals, other non-proprietary approacheswould be preferable. Different approaches will be put forwardand the Draft Treaty on Medical Research and Development willbe considered. This would provide a better framework for safeguardingand diffusing traditional medicine. Practical significance: Protecting and promoting traditional medicine may help curingdiseases spread all over the world. Thus, beyond its culturalaspects, the practical importance of traditional medicine liesin its capacity to promote the right to health and human dignity.     

Inside post-socialist courts: the determinants of adjudicatory outcomes in Slovenian commercial disputes

European Journal of Law and Economics - Despite the judiciary’s central role in the capitalist market system, micro-level empirical analyses of courts in post-socialist countries are...     

A Case of Insect Colonization Before the Death

Forensic entomology is a branch of forensic science in which insects are used as evidence in legal investigations relating to humans, domestic animals and wildlife. One of the theoretical pillars on which the discipline is based concerns the fact that flies colonize a body after death. However in cases of myiasis, maggots are present before death, with consequences in the correct estimation of the minimum postmortem interval (mPMI). We report here the case of a woman, largely colonized by fly larvae, who has lain alive in her garden for four days prior to being rescued. Larvae were found on the conjunctivae, the bronchi, the rectum and vagina. The woman's death, two months later, was caused by tetanus. The consequences of myiasis on mPMI estimation are here discussed. In fact, despite she was still alive larvae, indicated and estimated age of 1.5–2.5 days, based on environmental and body temperature.     

Trajectories of Peer Social Influences as Long-term Predictors of Drug Use from Early Through Late Adolescence

The present study analyzed the long-term effects of perceived friend use and perceived peer use on adolescents’ own cigarette, alcohol and marijuana use as a series of parallel growth curves that were estimated in two developmental pieces, representing middle and high school (N = 1,040). Data were drawn from a large drug abuse prevention trial, the Midwestern Prevention Project (MPP). Results showed that both perceived peer and friend cigarette use predicted own cigarette use within and across the adolescent years. For own alcohol and marijuana use, peer and friend influences were limited primarily to middle school. The findings suggest that strategies for counteracting peer and friend influences should receive early emphasis in prevention programs that are targeted to middle school. The findings also raise the question of whether cigarette use may represent a symbol of peer group identity that is unlike other drug use, and once formed, may have lasting adverse effects through the adolescent years.

The Average Treatment and Its Cost,Age, and Gender of Patients With Ischemic Heart Diseases

Ensuring efficient treatment of patients in hospital care, with precise management of resources and cost planning. Goals： Dividing the patients with ischemic heart diseases into five groups with the highest cost of treatment, and determining the link among the cost of treatment and the average length of hospital stay, age, and gender of these patients. Materials and methods： Standardized reports of 10,040 patients from three hospitals in Macedonia from 2010 to 2012 were used. The databases were processed in SPSS 17, and the ANOVA and the Chi-square test were applied. Results and discussion： There is a statistically significant difference between the groups which have different cost of treatment and the average length of their treatment （F = 183.63 and p = 0.000） and a statistically significant difference between the five most expensive groups of patients in terms of their gender （Chi-square = 370.262, df = 4, and p = 0.000）. Furthermore, there are statistically significant differences between patients with different cost of treatment in terms of their age （F = 24.25 and p = 0.000）. Conclusion： The ＂most expensive＂ patients have the longest average hospital stay.     

Mapping design activities and methods of public sector innovation units through the policy cycle model

Policy Sciences - Over the last two decades, the design practice has been expanding to the public sphere to generate solutions for public challenges. In particular, the reflections on the design...     

乌克兰区域发展调控的法律基础：法律分析

乌克兰基本上已经形成了区域发展和实施其规划的法律基础。法律基础对区域发展做出了严格规定。对法律基础所进行的研究能够展示制定行为准则的重要观点，暴露其缺点，提出进一步完善的建议。对乌克兰区域发展的法律文件的研究表明，大多数规定区域发展的法律文件之间不一致。因此不能认为调控区域发展，特别是调控萧条区域发展问题的法律法规体系已经最终形成。