Temporal variation of oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) in drinking water: implications for specifying location of origin with human scalp hair

Previous work suggests that δ(18)O values of human hair can be used to constrain the region-of-origin of unknown individuals, but robust assessments of uncertainties in this method are lacking. Here we assess one source of uncertainty - temporal variation in the δ(18)O value of drinking water - using a monthly tap water survey of δ(18)O to develop geospatial models (i.e., maps) of the intra-annual variation (seasonality) in tap water δ(18)O for the contiguous USA. Temporal variation in tap water δ(18)O was correlated with water-supply type, and was related to geographic patterns of precipitation δ(18)O seasonality and water residence time. The maps were applied in a Bayesian framework to identify the geographic origin of an unidentified woman found in Utah, based on measured δ(18)O of scalp hair. The results are robust in specifying parts of the western USA as the most likely region-of-origin. Incorporation of tap water δ(18)O seasonality in the analysis reduces the precision of geographic assignments, but other sources of uncertainty (e.g., spatial interpolation uncertainty) have an equal or larger effect.     

Variation of δ2H, δ18O & δ13C in crude palm oil from different regions in Malaysia: Potential of stable isotope signatures as a key traceability parameter

A total of 33 crude palm oil samples were randomly collected from different regions in Malaysia. Stable carbon isotopic composition (δ¹³C) was determined using Flash 2000 elemental analyzer while hydrogen and oxygen isotopic compositions (δ²H and δ¹⁸O) were analyzed by Thermo Finnigan TC/EA, wherein both instruments were coupled to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The bulk δ²H, δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C of the samples were analyzed by Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Orthogonal Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA). Unsupervised HCA and PCA methods have demonstrated that crude palm oil samples were grouped into clusters according to respective state. A predictive model was constructed by supervised OPLS-DA with good predictive power of 52.60%. Robustness of the predictive model was validated with overall accuracy of 71.43%. Blind test samples were correctly assigned to their respective cluster except for samples from southern region. δ¹⁸O was proposed as the promising discriminatory marker for discerning crude palm oil samples obtained from different regions. Stable isotopes profile was proven to be useful for origin traceability of crude palm oil samples at a narrower geographical area, i.e. based on regions in Malaysia. Predictive power and accuracy of the predictive model was expected to improve with the increase in sample size. Conclusively, the results in this study has fulfilled the main objective of this work where the simple approach of combining stable isotope analysis with chemometrics can be used to discriminate crude palm oil samples obtained from different regions in Malaysia. Overall, this study shows the feasibility of this approach to be used as a traceability assessment of crude palm oils.     

The sensitivity and specificity of the RSID™-saliva kit for the detection of human salivary amylase in the Forensic Science Laboratory,Dublin, Ireland

We demonstrate here that the RSID?-saliva test can be used as a test for human salivary α-amylase on samples routinely examined in forensic casework. We show that the RSID?-saliva test detects salivary α-amylase at lower concentrations than the Phadebas^® Quantitative test, that the RSID?-saliva test does not cross-react with forensically important human fluids and that the RSID?-saliva test can be successfully integrated into the whole swab semen extraction method.     

Law by human intent or evolution? Some remarks on the Austrian school of economics’ role in the development of law and economics

In the late nineteenth century, economic analysis of law experienced an outright rejection by the German-speaking legal community. In the second half of the twentieth century, it became a dominant approach in American legal inquiry. We argue that this success was partly due to the insights of Austrian economics which the second wave of law and economics has incorporated. We argue that Austrian legal and economic scholars marked the two cornerstones between which the subsequent discussion oscillated: social planning versus evolution (spontaneous order).     

Traumatic brain injury,temperament, and violence in incarcerated youth: a mediation analysis based on Delisi and Vaughn’s theory of temperament and antisocial behavior

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with violent behavior. A possible key mechanism to explain the relationship between TBI and violence is DeLisi and Vaughn’s temperament-based theory of antisocial behavior. Accordingly, the current study investigates whether temperament – the combination of effortful control and negative emotionality – mediates the relationship between TBI and violent behavior within incarcerated youth. A non-probability sample of youth (N?=?227) incarcerated in two long-term residential facilities completed a comprehensive assessment tool that collected data on TBI, temperament, childhood trauma, substance use, mental illness, and a variety of demographic characteristics. Preliminary results showed TBI significantly increased violent behavior, adjusting for confounds. Then, mediation analysis found that temperament accounted for 54% of the total effect between TBI and violence. The study findings show the potency of DeLisi and Vaughn’s temperamental construct in explaining the relationship between TBI and violent behavior within a sample of incarcerated youth. The dynamic interplay between effortful control and negative emotionality appears to be an important mechanism related to violent behavior. Both temperament constructs should be the focus of future assessment and intervention among incarcerated youth with TBI.     

Shifting Concepts: The Realignment of Dharmakīrti on Concepts and the Error of Subject/Object Duality in Pratyabhijñā Śaiva Thought

Contemporary scholars have begun to document the extensive influence of the sixth to seventh century Buddhist philosopher Dharmakīrti on Pratyabhijñā ?aiva thought. Utpaladeva (925–975) and Abhinavagupta’s (975–1025) adaptation of Dharmakīrti’s apoha (exclusion) theory provides a striking instance of the creative ways in which these ?aivas use Dharmakīrti’s ideas to argue for positions that Dharmakīrti would emphatically reject. Both Dharmakīrti and these ?aivas emphasize that the formation of a concept involves both objective and subjective factors. Working within a certain perceptual environment, factors such as a subject’s desires, habits, and conditioning lead him or her to form a concept (vikalpa) based on excluding what is not relevant to the accomplishment of his or her goal. However, the two differ in their account of the relationship between concepts and subject/object duality itself. While Dharmakīrti claims that the division of a cognition into subject, object, and awareness is nonconceptual, the subtly shifted definition of a concept that these ?aivas employ allows them to claim that the error of subject/object duality is actually conceptual. This seemingly small difference in their respective evaluations of the nature of subject/object error has surprisingly large consequences. If, as these ?aivas claim, any awareness involving a duality is conceptual, then subject and object are concepts. Moreover, if the formation of a concept requires desire, then some kind of desire must be inherent to consciousness itself before the formation of a limited subject/object pair. In short, ultimate consciousness must be ?iva, who possesses the freedom to will any and all possible realities.