Pubertal Development Moderates the Importance of Environmental Influences on Depressive Symptoms in Adolescent Girls and Boys

Prevalence differences in depressive symptoms between the sexes typically emerge in adolescence, with symptoms more prevalent among girls. Some evidence suggests that variation in onset and progression of puberty might contribute to these differences. This study used a genetically informative, longitudinal (assessed at ages 12, 14, and 17) sample of Finnish adolescent twins (N = 1214, 51.6% female) to test whether etiological influences on depressive symptoms differ as a function of pubertal status. These tests were conducted separately by sex, and explored longitudinal relationships. Results indicated that pubertal development moderates environmental influences on depressive symptoms. These factors are more important on age 14 depressive symptoms among more developed girls relative to their less developed peers, but decrease in influence on age 17 depressive symptoms. The same effects are observed in boys, but are delayed, paralleling the delay in pubertal development in boys compared to girls. Thus, the importance of environmental influences on depressive symptoms during adolescence changes as a function of pubertal development, and the timing of this effect differs across the sexes.     

SURVIVING BENCH STRESS

The article presents a discussion of judicial stress, along with proposed solutions. The authors gathered information on the topic of judicial stress from judges via a survey and attendance at two Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) conventions. Some of the daily stressors endorsed by judges included endless caseloads, severe time limitations, social isolation, lack of privacy, and the weight of deciding the fates of others. It is important for our judges to be provided with ways of relieving and preventing burnout and stress. Proposed bench stress solutions include incorporating the Psychologist Advocate Program into the judicial system and creating specific guidelines for judges to take sabbaticals, which will serve to enhance our judicial system and the entire community.     

Advising Defendants about Guilty Pleas before International Courts

The aim of the article is to convey to the reader the varietyof considerations that Defence Counsel before the InternationalTribunals must take into account when advising accused personsabout their pleas. Although there are no formally adopted sentencingguidelines for guilty pleas, certain practices and patternshave emerged in the jurisprudence. The article thus examinesthe host of mitigating and aggravating factors which the judgeshave identified in the sentencing judgments following guiltypleas. The plea-bargaining process is also discussed, in particularthe deviations between the sentences recommended in the agreementsbetween the Prosecution and Defence, and those handed down bythe Trial Chambers—another factor about which accusedpersons must be advised in deciding upon their pleas. The articleconcludes by highlighting the challenges faced by Defence Counselin applying the multiplicity of sentencing features to the factsof each case.     

Multiplex PCR and minisequencing of SNPs--a model with 35 Y chromosome SNPs

We have developed a robust single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) typing assay with co-amplification of 25 DNA-fragments and the detection of 35 human Y chromosome SNPs. The sizes of the PCR products ranged from 79 to 186 base pairs. PCR primers were designed to have a theoretical Tm of 60 +/- 5 degrees C at a salt concentration of 180 mM. The sizes of the primers ranged from 19 to 34 nucleotides. The concentration of amplification primers was adjusted to obtain balanced amounts of PCR products in 8mM MgCl2. For routine purposes, 1 ng of genomic DNA was amplified and the lower limit was approximately 100 pg DNA. The minisequencing reactions were performed simultaneously for all 35 SNPs with fluorescently labelled dideoxynucleotides. The size of the minisequencing primers ranged from 19 to 106 nucleotides. The minisequencing reactions were analysed by capillary electrophoresis and multicolour fluorescence detection. Female DNA did not influence the results of Y chromosome SNP typing when added in concentrations more than 300 times the concentrations of male DNA. The frequencies of the 35 SNPs were determined in 194 male Danes. The gene diversity of the SNPs ranged from 0.01 to 0.5.     

Developments in West European political science journal and electronic literature during 1996

Abstract. One of the most effective mechanisms for obtaining an overview of the general direction of political science in a particular country is an examination of the output of its journal literature. This article lists the contents of the 1996 issues of selected European political science journals from a range of European countries (normally, those published by national political science associations) and comments on their content. Recent developments in three types of publishing on the world wide web are also reviewed and the relevant addresses are supplied. First, print journals increasingly maintain a minimal presence on the web, but in certain cases this extends a good deal further, to include abstracts or even the full texts of selected articles and links to related resources. Second, European governments are now all represented on the web in one form or another, though they vary greatly in terms of the range of governmental institutions covered and in the volume of documentation available. Third, the huge increase in political coverage on the web makes the indexing of this material all the more important, and we offer a listing of the major guides to national political science resources.