Distinguishing Characteristics of Robotic Writing

Advances in robotic handwriting technology create new challenges for forensic document examiners. In the past, devices such as the autopen were used to replicate signatures of government officials and corporate companies. In today's technology, companies such as Bond utilize robots to create written documents, which mimic natural patterns of handwriting. They generate customizable written samples by simulating pen movements and letter formations. Four forensic document examiners were given various reproduced questioned documents and utilized a modified ACE‐V (analysis, comparison, evaluation, verification) methodology to determine their genuineness. Examiners were able to make a distinction between the human writing samples and the skilled robotic equivalents. Several distinct features that are not seen in natural handwriting, such as even pen pressure and the superimposition of letterforms were observed in the robotic samples. Careful examination of identifying features of the Bond produced documents resulted in an opinion of nongenuineness.     

Pregnancy in prison,Mother and Baby Unit admission and impacts on perinatal depression and ‘quality of life’

Limited research exists on the impact of prison mother and baby unit (MBU) residence. Research in the UK suggests women in MBUs have lower prevalence of mental disorder. Higher rates of mother-child attachment for women in prison nurseries in the US have been reported. Eighty-five pregnant women were interviewed at baseline and 62 followed up in nine different prisons. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to measure perinatal depression; the World Health Organisation Quality of Life (WHOQOL – BREF), for quality of life; and the Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS) for mother-child bonding. EPDS scores were higher at baseline than follow-up. Women admitted to MBUs had lower EPDS scores at baseline and follow-up, and this reduction was greater than for women not admitted to MBUs. WHO-QOL scores were higher at follow-up than baseline on all domains, except the social domain for those not admitted to MBUs. Findings suggest women with perinatal depression are less likely to be admitted to MBUs, and MBU placement may contribute to a reduction in perinatal depression. Increased QOL-BREF scores at follow-up suggest improved quality of life for all participants. Reduced support post-separation may contribute to lower social domain scores for women not admitted to MBUs.     

Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: Trajectories and the Role of Familial Factors

Prior empirical research on intimate partner violence (IPV) in adolescence and young adulthood often focuses on exposure to violence in the family-of-origin using retrospective and cross-sectional data. Yet individuals’ families matter beyond simply the presence or absence of abuse, and these effects may vary across time. To address these issues, the present study employed five waves of longitudinal data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS) to investigate the trajectory of IPV from adolescence to young adulthood (N = 950 respondents, 4,750 person-periods) with a specific focus on how familial factors continue to matter across the life course. Results indicated that family-of-origin violence and parent-child relationship quality were independent predictors of IPV. The effect of parent-child relationship quality on IPV also became greater as individuals aged. These results have implications for policies targeted at reducing IPV.     

Self-injury group psychotherapy intervention for young offenders: a pilot study

Objective: Self-injury (SI) is a significant and growing problem with the prison estate and a particularly acute issue with young offenders. Despite this, there are no evidence-based interventions for Young Offenders with SI difficulties. The Self-Injury Group Psychotherapy Intervention (SIGPI) was developed to target this.

Method: Drawing on existing evidence, the group was developed and piloted on a sample of 12 male Young Offenders (mean age 19.85 years) in custody with a history of SI. Participants were measured on observable SI behaviour, SI thoughts and urges and psychological distress. A within subject design was utilised with measures at baseline, 6 months and 1 year.

Results: At 12 months follow-up, a significant reduction in SI acts, time spent on SI monitoring, severity of urges and difficulty resisting SI. Psychological distress was also reduced.

Conclusions: SIGPI could be a potentially promising intervention and further investigation into its efficacy is warranted.     

Acting on delusions: the role of negative affect in the pathway towards serious violence

Acting violently on delusions is a significant clinical problem. Recent research has identified state anger as key component in the pathway from persecutory/threat delusions to serious violence. To determine the magnitude of the effect of delusional anger and to investigate a dose-response relationship we carried out a prospective follow-up study of forensic in-patients discharged into the community. Men and women (n = 409) were assessed before/after discharge at 6 and 12 months (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, MacArthur Community Violence Interview). No association was found with a content un-specific measure of delusions, thought disorder, hallucinations, grandiosity and violence. Suspiciousness/persecution was significantly associated with both violence and anger. Anger was also associated with violence. Mediation analyses suggested that 84% of the association between suspiciousness/persecution and violence was explained by anger. Key target of interventions should primarily be the anger; treatment of delusional beliefs plays a secondary role in the management of risk.     

Application of cytochrome b DNA sequences for the authentication of endangered snake species

In order to enforce the conservation program and curbing the illegal trading and consumption of endangered snake species, the value of cytochrome b sequence in the authentication of snake species was evaluated. As an illustration, DNA was extracted, selected cytochrome b DNA sequences amplified and sequenced from six snakes commonly consumed in Hong Kong. Cataloging with sequences available in public, a cytochrome b database containing 90 species of snakes was constructed. In this database, sequence homology between snakes ranged from 70.68 to 95.11%. On the other hand, intraspecific variation of three tested snakes was 0-0.98%. Using the database, we were able to determine the identity of six meat samples confiscated by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, HKSAR.     

杆状病毒表达的猪传染性胃肠炎病毒钉状糖蛋白在其血清学诊断上的应用

利用从猪传染性胃肠炎病毒（ＴＧＥＶ）Ｍｉｌｅｒ株（Ｍ５Ｃ）克隆建立的一株重组杆状病毒（Ｒ２－２）表达的重组ＴＧＥＶ钉状糖蛋白（Ｓ），建立了一种阻断酶联免疫吸附试验（ＥＬＩＳＡ）来检测猪群抗ＴＧＥＶ抗体。试验表明，用重组病毒Ｒ２－２接种ｓｆ９细胞（ｓｐｏｄｏｐｔｅｒａｆｒｕｇｉｐｅｒｄａ）所表达的重组蛋白量在接种后第７２ｈ达到最高值；该重组蛋白能与抗ＴＧＥＶＳ蛋白Ａ位点的单克隆抗体特异性结合。用阻断ＥＬＩＳＡ检测６８份来自无ＴＧＥＶ感染或ＴＧＥＶ（Ｐｕｒｄｕｅｌ５）免疫的仔猪或母猪血清，结果与ＴＧＥＶ蚀斑减数试验完全相符，灵敏度和特异性均为１００％。同时检测来自ＴＧＥＶ试验免疫猪、美国部分地区猪群、我国进口猪以及我国国内猪群血清６２７份，阳性检出率分别为８２．６１％、６１．６２％、５８．３３％和２９．１０％；用中和试验（微量中和试验或病毒蚀斑减数试验）检测的ＴＧＥ血清抗体阳性率分别为８０．８７％、５９．６０％、５６．１１％和３０．６０％，两种方法对抗ＴＧＥＶ抗体的检出率没有显著差异。