Severity of neurocognitive impairment in women who have experienced intimate partner violence in Spain

This study examines neuropsychological impairment in women who have experienced intimate partner violence using DSM 5 criteria for mild and severe cognitive impairment. A total of 108 females in Spain were included in one of three groups: psychological abuse (n = 24), physical and psychological abuse (n = 45), and no-abuse (n = 39). There were differences between the control and IPV groups in attention and executive functioning. Furthermore, approximately 25% of women experiencing IPV suffer mild neuropsychological alterations and 5% severe, mostly in memory and executive function domains. This evidence supports the growth in research that suggests psychological violence on its own to be as strongly related to poor health outcomes as physical violence in intimate partner relationships.     

A novel network-based analysis to measure efficiency in science and technology parks: the ISA framework approach

In the last years, Science and Technology Parks (STPs) have been considered facilitators of inter-organizational relationships, as well as instruments of public policy, by creating networks and allowing access for the learning of local innovation. In this study, we propose a quantitative tool as support for measuring the efficiency of STPs through the analysis of the complex networks they form. We present a generic framework called the Inter-Relationship Science-Park Analysis (ISA) framework to study STPs at three different levels of management: (1) individual entities (research centres, universities, innovation companies, etc.); (2) STP global management; and (3) productive sector development. Moreover, we have applied the ISA framework to a real-world case study: the Walqa Science and Technology Park. Through it we have been able to know what relationships are established within this Science and Technology Park and which are the most important nodes in this network of interactions.     

Party Strategies,Constituency Links,and Legislative Speech

This article examines how parties organize legislative speech. Electoral incentives and legislative institutions affect speech participation. When electoral systems create personal vote‐seeking incentives, parties are less concerned with screening speeches and more supportive of members seeking to garner name recognition. But in many countries, legislative rules and norms constrain opportunities for individual position taking during the lawmaking debates. We argue that parties resolve this dilemma by organizing speech participation into nonlegislative speeches and lawmaking debates. In each instance, different types of legislators are more likely to speak. We examine the case of Chile and test the implications of our theory with data on congressional speeches.     

Evaluating the relative impact of positive and negative encounters with police: a randomized experiment

Objectives

Examines the influence of positive, negative, and neutral police behavior during traffic stops on citizen perceptions of police.

Methods

Participants were randomly assigned to view a video clip of a simulated traffic stop in which the officer communicates with the driver in a positive (procedurally just), negative (procedurally unjust), or neutral manner. After viewing the video, participants completed a survey about their perceptions of police, including their level of trust in police, obligation to obey police orders, and willingness to cooperate with police.

Results

Observing positive interactions with police enhanced people’s self-reported willingness to cooperate with police, obligation to obey police and the law, and trust and confidence in police, whereas observing negative interactions undermined these outcomes. The effects of these interactions were much stronger for encounter-specific outcomes than for more general outcomes.

Conclusions

The results from this randomized experiment confirm that procedural justice can enhance people’s prosocial attitudes toward police, whereas procedural injustice can undermine these attitudes. While positive (procedurally just) interactions tend to have weaker effects than negative (procedurally unjust) interactions, this study finds little support for the notion that only negative experiences shape people’s views about the police.

     

Forearm bones and sexual variation in Turkish population

Forensic anthropologists are aware that there are considerable differences between human populations and therefore develop study models for each skeletal population. The purpose of this study was to analyze forearm bones obtained from forensic settings in Turkey. The sample consists of 42 males and 38 females with an average age of 40 and 36 years, respectively. Numerous measurements were taken from the radius and ulna including lengths (in millimeters), midshaft diameters, and epiphyseal breadths (0.01 mm). Individuals with any anomaly and pathology were not included in the investigation. A stepwise analysis, when applied to individual bones, selected only length and midshaft transverse dimension in the radius and length only in the ulna. When the length was excluded from the statistic, head diameter and distal breadth of the radius and distal minimum head and midshaft anteroposterior diameters of the ulna provided the best predicting functions. Classification results were 92% for the radius and 91% for the ulna. For the incomplete bones, the accuracy rates were about 92% and 83%, respectively. In conclusion, a sex determination was made, in different rates of accuracy, in the human skeleton. Correct assessment can vary among populations. Dimorphism in our region forearm bones is greater than American whites. This supported the hypothesis that human variation is diverse, and population difference should be taken into account when osteometric standards are applied to others. Further studies are needed to understand why the forearm is more dimorphic in Turks.     

LC-MS-MS analysis of buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine in whole blood from suspected drug users

A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method is described for the analysis of buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine in whole blood. Linearity was achieved between 0.2-5 ng/g for buprenorphine and 0.5-5 ng/g for norbuprenorphine. Stability studies on spiked whole blood and an authentic sample showed no degradation of buprenorphine- and norbuprenorphine-glucuronide to their respective aglycones. Buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine showed some degradation when stored at 4°C for three weeks, but was stable when stored at -20°C for 4 weeks. The method was applied to forensic cases of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) and petty drug offences (PDO) during 2007-2009. Out of 2459 cases analyzed, 322 were positive for both buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine (13%), 219 for buprenorphine only (9%), and 12 for norbuprenorphine only (0.5%). The mean and median concentrations (N=322) were 1.7 and 1.0 ng/g, respectively, for buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine. The mean and median norbuprenorphine/buprenorphine ratios were 1.5 and 1.1, respectively. There was no significant difference in concentration ratios for DUID and PDO cases (p>0.05). We conclude that the described method for analysis of buprenorphine and norbuprenorphine in whole blood could be used to investigate use or misuse of buprenorphine but that many of the cases presented with very low concentrations of buprenorphine. We also conclude that analysis should be performed within two weeks unless samples are stored frozen prior to analysis.     

Spontaneous formation of γ-hydroxybutyric acid from γ-butyrolactone in tap water solutions

The spontaneous conversion of γ-butyrolactone (GBL) to γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in seven different Swedish tap waters was investigated. The waters used in the study were selected to represent the diversity among Swedish tap waters as well as possible, which was enabled by principal component analysis (PCA) of a number of water quality parameters. GBL solutions (5, 25 and 50% v/v) were prepared in each of the tap waters and in deionized water and the formation of GHB was followed over time. The GHB quantifications were made using a CZE method, employing a carrier electrolyte consisting of 25mM benzoic acid, 54mM tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris) and 1.7mM tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB), which was developed as a part of the current study. Data evaluation showed that the formation of GHB was largely dependent on the type of tap water. For example, there was a negative correlation between the kinetics of the GHB formation and the alkalinity of the tap waters (r(2)=0.990). This could be explained by a faster decrease in pH in the waters with low buffering capacity (i.e. low alkalinity), which catalysed the hydrolysis of GBL. Equilibrium was reached after 40-250 days depending on the initial GBL concentration and the type of tap water. The level of the equilibrium appeared to be dependent on the initial GBL concentration and ranged from 26 to 37%. Gained knowledge on the levels of the GHB/GBL equilibrium and the kinetics of the formation of GHB in tap water solutions of GBL, including the influence of the tap water quality, may be useful information for casework with the GHB/GBL problem in focus.