A technical appraisal of the IIASA energy scenarios

Several shortcomings in a major study of the world's energy system are described. The study, entitled Energy in a Finite World, resulted in widely publicized conclusions and urgent policy recommendations that were derived from detailed projections of the global energy future. A set of computer models was used to produce these projections, which are analyzed here in two ways. First, treating the models as a black box, it is shown that several principal results are effectively prescribed informally in input data that pass through the models unchanged. Second, despite claims of robustness, detailed sensitivity analysis shows that the energy supply projections are highly sensitive to perturbations in various input data. Early work that revealed this problem is not cited, and standard sensitivity tests are not provided in the study. Thus, despite the appearance of analytical rigor, the study's conclusions are evidently based on opinions rather than objective robust analysis.Bill Keepin is Research Fellow at the Beijer Institute, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Box 50005, S-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden. This work was carried out at IIASA, where he was Research Scholar from October 1981 to June 1984.     

The relationship between childhood sexual abuse and adult mental health among undergraduates: victim gender doesn't matter

A large body of research has documented the harmful effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on adult mental health among females, but less work has examined this issue among males. This study examined whether gender moderated the relationship between CSA and adult mental health among a mixed-gender sample of 406 undergraduates. A Pearson chi-square test indicated that a significantly greater proportion of females (41.6%) than males (30.7%) reported a history of CSA. ANCOVAs tested whether gender, CSA status, and their interaction were related to adult mental health symptomatology as measured by Brief Symptom Inventory gender-normed t scores. Participants with a history of CSA reported significantly higher levels of global mental health problems, hostility, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism. The gender by CSA status interaction was not significant for any scale, indicating that the harmful effects of CSA on adult mental health did not vary by gender.     

Bundaberg and beyond: duty to disclose adverse events to patients

Although much excellent work has been done in Australia and elsewhere to improve the safety and quality of health care provision, the practice of medicine is inherently risky--adverse events sometimes occur. In Australia, practical guidelines for the open disclosure of adverse events to patients have been developed and are being implemented. State and Territory medical boards have recently adopted Codes of Conduct which include disclosure provisions, although the Australian Medical Association's Code of Ethics does not yet contain express patient disclosure provisions. There is a dearth of authority concerning legal obligations to disclose known or suspected adverse events. Although many Australian jurisdictions have introduced statutory protection for those who apologise or express regret to patients following an adverse event, there is no corresponding express statutory disclosure obligation, unlike in some parts of the United States. The Bundaberg experience illustrates the complex ethical, practical and legal issues which arise in this area.     

Co‐production: Option or Obligation?

Co‐production is an idea being discussed in the international public management literature but less so in New Zealand and Australia. Co‐production rejects the idea of service delivery to passive users, proposing instead they be treated as active participants in the production of outcomes. As partners in delivery, users bring resources, skills and capabilities to their interactions with providers. Co‐production requires providers to share power and negotiate the interaction. There are strong managerial reasons for adopting co‐production to improve effectiveness and efficiency. But the political reasons for adopting co‐production are even stronger because of trends of many decades towards greater citizen participation. These reasons oblige public managers in Australasia to adopt co‐production in many fields of policy as part of the future.     

AutoMate Express™ forensic DNA extraction system for the extraction of genomic DNA from biological samples

Abstract: The AutoMate Express? Forensic DNA Extraction System was developed for automatic isolation of DNA from a variety of forensic biological samples. The performance of the system was investigated using a wide range of biological samples. Depending on the sample type, either PrepFiler? lysis buffer or PrepFiler BTA? lysis buffer was used to lyse the samples. After lysis and removal of the substrate using LySep? column, the lysate in the sample tubes were loaded onto AutoMate Express? instrument and DNA was extracted using one of the two instrument extraction protocols. Our study showed that DNA was recovered from as little as 0.025 μL of blood. DNA extracted from casework‐type samples was free of detectable PCR inhibitors and the short tandem repeat profiles were complete, conclusive, and devoid of any PCR artifacts. The system also showed consistent performance from day‐to‐day operation.     

Perpetrator programmes for partner violence: A rejoinder to Respect

Purpose. To reply to the comments made by Debbonaire and Todd (2012) in relation to our critique of Respect's Position Statement. Method. We examined their reply in relation to our original article and to the wider research literature. Results. We show that Debbonaire and Todd's reply is largely a series of assertions, for which little or no supporting evidence is offered. Their argument is first that we are misplaced in criticizing their Position Statement, and second that the main points of the statement are defendable. We indicate why our criticisms of the statement still stand. Conclusions. We argue that Respect have not countered our overall criticism of their position that intimate partner violence (IPV) can only be addressed as a gendered issue, that is as a consequence of patriarchal values enacted at the individual level. Instead we advocate a gender‐inclusive approach applying a knowledge base derived from robust empirical research on IPV and more widely from research on human aggression.     

Interpretation of repeat measurement DNA evidence allowing for multiple contributors and population substructure

Due to the circumstances in some forensic cases, very small amounts of DNA (<100 pg) may be obtained. This, in turn, may affect the reliability of the PCR process, and so it may be advisable to repeat the amplification process for confirmatory purposes. Gill et al. [Forensic Sci. Int. 112 (2000) 17] proposed a method for the statistical evaluation of the PCR replicate information. In this paper we formalize the method proposed by Gill et al. [Forensic Sci. Int. 112 (2000) 17], and extend it to allow for cases involving mixed stains and for population substructure.     

Blood, brain, and hair GHB concentrations following fatal ingestion

Despite the increasing incidence of illicit use of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), little information is available documenting levels of the drug in GHB fatalities. We measured GHB levels in postmortem blood, brain and hair specimens from a suspected overdose case by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) following solid phase extraction (SPE) and derivatization with bis(trimethyl-silyl) trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA). Examination found 330 microg/mL GHB in femoral blood and 221 ng/mg GHB in frontal cortex brain tissue, values higher than those typically reported in the literature. The hair shaft was negative for GHB whereas the plucked root bulbs with outer root sheath attached (2,221 ng/mg) and root bulbs after washing and removal of the outer root sheath (47 ng/mg) contained the drug. Our results are consistent with an acute single dose of GHB and, as the toxicology screen was negative for other drugs of abuse, emphasize the significant danger of this drug.