Laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry of triacylglycerols and other components in fingermark samples

The chemical composition of fingermarks could potentially be important for determining investigative leads, placing individuals at the time of a crime, and has applications as biomarkers of disease. Fingermark samples containing triacylglycerols (TAGs) and other components were analyzed using laser desorption/ionization (LDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF MS). Only LDI appeared to be useful for this application while conventional matrix-assisted LDI-TOF MS was not. Tandem MS was used to identify/confirm selected TAGs. A limited gender comparison, based on a simple t-distribution and peaks intensities, indicated that two TAGs showed gender specificity at the 95% confidence level and two others at 97.5% confidence. Because gender-related TAGs differences were most often close to the standard deviation of the measurements, the majority of the TAGs showed no gender specificity. Thus, LDI-TOF MS is not a reliable indicator of gender based on fingermark analysis. Cosmetic ingredients present in some samples were identified.     

Analysis of alprazolam by DART-TOF mass spectrometry in counterfeit and routine drug identification cases

The high prevalence of alprazolam abuse translates to an increased workload for crime laboratories in characterizing seized tablets. These tablets may originate as diverted pharmaceuticals or counterfeited mimics, so efficient analytical techniques should provide confirmatory data while minimizing destruction of evidence. We offer the first report of a validated forensic method for confirming alprazolam tablets by direct analysis in real time-time of flight (DART-TOF) mass spectrometric analysis. This technique provides rapid identification of target analytes with minimal sample preparation, allowing direct analysis in the atmospheric sample gap. Selectivity is achieved through high resolution and mass accuracy, unique ion fragments, and chlorine isotopic ratios. This method utilizes fragmentation in two separate voltage functions to observe the alprazolam pseudo molecular ion at 309.09070 using 40 V and major ion fragments of 281.07197 and 205.07657 at 120 V. These parameters allow our laboratory to confirm alprazolam tablets efficiently, without compromising quality forensic standards.     

From offender to situation: the 'cold' approach to sexual violence prevention?

Many commentators have pointed to the monstrous nature of sexual violence, with its related sense of pollution and disgust. In response, post-release regulation has a ‘hot’ quality: in the USA, sexually violent predator statutes, residency requirements, GPS satellite monitoring, and variations on the theme of community notification all speak of the expressiveness of the response. ‘Hot’ signifies and has embedded within it an ‘individualist’ rather than ‘structural’ account of action, emphasises a dramaturgical reading of the social world, and privileges the political rather than the problem-solving sphere. What has been far less explored, until recently, is research and prevention policy related specifically to the sexual violence itself, or the situation in which the offense occurs. By contrast to the ‘hot’ response, elision from offender to situation appears to betoken a ‘cold’ quality. This paper analyses the conceptual and empirical underpinnings of such a ‘cold’ situational approach, evaluates existing studies across settings, and assesses the implications of this problem-solving process for prevention policy and practice. It concludes by embedding the analysis within a broader precautionary politics of ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ control.     

Narrative identity and offender rehabilitation

The rehabilitation of offenders is an evaluative and capability-building process and is concerned with promoting primary goods and managing risk. At the heart of this process is the construction of a more adaptive narrative identity and the acquisition of capabilities to enable offenders to secure important values in their postrelease environments. In this article, the authors examine the idea of narrative identity and its relationship to values and to assessment and treatment.     

Proof of causation in informed consent cases: establishing what the plaintiff would have done

A degree of judicial caution in accepting the assertion of a plaintiff as to what he or she would have done, if fully informed of risks, is clearly evident upon a review of decisions applying the common law. Civil liability legislation in some jurisdictions now precludes assertion evidence by a plaintiff. Although this legislative change was seen as creating a significant challenge for plaintiffs seeking to discharge the onus of proof of establishing causation in such cases, recent decisions suggest a more limited practical effect. While a plaintiff's ex post facto assertions as to what he or she would have done if fully informed of risks may now be inadmissible, objective and subjective evidence as to the surrounding facts and circumstances, in particular the plaintiff's prior attitudes and conduct, and the assertion evidence of others remains admissible. Given the court's reliance on both objective and subjective evidence, statistical evidence may be of increasing importance.     

Mentally ill offenders eligible for diversion at local court in New South Wales (NSW), Australia: factors associated with initially successful diversion

Diversion away from the criminal justice system and into mental health treatment services is a key strategy for addressing the well-established burden of mental illness suffered by those presenting to court. While mental health courts, court liaison and court diversion services have been developed in many jurisdictions internationally, there is limited research evidence to support their effectiveness in identifying those with mental health need and achieving successful diversion. The Statewide Community and Court Liaison Service in New South Wales, Australia, identifies mentally ill offenders likely to meet legal eligibility criteria for diversion at the busiest local courts across the state. Utilising data collected by mental health clinicians working in the service, 8317 individuals were identified as being eligible for court diversion on at least one occasion during the study period (1 July 2008 and the 30 June 2015) and 57.3% were subsequently diverted by Magistrates. Successful diversion at this first step was associated with being female, older, of non-Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background, and having a serious mental illness, replicated when stratified by sex and by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background. There may be barriers to mental health diversion at court for individuals with particular socio-demographic characteristics which future service developments may need to take into account.     

The Crisis of Over-Accumulation in Japan

Abstract

Japan has now been mired in economic stagnation, punctuated by recurrent recessions, for the past two decades. What are the causes of this longstanding malaise? Is it merely the natural consequence of financial retrenchment and the onset of a pervasive “liquidity trap” after the collapse of the “bubble” economy in the early 1990s, or does the present slump signify a more profound historical phase of structural decline? The aim of this study is to provide several tentative hypotheses. In the first section, some of the possible causes of this phase of prolonged stagnation will be examined. The next section provides a theoretical treatment of the dynamics of debt-deflation from a Minsky-Fisher perspective. The final section evaluates whether the historical evidence lends credence to the debt-deflation thesis.