The neuroendocrine effects of the TASER X26®: A brief report

IntroductionLaw enforcement officers use conducted electrical weapons (CEW) such as the TASER X26^® to control violently resistive subjects. There are no studies in the medical literature examining the effects of these weapons on the human stress response. This is the first study to compare the human stress response to conducted electrical weapons, oleoresin capsicum (O.C.), a cold-water tank immersion, and a defensive tactics drill.MethodsSubjects were randomized to one of the four interventions studied. Subjects received either a 5-s exposure from the TASER X26 CEW with the probes fired into the back from 7 ft, a 5-s spray of O.C., a skin and mucous membrane irritant, to the eyes, a 45-s exposure of the hand and forearm in a 0 °C cold water tank, or a 1-min defensive tactics drill.ResultsAlpha-amylase had the greatest increase from baseline at 10–15 min with the defensive tactics drill. Cortisol had the greatest increase at 15–20 min with O.C. Cortisol remained most elevated at 40–60 min in the defensive tactics drill group.ConclusionsOur preliminary data suggests that physical exertion during custodial arrest may be most activating of the human stress response, particularly the sympathetic–adrenal–medulla axis. This may suggest that techniques to limit the duration of this exertion may be the safest means to apprehend subjects, particularly those at high-risk for in-custody death. Conducted electrical weapons were not more activating of the human stress response than other uses of force.     

From early Confucian texts to aged care in China and abroad today： The evolution of filial piety and its implications

Filial piety has remained a cornerstone of aged care in Chinese communities for at least 2,000 years. This paper reviews understandings and practices of filial piety in China and among Chinese migrants to western countries. Five dimensions of filial piety are considered： living arrangements, support, respect, ancestral worship and gender norms. Although the meaning of and practices associated with filial piety may have changed over time, the ideal of filial piety is still highly relevant to aged care in Chinese communities today.     

Managing the Re‐Entry Process of Returnee Government Scholars in an Emerging Transition Economy – An Embeddedness Perspective

This paper reports the findings of a study that investigates the factors affecting the re‐entry and readjustment process of returnee government scholars in Vietnam. These returnee scholars were originally sent overseas to study as part of changes introduced by the Vietnamese government to develop its domestic talent pool. Using the perspective of home country embeddedness, we find that career and community embeddedness factors, together with readjustment factors, have an effect on returnee scholars’ career and life satisfaction in their home country. These factors subsequently affected their intention to stay or re‐expatriate. The study contributes to public sector change management theory by examining factors affecting the re‐entry process of returnees within an emerging transition economy. It also adds to the limited studies on understanding and managing the re‐entry processes and state‐led diaspora strategies among returnee government scholars from emerging transition economies and their effectiveness.     

Institutional Differences and Local Government Performance: Evidence from Property Tax Assessment Quality

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between institutional differences embedded in local governance structures and government performance in the specific context of property assessment. In order to provide deeper insight into why certain governance structures perform better than others, we focus on the impact of nested levels of institutions—constitutional-level and substantive-level rules of governance—beyond the conventional perspective of the form of government. Based on panel data of cities and towns in New York State between 1993 and 2010, our analysis indicates that, among other institutional arrangements, municipalities employing the council–manager form with appointed assessors are most likely to achieve higher levels of assessment quality (uniformity) of the residential property. This indicates that having politically independent (more career-oriented), low-powered appointed governance structures rather than politically risk-averse (more voter-oriented), high-powered elected counterparts are more likely to be effective at reducing risk in tax equity issues, thus providing better financial performance.     

Improving the Health and Education of Elementary Schoolchildren in Rural China: Iron Supplementation Versus Nutritional Training for Parents

Abstract

We report on the results of a randomised controlled trial conducted among over 2,000 children in 60 elementary schools in rural Shaanxi Province, North-west China. We find that providing children with daily iron supplements for six months improved children’s haemoglobin levels and standardised maths scores. In comparison, educating parents about nutrition and anaemia in a special parents meeting produced a modest impact on children’s haemoglobin levels. We also find heterogeneous intervention effects by children’s gender, anaemia status and boarding status. Overall, iron supplementation is more effective. However, given its low cost and simple implementation, parental education should still be considered.     

The use of error rates to predict and characterize the efficacy of presumptive field tests

From a forensic perspective, a presumptive test, one which indicates the presence or absence of a certain target material such as blood, is an invaluable tool. Among these tests, there are different specificities, sensitivities, and shelf lives. The accuracy of a test is an algebraic combination of the specificity and sensitivity of the test. Each test has limitations as given by its false positive and false negative rates. The aim of this study was to illustrate how the false positive and false negative rates are to be properly determined using a simulation study for the phenolphthalein test. New presumptive tests must be properly evaluated/validated through testing of commonly encountered household items and other potentially probative items usually found at crime scenes, however, the makeup of test sets must appropriately capture all error rates. In order to correctly use these results when the test is applied to an unknown sample recovered at a crime scene, the error rates cannot be applied directly to estimate whether or not the sample is actually the analyte of interest. In a validation study, the forensic scientist calculates the false positive rate as the p(Positive Reaction|Blood), whereas at the scene, the crime scene investigator wishes to determine the p(Blood|Positive Reaction). All crime scene investigators need to ensure that the conditional is not transposed when interpreting such results. Furthermore, this work provides a model for the assessment of a multiple test diagnostic system intended for investigators.     

A Simple Method of VNTR D1S80 Locus Allelic Ladder Construction for Capillary Electrophoresis‐based Genotyping

VNTR D1S80 locus genotyping has been largely replaced in forensics by STR. As the statute of limitations on murder cases was abolished in the Republic of Korea in July 2015, the demand for re‐analysis of DNA from unresolved murder cases has increased. The National Forensic Service includes several recorded D1S80 genotypes as crucial clues. Here, we re‐established the D1S80 analysis system using capillary electrophoresis and confirmed the reproducibility of the system by comparison with the genotypes of eight DNA samples that had been analyzed using PAGE in 2006. In addition, we created an allelic ladder via new methodology using flanking region sequences. A single DNA sample (K562) and seven primers were used for the new ladder, which contains 12 alleles. Although artificial owing to the use of the flanking region rather than repeat unit reduction, the method is rapid and simple, and could be applicable in any laboratory.     

Measuring the crime displacement and diffusion of benefit effects of open-street CCTV in South Korea

Crime prevention strategies are implemented to reduce the damage caused by crimes with CCTV (Closed-Circuit Television) being broadly accepted as one of the main strategies. However, along with CCTV's perceived high expectations as crime deterrent, there is also a growing controversy over CCTV's potentially unexpected limitations. For example, the crime displacement (the presence of CCTV will change the locations of crime and its total number will not change) and the diffusion effects of crime control benefits (the crime prevention effect of CCTV may filter through to neighboring areas) are the representative controversial issues. In this study, we aimed to verify the crime displacement and the diffusion of benefit of open-street CCTV by analyzing the crime tendencies empirically.Gwang Myeong City in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea was chosen to analyze the crime displacement using the WDQ (Weighted Displacement Quotient) which compares the crime tendency of a location with that of its neighboring areas. The results showed that the crime prevention effect of the CCTV was significant. The number of robberies and thefts in the areas with CCTV installed reduced by 47.4%, while the areas without CCTV showed practically no change in the number of crimes. The crime displacement caused by the CCTV was not either found or inconsequential, and the crime rates in the neighboring areas also decreased slightly. Of major cause for concern was the fact that CCTV was marginally effective in deterring violence and as such, there should be a more detailed scientific analysis of the pattern and type of crimes committed in an area where CCTV's are being installed.     

Development of heavy mineral and heavy element database of soil sediments in Japan using synchrotron radiation X-ray powder diffraction and high-energy (116 keV) X-ray fluorescence analysis: 1. Case study of Kofu and Chiba region

We have started the construction of a nationwide forensic soil sediment database for Japan based on the heavy mineral and trace heavy element compositions of stream sediments collected at 3024 points all over Japan obtained by high-resolution synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (SR-XRD) and high-energy synchrotron X-ray fluorescence analysis (HE-SR-XRF). In this study, the performance of both techniques was demonstrated by analyzing soil sediments from two different geological regions, the Kofu and Chiba regions in Kanto province, to construct database that can be applied in the future to provenance analysis of soil evidence from a crime scene. The sediments from the quaternary volcanic lithology of the Chiba region were found to be dominated by heavy minerals of volcanic origin - orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and amphibole, and the REEs (rare earth elements) within the region showed similar geochemical behavior. On the other hand, four distinct heavy mineral groups were identified in the sediments of the Kofu region, where there is a great variety of underlying bedrock, and the geochemical behavior of the REEs in the sediments also varied accordingly to their geological origins. As such, our study shows that high-resolution SR-XRD data can provide information on the spatial distribution patterns of heavy minerals in stream sediments, playing an important role in determining their likely geographical origin. Meanwhile, the highly sensitive HE-SR-XRF data allow us to study the geochemical behavior of trace heavy elements, especially the REEs in the sediments, providing additional support to further constrain the likely geographical origin of the sediments determined by heavy minerals.