Simple and highly effective DNA extraction methods from old skeletal remains using silica columns

The recovery of DNA data from old skeletal remains is often difficult due to degraded and very low yield of extracted DNA and the presence of PCR inhibitors. Herein, we compared several silica-based DNA extraction methods from artificially degraded DNA, DNA with PCR inhibitors and DNA from old skeletal remains using quantitative real-time PCR. We present a modified large-scale silica-based extraction combined with complete demineralization, that enables maximum DNA recovery and efficient elimination of PCR inhibitors. This is performed with high concentration of EDTA solution for demineralization of bone powder followed by QIAamp^® spin columns and buffers from the QIAquick^® PCR purification kit. We have successfully used this modified technique to perform STR analysis for 55-year-old skeletal remains. The results of this study will contribute to solve the forensic cases dealing with skeletal remains.     

Chronic Pain in the DSM-IV and the DSM-5 Draft: The Pain of It All

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, DSM-IV-TR (American Psychiatric Association 2000) includes the diagnosis of pain disorder, and it has been revised in major ways in the DSM-5 draft (American Psychiatric Association 2010). Pain disorder has been relegated as a specifier of the new diagnosis of complex somatic symptom disorder. It cannot be diagnosed prior to 6 months of the pain’s onset. Also, there are still the pejorative connotations with which the disorder is associated. In terms of treatment, it might be more difficult to get treatment plans accepted as a result of the changes, and in terms of the legal arena, it might prove more difficult to have the disorder serve as the basis of action in legal proceedings.     

The DSM-5 Draft: Critique and Recommendations

The series of articles in this special topic on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) draft (American Psychiatric Association 2010), which is preparatory to publication of the DSM-5, deals with issues and disorders and conditions pertinent to the field of psychological injury and law. The articles describe and critique the changes anticipated for the diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder, pain disorder, and neurocognitive disorder, in particular. Further, changes suggested in the draft for personality disorder are analyzed with a critical eye. In addition, the articles examine the lack of change for dealing with malingering and the general lack of consideration of group differences such as for race, in areas pertinent to psychological injury and law. This summary of the articles concludes that some of the changes in the DSM-5 draft are premature, and it calls for continued research and evidence-informed bases for recommended changes for the DSM-V.     

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the DSM-5: Group Difference Commentary

This article provides a commentary on the proposed Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-5 changes with respect to diagnosing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in diverse cultural groups in clinical and forensic settings. PTSD is the most common diagnosis in personal injury litigants (Koch et al. 2006). By reviewing the symptoms that have been changed in the DSM-5 draft for PTSD in terms of ethnoracial and minority–cultural factors, this article highlights the lack of data needed in the area and that the DSM project should pay more attention to such factors.     

Examining the “CSI-effect” in the cases of circumstantial evidence and eyewitness testimony: Multivariate and path analyses

As part of a larger investigation of the changing nature of juror behavior in the context of technology development, this study examined important questions unanswered by previous studies on the “CSI-effect.” In answering such questions, the present study applied multivariate and path analyses for the first time. The results showed that (a) watching CSI dramas had no independent effect on jurors' verdicts, (b) the exposure to CSI dramas did not interact with individual characteristics, (c) different individual characteristics were significantly associated with different types of evidence, and (d) CSI watching had no direct effect on jurors' decisions, and it had an indirect effect on conviction in the case of circumstantial evidence only as it raised expectations about scientific evidence, but it produced no indirect effect in the case of eyewitness testimony only. Finally, implications of the present study as well as for future research on the “CSI-effect” on jurors are discussed.     

A Ballistics Examination of Firearm Injuries Involving Breast Implants

This ballistics study examines whether saline breast implants can decrease tissue penetration in firearm injuries. We hypothesize that the fluid column within a saline breast implant can alter bullet velocity and/or bullet pattern of mushrooming. The two experimental groups included saline implants with 7.4 cm projection and a no implant group. The experimental design allowed the bullet to pass‐through an implant and into ballistics gel (n = 10) or into ballistics gel without passage through an implant (n = 11). Shots that passed through an implant had 20.6% decreased penetration distance when compared to shots that did not pass‐through an implant; this difference was statistically significant (31.9 cm vs. 40.2 cm, p < 0.001). Implant group bullets mushroomed prior to gel entry, but the no implant group mushroomed within the gel. Bullet passage through a saline breast implant results in direct bullet velocity reduction and earlier bullet mushrooming; this causes significantly decreased ballistics gel penetration.     

Assault in prison and assault in prison psychiatric treatment

Studies have described measures associated with assault in the community, but few have identified measures associated with assault in prison or prison psychiatric treatment. In this study, prison assault histories and assaults while in prison psychiatric treatment for 222 randomly selected male inmates were evaluated. Using record reviews, interviews, neuropsychological, Rorschach, and psychopathy measures, risk factors for assault in prison and in prison psychiatric treatment were identified. Youth Authority placement, inhalant use, antisocial lifestyle, neurological injury, neuropsychological impairment, and higher PCL-R Factor II ratings were associated with assault in prison. Absence of major mental disorder, neurological impairment, or psychotic thinking, but presence of psychopathy was associated with assault in prison psychiatric treatment. In identifying risk for violence, the importance of (1) the context in which violence occurs; (2) the need for clear admission criteria for prison psychiatric treatment; and (3) the need to develop risk assessments that are specific to prison environments are emphasized.     

Quantitative analysis of multiple illicit drugs in preserved oral fluid by solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

We present a validated method for the simultaneous analysis of basic drugs which comprises a sample clean-up step, using mixed-mode solid-phase extraction (SPE), followed by LC–MS/MS analysis. Deuterated analogues for all of the analytes of interest were used for quantitation. The applied HPLC gradient ensured the elution of all the drugs examined within 14 min and produced chromatographic peaks of acceptable symmetry. Selectivity of the method was achieved by a combination of retention time, and two precursor-product ion transitions for the non-deuterated analogues. Oral fluid was collected with the Intercept^®, a FDA approved sampling device that is used on a large scale in the US for workplace drug testing. However, this collection system contains some ingredients (stabilizers and preservatives) that can cause substantial interferences, e.g. ion suppression or enhancement during LC–MS/MS analysis, in the absence of suitable sample pre-treatment. The use of the SPE was demonstrated to be highly effective and led to significant decreases in the interferences. Extraction was found to be both reproducible and efficient with recoveries >76% for all of the analytes. Furthermore, the processed samples were demonstrated to be stable for 48 h, except for cocaine and benzoylecgonine, where a slight negative trend was observed, but did not compromise the quantitation. In all cases the method was linear over the range investigated (2–200 μg/L) with an excellent intra-assay and inter-assay precision (coefficients of variation <10% in most cases) for QC samples spiked at a concentration of 4, 12 and 100 μg/L. Limits of quantitation were estimated to be at 2 μg/L with limits of detection ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 μg/L, which meets the requirements of SAMHSA for oral fluid testing in the workplace. The method was subsequently applied to the analysis of Intercept^® samples collected at the roadside by the police, and to determine MDMA and MDA levels in oral fluid samples from a controlled study.     

Civil commitment by conservatorship: the workings of California's law

This article summarizes the conservatorship provisions of the California Civil Commitment Statute, the Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act and reviews the major findings from previous studies. By studying the hospital records of eighty-five gravely disabled patients affected by LPS, the authors address issues raised by these reports. The results indicate that the law's provisions work unevenly. Patients with acute and current disability received conservatorships more frequently than those who had been disabled in the past. There is some evidence that the process is used to confine threatening patients and does not function equally well for all diagnostic groups.     

Pastoral counseling and the concept of malpractice

The discipline of pastoral counseling has developed to the point at which malpractice claims against pastoral counselors are a reality. The need for forensic psychiatrists to participate in such suits is likely to increase. In this article, we review the recent California case of Nally v. Grace Community Church. Kenneth Nally committed suicide while under the care of clergy. His parents claimed that the pastoral counselors negligently counseled their son and that this counseling led to his death. This case will serve as a point of departure for reviewing the developments and evolution of pastoral counseling as a discipline. Then we shall highlight the difficult problem of whether pastoral counseling ought to be classified as a religious or a secular activity, while pointing out that this dichotomous view does not accurately portray the activities and beliefs of pastoral counselors. Nevertheless, we underline the connection made between the definition of pastoral counseling and the assertion that pastors should be shielded from malpractice claims.