Are disturbed and normal adolescents equally competent to make decisions about mental health treatments?

This study uses a structured vignette procedure to assess competency to make treatment decisions in two groups of adolescents, one at risk for institutional placement and the other a matched community sample. Scores on Factual Understanding (the ability to recall facts), Inferential Understanding (the ability to make inferences about those facts), and Reasoning (the ability to weigh risks and benefits of various treatment options and to make choices based on that reasoning) were compared. Results showed that while at-risk adolescents and their community, counterparts did not differ in their factual and inferential understanding abilities, the at-risk adolescents did significantly less well than the community adolescents in reasoning. This difference could not be fully explained by differences in verbal IQ. Girls, no matter what their risk status, scored higher than boys on the Reasoning scale. Implications for legal policies concerning adolescents are discussed.     

The Whole-Brain Concept of Death Remains Optimum Public Policy

"Brain death," the determination of human death by showing the irreversible loss of all clinical functions of the brain, has become a worldwide practice. A biophilosophical account of brain death requires four sequential tasks: (1) agreeing on the paradigm of death, a set of preconditions that frame the discussion; (2) determining the definition of death by making explicit the consensual concept of death; (3) determining the criterion of death that proves the definition has been fulfilled by being both necessary and sufficient for death; and (4) determining the tests of death for physicians to employ at the patient's bedside to demonstrate that the criterion of death has been fulfilled. The best definition of death is "the cessation of functioning of the organism as a whole." The whole-brain criterion is the only criterion that is both necessary and sufficient for death. Brain death tests are used only in the unusual case in which a patient's ventilation is being supported. Brain death critics have identified weaknesses in its formulation. But despite its shortcomings, the whole-brain death formulation comprises a concept and public policy that make intuitive and practical sense and that has been well accepted by many societies.     

The distribution of ethanol in postmortem blood specimens.

Ethanol was determined by gas chromatography in a variety of tissues and body fluids secured at autopsy in 61 cases. The specimens tested included right and left heart blood, femoral blood, pericardial fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, vitreous humor, urine, stomach contents, and brain. Statistical analysis of the cases revealed no significant differences among the various blood sites tested. However, the variations in blood ethanol concentrations among the various sampling sites within each case were as follows: 40 cases showed differences of less than 25%; 16 cases revealed variability between 25% and 50%, 4 cases had differences exceeding 50%. In one case, satisfactory blood analyses could not be accomplished. The larger variances occurred especially in those instances in which stomach alcohol concentration was 0.50% or greater. In one case, the variability amongst the different blood sites exceeded 400% (femoral blood--0.043%, right atrium--0.070%, root of aorta--0.156%); the brain was 0.050%, and the stomach contents was 1.2%. For all 61 cases, variances in blood alcohol content among the different sampling sites in a single cadaver ranged from 1.8 to 428%.     

The European community software directive: The United Kingdom implementation

Conclusion The Regulations appear to have reinforced the protection available to software producers under United Kingdom law. The provisions of the Software Directive and the Regulations are complex and not without significant inconsistencies which are likely to prove to be a source of litigation. The drafters of the Regulations chose, unlike many of its European partners, not to adopt the wording of the Software Directive but to write their own interpretation, adding an element of uncertainty to the law in this area, which is perhaps inevitable bearing in mind the linguistic problems of translating and interpreting any directive coupled with the ambiguity and omission of definitions of several key terms. More important, however, than any academic argument will be the practical impact of the new law and its effectiveness in achieving its aim.     

Lon L. Fuller,Gustav Radbruch,and the “positivist” theses

For helpful suggestions and criticism I am grateful to Delf Buchwald (Göttingen), Malte Dießelhorst (Göttingen), Ralf Dreier (Göttingen), Bonnie Litschewski Paulson (Göttingen and St. Louis), Martin Schulte (Münster), Alexander Somek (Vienna), and Kenneth I. Winston (Boston). In correspondence, Walter Ott (Zurich) and Carola Vulpius (Dresden) responded in a most helpful way to my queries.     

An exploration of the “Spinback” phenomenon

This paper examines nine cases of “spinback,” the flow back to laboratories of technical advantage from technology transfer activities. The benefits revealed in the cases are discussed and assessed for their value to the participating laboratories and the scientists involved. The objective of this study was to explore and test the feasibility of undertaking a comprehensive study of the value of spinback in order to encourage support for technology transfer activities by middle management in a laboratory. Spinback is defined as the phenomenon by which scientists’ and engineers’ participation in technology utilization activities results in a technically valuable flow back to their laboratories or organizations, thereby increasing or improving techical capability. It was anticipated that this exploration would provide evidence that the phenomenon does occur, with important consequences for the organization.     

俄罗斯新任国防部长阿·爱·谢尔久科夫

2007年2月15日,俄罗斯总统普京再出惊人之举--签署了《关于俄罗斯联邦国防部长令》,任命原联邦税务局局长阿纳托利·爱德华多维奇·谢尔久科夫为国防部长.这项人事变动再次引起了世人的关注,舆论将之称为"此次俄政府改组中最具轰动效应的消息".     

The use of phosphate buffered saline for the recovery of cells and spermatozoa from swabs.

In the forensic science laboratory, the recovery of spermatozoa from vaginal swabs, or vaginal cells from penile swabs, can help determine if sexual intercourse may have taken place. There are several methods used to recover spermatozoa and cells from the swabs before visualisation on a microscope slide and most of these methods use water. Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) is a non-toxic solution used in many biological laboratories. Unlike water, PBS prevents cells rupturing or shrivelling up due to osmosis. This study demonstrates that PBS can be used for the extraction of spermatozoa and cells from swabs and that PBS does not affect subsequent DNA profiling.     

论我国刑事审判监督程序之改革

刑事诉讼法的修改是当前理论界和实务界关注的热点。作者选取其中的刑事审判监督程序(又称刑事再审程序)作为研究对象,从其存在和改革的必要性、重构的理念以及改革的具体设想三个方面进行了全面、系统的探讨。作者认为,刑事再审程序的存在是符合诉讼规律的,是实现司法公正所必需的;我国刑事再审程序对于实现司法公正和提高效率存在明显的缺陷,需要在更新观念的基础上进行改革。文章指出,现代化的刑事再审程序必须把追求公正、纠正错判和既判力理念、禁止双重危险规则结合起来。作者还就我国刑事再审程序的改革提出了若干建议。