The nearest relative in the Mental Health Act 2007: still an illusionary and inconsistent safeguard?

Abstract

The role of nearest relative (NR) is intended as a safeguard in the Mental Health Act 1983 (as amended in 2007) to curb the excesses of professional discretion and protect patients from unwarranted compulsory hospitalisation. It is unique to the mental health compulsory detention process in England and Wales. There are, however, evident tensions in the role and a lack of clarity surrounding the precise functions of the NR. There is also some uncertainty and confusion among practitioners about the scope of the NR involvement, and government plans announced recently to review mental health legislation will include a focus on the role of family and carers in the care of detained patients. Despite long-standing concerns about the role, there is remarkably little published research available to date on its use and effectiveness, in so far as evaluating the extent to which it provides an adequate safeguard for patients, as intended by the legislation. This article will briefly explore the background to the role, highlight some of the difficulties and tensions within it and conclude with some observations about where further research and reform may be needed to provide greater protection and clarity for patients, relatives and health and social care practitioners.     

Bioinformatics Approach to Assess the Biogeographical Patterns of Soil Communities: The Utility for Soil Provenance,

Soil DNA profiling has potential as a forensic tool to establish a link between soil collected at a crime scene and soil recovered from a suspect. However, a quantitative measure is needed to investigate the spatial/temporal variability across multiple scales prior to their application in forensic science. In this study, soil DNA profiles across Miami‐Dade, FL, were generated using length heterogeneity PCR to target four taxa. The objectives of this study were to (i) assess the biogeographical patterns of soils to determine whether soil biota is spatially correlated with geographic location and (ii) evaluate five machine learning algorithms for their predictive ability to recognize biotic patterns which could accurately classify soils at different spatial scales regardless of seasonal collection. Results demonstrate that soil communities have unique patterns and are spatially autocorrelated. Bioinformatic algorithms could accurately classify soils across all scales with Random Forest significantly outperforming all other algorithms regardless of spatial level.     

Towards Operating Standards for Cube Satellites and Small Spacecraft

The availability of low-cost, high-performance miniaturized electronics, and rocket ride-share capabilities and other factors, have generated a significant increase in the development of small spacecraft. Over a hundred entities and thousands of individuals are now working on numerous small satellites. However, these entities and individuals lack the operations legacy and risk posture of existing satellite manufacturers. Although these new entrants have much less to lose, small satellites may be in a position to damage other, more expensive spacecraft, including manned spacecraft. This article considers the need for and benefits of a community-generated set of small spacecraft operating standards. A prospective pathway to their refinement and adoption, specific elements in such a set of standards, the increased confidence this provides larger operators, and the additional opportunities advanced by standards are discussed.     

International relations theory and Japanese pacifism: Why didn’t Tokyo go ballistic over North Korean nukes?

Seen from the perspectives of the various Western theories of international relations, Japan’s peculiar armed pacifism can appear very different. Prominent neorealists have predicted that Japan will inevitably develop nuclear weapons; prominent liberals have cited Japan as the model pacifist nation of the future. Over the last five years, it became clear to Japan that North Korea either possessed, or was on the brink of acquiring, nuclear weapons. How would the Japanese government respond to such a critical threat to its security? The case of North Korean nukes suggests that policymakers should be wary of the grim expectations of Western neorealists, at least in regard to Japan.     

Falling From Grace: Nonestablished Brokerage Parties and the Weight of Predominance in Canadian Provinces and Australian States

Given the conventional meaning of party predominance—winninga majority of legislative seals in four or more consecutiveelections—all sixteen subnational political systems (SPS)in Australia and Canada have featured at least one predominantparty since the end of World War II. In Australia, no predominantparty has failed ever again to hold office, and failed to secureeven official opposition status for two consecutive elections,upon losing predominance. In Canada's central and Atlantic (CAC)provinces, only two of eleven predominant parties have failed.In Canada's four western provinces, however, three of six predominantparties have failed since governing after World War II. Severalfactors combine to produce differences among predominant partiesin Australia and Canada. When these parties engage in brokeragepolitics, and therefore lack entrenched social foundations,and where patterns of socialized party identification have beeninterrupted, the "weight of predominance" can become fatal.Upon losing power, these parties may cease to be relevant. Theworldwide proliferation of federal systems suggests that thelife-cycles of SPS as just described may become more relevantwith time.     

The effects of chemical and heat maceration techniques on the recovery of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from bone

Forensic anthropologists use a number of maceration techniques to facilitate skeletal analysis of personal identity and trauma, but they may unwittingly eliminate valuable DNA evidence in the process. This study evaluated the effect of 10 maceration methods on gross bone structure and the preservation of DNA in ribs of 12 pigs (Sus scrofa). A scoring system was applied to evaluate the ease of maceration and resulting bone quality while DNA purity was quantified by optical densitometry analysis, followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of three mitochondrial and three nuclear loci. The results demonstrated that while mitochondrial DNA could be amplified for all experiments, cleaning treatments using bleach, hydrogen peroxide, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid/papain, room temperature water and detergent/sodium carbonate followed by degreasing had low DNA concentrations and failed to generate nuclear PCR products. In general, treatments performed at high temperatures (90 degrees C or above) for short durations performed best. This study shows that traditionally "conservative" maceration techniques are not necessarily the best methods to yield DNA from skeletal tissue.