The polymorphism of transferrin by ultrathin-layer isoelectric focusing. Tf phenotypes and TfC subtypes in the population of Padua

The distribution of Tf phenotypes in the population of Padua was investigated by ultrathin-layer isoelectric focusing. In our sample (n = 618) nine phenotypes, Tf C₁, C₂, C₃, C_3?1, C_2?1, C_3?2, C₁B, C₂B and C₁D, were observed and the following frequencies calculated: TfC₁ = 0.77837; TfC₂ = 0.1804; TfC₃ = 0.03641; TfB = 0.0040; TfD = 0.0008. These gene frequencies have been compared to those found in other populations. Analysis of 101 mother-child pairs was in agreement with an autosomal codominant mode of inheritance.     

Optimal Government Budgeting Contingency Reserve Funds

During recent years, more state and local governments have made provisions in their budgets for establishing and maintaining contingency reserve funds. A recent study by the National Conference of State Legislatures(NCSL) found that over half of all states now have such funds. The basic purpose of these contingency reserve funds, also referred to as "rainy day" funds, is to insulate governmental budgets from unexpected fiscal disruptions brought about by such factors as unanticipated revenue shortfalls and expenditure overruns. What have received less attention, however, are the criteria which governments need to use in deciding whether to establish such contingency reserves in the first place, and if so, how large these reserves should optimally be. This article explores these two issues, using the State of California as an illustrative case study     

The Prevalence of Mental Illness Among Inmates in a Rural State

A limited number of recent empirical studies suggest that inmates suffer from high rates of serious mental illness. Different explanations are offered depending on the type of institution: jail or prison. The literature is based largely on urban samples and does not offer comparisons of rates across types of institution within a single study. The present study examined a random sample of 213 jail and prison inmates in a rural state using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (III-R). Among jail inmates there was little evidence of high rates of serious mental illness, suggesting the criminalization of mental illness may not be as evident in rural settings as urban areas. Among prison inmates, however, high rates of mental disorders were found, supporting previous findings in urban and rural jurisdictions. Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of a consolidated correctional system.     

Determination of cause and mode of death before and after medicolegal autopsy: a comparative study

Two hundred and twenty-eight consecutive medicolegal autopsies were studied as to the cause of death established by a physician, the mode of death as suggested in the police report, and findings of medical interest often discovered following autopsy. Corrections had to be made even in some cases which seemed to be obvious. With a decrease of the number of autopsies, the records of various registration bureaus would be affected. Autopsies are still necessary for control and correction of clinical causes of death.     

Assessing and predicting the competency of juvenile court volunteer probation officers

The volunteer movement in criminal justice settings is burgeoning. It has been estimated that by the end of 1982 there will be over one million volunteers working in criminal-justice-related functions. The volunteer role that appears to be increasing most rapidly is that of the one-to-one counseling relationship with delinquent and young adult offenders on formal or informal probation. While the demand for volunteer probation officers is increasing rapidly, few of our courts have attempted to develop and validate screening instruments capable of assessing and predicting the general competency of the volunteer. The need for such instruments has been emphasized recently by Judge Keith J. Leenhouts, Director of Volunteers in Probation, a division of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. The present study attempts to assess the usefulness of one such potential screening device, the Critical Incident Response Test (CIRT) developed by Traitel (1972) and others at the Oakland County Juvenile Court in Pontiac, Michigan. It is hoped that this study will motivate other probation departments and court volunteer programs to develop and validate similar selection instruments.     

A comparison of the use of visible microspectrometry and high performance thin layer chromatography for the discrimination of aqueous inks used in porous tip and roller ball pens

Ink lines made by porous tip and roller ball pens have been examined by high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) and by transmission microspectrophotometry (VM) in the visible region. Better discrimination between apparently similar coloured inks was obtained with HPTLC but VM has value as an additional technique for ink examination.