Researching safety and cost-effectiveness in the life cycle of nanomedicine

Nanotechnology is rapidly emerging as a transformational influence on many industry sectors. This is particularly true of medicines and medical devices. This article argues that, as policy interest in devising an appropriate regulatory framework for nanotherapeutics escalates, it will be important for public health to ensure that a broad life-cycle approach to both safety and cost-effectiveness is adopted. It charts some of the most important issues likely to be faced and begins to map how they can best be addressed.     

Peasant insurrection in China reconsidered: A preliminary examination of the Jun Mountain peasant rising,Nantong county, 1863

Focusing on a concrete historical example ‐ the Jun Mountain Peasant Rising, a small‐scale, mid‐nineteenth century insurgency in the Yangzi delta region ‐ this article re‐evaluates standard interpretations of peasant action and resistance in China. Although obscure and abortive, the Jun Mountain rising illuminates the developing role and interpenetration of ‘outsider’ communities, sectarian ideology/organisation, class formation, and long‐term trends in peasant culture in the emergence of an insurgent politics which at once built upon and transcended local ties. Preliminary examination of these politics thus contributes to current debate about the nature of Chinese peasant rebellions.     

Changes in staff confidence and attributions for challenging behaviour after training in positive behavioural support within a forensic medium secure service

Positive behavioural support (PBS) is a non-aversive approach to preventing and managing challenging behaviours. Seventy-nine qualified and unqualified nursing, psychology and occupational therapy staff were trained in using PBS. To measure the effectiveness of the training, confidence in managing challenging behaviour and attributions for causality, control and stability were measured before and after the training. To measure confidence, an adapted version of the Confidence in Coping with Patient Aggression Instrument was used. Attributions were measured using the Challenging Behaviour Attributions Scale and the Causal Dimension Scale II. There was a significant increase in confidence after training. In addition, there were significant changes in attributions relating to causality and stability of challenging behaviour, particularly for qualified staff. The results suggest that confidence and attributions are affected positively by training in PBS within a medium secure forensic mental health setting.     

Parentage of Hydatidiform Moles

We were presented with the STR (short tandem repeat) profiles from two separate paternity trios. Each trio consisted of a mother, an alleged father, and products of conception (POC) that contained a hydatidiform mole but no visible fetus. In both cases , antecedent pregnancies had followed alleged sexual assaults. Mole classification and pathogenesis are described in order to explain the analyses and statistical reasoning used in each case. One mole exhibited several loci with two different paternal alleles, indicating it was a dispermic (heterozygous) mole. Maternal decidua contaminated the POC, preventing the identification of paternal obligate alleles (POAs) at some loci. The other mole exhibited only one paternal allele/locus at all loci and no maternal alleles, indicating it was a diandric and diploid (homozygous) mole. In each case, traditional calculations were used to determine paternity indices (PIs) at loci that exhibited one paternal allele/locus. PIs at mole loci with two different paternal alleles/locus were calculated from formulas first used for child chimeras that are always dispermic. Combined paternity indices in both mole cases strongly supported the paternity of each suspect.     

Performing Impartiality: Judicial Demeanor and Legitimacy

The demeanor exhibited by a judge is a key element in criminal proceedings, especially in direct interactions with the defendant, defense representatives, and prosecutors. The judicial demeanor(s) displayed must meet the normative confines of the judicial role—primarily impartiality—within the practical constraints of long case lists, when interactions are subject to considerable time pressure.
Drawing on findings from an extensive national court observation study, this article examines the varied demeanors displayed by magistrates—the presiding judicial officers—in Australia's lower courts. It explores the complex meanings of these demeanors, and considers how they may enhance or undermine the legitimacy of judicial authority.     

Theoretical consideration of female sexual predator serial killers in the United States

Sexual predators represent the embodiment of the cultural definition of serial killing. In considering the female sexual predator serial killer, a review of the limited literature found a clear distinction between women acting alone versus in partnership. Several theories offered to explain the behavior of women in teams include shared psychotic disorder, Stockholm syndrome, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), battered woman syndrome, and gender role socialization. Analysis of each with specific case examples found that gender role socialization appeared to be the most inclusive, explaining the participation of women in teams, as well as providing insight into both the criminal justice system and overall societal responses to female serial killers, as well as violent women more generally. The analysis concludes by describing the implications of the above speculations within the realms of prevention, treatment, and research, specifically concluding that women can commit willful violence and that low base rates should not impede attempts to understand and prevent such violence.