Prototypical analysis of antisocial personality disorder

The diagnostic criteria for antisocial personality disorder (APD) have gone through successive modifications with DSM-II, DSM-III, DSM-III-R, and DSM-IV. We asked 331 forensic psychiatrists to make prototypic ratings of the DSM versions, PCL-R (Hare, 1991), and the ICD-10 dyssocial personality disorder. Four distinct factors emerged that encompassed the following dimensions: (a)unstable self image, unstable relationships and irresponsibility, (b)manipulation and lack of guilt, (c)aggressive behavior, and (d)nonviolent delinquency. These dimensions are discussed in light of an earlier prototypical analysis (Rogers et al., 1992) and raise questions concerning the DSM-IV criteria.Clarke Institute of Psychiatry.     

Regionalism in Asia: Past and Future

In order to predict the future of East Asia in the wake of the 1997-98 financial crisis, Kenneth B. Pyle looks to the region's past for lessons. He assesses East Asia's 'old new orders' and deduces six major lessons from their history that can be applied to the current post-Cold-War interregnum. The region is gaining an unprecedented power to shape its own system and to influence the international order, but its current institutions are built on extremely fragile foundations. The risk is that we are in an age of rising nationalism within the region and the emergence of strategic rivalries, arms races, and competition for limited resources. Finally, in looking at Japan, Pyle predicts that the currently awkward US-Japan alliance will determine the region's stability, despite the fact that Japan will most likely continue to shy away from a proactive role in the area. These lessons lead to the argument that events will drive the region's international relations in the future and that the region must seize this opportunity to create new stabilising institutions.     

Culture,values, and beliefs about economic justice

We examine the relationship between values and beliefs about economic justice by conducting a cross-cultural analysis. Social values of Americans and West Germans are compared and the relationships between values and beliefs about the fairness of the distribution of business profits are examined. Data are from the 1984 General Social Survey and its West German counterpart, the 1984 ALLBUS; both surveys contain identical value and economic justice items. We find that among citizens in both countries beliefs about the fairness of the distribution of business profits are related to values even when income and education are held constant, but the relationship is stronger in West Germany. For Americans, beliefs about the fairness of the distribution of business profits are related primarily to conservative values (beliefs that greater efforts lead to greater rewards). In addition, the positive influence of conservative values and of income level on fairness judgments is greater for Americans with higher levels of education. For West Germans, beliefs about the fairness of business profits are related both to conservative and to liberal values (beliefs that class divisions persist). In general, economic fairness judgments of West Germans have a strong ideological basis, but polarization associated with differing ideologies is found. Economic fairness judgments of Americans showed both a simpler ideological basis and some relationship to self-interest. The influence of both factors on Americans' fairness judgments seemed to be affected by socialization due to education. Results are discussed in terms of the prevailing economic ideologies in both countries.     

Immunologic defects as possible causes of therapeutic failures in children with transposition of the great arteries

Recurrent and severe infections and absence of thymic shadow in X-ray examination were observed in children with the transposition of the great arteries (TGA). Among 45 children (29 boys and 16 girls) with TGA whose age ranged from 3 days to 16 years and who were hospitalized during 1 year, infectious diarrhea was observed in 77.7% cases, urinary tract infections in 44.5%, respiratory tract infections in 42.2%, sepsis in 17.5%, and meningitis in 8.8%. Nine of the children died, sepsis was a cause of death in seven children, and there were postsurgical complications in two children. Immunologic abnormalities in children with TGA included a decreased level of T-lymphocytes and T29 degrees subpopulation, impaired mitogen-induced lymphoproliferation in vitro, and increased nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction activity of monocytes. Impaired parameters of cellular immunity correlated with worst clinical status. No disorders of humoral immunity were observed. These observations may be important for forming opinion about proper therapy and the cause of death in children with TGA.     

The use of bacteriological analysis of the blood in the diagnosis of death by drowning

Investigation of blood samples from the femoral vein of subjects drowned in water and died of other causes (control) was carried out. Penetration of microflora contained in water into the bloodflow of the drowned people was shown. Possibility of using bacteriologic analysis of the postmortal blood to diagnose death from drowning was stated. Ps. putida and Ps. fluorescens. that were not present in the blood of persons who had died of causes other than drowning were recommended as test bacteria. Selective media and methods to isolate the bacteria from the cadaveric blood were chosen.     

Micro-models of criminal careers: A synthesis of the criminal careers and life course approaches via semiparametric mixed poisson regression models,with empirical applications

Much recent research and debate in criminology have centered around how to conceptualize and model longitudinal sequences of delinquent and criminal acts committed by individuals. Two approaches dominate this controversy. One originates in thecriminal careers paradigm, which emphasizes a potentialheterogeneity of offending groups in the general population—thus leading to a distinction between incidence and prevalence of criminal offending, a focus on the onset, persistence, and desistence of criminal careers, and the possibility that criminals are a distinctive group with constant high rates of offending. Another approach places criminal events within a broader context ofstudies of the life course by explicitly substituting the conceptualization of “social events” for that of “criminal careers”. With respect to analytical models, this approach emphasizes a potentialheterogeneity of offenders with respect to order of criminal events from first to second to higher orders and thus suggests an analysis of the “risks” or “hazards” of offending by order of offense. Some extant commentaries on the criminal careers and life course approaches to conceptualizing and modeling longitudinal sequences of delinquent and criminal events committed by individuals have emphasized their differences and incompatibilities. In contrast, we apply recently developed semiparametric mixed Poisson regression techniques to develop conditions under which the two conceptual/modeling approaches are formally equivalent. We also modify the semiparametric mixed Poisson regression model of criminal careers to incorporate information on order of the delinquent/criminal event and develop an empirical application. This modification demonstrates the complementarity of the criminal careers and life course approaches, even though they have somewhat different foci.     

Specimen preparation for ABO determination of various kinds of blood stains

Trying to optimize the preparation of blood stains, we found methanol fixation not to produce very good results for the determination of ABO blood group antigens. It is advantageous to transfer blood stains before testing to cotton cloth. This transfer is also of practical use if blood stains are to be saved on a smooth surface for lateral determination. We testet on 35 different carrier materials, on which blood stains in casework often were found, whether blood grouping gave better results on either the original material or after transfer. Results are shown on a table. The test revealed, that solubility of the stain in aqua dest is a good sign for a successful transfer. Blood stains on pine-wood soil, soil and loam were not suited for ABO grouping.