Ambassadors in the community? Labour Party members in society

A political party's members are its ambassadors in the wider community. Based on a survey of Labour party members in Nuneaton, this article investigates the extent to which party members qua party members are visible amongst their friends and colleagues. It finds that there are few closet Labour party members. Most are known to friends and (slightly less commonly) colleagues. Party members also articulate a political message, discussing politics with friends and work colleagues. Around half of party members believe that they influence others as a result of their discussions; of those who are asked their opinions by friends, almost three-quarters believe that they influence others. Labour party members in Nuneaton are thus a visible and articulate manifestation of the party. The article ends by considering whether this is likely to be true in other constituencies, for other parties, and at other times.     

The law and the public's health: a study of infectious disease law in the United States

Law plays crucial roles in the field of public health, from defining the power and jurisdiction of health agencies, to influencing the social norms that shape individual behavior. Despite its importance, public health law has been neglected. Over a decade ago, the Institute of Medicine issued a report lamenting the state of public health administration, generally, and calling, in particular, for a revision of public health statutes. The Article examines the current state of public health law. To help create the conditions in which people can be healthy, public health law must reflect an understanding of how public health agencies work to promote health, as well as the political and social contexts in which these agencies operate. The authors first discuss three prevailing ways in which the determinants of health are conceptualized, and the political and social problems each model tends to create for public health efforts. The analysis then turns to the core functions of public health, emphasizing how law furthers public health work. The Article reports the results of a fifty-state survey of communicable disease control law, revealing that few states have systematically reformed their laws to reflect contemporary medical and legal developments. The Article concludes with specific guidelines for law reform.     

Lethal child abuse (through the use of physical force) in the German Democratic Republic during the period 1 January 1985 to 2 October 1990. Results of a multicenter study

No reliable data are available on cases of lethal child abuse (by active force) in the area of the former German Democratic Republic. In a multicenter study we therefore examined the police and court records for such cases occurring in the period 1 January 1985 to 2 October 1990 in the entire area of the former German Democratic Republic. RESULTS: The study center received information on 39 cases of lethal child abuse which correspond to approximately 7 cases per year. However, a low percentage of undetected crimes which cannot be determined more precisely has to be taken into consideration. Almost 40% of the victims were younger than 1 year, 73% of the victims showed indications of repeated ill-treatment. The effects caused by using direct blunt forces, against the head in particular, were by far the most frequent causes of death. The male contact person (the victim's father, brother or stepfather as well as the life companion of the child's mother in particular) killed the child in most of the cases. As far as it is known, 37% of the male/female offenders suffered from chronic alcoholism; 32% of the male/female offenders were under the influence of alcohol when the crime happened. 83% of the male/female offenders who were found guilty made a confession shortly after the crime had happened or during the interrogations. Almost all the male/female offenders were sentenced to prison (the duration of the imprisonment varied between one year and for life). Due to the considerably lower section rate compared to the one in the German Democratic Republic, it is to fear that each second fatal child abuse is not detected in the new federal states.     

Evaluation of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) membrane test assays for the forensic identification of seminal fluid.

Prostate specific antigen (PSA, also known as p30), a glycoprotein produced by the prostatic gland and secreted into seminal plasma, is a marker used for demonstrating the presence of seminal fluid. Methods for the detection of PSA include Ouchterlony double diffusion, crossover electrophoresis, rocket immuno-electrophoresis, radial immunodiffusion, and ELISA. The extremely sensitive ELISA technique can detect PSA in concentrations as low as approximately 4 ng/mL. However, all these techniques are cumbersome and time consuming to perform in forensic laboratories, especially when only a few samples per week are processed. Various membrane tests are currently used in clinical settings to screen a patient's serum for the presence of PSA at levels greater than 4 ng/mL. In this study we evaluated three immunochromatographic PSA membrane tests by analyzing semen stains stored at room temperature for up to 30 years, post-coital vaginal swabs taken at different time after intercourse, semen-free vaginal swabs, and various female and male body fluids, including urine. The data demonstrate that PSA membrane test assays offer the same sensitivity as ELISA-based tests and provide a rapid approach for the forensic identification of seminal fluid. Furthermore, when the supernatant from a DNA extraction is used for the assay, there is essentially no DNA consumption for determining the presence of PSA in a forensic sample.     

The morphofunctional changes in the internal organs in the modelling of poisonings by psilocybine-containing mushrooms]

Histological analysis of the viscera in experimental poisoning with psilocybin-containing mushrooms showed nonspecific changes in all examined organs, presenting as expressed hemocirculatory disorders and intracellular dystrophy. Quantitative histochemical analysis showed appreciable shifts in the activities of enzymes involved in the cytoplasmic and mitochondrial redox processes and of specific enzymes involved in nerve tissue metabolism. This may reflect some features in the direct effects of narcotic alkaloids contained in psilocybin-producing mushrooms.     

Death fantasies of father-absent and father-present late adolescents

Parental perceptions of father-absent and father-present late adolescents were studied by having them create stories to selected pictures from the Thematic Apperception Test and the Michigan Pictures Test. Ratings on the manifest thematic content of the stories revealed that father-present females, but not males, introduced themes of death and loss involving the parents with significantly greater frequency than did late adolescents who had actually lost their fathers. One of the tasks of adolescence, as described in psychoanalytic writings, is decathecting internalized parental images. It is possible that father-present females produced significantly more death and loss themes because they were actively coping with their fantasies of parental loss. The significantly fewer fantasies of parental loss given by father-absent females is consistent with this psychoanalytic model which suggests that the loss of a parent at an earlier developmental period complicates the decathexis process in adolescence. Reasons for the failure to find differences between father-absent and father-present males are discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.This research is based upon the doctoral dissertation of the first author.Received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Texas at Austin; internship at the Children's Hospital Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts. Current research interests include death and dying and adolescent personality development.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Current research interests include imaginary companions and fantasy in young children and adolescent psychosexual development.