Violent Victimization and Perpetration: Joint and Distinctive Implications for Adolescent Development

To date few reports have provided direct comparison of psychosocial vulnerability and resources among youth with victimization and perpetration histories. Within a racially diverse, high-risk adolescent sample (n = 849), this study undertakes MANCOVA tests on a multidimensional set of risk and protective factors contrasting youth with histories of 1) neither violent victimization nor perpetration, 2) victimization only , 3) both perpetration only, and 4) both victimization and perpetration. All three violence-affected groups reported elevated risk and diminished protection, with perpetrating victims demonstrating the greatest psychosocial impairment. Detailed contrasts among the youth group profiles provide insights regarding overlapping and distinct developmental etiologies and implications for preventive and remedial intervention.     

A Comparison of Invalidating Family Environment Characteristics Between University Students Engaging in Self-Injurious Thoughts &; Actions and Non-Self-Injuring University Students

Individuals experiencing non-suicidal self-injurious (NSSI) thoughts only are greatly overlooked by current research. This investigation aimed at determining how three groups of university students differed in their reported quality of childhood relationships with parents, and histories of physical and sexual abuses. These groups included students experiencing only NSSI thoughts (n = 126), students engaging in NSSI actions (n = 90), and students exhibiting neither (n = 1,080). Results showed that individuals experiencing NSSI thoughts only, and those engaging in NSSI actions reported poorer relationships with parents and more physical abuse than the No NSSI group; however, NSSI thoughts and NSSI action groups had similar outcomes to one another for most variables. These findings suggest that individuals experiencing only NSSI thoughts share similar negative childhood environments associated with engagement in NSSI action and that they should be included in future research, particularly investigations aimed at identifying protective factors that could prevent them from engaging in NSSI.     

Legal Statements and Normative Language

Can there be a non-reductivist, source-based explanation of the use of normative language in statements describing the law and legal situations? This problem was formulated by Joseph Raz, who also claimed to have solved it. According to his well-known doctrine of ‘detached’ statements, normative legal statements can be informatively made by speakers who merely adopt, without necessarily sharing, the point of view of someone who accepts that legal norms are justified and ought to be followed. In this paper I defend two theses. I argue, first, that the notion of a detached statement cannot be made to work, and that Raz’s problem is thus not thereby solved. But the problem itself, I also suggest, is a false one.     

Validated method for the simultaneous determination of Delta9-THC and Delta9-THC-COOH in oral fluid, urine and whole blood using solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization

A fully validated, sensitive and specific method for the extraction and quantification of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and 11-nor-9-carboxy-Delta(9)-THC (THC-COOH) and for the detection of 11-hydroxy-Delta(9)-THC (11-OH THC) in oral fluid, urine and whole blood is presented. Solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) technique were used, with electrospray ionization. Three ions were monitored for THC and THC-COOH and two for 11-OH THC. The compounds were quantified by selected ion recording of m/z 315.31, 329.18 and 343.16 for THC, 11-OH THC and THC-COOH, respectively, and m/z 318.27 and 346.26 for the deuterated internal standards, THC-d(3) and THC-COOH-d(3), respectively. The method proved to be precise for THC and THC-COOH both in terms of intra-day and inter-day analysis, with intra-day coefficients of variation (CV) less than 6.3, 6.6 and 6.5% for THC in saliva, urine and blood, respectively, and 6.8 and 7.7% for THC-COOH in urine and blood, respectively. Day-to-day CVs were less than 3.5, 4.9 and 11.3% for THC in saliva, urine and blood, respectively, and 6.2 and 6.4% for THC-COOH in urine and blood, respectively. Limits of detection (LOD) were 2 ng/mL for THC in oral fluid and 0.5 ng/mL for THC and THC-COOH and 20 ng/mL for 11-OH THC, in urine and blood. Calibration curves showed a linear relationship for THC and THC-COOH in all samples (r(2)>0.999) within the range investigated. The procedure presented here has high specificity, selectivity and sensitivity. It can be regarded as an alternative method to GC-MS for the confirmation of positive immunoassay test results, and can be used as a suitable analytical tool for the quantification of THC and THC-COOH in oral fluid, urine and/or blood samples.     

Root Morphology and Anatomical Patterns in Forensic Dental Identification: A Comparison of Computer‐Aided Identification with Traditional Forensic Dental Identification*

Abstract: An online forensic dental identification exercise was conducted involving 24 antemortem–postmortem (AM–PM) dental radiograph pairs from actual forensic identification cases. Images had been digitally cropped to remove coronal tooth structure and dental restorations. Volunteer forensic odontologists were passively recruited to compare the AM–PM dental radiographs online and conclude identification status using the guidelines for identification from the American Board of Forensic Odontology. The mean accuracy rate for identification was 86.0% (standard deviation 9.2%). The same radiograph pairs were compared using a digital imaging software algorithm, which generated a normalized coefficient of similarity for each pair. Twenty of the radiograph pairs generated a mean accuracy of 85.0%. Four of the pairs could not be used to generate a coefficient of similarity. Receiver operator curve and area under the curve statistical analysis confirmed good discrimination abilities of both methods (online exercise = 0.978; UT‐ID index = 0.923) and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient analysis (0.683) indicated good correlation between the results of both methods. Computer‐aided dental identification allows for an objective comparison of AM–PM radiographs and can be a useful tool to support a forensic dental identification conclusion.     

Punctuated equilibrium and path dependency in coexistence: the Israeli health system and theories of change

Israel's enactment of national health insurance was clearly a breakthrough. However, other aspects of reform that were supposed to be implemented simultaneously were stymied, in particular, the conversion of government hospitals to independent trusts and removing the Ministry of Health from the direct provision of services such as mental health and long-term care. This article explores how punctuated equilibrium and path dependency coexist in the Israeli case. In doing so, it examines the relevance of concepts provided by various theories of social and institutional change. Aside from path dependency and punctuated equilibrium, we discuss other notions derived from related theories, such as political leadership and the role of ideas. Applying these theories to the Israeli case helps better understand the coexistence of punctuated equilibrium and path dependency.     

Images of illness: how causal claims and racial associations influence public preferences toward diabetes research spending

Despite the salience of health disparities in media and policy discourse, little previous research has investigated if imagery associating an illness with a certain racial group influences public perceptions. This study evaluated the influence of the media's presentation of the causes of type 2 diabetes and its implicit racial associations on attitudes toward people with diabetes and preferences toward research spending. Survey participants who viewed an article on genetic causation or social determinants of diabetes were more likely to support increased government spending on research than those viewing an article with no causal language, while participants viewing an article on behavioral choices were more likely to attribute negative stereotypes to people with diabetes. Participants who viewed a photo of a black woman accompanying the article were less likely to endorse negative stereotypes than those viewing a photo of a white woman, but those who viewed a photo of a glucose-testing device expressed the lowest negative stereotypes. The effect of social determinants language was significantly different for blacks and whites, lowering stereotypes only among blacks. Emphasizing the behavioral causes of diabetes, as is common in media coverage, may perpetuate negative stereotypes. While drawing attention to the social determinants that shape these behaviors could mitigate stereotypes, this strategy is unlikely to influence the public uniformly.     

Genetic study of 15 STRs loci of Identifiler system in Angola population

Angola is located in the African continent, in the area of southern Africa and has a population of approximately 14 million inhabitants. The Angola population has origin from Occidental and Southern Bantu people that came from the great lakes region, creating the most ever known African migration of our days.Allele frequencies for the 15 STRs loci in the AmpFlSTR Identifiler kit (D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, HUMTH01, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, HUMVWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818, HUMFIBRA/FGA and including the segment of the X-Y homologous gene amelogenin) were studied for Angola population.The genotype frequency of the 15 STR loci showed no significant deviations from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium expectations and great values for the combined power of discrimination and combined power of a priori exclusion validate the application of these markers in forensic genetics. Comparative analyses between Angola population data and other relevant population database from Africa, Europe and American are presented.