An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for prostate-specific antigen.

A sandwich ELISA for human prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is described. Optimal assay conditions, resulting in a sensitive assay with a low background, are presented. The method uses a hyperimmune antiserum produced in the New Zealand white rabbit, against human semen PSA. The IgG fraction of the antiserum was conjugated with horseradish peroxidase and used in the sandwich ELISA method. The anti-PSA IgG showed no cross reactions with saliva, normal blood, female urine, vaginal fluid, or menstrual blood. On occasions, a blood sample showed a non-specific cross-reaction, which was detected by non-immune rabbit IgG. This reaction could be caused by rheumatoid factors, as indicated by experiments with a series of known IgG and IgM rheumatoid antibodies, although other heterophilic antibodies could not be eliminated. The recovery of PSA added to blood plasma, saliva and vaginal fluid was affected by three factors; (a) protein concentration (dilution) of body fluid; (b) nature of the protein; and (c) amount of PSA added.     

The relationship between investigative interviewing experience and open-ended question usage

We present three studies examining the role of prior job experience in interviewing and interviewers' ability to learn open-ended questions during a training program. We predicted a negative relationship such that more experienced interviewers would perform worse after training than less experienced interviewers, and that (irrespective of baseline performance) the more experienced interviewers would improve the least during training. These predictions were made for two reasons. First, specific questions are commonly used in the workplace (i.e. open-ended questioning constitutes new learning). Second, experience in the use of specific questions potentially interferes with newly learned open-ended questions. Overall, our predictions were supported across different participant samples (including police officers specialized in child abuse investigation and social workers from the child protection area), time delays, and modes of training. The results highlight the need for investment in ongoing investigative interviewing training commencing early during professionals' careers, prior to the establishment of long-term habits in the use of specific questions.     

Italian politics and political change: ‘Eppur si muove’. But where to?

Democracy, Italian Style. By Joseph LaPalombara. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987. Pp.308.

Stato e regolazione sociale. Nuove prospettive sul caso italiano. Edited by Peter Lange and Marino Regini. Bologna: Il Mulino, 1987. Pp.337.

Il Mercato elettorale. Identikit dell’ elettore italiano. By Renato Mann‐heimer and Giacomo Sani. Bologna: Il Mulino, 1987. Pp. 185.

Italian Communism in Transition. The Rise and Fall of the Historical Compromise in Turin, 1975–1980. By Stephen Hellman. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Pp.223.     

Radicalisation in the Philippines: The Cotabato Cell of the “East Asia Wilayah”

ABSTRACT

The backgrounds of seven suspects arrested in connection with a September 2016 bombing in Davao, Philippines provide clues to how extremist ideology and support for ISIS took root in a middle-class urban environment. The seven men, part of the coalition that eventually took over Marawi in 2017, were drawn in by the idea of a caliphate, propaganda videos that became discussion material for charismatic young religious scholars, and the pull of friends and family. They represented overlapping networks of neighbours, business partners, and students. Their interwoven journeys to violent extremism provide a glimpse into how ISIS managed to transcend traditional clan and regional loyalties in the Philippines, but much more research is needed among pro-ISIS detainees to understand the phenomenon and take measures to address it.     

Appeasement: Before and After Revisionism

Few of the enduring ‘lessons of history' have had greater staying power than the legacy of appeasement. Decision-makers have used the crises of the 1930s to eschew and condemn appeasement. However, historians have not been so single minded in their analyses or applications. An historiographical survey of ‘appeasement studies’ then posits that a linear projection from orthodoxy, to revisionism, to counter- or post-revisionism’ is not accurate. As to why recourse to the appeasement analogy is so prevalent is linked to the engagement, or lack thereof, between historians and public history and the decision-making process.