Color Separation in Forensic Image Processing Using Interactive Differential Evolution

Color separation is an image processing technique that has often been used in forensic applications to differentiate among variant colors and to remove unwanted image interference. This process can reveal important information such as covered text or fingerprints in forensic investigation procedures. However, several limitations prevent users from selecting the appropriate parameters pertaining to the desired and undesired colors. This study proposes the hybridization of an interactive differential evolution (IDE) and a color separation technique that no longer requires users to guess required control parameters. The IDE algorithm optimizes these parameters in an interactive manner by utilizing human visual judgment to uncover desired objects. A comprehensive experimental verification has been conducted on various sample test images, including heavily obscured texts, texts with subtle color variations, and fingerprint smudges. The advantage of IDE is apparent as it effectively optimizes the color separation parameters at a level indiscernible to the naked eyes.     

Mental Capacity Act,Anorexia Nervosa and the Choice Between Life‐Prolonging Treatment and Palliative Care: A NHS Foundation Trust v Ms X

The Court of Protection decided in A NHS Foundation Trust v Ms X that an anorexia nervosa patient lacked the capacity to refuse treatment for her eating disorder, but that it was not in her best‐interests to be subject to force‐feeding to prolong her life. The Court, vindicating previous judgments in similar cases, considered that the eating disorder rendered the patient incapable of deciding on nutrition and, therefore, that she lacked the capacity to refuse treatment for anorexia nervosa. This paper questions the narrow way in which the patient's decision was characterised by the Court in this and previous cases, which led to an application of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 that is incompatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities because, based on a diagnosis only, anorexia nervosa patients were denied the right to decide where the balance lies between quality and duration of their own lives.     

Differences in Handwritings of Schizophrenia Patients and Examination of the Change after Treatment

The aim of this study was to analyze the differences between the handwritings of schizophrenia patients and healthy subjects in addition to the changes that occurred in schizophrenia patients' handwriting in response to the treatment. The test subjects were 29 schizophrenia patients and 29 healthy individuals with the same age, gender, and dominant hand. The changes in the handwritings were examined according to 14 different parameters. On the day of admittance, the percentage of extra letters was 16.7%, and after 7–10 days of hospitalization, it rose to 33.3%. The percentage of skipped words decreased from 29.2% to 16.7% after 7–10 days of hospitalization, and to 10% after 3 weeks. The letters written by schizophrenia patients are significantly larger in height and width compared to the control group. The schizophrenia patients showed a higher incidence of crossed-out letters, adding extra words, missing punctuation as well as missing words.     

建立农村大病统筹医疗保险模式的可行性分析

我国农村的大部分地区经济发展水平较低,农民对医疗保险的缴费能力较低,且难以负担高昂的住院费用。实行大病统筹医疗保险模式,比较适合目前农村的经济发展现状。     

关于促进私营企业发展的若干法律建议

私营企业为社会主义初级阶段的经济发展作出了巨大贡献.由于历史原因形成的对所有制划分思路,限制了法律对私营经济的保障和促进作用.为了保护、扶持、引导私营企业的发展,还极需健全、完善、调整私营企业法律规范,确认私营经济的法律地位和平等发展权力,为私营经济发展提供更广阔的空间.     

Peer pressure and adolescent substance use

Peer influence is regarded as one of the strongest determinants of juvenile delinquency and particularly adolescent substance use. A commonly held view is that social pressure from friends to use drugs and alcohol is a major contributor to substance use. Yet the notion of peer pressure, implied by the association between peer-group associations and drug behavior, is seldom tested empirically. As a crucial test of the group pressure model, this research examines the role of peer pressure in mediating the effect of differential association on individual use. Moreover, few studies examine the nature of the relationship between peers and substance use as it relates to the processes leading toand from use. Drawing on differential association and social learning theories, our research specifies the social processes (socialization, group pressure, social selection, and rationalization) which dictate particular causal pathways leading to and from substance use and then estimates the reciprocal influences among differential association, social pressure from peers, attitudes favorable toward substance use, and individual use. Using the 1977–1979 National Youth Survey panel data, we estimate a covariance structural equation model allowing for correlated measurement error. In the cross-sectional analyses, we find no main effects of overt peer pressure on substance use. Estimation of the reciprocal effects model also reveals that overt peer pressure does not significantly influence substance use and does not mediate the effect of differential association. Instead, the influences of socialization, social selection, and rationalization play significant roles in understanding substance use.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1994 American Society of Criminology meetings in Miami, Florida.     

论外资国民待遇标准与中国外资立法政策的调适

随着经济全球化、投资自由化趋势的日益增强 ,外资国民待遇标准的处延有逐步拓展、并在形式上有专门多边条约调整的趋势。我国改革开放以来过分依赖给予外资优惠的立法政策已显现出负面影响 ,为因应国际投资自由化和我国经济转型的需要 ,我国的外资立法应采取以维护内外资公平竞争环境为价值取向的政策。     

国民待遇与经济法解释中的若干问题

加入WTO对我国形成强大冲突的,应该是其中的国民待遇.市场开放也是与国民待遇联系在一起的.而我国从计划经济转轨到市场经济,也是实现国民待遇的过程.从动态上看,我国加入WTO的机遇来自于我们应对挑战的策略.国内国民待遇的实现是实现国际竞争和应对WTO挑战的一个基础.这就要求我们在法律上要有一个改变,增加透明度、稳定性和规范性,特别是经济法在行政解释上尤其如此.     

Mental Health Court Outcomes: A Comparison of Re-Arrest and Re-Arrest Severity Between Mental Health Court and Traditional Court Participants

Mental health courts have been proliferating across the country since their establishment in the late 1990's. Although numerous advocates have proclaimed their merit, only few empirical studies have evaluated their outcomes. This paper evaluates the effect of one mental health court on criminal justice outcomes by examining arrests and offense severity from one year before to one year after entry into the court, and by comparing mental health court participants to comparable traditional criminal court defendants on these measures. Multivariate models support the prediction that mental health courts reduce the number of new arrests and the severity of such re-arrests among mentally ill offenders. Similar analysis of mental health court completers and non-completers supports the prediction that a "full dose" of mental health treatment and court monitoring produce even fewer re-arrests.     

A cluster analysis of people on Community Treatment Orders in Victoria, Australia

This paper explores the clinical, social and demographic characteristics of 164 people on Community Treatment Orders (CTOs) in one area mental health service in Victoria, Australia. The results of an exploratory cluster analysis are presented to address the question of whether people on Community Treatment Orders can be categorised into statistically reliable, qualitatively distinct groupings. The data are presented in the context of key stakeholder perspectives on the current use and purpose of CTOs. Three stable clusters emerged and each potentially reflects how social dimensions, as well as clinical issues, influence decision making regarding the implementation of CTOs. These findings are important in the context of policy and practice in Victoria, where the use of CTOs is common practice, and orders are generally made for a 12 month period. The potential for improved targeting of CTOs and more specific treatment planning is identified.