The legitimation of local knowledges: introducing the postmodern into laboratory science

The idea that science simply mirrors nature has been challenged by postmodernism that has considered the way it contructs the world, our bodies and identities. But such criticisms, apart from the odd exception, have been directed at science in general with little insight or attention to actual empirical procedures that take place in laboratories, for example. This article investigates the idea that Enlightenment is not redundant, and that in fact laboratory procedures are not so different to those used in the humanities. The article shows that scientific procedure shares much with the way narratologists might analyse story. It likens representations of cancer development and cell cycles to the narratological models used by Barthes and Greimas. Science does not so much make nature reveal its secrets but offers an epistemological opportunity for examination, expression and ultimately creativity.     

How Large‐Scale Research Facilities Connect to Global Research

Policies for large‐scale research facilities (LSRFs) often highlight their spillovers to industrial innovation and their contribution to the external connectivity of the regional innovation system hosting them. Arguably, the particular institutional features of LSRFs are conducive for collaborative research. However, based on data on publications produced in 2006–2009 at the Neutron Science Directorate of Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee (United States), we find that internationalization of its collaborative research is restrained by coordination costs similar to those characterizing other institutional settings. Policies mandating LSRFs should consider that research prioritized on the basis of technological relevance limits the international reach of collaborations. Additionally, the propensity for international collaboration is lower for resident scientists than for those affiliated with domestic universities or government laboratories. Policies conceiving LSRFs as “knowledge attractors” therefore should consider the complementarities between research at a LSRF and in its academic context at a regional or national level.     

法与神经科学研究述评——兼论认知科学与法

自上世纪90年代诞生以来,法与神经科学研究以神经科学的理论、方法和手段来研究与法律有关的广泛问题,具体涉及证据、刑法、民法、神经伦理学、法律决策和神经经济学等重叠交叉的应用领域。认知理论和脑成像技术的发展促成该领域的兴盛。从未来的发展看,法学作为与人的行为密切相关的学科,有必要吸收来自于认知科学领域的知识。概念层级理论有助于说明学科及其概念之间的关系：认知科学与法不等于法学与认知科学母学科的直接结合;认知法学的实质是认知路径的跨学科法学研究;法与神经科学的研究是认知科学与法研究这一领域中的子领域。     

我国生产者责任延伸制度实施困境分析——从家电以旧换新政策实施谈起

生产者责任延伸是解决废弃产品问题的一项新兴的环境策略,在我国已初步构建并开始实施。为拉动经济增长,促进废旧电器电子产品的循环利用,我国实施了家电以旧换新政策。但该政策实施后遇到的一些问题,如回收企业技术落后不能满足回收的大量废弃电器电子产品的无害化资源化处置、生产者组织和废弃产品处理基金制度没有有效建立、政府行政干预机制和经济激励机制的缺位、法律规定的空白等阻碍着生产者责任延伸制度的实施。     

中国特色现代大学制度的运行机制分析

我国现代大学制度建设的理性设计趋于成熟,如何保障现代大学制度的执行力显得尤为重要,而执行的关键又在于科学地建构运行机制。据此,本研究运用系统论思想,从制度的运行主体、结构和程序及其各要素立体互动关系的角度,探讨在运行主体方面学校、政府、社会之间的联动机制,在运行结构方面内部治理结构与外部治理结构的耦合机制,在运行程序方面大学章程与高校董事会制度的规约机制,以期形成具有中国特色的现代大学制度运行机制。     

Acute Psychosis Induced by Bath Salts: A Case Report with Clinical and Forensic Implications

Bath salts are new designer drugs with stimulant effects on the central nervous system. White or brown powder sold online and in mini‐marts under different brand names, bath salts can be used by injecting, snorting, smoking, or ingesting with food or drink. The case of a 30‐year‐old Caucasian male who developed acute psychosis within a few hours of injecting himself with bath salts is described. The patient was hospitalized with a complaint of hearing voices. The drug also induced in the patient a state of euphoria, increased energy level, along with decreased need for sleep and decreased appetite. The psychological effects of the bath salts subsided within a few hours of injection and his reality testing remained consistently intact over the next 3 days of hospitalization. This case brings to attention the fact that bath salts were legal throughout the United States until recently and is still not completely controlled. This report informs clinicians of harmful effects of bath salts, including severe agitation with possible rhabdomyolysis, psychosis, suicidal ideation, hypertension, tachycardia, and death.     

Enhancing the Visibility of Injuries with Narrow‐Banded Beams of Light within the Visible Light Spectrum

The use of narrow‐banded visible light sources in improving the visibility of injuries has been hardly investigated, and studies examining the extent of this improvement are lacking. In this study, narrow‐banded beams of light within the visible light spectrum were used to explore their ability in improving the visibility of external injuries. The beams of light were induced by four crime‐lites^® providing narrow‐banded beams of light between 400 and 550 nm. The visibility of the injuries was assessed through specific long‐pass filters supplied with the set of crime‐lites^®. Forty‐three percent of the examined injuries improved in visibility by using the narrow‐banded visible light. In addition, injuries were visualized that were not visible or just barely visible to the naked eye. The improvements in visibility were particularly marked with the use of crime‐lites^® “violet” and “blue” covering the spectrum between 400–430 and 430–470 nm. The simple noninvasive method showed a great potential contribution in injury examination.     

The Spatial Distribution of Postblast RDX Residue: Forensic Implications

Locating exactly where trace explosive residue samples should be sought during sample collection at bomb scenes is not specified in the published literature or guidelines; in this area, it is generally acknowledged that forensic practices are based on tradition rather than evidence. This study investigated patterns in the spatial distribution of postblast 1,3,5‐trinitro‐1,3,5‐triazocyclohexane residue from a series of unconfined detonations, over a range of sampling sites, and at two different detonation heights. The amount of residue recovered from the sites decreased as a function of distance from the center of the explosion. [Correction added after online publication 27 December 2012: In the preceding sentence, “increased” was corrected to “decreased” to agree with the conclusion of the article.] As the height of the detonations increased, more residues were found from all sampling sites. The findings of this empirical study have a number of important practical implications including determining where residue samples are best sought at crime scenes.     

Decomposition and Arthropod Succession in Whitehorse,Yukon Territory,Canada

Forensic arthropod succession patterns are known to vary between regions. However, the northern habitats of the globe have been largely left unstudied. Three pig carcasses were studied outdoors in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Adult and immature insects were collected for identification and comparison. The dominant Diptera and Coleoptera species at all carcasses were Protophormia terraneovae (R‐D) (Fam: Calliphoridae) and Thanatophilus lapponicus (Herbst) (Fam: Silphidae), respectively. Rate of decomposition, patterns of Diptera and Coleoptera succession, and species dominance were shown to differ from previous studies in temperate regions, particularly as P. terraenovae showed complete dominance among blowfly species. Rate of decomposition through the first four stages was generally slow, and the last stage of decomposition was not observed at any carcass due to time constraints. It is concluded that biogeoclimatic range has a significant effect on insect presence and rate of decomposition, making it an important factor to consider when calculating a postmortem interval.     

The Effects of Continuous Application of the TASER X26 Waveform on Sus scrofa,

This study investigated and evaluated the safety margins of the continuous long duration (up to 30 min) effect of the TASER X26 waveform, using a Sus scrofa model. Long duration continuous stimulus has not been evaluated on humans or human surrogates prior to this study. Swine were used as models due to similarities with humans in their skin and cardiovascular systems. Very long duration was used to determine both exposure dose and possible adverse physiological effects of dose. The trial began with an application of 10 min, and subsequent animals received increasing exposure time up to a survived maximum duration of 30 min. At the onset of this work, it was hypothesized that there would be a time limit after which most animals would not survive consistent with increased dose response. However, this hypothesis was not supported by the experimental results. All animals (10 of 10) survived up to 3 min. Seven of the 10 animals survived up to a 10‐min exposure and 3 of 5 animals with a 30‐min target exposure survived the full exposure. Surviving animals were recovered and observed for 24 h, with no postrecovery deaths. This suggests that swine (based on physiology) will not experience a fatal event when exposed to the TASER X26 for a continuous 3 min. Conclusions regarding longer duration (10–30 min) are not as certain due to the small sample sizes at these time intervals.