Deaths While under Probation Supervision: What Role for Human Rights Legislation?

Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that ‘everyone has the right to life’. This right is contained in all human rights treaties that developed from the UDHR, including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Yet, as we argue, the UK government is failing to protect this right when it comes to certain groups of people under probation supervision. To date, human rights legislation has failed adequately to protect these vulnerable individuals and to hold the state to account. This article explores the greater potential for using human rights legislation to ensure better accountability in this area.     

自然之性和仁义之性——程颢人性论的两重性

程颢的人性论是学界研究的难点,有多种观点并存。要正确理解程颢的人性论,需要结合他所面临的辟佛与弘扬儒学的文化背景。为了批判佛性论,他吸取告子"生之谓性"说以肯定人的自然之性。他继承并发展孟子的性善论,使其在理论上更加完善。程颢对自然之性和仁义之性皆持肯定态度。然而,自然之性和仁义之性毕竟有所不同,前者杂气禀而有善恶,后者不杂气禀而至善。未能处理好两者的关系,是程颢人性论的不足之处。     

Kantian cosmopolitanism and its limits

The cosmopolitanism of the European Enlightenment was mostly a limited matter of a Eurocentric anti-nationalism promoting the ideal of Europe as an harmonious system of balancing states. Against this background, Kant’s cosmopolitan vision stands out as more inclusive because, far from restricting its concerns to Europe, it proposes to bring all of humanity together by locating its different sections in a developmental framework that runs from the most primitive of human conditions to the fullest development of Man’s moral and intellectual capacities. Like the developmental schema posited by Voltaire and the Scottish Enlightenment, this vision locates most of humanity at some distance behind Western Europe. It produces the appearance of a cosmopolitan inclusiveness by means of an equally cosmopolitan differentiation.     

The Bordered World of Cross-border Cooperation: The Determinants of Local Government Contact Networks within Euroregions

The article discusses the determinants of local government contact networks within cross-border cooperation organizations (Euroregions). Relying on social capital theory, a combination of social network and qualitative analytical tools are applied on data from two Scandinavian and two East Central European cases. The analysis reveals that, even in favourable circumstances, contact networks are thin and Euroregions fail to develop into truly integrated political spaces. The analysis also shows that contact patterns on one side of the border, determined primarily by inter-municipal cooperation, will matter for how contact networks are formed across the border. The findings are important, as membership in a Euroregion is expected to foster cross-border political relationships that could have possible spillover effects in terms of encouraging policy cooperation outside the framework of the Euroregion, which in turn would enhance the likelihood of well-functioning cross-border governance spaces.     

Field capability of dogs to locate individual human teeth

Avulsed teeth can be difficult if not impossible to recover in the outdoor environment, yet are important for victim identification. This study assessed dog teams as a resource to locate human teeth in a field setting and related performance in training with field capability. Standardized, objective training data were recorded and analyzed followed by double-blind capability trials. In the double-blind trials, 10 teeth were placed in each of six (10 m(2)) plots. Search time per plot ranged from 27 to 50 min, and the proportion of teeth found by the teams varied between 0.20 and 0.79. Using 0.45 m as a distance criterion for a "find," the proportion of false positives ranged between 0.07 and 0.75. Results show that dog teams are capable of recovering individual human teeth in the field setting with high precision although capability varies. Training records support a team's expected field performance. Additional studies are needed.     

Ethical and legal consideration of prisoner's hunger strike in Serbia

Hunger strike of prisoners and detainees remains a major human rights and ethical issue for medical professionals. We are reporting on a case of a 48-year-old male sentenced prisoner, intravenous heroin user, who went on a hunger strike and died 15 days later. Throughout the fasting period, the prisoner, who was capable of decision making, refused any medical examination. Autopsy findings were not supporting prolonged starvation, while toxicology revealed benzodiazepines and opiates in blood and urine. Cause of death was given as "heroin intoxication" in keeping with detection of 6-MAM. Legal and ethical issues pertinent to medical examination and treatment of prisoners on hunger strike are explored in accordance with legislation and professional ethical standards in Serbia. A recommendation for the best autopsy practice in deaths following hunger strike has been made.     

Characterization of Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Heteroplasmy in Blood Tissue and Hair as a Function of Hair Morphology*,†,‡

Abstract: This study characterizes mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence heteroplasmy in blood tissue and hair as a function of hair morphology. Bloodstains (127 individuals) and head hairs (128 individuals) were typed using the mtDNA LINEAR ARRAY? assay. A total of 1589 hairs were interpreted: 1478 (93%) were homoplasmic and 111 (7%) exhibited heteroplasmy at one or more positions. Seventy‐one percent (82/116) of individuals were homoplasmic, whereas 29% (34/116) exhibited heteroplasmy in at least one hair. The results demonstrate intra‐ and inter‐tissue differences in heteroplasmy within individuals. Sequence heteroplasmy among hairs from each individual varied from 0 to 90%; the frequency does not differ significantly with population group, cosmetic treatment, age, gender, medulla morphology, region of the scalp, hair growth phase, or, when comparing living and deceased donors. However, the results support a correlation between heteroplasmy and hair pigmentation; typically, lighter‐pigmented hairs exhibit a higher incidence of sequence heteroplasmy compared to darker hairs.     

由偏激到中肯:公司法定资本制价值之重估

通说对公司法定资本制的定义停留在了资本形成阶段,事实上,法定资本制贯穿于整个公司设立和运行全程.法定资本制并非如某些学者所描述的那样完全昂贵且无实益,其具有多方面的重要功能.以合同法或其他手段作为法定资本制的替代性措施,根本无法独立承担债权人保护的重任.     

外商直接投资与环境质量关系研究综述

对国内外关于外商直接投资与环境质量相关的文献进行系统梳理,并从FDI对环境的规模效应、技术效应、结构效应和政策效应四个角度系统总结了FDI对资金流入地区的环境影响;同时找出已有研究的相同点和存在的分歧,并提出了未来FDI与环境资源关系的研究还需要在模型设定和研究方法方面予以改进。     

建设两型社会试验区：约束条件与改革框架

该文着眼于分析武汉-长株潭两型社会试验区建设面临的主要约束条件,即经济发展阶段制约、政府公共治理机制缺失、技术硬约束、文化理念落后等,并在此基础上探讨了两型社会建设中地方政府的短期行动安排与中长期改革框架。