New perspectives in the use of ink evidence in forensic science: Part I. Development of a quality assurance process for forensic ink analysis by HPTLC

The level of information provided by ink evidence to the criminal and civil justice system is limited. The limitations arise from the weakness of the interpretative framework currently used, as proposed in the ASTM 1422-05 and 1789-04 on ink analysis. It is proposed to use the likelihood ratio from the Bayes theorem to interpret ink evidence. Unfortunately, when considering the analytical practices, as defined in the ASTM standards on ink analysis, it appears that current ink analytical practices do not allow for the level of reproducibility and accuracy required by a probabilistic framework. Such framework relies on the evaluation of the statistics of the ink characteristics using an ink reference database and the objective measurement of similarities between ink samples. A complete research programme was designed to (a) develop a standard methodology for analysing ink samples in a more reproducible way, (b) comparing automatically and objectively ink samples and (c) evaluate the proposed methodology in a forensic context. This report focuses on the first of the three stages. A calibration process, based on a standard dye ladder, is proposed to improve the reproducibility of ink analysis by HPTLC, when these inks are analysed at different times and/or by different examiners. The impact of this process on the variability between the repetitive analyses of ink samples in various conditions is studied. The results show significant improvements in the reproducibility of ink analysis compared to traditional calibration methods.

An Analysis of the Electoral Use of Policy on Law and Order by New Labour

There has been much debate regarding the electoral strategy adopted by New Labour in the lead-up to and then during their time in government. This paper addresses the issue from the perspective of left/right and libertarian/authoritarian considerations by examining data on individual attitudes from the British Social Attitudes survey between 1986 and 2009. The analysis indicates that New Labour’s move towards the right on economic and public policy was the main driver towards attracting new centrist voters and could thus be labelled ‘broadly’ populist. The move towards a tougher stance on law and order was more ‘narrowly’ populist in that it was used more to minimise the reduction in support from Labour’s traditional base on the left than to attract new votes.

Comparability of clinical wear measurements by optical 3D laser scanning in two different centers.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the use of different variables to measure the clinical wear of two denture tooth materials in two analysis centers. METHODS: Twelve edentulous patients were provided with full dentures. Two different denture tooth materials (experimental material and control) were placed randomly in accordance with the split-mouth design. For wear measurements, impressions were made after an adjustment phase of 1-2 weeks and after 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. The occlusal wear of the posterior denture teeth of 11 subjects was assessed in two study centers by use of plaster replicas and 3D laser-scanning methods. In both centers sequential scans of the occlusal surfaces were digitized and superimposed. Wear was described by use of four different variables. Statistical analysis was performed after log-transformation of the wear data by use of the Pearson and Lin correlation and by use of a mixed linear model. RESULTS: Mean occlusal vertical wear of the denture teeth after 24 months was between 120μm and 212μm, depending on wear variable and material. For three of the four variables, wear of the experimental material was statistically significantly less than that of the control. Comparison of the two study centers, however, revealed correlation of the wear variables was only moderate whereas strong correlation was observed among the different wear variables evaluated by each center. SIGNIFICANCE: Moderate correlation was observed for clinical wear measurements by optical 3D laser scanning in two different study centers. For the two denture tooth materials, wear measurements limited to the attrition zones led to the same qualitative assessment.

Personality factors and alcohol use: a mediator analysis of drinking motives.

Current evidence on the association between personality factors, drinking motives, and alcohol use comes exclusively from North America. The present study, however, is based on a sample of 2090 Swiss college students (mean age 23.5, SD = 2,9) and investigates by means of structural equation modeling whether drinking motives mediate the association between personality factors and alcohol use. The results revealed that extraversion was positively related to drinking for enhancement motives; conscientiousness was negatively related to both enhancement and coping motives; and neuroticism was positively related to drinking for coping motives. The association between extraversion and alcohol use was mediated by enhancement motives, while the negative association between conscientiousness and alcohol use was partially mediated by both enhancement and coping motives. This concurs with the findings of North American studies. However, in contrast to these findings, our study finds that coping motives attenuate the "protective" effect of neuroticism with regard to alcohol use. Taken together, the study indicates that alcohol use serves specific purposes depending on particular personality traits. The finding that personality-related effects are partially mediated by motives increases the likelihood that motive-based preventive efforts will help reduce alcohol use among young adults who display particular personality traits.

Substance use behaviours of young people with a moderate learning disability: a longitudinal analysis.

Substance use behaviors of young people attending a special school are reported over a 4-year period from the age of 12-16 years. The article investigated these behaviors by surveying a cohort of young people with a statement for moderate learning disabilities annually during the last 4 years of compulsory schooling. The findings show that these young people consistently reported lower levels of tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis use compared with those attending mainstream school. No other illicit drug use was reported. The potential implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the context and timing of targeted substance education and prevention initiatives for young people with moderate learning disability attending a special school.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Peer pressure and alcohol use in young men: a mediation analysis of drinking motives.

BACKGROUND: Peer pressure (PP) has been shown to play a major role in the development and continuation of alcohol use and misuse. To date, almost all the studies investigating the association of PP with alcohol use only considered the PP for misconduct but largely ignored other aspects of PP, such as pressure for peer involvement and peer conformity. Moreover, it is not clear whether the association of PP with alcohol use is direct or mediated by other factors. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of different aspects of peer pressure (PP) with drinking volume (DV) and risky single-occasion drinking (RSOD), and to explore whether these associations were mediated by drinking motives (DM). METHODS: A representative sample of 5521 young Swiss men, aged around 20 years old, completed a questionnaire assessing their usual weekly DV, the frequency of RSOD, DM (i.e. enhancement, social, coping, and conformity motives), and 3 aspects of PP (i.e. misconduct, peer involvement, and peer conformity). Associations between PP and alcohol outcomes (DV and RSOD) as well as the mediation of DM were tested using structural equation models. RESULTS: Peer pressure to misconduct was associated with more alcohol use, whereas peer involvement and peer conformity were associated with less alcohol use. Associations of drinking outcomes with PP to misconduct and peer involvement were partially mediated by enhancement and coping motives, while the association with peer conformity was partially mediated by enhancement and conformity motives. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that PP to misconduct constitutes a risk factor, while peer conformity and peer involvement reflect protective factors with regard to alcohol use. Moreover, results from the mediation analyses suggest that part of the association of PP with alcohol use came indirectly through DM: PP was associated with DM, which in turn were associated with alcohol use.

Exploration of geological variability and possible processes through the use of compositional data analysis: an example using scottish metamorphosed

Developments in the statistical analysis of compositional data over the last twodecades have made possible a much deeper exploration of the nature of variability,and the possible processes associated with compositional data sets from manydisciplines. In this paper we concentrate on geochemical data sets. First we explainhow hypotheses of compositional variability may be formulated within the naturalsample space, the unit simplex, including useful hypotheses of subcompositionaldiscrimination and specific perturbational change. Then we develop through standardmethodology, such as generalised likelihood ratio tests, statistical tools to allow thesystematic investigation of a complete lattice of such hypotheses. Some of these tests are simple adaptations of existing multivariate tests but others require specialconstruction. We comment on the use of graphical methods in compositional dataanalysis and on the ordination of specimens. The recent development of the conceptof compositional processes is then explained together with the necessary tools for astaying- in-the-simplex approach, namely compositional singular value decompositions. All these statistical techniques are illustrated for a substantial compositional data set, consisting of 209 major-oxide and rare-element compositions of metamorphosed limestones from the Northeast and Central Highlands of Scotland.Finally we point out a number of unresolved problems in the statistical analysis ofcompositional processes

Factors associated with use of community mental health services by schizophrenia patients using multilevel analysis

BACKGROUND Persons with schizophrenia and related disorders may be particularly sensitive to a number of determinants of service use, including those related with illness, socio-demographic characteristics and organizational factors. The objective of this study is to identify factors associated with outpatient contacts at community mental health services of patients with schizophrenia or related disorders. METHODS This cross-sectional study analyzed 1097 patients. The main outcome measure was the total number of outpatient consultations during one year. Independent variables were related to socio-demographic, clinical and use of service factors. Data were collected from clinical records. RESULTS The multilevel linear regression model explained 46.35% of the variance. Patients with significantly more contacts with ambulatory services were not working and were receiving welfare benefits (p = 0.02), had no formal education (p = 0.02), had a global level of severity of two or three (four being the most severe) (p < 0.001), with one or more inpatient admissions (p < 0.001), and in contact with both types of professional (nurses and psychiatrists) (p < 0.001). The patients with the fewest ambulatory contacts were those with diagnoses of persistent delusional disorders (p = 0.04) and those who were attended by four of the 13 psychiatrists (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS As expected, the variables that explained the use of community service could be viewed as proxies for severity of illness. The most surprising finding, however, was that a group of four psychiatrists was also independently associated with use of ambulatory services by patients with schizophrenia or related disorders. More research is needed to carefully examine how professional support networks interact to affect use of mental health.

Amplicon DNA melting analysis for the simultaneous detection of Brucella spp and Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Potential use in rapid differential diagnosis between extrapulmonary tuberculosis and focal complications of brucellosis.

Some sites of extrapulmonary tuberculosis and focal complications of brucellosis are very difficult to differentiate clinically, radiologically, and even histopathologically. Conventional microbiological methods for the diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis and complicated brucellosis not only lack adequate sensitivity, they are also time consuming, which could lead to an unfavourable prognosis. The aim of this work was to develop a multiplex real-time PCR assay based on SYBR Green I to simultaneously detect Brucella spp and Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and evaluate the efficacy of the technique with different candidate genes. The IS711, bcsp31 and omp2a genes were used for the identification of Brucella spp and the IS6110, senX3-regX3 and cfp31 genes were targeted for the detection of the M. tuberculosis complex. As a result of the different combinations of primers, nine different reactions were evaluated. A test was defined as positive only when the gene combinations were capable of co-amplifying both pathogens in a single reaction tube and showed distinguishable melting temperatures for each microorganism. According to the melting analysis, only three combinations of amplicons (senX3-regX3+bcsp31, senX3-regX3+IS711 and IS6110+IS711) were visible. Detection limits of senX3-regX3+bcsp31 and senX3-regX3+IS711 were of 2 and 3 genome equivalents for M. tuberculosis complex and Brucella while for IS6110+IS711 they were of 200 and 300 genome equivalents, respectively. The three assays correctly identified all the samples, showing negative results for the control patients. The presence of multicopy elements and GC content were the components most influencing the efficiency of the test; this should be taken into account when designing a multiplex-based SYBR Green I assay. In conclusion, multiplex real time PCR assays based on the targets senX3-regX3+bcsp31 and senX3-regX3+IS711 using SYBR Green I are highly sensitive and reproducible. This may therefore be a practical approach for the rapid differential diagnosis between extrapulmonary tuberculosis and complicated brucellosis.

Comparison of polyethylene wear in anatomical and reversed shoulder prostheses.

Wear of polyethylene is associated with aseptic loosening of orthopaedic implants and has been observed in hip and knee prostheses and anatomical implants for the shoulder. The reversed shoulder prostheses have not been assessed as yet. We investigated the volumetric polyethylene wear of the reversed and anatomical Aequalis shoulder prostheses using a mathematical musculoskeletal model. Movement and joint stability were achieved by EMG-controlled activation of the muscles. A non-constant wear factor was considered. Simulated activities of daily living were estimated from in vivo recorded data. After one year of use, the volumetric wear was 8.4 mm(3) for the anatomical prosthesis, but 44.6 mm(3) for the reversed version. For the anatomical prosthesis the predictions for contact pressure and wear were consistent with biomechanical and clinical data. The abrasive wear of the polyethylene in reversed prostheses should not be underestimated, and further analysis, both experimental and clinical, is required.

Excessive alcohol consumption in young men: is there an association with their earlier family situation? A baseline-analysis of the C-SURF-study (Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors).

AIMS: To determine whether parental factors earlier in life (parenting, single parent family, parental substance use problem) are associated with patterns of alcohol consumption among young men in Switzerland. METHODS: This analysis of a population based sample from the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF) included 5,990 young men (mean age 19.51 years), all attending a mandatory recruitment process for the army. These conscripts reported on parental monitoring and rule-setting, parental behaviour and family structure. The alcohol use pattern was assessed through abstention, risky single occasion drinking (RSOD), volume drinking and dependence. Furthermore, the impact of age, family socio-economic status, educational level of the parents, language region and civil status was analysed. RESULTS: A parental substance use problem was positively associated with volume drinking and alcohol dependence in young Swiss men. Active parenting corresponded negatively with RSOD, volume drinking and alcohol dependence. Single parent family was not associated with a different alcohol consumption pattern compared to standard family. CONCLUSION: Parental influences earlier in life such as active parenting (monitoring, rule-setting and knowing the whereabouts) and perceived parental substance use problem are associated with alcohol drinking behaviour in young male adults. Therefore, health professionals should stress the importance of active parenting and parental substance use prevention in alcohol prevention strategies.

Patterns of alcohol use and related issues: analysis of nurses' knowledge


Descriptive study that aimed to identify and compare the nurses’ knowledge addressed to patterns of alcohol use and related issues. The study included 185 nurses of which 84 had attended a training course on the subject. Data were collected through a questionnaire of knowledge showing that while the trained group obtained the highest average on correct answers, there was a lack of knowledge in both groups, especially with regard to the identification of complications from alcohol use. Important definitions to nursing practice in the area of addictions are presented, suggesting that future training may consider the various dimensions involved in caring for people with problems related to alcohol.


Qualitative and Hierarchical Analysis of Protective Factors against Illicit Use of Doping Substances in Athletes Calling a National Anti-Doping Phone-Help Service

Evidence of a sport-specific hierarchy of protective factors against doping would thus be a powerful aid in adapting information and prevention campaigns to target the characteristics of specific athlete groups, and especially those athletes most vulnerable for doping control. The contents of phone calls to a free and anonymous national anti-doping service called 'ecoute dopage' were analysed (192 bodybuilders, 124 cyclists and 44 footballers). The results showed that the protective factors that emerged from analysis could be categorised into two groups. The first comprised 'Health concerns', 'Respect for the law' and 'Doping controls from the environment' and the second comprised 'Doubts about the effectiveness of illicit products, 'Thinking skills' and 'Doubts about doctors'. The ranking of the factors for the cyclists differed from that of the other athletes. The ordering of factors was 1) respect for the law, 2) doping controls from the environment, 3) health concerns 4) doubts about doctors, and 5) doubts about the effectiveness illicit products. The results are analysed in terms of the ranking in each athlete group and the consequences on the athletes' experience and relationship to doping. Specific prevention campaigns are proposed to limit doping behaviour in general and for each sport.

Use of patients’ classification instruments: analysis of the brazilian production of knowledge

Objective To analyze the production of scientific knowledge about the use of patients’ classification instruments in care and management practice in Brazil. Method Integrative literature review with databases search in: Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS), Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System on-line (MEDLINE), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and SCOPUS, between January 2002 through December 2013. Results 1,194 studies were found, 31 met the inclusion criteria. We observed a higher number of studies in the category care plans and workload (n=15), followed by the category evaluation of psychometric properties (n=14). Conclusion Brazilian knowledge production has not yet investigated some purposes of using instruments for classifying patients in professional nursing practice. The identification of unexplored areas can guide future research on the topic.


Use of flow cytometric methods for single-cell analysis in environmental microbiology

Flow cytometry (FCM) is emerging as an important tool in environmental microbiology. Although flow cytometry applications have to date largely been restricted to certain specialized fields of microbiology, such as the bacterial cell cycle and marine phytoplankton communities, technical advances in instrumentation and methodology are leading to its increased popularity and extending its range of applications. Here we will focus on a number of recent flow cytometry developments important for addressing questions in environmental microbiology. These include (i) the study of microbial physiology under environmentally relevant conditions, (ii) new methods to identify active microbial populations and to isolate previously uncultured microorganisms, and (iii) the development of high-throughput autofluorescence bioreporter assays