Opposite effects of androgen receptor CAG repeat length on increased risk of left-handedness in males and females

Prenatal exposure to testosterone has been hypothesised to effect lateralization by influencing cell death in the foetal brain. Testosterone binds to the X chromosome linked androgen receptor, which contains a polymorphic polyglutamine CAG repeat, the length of which is positively correlated with testosterone levels in males, and negatively correlated in females. To determine whether the length of the androgen receptor mediates the effects of testosterone on laterality, we examined the association between the number of CAG repeats in the androgen receptor gene and handedness for writing. Association was tested by adding regression terms for the length of the androgen receptor alleles to a multi-factorial-threshold model of liability to left-handedness. In females we found the risk of left-handedness was greater in those with a greater number of repeats (p=0.04), this finding was replicated in a second independent sample of female twins (p=0.014). The length of the androgen receptor explained 6% of the total variance and 24% of the genetic variance in females. In males the risk of left-handedness was greater in those with fewer repeats (p=0.02), with variation in receptor length explaining 10% of the total variance and 24% of the genetic variance. Thus, consistent with Witelson's theory of testosterone action, in all three samples the likelihood of left handedness increased in those individuals with variants of the androgen receptor associated with lower testosterone levels.

Duration of cannabis use - a novel phenotype?

Although cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug, duration of cannabis use is typically short, with many of those who initiate cannabis use ceasing use by their late twenties. In this paper we analyze data from a volunteer Australian cohort of 6265 male and female twins to examine whether the duration of cannabis use is an informative phenotype for future genetic analyses. Genetic modeling indicated: (a) moderate genetic influences on duration of cannabis use in both males (41%; 95% CI = 31–51) and females (55%; 95% CI = 46–63); (b) strong genetic influences on cannabis dependence in both males (72%, 95% CI = 61–81) and females (62%, 95% CI = 48–74); (c) no evidence of shared environmental influences on duration of cannabis use or on cannabis dependence in either males or females. Importantly, this model fitting indicated that a substantial component of genetic influences (rg = .90, 95% CI = .77–.99 (males); .70, 95% CI = .57–.83 (females)) on duration of cannabis use was shared with those influencing liability to cannabis dependence. While there were high genetic correlations in both women and men, lifetime duration of cannabis may be uniquely informative in assessing components of liability to cannabis use.

Trade, justice, and the politics of difference: Small developing states in the World Trade Organization

The purpose of this research project was to investigate two distinct types of research questions – one theoretical, the other empirical: (1) What would justice mean in the context of the international trade regime? (2.Using the small developing states of the Commonwealth Caribbean as a case study, what do Commonwealth Caribbean trade negotiators mean when they appeal to justice? Regarding the first question, Iris Young's framework which focuses on the achievement of social justice in a domestic context by acknowledging social differences such as those based on race and gender, was adopted and its relevance argued in the international context of interstate trade negotiation so as to validate the notion of (size, location, and governance capacity) difference in this latter context. The point of departure is that while states are typically treated as equals in international law – as are individuals in liberal political theory – there are significant differences between states which warrant different treatment in the international arena. The study found that this re-formulation of justice which takes account of such differences between states, allows for more adequate policy responses than those offered by the presumption of equal treatment. Regarding the second question, this theoretical perspective was used to analyze the understandings of justice from which Commonwealth Caribbean trade negotiators proceed. Interpretive and ethnographic methods, including participant observation, interviews, field notes, and textual analysis, were employed to analyze their understandings of justice. The study found that these negotiators perceive such justice as being justice to difference because of the distinct characteristics of small developing states which combine to constrain their participation in the international trading system; based on this perception, they seek rules and outcomes in the multilateral trade regime which are sensitive to such different characteristics; and while these issues were examined in a specific region, its findings are relevant for other regions consisting of small developing states, such as those in the ACP group.

The High Cost of Hasty Hiring

Carefully reading employment applications and checking out all references and prior-employment records is vital to hotel managers and personnel directors today. Many legal suits are the result of employees who, hired quickly because of an immediate need, commit some crime in relation to guest rooms or property.

Environmental Governance for Biodiversity

Effective environmental governance is hampered by the continuing presumption of the state as central actor in the domestic and international political contexts. Over the last 20 years, the traditional 'Westphalian' conception of the sovereign state has come under increasing pressure not only in theory, but also in practice, as evidenced by the increasing importance attributed to the participation of quasi-government and non-government actors in decision-making in domestic and international political issues. This paper is a contribution to the on-going debate about the meaning of effective environmental governance by mapping out a post-Westphalian conception of governance. In particular, it defines governance in relation to the protection of biodiversity; highlights obstacles to effective governance in this area, and discusses forming environmental management plans and environmental governance regimes to implement them. The final section of the paper suggests seven directions for ensuring the realisation of effective environmental governance.

Looking behind the increase in custodial remand populations

Numbers, rates and proportions of those remanded in custody have increased significantly in recent decades across a range of jurisdictions. In Australia they have doubled since the early 1980s, such that close to one in four prisoners is currently unconvicted. Taking NSW as a case study and drawing on the recent New South Wales Law Reform Commission Report on Bail (2012), this article will identify the key drivers of this increase in NSW, predominantly a form of legislative hyperactivity involving constant changes to the Bail Act 1978 (NSW), changes which remove or restrict the presumption in favour of bail for a wide range of offences. The article will then examine some of the conceptual, cultural and practice shifts underlying the increase. These include: a shift away from a conception of bail as a procedural issue predominantly concerned with securing the attendance of the accused at trial and the integrity of the trial, to the use of bail for crime prevention purposes; the diminishing force of the presumption of innocence; the framing of a false opposition between an individual interest in liberty and a public interest in safety; a shift from determination of the individual case by reference to its own particular circumstances to determination by its classification within pre‐set legislative categories of offence types and previous convictions; a double jeopardy effect arising in relation to people with previous convictions for which they have already been punished; and an unacknowledged preventive detention effect arising from the increased emphasis on risk. Many of these conceptual shifts are apparent in the explosion in bail conditions and the KPI‐driven policing of bail conditions and consequent rise in revocations, especially in relation to juveniles. The paper will conclude with a note on the NSW Government’s response to the NSW LRC Report in the form of a Bail Bill (2013) and brief speculation as to its likely effects.

MATLAB/Simulink simulation and C2000 code generation model for a grid-interactive 3-phase 4-wire inverter

This work is a MATLAB/Simulink model of a controller for a three-phase, four-wire, grid-interactive inverter. The model provides capacity for simulating the performance of power electroinic hardware, as well as code generation for an embedded controller. The implemented hardware topology is a three-leg bridge with a neutral connection to the centre-tap of the DC bus. An LQR-based current controller and MAF-based phase detector are implemented. The model is configured for code generation for a Texas Instruments TMS320F28335 Digital Signal Processor (DSP).

La prisión preventiva y su relación con las políticas de seguridad

Resumen: La prisión preventiva es la medida cautelar más grave e intensa del proceso penal, en tanto importa la coactiva privación de la libertad personal del imputado. Se trata de un instituto problemático, que plantea un contrapunto particularmente dilemático con la presunción de inocencia. Posee un fundamento constitucional, directamente vinculado con la necesidad de asegurar, en la medida de lo posible, la realización del derecho penal material. Aunque la regla general es que durante el desarrollo del proceso penal el imputado debe permanecer en libertad, no puede negarse la existencia de ciertos supuestos legitimadores de la prisión preventiva. La realidad social y la necesidad de respuestas racionales a los fenómenos de la inseguridad y de la delincuencia violenta han revelado serias fisuras en el paradigma según el cual los únicos supuestos legitimadores son los llamados peligros procesales de fuga o entorpecimiento de la investigación. Surgen así como datos que deben ser también necesariamente tenidos en cuenta para la detención cautelar tanto la especial gravedad del delito cometido y su relación con la preservación del orden público, como la existencia de un peligro de reiteración delictiva constatable. Estos dos últimos presupuestos legitimadores de la prisión preventiva cobran independencia conceptual de los primeramente mencionados. Además, cuando la prisión preventiva se funda en la especial gravedad del delito o en el peligro de reiteración delictiva, se transforma, aunque sin mutar su esencia, en un instrumento más en las políticas de seguridad dirigidas a combatir el fenómeno de la delincuencia.

A Responsabilidade Civil do Advogado sob a perspectiva civil-constitucional

A responsabilidade civil do advogado é um tema que merece destaque sob a perspectiva civil constitucional. A abrangência dessa relação jurídica pelo Código de Defesa do Consumidor e a natureza negocial multiforme da relação estabelecida entre o advogado e o cliente, cuja normativa deve ser estabecida tendo em vista o caso concreto, são pontos de destaque desse trabalho, assim como a aplicabilidade do consentimento informado. Nessa toada, pretende-se conferir o enfoque funcional a partir da releitura das classificações tradicionais da responsabilidade civil em contratual, extracontratual, subjetiva, objetiva e entre as obrigações de meio e resultado para em seguida, analisarmos das hipóteses mais frequentes de responsabilização, quais sejam: a perda de uma chance, o abuso do direito processual e a reversão de liminares revertidas ao final do processo. Por fim, dentre as tendências de prevenção e precaução de danos da responsabilidade civil, revela-se a formalização de seguros de responsabilidade profissional para advogados.

Melhor idade? A responsabilidade civil em relação ao idoso no contexto familiar

Busca-se no presente estudo tecer alguns comentários sobre tema muito controvertido: a possibilidade, ou não, de condenação à reparação de danos morais nas relações de família envolvendo idosos. Primeiramente, o objetivo será traçar notas sobre a evolução do direito de família e a importância da Constituição de 1988 nesse contexto. Também será dado destaque para os elementos da responsabilidade civil, a noção de dano moral e os direitos garantidos pelo Estatuto do Idoso. Apontado como paradigma para uma melhor análise do tema principal, será analisada a obrigação de reparar danos morais em razão de abandono afetivo de filho menor. O terceiro ponto, por sua vez, pretende trazer à baila a discussão acerca da responsabilidade civil nas relações com idosos no seio da família. Serão enfrentadas questões importantes, introduzidas por uma análise psicanalítica do processo de envelhecimento. Serão estudados qual o conceito de família e de idoso para os fins da responsabilidade civil, os seus elementos aplicados à hipótese, bem como a possibilidade de reparação pecuniária nestes casos.

O sujeito descentrado e a educação como estética

O ponto crucial desse trabalho, certamente, são as condições de possibilidades das relações entre o magistério e a educação, arguindo tanto o magistério como a educação sobre o sentido do não-sentido de um currículo. Minha tese é que, analisadas as possibilidades da subjetividade, a autodeterminação é inexequível, isto é, é preciso incluir o outro no eu e essa inclusão pressupõe penetrar as searas do imprevisto. Se assim o é, a subjetividade consiste na responsabilidade, na ação de responder a esse outro que não sou eu, mas que constitui também o eu. Responder ao outro obnubila o eu enquanto singularidade, não há espaço para essa singularidade, portanto ser é imprevisível. Isso significa que é vão o trabalho de tentar planejar a construção do eu (o sujeito, o cidadão) do outro no tempo. O conhecimento, a herança, é também um outro a que se deve responder e cujas respostas produzirão outros outros. O currículo é um outro a que se deve responder, e isso vale tanto para aquele que seleciona quanto para aquele a quem se destina a coleção. Assim sendo, não há um sentido possível para um currículo. O encontro com esse outro selecionado em meio a herança que, por si só é também outro, desmantela o sentido previsto posto que é imprevista a ação da responsabilidade.Resta-nos aderir à vontade de potência, ao moto contínuo da responsabilidade ante o imprevisto. Mergulhar nesse jogo que, distante de uma ação racional, segue um processo de êxtase e não de vertigem ante o conhecimento. Resta-nos deslizar as políticas de governo para as de estado, onde a educação escolar seja vista como investimento não-útil, como um jogo que rompe as bordas dos esquemas dentro-fora, interior-exterior, aqui-ali, meu-teu. Como um processo onde o planejamento futuro é impossível, já que é puro imprevisto. A presente tese não se configura como a defesa de uma ideia, mas como uma adesão, e consequente reflexão, a uma perspectiva de entendimento do que venha ser currículo, prática docente e conhecimento, no recorte da educação escolar, independente do segmento. Trata-se de uma confissão e da busca de um lugar, enquanto professor que exerce seu ofício

O princípio da reparação integral à atividade negocial

Neste trabalho estuda-se a aplicação do princípio da reparação integral do dano causado às atividades negociais. Como a teoria da responsabilidade civil está calcada na doutrina liberal clássica, a reparação do dano, muitas vezes, não recebe, por parte da doutrina e da jurisprudência, tratamento adequado às características e vicissitudes do mercado. O objetivo principal é tratar de uma das vertentes que o Direito exerce no seu papel de corretor das chamadas falhas de mercado. Analisam-se os preceitos jurídicos da responsabilidade civil em relação a essas falhas de mercado e a implicação que isto tem na solução de questões jurídicas envolvendo a atividade negocial.

Corporations and corporate governance: what do these concepts mean for multinational corporate power and social responsibility?

International Journal of Liability and Scientific Enquiry 2007 - Vol. 1, No.1/2 pp. 29 - 49 RAE2008

Heteronormativity and practitioner-patient interaction.

Heteronormativity is the presumption of heterosexuality as the default sexual orientation and can result in discrimination against the lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) population. This study serves as one of the first experimental studies to examine heteronormative perceptions in communication and their effects on practitioner-patient relationships. LGB participants were randomly assigned to read either heteronormative or non-heteronormative vignettes of a doctor-patient interaction. They then indicated how much health-relevant information they would disclose to the doctor in the vignette and their level of trust in the doctor. In the heteronormative condition, participants were less likely to disclose health-relevant information to the doctor in the vignette and were less trustful of the doctor as compared to those in the non-heteronormative condition. These results have important health implications, as lack of disclosure and trust may prevent people from getting needed care and prevent doctors from giving the best health advice possible. The results of this study provide further evidence that there is a need for more education for all health care professionals to feel comfortable while respectfully communicating with and treating patients who do not identify as heterosexual in order to ensure the best health care experience.

Rights for cohabitants

Reviews the guidance given by the House of Lords in Stack v Dowden on quantifying the beneficial interests of cohabiting parties in their former family home when one party seeks to rebut the presumption of joint beneficial ownership. Comments on the subsequent application of the principles by the county court in Adekunle v Ritchie and by the Privy Council in Abbott v Abbott, highlighting the approaches used to establish an equitable interest and to quantify the parties' shares in the properties. Considers whether statutory intervention is now needed to resolve the difficulties. [From Legal Journals Index]