Utilization of offender case information by “lenient” vs. “punitive” clinicians

Presentence evaluations conducted by psychologists and psychiatrists (clinicians) and correctional counselors (caseworkers) were subjected to multiple regression analyses in order to specify the relative contribution of inmate characteristics (offense severity and recidivism probability) and decision maker response biases to sentencing recommendations. Although both groups of decision-makers showed a response bias effect for cases that were difficult to discriminate, the effect was generally lerger for chnicians than for caseworkers. Response bias (lenient vs. punitive) was not associated with type of clinical judgment model (linear vs. configural) or predictability of recommendation, although it was associated with the degree of relative weighting of the two independent variables and, in the case of extremely punitive decision-makers, with the tendency to utilize only one evaluative dimension (offense severity) to the exclusion of the other. Furthermore, it was found that inmates who committed the most serious offenses were exposed selectively to those decision-makers most likely both to place exclusive emphasis on offense severity and to recommend relatively punitive case dispostions. The need for an accountability system designed to minimize the effects of the response biases of correctional decision-makers was discussed.     

Introduction: “Mythos and logos in hesiod's theogony,Circa 700 B.C.”

We describe a profoundly intellectually disabled 24-year-old man with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, left hemiplegia, epilepsy, atrophy of the right cerebral hemisphere, and dilatation of the right ventricle. The patient had a small ventricular septal defect, was wheelchair bound, and totally dependent. He had no speech, but vocalised to show his feelings. In this patient, the del(4)(p15) was subtle and arose due to the inheritance of a recombinant chromosome (4) from a maternal pericentric inversion—46,XX,inv(4) (p15.32q35). Fluorescence in situ hybridisation with probe D4S96 confirmed the deletion. This is the second case of Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome resulting from a large pericentric inversion of chromosome 4. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Polymers by “criss-cross”-cycloaddition, 7. Segmented block copolymers

“Criss-cross”-cycloaddition of 4,4′-diisocyanatodiphenyl ether and 4-methoxybenzaldazine was used to synthesize α,ω-diisocyanato telechelics of molecular weights between 1 600 and 3 900. These precursors were reacted with different α,ω-dihydroxy functionalized aliphatic polyethers to produce segmented block copolymers in which the precursors obtained by cycloaddition reaction provide hard segment domains embedded in a polyether soft segment matrix. The resulting materials were soluble in common organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran and chloroform and were characterized by spectroscopic techniques (¹H-, ¹³C NMR, IR spectroscopy) as well as gel permeation chromatography (GPC) for molar mass determination. The block copolymers were molded in a hot stage press, and the resulting samples were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and stress-strain measurement. The materials with a hard segment fraction below 0.36 and a molecular weight above M?_n = 90 000 were elastomers with ultimate elongations above 700%.     

Exploring “personal” and “shared” sense of community identity in Durham City,England

“Personal” and “shared” aspects of sense of community identity are explored in a an established community in Durham City, England. Durham City has a history of over 1,000 years of continuous settlement, and is generally viewed as a stable and relatively harmonious setting. In the study 102 residents responded to a Community Response Questionnaire based on Puddifoot's taxonomy of elements of sense of community. The findings suggest the existence of three underlying “personal” dimensions of Sense of Community Identity (SOCI), namely, “Sense of Personal Support,” “Sense of Personal Contentedness,” and “Personal Involvement,” and three “shared” dimensions of SOCI, namely, “Perceived Community Engagement,” “Perceived Neighborliness,” and “Perceived Settledness.” This article discusses these findings and the prospect of creating a measure for comparative analysis around these dimensions. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Bone “mass” and the “mechanostat”: A proposal

The observed fit of bone mass to a healthy animal's typical mechanical usage indicates some mechanism or mechanisms monitor that usage and control the three longitudinal growth, bone modeling, and BMU-based remodeling activities that directly determine bone mass. That mechanism could be named a mechanostat. Accumulated evidence suggests it includes the bone itself, plus mechanisms that transform its mechanical usage into appropriate signals, plus other mechanisms that detect those signals and then direct the above three biologic activities. In vivo studies have shown that bone strains in or above the 1500–3000 microstrain range cause bone modelling to increase cortical bone mass, while strains below the 100–300 microstrain range release BMU-based remodeling which then removes existing cortical-endosteal and trabecular bone. That arrangement provides a dual system in which bone modeling would adapt bone mass to gross overloading, while BMU-based remodeling would adapt bone mass to gross underloading, and the above strain ranges would be the approximate “setpoints” of those responses. The anatomical distribution of those mechanical usage effects are well known. If circulating agents or disease changed the effective setpoints of those responses their bone mass effects should copy the anatomical distribution of the mechanical usage effects. That seems to be the case for many agents and diseases, and several examples are discussed, including postmenopausal osteoporosis, fluoride effects, bone loss in orbit, and osteogenesis imperfecta. The mechanostat proposal is a seminal idea which fits diverse evidence but it requires critique and experimental study.     

Psychiatric “Co-occurrence”? I'll Stick with “Comorbidlty”

Lilienfeld et al's critique of the use of the term comorbid in psychopathological research is critically examined. They are incorrect in asserting that the original use of the term in medical epidemiology was intended to restrict it to disease entities. Furthermore, the ways in which medical comorbidity can be understood apply equally well to understanding the comorbidity of psychiatric or psychological disorders. Just as it has been useful to use the general term psychiatric disorders to include symptom patterns and syndromes and few If any true diseases, so to it is useful to apply the generic term of comorbidity to the joint occurrence of psychiatric disorders. Because methodological factors can sometimes contribute to artifactual comorbidity which is uninformative about the disorders being studied is no reason to abandon the term comorbidity in psycho-pathological research.