The western Australian court diversion service: Client profile and predictors of program completion,sentencing and re‐offending

The Western Australian Court Diversion Service (CDS) is a post‐conviction / pre‐sentence program that aims to divert substance‐using offenders from the prison system and into treatment programs. It has been in operation since 1988, though a formal evaluation has not been conducted. The present study evaluated the outcomes for offenders referred to the program in relation to program completion, sentencing and re‐offending. It utilised a quasi‐experimental within groups design using data from client files from January 1998 to June 1999. Offenders who had higher motivation, attended treatment regularly and had less than 20 prior convictions were more likely to complete the program. A custodial sentence was more likely if the offender was male, had committed a serious offence, had more than 30 prior convictions, had lower motivation and had not completed the CDS program. Predictors of re‐offending included lower motivation and a previous custodial sentence. The offender's level of motivation to change and number of prior convictions were significant predictors of all three outcomes: program completion, sentencing and re‐offending. The findings highlight the importance of considering offender characteristics when assessing eligibility for diversion programs, addressing offender motivation within diversion programs and considering issues of which offenders are most likely to benefit from which programs.     

The ability of three global plasma assays to recognize thrombophilia

Three global assays, the Calibrated Automated Thrombogram (CAT), the ProC Global (PCG), and the Coagulation Inhibitor Potential (CIP) were performed in frozen plasma samples from 24 normal controls and 24 patients with inherited thrombophilia. Six patients had inherited antithrombin (AT) deficiency; 18 patients had abnormalities in the protein C/S anticoagulant system (protein C deficiency (n=3), protein S deficiency (n=10), homozygous FV Leiden mutation (n=5)). Nine of these twenty four patients carried additionally the heterozygous FV Leiden mutation. All three assays separated the thrombophilia group and the control group (P=0.083 for CAT, P<0.0001 for the other two assays) but there was considerable overlap, particularly in the CAT assay. The CAT assay separated all plasma samples with AT deficiency but was less sensitive to abnormalities in the protein C/S system. In contrast, ProC Global was more sensitive to abnormalities in the protein C system than to AT deficiency. The CIP assay was approximately equally sensitive to defects in both systems. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves confirmed that the ProC Global and the CIP assays performed better than the CAT assay (P=0.0179 and P=0.0003, respectively). With the CIP assay ROC analysis showed that with a sensitivity of 100% the specificity was 87.5%. With the PCG assay, optimal threshold resulted in both a sensitivity and a specificity of 79.2%. Although our material is relatively small, the data suggest that at a cut-off value with a specificity of >80%, the CIP assay should be evaluated as a screening test for severe thrombophilia.     

Genetic mapping of ASIC4 and contrasting phenotype to ASIC1a in modulating innate fear and anxiety

Although ASIC4 is a member of the acid‐sensing ion channel (ASIC) family, we have limited knowledge of its expression and physiological function in vivo. To trace the expression of this ion channel, we generated the ASIC4‐knockout/CreERT²‐knockin (Asic4^CreERT2) mouse line. After tamoxifen induction in the Asic4^CreERT2::CAG‐STOP^floxed‐Td‐tomato double transgenic mice, we mapped the expression of ASIC4 at the cellular level in the central nervous system (CNS). ASIC4 was expressed in many brain regions, including the olfactory bulb, cerebral cortex, striatum, hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, hypothalamus, brain stem, cerebellum, spinal cord and pituitary gland. Colocalisation studies further revealed that ASIC4 was expressed mainly in three types of cells in the CNS: (i) calretinin (CR)‐positive and/or vasoactive intestine peptide (VIP)‐positive interneurons; (ii) neural/glial antigen 2 (NG2)‐positive glia, also known as oligodendrocyte precursor cells; and (iii) cerebellar granule cells. To probe the possible role of ASIC4, we hypothesised that ASIC4 could modulate the membrane expression of ASIC1a and thus ASIC1a signaling in vivo. We conducted behavioral phenotyping of Asic4^CreERT2 mice by screening many of the known behavioral phenotypes found in Asic1a knockouts and found ASIC4 not involved in shock‐evoked fear learning and memory, seizure termination or psychostimulant‐induced locomotion/rewarding effects. In contrast, ASIC4 might play an important role in modulating the innate fear response to predator odor and anxious state because ASIC4‐mutant mice showed increased freezing response to 2,4,5‐trimethylthiazoline and elevated anxiety‐like behavior in both the open‐field and elevated‐plus maze. ASIC4 may modulate fear and anxiety by counteracting ASIC1a activity in the brain.     

亮度知觉效应与视觉加工方式研究

目的:利用微持续与微间隔时间技术,设计了两组相关的实验,对亮度知觉效应和视觉加工方式进行探讨。方法:实验于2006-06在中南民族大学物理楼脑认知实验室进行,所有受试者为年龄20～25岁的大学本科生,视力(含矫正视力)正常,均为右利手。①实验1:被试为10名(男5名,女5名),要求被试分别对n屏依次呈现的亮块的明度和n 1屏依次呈现的亮块的明度进行比较(n≤17)。②实验2:被试为28名(男13名,女15名),实验涉及两个刺激物,先呈现的刺激物由左右两个大小相同、亮度不同的亮块a和b组成,后呈现的刺激物把a和b的位置进行对调,当这两个刺激物依次显示时,要求被试报告左右两边的明度是否存在差异,存在何种差异。结果:①实验1∶1≤n≤3时,100%的被试报告,n 1屏的明度大于n屏的亮度,即n 1>n;4≤n≤10时,70%～90%的被试报告n 1>n;n>10时,50%～70%的被试报告n 1>n;随着n值的增加明度差异也在减小,大约在n=17时达到稳定,n屏和n 1屏的明度区别将很难被看出。②实验2:在L(a)b a,随着a和b的亮度差异减小,左右两边呈现的明度越相似;同样当L(a)相似文献   

Age-dependent association of mannose-binding lectin polymorphisms with the development of pulmonary tuberculosis in Viet Nam

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) binds to pathogens and induces complement-mediated opsonophagocytosis. Although the association between MBL2 polymorphisms and tuberculosis (TB) has been studied in various populations, the results are controversial. We explored the stages of TB associated with MBL2 polymorphisms. X/Y (rs7096206) and A/B (rs1800450) were genotyped in 765 new patients with active pulmonary TB without HIV infection and 556 controls in Hanoi, Viet Nam. The MBL2 nucleotide sequences were further analyzed, and plasma MBL levels were measured in 109 apparently healthy healthcare workers and 65 patients with TB. Latent TB infection (LTBI) was detected by interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA). The YA/YA diplotype, which exhibited high plasma MBL levels, was associated with protection against active TB in younger patients (mean age = 32) ≦ 45 years old (odds ratio, 0.61; 95% confidence interval, 0.46–0.80). The resistant diplotype was less frequently found in the younger patients at diagnosis (P = 0.0021). MBL2 diplotype frequencies and plasma MBL levels were not significantly different between the IGRA-positive and -negative groups. MBL2 YA/YA exhibited a protective role against the development of TB in younger patients, whereas the MBL2 genotype and MBL levels were not associated with LTBI. High MBL levels may protect against the early development of pulmonary TB after infection.