Crime Script Sequencing: An optimal forensic combination for cold case analysis.

Criminal cases go cold when investigative leads or forensic testing does not lead to a successful arrest. In these cases, investigators are often keen to use novel methods to derive fresh ideas or insights. Recently, academics from a range of fields, including Psychology, Criminology, and Forensic Sciences have developed a range of new methods and tests to assist with police investigations. The current paper outlines a novel approach to assisting with police cold case investigations: Crime Script Sequencing. The new method combines two leading temporal methods, Crime Script Analysis and Behaviour Sequence Analysis. A real-world cold case, the bombing of Canadian Pacific Airlines Fight 21, is presented and analysed using Crime Script Sequencing to offer readers a guide of how to use the method for other investigations. Impacts, insights, and potential future developments of the method are outlined.

A Behavior Sequence Analysis of Perceptions of Alcohol-Related Violence Surrounding Drinking Establishments.

Alcohol-related violence surrounding the nighttime economy puts increased pressure and workload on security and police forces. Research surrounding alcohol-related violence consistently identifies risk factors, such as the organizational practices and physical characteristics of drinking establishments, as influential in the generation of violent behavior. The current research uses sequence analysis to investigate dynamic patterns of events perceived to lead to a violent incident. The research was collected using questionnaires across university students with customer experience of the modern nighttime economy. The findings show perceptions of maladaptive patterns of events that may lead to violent incidents in different environments (a brightly lit bar and a nightclub). Analysis demonstrated that participants thought those involved in a violent incident would have consumed large amounts of alcohol throughout the night, fueled by predrinking and irresponsible serving practices of staff. Frustration inducing events were also common stages in the sequences leading to a violent outcome. Finally, staff intervention in violent situations was also considered to be an important predictor of violence, with forceful removal of individuals from premises often considered to be the final event preceding a violent incident. The present sequences analysis supports the suggestion that the organizational practices and physical characteristics of a drinking establishment influence the risk of violent activity and helps identify where initiatives aiming to reduce levels of violence could be effectively targeted.

Estimation of body water compartments in cirrhosis by multiple-frequency bioelectrical-impedance analysis.

Estimation of total body water by measuring bioelectrical impedance at a fixed frequency of 50 kHz is useful in assessing body composition in healthy populations. However, in cirrhosis, the distribution of total body water between the extracellular and intracellular compartments is of greater clinical importance. We report an evaluation of a new multiple-frequency bioelectrical-impedance analysis technique (MFBIA) that may quantify the distribution of total body water in cirrhosis. In 21 cirrhotic patients and 21 healthy control subjects, impedance to the flow of current was measured at frequencies ranging from 4 to 1012 kHz. These measurements were used to estimate body water compartments and then compared with total body water and extracellular water determined by isotope methodology. In cirrhotic patients, extracellular water and total body water (as determined by isotope methods) were well predicted by MFBIA (r = 0.73 and 0.89, respectively). However, the 95% confidence intervals of the limits of agreement between MFBIA and the isotope methods were +/-14% and +/-9% for cirrhotics (extracellular water and total body water, respectively) and +/-9% and +/-9% for cirrhotics without ascites. The 95% confidence intervals estimated from the control group were +/-10% and +/-5% for extracellular water and total body water, respectively. Thus, despite strong correlations between MFBIA and isotope measurements, the relatively large limits of agreement with accepted techniques suggest that the MFBIA technique requires further refinement before it can be routinely used to determine the nutritional assessment of individual cirrhotic patients.

Photosynthetic light response curves determined with the leaf oxygen electrode: minimisation of errors and significance of the convexity term.

From photosynthetic studies on a range of monocotyledonous (C-3 and C-4) and dicotyledonous (C-3) plants using a leaf oxygen electrode, we conclude the following. (i) A non-linear model [J.H.M. Thornley (1976) Mathematical models in plant physiology, Academic Press, London; B. Marshall and P.V. Biscoe (1980) J Exp Bot 31:29-39] significantly better describes the photosynthetic light response curve [rate of photosynthesis (P) versus incident photosynthetic photon flux density (I)] than the frequently used linear hyperbolic model [E.I. Rabinowich (1951) Photosynthesis and related processes, vol 2, Wiley, New York]. (ii) When used at the recommended CO2 partial pressures (Ca = 1-5 kPa), CO2 supply saturates the photosynthesis rate in the C-3 dicot Phaseolus coccineus L. but not in the C-3 monocot Hordeum vulgare L.. (iii) Fits using a linear hyperbolic model for P versus I produce relatively large and statistically significant errors (approximately 60%) in the estimation of Pmax and quantum efficiency (alpha) if Ca is not > 5 kPa. (iv) The convexity term, theta, incorporated into the non-linear models for P versus I appears to reflect the limitation placed on the carboxylation processes by the supply of CO2 to the chloroplast stroma. Therefore, the use of a non-linear model providing an estimate of theta should be encouraged, as it is likely to provide information on the physiological status of plants.

Junction road accidents during cross-flow turns: a sequence analysis of police case files.

In-depth studies of behavioural factors in road accidents using conventional methods are often inconclusive and costly. In a series of studies exploring alternative approaches, 200 cross-flow junction road accidents were sampled from the files of Nottinghamshire Constabulary, UK, coded for computer analysis using a specially devised Traffic Related Action Analysis Language, and then examined using different computational and statistical techniques. For comparison, the same analyses were carried out on 100 descriptions of safe turns, and 100 descriptions of hypothetical accidents provided by experienced drivers. The present study employed a range of sequence analysis techniques to examine the patterns of events preceding accidents of different types. Differences were found between real accidents, hypothetical ones and safe turns; between accidents turning onto and off a road with the right of way; between the accidents of younger and older drivers; between accidents on minor roads and major roads; and between the accident expectations (but not the real accidents) of male and female drivers. Pairs of successive events often provided particularly good cues for discriminating accident types.

Overtaking road-accidents: differences in manoeuvre as a function of driver age.

Nine-hundred and seventy-three police road-accident files describing overtaking accidents were sampled from the headquarters of Nottinghamshire Constabulary, England, for the years 1989-1993. Salient facts were extracted from each case, including the exact manoeuvre involved, the principle explanatory factors, the driver(s) most at fault, and the drivers' ages. Two kinds of reliability measure for case interpretations. indicated high levels of consistency. Two induced exposure measures were used, comparing driver involvement in a given type of overtaking accident with involvement in overtaking accidents in general, and comparing the age profiles of the drivers most at fault with those of the other drivers involved. Ten types of overtaking accident were distinguished, and three are discussed in detail: collision with a right-turning vehicle (the most common injury-accident for overtakers), which tends to occur either because a young driver makes a faulty overtaking decision, or an older driver makes a faulty right turn; head-on collision, which affects all age groups roughly in proportion to exposure; and the 'return-and-lose-control' accident, which is associated particularly with young drivers. The study illustrates the 'structured judgement method' of accident causation research, in which human interpreters are used to ascribe causes and processes to individual cases, but orthodox research techniques are used to standardise procedures, and to assess and ensure reliability.

Behavioural factors in accidents at road junctions: the use of a genetic algorithm to extract descriptive rules from police case files.

In-depth studies of behavioural factors in road accidents using conventional methods are often inconclusive and costly. To explore an alternative approach, 200 cross-flow junction road accidents were sampled from the files of Nottinghamshire Constabulary, England, coded for computer analysis using a specially devised 'Traffic Related Action Analysis Language', and then examined using a genetic algorithm (or 'rule-finder' program). For comparison, the same analyses were carried out on 100 descriptions of safe turns, and 100 of hypothetical accident descriptions provided by experienced drivers. A number of findings emerged, distinguishing between accidents turning onto and off major roads; those of younger and older drivers; those that resulted in injury or in damage only; and so on. The study suggests that multiple case-studies based on police case files could be very promising, provided homogeneous samples of accidents are used. Genetic algorithms could play a useful role in preliminary assessment, but an 'information bottleneck' remains to be overcome in capturing enough detail from each case for analysis.

The linguistic repudiation of Wundt.

Wilhelm Wundt's influence on the development of linguistics and psychology was pervasive. The foundations for this web of influence on the sciences of mind and language were laid down in Wundt's own research program, which was quite different from other attempts at founding a new psychology, as it was deeply rooted in German philosophy. This resulted in certain gaps in Wundt's conception of mind and language. These gaps provoked a double repudiation of Wundt's theories, by linguists and psychologists. The psychological repudiation has been studied by historians of psychology, and the linguistic repudiation has been studied by historians of linguistics. The intent of this article is to bring the linguistic repudiation to the attention of historians of psychology, especially the one outlined by two important figures in the history of psychology: Karl Buhler and George Mead.

Nerve tissue-specific human glutamate dehydrogenase that is thermolabile and highly regulated by ADP.

Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), an enzyme that is central to the metabolism of glutamate, is present at high levels in the mammalian brain. Studies on human leukocytes and rat brain suggested the presence of two GDH activities differing in thermal stability and allosteric regulation, but molecular biological investigations led to the cloning of two human GDH-specific genes encoding highly homologous polypeptides. The first gene, designated GLUD1, is expressed in all tissues (housekeeping GDH), whereas the second gene, designated GLUD2, is expressed specifically in neural and testicular tissues. In this study, we obtained both GDH isoenzymes in pure form by expressing a GLUD1 cDNA and a GLUD2 cDNA in Sf9 cells and studied their properties. The enzymes generated showed comparable catalytic properties when fully activated by 1 mM ADP. However, in the absence of ADP, the nerve tissue-specific GDH showed only 5% of its maximal activity, compared with approximately 40% showed by the housekeeping enzyme. Low physiological levels of ADP (0.05-0.25 mM) induced a concentration-dependent enhancement of enzyme activity that was proportionally greater for the nerve tissue GDH (by 550-1,300%) than of the housekeeping enzyme (by 120-150%). Magnesium chloride (1-2 mM) inhibited the nonactivated housekeeping GDH (by 45-64%); this inhibition was reversed almost completely by ADP. In contrast, Mg2+ did not affect the nonstimulated nerve tissue-specific GDH, although the cation prevented much of the allosteric activation of the enzyme at low ADP levels (0.05-0.25 mM). Heat-inactivation experiments revealed that the half-life of the housekeeping and nerve tissue-specific GDH was 3.5 and 0.5 h, respectively. Hence, the nerve tissue-specific GDH is relatively thermolabile and has evolved into a highly regulated enzyme. These allosteric properties may be of importance for regulating brain glutamate fluxes in vivo under changing energy demands.

Self-esteem and trait anxiety in relation to drug misuse in Kuwait.

This study was designed to document knowledge about Kuwaiti drug users and to investigate whether or not there is an association between their poor self-concept and high level of anxiety. One hundred and seven incarcerated drug users, 107 individuals serving prison terms for offenses other than drug use, and 107 "normal" individuals were included in this pilot study. The Arabic version of Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale and Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were used to measure the subjects' self-esteem and state-trait anxiety, respectively. The results documented revealed that there is a relationship between levels of self-esteem and anxiety in Kuwaiti drug user behavior.

Fluoroacetate and fluorocitrate: mechanism of action.

The concept of lethal synthesis as suggested by Peters is reviewed in the light of the more recent work in this area. It is suggested that fluorocitrate is a "suicide" substrate for aconitase rather than a competitive inhibitor as originally suggested. The use of these substances to study glial-neuronal relationships is considered.

Evidence of steric factors in the fungitoxic mechanisms of 8-quinolinol and its 5- and 7-halogenated analogues.

Antifungal studies were made of mixtures of minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 8-quinolinol and its 5- and 7-halo analogues against six fungi: Aspergillus niger, A. oryzae, Trichoderma viride, Myrothecium verrucaria, Mucor cirinelloides, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Mixtures of 8-quinolinol with 5- or 7-fluoro-8-quinolinol and of 5- and 7-fluoro-8-quinolinol showed additive activity, and their respective toxicities were reversed by L-cysteine. These results suggested a common mechanism of activity for the three toxicants. Potentiation of the fungitoxicity of mixtures of 8-quinolinol and its 5- and 7-chloro, bromo, and iodo analogues, as well as mixtures of 5- and 7-chloro, 5- and 7-bromo, and 5- and 7-iodo-8-quinolinols, along with the absence of protection of the fungi by L-cysteine from the toxicities of these compounds was observed. This suggested that the modes of action of these compounds were different from each other and from 8-quinolinol and the 5- and 7-fluoro analogues. The geometry of 8-quinolinol as influenced by substituents in the 5- and 7- positions of the molecule determines its site(s) of fungitoxicity.

Synergistic antifungal action of 8-quinolinol and its bischelate with copper(II) and with mixed ligand chelates composed of copper(II), 8-quinolinol, and aromatic hydroxy acids.

Antifungal studies were made of mixtures of minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 8-quinolinol and its bischelates with copper(II), zinc(II), and manganese(II) and with mixed ligand chelates composed of 8-quinolinol, copper(II) and a second ligand including salicylic acid, 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, 3,5-diiodosalicylic acid, and 4-bromo-3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid. Mixtures of the MICs of the bischelates of 8-quinolinol with copper(II) and zinc(II) and copper(II) and manganese(II), as well as 7-iodo-8-quinolinol and its bischelate with copper(II), and 8-quinolinol and 5-iodo-8-quinolinol were also studied against six fungi: Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus oryzae, Trichoderma viride, Myrothecium verrucaria, Mucor cirinelloides, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. With the exceptions of the mixtures of 8-quinolinol and (8-quinolinolato)(3,5-diiodosalicylato)copper(II) and (8-quinolinolato)(4-bromo-3-hydroxy-2-naphthoato)copper(II) against M. cirinelloides, all of the test organisms were inhibited by 40% or less of each mixture containing 8-quinolinol. Bischelates of 8-quinolinol with copper(II) and zinc(II) and copper(II) and manganese(II) inhibited five fungi at 50% of the mixtures of the MICs. Mucor cirinelloides was not inhibited by bis(8-quinolinolato)copper(II), bis(8-quinolinolato)zinc(II), or by bis(7-iodo-8-quinolinolato)copper(II).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Studies of transketolase abnormality in Alzheimer's disease.

The partially purified transketolase from each of eight well-nourished patients with Alzheimer's disease contained significantly less heat-stable component with a significantly longer half-life of heat inactivation than that from eight controls. Immunochemical studies utilizing antibodies to the purified human liver transketolase did not distinguish between red blood cell transketolases of patients with Alzheimer's disease and those of controls. However, three brains from patients with Alzheimer's disease that were deficient in transketolase activity lacked a 69-kilodalton form on immunoblots. Subtle structural abnormalities of transketolase appear to occur in a high proportion of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Effect of secoverine on colonic myoelectric activity in diverticular disease of the colon.

The effect of secoverine on colonic smooth muscle was measured in patients with diverticular disease and in healthy subjects. The frequency of slow wave activity was determined using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) and peak identification analysis (SWSA). The mean slow wave frequency was similar (6 cycles/minute) in healthy subjects using both analytic methods. The slow wave frequency in patients with diverticular disease was similar to that in healthy subjects. The peak frequency measured with SWSA was uniformly higher than that measured with FFT. Secoverine, a muscarinic antagonist, did not affect the slow wave frequency. Eating a 1000-kcal meal initiates an increase in colonic spike activity (22 +/- 2 spike potential/30 min) (P less than 0.001) in healthy subjects during the immediate postprandial period. The gastrocolonic response in patients with diverticular disease was prolonged for 60 min. Secoverine inhibited the gastrocolonic response in patients with diverticular disease. These studies suggest patients with diverticular disease have a similar slow wave frequency as healthy subjects, the gastrocolonic response is prolonged in patients with diverticular disease, and secoverine inhibits the colonic response.

Acetylation of synaptosomal protein: effect of Na+.

In a previous study it was shown that the acetyl moiety can be incorporated into the protein of purified synaptosomes (1). This process was inhibited by veratridine and the inhibitory effect was counteracted by tetrodotoxin. This suggested that the flux of Na+ may be related to the acetylation process. We now report that in a sodium free medium the amount of acetylation is increased and the inhibitory effect of veratridine (veratrine) is no longer evident. The addition of Na+ leads to a decrease in acetylation in the presence of veratrine. The presence of scorpion toxin has an effect similar to that of veratrine and the two are not additive. Hence, they appear to act on a common site. Molecular sieve chromatography shows four radioactively labeled peaks, two of which are particularly affected by veratrine. We also show that [3H]acetate incorporated into synaptosomal protein can be recovered as acetyldansylhydrazide. In addition, the concentration of free and bound acetate was measured in whole brain as well as in synaptosomes.

Acetate and fluoroacetate as possible markers for glial metabolism in vivo.

[3H]Acetate has been shown by light autoradiographic methods to label the neuropil but not the perikarya in brain and retina. [3H]Fluoroacetate behaves similarly. The study provides anatomical data which support the concept of metabolic compartmentation of glutamic acid and associated metabolites previously derived from biochemical studies. It is suggested that these may be markers of non-neuronal metabolism, probably mostly glial, and may be used to develop procedures which will provide complementary data to that obtained with 2-deoxyglucose on regional metabolism in brain.

Purification and characterization of a soluble and a particulate glutamate dehydrogenase from rat brain.

Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) activity was determined in high-speed fractions (100,000 g for 60 min) obtained from whole rat brain homogenates after removal of a low-speed pellet (480 g for 10 min). Approximately 60% of the high-speed GDH activity was particulate (associated with membrane) and the remaining was soluble (probably of mitochondrial matrix origin). Most of the particulate GDH activity resisted extraction by several commonly used detergents, high concentration of salt, and sonication; however, it was largely extractable with the cationic detergent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) in hypotonic buffer solution. The two GDH activities were purified using a combination of hydrophobic interaction, ion exchange, and hydroxyapatite chromatography. Throughout these purification steps the two activities showed similar behavior. Kinetic studies indicated similar Km values for the two GDH fractions for the substrates alpha-ketoglutarate, ammonia, and glutamate; however, there were small but significant differences in Km values for NADH and NADPH. Although the allosteric stimulation by ADP and L-leucine and inhibition by diethylstilbestrol was comparable, the two GDH components differed significantly in their susceptibility to GTP inhibition in the presence of 1 mM ADP, with apparent Ki values of 18.5 and 9.0 microM GTP for the soluble and particulate fractions, respectively. The Hill plot coefficient, binding constant, and cooperativity index for the GTP inhibition were also significantly different, indicating that the two GDH activities differ in their allosteric sites. In addition, enzyme activities of the two purified proteins exhibited a significant difference in thermal stability when inactivated at 45 degrees C and pH 7.4 in 50 mM phosphate buffer.

The subcellular localization of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH): is GDH a marker for mitochondria in brain?

Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH, EC 1.4.1.2) has long been used as a marker for mitochondria in brain and other tissues, despite reports indicating that GDH is also present in nuclei of liver and dorsal root ganglia. To examine whether GDH can be used as a marker to differentiate between mitochondria and nuclei in the brain, we have measured GDH by enzymatic activity and on immunoblots in rat brain mitochondria and nuclei which were highly enriched by density-gradient centrifugation methods. The activity of GDH was enriched in the nuclear fraction as well as in the mitochondrial fraction, while the activities of other "mitochondrial" enzymes (fumarase, NAD-isocitrate dehydrogenase and pyruvate dehydrogenase complex) were enriched only in the mitochondrial fraction. Immunoblots using polyclonal antibodies against bovine liver GDH confirmed the presence of GDH in the rat brain nuclear and mitochondrial fractions. The GDH in these two subcellular fractions had a very similar molecular weight of 56,000 daltons. The mitochondrial and nuclear GDH differed, however, in their susceptibility to solubilization by detergents and salts. The mitochondrial GDH could be solubilized by extraction with low concentrations of detergents (0.1% Triton X-100 and 0.1% Lubrol PX), while the nuclear GDH could be solubilized only by elevated concentrations of detergents (0.3% each) plus KCl (greater than 150 mM). Our results indicate that GDH is present in both nuclei and mitochondria in rat brain. The notion that GDH may serve as a marker for mitochondria needs to be re-evaluated.