1,747 research outputs found
A portrait of the system: Criminal justice trends
No full textThe 6th edition Reader is a collection of primarily introductory level readings and aimed at any course with either a primary or secondary focus on the criminal justice system. In addition to exploring key and controversial topics, the text gives voice to participants from all aspects of the criminal justice system. These include readings from a judge, a defense attorney, a crown attorney, probation officer, police officer, as well as a life prisoner. It also offers essays on current issues in criminal justice and encourages students to debate and think critically about hot topics such as racial discrimination in the criminal court system or plea-bargaining. All returning chapters have been extensively revised and there are nine new readings, including a reading on Race, Ethnicity, and Criminal Justice Statistics by Alwasco-Owusu-Bempah and Paul Millar, and Indigenous Incarceration in Canada, by Andrew Reid and Julian V. Roberts. Additionally, there is a new foreword written by The Honorable Patrick Healy, from the Quebec Court of Appeal in Canada, to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Reader.book chapterDC Author's celebration 2022Published
Soft biometrics for surveillance: an overview
No full textBiometrics is the science of automatically recognizing people based on physical or behavioral characteristics such as face, fingerprint, iris, hand, voice, gait and signature. More recently, the use of soft biometric traits has been proposed to improve the performance of traditional biometric systems and allow identification based on human descriptions. Soft biometric traits include characteristics such as height, weight, body geometry, scars, marks and tattoos (SMT), gender, etc. These traits offer several advantages over traditional biometric techniques. Soft biometric traits can be typically described using human understandable labels and measurements, allowing for retrieval and recognition solely based on verbal descriptions. Unlike many primary biometric traits, soft biometrics can be obtained at a distance without subject cooperation and from low quality video footage, making them ideal for use in surveillance applications. This chapter will introduce the current state-of-the-art in the emerging field of soft biometric
Unique contributions of anxiety, stress and depression to immunity: A cross-cultural investigation
No full textWhile immunity and psychological distress are strongly associated, studies seldom consider how different types of distress relate to immune functioning. The literature tends to emphasis the impact of stress on immunity. The present cross-sectional study estimated the unique contributions of depression, anxiety, and stress on immune function in culturally diverse samples of adults from Italy, New Zealand and India. Participants were Italian (n = 1061), New Zealand (n = 1037), and Indian (n = 384) volunteers. Stepwise multiple linear regression and dominance analysis were used to analyse differences in immunity uniquely explained by anxiety, depression, and stress. While samples from the three countries differed signifcantly, anxiety consistently explained the greatest proportion of differences in immunity. After accounting for the effect of anxiety, stress and depression explained only negligible variation in immune functioning. This association of anxiety with immune functioning was consistent across three different countries and this unique impact was further confrmed by the results of dominance analysis. These fndings suggest a clear link between anxiety and immunity, which advances the prevailing stress-disease model and foster further experimental and longitudinal research into the impact of anxiety on immunity
Expansion of the Phenotypic Spectrum of Propionic Acidemia with Isolated Elevated Propionylcarnitine
No full text: We report three patients with elevations of propionylcarnitine (C3), one without elevations of 2-methylcitrate and 3-hydroxypropionate in urine organic acid analysis, and the other two showing only mild elevations, all of whom were subsequently confirmed to have propionic acidemia by molecular analysis of PCCA and PCCB genes. To date, they have had a mild clinical course. These cases illustrate the importance of considering high C3 as the only biochemical abnormality in a diagnosis of propionic acidemia. Since mild C3 elevations may be overlooked and considered non-diagnostic in isolation, we advise considering a diagnosis of propionic acidemia even in the absence of significant elevations 2-methylcitrate or 3-hydroxypropionate in urine organic acid analysis
Allele-specific methylation of a functional CTCF binding site upstream of MEG3 in the human imprinted domain of 14q32
No full textThe gene MEG3 is located in the imprinted human chromosomal region on 14q32. Imprinting of a structurally homologous region IGF2/H19 on 11p15 is mediated through cytosine methylation-controlled binding of the protein CTCF to target sites upstream of H19. We identified five new CTCF binding sites around the promoter of MEG3. Using an electrophoretic mobility shift assay, we showed that these sites bind CTCF in vitro. Using one of these sites, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis confirmed CTCF binding in-vivo, and differential allele-specific methylation was demonstrated in seven individuals with either maternal or paternal uniparental disomy 14 (UPD14). The site was unmethylated on the maternally inherited chromosomes 14 and methylated on the paternally inherited chromosomes 14, suggesting parent-specific methylation of sequences upstream of MEG3. We speculate that this CTCF-binding region may provide a mechanism for the transcriptional regulation of MEG3 and DLK1.Fil: Rosa, Alberto Luis. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales y Sustentabilidad José Sanchez Labrador S. J. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales y Sustentabilidad José Sanchez Labrador S. J.; Argentina. Washington State University; Estados UnidosFil: Wu, Yuan Qing. Baylor College of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Kwabi Addo, Bernard. Baylor College of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Coveler, Karen J.. Baylor College of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Sutton, V. Reid. Baylor College of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Shaffer, Lisa G.. Washington State University; Estados Unido
‐related intellectual disability syndrome (White‐Sutton syndrome)
No full textWhite-Sutton syndrome (WHSUS) is a recently-identified genetic disorder resulting from de novo heterozygous pathogenic variants in POGZ. Thus far, over 50 individuals have been reported worldwide, however phenotypic characterization and data regarding the natural history are still incomplete. Here we report the clinical features of 22 individuals with 21 unique loss of function POGZ variants. We observed a broad spectrum of intellectual disability and/or developmental delay with or without autism, and speech delay in all individuals. Other common problems included ocular abnormalities, hearing loss and gait abnormalities. A validated sleep disordered breathing questionnaire identified symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea in 4/12 (33%) individuals. A higher-than-expected proportion of cases also had gastrointestinal phenotypes, both functional and anatomical, as well as genitourinary anomalies. In line with previous publications, we observed an increased body mass index (BMI) z-score compared to the general population (mean 0.59, median 0.9; p 0.0253). Common facial features included microcephaly, broad forehead, midface hypoplasia, triangular mouth, broad nasal root and flat nasal bridge. Analysis of the Baylor Genetics clinical laboratory database revealed that POGZ variants were implicated in approximately 0.14% of cases who underwent clinical exome sequencing for neurological indications with or without involvement of other body systems. This study describes a greater allelic series and expands the phenotypic spectrum of this new syndromic form of intellectual disability and autism
Diagnosis of adenylosuccinate lyase deficiency by metabolomic profiling in plasma reveals a phenotypic spectrum
No full textAdenylosuccinate lyase (ADSL) deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive neurometabolic disorder that presents with a broad-spectrum of neurological and physiological symptoms. The ADSL gene produces an enzyme with binary molecular roles in de novo purine synthesis and purine nucleotide recycling. The biochemical phenotype of ADSL deficiency, accumulation of SAICAr and succinyladenosine (S-Ado) in biofluids of affected individuals, serves as the traditional target for diagnosis with targeted quantitative urine purine analysis employed as the predominate method of detection. In this study, we report the diagnosis of ADSL deficiency using an alternative method, untargeted metabolomic profiling, an analytical scheme capable of generating semi-quantitative z-score values for over 1000 unique compounds in a single analysis of a specimen. Using this method to analyze plasma, we diagnosed ADSL deficiency in four patients and confirmed these findings with targeted quantitative biochemical analysis and molecular genetic testing. ADSL deficiency is part of a large a group of neurometabolic disorders, with a wide range of severity and sharing a broad differential diagnosis. This phenotypic similarity among these many inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) has classically stood as a hurdle in their initial diagnosis and subsequent treatment. The findings presented here demonstrate the clinical utility of metabolomic profiling in the diagnosis of ADSL deficiency and highlights the potential of this technology in the diagnostic evaluation of individuals with neurologic phenotypes
Revisiting the conditional sentence of imprisonment after 20 years: Is community custody now an endangered species?
No full textThe conditional sentence of imprisonment (CSI) is a novel form of custody that was created by Bill C-41 in 1996. Among other important objectives, it was introduced to reduce admissions to provincial correctional facilities. This article builds upon previous research to explore the use and impact of the CSI over its 21-year history. Trends over the period 1996-2016 suggest that the CSI has modestly contributed to reducing custodial admissions, although the effect has been variable across jurisdictions. The greatest impacts were observed during the early years of its existence. Legislative amendments that have since restricted its availability appear to have diminished much of that early success. Consequently, we advocate reform by identifying a number of strategies that could help to restore the sanction.Peer reviewedAuthor/s manuscript. Pre-refereed version
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