The Determination of Criminal Insanity in Western Nigeria

1976 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh Bienen

This article grew out of a more detailed study of all tried cases of homicide in Western Nigeria from 1966 to 1972. While reading more than I00 court transcripts and trial opinions, I was struck by what seemed an inordinately large number of accused with symptoms which westerners associate with mental or emotional illness. I was also conscious of judges being forced to apply an awkward, and at best difficult, standard for the determination of criminal insanity with sparse direct evidence and, in many cases, without the help of expert testimony.

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 3-7, 16

Abstract This article presents a history of the origins and development of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), from the publication of an article titled “A Guide to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment of the Extremities and Back” (1958) until a compendium of thirteen guides was published in book form in 1971. The most recent, sixth edition, appeared in 2008. Over time, the AMA Guides has been widely used by US states for workers’ compensation and also by the Federal Employees Compensation Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, as well as by Canadian provinces and other jurisdictions around the world. In the United States, almost twenty states have developed some form of their own impairment rating system, but some have a narrow range and scope and advise evaluators to consult the AMA Guides for a final determination of permanent disability. An evaluator's impairment evaluation report should clearly document the rater's review of prior medical and treatment records, clinical evaluation, analysis of the findings, and a discussion of how the final impairment rating was calculated. The resulting report is the rating physician's expert testimony to help adjudicate the claim. A table shows the edition of the AMA Guides used in each state and the enabling statute/code, with comments.


In a preliminary note (‘Roy. Soc. Proc.’ A, vol. 81, p. 174, 1908) on the above subject, experiments were described which gave direct evidence of the scattering of the α -particles. In those experiments a strong source of α -radiation was placed at one end of a long exhausted tube, and the α -particles, after passing through a narrow slit, fell upon a zinc sulphide screen sealed to the other end of the tube. When the pressure inside the tube was very low, the narrow line of scintillations which marked the place of incidence of the α -particles on the screen was well defined, but when the rays on their way to the screen passed through gas or through thin metal foils the edges of this line of scintillations became indistinct. The amount of scattering could be estimated for different foils by placing them in the path of the rays and noting the distribution of the scintillations on the screen. The present investigation was undertaken with a view to obtain a quantitative measurement of the scattering by determining the most probable angle through which an α -particle of definite range is turned by passing through a given thickness of matter. The following are the chief points investigated:— (1) Determination of the amount of scattering produced in different thicknesses of the same material. (2) Comparison of the amounts of scattering produced in different materials. (3) Relation between the velocity of the α -particles and the amount of their scattering.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Cooper ◽  
Jonathan T Tomlin
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
Vol 367 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine A Huening ◽  
Ruisheng Jiang ◽  
Joseph A Krzycki

ABSTRACT In microbial corrinoid-dependent methyltransferase systems, adventitious Co(I)-corrinoid oxidation halts catalysis and necessitates repair by ATP-dependent reductive activases. RamA, an activase with a C-terminal ferredoxin domain with two [4Fe-4S] clusters from methanogenic archaea, has been far less studied than the bacterial activases bearing an N-terminal ferredoxin domain with one [2Fe-2S] cluster. These differences suggest RamA might prove to have other distinctive characteristics. Here, we examine RamA kinetics and the stoichiometry of the corrinoid protein:RamA complex. Like bacterial activases, K+ stimulates RamA. Potassium stimulation had been questioned due to differences in the primary structure of bacterial and methanogen activases. Unlike one bacterial activase, ATP is not inhibitory allowing the first determination of apparent kinetic parameters for any corrinoid activase. Unlike bacterial activases, a single RamA monomer complexes a single corrinoid protein monomer. Alanine replacement of a RamA serine residue corresponding to the serine of one bacterial activase which ligates the corrinoid cobalt during complex formation led to only moderate changes in the kinetics of RamA. These results reveal new differences in the two types of corrinoid activases, and provide direct evidence for the proposal that corrinoid activases act as catalytic monomers, unlike other enzymes that couple ATP hydrolysis to difficult reductions.


Development ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-70
Author(s):  
S. G. Clarkson

In a previous paper (Clarkson, 1969) data were presented which indicate that hypostome determination is accompanied by a large and rapid burst of RNA synthesis, a slight stimulation of protein synthesis, and no increase in DNA synthesis. More direct evidence concerning the relative importance of these metabolic activities in hypostome determination is reported in this paper. The experimental approach made use of the transplantation test of Webster & Wolpert (1966) in conjunction with some inhibitors of DNA, RNA and protein synthesis, the rationale being that if these metabolic activities play important roles in the determination of the hypostome, then their inhibition would be expected to have severe effects on the time required for this process. Regarding the inhibitors, hydroxyurea (HU) inhibits DNA synthesis in a variety of animal cells without altering rates of formation of RNA or protein (Young & Hodas, 1964; Yarbro, Kennedy & Barnum, 1965; Schwartz, Garofalo, Sternberg & Philips, 1965).


2001 ◽  
Vol 35 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 285-319
Author(s):  
Dorothy E. Chunn

Since the late twentieth century, much literature and debate has addressed the use and misuse of science and expertise in the courts and the relationship between science and law in the determination of legal outcomes. Feminists have examined these issues in relation to the adjudication of criminal cases involving women accused (battered woman syndrome – BWS; pre-menstrual syndrome – PMS) and women complainants/victims (rape trauma syndrome – RTS) as well as cases in other areas of law such as sex discrimination and sexual harassment. Their research demonstrates that expert testimony reflects class-based, gendered, racialized, and sexualized assumptions and is clearly important to case outcomes. On one hand, judges often are swayed by expert testimony given at trial and/or submitted at the pre-trial or pre-sentence stage of the criminal process. On the other hand, non-legal experts often act like legal agents on behalf of either the prosecution or the defense. Indeed, the issue of competing experts is central to much discussion and debate about their place in criminal proceedings.


1968 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 601-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pragna Desai ◽  
M. Goldner

The beta-lactamase activity in 10 bacterial species from different genera were evaluated where direct evidence and quantitative data were lacking. A quantitative iodometric method and infrared spectrophotometry were used for the determination of the beta-lactamase activity. The organisms tested were shown to have enzyme activity directed against the beta-lactam ring, and on the basis of the activity on two members of the beta-lactam group of antibiotics, penicillin G and cephalosporin C, a particular ratio was obtained for each species. This report supports the fact of the widespread distribution of beta-lactamase and reopens the question of its significance.


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