In an attempt to address the low compliance with offers of treatment shown by patients after episodes of non-fatal deliberate self-harm (DSH), patients who had harmed themselves for the first time were offered rapid, easy access to on-call trainee psychiatrists in the event of further difficulties, and they were encouraged to seek help at an early stage should such problems arise. The follow-up data obtained after one year showed a significant reduction of actual or seriously threatened DSH in the experimental group, who also made considerably less demands on medical and psychiatric services, when compared with controls.

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Abstract:The high number of murder, rape, and child abuse cases in South Africa has led to increased numbers of bite mark cases being heard in high courts. Objective analysis to match perpetrators to bite marks at crime scenes must be able to withstand vigorous crossexamination to be of value in conviction of perpetrators. An analysis technique is described in four stages, namely determination of the mark to be a human bite mark, pattern association analysis, metric analysis and comparison with the population data, and illustrated by a real case study. New and accepted techniques are combined to determine the likelihood ratio of guilt expressed as one of a range of conclusions described in the paper. Each stage of the analysis adds to the confirmation (or rejection) of concordance between the dental features present on the victim and the dentition of the suspect. The results illustrate identification to a high degree of certainty.

Anterior teeth within the human dentition have a specific numerical rotation value. Bite marks show an array of angled indentations, abrasions, microlacerations, and contusions. These marks generally represent the incisal surfaces of the suspect's dentition reflecting the rotation values of the teeth in the dental arch. This study described a method for capturing and analyzing anterior dental rotations. The rotations of individual anterior teeth within the study population were categorized as common, uncommon, and very uncommon according to Allen's classification. In the absence of a large number of incisal patterns present in a bite mark, a single but heavily weighted tooth rotation could be of equal discriminatory potential to several common rotation values. No prevalence studies quantifying individual tooth rotations are available. The measurement of each individual tooth rotation together with its individual discrimination potential will enhance the evaluation of the concordant features observed in bite marks.

ObjectiveEmotional intelligence (EI) is the recognition and management of emotions within oneself and others. Limited evidence exists that determine whether EI is related to stress and burnout.PurposeThe purpose of this project was to determine whether relationships exist between EI, stress, and burnout levels among undergraduate dental hygiene students.MethodsThis study used a quantitative cross‐sectional research design. The study instrument consisted of 3 parts: (1) The Emotional Quotient Self‐Assessment Checklist consisted of 30‐questions in 6 domains and measured EI; (2) The Modified Dental Environment Stress Questionnaire consisted of 39 questions in 5 domains and measured stress; and (3) The Maslach Burnout Inventory‐Health Services Survey consisted of 22 questions in 3 domains and measured burnout.ResultsThe responses from 57 participants were used (response rate = 93.3%). A moderate negative correlation was found between self‐control and personal stress and a moderate negative correlation was found between empathy and emotional evaluation. Moderate positive correlations were found between self‐awareness, empathy, motivation, self‐competence, self‐confidence, and total EI scores and personal accomplishment. Multiple linear regression analysis found self‐control was a significant predictor of personal stress (R2 = .023, P = .023); empathy and self‐competence were significant predictors of clinical stress (R2 = .085, P = .034); empathy and self‐awareness were significant predictors of emotional exhaustion (R2 = .071, P = 0.006); and empathy was a predictor of personal accomplishment (R2 = .150, P = 0.002).ConclusionSubcomponents of EI were found to be significant predictors of stress and burnout levels. Future research is needed to improve EI levels to tolerate stress and minimize burnout levels.

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Using data from an ongoing mark-resight programme at Marion Island, we tested empirically whether southern elephant seals prefer certain terrestrial sites to others during the breeding, moulting and winter haulouts, and whether the pattern of site use is the same for different age and sex groups. Southern elephant seals preferred some sites, while discriminating against other sites, with different age and sex classes using different sites for certain haulout events. Wintering young animals did not show strong site selection. Some popular sites were used for all haulouts by all age and sex groups, and apparently have all the requirements of a good site for terrestrial haulout by southern elephant seals. Site selection becomes more apparent with age, suggesting the role of haulout experience in site selection.

Using data from an ongoing mark-resight programme at Marion Island, we tested empirically whether southern elephant seals prefer certain terrestrial sites to others during the breeding, moulting and winter haulouts, and whether the pattern of site use is the same for different age and sex groups. Southern elephant seals preferred some sites, while discriminating against other sites, with different age and sex classes using different sites for certain haulout events. Wintering young animals did not show strong site selection. Some popular sites were used for all haulouts by all age and sex groups, and apparently have all the requirements of a good site for terrestrial haulout by southern elephant seals. Site selection becomes more apparent with age, suggesting the role of haulout experience in site selection.