The use of cyproterone acetate in a forensic psychiatric cohort of male sex offenders and its associations with sexual activity and sexual functioning

BACKGROUND : Cyproterone acetate (CPA) is a steroidal anti-androgenic medication used in the field of psychiatry for the treatment of paraphilic disorders, hypersexuality, and inappropriate sexual behaviour which may be present in patients with disorders such as mild and major neurocognitive disorders. In the forensic psychiatric population, it is prescribed for these indications especially for patients with a history of committing a sexual offence or who are at moderate to high risk of recidivism. OBJECTIVES : To investigate the use of CPA in a forensic psychiatric cohort of male sex offenders and its associations with sexual activity and sexual functioning. METHODS : Seventy-six forensic psychiatric patients from Weskoppies Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa, participated in the study which measured their sexual functioning. A specifically designed questionnaire was used to capture relevant background information. The use of CPA was studied. The Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire, Male Clinical Version (CSFQ-M-C) was used to measure sexual functioning of participants. The CSFQ-M-C scores, and those of all its subscales, of participants on CPA were compared to those not on the drug. Relevant statistical analyses were performed. RESULTS : Thirteen out of the 76 participants were being treated with CPA (17.11%). In total, 53.85% of the participants on CPA and 65.08% not on CPA had scores indicating the presence of sexual dysfunction. The total CSFQ-M-C scores for participants on CPA (mean = 40.54; median = 42) were not statistically significantly lower than those not on the drug (mean = 41.22; median = 41). More notable is that the use of CPA in this population was associated with lower levels of desire, frequency of and pleasure from sexual activity. There was an association between having intellectual disability and being treated with CPA. CONCLUSION : That all the participants were being treated with psychotropic medication could account for the high percentage of sexual dysfunction in any or all areas of sexual functioning and contribute to the small difference in CSFQ-M-C scores between the two groups. Only a tentative conclusion can be made that CPA may be more effective in decreasing levels of desire, frequency and pleasure related to sexual activity than other areas of sexual functioning. The indication for the use of CPA in this population should be assessed clinically according to patient circumstances and risk assessment.http://www.sajpsychiatry.org/am2017PsychiatryStatistic

Kurtosis of the logistic-exponential survival distribution

In this article, the kurtosis of the logistic-exponential distribution is analyzed. All the moments of this survival distribution are finite, but do not possess closed-form expressions. The standardized fourth central moment, known as Pearson’s coefficient of kurtosis and often used to describe the kurtosis of a distribution, can thus also not be expressed in closed form for the logistic-exponential distribution. Alternative kurtosis measures are therefore considered, specifically quantile-based measures and the L-kurtosis ratio. It is shown that these kurtosis measures of the logistic-exponential distribution are invariant to the values of the distribution’s single shape parameter and hence skewness invariant.The first author is grateful for financial support received from the Department of Statistics, STATOMET and the Vice-Chancellor s Academic Development Grant at the University of Pretoria.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/lsta202017-01-31hb2016Statistic

The quantile-based skew logistic distribution

We show that the quantile-based skew logistic distribution possesses kurtosis measures based on L-moments and on quantiles which are skewness invariant. We furthermore derive closed-form expressions for method of L-moments estimators for the distribution’s parameters together with asymptotic standard errors for these estimators.Vice-Chancellor’s Academic Development Grant at the University of Pretoria and the University of Newcastle Special Studies Program.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/staprohj201

Characteristics of matrix structures, and their effects on project success

This paper investigates the characteristics of matrix structures and their relationships with drivers of project success, such as communication, collaboration, and trust between project team members. Matrix characteristics that were expected to correlate positively with project success mostly did correlate with the success drivers. However, characteristics expected to impact negatively on project success did not show such significant correlations; some even correlated positively with success drivers. The success drivers investigated, in turn, correlated positively with perceived project success. A proposed model illustrates the effects of matrix characteristics on the drivers of success and their ultimate effect on project performance.Eienskappe van matriks strukture en hul effek op drywers van projeksukses – naamlik kommunikasie, samewerking, en vertroue tussen projek-spanlede – is ondersoek. Eienskappe wat verwag was om positief met projeksukses te korreleer het meestal wel positief gekorreleer met die drywers van sukses. Eienskappe wat verwag was om negatief met projeksukses te korreleer het egter nie sulke beduidende korrelasies getoon nie; sommige het selfs positief gekorreleer met projeksukses. Drywers van sukses het ook positief gekorreleer met waargenome projeksukses. ’n Voorgestelde model illustreer die verwantskappe tussen matriks-eienskappe op kommunikasie, samewerking, en vertroue tussen spanlede, en die uit eindelike effek op projekprestasie.http://sajie.journals.ac.za/pubam201

CHARACTERISTICS OF MATRIX STRUCTURES, AND THEIR EFFECTS ON PROJECT SUCCESS

This paper investigates the characteristics of matrix structures and their relationships with drivers of project success, such as communication, collaboration, and trust between project team members. Matrix characteristics that were expected to correlate positively with project success mostly did correlate with the success drivers. However, characteristics expected to impact negatively on project success did not show such significant correlations; some even correlated positively with success drivers. The success drivers investigated, in turn, correlated positively with perceived project success. A proposed model illustrates the effects of matrix characteristics on the drivers of success and their ultimate effect on project performance.Eienskappe van matriks strukture en hul effek op drywers van projeksukses – naamlik kommunikasie, samewerking, en vertroue tussen projek-spanlede – is ondersoek. Eienskappe wat verwag was om positief met projeksukses te korreleer het meestal wel positief gekorreleer met die drywers van sukses. Eienskappe wat verwag was om negatief met projeksukses te korreleer het egter nie sulke beduidende korrelasies getoon nie; sommige het selfs positief gekorreleer met projeksukses. Drywers van sukses het ook positief gekorreleer met waargenome projeksukses. ’n Voorgestelde model illustreer die verwantskappe tussen matriks-eienskappe op kommunikasie, samewerking, en vertroue tussen spanlede, en die uit eindelike effek op projekprestasie.http://sajie.journals.ac.za/pubam201

Evaluation of noise removal in signals by LULU operators

The LULU smoothers are effective nonlinear smoothers for signals. We investigate their ability to remove different noise types, namely symmetrical and skewed, as well as heavy- and light-tailed, thereby uncovering the true underlying signal. These smoothers prove very effective in removing noise originating from the same distribution as that noise which originally contaminated the signal.http://www.sastat.org.za/journal.htmnf201

Asymmetric generalizations of symmetric univariate probability distributions obtained through quantile splicing

Balakrishnan et al. proposed a two-piece skew logistic distribution by making use of the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of half distributions as the building block, to give rise to an asymmetric family of two-piece distributions, through the inclusion of a single shape parameter. This paper proposes the construction of asymmetric families of two-piece distributions by making use of quantile functions of symmetric distributions as building blocks. This proposition will enable the derivation of a general formula for the L-moments of two-piece distributions. Examples will be presented, where the logistic, normal, Student’s t(2) and hyperbolic secant distributions are considered.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/lsta202020-04-26hj2019Statistic

An analysis of dental intercanine distance for use in court cases involving bite marks

High levels of crime in South Africa and the resulting court cases requiring bite mark evidence have necessitated continuous research into the prevalence and interrelationship of recognisable dental features present in bite marks. This study represents the largest data set of descriptive statistics related to intercanine distance, in which the means, standard deviations, medians and interquartile ranges across four racial groups were determined. Intercanine distances were also statistically weighted by determining the common, uncommon and very uncommon values for each of the racial groups. The results of this research show that we can consider any maxillary intercanine distance more than 24.1 mm and less than 43.0 mm to represent a human bite mark. Black males had the largest mean (average) intercanine distance of 36.33 mm (standard deviation 2.49 mm) and white females the smallest mean intercanine distance of 33.4 mm (standard deviation 2.13 mm). The analyses showed statistically significant differences between the mean intercanine distances of different race and gender groupings. The authors do not advocate trying to determine the race or gender from intercanine distances determined, but rather the relevance of the intercanine distances in the specific race and gender groupings. This study makes a meaningful scientific contribution to the presentation of bite mark evidence at a time when subjective opinions need to be replaced with scientific data.http://link.springer.com/journal/4142018-03-30hb2017Oral Pathology and Oral BiologyStatistic

Oral, maxillofacial and dental diseases in captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus)

Descriptions of several oral, maxillofacial and dental conditions/diseases exist for a variety of captive large felids, but little is reported on the pathology of free roaming large felids. Apart from focal palatine erosions (FPEs) as initially described by Fitch and Fagan (1982) and some reference to absent incisor teeth, few data exist on diseases affecting the oral, maxillofacial and dental structures of cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), regardless of their captivity status. This study reports 18 different conditions affecting the teeth, bone and oral cavity soft tissue of cheetahs, based on initial assessment of 256 animals over 11 years (2002–2012) in South Africa and Namibia. This report excludes oral tumours or FPEs, but includes several acquired and developmental conditions never described before.http://elsevier.com/locate/jcpa2019-01-01hj2018Companion Animal Clinical StudiesMammal Research InstituteStatistic

Tongue protrusion as an indicator of vital burning

In the forensic assessment of burned bodies, the question of whether the victim was exposed to the fire before of after death is of crucial importance. Several external signs have been used in the past to indicate heat exposure prior to the death of the victim but these did not include tongue protrusion. The internal signs of heat exposure are generally regarded as much more important than those observed externally. No one factor has been found to be totally reliable. This study found a statistically significant dependence between tongue protrusion and presence soot in the respiratory tract and stomach, the later being a good indicator of vital burning. The results of this study confirm that tongue protrusion can be used as an additional indicator of vital burning.http://link.springer.com/journal/414hb201