Deterring gun crime materially using forensic coatings

Surface coatings that can help deter and solve gun crime are described. These nanoengineered coatings have been applied and evaluated on brass cartridge cases, where they increase associative forensic evidence through nanotag donation to the handler and the retention of handler's DNA. In future we expect this approach to be used for other surfaces and conditions.     

Editorial

Were the Carmelite order to submit argument based on what itssisters do today, the result in Gilmour v Coats [1949] AC 426would be reversed: but not its finding that the efficacy ofprayer is non-justiciable. Sacramental efficacy is in the same boat. The theologians holdthat the ministers of the sacrament of matrimony are the couplethemselves. In times when the imbalance between the relativesocial positions of the sexes was extreme, the additional requirementof a priestly witness helped protect the weak position in whichthe wife might have found herself     

Is obesity really the next tobacco? Lessons learned from tobacco for obesity litigation

This article draws important lessons from the history of tobacco litigation that can be applied to the current obesity problem in the United States. The author's close analysis of potential issues surrounding the obesity problem in this country yields the conclusion that litigation alone may not be the best answer. Her article offers a compelling perspective on the history of tobacco litigation, a thorough analysis of the issues surrounding the obesity problem and several potential perspectives on dealing with the situation at hand.     

Ethnicity, gender, and global risk indicators in the lives of status offenders coming to the attention of the juvenile court

The present study examined the risks and needs of status offenders in comparison to an at-large juvenile court sample, with specific attention paid to factors related to gender and ethnicity. Status offenders displayed significantly higher risk scores than the comparison sample in domains associated with both family and parenting concerns and educational concerns. In addition, females displayed higher risk levels than males and White youth displayed significantly higher risk levels than minority youth across a wide variety of risk domains. Further analyses were conducted regarding the participation of African American males and females in a program designed as an alternative to detention. For both groups, successful program completion was accompanied by little or no further court involvement, whereas failure to complete the program was related to a variety of negative outcomes. However, African American females and males successfully completing program requirements displayed different risks and needs at the outset of their participation.     

Evaluation of Commercial Kits for Dual Extraction of DNA and RNA from Human Body Fluids, ,

STR typing of DNA evidence can identify the donor with a high power of discrimination but cannot identify the tissue origin of a body‐fluid stain. Using RNA to attribute a crime scene stain to a particular tissue may aid in reconstruction efforts. With blood from 10 donors, four DNA and RNA coextraction kits were evaluated by measuring yields and STR and mRNA profiles. T tests indicated some significant differences in kit performance. The Zymo Research ZR‐Duet^? kit performed best based on average DNA (41.4 ng) and mRNA (4.07 ng) yields and was the only kit to provide complete DNA/RNA profiles for all samples. The consistency of this kit was challenged by data from additional blood and saliva donors. Further testing is advised before a superior kit is unequivocally chosen. Stand‐alone DNA or RNA purification generally offers higher yield, but coextraction may still allow successful STR profiling and tissue source identification.     

Dialectics and Transformation: Exploring the International Theory of E. H. Carr

This article examines the appeal of Carr's theory of international relations, which has enjoyed a longevity matched by few other bodies of work in a discipline characterised by faddism. I attribute Carr's success as an international theorist to his subtle use of philosophy, history, and political theory. Carr's holistic and interdisciplinary approach achieves its best expression in his employment of a critical dialectics of international theory in The Twenty Years' Crisis. The article does not confine itself to this element of Carr's writings as I also examine several works, such as The Future of Nations. Independence or Interdependence?, Conditions of Peace, and Nationalism and After,that consider the transformation of the international society. The latter works also employ a dialectic of power and morality in order to envision a world very different from the international system that Carr observed, an international order that approximates the emerging relations among states at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The article concludes with an examination of the role relativism played in Carr's theory scheme and the extent to which his dialectics of utopianism and realism is an important precursor of critical and postmodern theories of international relations.