Economic voting: The effect of political context, volatility and turnout on voters' assignment of responsibility

Abstract.  This study analyses macroeconomic conditions and the electoral fortune of incumbents in 21 parliamentary Western countries between 1950 and 1997 in 266 national elections. Voters' assignment of responsibility for the state of the national economy is assumed to vary according to the context of the election. Building on previous research, the importance of the political context – clarity of responsibility and availability of alternatives – is analysed. The study also breaks new ground by introducing two new contexts of importance: volatility, seen from a systemic perspective, and the trend in turnout. The contextual hypothesis is confirmed. The universal economic effect as such is very weak indeed. However, given a favourable political and institutional environment (clear responsibility structure and availability of alternatives), an economic effect appears. Tests including the new contexts created on the basis of behavioural patterns in the electorate (system volatility and turnout trend) identify elections where the economic effects are even stronger.     

Epistemic emotions in prosecutorial decision making

The article examines epistemic emotions as part of the emotive-cognitive processes of prosecutors’ knowledge seeking and decision making in preliminary investigation and court proceedings. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and shadowing of prosecutors in Sweden, we show how emotions motivate and orient prosecutors’ inquiries and the fundamental role of the ‘certainty–doubt spiral’ for ‘doing objectivity’. In conclusion, we discuss the centrality of emotions for conscientious and well-considered decisions in legal work. The study contributes to the field of law and emotion by exploring the epistemic quality of emotions, notably the certainty–doubt spiral, in legal work.     

From Car Wash to Bolsonaro: Law and Lawyers in Brazil's Illiberal Turn (2014–2018)

Law and lawyers tend to be seen as either preferential victims of or key counterforces to rising illiberalism. Brazil offers a good testbed for these claims. Brazilian democracy has deteriorated considerably, as epitomized by the election of Jair Bolsonaro in 2018. Yet, since 2014, law and lawyers have become ever more central to Brazil's field of state power. As the anti-corruption initiative Car Wash (Lava Jato) gained momentum, Brazilian judges and prosecutors were celebrated, locally and globally, as champions of transparency, accountability, and ‘the rule of law’. Following a closer look at Car Wash, this article questions such idealization of law and lawyers. Drawing on research on press interviews and statements by Car Wash legal officers, I find that, throughout the case, they produced a ‘political grammar’ that is closer to illiberalism than many would predict. Based on recent developments in the sociology of fields, I argue that the production of these grammars yields societal effects that deserve scholarly and civic attention.     

鸡毒支原体鸡滑液囊支原体和副鸡禽杆菌三重PCR检测方法的建立

鸡毒支原体(MG)、鸡滑液囊支原体(MS)、副鸡禽杆菌(APG)三重PCR诊断对于鸡呼吸道疾病的鉴别诊断和防控有着重要意义。本次试验首先对三重PCR反应条件进行优化,之后对多种病原的DNA进行扩增以确定本方法的特异性,调整MG、MS和APG的DNA浓度以确定本方法的敏感性。结果显示,利用优化后的反应条件,本试验建立的诊断方法能够同时扩增出长度为453 bp(MG)、328 bp(MS)和241 bp(APG)的特异性片段,而大肠杆菌、鸡白痢沙门菌、禽多杀性巴氏杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌和阴性对照样品在检测时则无条带产生。对三种病原的混合DNA进行10倍梯度稀释,确定MG、MS和APG的最低检出量为5×10^-3ng/μL。对37份临床样品的检测结果表明,三重PCR的检出率和单重PCR的检测结果一致,且可同时检测出两种或三种病原同时感染。上述结果表明,本试验建立的MG、MS和APG三重PCR诊断方法具有良好的特异性、较高的灵敏性,可用于鸡呼吸道病的诊断和防控。     

Rapid and high-throughput forensic short tandem repeat typing using a 96-lane microfabricated capillary array electrophoresis microdevice

A 96-channel microfabricated capillary array electrophoresis (muCAE) device was evaluated for forensic short tandem repeat (STR) typing using PowerPlex 16 and AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus multiplex PCR systems. The high-throughput muCAE system produced high-speed <30-min parallel sample separations with single-base resolution. Forty-eight previously analyzed single-source samples were accurately typed, as confirmed on an ABI Prism 310 and/or the Hitachi FMBIO II. Minor alleles in 3:1 mixture samples containing female and male DNA were reliably typed as well. The instrument produced full profiles from sample DNA down to 0.17 ng, a threshold similar to that found for the ABI 310. Seventeen nonprobative samples from various evidentiary biological stains were also correctly typed. The successful application of the muCAE device to actual forensic STR typing samples is a significant step toward the development of a completely integrated STR analysis microdevice.     

长爪沙鼠颌下腺免疫球蛋白A的定位分布

采用免疫组织化学方法对不同日龄的长爪沙鼠颌下腺IgA的定位分布进行了研究。结果表明,长爪沙鼠的颌下腺由导管部和分泌部构成,分泌部主要由浆液腺构成,导管部包括闰管、纹管、颗粒曲管和小叶间导管等。DAB显色结果表明,IgA阳性细胞主要分布于浆液性腺泡、闰管、纹管、颗粒曲管和小叶间导管,并可分布于腺泡和腺管间结缔组织,IgA阳性产物的分布具有不均一性,无明显随年龄变化的规律性。阳性产物分布于胞质中,胞核呈阴性,对照组阴性。提示从浆细胞产生或循环而来的IgA先经结缔组织进入颌下腺组织,进而定位分布于浆液腺泡和各级导管,导管部有较多的IgA分布。     

A forensic laboratory tests the Berkeley microfabricated capillary array electrophoresis device

Miniaturization of capillary electrophoresis onto a microchip for forensic short tandem repeat analysis is the initial step in the process of producing a fully integrated and automated analysis system. A prototype of the Berkeley microfabricated capillary array electrophoresis device was installed at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science for testing. Instrument performance was verified by PowerPlex 16 System profiling of single source, sensitivity series, mixture, and casework samples. Mock sexual assault samples were successfully analyzed using the PowerPlex Y System. Resolution was assessed using the TH01, CSF1PO, TPOX, and Amelogenin loci and demonstrated to be comparable with commercial systems along with the instrument precision. Successful replacement of the Hjerten capillary coating method with a dynamic coating polymer was performed. The accurate and rapid typing of forensic samples demonstrates the successful technology transfer of this device into a practitioner laboratory and its potential for advancing high-throughput forensic typing.