A new sign for the establishment of gunshot in suicide?

Two cases involving deadly bullet shots to the head are reported (entry wounds at the right temple, shots fired at absolutely close range, 7.65 or 9 mm caliber). In both cases bleeding was determined in the fissure of the right shoulder joint. This bleeding can be explained by hyperextension and extreme position of the joint at the time of the gun firing. Should further cases of bleeding be confirmed during additional autopsies, then this bleeding could be an indication of death "by one's own hand."     

Sea Grant — The MIT Sea Grant Marine Industry collegium: A partnership of industry,government and academia

The Collegium has fostered interaction and technology transfer between MIT and the Marine Industry for five years, resulting in early utilization of the fruits of marine research at MIT and valuable guidance for MIT Sea Grant in addressing needs of industry. For maximum technology transfer to take place effectively in an academic/industry program, a number of conditions have to be met. This paper discusses three of the most important conditions. First, industry people must be aware of the interests and research capabilities of the faculty and of the resources available to the university. Second, successful technology transfer is a person to person interaction between people of common interest and roughly equivalent technical background. Third, and very important, technology transfer is communication from the recipient, or user, to the source of technology. Along with these three conditions is the need for early involvement of industry and government user in the research activity. The Collegium is a unique arrangement to accomplish these conditions. This paper describes the program at MIT.     

Is the risk of North–South technology transfer failure an obstacle to a cooperative climate change agreement?

We setup a stylized model with endogenous North–South technology transfer for climate change mitigation. We theoretically identify the driving factors that enhance or hinder cooperation with socially optimal binding targets on emissions and on investment in technology transfer. We find that the risk of technology transfer failure creates an obstacle to the achievement of the cooperative agreement: under cooperation, the South will have to fulfill the emissions target at high costs if technology transfer fails. Under non-cooperation without any binding targets, the North still has an intrinsic motivation to reduce emissions in the South at low costs via technology transfer; and the South does not have the pressure to fulfill an emissions target. As a result, non-cooperation shifts part of the costs of a technology transfer failure from the poor South to the rich North and can thus be preferable for the South. Two policy implications for achieving the cooperative solution are derived: first, the South should be insured against or compensated for a technology transfer failure. Second, an agreement on technology transfer should be formulated in terms of emissions reductions or low-carbon technology capacities that are to be achieved rather than in terms of monetary payments with uncertain effects on emissions. We discuss the model results in the context of empirical facts and current developments.     

A systematic approach to improve downstream single-cell analysis for the DEPArray™ technology

Most commercially available STR amplification kits have never been fully validated for low template DNA analysis, highlighting the need for testing different PCR kits and conditions for improving single-cell profiling. Here, current strategies rely mainly on adjusting PCR cycle number and analytical threshold settings, with a strong preference for using 30 amplification cycles and thresholds at 30–150 RFU for allele detection. This study aimed to (1) determine appropriate conditions for obtaining informative profiles utilizing a dilution series, and (2) test the outcome on single cells using the DEPArray™ technology. Four routinely applied forensic STR kits were compared by using three different amplification volumes and DNA dilutions down to 3.0 pg, while two well-performing kits were used for single/pooled leucocyte and sperm cell genotyping. Besides reduced costs, the results demonstrate that a 50%–75% PCR volume reduction was beneficial for peak height evaluation. However, this was counteracted by an increased artifact generation in diluted DNA volumes. Regarding profile completeness, the advantage of volume reduction was only prominent in samples processed with Fusion 6C. For single and pooled cells, ESIFast and NGMDetect provided a solid basis for consensus profiling regarding locus failure, although locus dropouts were generally observed as stochastic events. Amplification volume of 12.5 μL was confirmed as appropriate in terms of peak heights and stutter frequencies, with increased stutter peaks being the main artifact in single-cell profiles. Limitations associated with these analyses are discussed, providing a solid foundation for further studies on low template DNA.     

Role of Nanomaterials for Forensic Investigation and Latent Fingerprinting—A Review

The imminent nanotechnology and progressive instrumentations together have vast applications in the field of forensic science. Few prominent examples are gold nanoparticles for improvising the efficiency of polymerase chain reaction and atomic force microscopy for examining ink and bloodstains. Characteristics like distinct ridge details of fingerprints could be obtained by applying different nanoparticles such as silver, zinc oxide, silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, gold (with silver physical developer), europium, fluorescent carbon, and amphiphilic silica on a range of object surfaces, and among all, gold is most commonly used. Fingerprint is considered noteworthy evidence in any crime scene, and nano-based techniques hold immense future potential in fingerprint investigations. Therefore, this paper focuses on the applications of nanoparticles in developing and detecting the latent fingerprints.     

Internet of things – Need for a new legal environment?

The Internet of Things as an emerging global, Internet-based information service architecture facilitating the exchange of goods in global supply chain networks is developing on the technical basis of the present Domain Name System; drivers are private actors. Learning from the experiences with the “traditional” Internet governance it is important to tackle the relevant issues of a regulatory framework from the beginning; in particular, the implementation of an independently managed decentralized multiple-root system and the establishment of basic governance principles (such as transparency and accountability, legitimacy of institutional bodies, inclusion of civil society) are to be envisaged.     

A school peer mediation program as a context for exploring therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ): Can a peer mediation program inform the law?

This paper reports an exploratory study of a school peer mediation program implemented as an alternative way to manage bullying and other destructive conflict. The study explores the effects of the program on the well-being of members of the school community by examining perceptions of students, staff and a sample of parents and former students. Drawing on therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ) the study explores whether the component parts of the program, separately or together, promote intended or unintended therapeutic effects. The preliminary findings of the study emphasise the importance of peer mediation training and suggest that existing scholarship in the area of school conflict resolution and peer mediation, when viewed through a TJ lens, may provide valuable insights into how to optimally configure programs for development and adoption in schools and other community settings. The study highlights the lack of attention paid by the legal system to valuable scholarship in the area of school conflict resolution and peer mediation, which may have implications for the understanding and development of legal processes and the law in general.     

The Territorial Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court — A Jurisdictional Rule of Reason for the ICC?

Netherlands International Law Review - The territorial scope of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court was an issue which was hotly debated prior to the adoption of the Rome Statute....     

Sea–Level Rise and the Legacy of Lucas: Planning for an Uncertain Future

Abstract

In our changing world one thing is certain: Uncertainty will characterize predictions about the impact of new urban developments on the risks of floods, earthquakes, traffic congestion, or environmental harms.     

Assessment of competency for execution? A guide for mental health professionals

Assessment of competency for execution presents two compelling ethical questions for mental health professionals: whether clinicians can ethically provide such assessment, and if so, how it should be done in order to maximize quality and minimize ethical conflict. In this article we address the issue of whether to participate and, if so, how. The question of whether to participate is discussed by summarizing the arguments for and against participation and offering guidelines for making a decision. The question of how to proceed is discussed in two contexts: preadjudication (before a formal decision about competency) and postadjudication (following a determination of "incompetent" and transfer of the offender to another facility for treatment and further assessment). Finally, recommendations are made regarding research that would improve the quality of execution competency assessments.     

MiFID II – A radical contribution to the development of data law?

Away from the hubbub about HFT (High Frequency Trading) a quiet storm is blowing in to the EU that will radically change securities trading in bonds, OTC derivatives and other asset classes. The rules, called MiFID II,² top off the alphabet soup of an extensive new rule book that, after the European Parliament's ‘Super Tuesday’ on 15 April 2014, is finally set to become law. Radical changes are afoot!