Privacy Act of 1974; new system of records--Department of Health and Human Services; Public Health Service. Notification of a new system of records: 09-25-0143

In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act, the Public Health Service (PHS) is publishing notice of a proposal to establish a new system of records, 09-25-0143, Biomedical Research: Records of Subjects in Clinical, Epidemiologic and Biometric Studies of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, HHS/NIH/NIAID. We are also proposing routine uses for this system. This system will be used to support (1) epidemiologic, clinical and biometric investigations into the causes, nature (morbidity and mortality), outcome, therapy and cost of infectious, immunologic and related diseases; (2) review and evaluation of the progress of these research projects, and identification and planning for improvements or for additional research. The population and statistical studies supported by this system may be conducted or managed by Institute staff as well as others outside the Institute. This system comprises records maintained in a number of distinct research projects. The number and specific nature of projects will change over time as new ones are started and as work on existing projects is completed.     

The use of technology in the transformation of business dispute resolution

The use of technology in dispute resolution mechanism can be viewed from two perspectives: first, as an aid in the conventional dispute resolution system, and second, as an online dispute resolution mechanism via the Internet. Online dispute resolution (ODR) is transforming the way disputes are being resolved, in particular, in business to consumer (B2C) transactions. ODR offers a more successful means of resolving e-commerce disputes. In fact, there is a new move by the Malaysian judiciary to transform its court system. Previously, the judiciary has been very conventional in its administration of justice, and the system is said to be slow and outdated. The court system in Malaysia has been frequently criticised because of its dilatoriness in resolving disputes, resulting in a large backlog of cases. To overcome these problems, the judiciary has introduced a new system called the e-court. New methods including as e-filing, electronic case management, queue management, and court recording and transcribing form the complete e-court mechanism.     

Weight of authorship evidence with multiple categories of stylometric features: A multinomial-based discrete model

This study empirically demonstrates the efficacy of a two-level Dirichlet-multinomial statistical model (the Multinomial system) for computing likelihood ratios (LR) for linguistic, textual evidence with multiple stylometric feature types with discrete values. The LRs are calculated separately for each feature type, namely, word, character and part of speech N-grams (N = 1,2,3), which are combined as overall LRs through logistic regression fusion. The Multinomial system’s performance is compared with that of a previously proposed system with the cosine distance (the Cosine system) using the same data (i.e., documents collated from 2160 authors). The experimental results show that: (1) the Multinomial system outperforms the Cosine system with the fused feature types by a log-LR cost of ca. 0.01 ～ 0.05 bits; and (2) the Multinomial system is more advantageous in performance with longer documents than the Cosine system. Although the Cosine system is more robust overall against the sampling variability arising from the number of authors included in the reference and calibration databases, the Multinomial system can achieve reasonable stability in performance; for example, the standard deviation value of the log-LR cost becomes lower than 0.01 (10 random samplings of authors for the reference and calibration databases) with 60 or more authors in each database.     

Legal Validity Qua Specific Mode of Existence

The author investigates how the conception of legal validity as a specific mode of existence, adopted by Kelsen in Allgemeine Theorie der Normen (General Theory of Norms), can be reconciled with a conception of the legal system in which conflicts of legal norms remain of logical concern. To this end he makes use of Ludwig Wittgenstein's picture theory of the proposition as set out in the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. The conclusion is that in order to reconcile the two conceptions, the legal system itself must be conceived of as consisting of three sub-systems, namely, (i) a sub-system of perceptible legal judgments, (ii) a sub-system of valid legal conditions, and (iii) a sub-system of observable social practices.     

欧盟商标法律制度的协调机制及其对我国的启示

在欧盟,既有各成员国国内的商标法律制度,又有欧盟的跨国商标法律制度即共同体商标条例,并设有将这两种商标法律制度协调运行的机制。该机制的核心主要有三个方面：一是优先注册权制度,即在一成员国有效的商标,或者同时又是共同体商标,权利人可以享有将同一商标在相同商品或服务上优先注册共同体商标的权利,或者优先注册其他成员国国内商标的权利;二是转换申请制度,即共同体商标的申请人或所有人在其申请失败或其商标失效时请求将该申请或商标转换成国内商标申请的情况;三是共同体商标特有的诉讼管辖和法律适用制度。欧盟所建立的这种复式商标法律制度及其协调机制,对于“一国两制”下的中国大陆、香港、澳门和台湾四法域商标法律制度的协调具有重要的借鉴作用。     

体外受精胎胚的法律地位研究

人工辅助生殖技术的出现导致双轨生殖体制的形成,对传统法律制度提出了挑战,各国纷纷以立法应对。其中最核心的法律问题就是受精胎胚的法律属性问题。各国在理论以及实践中分别作出不同的回答,包括主体说(分为有限自然人说和法人说)、客体说(分为财产说和私生活利益说)以及中介说。其中中介说作为一种最有解释力的理论为多数国家关于人工辅助生殖的立法奉行。采用中介说,是我国民法立法的不二选择。     

Characterization and validation studies of powerPlex 2.1, a nine-locus short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex system and penta D monoplex

In order to increase the power of discrimination for human identification purposes, a nine-locus short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex, the GenePrint PowerPlex 2.1 system (PowerPlex 2.1) developed by Promega Corporation and a separate pentanucleotide-repeat locus, Penta D, were tested. This megaplex system includes the highly polymorphic loci FGA, TPOX, D8S1179, vWA, Penta E, D18S51, D21S11, TH01, and D3S1358 and may be used in combination with the eight-locus STR multiplex, the GenePrint PowerPlex 1.1 system (PowerPlex 1.1) that has been previously developed. Three of the loci, TPOX, TH01 and vWA, have been included in both systems for quality control purposes. As with PowerPlex 1.1, PowerPlex 2.1 is also based on a two-color detection of fluorescent-labeled DNA products amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and provides a valuable tool for accurate and rapid allele determination. The primer sequences used in the PowerPlex 2.1/Penta D system are also presented in this report. To meet the "Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories" (FBI), we tested the efficiency and reproducibility of the PowerPlex 2.1/PentaD system by several validation studies that were conducted as a joint project among seven laboratories. Validation tests included concordance studies, sensitivity, and species specificity determination, as well as performance in forensic and environmentally impacted samples. The results produced from these tests demonstrated the consistency and reliability of the PowerPlex 2.1/Penta D system.     

传染病控制与国际法

全球化时代控制传染病这一公共健康问题必须进行国际合作才能解决。WTO及其SPS协议在控制通过国际货物贸易传染疾病方面有一些法律机制。国际卫生条例(IHR)是约束WHO成员国防止传染病蔓延的主要国际法律机制。世界卫生组织针对传染病的新形势,对国际卫生条例进行了修改,其修改集中于:(1)扩大各国报告义务范围;(2)加强对非官方信息的依赖;(3)各国出现紧急状态时,WHO采取什么控制方式、建议还是其他;(4)争端解决方式。此外,还有信息、媒体、人权等其他一些法律问题。     

自然保护地立法的体系化:问题识别、逻辑建构和实现路径

建立中国特色国家公园体制以及以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系是中共十八届三中全会提出的重点改革任务,而推进自然保护地立法体系化是2019年《关于建立以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系的指导意见》中的明确要求。自然保护地作为国家履行环境保护义务而运用区划工具进行管理的一种公物,其体系化建设是实现改革目标的要求。立法的体系化不仅是达到保护目标的现实需求,而且也是法律体系化在自然保护地领域的有效延伸。自然保护地立法的体系化包括形式意义的体系化(即结构的体系化)和实质意义的体系化(即功能的体系化)。结构的体系化是指通过立改废释等方式,构建全面完整的自然保护地立法框架;功能的体系化是指将各项法律功能分配给相应的法律法规,该功能的实现需要在自然保护地内部法律法规之间进行合理配置,也需要与外部相关法律之间形成有效衔接。唯此,自然保护地立法的体系化才能推动以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系和中国特色国家公园体制的建成。     

刑事裁判权主体初论

刑事裁判权的主体是裁判机关,但其又依靠具体裁判组织行使职权。我国法院与裁判组织设置方面存在法院地方化、审判委员会裁判案件、陪审员虚置等问题,笔者提出的完善建议是:1.将法院的人事权和财政权收归法院系统,依据司法管区设置地方法院;2.调整审判委员会职权,取消其裁判重大疑难案件的权力,并建立同级法官会审制度;3.陪审员应当有权参与庭前审查工作,并针对部分案件设立陪审团制,使其与原来的参审制形成优势互补。     

Towards a Theory of Institutionalized Judicial Exceptionalism

What happens when the exception becomes the norm, what happens when the law becomes a form for that which cannot have a legal form, that is, the political? The focus of this article is a form of power politics that is institutionalised and set up to work side by side with the existing legal system as a sort of normalized, co‐ordinated court procedure, initiated with the aim of subjecting specific groups (terrorists, criminals) to extended regulatory control and enforcement. These strategic bureaucratic mechanisms of exclusion appear as security enforced measures, which side by side with the existing ‘normal’ legal system govern a specific judicial‐political area. The normalised (or rooted, if one wishes) incorporation of extra‐judicial authority within the legal system will in the article be refered to as institutionalised judicial exceptionalism. The purpose of the article is to theorise and conceptualise the in many ways murky or indistinct phenomenon of institutionalised judicial exceptionalism.This task includes suggesting a model capable of assimilating within its theory the displacement in the relationship between the state, the law and the citizen that stems from the fact that the ever more securitized discourses on terrorism and crime increasingly take priority over the ordinarily non‐derogable principle of equality before the law.     

System-Justifying Functions of Complementary Regional and Ethnic Stereotypes: Cross-National Evidence

According to system justification theory, stereotyping is an ideological process that serves to justify the status quo and bolster the legitimacy of the existing social order. The present research investigates the system-justifying role of complementary stereotypes in which high-status groups are represented as agentic and achievement-oriented and low-status groups as communal and interpersonally oriented. We demonstrate that such complementary stereotypes: (a) reflect a high degree of consensus across high- and low-status perceiver groups; (b) are endorsed more strongly to the extent that system justification motives are chronically or temporarily activated; and (c) serve an ideological function by enhancing the perceived legitimacy of the existing social system. Evidence concerning regional and ethnic stereotypes in Italy, England, and Israel provides converging evidence for the system-justifying function of complementary stereotypes and reveals remarkable similarity in the contents of stereotypes of different groups that happen to occupy similar status positions in their respective societies.     

The New Zealand Model of Family Group Conferencing

The Family Group Conference (FGC) originated in New Zealand where it is the foundation stone of the Youth Justice system introduced in 1989. A significant feature of that system is the way in which it enables restorative justice principles to be implemented in an integrated manner in a statutory framework supervised by the courts and applicable to all young offenders throughout New Zealand. FGCs are used both as a diversionary technique (pre-adjudication) and at a (post-adjudication) pre-sentencing stage. In addition this type of model is now being applied in a voluntary way but on a small scale with adults. A significant feature of the FGC model is its greater use of community-based solutions with a consequent reduction in the number of young persons in state institutions.     

Genetic variation and population genetic data of the short tandem repeat locus D8S320

The locus D8S320 is an STR system first described in 1993 as a simple (AAAG) repeat. Sequencing data revealed that the D8S320 locus is a complex STR system consisting of (AAAG)- and (AAAC)-repeat units. A total of 22 different alleles were found in a population survey of 210 unrelated individuals from the Rhine area with frequencies ranging from <0.01 to 0.198. The population data revealed the existence of variant alleles differing by 1 and 2bp from the consensus allele. Due to the complex repeat structure consisting of three variable regions and one constant region, electrophoresis under denaturing conditions is strongly recommended. The statistical values were calculated to be 0.89 (observed heterozygosity rate), 0.96 (discrimination index) and 0.71 (mean exclusion chance). No deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) was observed.     

Identification of unknown bodies by using CT images of frontal sinus

The aim of the study was to define a simple system for the identification of unknown bodies by using CT images of frontal sinus and to discuss whether it was worth to add measurements to the system or not. The system was including simple features as F (presence or absence of frontal sinus), S (intersinus and intrasinus septum) and S (scalloping), and named as FSS system. Measurements selected for the study were width, height, anteroposterior length, total width of two sinuses, the distance between the highest points of the two sinuses and the distance of each sinus to its maximum lateral limit. The study was conducted retrospectively on the paranasal CT scans of 100 cases (38 male and 62 female) who had no apparent sinonasal pathology. All the features and measurements were coded according to the system defined by the authors for each case and coded formulas were compared. At least 93% of the formulas could be eliminated for a case by using FSS system. The rate of success was increased to 98% by adding measurements. Contrary to objective criteria of FSS system, measurements were prone to bias. Therefore, in practice success rate would be expected to be lower than calculated. In the study population, instead of making 100 measurements, eliminating the most of the cases with FSS system and later discriminating the rest by pattern matching was seen logical.     

The Implementation of the Measures of Criminal Responsibility in the Care of Juveniles in the German Democratic Republic (GDR)

The implementation (execution) of punishment forms part of the system of combatting and preventing crime, and has the objective to contribute—by means of a strong influence exerted by the state as well as by society on the lawbreaker—to a positive development of the process of probation and compensation and, consequently, to the prevention of further criminal acts (Art. 2 (2) of the Penal Code). Of particular importance is the consistent implementation of the measures with regard to juveniles who have to experience in this way that the penalty which has been awarded them is actually implemented.     

Going for the throat: Carnivore in an Echelon World — Part I

Carnivore is a surveillance technology, a software program housed in a computer unit, which is installed by properly authorized FBI agents on a particular Internet Service Provider’s (ISP) network. The Carnivore software system is used together with a tap on the ISP’s network to “intercept, filter, seize and decipher digital communications on the Internet”. The system is described as a “specialized network analyzer” that works by “sniffing” a network and copying and storing a warranted subset of its traffic. In the FBI’s own words “Carnivore chews on all data on the network, but it only actually eats the information authorized by a court order”. This article, in two parts, will provide an overview of the FBI’s Carnivore electronic surveillance system. The Carnivore software’s evolution, its ‘prey’ and the system’s relationship with Internet Service Providers will be the focus of the study. (Although the FBI’s Carnivore surveillance system is now officially called DCS1000, as the surveillance system is more commonly referred to as “Carnivore”, that term will be used throughout). Also addressed in the article are misconceptions about Carnivore, publicly available sniffer programs, Carnivore’s functionality, methods to counter Carnivore as well as the software’s limitations. In addition, the pertinent American law allowing for wiretapping and electronic surveillance as well as programs and policies outside the United States regarding electronic surveillance are surveyed, and an overview of ECHELON, the global interception and relay system, is provided. The aim is to provide the paper’s readers with a better understanding of these surveillance systems: naturally, only through an in-depth knowledge can the benefits and dangers they present for the public (government), private (individual communications users) and technical industry (ISPs) be understood.     

基于GIS的都市应急疏散系统

我国是灾害频发的国家之一。自然灾害如近日发生的印度洋大海啸、工业事故以及潜在的恐怖袭击等严重威胁都市人民的生命安全。一旦发生重大灾害性事件，往往需要在短时间内安全地进行大规模紧急疏散高密集人群。实施科学的应急救灾策略，是减少灾害（事故）后果严重性的重要措施之一。本文提出了基于时变动态流的网络优化模型，该模型以最短疏散时间为目标函数，同时对疏散路径、疏散目的地以及疏散开始时间进行优化。并以此优化模型为基础，初步建立了基于GIS的大规模应急疏散系统。该系统可以模拟优化各种灾害条件下最优应急疏散策略，为政府有关部门在城市建设和城市防灾规划中的决策提供科学依据。该系统可用于城市应急规划设计和实时应急管理指挥。     

法学教育的历史使命与重新定位

法律人才的培养取决于法学教育的正确定位和不断创新。应摈弃狭义的法学教育的概念 ,重新界定和建构法学教育的新概念。法律人才培养体制改革的当务之急是 :第一 ,与法律职业部门的教育培训机构共同构建法律职业教育共同体 (如组建国家司法学院和省级司法学院 ) ;第二 ,尽快建立与司法考试制度相适应、相配套的法律职业教育制度和法律职业培训制度 ;第三 ,尽快制定法律人才培养质量评价制度 ,组建法律教育专家委员会