Alternative direct-to-amplification cell lysis techniques for forensically relevant non-sperm cells

While efforts have been made to reduce the pervasive backlog of sexual assault evidence collection kits, the actual laboratory process remains very time-consuming due to the requirement of a differential lysis step before DNA purification, as well as intricate mixture analysis towards the end of the DNA workflow. Recently, an alternative, direct-to-amplification sperm lysis method (using 1 M NaOH) was identified. However, a direct cell lysis method for non-sperm cells has not been identified yet. Thus, the primary objective of this work was to find an alternative method that is quick, inexpensive, and does not require multiple purification steps for the lysis of non-sperm cells in sexual assault samples. In this study, vaginal swab samples were lysed with the control method, prepGEM™, as well as six alternative reagents: alkaline buffer with 25–200 mM NaOH, high-salt stain extraction buffer, modified radioimmunoprecipitation assay (RIPA) buffer, mammalian protein extraction reagent (M-PER™), digitonin buffer, and urea/thiourea buffer. Quantification using Quantifiler® Trio of vaginal and semen lysates revealed that the alkaline (25 mM NaOH) and M-PER™ methods were efficient for the lysis of vaginal epithelial cells without substantial sperm cell lysis. Following quantification, analysis of STR profiles from vaginal lysates revealed that the M-PER™ method showed promising results across all metrics examined, including the percentage of detected STR alleles, mean peak heights, peak height ratio, and interlocus balance. Thus, this method was recommended as an alternative to the traditional differential lysis method for non-sperm cells given its ability to produce amplification-ready lysates without any DNA purification step.     

Individual Conceptions of Public Service Motivation

Many scholars and practitioners of public administration converge on the belief that some individuals are predisposed to perform public service. James L. Perry (1996) recently clarified the public service motivation (PSM) construct and proposed a measurement scale. The present study builds on and extends this important stream of research by examining how individuals view the motives associated with public service. Specifically, we use an intensive research technique called Q-methodology to examine the motives of 69 individuals. We identify four distinct conceptions of PSM: individuals holding these conceptions are referred to as samaritans, communitarians, patriots, and humanitarians. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

In the laboratory of the states: the progress of Glucksberg's invitation to states to address end-of-life choice

It has now been ten years since the Supreme Court handed down Glucksberg and Quill, rulings on laws that forbid "assisted suicide." In that time, normative and legal developments in the fields of law, medicine, and psychology have changed the landscape of the discourse on the choice of a mentally competent, terminally ill individual to choose to self-administer medications to bring about a peaceful death. Although the Court rejected petitioners' claims that state laws denying them the ability to end their terminal illnesses through self-administered medication violated the Constitution, it left states with the opportunity to experiment with legislation that would allow terminally ill individuals the choices they had previously sought through litigation. Oregon's experience with its Death with Dignity Act, which grants terminally ill, mentally competent individuals the choice to end their lives through self-administered medication, has proven that such laws provide comfort not only to those who, faced with the prospect of a horrible death from a terminal illness, choose to end their lives in a peaceful and dignified manner, but also to those to ultimately choose not to. Additionally, Oregon's experience shows that the fears that originally attended the "assisted suicide" debate are unfounded so long as proper procedures are in place. Because Oregon's Death with Dignity Act has proven both useful and harmless, this Article concludes that it is time for other states to follow Oregon's lead and enact their own legislation to allow their citizens an alternative to what otherwise could be a prolonged and painful death from terminal illness.     

The King County (Washington) Systems Integration Initiative: A First Look at the Kent District Dual System Youth Pilot Program

King County is one of five counties in Washington State participating in the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's Models for Change juvenile justice reform initiative. One key aspect of King County's Models for Change participation involves ongoing “systems integration” work intended to improve how youth who have cross‐over involvement in multiple systems—e.g., juvenile justice, child welfare, education, mental health, and/or others—are handled. These cross‐over cases often present a range of challenges to juvenile courts including substantial risk factors that increase their likelihood of continuing system involvement. This article provides a first look at an emerging pilot project in King County that is intended to improve how cross‐over cases are handled by child welfare and juvenile probation with the longer term goal of improving outcomes for these difficult cases.     

It Takes a Village: Protecting Rural African American Youth in the Context of Racism

Prior research demonstrates negative consequences of racism, however, little is known about community, parenting, and intrapersonal mechanisms that protect youth. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study illuminated linkages between positive and negative contextual influences on rural African American adolescent outcomes. Quantitative results provide support for Structural Ecosystems Theory, in that the influence of discrimination and collective socialization on adolescent outcomes was mediated by racial socialization and positive parenting. Parenting and community influences contributed to adolescent racial identity and self image, which protected against common negative responses to racism; including academic underachievement, succumbing to peer pressure, and aggressive tendencies. Qualitative results indicate that current measures of discrimination may underestimate adolescents’ experiences. Adolescents reported racist experiences in the domains of school, peers, and with the police (males only). Moreover, qualitative findings echoed and expanded quantitative results with respect to the importance of the protective nature of parents and communities.

Advice about Life Plans from Mothers,Fathers, and Siblings in Always-Married and Divorced Families during Late Adolescence

The frequency of advice about life plans that older adolescents in always-married and divorced families received from mothers, fathers, and siblings was examined. Also, a pattern-analytic approach that grouped adolescents according to the amount of advice about life plans received from each parent and a sibling was employed to explore the connections between patterns of advice and adolescents' future occupational, educational, and family plans. The sample included 544 and 95 older adolescents in always-married and divorced families, respectively. Findings suggested that while adolescents relied on mothers for advice in both always-married and divorced families, adolescents in divorced families depended on fathers and siblings for advice less often than did adolescents in always-married families. Although there was some evidence of family context differences in the connections between patterns of advice and life plans, overall, adolescents in both family contexts who received more advice from a parent and, in some cases, a sibling compared to other adolescents were the most positive about their future life plans.