Population data for 15 Y-chromosome STRs in a population sample from Quito (Ecuador)

Population frequencies for the 9 Y-STR loci included in the "minimal haplotype" from Y-STR Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD), plus other 6 Y-STRs (DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, GATA A7.2, GATA H4 and GATA A10) were obtained for a sample of 120 males from Quito (Ecuador). One hundred and sixteen unique haplotypes were identified within the sample. Haplotype diversity (0.9994) was among the highest in comparison to other populations from Iberia and South-America. Genetic distances were calculated and our sample presented significative differences with all other samples, the lowest values being with a Guinean sample.     

Effectiveness of comparison overlays generated with DentalPrint software in bite mark analysis

Validation studies of the new DentalPrint software were carried out with experimental bite marks in pigskin. The bite marks were digitally photographed according to the ABFO guidelines for evidence collection. Dental casts used in the experiment were scanned in 3D and 2D, and comparison overlays were generated using DentalPrint and Adobe Photoshop software, respectively. Digitized photographs of the experimental bite marks and the biting edges obtained in the overlays were compared by two different examiners to analyze the impact of training and experience with the two methods. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, sensitivity, specificity, and 95% confidence intervals for each cutoff point were calculated. The expert examiner using DentalPrint obtained the best results, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.76 (SE=0.057; CI at 95%=0.652-0.876). Fairly high specificity values were found for DentalPrint, and the best results were obtained for the cutoff value that discriminated between the examiner's response "biter" and the rest of the possible (specificity 97.9%, CI at 95%=93.2%-99.6%). Therefore, the results presented here indicate that DentalPrint is a useful, accurate tool for forensic purposes, although further research on the comparison process is needed to enhance the validity of bite mark analysis.     

Legislative Twitter Style: Electoral Vulnerability,Social Media,and Constituency-Building in Large Multimember Electoral Systems

How do legislators use social media to cultivate their constituencies in large multimember electoral districts? Colombia's Senate nationwide district offers a suitable case to examine how lawmakers, through their behaviour on Twitter, geographically target their audiences. We employ microblog user geolocation methods which infer locations using textual content in order to identify where Colombian senators' Twitter ‘home’ is. We find that senators' location targeting on Twitter largely mirrors the geographical distribution of their votes. Deviations from that pattern mostly stem from their vulnerability to intraparty competition and the nature of their parties' organisation.     

Non-monetary obstacles to medical care: Evidence from postpartum contraceptives

We use changes to Medicaid immediate postpartum policy to test whether non-monetary costs are meaningful obstacles to health care. Medicaid in several states currently covers long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs, including IUDs and implants) immediately following delivery of a child, eliminating much of the time-cost and stress associated with obtaining a LARC. Postpartum LARCs can reduce unintended and short-interval pregnancies, which are associated with adverse neonatal outcomes. Births that occur in Catholic-owned hospitals are an ideal control group, because these hospitals are prohibited from offering family-planning services, including LARCs. Using difference-in-differences and individual-level administrative data from Louisiana and New York, we find eliminating non-monetary obstacles increases take-up of a high-value and highly effective form of contraception. Additionally, we find no evidence of crowd-out of outpatient LARCs.     

Development Cooperation and Dependency: An Analysis of Brazilian-Spanish Cooperation in Latin America Between 2010 and 2018

Based on analysis of Brazilian-Spanish cooperation in Latin America, this article aims to contribute to the discussion on whether South–South Cooperation (SSC) represents an alternative model with specific and differentiated objectives, or if it largely reproduces the constraints and interests traditionally associated with the North–South model, but with new institutions and actors. We start by analysing the main criticisms levelled at cooperation in the literature, emphasising the identification, review and comparison of the mechanisms of domination and dependency that derive from the bilateral and multilateral practices of traditional development cooperation. We then construct a synthetic dependency index to measure the ability of Spain and Brazil – as representative cases of North–South Cooperation (NSC) and SSC with Latin America – to influence the foreign trade, investment and foreign policy decisions of aid recipients, and to empirically contrast the lower level of verticality that much of the available literature assumes about SSC schemes. The empirical analysis suggests significant differences between NSC and SSC in terms of their ability to reproduce dependency patterns and validate the discourse that tends to identify the latter as an alternative cooperation model.