Genetic data on 11 STRs (CSF1PO,TPOX, TH01, F13A01, FESFPS,vWA, D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, F13B,LPL) in an Argentine northeast population

Allele frequencies for 11 short tandem repeats (STRs) loci (CSF1PO, TPOX, TH01, F13A01, FESFPS, vWA, D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, F13B and LPL) were obtained from a sample of 225 unrelated individuals born in the Entre Ríos state of Argentina.     

Forensic determination of hair deposition time in crime scenes using electron paramagnetic resonance

Several types of biological samples, including hair strands, are found at crime scenes. Apart from the identification of the value and the contributor of the probative evidence, it is important to prove that the time of shedding of hair belonging to a suspect or victim matches the crime window. To this end, to estimate the ex vivo aging of hair, we evaluated time‐dependent changes in melanin‐derived free radicals in blond, brown, and black hairs by using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR). Hair strands aged under controlled conditions (humidity 40%, temperature 20–22°C, indirect light, with 12/12 hour of light/darkness cycles) showed a time‐dependent decay of melanin‐derived radicals. The half‐life of eumelanin‐derived radicals in hair under our experimental settings was estimated at 22 ± 2 days whereas that of pheomelanin was about 2 days suggesting better stabilization of unpaired electrons by eumelanin. Taken together, this study provides a reference for future forensic studies on determination of degradation of shed hair in a crime scene by following eumelanin radicals by utilizing the non‐invasive, non‐destructive, and highly specific EPR technique.     

Trust, Distrust and Betrayal: A Social Housing Case Study

This paper discusses the importance of trust, distrust and betrayal in the context of relational contracts in the modern welfare state. We use a specific case study of the allocation of social housing. That context is one in which the local authority has statutory obligations towards households in housing need but limited ability to fulfil those obligations without reliance on other social housing providers, specifically registered social landlords. Relationships between providers are, in theory, negotiated through nominations agreements. In this paper, we draw on data from a research project concerned with 'problematic nominations' to illustrate the production of trust, distrust and betrayal. Our analysis is structured by reference to three frameworks for the production of trust: characteristic-based, process-based and institutional based trust.     

‘A Figure of Annihilated Human Existence’: Agamben and Adorno on Gesture

In this paper, I consider Giorgio Agamben’s essays on gesture, and the loss of gesture, in relation to Theodor Adorno’s account of gesture given in his work on Kafka. I argue that both share an account of gesture as an involuntary, yet non-intentional figure of a generalised destruction of experience. However, in their respective accounts of an emphatic possibility that can be located in the loss of gesture, Agamben and Adorno move in fundamentally different philosophical directions. For Agamben, the loss of gesture opens up the possibility of a space of existing within the pure possibility of speaking itself. For Adorno, the loss of gesture returns us to a reified embodiment that can nevertheless image the possibility of a different way of relating to materiality. I argue that, in the attempt to immanently construct forms of resistance within a generalised destruction of experience, Agamben’s articulation of an absolute gesturality tends towards an immuring of the subject within the repetitive space of what Adorno terms ‘objectless inwardness’. Although Adorno’s account of gesture and its relation to metaphysics and politics is equally problematic in many ways, I argue that his account of a metaphysical experience that appears within alienated gestures offers the possibility for moving beyond the destruction of experience.     

What is the goal of access to health care?

This article first examines the justifications for the goal of access to health care and the variations between health systems in their endorsement of individuals' rights to health care irrespective of income, ethnicity, age and other characteristics. It then examines the meanings of the goal of "access" to health care and considers four key dimensions--service availability ("having" access), service utilisation ("gaining" access), the relevance and effectiveness of services and equity of access. These dimensions provide a common framework that can be applied across countries and health systems and employed to assess the extent to which access to health care is actually achieved.     

The application of lead isotope analysis to bullet individualization in two homicides.

Bullets were characterized by lead isotope ratio analysis and trace element analysis in two homicides. In one case, we concluded that a fatal bullet did not share a common origin with bullets in a box of ammunition containing 24 cartridges taken from suspects. Evidence in the second case included two bullets from the crime scene and 163 bullets taken from various suspects. We were able to infer that the two bullets from the crime scene did not share a common origin and that they differed from all of the bullets taken from suspects. All of the suspects' ammunition had been reloaded as was evident both from trace and isotopic analysis and, indeed, from visual inspection.     

Contributions of Academic Research to Industrial Performance in Five Industry Sectors

Results are presented of a National Academy of Engineering consensus study that documents the contributions of academic research to the growth and competitiveness of five industries – aerospace; financial services; medical devices; network systems and communications; and transportation, distribution, and logistics services. Academic research has made substantial contributions in varying degrees to all five industries. These have ranged from graduates trained in modern research techniques, to fundamental concepts and “key ideas” out of basic and applied research, to the development of tools, prototypes, and marketable products, processes, and services. In network systems, there is a history of university involvement in serving as test beds for new networking concepts and in spawning firms. The academic medical center provides a distinctive environment for testing and incremental improvement of medical devices and for conducting essential clinical trials. In financial services, academic economics and mathematics research contributions have been important, in spite of the lack of a well-developed R&D infrastructure for the industry. Challenges and opportunities for enhancing academic research contributions are presented in the areas of regulatory research and innovation, service sector innovation, information technology, intellectual property rights, and the role and identity of the university.     

Tort, Insurance and Incoherence

Some commentators have doubted whether, as is generally believed, liability insurance has had a significant expansionary effect on the law of tort. This article contends that the common assumption is, indeed, correct, and the crucial influence of insurance is clearly seen in the recent cases of Vowles v Evans and Gwilliam v West Herts NHS Trust . Once this has been acknowledged, the consequent radical incoherence in the basis of tort law needs to be confronted. The argument here is that only through faithful adherence to principles of individual responsibility and corrective justice, inherent as these are within the structure of tort law, can we hope to preserve coherence in the law of tort.