Minimal Y-chromosome haplotypes plus DYS287 in Jewish populations

POPULATION: A total of 71 Jewish individuals obtained from the collection of The National Laboratory for the Genetics of Israeli Populations at Tel-Aviv University: 14 Ashkenazi, 21 Sephardic (from Turkey), 23 North African (from Morocco, Libya and Tunicia) and 13 Oriental (from Iraq and Iran).     

Genetic polymorphisms at four STR loci from the HLA region in a Venezuelan population

POPULATIONS: Whole blood samples from 74 unrelated healthy individuals were collected. The donors' sample included Venezuelan mestizos from various regions of the country, but mostly from the resident population of Caracas City. A Venezuelan mestizo is the offspring of a mating between a native Venezuelan and a person born in Europe, mainly in Spain.     

Results of the 2003-2004 GEP-ISFG collaborative study on mitochondrial DNA: focus on the mtDNA profile of a mixed semen-saliva stain

We report here a review of the seventh mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) exercise undertaken by the Spanish and Portuguese working group (GEP) of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG) corresponding to the period 2003-2004. Five reference bloodstains from five donors (M1-M5), a mixed stain of saliva and semen (M6), and a hair sample (M7) were submitted to each participating laboratory for nuclear DNA (nDNA; autosomal STR and Y-STR) and mtDNA analysis. Laboratories were asked to investigate the contributors of samples M6 and M7 among the reference donors (M1-M5). A total of 34 laboratories reported total or partial mtDNA sequence data from both, the reference bloodstains (M1-M5) and the hair sample (M7) concluding a match between mtDNA profiles of M5 and M7. Autosomal STR and Y-STR profiling was the preferred strategy to investigate the contributors of the semen/saliva mixture (M6). Nuclear DNA profiles were consistent with a mixture of saliva from the donor (female) of M4 and semen from donor M5, being the semen (XY) profile the dominant component of the mixture. Strikingly, and in contradiction to the nuclear DNA analysis, mtDNA sequencing results yield a more simple result: only the saliva contribution (M4) was detected, either after preferential lysis or after complete DNA digestion. Some labs provided with several explanations for this finding and carried out additional experiments to explain this apparent contradictory result. The results pointed to the existence of different relative amounts of nuclear and mtDNAs in saliva and semen. We conclude that this circumstance could strongly influence the interpretation of the mtDNA evidence in unbalanced mixtures and in consequence lead to false exclusions. During the GEP-ISFG annual conference a validation study was planned to progress in the interpretation of mtDNA from different mixtures.     

A Critical Comment on Niskanen's Model

Niskanen's model has been largely criticized, but it still remains a standard explanation of bureaucracy's behaviour. In this paper we criticize the monopoly power that Niskanen assigns to the bureaucracy. A bilateral monopoly between bureaucrats and politicians might be a much more adequate framework for explaining the bureaucracy's behaviour than Niskanen's original formulation of a perfect discriminating bureaucracy. In a bilateral monopoly model, in no case the type of relationship which holds between the sponsor and the bureau leads to an oversupply of output. Should an excess output occur, it would be a consequence of the political decision-making mechanisms. This result stands in sharp contrast to the Niskanen's model, but, at the same time, it is coherent with the fact that, when the sponsor introduces control and monitoring mechanisms, the sponsor does not pretend to decrease the output but rather to supervise and to reduce the costs of producing the output.     

Networking and Technology Transfer in the Spanish Ceramic Tiles Cluster: Its Role in the Sector Competitiveness

The ceramic tile cluster industry in Spain has actually a global turnover of approximately 3.000 M Euros of which a 60% is exported. Its annual growth has been around a steady 20% the last five tears. In spite of the traditional Italian technology leadership, the clusterization of this industry in Spain (90% of the producers are located in a 40 km geographical circle) has altered these traditional R&D roles. The increasing rate of technology transfer and co-operation, which is taking place, especially in the product development area, has enabled this change. This paper will aim to analyze the cluster competitiveness and the technology formal and informal cooperation networks, which have been established during the last twenty years in the industry and especially in the enamelling and decoration sub sector. A critical variable relates to product and design development. An outstanding fact has been the technology demand-pull movement exerted from the producers (200 firms mostly SMEs) and the consequent quick product development cycles observed in the latest sectoral fairs.     

Apport de l'immunoelectrophorese pour l'expertise des taches de sang en medecine legale

Conclusive evidence was obtained in this study that immunoelectrophoresis could be used in the identification of blood-stains in two particular cases: for diagnosis or approach to diagnosis of the age of a blood-stain, and for diagnosis of the human origin of a blood-stain that had been treated with petroleum products.Although many aspects should be investigated in more detail, it is certain that this method can be employed in combination with other methods.