Forensic Identification of CITES Protected Slimming Cactus (Hoodia) Using DNA Barcoding

Slimming cactus (Hoodia), found only in southwestern Africa, is a well‐known herbal product for losing weight. Consequently, Hoodia extracts are sought‐after worldwide despite a CITES Appendix II status. The failure to eradicate illegal trade is due to problems with detecting and identifying Hoodia using morphological and chemical characters. Our aim was to evaluate the potential of molecular identification of Hoodia based on DNA barcoding. Screening of nrITS1 and psbA‐trnH DNA sequences from 26 accessions of Ceropegieae resulted in successful identification, while conventional chemical profiling using DLI‐MS led to inaccurate detection and identification of Hoodia. The presence of Hoodia in herbal products was also successfully established using DNA sequences. A validation procedure of our DNA barcoding protocol demonstrated its robustness to changes in PCR conditions. We conclude that DNA barcoding is an effective tool for Hoodia detection and identification which can contribute to preventing illegal trade.     

Another look at across-crime similarity coefficients for use in behavioural linkage analysis: an attempt to replicate Woodhams,Grant, and Price (2007)

Abstract

In the absence of physical evidence, investigators must often rely on offence behaviours when determining whether several crimes are linked to a common offender. A variety of factors can potentially influence the degree to which accurate linking is possible, including the similarity coefficient used to assess across-crime similarity. The current study examines the performance of two similarity coefficients that have recently been compared to one another, Jaccard's coefficient (J) and the taxonomic similarity index (Δ_s), using samples of two crime types, serial homicide (N=237) and serial burglary (N=210). In contrast to previous research, the results indicate that Δ_s does not significantly outperform J with respect to linking accuracy. In addition, both coefficients lead to higher levels of linking accuracy in cases of serial homicide compared to serial burglary. Potential explanations for these findings are presented and their implications are discussed.     

Has the Shift to Managed Care Reduced Medicaid Expenditures? Evidence from State and Local‐Level Mandates

From 1991 to 2009, the fraction of Medicaid recipients enrolled in HMOs and other forms of Medicaid managed care (MMC) increased from 11 percent to 71 percent. This increase was largely driven by state and local mandates that required most Medicaid recipients to enroll in an MMC plan. Theoretically, it is ambiguous whether the shift from fee‐for‐service into managed care would lead to an increase or a reduction in Medicaid spending. This paper investigates this effect using a data set on state‐ and local‐level MMC mandates and detailed data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on state Medicaid expenditures. The findings suggest that shifting Medicaid recipients from fee‐for‐service into MMC did not on average reduce Medicaid spending. If anything, our results suggest that the shift to MMC increased Medicaid spending and that this effect was especially present for risk‐based HMOs. However, the effects of the shift to MMC on Medicaid spending varied significantly across states as a function of the generosity of the state's baseline Medicaid provider reimbursement rates.     

Approaches to Women and Development in Rural China

In this paper I analyze the language and concepts framing approaches taken by the Chinese women's movement to women and rural development. Until the late 1990s the language adopted by Chinese women's organizations concerned with rural development was quite different from that of development agencies elsewhere, but since that time it has become increasingly similar. In this paper I ask: to what extent did the earlier language of Chinese women's development activists point to understandings and practices that were different from those of the global development movement? And what might be the significance of the growing convergence between the two?     

Risky Sexual Behavior: A Race-specific Social Consequence of Obesity

Scant attention has been given to the consequence of actual weight status for adolescents’ sexual wellbeing. In this article, we investigate the race-specific connection between obesity and risky sexual behavior among adolescent girls. Propensity scores and radius matching are used to analyze a sample of 340 adolescents aged 16–17 who participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Young Adult Survey in 2000 or 2002. Nearly even numbers of these participants identified as white and black (183 and 157, respectively). We find that compared to their non-obese white peers, obese white adolescent girls exhibit higher rates of multiple sex partners and sex with older partners, and are also less likely to use condoms. None of these factors are significantly related to high BMI within the black sample. These findings indicate that the negative social consequences of obesity extend beyond future economic and marriage outcomes to adolescent white women’s sexual outcomes. They also highlight the importance of context: the implications of being obese during adolescence depend on cultural meanings of obesity.     

Aggressive Parental Discipline Experienced in Childhood and Internalizing Problems in Early Adulthood

Parental use of aggressive discipline, specifically corporal punishment (CP) and psychological aggression (PA), has been shown to increase the risk for a number of problem behaviors in children and adolescents. How CP and PA experienced in childhood contribute to adverse developmental outcomes in adulthood remains to be understood. Survey data collected from University of Manitoba students (n?=?1133) was used to assess the effects of childhood experiences of CP and PA on internalizing problems (i.e., depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem) in early adulthood. Because aggressive disciplinary techniques do not occur in isolation, a number of protective factors were also considered in analyses. Both CP and PA were associated with lower levels of parental warmth/support and responsiveness, and more inconsistency in discipline. However, highly inductive parents tended to use CP and PA more frequently than less inductive parents. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that childhood PA predicted anxiety and lower self-esteem in adulthood, even after the effects of positive parenting were taken into account. These findings suggest that not only do CP and PA tend to occur within environments that are less conducive to positive development, but also predict problematic developmental outcomes in adulthood even after the effects of protective factors are taken into account.     

Verfassungspolitologie?

Die Verzahnung von Recht und Politik durch die hybride Institution der Verfassung würde für ihre Erforschung auch ein klar politikwissenschaftliches Terrain er?ffnen. Doch Verfassungsfragen gelten in ?sterreich weitgehend als Juristenfragen, weswegen zahlreiche Themenfelder einer „Verfassungspolitologie“ allein der Rechtswissenschaft überlassen werden, die jedoch in ihrer Betrachtung normativer Fragen über eine spezifische Sicht der Dinge verfügt. Der vorliegende Beitrag versucht unter Einbezug der jüngsten Studienreformen eine Darstellung des Status quo ?sterreichischer Verfassungsforschung und -lehre und empfiehlt nicht zuletzt aus demokratiepolitischen Gründen eine explizit politologische Verfassungsanalyse sowie mehr Kooperation zwischen Rechts- und Politikwissenschaft.     

HOW EFFECTIVE ARE COURT‐AFFILIATED DIVORCING PARENTS EDUCATION PROGRAMS? A META‐ANALYTIC STUDY

In this meta‐analytic study, we looked at all empirical studies that examined the effectiveness of court‐affiliated divorcing parents education programs (DPEs). Overall, we found that DPEs were generally effective. Nineteen studies with a DPE treatment group and no‐treatment control group had an overall significant moderate positive effect (d= .39); those who participated in DPEs were about 50% better off in terms of program outcomes compared to those who did not participate. The studies examined five specific outcomes: co‐parenting conflict, parent‐child relationships, child well‐being, parent well‐being, and relitigation; with most of these specific outcomes we found significant moderate effects ranging from d= .19–.61. However, there were important methodological limitations in this body of research, which are discussed. While more research is needed to confirm the positive potential of DPEs, we probably know enough to justify continuing and even increasing support for this recent social policy innovation.     

Sex Equality as Substantive Justice

Books reviewed in this article:
Sandra Fredman, Women and the Law
Aileen McColgan, Just Wages for Women