Allele frequencies of six miniSTR loci in the population of Northern Portugal

A possible approach to try to recover information from degraded DNA is to reduce the size of the PCR products by designing primers that bind as close as possible to the STR repeat region, known as miniSTRs. Allele frequencies and forensic parameters for the six miniSTRs loci D1S1677, D2S441, D4S2364, D10S1248, D14S1434 and D22S1045 were investigated in a sample group consisting of 228 anonymous apparently healthy unrelated individuals living in North of Portugal. The results show that all loci were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The combined power of discrimination and power of exclusion for the six loci were 0.99999 and 0.9789, respectively. All but one (D4S2364) loci showed a moderate degree of polymorphism (observed heterozygosity >0.6). The allele sizes ranged between 66 and 118 bp in our population, which is beneficial for typing degraded samples than those of a commercial STR kit.     

Mediators of male violence toward female intimates

The purpose of this study was to compare perceived life stressors, alcohol usage, and perceived quality of the intimate relationship of a group of males who have abused their female intimate with a group who have no history of abuse toward their partner. Interviews were conducted with 42 men who were defined as violent and 50 men who were defined as nonviolent. Interviews consisted of various demographic and health questions as well as standardized instrumentation (Michigan Alcoholism Screen Test, Autonomy/Relatedness Scale, Life Experiences Survey, and Conflict-Tactics Scale). Student's t tests indicated that the two groups differed as a function of perceived life Stressors, perceived quality of the intimate relationship, race, and depression. Stepwise logistic regression indicated that higher perceived quality of the intimate relationship, black race, and greater depression were significant predictors of male violence toward female intimates.     

Indignation or Resignation: The Implications of Transparency for Societal Accountability

International organizations, policy experts, and nongovernmental organizations promote greater governmental transparency as a crucial reform to enhance accountability and curb corruption. Transparency is predicted to deter corruption in part by expanding the possibilities for public or societal accountability, that is, for citizens and citizens associations to monitor, scrutinize, and act to hold public office holders to account. Although the societal accountability mechanism linking transparency and good government is often implied, it builds on a number of assumptions seldom examined empirically. This article unpacks the assumptions of principal‐agent theories of accountability and suggests that the logic of collective action can be used to understand why exposure of egregious and endemic corruption may instead demobilize the demos (i.e., resignation) rather than enhance accountability (i.e., indignation). We explore these theoretical contentions and examine how transparency affects three indicators of indignations versus resignation—institutional trust, political involvement, and political interest—given different levels of corruption. The empirical analyses confirm that an increase in transparency in highly corrupt countries tends to breed resignation rather than indignation.     

Population data of five STRs in three regions from Portugal

Allele and haplotype frequencies of five chromosome STR loci (CD4, TPO, FES, TH01 and VWA) were determined for unrelated males throughout Portugal. This report presents STR data for three separate regions of Portugal, being the first time that data on the south of the country is presented. This study reveals that the three regions from Portugal are not genetically homogeneous. The north of Portugal presents significant differences in the CD4 locus, when compared with the other two populations. When compared with Madeira and A?ores, the three regions show a different behavior at TPO and VWA loci.     

Arthropods of Forensic Importance on Pig Carrion in the Coahuilan Semidesert,Mexico

Abstract: This is the first report of an ongoing research to establish a sarcosaprophagous arthropod database in the Coahuilan semidesert. Seven pigs (Sus scrofa L.) were used as human models to determine succession in an open urban area during the 2007 winter–spring period. Arthropods were collected manually and from pitfall traps. Carcass biomass loss, as well as arthropod colonization, was recorded during 71 days postmortem. Five decomposition stages were identified during which most abundant orders were found to be Diptera, Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera. Lucilia sericata (Meigen), Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart), Necrobia rufipes (DeGeer), Dermestes maculatus (DeGeer), Pheidole hyatti Emery, and Pogonomyrmex rugosus Emery stood out as dominant species.     

Coping Strategies in Young Male Prisoners

The general aim of this study is to analyze diverse aspects relating to the use of coping strategies among prison inmates. The specific objectives are (a) to analyze which type of coping strategies predominate among prisoners, considering both the focus and the method; (b) to relate the use of coping strategies with variables related to the prison environment: time spent in prison, previous convictions (first-time vs. repeat offenders) and custodial status (remand vs. convicted inmates); (c) to relate the coping strategies with the appraisal of the stressing situation previously described by the prisoners; and (d) to relate the cognitive level to the strategies used. The sample is composed of 107 males between 18 and 25 years of age in the Centre Penitenciari de Joves de Barcelona (Spain). The coping strategies were analyzed by means of the Coping Responses Inventory Adult Form (CRI-Adult; Moos, R.H. (1993). Coping Responses Inventory. CRI-Adult Form. Manual. Psychological Assessment, Resources, Inc., Odessa, FL.). The data indicate that the predominant strategies are those of cognitive approach. Likewise, it was found that there was a certain relationship between the appraisal of the problem described and the strategies used. The variables time spent in prison and previous convictions influenced the use of specific coping strategies. No connection between coping strategies and the intellectual level was found.     

Results of the GEP-ISFG collaborative study on the Y chromosome STRs GATA A10, GATA C4, GATA H4, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS460 and DYS461: population data

The Spanish and Portuguese ISFG Working Group (GEP-ISFG) carried out a collaborative exercise in order to asses the performance of two Y chromosome STR tetraplexes, which include the loci DYS461, GATA C4, DYS437 and DYS438 (GEPY I), and DYS460, GATA A10, GATA H4 and DYS439 (GEPY II). The groups that reported correct results in all the systems were also asked to analyse a population sample in order to evaluate the informative content of these STRs in different populations. A total of 1020 males out of 13 population samples from Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Macao, Mozambique, Portugal and Spain were analysed for all the loci included in the present study. Haplotype and allele frequencies of these eight Y-STRs were estimated in all samples. The lowest haplotype diversity was found in the Lara (Argentina) population (95.44%) and the highest (99.90%) in Macao (China). Pairwise haplotype analysis showed the relative homogeneity of the Iberian origin samples, in accordance with what was previously found in the European populations for other Y-STR haplotypes (http://www.ystr.org). As expected, the four non-Caucasian samples, Macao (Chinese), Mozambique (Africans), Costa Rica (Africans) and Argentina (Lara, Amerindians), show highly significant Phist values in the pairwise comparisons with all the Caucasian samples.