Quantifiler observations of relevance to forensic casework

The Quantifiler (QF) kit is regularly used by forensic scientists for DNA quantitation. We performed in-house validation studies which revealed some interesting observations. The QF standard displayed a two-fold difference between two different lot numbers which suggests that every standard should be tested prior to use. The Promega K562 DNA standard works well with the QF kit. c. 41% of samples that inhibited the internal PCR control (IPC) system within the QF kit still produced good Profiler Plus reactions. QIAquick was effective at removing inhibitors. The presence of dyes within casework samples were observed not to inhibit QF amplifications. Template DNA greater than 100 ng/muL appeared to inhibit the IPC. Close to identical concentration results were obtained when alternative analysis settings were used. These validation findings will assist DNA processes involved in forensic casework.     

Beta-tryptase and quantitative mast-cell increase in a sudden infant death following hexavalent immunization

The association between sudden infant death syndrome and immunization is frequently discussed. Serious adverse events following vaccination have generally been defined as those adverse events that result in permanent disability, hospitalization or prolongation of hospitalization, life threatening illness, congenital anomaly or death. They are generally referred to the inherent properties of the vaccine (vaccine reaction) or some error in the immunization process (programme error). The event could also be totally unrelated but only temporally linked to immunization (coincidental event). A fatal case of a 3-month-old female infant, who died within 24 h of vaccination with hexavalent vaccine is presented. Clinical data, post-mortem findings (acute pulmonary oedema, acute pulmonary emphysema), quali-quantitative data collected from immunohistochemical staining (degranulating mast cells) and laboratory analysis with a high level of beta-tryptase in serum, 43.3 microg/l, allows us to conclude that acute respiratory failure likely due to post hexavalent immunization-related shock was the cause of death.     

International Environmental Agreements for biodiversity conservation: a game-theoretic analysis

This paper contributes to the emerging literature on International Environmental Agreements with an analysis of key characteristics for biodiversity conservation. We study three features that are specific to an international conservation agreement: the existence of a natural upper bound of conservation in each country, the importance of local benefits, and the subadditivity of the global conservation function. We consider asymmetries in benefits and costs of conservation and, separately, in the upper bound of conservation in each country, and we examine the impacts of these features on coalition stability and on the effectiveness of biodiversity agreements. Results show that subadditivity of the global conservation function can lead to larger stable coalitions. The inclusion of a transfer scheme that might be implemented through, e.g., international trade of biodiversity credits, can have an impact on coalition composition and can improve conservation outcomes and the size of stable coalitions in certain ranges of the parameter space.     

A lesson from the JOBS program: Reforming welfare must be both dazzling and dull

The Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program created by the Family Support Act (FSA) of 1988 made considerable progress in expanding opportunities for welfare recipients to go to school, train for employment, and seek work. Yet federal and state officials sought further welfare reform because they were impatient with a program that was costly and produced little evidence of positive outcomes; they realized that the FSA did not address perverse incentives in the AFDC program; and they saw political gains to be reaped from reform itself. It concludes that successful reform requires leaders who can articulate a vision of welfare that dazzles enough to motivate many layers of actors and who can pay attention to the dull management details of implementing it.     

事业单位的改革--中国可以向OECD国家借鉴的经验

中国庞大而多样化的“事业单位”(PSUs)与核心政府一样都是公共服务系统,它有别于其他的国有或国家赞助的组织如国有企业、国有商业机构以及国家赞助的一些“社会组织”等。继国企改革和核心政府改革之后,事业单位的改革成为改革的第三个主要步骤,目的是要改革公共部门的组织结     

Developmental Changes in Adolescents’ Perceptions of Relationships with Their Parents

This 4-wave longitudinal study examines developmental changes in adolescents’ perceptions of parent–adolescent relationships by assessing parental support, conflict with parents, and parental power. A total of 951 early adolescents (50.4% boys) and 390 middle adolescents (43.3% boys) participated. Univariate and multivariate growth curve analyses showed that support declined from early to middle adolescence for boys and girls and increased from middle to late adolescence for girls, while stabilizing for boys. Conflict was found to temporarily increase during middle adolescence. Parental power (relative power and dominance of parents) decreased from early to late adolescence. Results indicated that: (1) parent–adolescent relationships become more egalitarian during adolescence, (2) parents perceived by adolescents as powerful are viewed as supportive, especially in early adolescence, and (3) perceived conflict with parents is related to but not an impetus for changes in parent–adolescent relationships towards more equality.

Linkages Over Time Between Adolescents' Relationships with Parents and Friends

This 5-wave longitudinal study examines linkages over time between adolescents’ perceptions of relationships with parents and friends with respect to support, negative interaction, and power. A total of 575 early adolescents (54.1% boys) and 337 middle adolescents (43.3% boys) participated. Path analyses mainly showed bidirectional associations between adolescents’ perceptions of parent–adolescent relationships and friendships with a predominantly stronger influence from parent–adolescent relationships to friendships than vice versa in early to middle adolescence and an equal mutual influence in middle to late adolescence. The findings support the theoretical ideas that perceptions of relationships with parents generalize to perceptions of relationships with friends and that relationship skills and principles of adolescent friendships generalize to relationships with parents. Furthermore, the results indicate that the influence of parents decreases, whereas the influence of friends increases, and that both social worlds become equally important and overlapping towards late adolescence.     

Social Impact Bonds: Blockbuster or Flash in a Pan?

Despite the general hype, Social Impact Bonds’ (SIB) rate of adoption is still modest. The mismatch between widespread interest and actual adoption raises interesting questions as to whether we are still in the early adoption phase of SIBs and massive diffusion is yet to come, or we are observing a marginal phenomenon. In order to shed some light on this issue, the paper provides a review of the cases in which the SIB model has been already applied, exploring the specific configuration employed, with the purpose to identify regular configuration patterns and their deviation from a prototypical structure.     

Age-related differences when measuring political hypocrisy

This article aims to develop a scale for measuring political hypocrisy (conceptualized as the inconsistency between values publicly expressed by politicians and the behavior they actually demonstrate) and to explore the role of age in voters' perceptions of politicians' hypocrisy, analyzing if citizens belonging to different age groups may identify politicians' hypocrisy with a different detail. Results show that the 19-item scale of political hypocrisy—composed of three dimensions, called “ambiguity,” “slyness,” and “deceit”—has good psychometric properties, and that age-related differences when measuring political hypocrisy do exist (young voters show a greater awareness of the hypocritical behavior held by politicians). Furthermore, results suggest that the perception of political hypocrisy may vary according both to voters' political orientation and voting intention.     

‘Looking back,i wouldn’t join up again’: the lived experiences of police officers as victims of bias and prejudice perpetrated by fellow staff within an english police force

ABSTRACT

Women, ethnic minority and LGB police officers often experience prejudice, disadvantage and exclusion within police forces because of their perceived ‘otherness’ in a predominantly white, heterosexual, male organisation. In the context of an increasingly diverse service, the paper argues that the concept of intersectionality is important in order to understand the experiences of police officers who encounter bias and prejudice because of their multiple, intersecting identities. Drawing on data from qualitative interviews with 20 individuals based in an English police force, the paper examines their occupational experiences of bias, discrimination and exclusion perpetrated by their colleagues and supervisors. Utilising the ‘exit, voice and loyalty’ model, the paper analyses how police officers are affected by, and respond to these experiences. Taken together, these arguments lay the foundation for future work to further understand the experiences of police officers as victims of bias and prejudice due to their multiple, intersecting identities.