Y-chromosome STR system, Y-PLEX 12, for forensic casework: development and validation

The Y-PLEX 12 system, developed for use in human identification, enables simultaneous amplification of eleven polymorphic short tandem repeat (STR) loci, namely DYS392, DYS390, DYS385 a/b, DYS393, DYS389I, DYS391, DYS389II, DYS 19, DYS439 and DYS438, residing on the Y chromosome and Amelogenin. Amelogenin provides results for gender identification and serves as internal control for PCR. The validation studies were performed according to the DNA Advisory Board's (DAB) Quality Assurance Standards. The minimal sensitivity of the Y-PLEX 12 system was 0.1 ng of male DNA. The mean stutter values ranged between 3.76-15.72%. A full male profile was observed in mixture samples containing 0.5 ng of male DNA and up to 400 ng of female DNA. Amelogenin did not adversely affect the amplification of Y-STRs in mixture samples containing male and female DNA. The primers for the Y-STR loci present in Y-PLEX 12 are specific for human DNA and some higher primates. None of the primate samples tested provided a complete profile at all 11 Y-STR loci amplified with the Y-PLEX 12 system. Y-PLEX 12 is a sensitive, valid, reliable, and robust multiplex system for forensic analysis, and it can be used in human forensic and male lineage identification cases.     

Cerebrospinal fluid analysis in fatal thallium poisoning: evidence for delayed distribution into the central nervous system

The neurologic manifestations of thallium poisoning include a severely painful ascending peripheral neuropathy, autonomic dysfunction, cranial nerve abnormalities, and a toxic encephalopathy. Although thallium has a short half-life, these neurologic manifestations commonly progress, even as the blood concentration of thallium decreases. This suggests either that thallium persists in neuronal tissues or that it initiates an injury cascade that takes time to fully manifest. As the latter mechanism is consistent with many toxin exposures, the concept of a central nervous system reservoir for thallium is often discounted. A recent case provided a unique opportunity to evaluate this possibility. A 48-year-old man was acutely and chronically thallium poisoned by his common-law wife. During his initial exposures, only gastrointestinal symptoms manifested. Following an acute ingestion, hospitalization was required. Over 3 days, his symptoms rapidly progressed from a severely painful neuropathy to slurred speech, ptosis, confusion, coma, respiratory insufficiency, and death. Because of considerations of alternative diagnoses, 2 lumbar punctures were performed, one on admission and another on the day of his death. Serum thallium concentrations obtained from stored blood samples were paired with spinal fluid concentrations from the same days. On day 1, serum and spinal fluid concentrations were 8700 mu/L and 1200 mu/L, respectively. On day 3, although the serum concentration had fallen to 7200 mu/L, the spinal fluid concentration had increased to 2100 mu/L. This case provides evidence to support the hypothesis that thallium distributes into the central nervous system more slowly than the blood compartment, and this may in part account for the progression of neurologic findings in the setting of decreasing serum concentrations.     

Suicide with inert gases: addendum to Final Exit

Suicide by asphyxiation with a plastic bag placed over the head is a method that has been advocated by right-to-die groups. Recently, such groups have proposed the introduction of helium into the plastic bag as a means of hastening death. Helium is readily available at toy stores, where it is sold in tanks for balloon inflation. It produces asphyxiation by the exclusion of oxygen in enclosed spaces. We report 7 fatalities throughout an 18-month period involving plastic bag suffocation in conjunction with helium use. These fatalities coincide with publication of an update to a popular right-to-die text in which this method is described. Although right-to-die literature was absent from all scenes, this method was not previously observed in our jurisdiction, and the deaths likely reflect exposure to this information. Because of analytical difficulties in testing for helium in biologic specimens, death certification rests on scene investigation.     

Unmanaged care: towards moral fairness in health care coverage

Health insurers are generally guided by the principle of "actuarial fairness," according to which they distinguish among various risks on the basis of cost-related factors. Thus, insurers often limit or deny coverage for vision care, hearing aids, mental health care, and even AIDS treatment based on actuarial justifications. Furthermore, approximately forty-two million Americans have no health insurance at all, because most of these individuals cannot afford the cost of insurance. This Article argues that Americans have come to demand more than actuarial fairness from health insurers and are increasingly concerned by what I call "moral fairness." This is evidenced by the hundreds of laws that have been passed to constrain insurers' discretion with respect to particular coverage decisions. Legislative mandates are frequent, but seemingly haphazard, following no systematic methodology. This Article suggests an analytical framework that can be utilized to determine which interventions are appropriate and evaluates a variety of means by which moral fairness could be promoted in the arena of health care coverage.     

Characterization of surface organic components of human hair by on-line supercritical fluid extraction-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry: a feasibility study and comparison with human identification using mitochondrial DNA sequences

This paper discusses results of a supercritical fluid extraction-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SFE-GC/MS) study of small samples ( 100 microg to 1 mg) of human scalp hair. The method offers a number of benefits including greater sensitivity than liquid extraction methods because the entire extractable mass is transferred to the analytical system, compared with only a few percent from a conventional liquid extraction/injection. The project's goals were to determine if SFE-GC/MS analyses of the surface-extractable components of an individual's hair yield consistent chemical profiles and to investigate if the profiles are sufficiently different to distinguish them from those of other individuals. In addition, the mtDNA sequences from ten of the same individuals used in the SFE-GC/MS study from four family units were determined, and, while the families were distinguishable, the maternal relations yielded identical sequences. In tandem, SFE-GC/MS and mtDNA techniques may provide valuable complementary data from forensic hair samples.     

Evaluating the Dimensionality and Invariance of ”Low Self-Control”

According to Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) A General Theory ofCrime, all illegal activity is the manifestation of a single underlyingcause. The authors argue that inadequate child-rearing causes individualsto develop a similar type of propensity for criminal and analogousbehavior. Gottfredson and Hirschi label this characteristiclow self-control. Six dimensions, which can be identified intheir theory, are suggested to comprise a final low self-controltrait. Further, low self-control is proposed to be an invariantcharacteristic (i.e., its form does not change with the age of theindividual or context in which the person resides). In this research, weevaluate these two propositions. First, the six dimensions are measured andused to determine if a multidimensional model can explain another commonfactor—low self-control—in two samples of individuals (fromdifferent locales) with dissimilar mean ages. Second, low self-control inboth samples is tested for invariance. We test the proposed invariance oflow self-control by examining if the parameter values in a model, which isreflective of Gottfredson and Hirschi's conceptualization of thecharacteristic, differ across the two samples of individuals. The resultssupport both of Gottfredson and Hirschi's propositions. Lowself-control does appear to be a multidimensional characteristic whosedimensions represent another common factor. Low self-control also appears tobe an invariant latent trait that members of these two samplespossess. These tests help to clarify Gottfredson and Hirschi'sconceptualization of low self-control.     

Ethics and Public Sector Management: The Western Australian Experience

This paper considers two specific difficulties in developing a code of ethics for the public sector, the contested nature of the values to be expressed in a code of ethics and the organisational demands of a corporate managerialist framework which uses performance indicators. Using the example of the Western Australian public sector code of ethics, the authors conclude that a good strategy for developing a public sector code of ethics will recognise contestability, demonstrate philosophical integrity in the code, mesh the code with identified performance indicators and provide whistleblower protection. The strategy described provides a sufficient framework for any public sector bureaucracy to develop a justifiable code of ethics for use by public sector employees.