A collaborative study of the EDNAP group regarding Y-chromosome binary polymorphism analysis

A collaborative study was carried out by the European DNA Profiling Group (EDNAP) in order to evaluate the performance of Y-chromosome binary polymorphism analysis in different European laboratories. Four blood samples were sent to the laboratories, to be analysed for 11 Y-chromosome single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): SRY-1532, M40, M35, M213, M9, 92R7, M17, P25, M18, M153 and M167. All the labs were also asked to submit a population study including these markers. All participating laboratories reported the same results, indicating the reproducibility and robustness of Y-chromosome SNP typing. A total of 535 samples from six different European populations were also analysed. In Galicia (NW Spain) and Belgium, the most frequent haplogroup was R1b*(xR1b1,R1b3df). Haplogroup F*(xK) is one of the most frequent in Austria and Denmark, while the lowest frequency appear in Belgium. Haplogroup frequencies found in this collaborative study were compared with previously published European Y-chromosome haplogroup data.     

“Staatswirtschaftslehre”—A Component of “Staatswissenschaften” Today and Tomorrow

The paper starts from problems of reorganization of the Welfare State. The second paragraph contains definitions and materials. The third paragraph turns to the development of Staatswissenschaften, especially to cameralistic views, public choice and deregulation. The fourth section deals with present Staatswirtschaftslehre as a component of Staatswissenschaften. The fifth paragraph is focussed on deregulation and reorganization of the state.The paper demonstrates: Staatswissenschaften and Staatswirtschaftslehre will be important academic disciplines also tomorrow, though the State will be reorganized by privatization, non-government-organizations and rearrangements of private and public sector activities under the conditions of new technologies and open markets.     

Homicide by burning

Compared to the total number of deaths by heat (burning, scalding), homicides by the direct effect of thermal energy (setting the victim on fire, pouring hot liquids over them) are rare; accordingly this subject is seldom dealt with in forensic and criminological literature. From our own autopsy material three cases are presented describing some peculiarities of homicide by heat. Sometimes additional findings (e.g., residual traces of gagging or tying) primarily point in the direction of homicide.     

Simulation of homicide to hide child's suicide

A case of pretending a homicide to conceal a child suicide is reported in which characteristic findings of the postmortem examination and conclusions from the analysis of forensic autopsy series provided substantial support for the police investigation. In the late night hours of a spring day the police authorities were informed that a 10-year-old girl had been found dead on a playground near its parents' house. As injuries of the neck were recognized by the police officers a homicide investigation was initiated. The post mortem examination showed a furrow symmetrically slanting from the front to the nape of the neck, discrete punctate haemorrhages of the skin of the face and numerous 'tram-line' bruises of the back, buttocks and extremities. These findings indicated as cause and manner of death suicidal hanging following corporal punishment. Confronted with these conclusions the mother immediately made a corresponding confession.     

Secondary combined suicide viewed by the wife]

A 47-year-old man was found dead at the bottom of a wall outward the door of the cellar of his house. Preliminary physical examination at the scene of the death revealed a laceration of the scalp, an incised wound in front of the neck and several stab wounds in the left chest penetrating through the clothing. Questioned by the police his wife told that her husband who suffered from severe depression had inflicted the incised and the stab wounds himself, had made an unsuccessful attempt at self-strangulation and had finally jumped down from the wall beside the stairs declining to the cellar of their house. As the circumstances of the scenario were suspicious and as the pattern of injuries arose doubts concerning self-infliction homicide was taken into consideration as well. Autopsy showed additional hesitation marks adjacent to the left end of the incised wound in front of the neck. The stab wounds of the chest were restricted to the region of the heart and displayed only minimal penetration of the chest-wall, findings characteristic of self-infliction. As a consequence the manner of death could be determined as prolonged suicide, and exact reconstruction was possible with the help of the wife's testimony.     

Acheiving Full Employment: Four Perspectives

Books reviewed in this article.
Samuel Bowles, David M. Cordon, and Thomas E. Weisskopf, Beyond the Wasteland: A Democratic Alternative to Economic Decline
Economic Report of the President 1981
Helen Cinsburg, Full Employment and Public Policy: The United States and Sweden
Elliot Jaques, Free Enterprise, Fair Employment