STR data for the AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus loci from Murcia region (SE Spain)

Frequency data of the nine STRs included in the AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus Kit were determined in a sample of 114 unrelated individuals from Murcia region (SE Spain).     

Sequence structure of 12 novel Y chromosome microsatellites and PCR amplification strategies

In this work, we present sequencing data for 12 recently reported Y STR loci (DYS434, DYS435, DYS436, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, GATA A10, GATA 7.1, GATA 7.2, GATA C4, GATA H4, GATA A4), as well as the PCR multiplex strategies we implemented for their detection.Sequenced allelic ladders were constructed and a nomenclature for these new systems is proposed based on the sequence structure and following ISFG recommendations.GATA A4 and DYS439 are likely the same STR. They have the same STR structure and the alleles are always the same in the same individuals.Sequence polymorphisms were observed in the GATA C4 and DYS437 STRs. The variation in DYS437 was associated with a specific population group and is very interesting not only for forensic genetics but also for anthropological studies.     

Contribution for an African autosomic STR database (AmpF/STR Identifiler and Powerplex 16 System) and a report on genotypic variations

Allele frequencies, together with some parameters of forensic interest, for 17 STRs included in the AmpF/STR Identifiler (CSF1PO, D2S1338, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D19S433, D21S11, FGA, TH01, TPO and VWA) and Powerplex 16 System (CSF1PO, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D21S11, FGA, Penta D, Penta E, TH01, TPO and VWA) were estimated from a sample of 135-144 unrelated individuals from Mozambique. No deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were observed with the exception of the FGA locus (using the Bonferroni correction for the number of loci analysed, the departure observed at this locus was not significant). Comparative analyses between our population data and other African databases, namely Promega's African-Americans, AB Applied Biosystems African-Americans and two other population samples from Mozambique and Guiné Bissau, are presented and discussed. Genotype inconsistencies between both commercial kits (for D16S539 and D8S1179) and other genotypic variations (three-banded allele patterns for TPO) are also reported.     

The Elections of the Great Recession in Portugal: Performance Voting under a Blurred Responsibility for the Economy

Abstract

This article discusses the basic patterns of voting behaviour in the most recent elections in Portugal. These elections were fought under one of the most profound economic crises in the country's four decades of democracy, after a bailout agreement with the EU and the IMF, and under an unusually high level of campaign polarization around the issues of economic austerity and liberalization. First, the article examines whether this context ended up being favourable to “performance” voting or, instead, to an enhanced importance of position issues, particularly those related to the role of the state in the economy and welfare provision. Second, it examines how the context of the Great Recession and the European sovereign debt crisis created opportunities for incumbents to use blame-shifting and blame-sharing strategies, and the extent to which voters' ambivalence about who to hold responsible for the sorry state of the economy was consequential for vote choices, either by directly affecting them or by moderating the relationship between economic perceptions and the vote.     

Changes in human capital and earnings inequality: Recent evidence from Brazil 1

Abstract

This paper estimates changes in the rates of return to human capital across the earnings distribution using data from over a 10-year period for Brazil. It uses these estimates to simulate the separate impacts of changes in returns to skills and changes in the supply of skills on earnings inequality. Evidence points strongly to growing inequality in rates of return to education in Brazil. This finding suggests that recent macroeconomic and trade reforms have been of most benefit to the skilled rather than the unskilled. Supporting evidence points to an improved competitiveness in the labour market, with workers increasingly rewarded for productivity. However, although increases in returns to education are more pronounced at the top of the earnings distribution, this did not in practice led to increased inequality. This is because levels of education and other labour market-rewarded endowments have increased and offset the rate of return effect. Appropriate education policy is therefore an essential partner for macroeconomic and trade reform if a developing economy is to avoid worsening income inequality.     

Necropsy Findings in Dogs that Died During Grooming or other Pet Service Procedures

Procedures involved in grooming, bathing, and other pet services can often lead animals to death. Of the necropsies of 1391 animals carried out at a private diagnostic laboratory in Sao Paulo, Brazil from 2004 to 2009, 94 were dogs that died during the above‐mentioned procedures. Young male dogs and small breeds like Poodle Miniature, Yorkshire Terrier, and Lhasa Apso were most frequently observed. Blunt‐force trauma was responsible for the deaths of 31% of the animals, with a higher incidence of trauma to the head, characterized chiefly by fractures and nervous tissue lesions. In the other 69% of cases, the animals showed signs of stress, and died due to pulmonary edema and hemorrhage. As we cannot rule out the intentional character in some situations, this article provides veterinary forensic support for veterinarians and pet owners, especially in lawsuits, helping in finding the cause of animal's death in such pet services.     

Adaptation of the Basic Empathy Scale among a Portuguese sample of incarcerated juvenile offenders

The main aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES) and of its adapted short version among a forensic sample of incarcerated male juvenile offenders (N = 221). The Portuguese validations of the BES and its adapted short version demonstrated good psychometric properties, namely in terms of the two-factor structure, internal consistency, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and concurrent validity that generally justifies its use among this population. Statistically significant associations were found with callous–unemotional traits and social anxiety. Findings are discussed in terms of the use of the BES and its adapted short version with juvenile offenders.     

Evaluation of the composition of street cocaine seized in two regions of Brazil

This work evaluates cocaine purity and the concentration ranges of adulterants and inorganic constituents for 31 street cocaine samples seized in two different regions of Brazil from July 2008 to May 2010. Cocaine and adulterants, such as caffeine, lidocaine and benzocaine, were quantified by Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and the inorganic constituents were determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) and ion chromatography (IC). The cocaine concentrations in the samples seized in the Amazonas state (AM samples) ranged from 154 to 978 mg g^? 1, and these samples did not contain any of the adulterants studied. The cocaine concentrations in the samples seized in the Minas Gerais state (MG samples) ranged from 63.9 to 753 mg g^? 1. Caffeine was the main adulterant found in 76% of the MG samples, ranging in concentration from 5.5 to 645.3 mg g^? 1. Lidocaine was found in 66.7% of the MG samples, with concentrations ranging from 16.3 to 576.7 mg g^? 1. Benzocaine was found in only one MG sample, at a concentration of 84.8 mg g^? 1. Fourteen elements were identified by ICP-OES, and a wide variation was observed in the concentrations of Ca, Mg, Na, P, Al, Fe, Mn and Zn. Pearson Product–moment Correlations between the analytes allowed the constituents to be associated with the chemicals used in the manufacturing of cocaine and with some common diluents. The study of the purity of cocaine and the presence and concentration of adulterants and inorganic constituents is important because the latter can have deleterious effects on health.     

Brand response analysis: a Peircean semiotic approach

The purpose of this article is to organise and simplify the concept of brand response. It is a development of the authors' semiotic approach to the concept of brand, which uses a triadic model based on the Peircean levels of analysis of the sign. The original model distinguishes three levels: identity, object and response. This article briefly describes the first two levels and goes into more depth with regard to brand response. From the theoretical point of view, the authors' approach inverts the survey method used to ascertain positioning, image and value of the brand. Firstly, brand response is associations occurring in the minds of the reporting agent. Associations create awareness, and not the other way round, which is the concept underlying the current theory of brand equity. From the point of view of practice, it is the authors' belief that the main contribution made by the triadic semiotic model applied to brand response is that of the importance of “firstness”, i.e. the most immediate response possible. It is with a concern for ease of application that this article hopes to contribute by making brand analysis and assessment more intelligible. This article should be seen as an exploration into the possibility of simplifying the analysis of brand response. Its originality lies in the effort to return to the very reason for the existence of branding. The authors are convinced that by choosing differentiation as the guiding principle of their approach they have valorised what is essential, which is sometimes lost in more complex modelling.     

17 STR data (AmpF/STR Identifiler and Powerplex 16 System) from Cabinda (Angola)

Allele frequencies for seventeen STRs included in the AmpF/STR Identifiler (CSF1PO, D2S1338, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D19S433, D21S11, FGA, TH01, TPOX, and VWA) and Powerplex 16 System (CSF1PO, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D21S11, FGA, Penta D, Penta E, TH01, TPOX, and VWA) were estimated from a sample of 110 unrelated individuals from Cabinda, Angola. Comparative analyses between our population data and other African databases, namely Promega's African-Americans, AB Applied Biosystems African-Americans and five other population samples gathered from the literature are also presented.