Assessing the Risk of Secondary Transfer Via Fingerprint Brush Contamination Using Enhanced Sensitivity DNA Analysis Methods

Experiments were performed to determine the extent of cross‐contamination of DNA resulting from secondary transfer due to fingerprint brushes used on multiple items of evidence. Analysis of both standard and low copy number (LCN) STR was performed. Two different procedures were used to enhance sensitivity, post‐PCR cleanup and increased cycle number. Under standard STR typing procedures, some additional alleles were produced that were not present in the controls or blanks; however, there was insufficient data to include the contaminant donor as a contributor. Inclusion of the contaminant donor did occur for one sample using post‐PCR cleanup. Detection of the contaminant donor occurred for every replicate of the 31 cycle amplifications; however, using LCN interpretation recommendations for consensus profiles, only one sample would include the contaminant donor. Our results indicate that detection of secondary transfer of DNA can occur through fingerprint brush contamination and is enhanced using LCN‐DNA methods.     

Abbott's Gambit: 2013 Australian Federal Election

Abbott's Gambit: 2013 Australian Federal Election . Edited by Carol Johnson and John Wanna (with Hsu‐Ann Lee) (Canberra: Australian National University Press 2015), pp.436, AU$35.00 (pb).     

Russia and South Ossetia: conferring statehood or creeping annexation?

Abstract

Events in Ukraine have distracted international attention from the ongoing Russian involvement in the unresolved conflicts of the South Caucasus. This article explores the intensification of relations between South Ossetia and Moscow, focusing on the extent to which South Ossetia exists as a functioning state entity. Are the authorities in Tskhinvali able to provide vital services such as defence and control over ‘state’ borders and territory without Russian involvement? What has been happening in South Ossetia is important, despite being overshadowed by events in Ukraine, as it is indicative of what may well occur in eastern Ukraine: a simmering separatist conflict that is far more than a domestic territorial dispute, with both regional and international implications.     

Use of laser microdissection greatly improves the recovery of DNA from sperm on microscope slides

Traditionally, sperms are isolated from vaginal cell mixtures by preferential extraction methods. Although these methods work well when there is a reasonable amount of DNA present, they are problematic when there are limited amounts (ca. 250 pg). In particular, the analysis of sperm from microscope slides has proven difficult. Here, we describe the use of laser capture microdissection (LM) for the isolation of spermatozoa from microscope slides containing sperms and vaginal cells. Such slides are frequently an important source of evidential material during the forensic investigation of rape and other sexual assaults. Low copy number (LCN) PCR was used to compare profiles of sperm DNA prepared using LM and preferential lysis. LM was found to outperform preferential lysis in 15 out of 16 samples. The application of LM to the processing of actual casework slides, and in particular the potential use of LM for the analysis of old cases, is discussed. Finally, 77 post-coital slides were processed in order to accurately assess the robustness of the technique. There was a significant association between the quality of the male profile recovered and time since intercourse that was independent of the number of sperms analysed, suggesting that the DNA was degraded even though the spermhead was intact.     

Applying the Theory of Reasoned Action to Domestic Violence Reporting Behavior: The Role of Sex and Victimization

Domestic violence is a serious social issue that affects one in every four relationships. Interventions for victims and abusers are contingent upon reporting of the violence, but many cases are never reported. The theory of reasoned action may offer a model for understanding reporting behavior in adolescents and young adults. In a sample of 891 adolescents and young adults, social norms and attitudes were predictive of reporting intentions and subsequently, reporting behavior. For the purposes of this study, reporting behavior was defined as reporting the domestic violence to any individual not directly involved, which could include law enforcement personnel or other individuals who may provide assistance. Understanding how attitudes and social norms affect reporting behavior could be helpful for agencies serving individuals affected by domestic violence.     

Droplet-based optical trapping for cell separation in mock forensic samples

Optical tweezers have a wide range of uses for mechanical manipulation of objects in the microscopic range. This includes both living and static cells in a variety of biomedical and research applications. Single-focus optical tweezers, formed by focusing a laser beam through a high numerical aperture immersion objective, create a significant force, which enables controlled transport of a variety of different cell types and morphologies in three dimensions. Optical tweezers have been previously reported to capture and separate spermatozoa from a reconstituted simulated postcoital sample. We report herein the development of a simplified, more efficient cell transfer protocol that can separate and isolate both spermatozoa as well as leukocytes, with similar efficiencies as those previously reported. The new cell transfer method was used to separate sperm cells from a reconstituted mixture of spermatozoa and vaginal epithelial cells, with complete STR profiles developed from 50 cells with little evidence of contribution from the female contributor to the mixture. This modified protocol was then used to separate 21 samples of enriched leukocytes, with trapped cells ranging from 5 to 22 cells. Complete STR profiles were developed from as few as 10 leukocytes. Thus, with minimal sample preparation and a short trapping time, this method has the potential to provide an alternative to traditional differential extraction methods for separation of sperm:nonsperm mixtures while also providing versatility for separation of cells with differing morphologies.     

An investigation into the applicability of the Ward and Siegert Pathways Model of child sexual abuse with Internet offenders

Abstract

This study examined the applicability of the Ward and Siegert (Psychology, Crime & Law, 8, 319–351, 2002) Pathways Model of Sexual Offending to a sample of Internet offenders. The Pathways Model identifies five etiological pathways, each with primary psychological deficits that interact to create a vulnerability to sexual offending behavior. The applicability of this model was tested on a sample of 72 cases drawn from a community sample in England and Wales, via the analysis of primary and associated psychometric indicators of pathway membership. Sixty per cent of men in the sample were found to display dysfunctional psychological mechanisms (43 cases). Two pathways were found to be particularly prominent: the intimacy deficits pathway and the emotional dysregulation pathway. The implications for future treatment and the appropriateness of current treatment programs for this population are examined in the light of these findings.     

Young People,Children, Politics and Space: A Decade of Youthful Political Geography Scholarship 2003–13

This review essay covers a decade of scholarship developed by geographers who engage with children, young people and politics. It first outlines the boundaries within which the review was conducted. It then sets the scene of the starting points in 2003 of the when and where of the scholarship of children's and young people's political geographies. Section 3 provides focus on a wide range of contributions made in order to stake a claim within the wider discipline of Geography and explores the connections made with, and conceptions drawn from, feminist geography. Section 4 examines the ways in which the field has been expanded through conceptualisation and deconstruction of taken-for-granted approaches. Here, the intellectual value of reconsiderations or innovations of the concepts of scale, child and childhood, politics, agency, articulation, geopolitics and critical geopolitics are excavated and explicated. The paper ends with concluding thoughts and pointers towards the next decade of youthful political geographies and provides an extensive reference list covering a wide range of work on the subject.     

Qiagen's Investigator™ Quantiplex Kit as a Predictor of STR Amplification Success from Low‐Yield DNA Samples,

Qiagen's Investigator? Quantiplex kit, a total human DNA quantitation kit, has a 200‐base pair internal control, fast cycling time, and scorpion molecules containing a covalently linked primer, probe, fluorophore, and quencher. The Investigator? Quantiplex kit was evaluated to investigate a value under which complete short tandem repeat (STR) failure was consistently obtained. Buccal swabs were extracted using the Qiagen QIAamp^® DNA Blood Mini Kit, quantified with the Investigator? Quantiplex kit using a tested half‐volume reaction, amplified with the ABI AmpFlSTR^® Identifiler kit, separated on the 3100Avant Genetic Analyzer, and data analyzed with GeneMapper^® ID v.3.2. While undetected samples were unlikely to produce sufficient data for statistical calculations or CODIS upload (2.00 alleles and 0.82 complete loci on average), data may be useful for exclusionary purposes. Thus, the Investigator? Quantiplex kit may be useful for predicting STR success. These findings are comparable with previously reported data from the Quantifiler? Human kit.