Characterization of human DNA in environmental samples

Environmental samples from indoor surfaces can be confounded by dust, which is composed largely of human skin cells and has been documented to contain roughly tens of micrograms of total DNA per gram of dust. This study complements previous published work by providing estimates of the quantity of amplifiable human DNA found in environmental samples from a typical indoor environment, categorized by the intensity of human traffic and visible quantity of dust. Dust was collected by surface swabbing standard 576 cm² areas in eight locations, and evaluated for total DNA quantity, presence of human DNA (mitochondrial and nuclear loci using conventional PCR), quantity of human nuclear DNA using quantitative PCR, and STR analysis. The total DNA content of 36 dust samples ranged from 9 to 28 ng/cm², and contained 0.2–1.1 pg/cm² of human DNA. Overall, human DNA was detected in 97% of 36 dust samples and 61% of samples yielded allele distributions of varying degrees of complexity when subjected to STR analysis. The implications of this study are twofold. First, the presence of dust in evidence can be a significant contamination source in forensic investigations because the human DNA component is of sufficient quality and quantity to produce allele calls in STR analysis. This can be effectively managed by implementing stringent protocols for collection and analysis of potential biological samples. A second implication is the use of dust as a source of evidence for identification of inhabitants within a defined location. In the latter case, a number of additional studies would be necessary to identify relevant pretreatments for environmental dust samples and to develop the necessary deconvolution techniques to separate the composite genotypes obtained.     

Continuities in marital violence

Marital violence studies of clinical populations of battered women indicate that, over time, violence becomes an habitual strategy for resolving conflicts resulting in escalation in frequency and severity of violence. This study examines the issue of continuity of marital violence among a national probability sample of female victims and male offenders. Findings indicate that among the general population, approximately one-half of all marital violence is suspended over a three-year period. Predictors of marital violence continuity were also investigated in an exploratory way.     

Beautiful Day: Awakening to Responsibility

Recently published works, such Elaine Scarry's On Beauty and Being Just, have suggested the natural confederacy of the sensory appreciation of beauty and the achievement of social justice. Scarry (amongst others) has proposed that the opiated moment in which one is arrested by beauty's spell results in a ‘radical decentrification’, where under they who behold beauty are awakened to alterity and, consequentially, encouraged to realize an ethical agenda based upon just (sic) relations between people. The present article refutes the adequacy of the beauty - ethics - justice triptych and, instead, proposes that the entire variegated aesthetic quantum operates as the medium through which recognition of (in)justice reminds us of our responsibility to the other. As essentially inarticulate concepts, justice and responsibility are capable of ‘speaking’ to us through the channel of the aesthetic. The aesthetic is the plane of dialogue on which our felt appreciation of (in)justice prompts us to responsibility. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The examination of glass particles using the interference objective. Part 2: A survey of flat and curved surfaces

The microscopical examination of original surfaces on casework sized glass particles using an interference objective and the interpretation of their interferograms is discussed. To reduce subjectivity, a numerical criterion was devised to assess the curvature of glass particles and this was then applied to a survey of window, container, tableware and vehicle glasses. Objects with curved surfaces produced particles that were distinctly curved while those from surfaces of both modern and old windows were clearly identifiable as flat. Apparently flat surfaces from tableware and containers almost always yielded specimens that were detectably curved. In addition, there was no evidence that a fracture surface would be confused with an original surface from a plain flat glass.In a ‘blind’ trial to assess the interferometric routines, three examiners correctly identified flat and curved surfaces on 15 particles derived from a selection of glass objects.     

Australian Rules: The Rise of Rights and the Demise of the Right

Over a number of years there has been a public debate in Australia over the place of legal rights in the struggle for Indigenous economic, social and cultural gains. Most Indigenous leaders have called for a rights agenda as a solution to Indigenous disadvantage. However, one leader has been a vocal critic of this approach. This paper considers the possibility that although the debates may fundamentally represent different views as to how best to improve conditions for Indigenous Nations, they also represent differing approaches to harnessing the support of mainstream Australia in a politically conservative environment. In coming to this position, I am reminded of the arguments put by proponents of the Critical Legal Studies movement in US, that rights are merely abstractions, and the counter by Patricia Williams, a Critical Race Theorist, that as a result, they can be framed in a variety of ways and can take the form required by the community in which they are found. In Australia, minority groups must find an indexically-open vehicle, fitting to the Australian rhetorical structure(s), to represent their struggle for economic, social and cultural rights. Tracey Summerfield is a white woman born in Perth, Western Australia. Thanks to Stephanie Monck, a Kungarakan/Warramungu woman from the Northern Territory, who provided assistance and feedback on an earlier version. The views expressed here are, of course, those of the writer alone.     

A functional approach to sudden unexplained infant deaths

There is a great deal of variation in the methods and wording used by medical examiners in the medicolegal investigation and certification of infant deaths. This paper was created by the NAME Ad Hoc Committee on Sudden Unexplained Infant Death to address several specific issues, namely: * To establish a functional approach to the investigation of sudden unexplained infant deaths; * To outline a "bare minimum" set of recommendations to define the scope of investigation required; * To recommend methods and wording to be used when certifying infant deaths; * To develop a list of potential stressors or possible external causes of death that should be identified and reported on the death certificate and/or within a medical examiner/coroner office database. This paper was electronically posted for NAME member review and comment for a period of 30 days. The paper was further revised based on member comments and then submitted to the NAME board of directors in the fall of 2005 prior to the annual meeting. This text of this paper was officially approved and endorsed by the NAME board of directors on October 14, 2005, at the annual meeting in Los Angeles, CA.