Jenseits des Wertekonsensus

Berliner Journal für Soziologie - Die Lesart von Parsons’ Theorie ist heute dominiert von einem normativistischen Modell sozialer Ordnung, wie es Parsons in der voluntaristischen...     

Identification of an unknown body by means of osteosynthesis material

The present case describes the identification of an unknown corpse recovered from water by means of two osteosynthesis plates with serial numbers. This method of identification is compared with the pros and cons of other possibilities of identification using medical findings. Although in Western Europe osteosynthesis material is normally removed some months after the operation, autoptic exposure of a suspicious bone may occasionally allow valid, fast and convenient identification of the body, especially if osteosynthesis material with different serial numbers was used.     

From alcohol to liquid ecstasy (GHB)--a survey of old and modern knockout agents. Part 3: gamma-hydroxybutyric acid ("liquid ecstasy")

Currently, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB/"liquid ecstasy") is frequently abused as a knockout substance. Its detection and the interpretation of the results present numerous problems which are illustrated by case reports. In this context, hair analysis and the increasing significance of gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) are also discussed.     

Validation of the STR DXS7424 and the linkage situation on the X-chromosome

X-linked microsatellite markers have proven to be powerful tools for parentage testing, mainly in deficiency paternity cases when the disputed child is female. However, only a small number of X-linked short tandem repeats (STRs) have been comprehensively described for forensic applications to date.We present sequence and population genetic data of the DXS7424 STR (GDB-G00-577-633) which is a trinucleotide repeat polymorphism representing 12 alleles of 147-180 bp in length. DXS7424 is located at Xq22 and closely linked to DXS101, corresponding to a genetic localisation of 104.9-121 cM from Xp-tel.PCR fragment length measurements and sequencing were carried out using the automatic gene analyser ABI 310 (Applied Biosystems).The population of 764 unrelated Germans checked for this STR exhibited the following features: polymorphism information content (PIC) = 0.780; heterozygosity (Het) = 0.843; mean exclusion chance (MEC = 0.766. Kinship tests revealed a typical X-linked inheritance. In 300 meioses under investigation, mutations were not found. Significant deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) were not established.Linkage studies confirmed closely linkage to DXS101. Additional we found linkage disequilibrium between DXS7424 and DXS101. This requires to use the established haplotype frequencies in kinship testing.     

Basic Personal Values Underlie and Give Coherence to Political Values: A Cross National Study in 15 Countries

Do the political values of the general public form a coherent system? What might be the source of coherence? We view political values as expressions, in the political domain, of more basic personal values. Basic personal values (e.g., security, achievement, benevolence, hedonism) are organized on a circular continuum that reflects their conflicting and compatible motivations. We theorize that this circular motivational structure also gives coherence to political values. We assess this theorizing with data from 15 countries, using eight core political values (e.g., free enterprise, law and order) and ten basic personal values. We specify the underlying basic values expected to promote or oppose each political value. We offer different hypotheses for the 12 non-communist and three post-communist countries studied, where the political context suggests different meanings of a basic or political value. Correlation and regression analyses support almost all hypotheses. Moreover, basic values account for substantially more variance in political values than age, gender, education, and income. Multidimensional scaling analyses demonstrate graphically how the circular motivational continuum of basic personal values structures relations among core political values. This study strengthens the assumption that individual differences in basic personal values play a critical role in political thought.     

Paternity analysis in deficiency cases with related putative fathers: simulation of a deficiency analysis in 27 families

During the last few years, the number of privately ordered paternity investigations has increased considerably. Probably due to financial reasons in more and more cases only the putative father and the child are investigated. Additionally, very often only one method, such as STR analysis, is employed. This raises the question whether such a reduced analysis leads to reliable and clear results when investigating cases with related putative fathers. We investigated 165 individuals from 27 families using the AmpFlSTRIdentifiler multiplex PCR and calculated the paternity probabilities of the children to their biological fathers, uncles, grand fathers and other relatives. In more than 30% less than three exclusions between child and relative were detected. In five cases no exclusions were found between child and uncle, always leading to paternity probabilities >99.9%. These results show that the calculation of high probabilities (>99.9%) does not necessarily lead to the accurate conclusion of fatherhood. In many of our cases misleadingly the brother of the real father or another close relative would have been declared to be the biological father.     

Duplications of the Y-chromosome specific loci P25 and 92R7 and forensic implications

In the present study, we demonstrate that two commonly used Y-chromosome single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), P25 and 92R7, are paralogous sequence variants (PSVs) originating from segmental duplications and that at least one of the sequence variants in each group of loci is polymorphic. Several methodologies were used in order to detect the SNP alleles and the PSVs of the loci. All results obtained with the various typing techniques supported the conclusion. The allele distributions of the binary markers were analysed in more than 600 males with seven different haplogroups. For P25, the ancestral allele C was found in several samples from different haplogroups. The derived allele A was always present with an additional C variant. Haplogroup P was defined by the derived allele A at the 92R7 locus. However, the ancestral allele G was always associated with an A variant due to the duplication.     

Molecular characterization and Austrian Caucasian population data of the multi-copy Y-chromosomal STR DYS464

DYS464 is a multi-copy STR system with four positions on the Y-chromosome (DYS464a, b, c, and d) which was recently identified and characterized [Forensic Sci. Int. 130 (2002) 97]. The aims of our study were to perform a population study, to estimate the mutation rate and an extensive sequence analysis in order to confirm the nomenclature. Fourteen different alleles were found in an Austrian population sample with an allele length varying from 9 to 19 repeats. All alleles were cloned and sequenced. Alleles 9-19 showed the general repeat structure (CCTT)n...(CCTT)2...(CCTT)3...(CCTT)4...(CCTT)2...(CCTT)2. The nomenclature is based on the number of repeated units of the variable (CCTT)n-stretch only. In 13% of the samples intermediate alleles, namely 14.3A, 14.3B and 15.3 were detected. In these alleles the variable repeat block is interrupted by a CTT motif (14.3A: (CCTT)3CTT(CCTT)11; 14.3B and 15.3: (CCTT)7CTT(CCTT)7/8). A comparison with GenBank entries revealed the existence of a length variant due to a deletion of one cytosine in the 5' flanking region of the first repeat block. We designed an alternative forward primer to circumvent possible ambiguities in the allele designation. A total of 54 different genotypes were identified in 135 men corresponding to a discrimination capacity (DC) of 40% and a gene diversity (GD) of 0.97. These values are much higher than those of other Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (Y-STRs). DYS464 has the same haplotype diversity (HD) as the combination of the five Y-STR loci with the lowest gene diversities of the Y-STR core set. On the other hand, a combination of the three most diverse loci (DYS464, DYS385 and DYS390) has the same capacity to distinguish between paternal lineages than the complete minimal haplotype (minHT) consisting of eight Y-STR loci. In our population sample the addition of DYS464 to the minHT increases the number of different haplotypes from 110 to 122. The mutation-rate estimate based on the 70 meioses analyzed amounts to 2.86 x 10(-2) (95% confidence interval 3.5 x 10(-3) to 9.95 x 10(-2)). This value is approximately 10 times higher than the average mutation-rate estimate for Y-STRs.