Validation of Real‐time PCR Assays for Bioforensic Detection of Model Plant Pathogens

The U.S. agricultural sector is vulnerable to intentionally introduced microbial threats because of its wide and open distribution and economic importance. To investigate such events, forensically valid assays for plant pathogen detection are needed. In this work, real‐time PCR assays were developed for three model plant pathogens: Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tomato, Xylella fastidiosa, and Wheat streak mosaic virus. Validation included determination of the linearity and range, limit of detection, sensitivity, specificity, and exclusivity of each assay. Additionally, positive control plasmids, distinguishable from native signature by restriction enzyme digestion, were developed to support forensic application of the assays. Each assay displayed linear amplification of target nucleic acid, detected 100 fg or less of target nucleic acid, and was specific to its target pathogen. Results obtained with these model pathogens provide the framework for development and validation of similar assays for other plant pathogens of high consequence.     

Tyrosine Hydroxylase TH01 9.3 Allele in the Occurrence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in Swiss Caucasians

Catecholamines, especially noradrenalin, are essential in the control of respiration and arousal. Thus, an impaired production of these neurotransmitters may contribute to the occurrence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The first step of the noradrenergic synthesis pathway is catalyzed by the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). The TH‐encoding gene contains a tetrameric short tandem repeat in intron 1 (TH01), with allele 9.3 reported to be associated with SIDS in German infants. We investigated the allelic frequency of the TH01 marker in 171 Swiss SIDS infants and 500 healthy and gender‐matched Caucasian adults. In our study population, the allelic frequency of the 9.3 allele is similarly distributed in SIDS cases and controls (27.2% vs. 25.6%; p‐value = 0.562). Nevertheless, the TH‐encoding gene is only one of several genes involved in the noradrenergic biosynthesis pathway. Therefore, further genetic investigations are required with focus on the whole noradrenergic signaling system.     

The Race to Punish in American Schools: Class and Race Predictors of Punitive School-Crime Control

Despite the general agreement that US schools have become increasingly punitive since the 1980s, researchers are uncertain about what types of schools use tough-on-crime measures. Some assert that punitive control is concentrated in poor, predominantly ethnic minority schools. Governing-through-crime scholars argue that US schools with mostly middle-class and white students are also punitive, but in less harsh ways using soft surveillance techniques. Relying on data from large, stratified samples of middle and secondary US public schools, we found that high rates of ethnic minority enrollment predicted heavy reliance on law enforcement and security personnel. As rates of student poverty increased, use of soft surveillance techniques as well as reporting students to the police significantly increased. Implications for governing-through-crime, racial control, and reproduction of inequalities theories are discussed.     

Obligatory dangerousness criteria in the involuntary commitment and treatment provisions of Australian mental health legislation

Objective

Involuntary commitment and treatment (IC&T) of people affected by mental illness may have reference to considerations of dangerousness and/or need for care. While attempts have been made to classify mental health legislation according to whether IC&T has obligatory dangerousness criteria, there is no standardised procedure for making classification decisions. The aim of this study was to develop and trial a classification procedure and apply it to Australia's mental health legislation.

Method

We developed benchmarks for ‘need for care’ and ‘dangerousness’ and applied these benchmarks to classify the mental health legislation of Australia's 8 states and territories. Our focus was on civil commitment legislation rather than criminal commitment legislation.

Results

One state changed its legislation during the course of the study resulting in two classificatory exercises. In our initial classification, we were able to classify IC&T provisions in legislation from 6 of the 8 jurisdictions as being based on either ‘need for care’ or ‘dangerousness’. Two jurisdictions used a terminology that was outside the established benchmarks. In our second classification, we were also able to successfully classify IC&T provisions in 6 of the 8 jurisdictions. Of the 6 Acts that could be classified, all based IC&T on ‘need for care’ and none contained mandatory ‘dangerousness’ criteria.

Conclusions

The classification system developed for this study provided a transparent and probably reliable means of classifying 75% of Australia's mental health legislation. The inherent ambiguity of the terminology used in two jurisdictions means that further development of classification may not be possible until the meaning of the terms used has been addressed in case law. With respect to the 6 jurisdictions for which classification was possible, the findings suggest that Australia's mental health legislation relies on ‘need for care’ and not on ‘dangerousness’ as the guiding principle for IC&T.     

Linguistic Justice in International Law: An Evaluation of the Discursive Framework

Claims by minority groups to use their own languages in different social contexts are often presented as claims for “linguistic justice”, that is, justice as between speakers of different languages. This article considers how the language of international law can be used to advance such claims, by exploring how international law, as a discourse, approaches questions of language policy. This analysis reveals that international legal texts structure their engagement with “linguistic justice” around two key concepts: equality and culture. Through a close examination of the way in which these concepts function within international legal discourse, the article suggests that this conceptual framework may sometimes constrain, as well as enlarge, the possibilities for justice for minority language speakers. Thus while international law may provide a language for challenging injustices in the linguistic sphere, limitations inherent in this discourse may also restrict its emancipatory potential.     

International crime in the interwar period: a view from the edge

This article examines the issue of international crime in Malta during the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, Malta was said to be at the centre of the international underworld, and in particular, a primary route for the white slave trade. Archival evidence in Malta and London reveals some concern over counterfeiting and smuggling, but little to support concerns about traffic in women or drugs. International crime did, however, represent a significant political issue. Owing to a rising national identity and interest in promoting tourism, politicians and the press in Malta resented allegations about the white slave trade. Accusations surrounding a bomb incident and assassination attempt invoked charges by pro-British and pro-independence voices. We conclude that the ‘myth of international crime’, raised in the context of multi-national police cooperation, extended to the edge of Europe and figured into wider issues involving governance within the British Empire.