False homozygosities at various loci revealed by discrepancies between commercial kits: implications for genetic databases

Routine control of 2055 consecutive genotypes revealed discrepancies between the profiles established with the SGM plus and/or Profiler plus kits on one hand, and the profiles established with the Powerplex16 kit on the other hand. Furthermore, five discrepancies for vWA, three for D8S1179, two for FGA and three for D18S51 loci were found. In 10 cases (loci vWA, FGA, D18S51, D8S1179), the SGM plus and/or Profiler plus profiles showed homozygosity and the Powerplex16 genotype revealed heterozygosities which were confirmed to be true, both by typing with individual primer pairs and DNA sequencing. In four cases (two discrepancies at locus FGA, one at D18S51 and an abnormal paternity pattern for D5S818), the Powerplex16 kit showed apparent homozygosity and the SGM plus and/or Profiler plus kits showed heterozygosity. Mutation analysis could be performed for some of these individuals and evidenced variants, presumably leading to an annealing failure of one primer; the identified mutations are reported. It is suggested that databases should include information about the kits used to determine the profiles while ensuring that the primer sequences are made available.     

Characterization and validation studies of powerPlex 2.1, a nine-locus short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex system and penta D monoplex

In order to increase the power of discrimination for human identification purposes, a nine-locus short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex, the GenePrint PowerPlex 2.1 system (PowerPlex 2.1) developed by Promega Corporation and a separate pentanucleotide-repeat locus, Penta D, were tested. This megaplex system includes the highly polymorphic loci FGA, TPOX, D8S1179, vWA, Penta E, D18S51, D21S11, TH01, and D3S1358 and may be used in combination with the eight-locus STR multiplex, the GenePrint PowerPlex 1.1 system (PowerPlex 1.1) that has been previously developed. Three of the loci, TPOX, TH01 and vWA, have been included in both systems for quality control purposes. As with PowerPlex 1.1, PowerPlex 2.1 is also based on a two-color detection of fluorescent-labeled DNA products amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and provides a valuable tool for accurate and rapid allele determination. The primer sequences used in the PowerPlex 2.1/Penta D system are also presented in this report. To meet the "Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories" (FBI), we tested the efficiency and reproducibility of the PowerPlex 2.1/PentaD system by several validation studies that were conducted as a joint project among seven laboratories. Validation tests included concordance studies, sensitivity, and species specificity determination, as well as performance in forensic and environmentally impacted samples. The results produced from these tests demonstrated the consistency and reliability of the PowerPlex 2.1/Penta D system.     

Culture and Negotiation Pedagogy

Both in theory and practice, our understanding of what culture is remains limited; the subject, in fact, is either misrepresented or all but ignored in most of the popular and scholarly literatures. The author offers six mutually related ideas that help to explain what culture is not. He then describes an approach to understanding cultures that he finds more useful. The implications of that approach have led him to several different techniques for teaching the subject in negotiation classes.     

Northeast Italy population data using multiplex PCR (HUMCD4, HUMTH01, HUMTPOX, and HUMCSF1P0) loci

Allele and genotype frequencies for four short tandem repeat (STR) loci (HUMCD4, HUMTH01, HUMTPOX, and HUMCSF1P0) were determined in 100 unrelated individuals from Veneto (Northeast Italy). After a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplification, semi-automatic DNA profiling was performed using an A.L.F.express DNA Sequencer. Conditions were optimized for the PCR co-amplification of these four STR loci and the quadruplex PCR was performed on various forensic DNA samples such as whole blood, blood-stains, teeth, and saliva from Caucasians living in the Northeast Italy. The distribution of the genotype frequencies showed no significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg expectations in the sampled population. The combined Power of Discrimination (PD) of the quadruplex was 0.9999.     

The ‘Invisible Institution’ and Black Youth Crime: The Church as an Agency of Local Social Control

We examine the degree to which an individual's religious involvement significantly mediates and buffers the effects of neighborhood disorder on youth crime. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the fifth wave of data from the National Youth Survey, focusing on black respondents given the historical as well as contemporary significance of the African-American church for black Americans. Results from estimating a series of regression models indicated that (1) the effects of neighborhood disorder on crime among black youth are partly mediated by an individual's religious involvement (measured by the frequency of attending religious services) and (2) involvement of African-American youth in religious institutions significantly buffers or interacts with the effects of neighborhood disorder on crime and, in particular, serious crime. Theoretical and methodological implications of the present findings are briefly discussed.     

Incapacitation and Just Deserts as Motives for Punishment

Law and Human Behavior - What motivates a person's desire to punish actors who commit intentional, counternormative harms? Two possible answers are a just deserts motive or a desire to...     

A case of fatal rotenone poisoning in a child

A case of a fatal rotenone poisoning in a three-and-a-half-year-old girl is described. The case report and autopsy findings are mentioned. For the extraction of rotenone out of biological samples, a solvent partitioning and silica gel open column chromatographic cleanup procedure has been used. The determination of rotenone was performed by high pressure liquid chromatography.     

Trajectory reconstructions. I: Trace evidence in flight

This paper reviews the use of trace evidence recovered from spent bullets in helping to establish trajectories. The use of information derived from such trace evidence combined with that from geometrical techniques of trajectory reconstruction and other data is discussed. Five cases are reviewed in which the analysis of trace evidential materials adhering to bullets was used to help reconstruct the event.