Mitochondrial DNA identification of game and harvested freshwater fish species

The use of DNA in forensics has grown rapidly for human applications along with the concomitant development of bioinformatics and demographic databases to help fully realize the potential of this molecular information. Similar techniques are also used routinely in many wildlife cases, such as species identification in food products, poaching and the illegal trade of endangered species. The use of molecular techniques in forensic cases related to wildlife and the development of associated databases has, however, mainly focused on large mammals with the exception of a few high-profile species. There is a need to develop similar databases for aquatic species for fisheries enforcement, given the large number of exploited and endangered fish species, the intensity of exploitation, and challenges in identifying species and their derived products. We sequenced a 500bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene from representative individuals from 26 harvested fish taxa from Ontario, Canada, focusing on species that support major commercial and recreational fisheries. Ontario provides a unique model system for the development of a fish species database, as the province contains an evolutionarily diverse array of freshwater fish families representing more than one third of all freshwater fish in Canada. Inter- and intraspecific sequence comparisons using phylogenetic analysis and a BLAST search algorithm provided rigorous statistical metrics for species identification. This methodology and these data will aid in fisheries enforcement, providing a tool to easily and accurately identify fish species in enforcement investigations that would have otherwise been difficult or impossible to pursue.     

Aleatory Materialism and Speculative Jurisprudence (I): From Anti-Humanism to Non-Humanism

This paper is the first part of an enquiry taking an initial, provisional step toward the construction of a theoretical matrix called speculative jurisprudence. Toward that end, it recruits the thought of Louis Althusser, whose work has taken on new significance thanks in part to the availability (in French and English) of many formerly unpublished texts, the contemporary critical scrutiny of numerous commentators, and the independent emergence of several philosophical currents sharing some of his work??s key concerns. The paper offers a unique characterization of Althusser??s aleatory materialism as at once a novel expression of Althusser??s ??jurisprudential problematic??, a problematic that I argue shapes his thought as a whole, and as a means of posing the core problem of dialectical materialism. The engagement with Althusser that I propose thus intervenes in current debates about aleatory materialism, but this is subsidiary with respect to the elaboration of speculative jurisprudence as a distinct approach in philosophy and law. That mode of thought begins to acquire a degree of reality by taking Althusser??s theoretical anti-humanism as a point of departure for the articulation of a non-humanist conception of legality, in a broad sense that conjoins the territories of both traditional philosophy and legal theory. The paper concludes with a reference to the open questions that Part Two, which will appear in Althusser and Law (2012), will take up.     

Using Frons Width to Differentiate Blow Fly Species (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Phormia regina (Meigen) and Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau‐Desvoidy)

Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau‐Desvoidy) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and Phormia regina (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are morphologically similar blow fly species commonly used for estimating postmortem intervals. Field collection and storage of adults can result in color changes, in particular on calypters and palps; often collected specimens show damage such as wing fray or fungal growth. We measured the frons width: total head width ratio using photographs (ImageJ version 1.49) to differentiate these two species. Both sexes were distinguishable to species, with the greatest difference between males: 12.34% P. terraenovae versus 1.62% P. regina, less so for females: 40.25% P. terraenovae, versus 33.65% P. regina. Incorporating this feature into future blow fly keys would help with distinguishing field‐caught specimens when other features are obstructed.     

Medicaid Managed Care for Children with Special Health Care Needs: Examining Legislative and Judicial Constraints on Privatization

Over the past decade, much has been written about the results of reinventing government. Most research has examined the effects of executive or managerial perspectives. Using David Rosenbloom's competing perspectives model, we examine Medicaid managed care programs for children with special health care needs to illustrate the influence of legislative and judicial institutional perspectives on the reinvention movement. Legislative and judicial responses to the reinvention of Medicaid managed care reveal the outer limits of what managed care and related executive reforms can accomplish in a Constitutional system that is based on checks and balances among competing institutional perspectives. Furthermore, relative to Medicaid managed care, legislative and judicial responses conserve public responsibility to society's most vulnerable populations. In the long run, the balance of institutional perspectives and values—not managerial innovation per se—will influence public administration.     

Decision Making for Extreme Events: Modeling Critical Infrastructure Interdependencies to Aid Mitigation and Response Planning

Recent tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, and the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake have revealed a need for methods to evaluate and plan for the impact of extreme events on critical infrastructure. In particular, awareness has been raised of the threat that a major disruption will lead to cascading failures that cross boundaries between interdependent infrastructure sectors, greatly magnifying human and economic impacts. To assist in planning for such extreme events, researchers are developing modeling tools to aid in making decisions about how best to protect critical infrastructures. We present some of the capabilities of this modeling approach as well as some of the challenges faced in developing such applications based on our experience with the Critical Infrastructure Protection Decision Support System (CIPDSS) model, developed for use by the Department of Homeland Security. A set of disruptions to road and telecommunication infrastructures is implemented in CIPDSS and the modeled disruptions to the original infrastructure as well as cascading effects on other infrastructure sectors are discussed. These simulations provide insights into the potential of this approach.