Recovery of genomic DNA from archived PCR product mixes for subsequent multiplex amplification and typing of additional loci: forensic significance for older unsolved criminal cases

A method for genomic DNA recovery from different types of PCR product mixes suitable for multiplex amplification and typing using the Profiler Plus STR typing system has been investigated. The application of this method is of significance in cases where the original DNA samples have been exhausted due to repeated typing analyses in an effort to maximize their evidentiary value. Such cases typically involve samples analyzed using the available DNA typing systems of the time which gave a markedly lower power of discrimination, either alone or in combination, compared to that of modern multiplex STR typing systems. It was found that an effective method for recovering genomic DNA from HLA-DQA1 +PM and CTT triplex amplification mixes, suitable for reproducible achievement of the complete Profiler Plus profile, involved the use of Amicon Microcon-100 microconcentrators. Interestingly, this method was not required to achieve the complete nine STR profile using D1S80 amplification mixes.     

From Safety Net To Trampoline: Labor Market Activation in the Netherlands and Denmark

In recent years Denmark and the Netherlands have made dramatic shifts from passive to active labor market policies. Though often portrayed as a necessary response to high levels of structural unemployment, such changes are more than a mere technical adjustment of welfare programs to a changing economic climate. They represent new ideas about the goals of public policy and the social rights of citizenship. This article surveys the politics of labor market policies in the two countries to demonstrate that the recent activation programs reflect a departure from the ideas and goals of the postwar welfare state.     

Crisis and contract breach: The domestic and international determinants of expropriation

The Review of International Organizations - In this paper we address how external factors shape government decisions to break or uphold contracts, specifically focusing on how economic shocks and...     

FINANCING THE WAR ON DRUGS: THE IMPACT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT GRANTS ON RACIAL DISPARITIES IN DRUG ARRESTS

This study estimates the impact of the discretionary Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program (EBMGP) on drug arrests and crime. The 1986 and 1988 Anti‐Drug Abuse Act allocated federal funds to state and local municipalities to combat illicit drug use and violent crime associated with drug sales and trafficking. The results show that the implementation of the EBMGP resulted in an increase in police hiring, an increase in drug sales arrest rates for Blacks and Whites, and a decrease in total crime. Nonetheless, Black‐White racial disparity in the drug sales arrest rate still significantly increases by approximately 1 for every 1,000 Black residents. Our findings highlight the role of federal crime control policies in state and local policing. Although, the EBMGP was a color‐blind policy initiative, it was not race neutral in its implementation.     

John and Jane Doe: the epidemiology of unidentified decedents

Abstract:  The number of people who cannot be identified at the time of death, sometimes referred to as John or Jane Does, is unknown, and little is known about them as a group. The study's objectives were to estimate the number of annual unidentified deaths, to identify demographic characteristics associated with dying unidentified, to determine whether the rates of such deaths vary geographically or over time, and to better characterize the causes of death. This was a population-based surveillance study of data collected from death certificates from 1979 to 2004 in the U.S. Subjects were selected by the absence of name, date of birth, and Social Security Number on their certificates. Main outcome measures were distributions by age, sex, and underlying cause of death and rates by sex, race, year, and state of death. An average of 413 unidentified persons died each year. The peak year was 1987 with 691 deaths, a rate of 28.5 per 10 million people. The rate declined to 9.7 per 10 million in 2004. Most unidentified decedents were male (80.6%). Unidentified death rates were highest among black people and in the Southwest. Among deaths for which the cause was known, 82.7% were due to injuries. Among injury deaths, 31.8% were homicides. Improvement in identification technology may have reduced rates of unidentified death since the 1980s. In addition, variations in rates of unidentified decedents may reflect changes in risk factors such as homelessness and substance abuse.     

Development and validation of videotaped scenarios: a method for targeting specific participant groups

Researchers using scenarios often neglect to validate perceived content and salience of embedded stimuli specifically with intended participants, even when such meaning is integral to the study. For example, sex and aggression stimuli are heavily influenced by culture, so participants may not perceive what researchers intended in sexual aggression scenarios. Using four studies, the authors describe the method of scenario validation to produce two videos assessing alcohol-related sexual aggression. Both videos are identical except for the presence in one video of antiforce cues that are extremely salient to the young heterosexual men. Focus groups and questionnaires validate these men's perceptions that (a) the woman was sexually interested, (b) the sexual cues were salient, (c) the antiforce cues were salient (antiaggression video only), and (e) these antiforce cues inhibited acceptance of forced sex. Results show the value of carefully selecting and validating content when assessing socially volatile variables and provide a useful template for developing culturally valid scenarios.     

Effects of storage time on DNA profiling success from archived latent fingerprint samples using an optimised workflow

Due to recent improvements in forensic DNA testing kit sensitivity,there has been an increased demand in the criminal justice community to revisit past convictions or cold cases.Some of these cases have little biological evidence other than touch DNA in the form of archived latent fingerprint lift cards.In this study,a previously developed optimised workflow for this sample type was tested on aged fingerprints to determine if improved short tandem repeat(STR)profiles could be obtained.Two-year-old samples processed with the optimised workflow produced an average of approximately five more STR alleles per profile over the traditional method.The optimised workflow also produced detectable alleles in samples aged out to 28 years.Of the methods tested,the optimised workflow resulted in the most informative profiles from evidence samples more representative of the forensic need.This workflow is recommended for use with archived latent fingerprint samples,regardless of the archival time.