A Spanish population study of 17 Y-chromosome STR loci

Haplotype, allele frequencies and population data of 17 Y-chromosome STR loci DYS19, DYS385, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS460 (GATA A7.1), DYS461 (GATA A7.2), GATA A10, GATA C4 and GATA H4 were determined from a sample of 148 unrelated male individuals from Spain. A total of 144 haplotypes were identified by the 17 Y-STR markers, of which 141 were unique, two were found in two individuals and one was found in three individuals. The haplotype diversity (99.95%) and discrimination capacity (97.30%) were calculated. Comparisons were made with previously published haplotype data on other Iberian population samples and no significant differences were found.     

The “Distance Traveled”: Investigating the Downstream Consequences of Charge Reductions for Disparities in Incarceration

Abstract

Relatively little work examines the impact that charging decisions exert on sentencing. We investigate this issue by estimating the “distance traveled” in charge bargaining, or the expected change in the likelihood of incarceration associated with reductions in charges across different stages of prosecution. Using data from New York County, we examine how the probability of incarceration shifts as a result of charging decisions and how this potentially contributes to social inequalities in incarceration. Findings indicate that charge reductions are associated with sizeable decreases in the probability of incarceration, particularly at the plea bargaining stage. On average, the “distance traveled” is substantially greater for female than male defendants and for White compared to Latino and Black defendants, even after accounting for a host of relevant punishment factors. Findings are discussed as they relate to contemporary theoretical perspectives on prosecutorial decision-making and social inequality in punishment.     

The strategic use of dismissal legislation: an empirical analysis using Spanish data

In this paper, we analyse empirically how the legal framework affects the relationship between labour market conditions and dismissals. We use a pseudo-panel of Spanish data from 1987 to 2001. We find that Labour Law reforms have effects on the use of individual and collective dismissals although such effects are much lower than those related to the business cycle. The results also show a strategic use of the different types of dismissals, distorting the work of those institutions involved in dismissals.      

Las condiciones de inteligibilidad de las prácticas constitucionales. una aproximación a partir del caso del aborto

In this paper we intend to highlight the three levels of discourse that underground every constitutional discussion, from the view point of the special case of abortion. We aim, in the end, to propose a reflection about what we could name the intelligibility conditions of our constitutional practices. With this purpose, we identify three discussions that converge in the discussion about the justice of decriminalizing abortion: (a) the explicit discussion about the claimed existence of a right not to be condemned for choosing abortion; (b) the implicit discussion about the nature of public reasons, as opposed to religious reasons; (c) the underlying discussion about the nature of concepts which are used in these two previous levels of discussion.     

Effectiveness of Single‐Nucleotide Polymorphisms to Investigate Cattle Rustling

Short tandem repeats (STR)s have been the eligible markers for forensic animal genetics, despite single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP)s became acceptable. The technology, the type, and amount of markers could limit the investigation in degraded forensic samples. The performance of a 32‐SNP panel genotyped through OpenArrays^TM (real‐time PCR based) was evaluated to resolve cattle‐specific forensic cases. DNA from different biological sources was used, including samples from an alleged instance of cattle rustling. SNPs and STRs performance and repeatability were compared. SNP call rate was variable among sample type (average = 80.18%), while forensic samples showed the lowest value (70.94%). The repeatability obtained (98.7%) supports the used technology. SNPs had better call rates than STRs in 12 of 20 casework samples, while forensic index values were similar for both panels. In conclusion, the 32‐SNPs used are as informative as the standard bovine STR battery and hence are suitable to resolve cattle rustling investigations.     

Inter‐industrial wage differentials: Evidence from Latin American countries

The recent literature on inter‐industrial wage differentials for the United States suggests that the labour market equilibrium features non‐competitive elements. However, the lessons from the United States need not carry over to other countries, especially developing economies. This article analyses the wage differentials in selected Latin American countries. Despite the sharp contrasts between the Latin American and the US economies, our results show more similarities than differences with those reported in past studies. Wage differentials are substantial and persist over time; the differentials are also correlated across occupations and, to a lesser extent, across establishment sizes.     

DNA mixtures in forensic casework: a 4-year retrospective study

Occasionally interpretation guidelines from validation studies are difficult to apply to real forensic casework, especially in the case of mixed samples. Exogenous contamination, an unknown number of contributors or unbalanced proportion of each one in the sample and a varied degree of degradation of the biological materials, contribute to the difficulties in the interpretation of sample profiles. In this paper we have reviewed all the mixed genetic STR profiles encountered in our laboratory over 4 years (1997-2000) and evaluated the problems in the interpretation of the results. From 1547 criminal cases with 2424 samples typed, 163 showed a mixed profile (6.7%). We have observed that occasionally, a mixture appeared in the same sample with one multiplex amplification kit (e.g. Blue) and not with another (e.g. Green). From our results, it can be suggested that technical characteristics of the different fluorochrome groups in the multiplexes override the molecular characteristics of each STR in their capacity to detect mixtures.     

Free amino acid concentrations in vitreous humor and cerebrospinal fluid in relation to the cause of death and postmortem interval

We studied free amino acids in vitreous humor and cerebrospinal fluid from 58 cadavers in the course of routine medicolegal autopsies in the city of Granada. The main objective was to establish whether free amino acids contents in these fluids were related with the cause of death, postmortem interval, and severity of the classic signs of asphyxia. The amino acids (aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine, glutamine, glycine/threonine/histidine, citruline, arginine, alanine, taurine, GABA, tirosine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, phenylalanine/tryptophan, leucine, and lysine) were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography. There were no statistically significant differences in amino acids concentrations in vitreous humor when the different causes of death were considered. Our results did not show any statistically significant relationship when asphyxial score was plotted against the vitreous content of each amino acid. A statistically significant increase with postmortem interval was observed in vitreous taurine (r = 0.3191, p = 0.01461), glutamate (r = 0.4323, p = 0.0007) and particularly in aspartate (r = 0.4508, p = 0.0003).