A systematic and quantitative analysis of PCR template contamination

A quantitative and systematic analysis is provided for ubiquitously present template DNA interfering with the quantification of human DNA by PCR. Two sources contributing to DNA background were identified. The first one is interpreted as DNA present in chemicals and on equipment and the second as caused by operator handling. The amounts were equivalent to 2.5 and 8.9 pg per mL of sample, and the estimated frequencies of contamination were 65 and 35%, respectively, resulting in an effective limit of detection of 17.4 pg/mL. Below this level--named effective laboratory background--a result could not be considered as authentic. Knowledge of these parameters is important for laboratories that analyze minute amounts of human DNA by PCR for purposes such as quantification, typing, and sequencing.     

Forensic medicine experiences in Kosovo

In summer 1999, a German forensic team of CID officers and forensic pathologists was sent to Kosovo on request of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to investigate possible war crimes. For this purpose, witnesses had to be found and interrogated and graves of victims had to be located and the bodies exhumed and examined forensically. Roughly 200 bodies have been found and examined during the campaign that were predominantly of male sex and showed mainly gunshot wounds. A high percentage of all bodies could be identified. The article deals with different forensic-pathologic aspects of such an investigation.     

IMPACTS OF THE FARM FINANCIAL CRISIS OF THE 1980s ON RESOURCES AND POVERTY IN AGRICULTURALLY DEPENDENT COUNTIES IN THE UNITED STATES

The farm financial crisis of the 1980s has had a major effect on agriculturally dependent areas in the United States. The crisis has resulted in a large proportion of producers leaving agriculture, in a substantial decline in the number of rural businesses, and in the support for rural service bases. Although extensively analyzed, the crisis' impacts on resources and poverty have not been adequately evaluated.
This paper examines such impacts using parameters derived from USDA data and from extensive surveys of producers, business operators, and employees in rural communities. The results show effects on populations, services, and income that could lead to a substantial increase in the rates of poverty in these counties.
The paper concludes that the crisis, if left unaddressed, may result in a long-term loss of economic opportunities, accentuated rates of poverty, and reduced potential for economic development in agriculturally dependent areas in the United States.     

Variations in traditional marriage and family forms: Responses to the changing pattern of family-based social security systems in Sierra Leone and Kenya

A multitude of family forms can be found in African societies, and the functions we associate with the European term “family” do not necessarily belong to any specific form. The variety in the formation of different residence, consumption, and production units becomes obvious through the analysis of the social structure of individual b peoples, as well as through inter-ethnic comparisons. This article focuses on the differences between various types of social organization of an East- and a West-African people, and analyzes the complexities of and changes in family structures in the relevant socio-political and economic contexts. It also looks at the impact of the introduction of public administration and the commercialization of agriculture on social dynamics and family forms.     

Resolving Deadlock: Why International Organisations Introduce Soft Law

Abstract:  Since the mid-1990s the European Union has introduced a number of policy coordination processes that abstain from delegating or pooling sovereignty. Instead the EU relies on soft law that does not legally bind governments in the same way as the Community Method used to. The literature assumes that soft law is chosen to achieve common objectives given considerable diversity among the Member States. In contrast, this paper suggests that non-binding coordination is first and foremost a means to foster compromises in the absence of substantial agreements. Three case studies demonstrate that international organisations have repeatedly relied on soft law to overcome disagreements among their members. The IMF, the OECD, and the EU introduced soft coordination at times of institutional crisis to prevent a breakdown of negotiations.     

Prospects of peace negotiation in Papua

The Papuan conflict resembles the conflict in Aceh. Also some of the models of conflict resolution can undoubtedly be imported for Papua from Aceh. However, the existence of large migrant groups, the lack of a coherent organization of the rebel side, and the more extreme nature of economic grievances in Papua than in Aceh, give the conflict problem in Papua its own characteristics. This article speculates about how much Papua could learn from its own past and how much lessons it could emulate from other areas to establish its own mechanisms of peace negotiation.