A qualitative study of compact bone microstructure and nuclear short tandem repeat obtained from femur of human remains found on the ground and exhumed 3 years after death

Forensic identification of human remains is composed of anthropological study of race, sex, age, etc. By using these traditional methods, inconclusive or nonidentified cases could be subjected to DNA analysis. However, in spite of advances in human identification techniques, especially by PCR-amplified DNA, some limitations that affect the ability of obtaining DNA from human remains still persist. Light microscope sections of postmortem compact bones from human remains are presented here for the purpose of increasing a forensic examiner's prediction of successful nuclear DNA typing. Femoral compact bones were obtained from 7 human remains found on the ground, in different degrees of decomposition, and were cleaned by boiling to remove soft tissues, 8 collections of bones having undergone natural decomposition, not boiled (as no soft tissue was adhered), and 5 cadavers 12 to 16 hours postmortem. The histologic sections were stained by hematoxylin and eosin, the loci CSF1PO, TPOX, TH01, F13A01, FESFPS, vWA, D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, and amelogenin were amplified by PCR, and the polyacrylamide gel was stained with silver. The results presented here clarify questions concerning the viability of DNA for identification analysis, and they also may help to establish better strategies for optimization of DNA extraction and analysis in compact bones of human remains.     

Genetic data on 12 STRs (F13A01, F13B,FESFPS, LPL,CSF1PO,TPOX, TH01, vWA,D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, D5S818) from four ethnic groups of São Paulo,Brazil

Allelic frequencies for 12 short tandem repeats (STRs) (F13A01, F13B, FESFPS, LPL, CSF1PO, TPOX, TH01, vWA, D16S539, D7S820, D13S317 and D5S818) were estimated, also as forensic parameters, from a sample of 916 unrelated Brazilian subjects classified into four ethnic groups: European-derived, African-derived, Brazilian Mulattos and Asian-derived.     

Public accounting fudges towards EMU: A first empirical survey and some public choice considerations

This paper analyses some one-off measures and other accounting tricks that EU member States have been using to qualify for EMU membership. Moving from empirical evidence to strategic goals, this investigation brings to the fore three crucial issues: the weakness of the methodological rules of the European system of accounts used to assess budgetary convergence in line with the Maastricht Treaty; the open-ended definition of the required budgetary discipline; the shortcomings of the excessive deficit procedure enforced through the Stability Pact. The conclusion urges a return to a strict annual balance requirement for governments' current accounts, to impede strategic adjustments of budgetary positions that are in fact creative accounting operations.     

Equity in Federal Contracting: Examining the Link between Minority Representation and Federal Procurement Decisions

The federal government increasingly relies on nongovernmental organizations for procuring goods and services. This long‐term trend presents a significant challenge for administrators because it risks the egalitarian values of democracy by further distancing administrative action from direct, participative, democratic oversight. The authors put forward a theory of representative bureaucracy as a way to reconcile democracy with the reality of the contemporary policy process in which unelected officials are the principal decision makers. The theory is tested in the domain of federal procurement, specifically within the contract award decisions of 60 federal agencies over three years. The authors argue that increased minority representation in leadership positions results in an increased proportion of federal contracts awarded to small minority‐owned firms.     

Private operation with public supervision: evidence of hybrid modes of governance in prisons

Received theories suggest a possible cost-quality tradeoff when private outsourcing arrangements are used in public services. Using data from Brazilian prisons, our study provides evidence that contradicts this prediction: the prisons not only run at a lower cost, but also show similar or improved performance on a range of quality indicators. The attenuation of the cost-quality dilemma in our context is due to the hybrid management, which allocates control rights to a state-appointed public supervisor. We also discuss conditions in which the public supervisor may refrain from colluding with the private agent, therefore guaranteeing an effective monitoring of service quality.     

Will More Black Cops Matter? Officer Race and Police‐Involved Homicides of Black Citizens

In response to police‐involved homicides of black citizens in Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere, some have suggested that more black police officers could reduce the number of these events. The authors offer an empirical test of this assertion. The literature offers conflicting expectations: some studies suggest that increased representation reduces discrimination, while others suggest that it increases discrimination. The authors reconcile these perspectives using the concept of critical mass, which leads to the expectation that an increase in black officers will reduce the number of black citizens killed in encounters with police, but only once the proportion of black officers is sufficiently large. We test this expectation in analyses of recently compiled data on police‐involved homicides in 2014 and 2015 in large U.S. cities.     

Assessing the High Representative’s Role in Egypt during the Arab Spring

The 2009 Lisbon Treaty institutionalised an intergovernmental constitution for managing policies traditionally a matter of national sovereignty, such as foreign and defence policies. However, important innovations were introduced in the foreign policymaking structure to limit its intergovernmental logic, in particular, with regard to the role of the High Representative (HR). It was generally assumed that those innovations would have made development of a coherent EU foreign policy possible. Yet, in one of the most significant tests for the EU’s foreign and defence policies in the post-Lisbon era, namely the Egyptian crisis (2011-14), those reforms did not work as expected. Notwithstanding the innovations, the HR’s role was diminished by the European Council’s strict control over foreign policy toward Egypt. The lack of clear policy guidelines towards the issue of democratisation in the Arab world in the 2003 European Security Strategy, although partially mitigated by the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Barcelona Process/Union for the Mediterranean, made it even more difficult for the HR to bring a European perspective into the largely intergovernmental setting.     

Poverty Impacts of Changes in the International Prices of Agricultural Commodities: Recent Evidence for Argentina (An Ex-Ante Analysis)

Argentina has benefited greatly from the increase in prices of agricultural commodities. With a large share of its population with low and medium-low incomes; however, a sizable part of households is likely to be adversely affected by the accompanying rise in the price of the consumption basket. An ex-ante analysis suggests that this is the case. Changes through a less obvious channel (that is, in factor incomes) are likely to be more beneficial to middle-income households. In general, all households experience losses, with poorer households being the most affected. When accounting for transfers financed through the collection of export taxes, poorer households benefit. In the absence of compensatory measures, increases in the prices of agricultural commodities could potentially have an important impact in terms of indigence and poverty.     

Is there a distinct profile of police officers accused of violence? The Israeli case

In recent years, the Israeli National Police has come under attack for excessive use of physical force. This article focuses on the organizational characteristics of police officers suspected of committing offenses involving the illegal use of force. A random sample of 612 official files opened, investigated, and completed between 1993 and 1998 was examined. The findings show that there are no salient differences between the proportion of the suspect police officers serving at the different geographic police districts in the sample and their proportion in the total police force in recent years. Complaints tend to be submitted against police officers in operational and investigative functions, especially against those of middle and low ranks. Regarding the files' characteristics, many significant differences are found between files opened against regular police (RP) officers (who fulfill traditional police functions) and those opened against officers of the Border Police (BP, who fulfill mainly internal security-related tasks among the Arab population). These differences are mainly explained by factors related to organizational features of the BP.