Efficacy of Several Candidate Protein Biomarkers in the Differentiation of Vaginal from Buccal Epithelial Cells*

Abstract: Currently, there is no accurate method to differentiate vaginal epithelial cells from buccal epithelial cells in biological samples typically encountered in forensic casework. This study tested the expression of a selection of candidate proteins in buccal and vaginal epithelial cells. We investigated six candidate biomarkers, such as loricrin, vimentin, stratifin, cytokeratin 4, cytokeratin 13, small proline‐rich protein 2, and involucrin, using Western blot analysis on whole protein extracts and immunohistochemistry (IHC) on intact cells in an attempt to identify cell‐specific markers that would differentiate these cells by microscopy. Involucrin, loricrin, and stratifin showed differential expression during Western blot analysis and were carried through to IHC. Although proteins unique to vaginal epithelial cells and buccal epithelial cells were not identified from among the proteins tested, the increased expression levels of two proteins, loricrin and stratifin in vaginal cells, when compared to buccal cells, do provide encouraging results in the search for epithelial cell‐specific markers.     

The evolution of informed consent

Informed consent and the changes in what is expected over the 21st century provide an instructive case study of the mutual influence on one another of medical law and medical ethics. Over the years we have moved from a doctor-centred standard to a patient-centred standard and from a one-size-fits-all patient-centred standard to a more individual requirement that engages with the needs of a particular patient It is unreasonable to expect those changes to be reflected in anything less than an extended conversation in which the health care professional gives out some version of what a reasonable patient would expect to hear from an informed health care professional and then responds to the patient's questions as informatively and helpfully as he or she can. It is therefore convenient to refer to spontaneous and responsive disclosure as a very concrete implementation of the health care professional-patient partnership that is contemporary health care and at the heart of health care ethics.     

Space,Kinship Networks and Youth Transition in Provincial Russia: Negotiating Urban–Rural and Inter-Regional Migration

This article addresses orientations towards place and opportunities for rural–urban and inter-regional migration amongst graduates of vocational colleges in Ul'yanovsk Oblast'. Given the inaccessibility of the housing market and decline in the provision of student and workplace accommodation, kinship networks have become the principal means to negotiate any form of migration. However, while in some cases such networks provide ‘bridges’ to opportunities elsewhere, a general lack of networks, alongside the ‘bonding’ effects of kinship networks at the local level, acts as a significant constraint on young peoples' prospects for geographical, and social, mobility.     

The Cultural Economy of a Border Renaissance: Politics and Practices in the City

The production of culture in urban image-making has received much attention within geography. This paper intervenes in the culture–economy debates in a slightly different way—namely, through the lens of an understudied city of the global South. It examines the structure and discourses embedded in the Tijuana (Mexico) Municipal Plan 2005–07 to interrogate the work that culture performs with an eye to the impacts (both material and discursive) of official strategies across time and space. In so doing, two propositions are suggested. First, post-colonial spaces offer important sites from which to critique the conflation of cultural practice and policy. Secondly, the complex imbrication of culture and economy can be further distilled in grounding examples in ordinary cities.     

A comparison of adolescent inpatients with and without substance abuse using the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory

We compared clinical syndromes, expressed concerns, and personality styles of adolescent inpatients with substance use disorders (SUD; n=44) vs. without substance use disorders (non-SUD; n=61) using the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory. The two groups did not differ with regard to age, sex, ethnicity, functional severity, or the frequency of other major psychiatric disorders, and were drawn from the same overall sample population. SUD subjects showed significantly higher levels of delinquent predisposition and lower levels of anxiety. Consistent with these syndromal findings, we found that SUD subjects were characterized by higher levels of unruliness and social insensitivity and lower levels of submissiveness. Our findings suggest that, in severely disturbed adolescents who require psychiatric hospitalization, externalizing phenomena are closely associated with SUD. Our findings also suggest that internalizing problems also exist in SUD, although not at levels greater than that observed in non-SUD inpatients.Received Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. Research interests include eating and weight disorders, addictive behaviors, behavioral medicine, psychological assessment, and psychiatric comorbidity.Received Psy.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Hartford. Research interests include psychological assessment, adolescent psychopathology, and psychiatric comorbidity.Received B.A. in Psychology from Swarthmore College. Research interests include perception, developmental psychopathology, and psychosis proneness.Received Ph.D. in clinical psychiatry from DePaul University. Research interests include the assessment and treatment of substance abusing psychiatric populations.     

Detection of sequence variation in the HVII region of the human mitochondrial genome in 689 individuals using immobilized sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes

We have developed a rapid, immobilized probe-based assay for the detection of sequence variation in the hypervariable segment II (HVII) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region. Using a panel of 17 sequence-specific oligonucleotide (SSO) probes immobilized on nylon membrane strips, we typed 689 individuals from four population groups. The genetic diversity value for each population was calculated from the frequency data, and the frequencies of distinct "mitotypes" in each group were determined. We performed DNA sequence analysis of 129 samples to characterize the sequences associated with "blanks" (absence of probe signals) and weak probe signals. Out of 689 samples, we observed five heteroplasmic samples (excluding the variable C-stretch beginning at position 303) using the immobilized SSO probe panel. The SSO probe strips were used for the analysis of shed hairs and bloodstains from several criminal cases in Sweden, one of which is described here. We conclude that this mtDNA typing system is useful for human identification and significantly decreases casework turnaround time.     

Reagents for the chemical development of latent fingerprints: scope and limitations of benzo[f]ninhydrin in comparison to ninhydrin

Benzo[f]ninhydrin was compared to ninhydrin for fingerprint development on paper. Overall, the performance of ninhydrin on exhibits was slightly better than that of benzo[f]ninhydrin. The significant advantages of the benzo[f]ninhydrin over ninhydrin were the much stronger fluorescence it gave after treatment with zinc salts and a slightly quicker reaction under ambient conditions. This fluorescence is, however, similar to that obtained with other reagents, such as DFO or ninhydrin analogs. These advantages apparently are not sufficient to justify regular usage of benzo[f]ninhydrin, especially when one considers its low solubility and high cost.