Validation of the PowerPlex 1.1 loci for use in human identification

STR typing is now the favored method of DNA analysis for the purposes of human identification in the forensic community. The Forensic Services Division of the Detroit Police Department has completed its validation of the PowerPlex 1.1 loci (CSF1PO, TPOX, THO1, vWA, D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, and D5S818) for use in forensic casework. Detroit Metro Area Red Cross samples were typed from each of five racial/ethnic groups--the Hispanic, Caucasian, African American, Asian, and American Indian populations--and allele and genotype frequencies were calculated. A rare off-ladder variant (9.1 allele at D7S820) was identified among the database samples. A number of validation studies were performed. DNA was extracted from different substrates and typed as expected, except for the DNA extracted from leather (signal absent from the D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, CSF1PO, and TPOX loci) and from dirt (no PCR product generated). The minor contributor in the mixture study (250 pg input DNA) was facile to discern. The Concordance study, the variety of fluids from the same individual, and NIST standards studies all produced the expected results. Finally, STR data confirmed previous DNA typing results from adjudicated casework samples.     

National protest agenda and the dimensionality of party politics: Evidence from four East-Central European democracies

Contemporary democracies show considerable differences in the issue composition of their protest politics, which tends to remain relatively stable over time. In countries like Germany or the Czech Republic, the vast majority of protests have been mobilised around sociocultural issues, such as human rights, peace, nuclear power or the environment, and only a tiny portion of protest has focused on economic issues. At the opposite extreme, protest in France or Poland usually has a strongly economic character and voices demands relating to material redistribution and social policy. What lies behind the cross-country differences in national protest agendas? In this article, the national protest agenda depends on what issues mainstream political parties are contesting: the content and strength of the master-issue dimension. In reference to the literature on the multidimensional political space and niche political parties, one should expect that there is a substitutive effect; where the stronger a specific master-issue dimension is in party politics, the less salient that issue dimension is in protest politics. This substitutive effect results from the tendency of electoral politics to reduce political conflict to a single-dimension equilibrium, which decreases the importance of other issues and relegates the contest over secondary, niche issues to the realm of policy-seeking strategies, with protest being a common type of this political strategy. In party systems where single-dimension equilibrium does not exist and the master-issue dimension is weaker, the same dynamics result in a more convergent relationship between party and protest politics and a greater similarity between the protest- and party-system agendas. To investigate this theory, the national protest agendas in four countries are examined. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia show four combinations of two crucial factors that are not available in the old Western democracies: the content and the strength of the master-issue dimension. The study draws on an original dataset of protest events organised in the four countries between 1993 and 2010, and on qualitative and quantitative data on issue dimensions of party politics obtained from studies on party politics and expert surveys. The results show that in the Czech Republic, where the master-issue dimension has remained strongly economic, protest has been predominantly sociocultural. In Poland between 1993 and 2001 and Hungary between 1993 and 2006, the master-issue dimensions are strongly sociocultural, while protest is predominantly economic. There is no single-dimension equilibrium in party politics in Slovakia or in post-2001 Poland and mainstream parties compete on both economic and sociocultural issues. Consequently, the substitutive dynamics between party and protest politics is weaker and the issue agendas in party and protest arenas are here more alike.     

从网络成瘾少年的被强制戒除看家庭保障应当承担的社会责任

从近期有关于中国知名戒网瘾专家杨永信用强行禁闭、电休克等非人道的手段进行治疗网瘾患者的事件为引,从家庭保障的角度出发,重点探讨家庭在青少年网络成瘾的问题中应该承担的责任。     

论"布什主义"

文章分析了布什主义产生的历史背景 ;阐述了布什主义的主要内容和特征 ;并对布什主义的本质及其影响作了评价。文章指出 ,布什主义的主要内容是 :(一 )以“恐怖分子”和“无赖国家”作为美国的主要现实对手 ;(二 )以防止能对美国霸权地位构成挑战的大国的崛起作为长期战略目标 ;(三 )推行“先发制人战略” ;(四 )重视维护美国本土安全 ;(五 )倚重军事力量的作用 ;(六 )单边主义倾向突出 ;(七 )意识形态色彩严重。     

新时期创新高校党建工作的若干思考

当前,高校党建工作的内外环境都发生了深刻的变化,信息技术迅猛发展和高校办学规模急剧扩大使充满诸多不确定因素的大学生党建工作面临诸多挑战。     

宏基因组学在法医学鉴定中的应用

随着分子生物学与基因组学的发展,宏基因组学在法医学与法医学鉴定中逐渐扮演着重要的角色。近年来,宏基因组学作为研究环境微生物菌群构成与多样性、各成员之间相互关系及与环境之间相互关系的分支学科,在法医学鉴定相关领域的应用也逐渐兴起,并带来了新的契机。本文对宏基因组学研究策略及其在法医学鉴定中个体识别、案发现场生物斑迹来源鉴定及药物滥用检测等方面的应用现状进行了综述,旨在进一步阐明宏基因组学在法医学中的作用与应用价值。