Methods for the enhancement of fingermarks in blood

Fingermarks formed in or by blood often require specific development techniques. This review examines techniques and materials that may be used to enhance and record fingermarks deposited in blood or fingermarks generated by blood-contaminated papillary ridges. A large number of techniques are presented here and are discussed from a chemical as well as practical perspective. It is concluded that an optimized sequence of techniques targeting both latent (non-bloody) and bloody fingermarks must be applied to detect and enhance the maximum number of marks, and therefore optimize the information content from exhibits that may bear marks in blood.     

Preliminary evaluation of the persistence of organic gunshot residue

The organic components of gunshot residue (OGSR, also called firearms discharge residue (FDR) or cartridge discharge residue (CDR)) have been studied and discussed in the literature. These residues, consisting of particulates such as burned and unburned powder as well as molecular compounds, are rarely used in casework except for purposes such as shooting reconstructions. Molecular compounds that survive the firing event or that are created as a result of the firing event could, with focused research and development, open a new avenue for forensic gunshot residue analysis. In this study, the persistence of organic gunshot residue was evaluated using diphenylamine (DPA) as a target analyte and ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) as the detection system. Samples were collected from hands using a solvent swabbing technique and the swab was analyzed using direct thermal desorption for sample introduction into the IMS. OGSR was found to persist for at least 4h. Although DPA is a widely used industrial compound, analysis of numerous blank and background samples (n～100) did not show any significant response for DPA using this detector. Variations were noted among individuals and as such, the data set does not support estimation of a half-life as has been done for traditional primer residues. No secondary transfers were observed, suggesting the possibility of skin adhesion via interactions between the lipophilic organic compounds and skin lipids. IMS proved valuable as a means of generating patterns for forensic pattern matching and shows promise as a screening tool applied to firearms discharge.     

What happens when majority rule breaks down?

Computational results of Niemi and Weisberg are extended to investigate the number of alternatives in the top cycle set (possible winning alternatives in a sequence of pairwise votes) when there is no Condorcet winner. With n alternatives we assume a large number of voters each equally likely to select any of the n! preference orderings. If no Condorcet winner exists, the number of members of the top cycle set is always more likely to be n or n?1 than between 3 and n?2 inclusive. As n grows the probability that all alternatives are in the top cycle set approaches 1.     

Reforming Central Banking STEPHEN KIRCHNER

This book is about which monetary institutions and monetary regimes are most likely to promote: price stability. As such it is a welcome addition to the literature on this much debated question, especially because it provides such a lucid account of Kirchner's side of the debate. The questions he explores are important because central banks have become much more significant in recent times. Indeed, momentous changes in political economy, especially in the last decade in the wake of global and domestic financial deregulation, have propelled monetary policy and central banks to a new prominence.