Mitochondrial DNA sequencing of beetle larvae (Nitidulidae: Omosita) recovered from human bone

The isolation, amplification, and characterization of human DNA from hematophagous (blood feeding) and necrophagous (carrion feeding) arthropods have been advanced significantly by the development of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) DNA sequencing methodologies. Historically, DNA technology has been successfully utilized to identify individual hosts upon which species of hematophagous arthropods have fed. The analysis of hematophagous insects' gut content blood meals has led to major advances in medical entomology and vector-borne disease epidemiology. In the forensic arena, the ability to apply similar techniques to insects recovered from badly decomposed remains has been greatly enhanced through the advent of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) techniques. Mitochondrial DNA analyses have been utilized to identify both the human remains upon which fly larvae (maggots) have fed and the species of the larvae themselves. The preliminary work detailed here demonstrates, for the first time, the successful application of mtDNA sequencing techniques to the analysis of necrophagous beetle larvae. A small sample of sap beetle larvae, Omosita spp. (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), was collected from human skeletal remains during anthropological examination and analyzed for human DNA using mtDNA sequencing. The beetle larvae yielded mtDNA matching that of the host human bone. The results detailed here further demonstrate the robust nature of human mtDNA and the ability to recover valuable mtDNA evidence from forensically important, late decompositional stage insect species.     

Concentrations of unconjugated morphine, codeine and 6-acetylmorphine in urine specimens from suspected drugged drivers

Concentrations of unconjugated morphine, codeine and 6-acetylmorphine (6-AM), the specific metabolite of heroin, were determined in urine specimens from 339 individuals apprehended for driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) in Sweden. After an initial screening analysis by immunoassay for 5-classes of abused drugs (opiates, cannabinoids, amphetamine analogs, cocaine metabolite and benzodiazepines), all positive specimens were verified by more specific methods. Opiates and other illicit drugs were analyzed by isotope-dilution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The limits of quantitation for morphine, codeine and 6-AM in urine were 20 ng/mL. Calibration plots included an upper concentration limit of 1000 ng/mL for each opiate. We identified the heroin metabolite 6-AM in 212 urine specimens (62%) at concentrations ranging from 20 ng/mL to > 1000 ng/mL. The concentration of 6-AM exceeded 1000 ng/mL in 79 cases (37%) and 31 cases (15%) were between 20 and 99 ng/mL. When 6-AM was present in urine the concentration of morphine was above 1000 ng/mL in 196 cases (92%). The concentrations of codeine in these same urine specimens were more evenly distributed with 35% being above 1000 ng/mL and 21% below 100 ng/mL. These results give a clear picture of the concentrations of unconjugated morphine, codeine and 6-acetylmorphine that can be expected in opiate-positive urine specimens from individuals apprehended for DUID after taking heroin.     

Community service: its use in criminal justice

Community service has been perceived as a desirable alternative to the use of short-term imprisonment as a response to increasing crime rates. Although heavily used in Western Europe and the Old Commonwealth, its adoption in the United States has been localized and patchy. Use in Asia, South America, and Africa is limited. This article reviews the use of community service in selected countries around the world. It concludes that community service can be used as a pretrial diversion, as a condition of probation or parole, or as an option to work off a fine by an impoverished offender. Very often, it is itself a stand-alone sentence, but it can also be used in addition to other sentences. Some countries give community service a secure place in the sentencing tariff, whether as retributively oriented "hard end" penalties or as rehabilitative and/or restorative endeavors. Others leave usage, within broad qualification criteria, to the discretion of sentencers.     

Population data for the Identifier 15 STR loci in Hong Kong Chinese

Allele frequencies for 15 STR loci, namely D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, TH01, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, vWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818 and FGA, which are tested for by PE Applied Biosystem's Identifier kit, were obtained from a sample of 325 unrelated Chinese in Hong Kong.     

Friction and bureaucratic control in authoritarian regimes

Democracies deliberately create “friction” in bureaucratic processes, using inefficiencies to mitigate the impact of government transitions and asymmetric information on leaders' ability to exert control. With far more centralized power, would authoritarians prefer less friction? We argue that they do not. In fact, excess friction is actively supplied to hinder bureaucratic coordination independent of or even in opposition to top-down control, leaving the central leaders the only player powerful enough to organize complex actions. Our analysis of data on the Chinese government indicates that bureaucrats are systematically sent to unfamiliar work environment, and that agencies that are more exposed to the resultant inefficiencies are also more likely to come under direct control by senior Politburo members. The pattern of targeted intervention indicates that bureaucratic control in authoritarian regimes is predicated not only on centralized power in general but also the deliberate supply of friction to obstruct independent actions from the bottom up.     

Assessing the developing knowledge-base of product counterfeiting: a content analysis of four decades of research

Considering the steady and rapid growth of product counterfeiting and the damage it causes to society, it is important for criminology and criminal justice scholars to assist criminal justice officials, industry practitioners, and law makers in understanding the product counterfeiting problem and developing strategies to combat it. However, for researchers to be effective in their advisory role they must first establish what is known about product counterfeiting. As a first step in this process, we investigated relevant published research through a content analysis of 47 articles discussing product counterfeiting published in criminal justice and criminology journals through 2014. We analyzed various characteristics about the articles themselves, their authors, the journals they appeared in, and the nature and extent of their focus on product counterfeiting. We conclude this study with an evaluation of the state of product counterfeiting research and recommendations for future research.