Evaluation of Skin Surface as an Alternative Source of Reference DNA Samples: A Pilot Study

An acceptable area for collecting DNA reference sample is a part of the forensic DNA analysis development. The aim of this study was to evaluate skin surface cells (SSC) as an alternate source of reference DNA sample. From each volunteer (n = 10), six samples from skin surface areas (forearm and fingertips) and two traditional samples (blood and buccal cells) were collected. Genomic DNA was extracted and quantified then genotyped using standard techniques. The highest DNA concentration of SSC samples was collected using the tape/forearm method of collection (2.1 ng/μL). Cotton swabs moistened with ethanol yielded higher quantities of DNA than swabs moistened with salicylic acid, and it gave the highest percentage of full STR profiles (97%). This study supports the use of SSC as a noninvasive sampling technique and as a extremely useful source of DNA reference samples among certain cultures where the use of buccal swabs can be considered socially unacceptable.     

The Secret Behind China's Growth

正There is no rocket science,magic or dubiety involved in China’s development miracle which posted a GDP growth rate of 6.9 percent in 2017,higher than the set target.It is the outcome of an economic management system that was put in place by a visionary political leadership to let everyone enjoy the fruits of sustainable progress.This has set the stage for resilient growth.It has impressed the world at a time when speculation was doing     

Legal and ethical considerations of biometric identity card: Case for Mauritius

The highly connected nature of the current era has raised the need for more secure systems, and hence the demand for biometric-based authentication methods. In 2013, the Mauritian Government invested massively in the collection of data, and implementation of the national biometric identity card scheme. The latter has suffered a number of contestations among the population, and several cases were consequently filed at the Supreme Court of Mauritius to oppose the use of this biometric card. The main concern was the collection of biometric data which posed threats to the privacy of individuals. Additionally, the collection and retention of biometric data lead to security issues. In this paper, the challenges with respect to the usage of the biometric card are analysed. The laws governing data protection are discussed, together with the legal framework used for data collection and retention. Following the court decisions, several amendments have been made to the existing laws in order to cater for the usage of biometric data for the public interest. Finally, recommendations are made with regards to a legal framework which will enhance the security of biometric data, and eventually encouraging public acceptance of this biometric identification system.     

PROSPECTS FOR PEACE IN AFGHANISTAN

The author identifies three key factors: the resurgence of the Taliban, the leadership of President Karzai and the regional context. The war in Iraq was a costly distraction and it was a mistake to focus nation-building on elections rather than on the strengthening of proper institutions. Economic development, especially agriculture, has not received sufficient attention, with the result that drug production has increased. But there is an increasing recognition that there needs to be some form of conversation with the Taliban. They are now a more sophisticated military organisation, but still an extremely unsophisticated social and political entity. They do not have the answers to Afghanistan's problems. There are many other groups with a stake in the future of the country so any comprehensive negotiation will be very complicated. But it is a positive element that Afghanistan is a tribal society with an enormous capacity for forgiveness.     

A call for action

Abstract

This lightly edited version of an appeal by Jabbar Khan provides an inside look at the particulars of the continuing struggle in Bhopal in the face of self-serving governent communalism as well as persistent government and industry collusion. Although it was written before the ninth anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster and we are now approaching the tenth, it seems likely that most of the issues remain the same; it can still serve as an appeal and a source of additional information.

It is close to nine years since the Bhopal gas disaster. The people affected by the poisonous gases of Union Carbide continue to suffer, and death continues to stalk the shantytowns around the factory. The survivors of the disaster wait in vain for a cure for their ailments. But the misery and death in Bhopal is no longer “news” for newspapers and the electronic media, and people outside Bhopal think all is well in this city of death. The reality, unfortunately, is quite different.     

Achieving zero hunger: implementing a human rights approach to food security in Ethiopia

A human rights approach to food security seeks to empower vulnerable groups to claim their rights. It also reinforces a government’s obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to food. Furthermore, it encourages the integration of the right to food into the design and implementation of food security policies. This article examines the human rights approach to food security, with specific reference to Ethiopia. It assesses the historical causes of Ethiopia’s food insecurity, and examines the legislative and policy measures that the country has adopted over the last three decades in order to achieve food security. Food insecurity in the country is largely explained by the absence of government accountability. In 1973 and 1984, the hunger caused by drought was transitioned to famine not because of overall unavailability of food in the country, but because the government failed to provide food aid to the starved people and concealed the occurrence of famines from the international donors. Despite designing some food security policies over the last three decades, the country has not yet adopted sufficient legislative and judicial measures to enforce the right to food. This article argues that Ethiopia should introduce a framework law on the right to food to end hunger in the context of achieving national food security.     

Degrees of Separation: Informal Social Protection,Relatedness and Migration in Biswanath,Bangladesh

This paper argues for a more precise and context specific understanding of mechanisms of ‘informal social protection’ in Bangladesh. The context is a ‘Londoni’ village in Sylhet which has high levels of internal and overseas migration. The economic boom caused by the latter provides important employment opportunities for people from much poorer areas of Bangladesh, who have moved into the area. Yet, as our findings show, the extent to which the poor can call upon the help and protection of rich overseas migrants depends upon the degree of closeness to, or separation from, them. This is marked both through real and fictive kinship as well as geography: those that come from nearby become ‘our own poor’, whereas those from further away are treated as ‘outsiders', not qualifying for significant ‘help’. As the paper argues, access to hierarchically ordered places is vital for the sustainability of precarious livelihoods. Yet whilst geographical movement is an important survival strategy for the poor, it is only when social relations are established with wealthy patrons that it can be said to contribute to informal social protection.     

Managing the Public Sector in Hong Kong: Trends and Adjustments

Public sector management in Hong Kong was initially designed to rule the territory as a British colony. A number of changes took place in the last quarter century before Hong Kong's reintegration with China and the nature of public sector management has transformed over this period. An overview of administrative principles and practices and an analysis of changes reveal trends that were influenced by both local and international factors. The framework of traditional public administration in the territory adapted effectively to embrace the principles of new public management without much difficulty. The global economic crisis compelled the government to revise its strategies to expand public spending and adopt a further reduced role in the provision of public services. New social, economic and political challenges are driving Hong Kong to adjust to the changing circumstances and trends, and four noticeable shifts can be identified. They include shifts from an administrative to a political executive, from job cuts to job creation, from financial restraint to increased spending, and from public to private sector provision of public services. The trends are driven by local and international forces as well as the progress of democratization and political awareness in Hong Kong.