Messenger RNA Profiling for Forensic Body Fluid Identification： Research and Applications

Identifying the origin of body fluids left at a crime scene can give a significant insight into crime scene reconstruction by supporting a link betw een sample donors and actual criminal acts. How ev-er, the conventional body fluid identification methods are prone to various limitations, such as time con-sumption, intensive labor, nonparallel manner, varying degrees of sensitivity and limited specificity. Re-cently, the analysis of cell-specific messenger RNA expression （mRNA profiling） has been proposed to supplant conventional methods for body fluid identification. Since 2011, the collaborative exercises have been organized by the European DNA Profiling Group （EDNAP ） in order to evaluate the robustness and reproducibility of mRNA profiling for body fluid identification. The major advantages of mRNA profil-ing, compared to the conventional methods, include higher sensitivity, greater specificity, the ability of detecting several body fluids in one multiplex reaction, and compatibilitywith current DNA extraction and analysis procedure. In the current review ,we provided an overview of the present know ledge and detection methodologies of mRNA profiling for forensic body fluid identification and discussed its possi-ble practical application to forensic casew ork.     

“It’s the politics, stupid!”. The politicization of anti-corruption in Italy

This article aims to analyze the relationship between judicial activism against political corruption and electoral accountability. The judiciary plays a pivotal role in enforcing anti-corruption legislation, and, in many countries, courts have moved closer and closer towards that kind of working. In the article, we analyze the conditions under which a judicial prosecution of corrupt practices can also lead to electoral punishment of political misconducts by voters, or to a failure of accountability mechanisms. The latter outcome is more likely to occur if judicial activism is politicized. The ‘politicization’ of anti-corruption initiatives is here defined as an increase in the polarization of opinions, interests, or values about judicial investigations and the extent to which this polarization is strategically advanced towards the political debate by parties, political leaders, and media. By crystallizing a new dimension of political conflict, political actors can negatively affect electoral accountability, diminishing the risk of electoral punishment. We study this phenomenon by analyzing the case of Italy, a country which has experienced high levels of politicization of anti-corruption. However, whether and to what extent anti-corruption policies can be politicized is a question open for many other countries that can take a similar path.     

Fire debris analysis and scene reconstruction

During the summer of 2010 near a little village in the south of Italy, a fire destroyed a piece of brushland without any apparent economic importance. The remains of a fire-setting tool were found at the point of origin of the fire. It was started using a well-planned and methodical approach. The analytical results demonstrated a sophisticated and effective incendiary tool designed to leave little evidence that could identify the offender. The action and the purpose of the arsonist were clear but the basic motivation was unpredictable. The burned area was without any relevant economical interest. It was burnt during the past and has not been used for any cultivation or sheep farming but in the region there was evidence of bushfires that had been lit to stimulate the growth of forest fruits to be harvested for sale.     

Being poor,feeling poorer: Combining objective and subjective measures of welfare in Albania

Abstract

In this paper we investigate how combining objective and subjective measures of welfare can enrich traditional poverty profiles by exploring the relationship between these welfare measures, and examining what explains the differences between the two. One important finding of our analysis (using data for Albania) is that reconciling subjective and objective poverty profiles suggests the presence of sizable economies of scale. This result calls for increased attention to the proper estimation of a scale parameter for poverty analysis, as changes in assumptions on economies of size and adult equivalence scales are likely to produce significant changes in the analysis of poverty and its distribution across households and individuals.     

The Survival of Gunshot Residues in Cremated Bone: An Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry Study

Gunshot residue (GSR) has been sought and demonstrated on many types of material and with many techniques. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP‐OES) could be a useful method on difficult substrates, but a systematic study on burnt material has never been performed. Hence, this study aims at evaluating the usefulness and reliability of this method on burnt samples. Sixteen adult bovine ribs (eight with soft tissues, eight totally skeletonized) were shot using two kinds of projectile (both 9 mm full metal‐jacketed or unjacketed). Then, every sample was led to complete calcination in an electric oven. The area of the gunshot entrance wound was swabbed and analyzed by ICP‐OES; the results were also correlated with a previously published parallel study by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with an SEM–energy dispersive X‐ray analyzer. ICP‐OES proved to be very sensitive and reliable even on degraded material and can be an appropriate nondestructive method for detecting residues on difficult and delicate substrates such as burnt bone.     

On the Relationship between Violent Conflict and Wages in Colombia

We analyse how forced displacements caused by violent conflict are related to the wages of workers in Colombia. Using data from the Quality of Life Survey (2011–2014), we analyse the differences in wages between those forced by violence to move to other regions, and those who moved for other reasons. We apply Propensity Score Matching techniques to compare workers from the two groups, finding that forced displacement is related to decreases of between 10 and 29 per cent in the wages of males, and between 18 and 37 per cent in the wages of females, relative to their counterparts. Thus, forced displacements are related to poorer labour market outcomes in terms of wages.     

X-ray mapping technique: a preliminary study in discriminating gunshot residue particles from aggregates of environmental occupational origin

The possibility of detection of lead-antimony-barium aggregates from non-firearm sources is confirmed according to the tests performed on brake pads, and firework and automobile workers. Moreover, information on particles taken from cartridge cases shows the relative feeble importance of the morphology in distinguishing gunshot residues (GSRs). Furthermore, also the presence in the spectrum of other elements (e.g., iron) is not so conclusive. In this panorama, the possibility of discriminating gunshot residue particles from other non-firearm lead-antimony-barium aggregates is investigated: the proposed method is based on X-ray mapping technique--currently applied used in Reparto Carabinieri Investigazioni Scientifiche in Rome, the forensic service of Italian Carabinieri--according to which the spatial distribution of the emission energy of each element of the sample is pictured. Gunshot residues present the same lead-antimony-barium distribution (or at least the same antimony-barium distribution with lead nodules), as some other environmental occupational aggregates do not (different plaques of lead, antimony, and barium). So, X-ray mapping technique can offer a new fundamental evaluation parameter in analysis of gunshot residues with scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive (SEM/EDS) spectrometry, and new standards could be considered.     

恢复性司法视域中的反腐败追逃追赃国际合作

我国反腐败斗争取得压倒性胜利,但形势依然严峻复杂。以《联合国反腐败公约》为基础,通过劝返和域外追诉等方式,使很多外逃腐败分子回国接受审判,追缴回了很多赃款。然而我国现阶段适用这两种方式进行反腐败追逃追赃工作时,面临缺乏强力的法律支撑和顺畅的国际合作等难题。我国应当在相关法律,特别是《刑事诉讼法》《监察法》中认可“恢复性司法”的理念和模式,充分利用劝返模式的优势,减少域外追诉的负担。此外,在法律制度层面认可恢复性司法,可增进世界其他国家对我国反腐败法律制度的了解,增强我国在反腐败国际合作中的话语权。