Forensic applications of chemical imaging: latent fingerprint detection using visible absorption and luminescence

Chemical imaging technology is a rapid examination technique that combines molecular spectroscopy and digital imaging, providing information on morphology, composition, structure, and concentration of a material. Among many other applications, chemical imaging offers an array of novel analytical testing methods, which limits sample preparation and provides high-quality imaging data essential in the detection of latent fingerprints. Luminescence chemical imaging and visible absorbance chemical imaging have been successfully applied to ninhydrin, DFO, cyanoacrylate, and luminescent dye-treated latent fingerprints, demonstrating the potential of this technology to aid forensic investigations. In addition, visible absorption chemical imaging has been applied successfully to visualize untreated latent fingerprints.     

Diagnosis of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy by immunohistochemical staining for prolactin in cerebral vessels

Sudden unexplained death in epilepsy occurs when epilepsy patients die suddenly and unexpectedly in the absence of recent tonic-clonic seizure activity. There is currently no known reliable indicator of acutely lethal seizure activity. Clinical studies record a relationship between recent (within 10-40 minutes) seizure activity and elevated serum prolactin levels, and postictal elevation of prolactin within peripheral vessels has proved clinically useful in determining recent seizure activity. The authors hypothesized that elevated prolactin could be detected in cerebral vessels by immunohistochemical stains, serving as a marker for sudden unexplained death in epilepsy. They conducted a retrospective study of individuals who died in their jurisdiction during the 14 years from 1986 through 1999. The study contained one group of individuals who died of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy, a group with epilepsy who died of some other cause, and a control group whose members died rapidly of a gunshot wound of the torso. Sections of hippocampus and neocortex were obtained and stained with a polyclonal prolactin antibody. No significant difference in the level of immunostaining for prolactin in cerebral vessels was found between the experimental and control groups. A review of the protocols used indicates that revision of certain aspects may provide better immunostaining and more conclusive results.     

Government support of technical progress: Lessons from history

In the past, the U.S. government has been involved in various programs to support technical progress. The record of such programs in seven industries offers important guidelines. The economist's usual presumption that government support for such activities should be concentrated on those cases in which there is palpable market failure proves much too simple. Programs that stand the best chance of success are those in which the government itself is a dominant customer for the product concerned, those that do not require the government to determine what the commercial market wants, and those that do not directly threaten the relative position of competing firms in the industry. Some of the most successful programs have been positioned between basic research on the one hand and commercial application on the other.     

The twists and turns of institutional innovation in small island developing states: the case of Tuvalu

The question of institutional reform in small island developing states (SIDS) has so far attracted two general perspectives. The predominant approach prescribes neo-Weberian principles such as de-politicisation, neutrality, ‘professionalism', continuity and anonymity, and rational-bureaucratic structures. Critics highlight contextual specificities and maintain that Weberian principles are not plausible amid key constraints in SIDS including low human and logistical capacity, pervasive inter-personal and cross-cutting relations, and difficulty in attaining anonymity in public affairs. This debate remains largely intuitive, without the requisite empirical insights about the peculiar institutional trajectories and incentive structures driving change and continuity within SIDS. This paper provides a critical examination of the enduring quagmire of institutional development in SIDS based on a comprehensive account of the experience of Tuvalu.     

How Bad is Bad?: Dispositional Negativity in Political Judgment

Political Behavior - When citizens approach political decision-making tasks, they carry with them differing values and preferences, yielding heterogeneity in their assessments. This study explores...     

The role of community in facilitating service utilization

Guided by an integrated theory of parent participation, this study examines the role community characteristics play in influencing a parent's decision to use voluntary child abuse prevention programs. Multiple regression techniques were used to determine if different community characteristics, such as neighborhood distress and the community's ratio of caregivers to those in need of care, predict service utilization levels in a widely available home visiting program. Our findings suggest that certain community characteristics are significant predictors of the extent to which families utilize voluntary family supports over and above the proportion of variance explained by personal characteristics and program experiences. Contrary to our initial assumptions, however, new parents living in the most disorganized communities received more home visits than program participants living in more organized communities. The article concludes with recommendations on how community capacity building might be used to improve participant retention.     

A new type of shotgun ammunition produces unique wound characteristics

The Tucson Police Department, Tucson, AZ, has begun using the Polyshok Impact Reactive Projectile (IRP), a new type of shotgun ammunition that includes a lead bead core that travels within single, plastic-encased projectile. On impact, the core is released to distribute over a small area, thereby disintegrating on impact to reduce the likelihood of exit or collateral damage on missed shots. After a brief review of shotgun slug ballistics and wound characteristics and a discussion of the mechanism of the Polyshok IRP, we report the first death in the United States from this ammunition. Findings included a single entrance wound with plastic ammunition components and small lead particles recovered from the body, the combination of which normally would suggest a close-range shooting with birdshot. However, the characteristics of this ammunition create different patterns than are found with slugs or shot, so that a medical examiner unfamiliar with the Polyshok IRP could draw inaccurate conclusions about ammunition and range of fire. Because the single projectile fired from this ammunition is composed of both plastic and lead, plastic components are likely to be found within the wound at any range of fire, unlike traditional shot or slug ammunition. Also, the small size of lead particles found spread through the wound cavity would ordinarily suggest a small-size shot, whereas the external appearance of the wound (a single entrance with no dispersion of shot) and the pattern of tissue destruction are more consistent with the patterns of injury associated with shotgun slugs.