Developmental Validation of RSID™-Saliva: A Lateral Flow Immunochromatographic Strip Test for the Forensic Detection of Saliva

Abstract:  Current methods for forensic identification of saliva generally assay for the enzymatic activity of α-amylase, an enzyme long associated with human saliva. Here, we describe the R apid S tain ID entification (RSID™-Saliva), a lateral flow immunochromatographic strip test that uses two antisalivary amylase monoclonal antibodies to detect the presence of salivary amylase, rather than the activity of the enzyme. We demonstrate that RSID™-Saliva is accurate, reproducible, and highly sensitive for human saliva; RSID™-Saliva detects less than 1 μL of saliva. The sensitivity of RSID^TM-Saliva allows investigators to sample a fraction of a questioned stain while retaining the majority for DNA-STR analysis. We demonstrate that RSID™-Saliva identifies saliva from a variety of materials (e.g., cans, bottles, envelopes, and cigarette-butts) and it does not cross-react with blood, semen, urine, or vaginal fluid. RSID™-Saliva is a useful forensic test for determining which evidentiary items contain saliva and thus may yield a DNA profile.     

Does the three-factor model of psychopathy identify a problematic subgroup of young offenders?

The present study tests the utility of the personality-based three-factor model of psychopathy according to the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV). This model of psychopathy excludes aspects of criminal behavior as opposed to other models of psychopathy. The main research question was to what extent the three-factor model of psychopathy can identify a problematic subgroup of young offenders. The sample consisted of 148 incarcerated young male criminal offenders, between 15 and 25 years of age (mean=19.07, SD=2.11) who were recruited from a central detention center for young offenders in a northern German county. Model-based cluster analysis of the three psychopathy factors showed that three different clusters labeled: (i) Unemotional/Impulsive-Irresponsible, (ii) Low traits, and (iii) Psychopathic personality, had the best fit to the data. The psychopathic personality cluster with high scores on all three factors of the PCL:SV exhibited, as expected, a significantly higher prevalence of conduct disorder and substance use problems, but was not significantly different from the other clusters on past criminality and previous incarcerations. In conclusion, the results showed that the three-factor model of psychopathy can be useful in identifying a problematic subgroup of young offenders.     

What helps and what hinders the process of surviving the suicide of somebody close?

This paper presents similar findings about the lack of support and understanding for people bereaved through suicide from four different countries and reports on each country's unique response to this challenge. This paper reports on presentations made at the conference workshop of the International Association for Suicide Prevention meeting in Chennai in 2001, and on participants' suggestions of how best to help the bereaved.     

Public pensions and demographic change

He is a former John F. Kennedy Memorial Fellow at the Center for European Studies of Harvard University. He has written several books and articles on issues of labor market theory, work time, and social policy. He is author of Motive und Interessen im Arbeitszeitkonflikt: Eine Analyse der Entwicklung von Normalarbeitszeitstandardsand Zeit und Geld in privaten Haushalten: Gelegenheitsstruktur und Bedarf für Eigenarbeit als Determinanten sozialer Ungleichheit.He is also co-editor of Working Time in Transition: The Political Economy of Working Hours in Industrial Nations.     

Networking to support suicide survivors

This paper is the first report on a national program for increasing bereavement support for suicide survivors in the Flemish region in Belgium. A Working Group consisting of representatives of a wide variety of mental health institutions, social programs, and suicide survivor groups in the area determined that a program developing networks between the services seems to hold the greatest promise for both an increase in the number of services available and an improvement in the quality of services offered.     

Genetic structure among 38 populations from the United States based on 11 U.S. core Y chromosome STRs

A DNA database consisting of the 11 Y chromosome short-tandem-repeat (Y-STR) recommended by the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods is constructed for 2517 individuals from 38 populations in the United States. The population samples derive from five ethnic groups currently living in 10 states. A multidimensional scaling (MDS) plot places the populations into four discrete clusters (African Americans (AA), European Americans (EA), Hispanic Americans (HA), and Asian Americans (SA)) and one dispersed cluster of Native Americans. An analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicates that a large proportion of the total genetic variance is partitioned among ethnic groups (24.8%), whereas only a small amount (1.5%) is found among-populations within ethnic groups. Separate AMOVA analyses within each ethnic group show that only the NA sample contains statistically significant among-population variation. Pair wise population differentiation tests do uncover heterogeneity among EA and among HA populations; however, this is due to only a single sample within each group. The analyses support the creation of AA, EA, HA, and Asian American databases in which samples from different geographic regions within the United States are pooled. We recommend that separate databases be constructed for different NA groups.