Y-chromosome STR haplotypes in Somalis

A total of 201 males from Somalia were typed for the Y-chromosome STRs DYS19, DYS385a/b, DYS389-I, DYS389-II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438 and DYS439 with the PowerPlex Y kit (Promega). A total of 96 different haplotypes were observed and the haplotype diversity was 0.9715. The number of unique haplotypes was 71 while the most common haplotype was observed 24 times.     

Y-chromosome STR haplotypes in Danes

A total of 185 unrelated Danish males were typed for the Y-chromosome STRs DYS19, DYS385a/b, DYS389-I, DYS389-II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438 and DYS439 using the kits PowerPlex Y (Promega), ReliaGene Y-Plex 6 and ReliaGene Y-Plex 5 (Reliagene Technologies). A total of 163 different haplotypes were observed and among these, 144 haplotypes were unique. The gene diversity was 0.9985. In DYS392, a variant allele migrating as a 10.2 allele was observed. Sequencing of the allele showed a deletion upstream the repeated area.     

Managing the Welfare State: Lessons from Gustav Möller*

The administrative problems of the present Welfare State have come into focus in recent research. The basic question being raised is whether an elected government can control the bureaucracies that handle the social programmes, i.e., whether the intentions of the parliamentary majority really can be translated into action when they reach the point of administrative implementation. The central subject of this study is the legendary architect of the Swedish Welfare State, Gustav Möller, who was Minister of Social Affairs 1924-26 and 1932-51. It is argued that many of the problems highlighted in present theories of public administration were already apparent to Möller. As the minister responsible for the administrative construction of the Swedish Welfare State, he developed several strategies to cope with the problems of bureaucracy. Having lost the battle over the Social Democratic party leadership in 1946, Gustav Möller left the government in 1951. Subsequently many of his original anti-bureaucratic administrative strategies were reversed.     

河北省参与"西部计划"大学生志愿者情况调查分析

对2003年河北省服务西部大学生志愿者的调查表明,他们参与"西部计划"的动机主要为"国家需要"、"自我锻炼",98%的志愿者表示对未来1～2年的服务"有信心",多数志愿者表示服务期满后会考虑继续留在西部.同时,调查也发现服务期满后的就业问题是这些志愿者最担忧的问题.     

A suicide prevention strategy for England

Over the last decade an increasing number of countries have established national strategies for suicide prevention. In the autumn of 2002 the suicide prevention strategy for England was presented to the general public, introducing what could be called a second generation of national programs for suicide prevention. This strategy uses evidence-based criteria for its priorities more systematically than before. Furthermore, it has put an increased emphasis on goals being specific, preventive measures being practical, and the preventive potential being visible. Other guiding principles for this strategy are that suicide preventive measures and initiatives should be open to monitoring and evaluation, and that revisions and updates of the national strategy should be made regularly--thus constituting an evolving strategy. This paper examines the content of the new national strategy for suicide prevention in England and what new contributions to the field it may make.     

Medicolegal aspects of witnessed suicide due to gunshot to the head. II. Legal medicine aspects and examination of the firing hand

The second part of the paper on suicides by gunshots to the head in the presence of witnesses focuses on relevant morphological autopsy findings such as entrance site, signs of close range or contact shots, bullet path etc. and also discusses selected aspects of ascertaining gunshot residues. For the identification of the shooter an integral medicolegal assessment of all the facts including the investigation results and the autopsy findings is essential. However, the morphological findings alone do not allow safe diagnosis, as for example in a homicide the temporal region, which was affected in all our cases, may have been deliberately chosen by the perpetrator as a localization typical of suicide. Thus methods to ascertain gunshot residues on the firing hand (by means of adhesive films and the polyvinyl-alcohol collection method--PVAL) are of great practical importance. In seven cases adhesive films and/or the polyvinyl-alcohol collection method were used. In one case the gunshot residues (GSR) were analysed by means of tape lifts and subsequent scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that especially the combined application of topographical (adhesive tape/PVAL) and cumulative (SEM) methods allowed for the doubtless identification of the shooter, thus usually confirming the suicide. By the example of one case it is demonstrated that without the immediate collection of evidence at the scene objective reconstruction of the event becomes impossible. On the basis of the reported cases recommendations are finally given for a differentiated approach in the medicolegal evaluation of alleged witnessed suicide by gunshot (to the head).     

文明相容与人权对话--大沼保昭《人权、国家与文明》读后

日本学者大沼保昭建立了"文明相容的人权观"的思想,以此为分析视角,重新审视了普遍人权与特殊人权、人权与主权、经济性人权与自由性人权的关系,可以发现我们的一些人权口号在反对西方人权攻势的同时,也走入了另外一个极端.放弃实用主义,在反对西方霸权主义的同时对人权的理论问题进行深入分析并努力改善人权,才是在人权问题上的科学态度.     

The importance of a urine sample in persons intoxicated with flunitrazepam--legal issues in a forensic psychiatric case study of a serial murderer

The sedative-hypnotic benzodiazepine flunitrazepam (FZ) is abused worldwide. The purpose of our study was to investigate violence and anterograde amnesia following intoxication with FZ, and how this was legally evaluated in forensic psychiatric investigations with the objective of drawing some conclusions about the importance of urine sample in a case of a suspected intoxication with FZ. The case was a 23-year-old male university student who, intoxicated with FZ (and possibly with other substances such as diazepam, amphetamines or cannabis), first stabbed an acquaintance and, 2 years later, two friends to death. The police investigation files, including video-typed interviews, the forensic psychiatric files, and also results from the forensic autopsy of the victims, were compared with the information obtained from the case. Only partial recovery from anterograde amnesia was shown during a period of several months. Some important new information is contained in this case report: a forensic analysis of blood sample instead of a urine sample, might lead to confusion during police investigation and forensic psychiatric assessment (FPA) of an FZ abuser, and in consequence wrong legal decisions. FZ, alone or combined with other substances, induces severe violence and is followed by anterograde amnesia. All cases of bizarre, unexpected aggression followed by anterograde amnesia should be assessed for abuse of FZ. A urine sample is needed in case of suspected FZ intoxication. The police need to be more aware of these issues, and they must recognise that they play a crucial role in an assessment procedure. Declaring FZ an illegal drug is strongly recommended.     

Automated headspace solid-phase dynamic extraction for the determination of cannabinoids in hair samples

This article describes a fully automated procedure for detecting cannabinoids in human hair samples. The procedure uses alkaline hydrolysis and headspace solid-phase dynamic extraction (HS-SPDE), followed by on-coating derivatization and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). SPDE is a further development of solid-phase microextraction (SPME), based on an inside needle capillary absorption trap. It uses a hollow needle with an internal coating of polydimethylsiloxane as extraction and pre-concentration medium.Ten mg of hair were washed with deionised water, petroleum ether and dichloromethane. After adding deuterated internal standards, the sample was hydrolyzed with sodium hydroxide and directly submitted to HS-SPDE. After absorption of analytes for an on-coating derivatization procedure, the SPDE-needle was directly placed into the headspace of a second vial containing N-methyl-N-trimethylsilyl-trifluoroacetamide before GC-MS analysis. The limit of detection was 0.14 ng/mg for Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol, 0.09 ng/mg for cannabidiol, and 0.12ng/mg for cannabinol. Absolute recoveries were in the range of 0.6 to 8.4%. Linearity was verified over a range from 0.2 to 20 ng/mg, with coefficients of correlation between 0.998 and 0.999. Intra- and inter-day precision were determined at two different concentrations and resulted in ranges between 2.3 and 6.0% (intra-day) and 3.3 and 7.6% (inter-day). Compared with conventional methods of hair analysis, this automated HS-SPDE-GC-MS procedure is substantially faster. It is easy to perform without using solvents and with minimal sample quantities, and it yields the same sensitivity and reproducibility. Compared to SPME, we found a higher extraction rate, coupled with a faster automated operation and greater stability of the device.