AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus and AmpFlSTR COfiler analysis of tissues stored in GenoFix, a new tissue preservation solution for mass disaster DNA identification

A preliminary study was conducted to assess the capability of a new alcohol-based tissue fixative, GenoFix, to preserve DNA from biopsy tissues stored at room temperature and/or -20 degrees C in a freezer, for subsequent short tandem repeat (STR) DNA typing analysis. Fresh human smooth muscle samples were stored at room temperature in GenoFix for one month and up to one year and seven months before being processed using the megaplex STR systems, AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus and AmpFlSTR COfiler. Alternatively, muscle tissues in GenoFix were placed at -20 degrees C in a freezer for up to 3 1/2 years following two to three months in the fixative at room temperature. DNA analysis was also carried out on tissues stored in GenoFix for one month at room temperature and subsequently paraffin-embedded and stored at room temperature for four years. The AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus and AmpFlSTR COfiler STR profiles produced, using DNA extracted from all fixed tissue samples, were of very good quality. The fluorescent signals were well balanced across the nine STR loci or six loci comprised in the megaplexes surveyed and profiles showed no differences with those observed for the control blood of the respective donor patients. Continuous exposure to GenoFix at room temperature (up to one year and seven months) did not compromise the STR typing analysis of the fixed tissues. No adverse effects were noted on the STR typeability of tissues fixed with GenoFix and stored at -20 degrees C in a freezer for up to 3 1/2 years. STR profiles generated from the paraffin-embedded tissues fixed in GenoFix were of excellent quality. This preliminary study suggests that GenoFix can be used to store tissue samples at room temperature for up to one year and seven months or at -20 degrees C in a freezer for longer storage (up to 3 1/2 years). This new and odorless tissue fixative promotes tissue and DNA preservation in a very effective manner and as such may prove useful in criminal investigations or mass disaster identifications carried out in remote locations and in which a small or large number of tissue samples are collected for further analyses.     

Clinical ethics committees, due process and the right to a fair hearing

The development of clinical ethics committees in the United Kingdom raises a number of important questions about the extent to which they are compatible with the normative values of due process. If committees are to be active in delivering ethics services, it is argued that attention to due process is important. Based on research outcomes, it seems that the chairs of the United Kingdom clinical ethics committees who responded are reasonably satisfied about the ability of their committees to make ethical decisions and slightly less confident about their ability to make legal decisions. If these committees are to make potentially far-reaching decisions (whether or not involving live consultations), it is argued here that they must pay attention to the rules associated with the legal concept of due process. Equally, evaluation of the clinical ethics committee's counterpart in the United States suggests that they may become increasingly authoritative, especially as their role becomes entrenched. This makes attention to due process even more important. However, it is also proposed that, when committees become concerned about due process, their ability to "do ethics" is constrained.     

Fiscal Federalism in Australia

Australia displays high vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI) for historical and constitutional reasons. It also attempts to achieve the highest degree of horizontal fiscal equalization (HFE) to be found in any democratic federation. The Commonwealth Grants Commission (CGC), a non-partisan body at arm's length from politicians, oversees the regime. A recent report claims that equity, efficiency and transparency would all improve if the regime were abolished. Such a change is politically unachievable, but it raises interesting issues in public finance and public administration, which carry over to other federations and union states.
An economically efficient system would: minimize perverse incentives, especially incentives to seek rent; encourage states to grow; discourage suboptimal location decisions; minimize transaction costs. An equitable system would maximize equity between relevantly similar individuals. Aspects of the Australian system that should be copied include the non-partisan agency and the target of HFE between component parts of the country. Aspects that should be discussed and perhaps copied include the very extensive equalization, including the feature of equalizing away the effects of grants for special purposes. Aspects that should probably not be copied include the cumbersome formulae and some of the perverse methods of calculating for 'needs'. All abbreviations and acronyms are spelt out in the Appendix on page 37.     

Settling Like a State: Acehnese Refugees in Vancouver

In Canada, the phenomenon of urban refugees is largely an expressionof state-managed practices, not spontaneous migration and settlement.This study focuses on the distinctly North American, and specificallyCanadian, experiences of pre-meditated, state-planned, government-managedmigration and settlement for urban refugees from the Aceh regionof Indonesia to Vancouver, British Columbia in 2004. It exploreswhy and how these refugees came to Vancouver; the state policydecision that located all of them in one city; and how theyhave fared in acquiring official language proficiency and employment.Whereas many refugees move to urban centres to enhance educationaland employment opportunities, this study illustrates the obstaclesto accessing both in Vancouver. Despite full legal status andaccess to employment sanctioned by the host state, there isno guarantee that refugees will have an easier time creatinglivelihoods under dramatically new conditions. The analysisis based on research conducted between January and August 2005during which a survey of housing, employment, and income issueswas conducted with 70 of the 104 Acehnese refugees who had relocatedto Vancouver since February 2004. In addition, a one-day, three-partseries of focus groups was held during which 47 members of theAcehnese community took part. Discussions centred on three keymoments during their migration: (1) while in Malaysian detentioncamps; (2) upon arrival in Vancouver, British Columbia; and(3) during the first year of settlement in the city, to ascertaincommon settlement experiences, policy implications, and theshort-term ‘success’ of the resettlement.     

Coercion,Information, and the Success of Sanction Threats

This article explores when and why sanction threats succeed in extracting concessions from the targeted country. We focus on two different, albeit not mutually exclusive, mechanisms that can explain the success of sanction threats. The first mechanism relates to incomplete information regarding the sanctioner's determination to impose sanctions and suggests that threats help to extract concessions by revealing the sanctioner's resolve. The second mechanism underscores the direct impact of common interest between the two countries and explains the success of sanction threats by the targeted country's greater dependence on this link between the two countries and the sanctioner's ability to exploit this dependence. We test the hypotheses using a new strategic structural estimator. Our results provide no evidence in favor of the informational hypothesis, while lending robust support for the coercive hypothesis.     

HUMAN TISSUE LEGISLATION AND MEDICAL PRACTICE: A BENEFIT OR A BURDEN?

The scandals surrounding organ removal and retention throughout the United Kingdom provoked several Inquiries and ultimately led to law reform. Although the medical professions were well represented at the Inquiries, little was heard of the voices of those at the 'coal face'. In this scoping study, funded by the Wellcome Trust, we interviewed a number of doctors and others engaged in the uses of human tissue and organs to explore their hopes, concerns and fears about the role of the law in their practices. We found that those involved in transplantation were more aware of, and more actively involve with, the law, whereas others, such as pathologists, had less direct engagement with the law. Most of those we interviewed expressed the hope that law reform would provide much-needed clarity. Although some expressed concern that the law might be over-intrusive, most felt that the placing of authority firmly in the hands of the person him or her self to decide what should happen to their bodies was to be welcomed.