DNA Preparation from Sexual Assault Cases by Selective Degradation of Contaminating DNA from the Victim

Abstract:  The standard method to purify sperm DNA from vaginal swabs taken from rape victims is to selectively digest the victim's epithelial cells to solubilize the victim's DNA, and then separate the soluble DNA from the intact sperm by centrifugation. A different approach to removing the soluble victim's DNA is to selectively degrade it using a nuclease, DNase I. DNase I reduces the amount of soluble DNA by over 1000-fold, while having virtually no effect on the sperm DNA remaining in the sperm head and inaccessible to the enzyme. Nuclease inactivation and sperm lysis then yield a soluble, pure male DNA fraction. An aliquot of soluble DNA is removed prior to nuclease addition to provide the victim's fraction. Vaginal swabs taken at defined time points following consensual sex and taken from rape victims were processed using the nuclease method or the standard method and the nuclease method gave superior short tandem repeat profiles.     

欧洲宪法司法的多样性——兼及法国之例外

目次一、各国宪法司法中不同的抽象审查程度二、各国宪法司法的集中程度三、结论所谓宪法司法,即对国家所有行为包括立法行为、行政行为或司法行为等进行违宪司法审查。欧洲的宪法司法萌芽于19世纪下半叶。但无可否认的是,仅在诞生后的一个世纪,宪法司法方在欧洲得到显著发展。     

Does Early Yogācāra Have a Theory of Meaning? Sthiramati’s Arguments on Metaphor in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Triṃśikā-bhāṣya</Emphasis>

Can the early Yogācāra be said to present a systematic theory of meaning? The paper argues that Sthiramati’s bhā?ya on Vasubandhu’s Tri??ikā (Treatise in Thirty Verses), in which he argues that all language-use is metaphorical, indeed amounts to such a theory, both because of the text’s engagement with the wider Indian philosophical conversation about reference and meaning and by virtue of the questions it addresses and its motivations. Through a translation and analysis of key sections of Sthiramati’s commentary I present the main features of this theory of meaning and discuss the ways in which it is distinct from Vasubandhu’s ideas. I demonstrate how this theory of meaning enabled Sthiramati to present a unique understanding of discourse that distinguishes between varying levels of truth within the conventional realm. This understanding sat well with the Yogācāra soteriological and theoretical needs, and most importantly, enabled him to establish the meaningfulness of the school’s own metaphysical discourse. Securing this meaningfulness was especially important to Sthiramati in meeting the challenge posed by the radical conventionalism of the Madhyamaka, and his response as I interpret it suggests that one of the main disputes between the early Yogācāra with the Mādhyamika, at least as reflected in the Tri??ikā-bhā?ya, in fact turns on linguistic rather than ontological issues.     

Democracy, Sea Power and Institutional Change: An Economic Analysis of the Athenian Naval Law

The present essay attempts to test the validity of the theory of institutional change based on the concept of property rights, in the remote historical setting of Classical Athens. The Naval Law introduced by Themistocles in 483-2 BC, established the institution of trierarchy to produce warships to face the Persian invaders. This reform led to the first attempt to define the costs and benefits of public goods in the field of national defense. Thus, institutional change in Ancient Athens, through an efficient arrangement of property rights and duties, had long-term consequences on economic performance, creating a new growth path and ensuring economic prosperity and social justice for more than 150 years.     

Maltreatment of handicapped children: A critical review

Despite increased interest in child abuse and neglect in the past decade, little research attention has been focused on maltreatment in handicapped populations. This is surprising given that many handicapped children display characteristics (e.g., chronic and pervasive behavioral disturbances, decreased social initiations with caregivers) that are associated with high risk for assault and neglect in nonhandicapped children. Numerous investigations have found an overrepresentation of handicapped children in maltreated samples, and results of more recent efforts reveal a high incidence of abuse and neglect in handicapped populations. Although these data underscore the high risk for maltreatment in handicapped children, a number of important issues warrant further empirical examination. Moreover, generalizations and interpretations of findings from previous research have been obfuscated by methodological shortcomings. The present paper reviews the literature concerning abuse and neglect of handicapped children. Research strategies and issues are delineated and current problems in this field are discussed. Suggestions for directions future research might take are offered.     

Successful extraction of human genomic DNA from serum and its application to forensic identification

We report here on the successful extraction of human genomic DNA from a serum sample in a forensic case. The extracted DNA was successfully used for the identification of remains presumably immersed for more than three weeks for which the only comparison sample was a 250-microL serum aliquot kept frozen in a laboratory. The analysis made it possible to identify a second victim as the daughter of the first.     

A case study of the suicide of Luis Mendès France, in Bordeaux, in 1695

After being condemned and imprisoned in Lisbon by the Portuguese Inquisition, Luis Mendes de Franca exiled himself in late 1683 to France, where his descendants adopted the family name Mendes France. In 1695, at the age of 55 years, Luis Mendes committed suicide in Bordeaux by a pistol shot that decapitated him. The inquest conducted at that time concluded that Luis Mendes was insane and thus not guilty of the crime of suicide. We hypothesize that he used a flint stone-type pistol loaded with an extraordinarily large quantity of black gunpowder. Using available information on historic firearms, ammunition, and powder, coupled with the preserved testimony of historic figures, we propose a reconstruction of this drama and a diagnostic approach to the psychiatric aspects of the suicide.