Genetic risk and the birth of the somatic individual

This paper considers the implications of the rise of the new molecular genetics for the ways in which we are governed and the ways in which we govern ourselves. Using examples of genetic screening and genetic discrimination in education, employment and insurance, and a case study of debates among those at risk of developing Huntington's Disease and their relatives, we suggest that some of the claims made by critics of these new developments are misplaced. While there are possibilities of genetic discrimination, the key event is the creation of the person 'genetically at risk'. But genetic risk does not imply resignation in the face of an implacable biological destiny: it induces new and active relations to oneself and one's future. In particular, it generates new forms of 'genetic responsibility', locating actually and potentially affected individuals within new communities of obligation and identification. Far from generating fatalism, the rewriting of personhood at a genetic level and its visualization through a 'molecular optic' transforms the relations between patient and expert in unexpected ways, and is linked to the development of novel 'life strategies', involving practices of choice, enterprise, self-actualization and prudence in relation to one's genetic make-up. Most generally, we suggest, the birth of the person 'genetically at risk' is part of a wider reshaping of personhood along somatic lines and a mutation in conceptions of life itself.     

论我国人事诉讼程序的缺失及其构建

人事诉讼程序是指有关人的身份上权利义务关系之诉讼案件所适用的程序，我国没有专门的人事诉讼程序的规定，其原因是多方面的。为满足人事诉讼案件日益复杂和增多的需要，深化民事司法改革，我国应建立人事诉讼程序。人事诉讼程序应遵循职权审理原则、调解前置后禁止调解原则、当事人亲自诉讼等一系列特殊原则，还应在当事人制度、诉讼的合并、中止、终结等方面做出专门的规定。     

政府形象建设:提高政策执行效率的重要途径

政府政策的有效执行是以政策执行主体的认同和接受为前提条件 ,而这种认同在很大程度上又取决于政府的形象。要提高政策执行效率 ,首先要通过提高政府行政绩效和搞好政府公共关系来改进政府形象 ,以此增强公众对政策的认同。     

A cautionary note on the evaluation of genetic evidence from uniparentally transmitted markers

The combination of the information obtained from lineage genetic markers, such as mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the non-homologous region of Y-chromosome, with data resulting from meiotically recombining loci (diploid/autosomal or haplodiploid/X chromosome) into a single likelihood ratio has been recently proposed. In this work we challenge this proposal and demonstrate that while the genetic evidence obtained from loci which reshuffle at meiosis is appropriate for individual probability calculations, mtDNA and Y-chromosome data are not and, consequently, that joining the evidential value of the two types of markers is generally inconsistent and should be avoided. The assumption of non-involvement of relatives must be clearly and explicitly stated and its acceptance must be left to the court decision.     

刑法上身份概念的辩析

很多学者在界定刑法上的身份时 ,往往只注意犯罪特殊主体的身份 ,因此对身份的探讨也常常囿于仅在犯罪主体这一范畴内进行。但是 ,从身份的固有含义看 ,刑法上的身份 ,不应仅仅是指犯罪特殊主体的身份 ,还应包括犯罪对象的身份 ,犯罪对象物所有者、支配者或管理者的身份。并且 ,还应将身份的主体拓展到法人 ,而不应仅限于自然人     

野火烧不尽 春风吹又生——中华姓氏文化的祖先依恋与祖国认同

中国人的姓氏文化,不但是慎终追远的美德,也是形塑凝聚两岸文化认同的重要组成部分。海峡两岸原本就是一个国家,四百年血脉也已将我们化为血脉同源的中国人,将我们融成中华民族的一部分。我们应籍中华姓氏文化,唤起或恢复台湾民众的祖国认同,共圆两岸人民统一盛世的中国梦。     

Population data for 94 identity SNPs in four U.S. population groups

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sequenced 1036 human DNA samples from four United States population groups (African American, Asian, Hispanic, and Caucasian) using the ForenSeq DNA Signature Prep Kit with Primer Mix B (DPMB) on a MiSeq FGx instrument. In addition to STR markers, DPMB includes amplification primers for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) used for individual identification (iiSNPs, n = 94), ancestry inference (aiSNPs, n = 56), and phenotype prediction (piSNPs, n = 22). Resulting sequencing coverage information was interpreted for the 94 iiSNP markers. Here we present performance characteristics of the ForenSeq DNA Signature Prep Kit in the population studied.     

Comparisons of familial DNA database searching strategies

The current familial searching strategies are generally based on either Identity-By-State (IBS) (i.e., number of shared alleles) or likelihood ratio (i.e., kinship index [KI]) assessments. In this study, the expected IBS match probabilities given relationships and the logic of the likelihood ratio method were addressed. Further, the false-positive and false-negative rates of the strategies were compared analytically or by simulations using Caucasian population data of the 13 CODIS Short Tandem Repeat (STR). IBS ≥ 15, IBS ≥ 16, KI ≥ 1000, or KI ≥ 10,000 were found to be good thresholds for balancing false-positive and false-negative rates. IBS ≥ 17 and/or KI ≥ 1,000,000 can exclude the majority of candidate profiles in the database, either related or not, and may be an initial screening option if a small candidate list is desired. Polices combining both IBS and KI can provide higher accuracy. Typing additional STRs can provide better searching performance, and lineage markers can be extremely useful for reducing false rates.     

How Citizens’ Education,Occupation, Personal Economic Expectations and National Identity Interact with One Another to Sway Public Opinion on the EU

Abstract: This article examines the pattern of interactions between education, occupation, personal economic expectations and feelings of national identity and how these interactions affect public support for the EU. Using Eurobarometer data from 1993 to 2006, the results in this paper demonstrate that occupation mediates the relationship between EU support and education. It is also found that the sway of citizens’ personal financial expectations on EU support is not conditioned by education and occupation. Finally citizens’ personal economic expectations are not found to condition the relationship between EU support and feelings of national identity. In the light of these findings the paper draws implications.