Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Analysis of Red Seal Inks on Questioned Document

Seals are traditionally used in the Far East Asia to stamp an impression on a document in place of a signature. In this study, an accuser claimed that a personal contract regarding mining development rights acquired by a defendant was devolved to the accuser because the defendant stamped the devolvement contract in the presence of the accuser and a witness. The accuser further stated that the seal ink stamped on the devolvement contract was the same as that stamped on the development rights application document. To verify this, the seals used in two documents were analyzed using micro‐attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and infrared spectra. The findings revealed that the seals originated from different manufacturers. Thus, the accuser's claim on the existence of a devolvement contract was proved to be false.     

A PCR marker Linked to a THCA synthase Polymorphism is a Reliable Tool to Discriminate Potentially THC‐Rich Plants of Cannabis sativa L.

Neither absolute THC content nor morphology allows the unequivocal discrimination of fiber cultivars and drug strains of Cannabis sativa L. unequivocally. However, the CBD/THC ratio remains constant throughout the plant's life cycle, is independent of environmental factors, and considered to be controlled by a single locus (B) with two codominant alleles (B_T and B_D). The homozygous B_T/B_T genotype underlies the THC‐predominant phenotype, B_D/B_D is CBD predominant, and an intermediate phenotype is induced by the heterozygous state (B_T/B_D). Using PCR‐based markers in two segregating populations, we proved that the THCA synthase gene represents the postulated B locus and that specific sequence polymorphisms are absolutely linked either to the THC‐predominant or the THC‐intermediate chemotype. The absolute linkage provides an excellent reliability of the marker signal in forensic casework. For validation, the species‐specific marker system was applied to a large number of casework samples and fiber hemp cultivars.     

The Power of Contextual Effects in Forensic Anthropology: A Study of Biasability in the Visual Interpretations of Trauma Analysis on Skeletal Remains

The potential for contextual information to bias assessments in the forensic sciences has been demonstrated, in several forensic disiplines. In this paper, biasability potential within forensic anthropology was examined by analyzing the effects of external manipulations on judgments and decision‐making in visual trauma assessment. Three separate websites were created containing fourteen identical images. Participants were randomly assigned to one website. Each website provided different contextual information, to assess variation of interpretation of the same images between contexts. The results indicated a higher scoring of trauma identification responses for the Mass grave context. Furthermore, a significant biasing effect was detected in the interpretation of four images. Less experienced participants were more likely to indicate presence of trauma. This research demonstrates bias impact in forensic anthropological trauma assessments and highlights the importance of recognizing and limiting cognitive vulnerabilities that forensic anthropologists might bring to the analysis.     

Philemon and Baucis Deaths: Case Reports and Postmortem Biochemistry Contribution

The death of a person as a reaction to the death of another is known as Philemon and Baucis death and may represent a difficult challenge for pathologists, especially due to the decompositional changes that often characterized these situations. In this article, we describe two cases of Philemon and Baucis deaths, the first concerning a married couple and the second concerning a father and son. Postmortem investigations including radiology and biochemistry were performed. Based on the results of all investigations, deaths were attributed to natural causes. Third‐party involvement could be excluded in both situations. In one case, biochemical analysis results revealed potentially contributing causes of death. The reported cases emphasize the importance of correlating findings from different postmortem investigations to identify causes of death, precipitating conditions and predisposing disorders, thus allowing the conclusion of natural death to be reached and third‐party involvement to be excluded.     

平台经营者超高定价的反垄断法规制

淘宝商城事件折射了平台经营者定价的现实困境:双边市场的交叉网络外部性和互补性等经济特点决定了平台经营以不对称定价为基本特征,但从法律角度看,实施免费策略的一边市场可能涉嫌掠夺性定价,而回收总经营成本的另一边市场又可能涉嫌超高定价。如何在分享平台经营降低交易成本、提高消费者福利等正面经济效应的同时,恰当界定这种新型经营者的权利、义务边界,避免其市场力量的不当利用,是平台经营者定价反垄断法规制中需要考虑的核心问题。     

Truth and Politics: Thinking About Evidence‐Based Policy in the Age Of Spin

Evidence‐based policy and the contemporary politics of spin are said to characterise contemporary politics and policy. The paper asks firstly what sense is to be made of this coincidence, and then documents this coincidence. It then asks how credible is the conception of ‘evidence’ espoused by advocates of evidence‐based policy when it is conventionally represented as an ‘objective’ counter to ideology, spin or opinion? It points to major problems with the conventional understandings of ‘evidence’. It is suggested that while the evidence‐based policy literature relies on the associations ‘evidence’ is presumed to have with ‘sensory data’, this is neither the case nor all that defensible. The paper reprises arguments advanced by Henry Mayer and Hannah Arendt that the relationship of politics to the empirical was and is a far more complex relationship than is conventionally understood to be the case.     

Unpacking the Path‐Dependent Process of Institutional Change for PPPs

In the recent past, several countries and states have begun to use Public‐Private‐Partnerships (PPPs) for infrastructure development and have attempted to create institutional environments that enable PPPs. Providing an enabling environment for PPPs entails a combination of institutional creation and changing existing institutions relating to project procurement. This paper attempts to understand how path‐dependant institutional change takes place in the context of PPPs and their enabling environments, and why different institutional environments evolve differently, using two cases: the implementation of PPPs in the road sector in the Netherlands and in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. We identify two factors that can be used as predictors of the direction of institutional change: a long‐term orientation towards institutional change and a willingness to learn and modify transitional institutions. Where these factors exist, and thereby provide a goodness of fit, institutional change is likely to occur.     

Assessing Policy Design and Interpretation: An Institutions‐Based Analysis in the Context of Aquaculture in Florida and Virginia,United States

Recently in the field of policy studies, there has been a renewed interest in research that connects policy design with broader governance outcomes. As opposed to past studies of policy design that have characterized policies along broad categories of variables, however, recent studies have sought to systematically assess the language of public policies and resultant outcomes. This paper contributes to the existing and emerging literature on policy design by coupling a content analysis of polices governing the aquaculture industry in two U.S. states and interviews with aquaculture community members to understand policy design and perceptions of policy legitimacy, coerciveness, and enforcement.