The Optimal Combination of Cartilage Source and Apparatus for Long‐Term In Vitro Chondrocyte Viability Analysis

Abstract: Most studies of long‐term chondrocytes survival were for tissue banks. They showed a gradual reduction in the viable chondrocytes percentage as a function of time and ambient temperature, but the samples were harvested under optimal conditions. The aim of our study was to determine the most reliable combination of cartilage source and assay for the in vitro postmortem chondrocyte viability analysis in the conditions that imitate a dead body. Osteochondral cylinders were procured from femoral condyles and talar trochleas of three male donors and stored in the cell culture media at 4 ± 2°C and 23 ± 2°C. The samples were analyzed by a cell viability analyzer and a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) initially 24–36 h after death and then in 4‐week intervals. The results reconfirmed the significant influence of time (p = 0.0002), but not of the temperature (p = 0.237). The largest reproducibility was presented for the knee joint and the CLSM.     

Development of a fast, simple profiling method for sample screening using high resolution melting (HRM) of STRs

A screening assay has been developed to provide preliminary individualization of crime scene samples thus eliminating expensive, time-consuming short tandem repeat (STR) profiling of nonprobative samples. High resolution melting performed in a real-time PCR instrument is used to detect the slight melting differences between the length and sequence variations of 22 forensic STRs. Three STRs (vWA, D18S51, THO1) were chosen to develop an assay which was optimized for Mg++ concentration, annealing/extension time/temperature, assay volume, and bovine serum albumin addition. The assay was tested for reproducibility, uniformity for genotype, melting profile consistency, effects of inhibitors, and mixture effects. The assay could be used to determine DNA concentration when a standard curve is run simultaneously. Calculations of costs show that the assay can save significant time and money for a crime with many samples or suspects.     

Managing Police Patrol Time: The Role of Supervisor Directives

Contemporary police practice advocates the importance of proactive policing activities. Proactive policing reforms emphasize self‐initiated tasks during unassigned patrol time and directed activities based on supervisor review of crime analysis and problem identification. Our study analyzes data from systematic social observations of police patrol officers to examine how officers spent their discretionary time. We find that, on average, over three quarters of a patrol officers’ shift is unassigned. During this time, officers primarily self‐initiate routine patrol, or back up other officers on calls to which they were not dispatched. Just 6 percent of unassigned time activities are directed by supervising officers, dispatchers, other officers or citizens. Moreover, directives provided by supervisors are vague, general in form, and do not operationalize problem‐oriented policing, community‐oriented policing, or proactive policing strategies. We conclude that first, a very significant proportion of patrol officer time is spent uncommitted that could be better utilized doing proactive, problem‐oriented policing activities, and second, supervisors need to provide patrol officers with much more detailed directives, based on sound crime analysis, to help capitalize on the under‐utilization of patrol officer time.     

Risks of Criminal Victimization in Contemporary Urban China: An Application of Lifestyle/Routine Activities Theory

The philosophical underpinnings of youth courts rest on the notion that youths are less culpable and more reformable than adults. Some scholars argue that, ideally, when sentencing youth crime, judges should engage youthful offenders in moral communication to elicit change. But do they? What more generally do judges say to the youths? This paper analyzes the frequency and content of judicial censure and moral communication in the sentencing of youth sex offenders. Drawing on the sentencing remarks for 55 sexual violence cases, we examine the ways in which judges interact with youths and censure the offenses, and what, if any, normative guidance they give concerning gender, sexuality, and violence. We found that in most but not all cases, the judges censured the offending as both a moral and legal wrong. However, they spent more time discussing a youth’s future than past behavior, as they sought to elicit change. The judges did not degrade or exclude the offenders; rather, they addressed them in a spirit of reintegration, as worthy individuals with future potential. Although the judges set norms of appropriate sexual behavior to the youths when the offense victims were children, they did not always do so when victims were female peers. In this Youth Court, “real rape” was sexual offending by a youth against a child under 12 years of age. By contrast, in about one‐fifth of cases, all of which occurred against a female peer, the offending was censured only as a legal wrong (a “pseudo censure”) and less likely subject to judicial norm setting.     

The Influence of High School Activity Portfolios on Risky Behaviors in Emerging Adulthood

Extracurricular participation in adolescence is often linked to the development of a prosocial identity and social relationships. Through these social psychological mechanisms, participation is thought to prevent risky behavior in adolescence and into emerging adulthood. This study examined the relationship between high school activity portfolios and risky behaviors (i.e. binge drinking, drug use, and law violation) among a college sample. Five activity portfolios were identified, including sports-focused, low involvement, highly engaged, and two combination portfolios. There were significant differences between portfolios on social psychological measures (e.g. prosocial beliefs and social responsibility), current extracurricular involvement, and risky behaviors. Regression models indicated that social psychological factors and current involvement partially mediated the association between portfolios and risky behaviors, but portfolio type retained direct effects. Portfolios associated with involvement across several activity domains were more protective for emerging adults, in part by shaping their beliefs, sense of social responsibility, and continuing involvement.     

Differential Social Support,Differential Coercion,and Organized Criminal Activities

Utilizing differential social support and coercion theory, the study examines how levels of social support and coercion lead to involvement in organized criminal activities through the development of anger, low self-control, low social control, and access to illegitimate social support. The findings show that the association between social support and organized criminal activities is mediated through anger, self-control, social control, and access to illegitimate social support. Similarly, the relationship between coercion and organized criminal activities is mediated through anger, self-control, and illegitimate social support. The results also reveal that coercion has a direct effect on crime. The study offers preliminary theoretical support but more theoretical and empirical work is required to clarify the causal continuum of erraticness and consistency of central variables.     

伽达默尔的瞬间概念

时间问题是西方哲学的基本问题,因而也是伽达默尔哲学解释学思想的一项重要内容。伽达默尔吸收了西方时间观中关于充实的时间的思想,提炼出自己的瞬间概念。瞬间概念将流逝的时间因素转变为人的生命内涵,一方面为伽达默尔形成历史性观念奠定了思想基础,令伽达默尔得以阐述人的历史性连贯性与现实历史的非连贯性之间的张力关系,借助于历史性的连贯性建立现实历史的连贯性;另一方面为新旧不同视域的融合提供了契机,令伽达默尔得以阐述现实历史中新时代与旧时代之间既断裂又融合的相互关系,表达自己侧重于连贯性而非断裂性的历史观。瞬间概念还同伽达默尔的历史间距、应用、效应史等观念水乳交融,为我们理解伽达默尔哲学解释学总体思想提供了一条重要线索。     

The impact of the conflict in Gaza on antisemitism in Belgium

ABSTRACT

Taking Belgium as a case study, this article aims to assess the impact of a foreign conflict (the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Gaza Strip) on intergroup relations in Europe. It asks whether intensification of the conflict in Gaza increases the number of antisemitic incidents in Belgium, and makes use of a database of complaints to the Centrum voor gelijkheid van kansen en voor racismebestrijding (Center of Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism), a federal anti-racism agency, and of an analysis of political claims-making in the written press. It is often stated that the conflict between Palestine and Israel leads to increased levels of antisemitism in Europe but rarely is this based on statistical analysis. The authors of this article undertook such an analysis and concluded that complaints about antisemitism in Belgium indeed showed a statistically significant increase during the Israeli military operation Cast Lead (December 2008–January 2009). Time series and intervention analysis on data spanning a period of one-and-a-half years, however, showed that this effect was not lasting and wore off after a couple of weeks. Apart from the temporary effect of the Gaza war on domestic intergroup relations, there seemed to be no systematic and continuous link between events in the Middle East and acts of antisemitism in Belgium.     

联苯胺预试验处理血痕后样本DNA定量的研究

目的探讨联苯胺血痕预试验处理后样本DNA含量的变化及对STR分型检测的影响。方法选取10名无关个体EDTA抗凝血液制成滤纸血痕,保存干燥时间分0．5h、1h、3h、6h、12h、24h六个实验组,并采用磁珠提取法、QIAcubeDNA提取纯化法、chelex-100提取法提取样本DNA,应用RT-PCR定量技术检测样本DNA含量,同时应用PCR-STR技术和Idfiler-plus试剂盒检测相应样本STR分型。结果联苯胺血痕预试验后处理样本,随保存时间的延长,其样本DNA含量显示逐渐降低的趋势。回归线性对数分析显示,磁珠提取法：Y=-0．40871n（x）＋0．7044R0—0．7633;QIAcubeDNA提取纯化法：Y=-0．23931n（x）＋0．4764R0—0．8715;chelex-100提取法：Y=-0．11781n（x）＋0．2302R2=0．9571。不同DNA提取方法对同一保存时间的联苯胺血痕预试验试剂处理样本DNA含量间差异有极显著性,P〈O．01。结论联苯胺血痕预试验后对后续STR分型影响较大,联苯胺血痕预实验后的血痕不能继续进行STR分型检测。     

物证时间信息检验

物证鉴定是犯罪侦查和法庭诉讼重建犯罪事实的重要手段,物证鉴定提供的时间信息是事实重建的核心要素。本文概述了现代物证时间信息检验的技术方法和结果应用,阐述了以“时点、时长和时序”为时间参数的物证时间信息检验技术和应用理论框架。