关于中国老年学发展本土化问题的思考

中国老年学研究应结合中国的实际国情,实现本土化发展,更好地为社会的文明进步服务。文章对中国人口老龄化的特点进行了分析,并从中国政治、经济、社会、文化等六个层面,考察了中国老年学与本土国情的链结问题,同时,就加强中国老年学的本土化发展,从注重老年人口学研究、重视建设富有中国特色的老年供养体系、在社区老年工作机制中突出政府的主导作用及重建与时代相适应的新社会思想文化体系等四个方面进行了思考并提出了对策。     

Crime,cash, and limited options: Explaining the prison boom*

Research Summary An analysis of a state panel of prison populations from 1977 to 2005 shows that the best predictors of prison populations are crime, sentencing policy, prison crowding, and state spending. Prison populations grew at roughly the same rate and during the same periods as spending on education, welfare, health and hospitals, highways, parks, and natural resources. Current and lagged values of state spending on prison construction also accounted for a substantial amount of variation in subsequent prison populations. Public opinion, partisan politics, the electoral cycle, and social threats seem to have had little effect on the number of prisoners. Policy Implications The availability of publicly acceptable alternatives to incarceration may not be sufficient to reverse course. Federal funding of alternatives—but not prisons—would provide states with the financial incentive to reduce prison populations.     

瑕疵出资股权转让探析——某公司瑕疵出资股权转让司法会计鉴定案例

司法实践中,由瑕疵出资引发的瑕疵股权转让问题较为常见,相应瑕疵出资责任的承担问题引起纠纷不断,本文在对浙江某公司瑕疵出资股权转让司法会计鉴定案例解析的基础上,分析了相关的司法会计鉴定及股权转让的责任承担问题。     

A rare mutation in the primer binding region of the Amelogenin X homologue gene

Use of Amelogenin locus typing as a gender marker incorporated in STR multiplexes is common practice in forensic genetics analysis. Among 5534 Polish male individuals tested using the SGMPlus kit, one was found to lack the amelogenin X-specific homologue (0.02%). The same result was obtained with other commercial kits which also amplify the amelogenin locus, namely ProfilerPlus and PowerPlex16. When alternative amelogenin primers external to but encompassing the initial amplicon were applied, an X homologue product was seen. Sequencing of the X homologue amelogenin allele revealed C to G mutation located at the most 3′ base of the commonly used amelogenin reverse primer. To our knowledge, this mutation and failure to amplify the X homologue of the amelogenin gene has not been reported for the European population.     

Estimating Mean Length of Stay in Prison: Methods and Applications

This paper examines various approaches to studying the mean length of stay in prison. The literature contains a wide range of estimates of this quantity. The discrepancies that appear in these estimates and in the conclusions reached from them have been the subject of several reviews. We build upon that work, using the life table as the gold standard, to demonstrate the inaccuracy of common measures such as the ratio of the population size to the annual number of entrances or the mean length of time served by those exiting in a particular period. This demonstration is conducted in two parts. One part uses model populations with constant growth rates; the second part relies upon simulated prison populations with time-varying rates of entrance and exit. In addition, we introduce two new indirect measures that are more accurate than several existing indirect measures and that are relatively easy to use. The new measures are based on the entrance rate or the exit rate and adjust for the growth rate of the prison population.

Genetic polymorphism of 14 non-CODIS STR loci for forensic use in southeast China population

We investigated 14 polymorphic STR loci (D1S2142, D2S1360, D3S1545, D7S1517, D10S2325, D12S391, D13S1492, D14S306, D15S659, D16S3253, D18S1270, D19S253, D20S470, D21S1437) which are not included in the standard sets of forensic loci (CODIS) in a sample of 216 unrelated healthy southeast Chinese individuals. The studied loci were highly informative and did not show departures from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The accumulated powers of discrimination and power of exclusion for the 14 loci were 99.9999999999 and 99.999998%, respectively. No linkage was observed between the 14 loci and the traditional set of STR markers included in commercially available kits (the AmpFLSTR IdentifilerTM 15 System loci). We thus considered the studied 14 STRs are informative and when necessary, can be used as the candidate genetic markers in the study and application in genetics and forensic practice.     

Skeletal estimation and identification in American and East European populations

Forensic science is a fundamental transitional justice issue as it is imperative for providing physical evidence of crimes committed and a framework for interpreting evidence and prosecuting violations to International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The evaluation of evidence presented in IHL trials and the outcomes various rulings by such courts have in regard to the accuracy or validity of methods applied in future investigations is necessary to ensure scientific quality. Accounting for biological and statistical variation in the methods applied across populations and the ways in which such evidence is used in varying judicial systems is important because of the increasing amount of international forensic casework being done globally. Population variation or the perceived effect of such variation on the accuracy and reliability of methods is important as it may alter trial outcomes, and debates about the scientific basis for human variation are now making their way into international courtrooms. Anthropological data on population size (i.e., the minimum number of individuals in a grave), demographic structure (i.e., the age and sex distribution of victims), individual methods applied for identification, and general methods of excavation and trauma analysis have provided key evidence in cases of IHL. More generally, the question of population variation and the applicability of demographic methods for estimating individual and population variables is important for American and International casework in the face of regional population variation, immigrant populations, ethnic diversity, and secular changes. The reliability of various skeletal aging methods has been questioned in trials prosecuted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Prosecutor of the Tribunal against Radislav Krstic (Case No. IT-98-33, Trial Judgment) and again in the currently ongoing trial of The Prosecutor of the Tribunal against Zdravko Tolimir, Radivolje Miletic, Milan Gvero, Vinko Pandurevic, Ljubisa Beara, Vujadin Popovic, Drago Nikolic, Milorad Trbic, Ljubomir Borovcanin (IT-05-88-PT, Second Amended Indictment). Following the trial of General Krstic, a collaborative research project was developed between the Forensic Anthropology Center at The University of Tennessee (UT) and the United Nations, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Office of the Prosecutor (ICTY). The purpose of that collaboration was to investigate methods used for the demographic analysis of forensic evidence and where appropriate to recalibrate methods for individual estimation of age, sex, and stature for specific use in the regions of the former Yugoslavia. The question of "local standards" and challenges to the reliability of current anthropological methods for biological profiling in international trials of IHL, as well as the performance of such methods to meet the evidentiary standards used by international tribunals is investigated. Anthropological methods for estimating demographic parameters are reviewed. An overview of the ICTY-UT collaboration for research aimed at addressing specific legal issues is discussed and sample reliability for Balkan aging research is tested. The methods currently used throughout the Balkans are discussed and estimated demographic parameters obtained through medico-legal death investigations are compared with identified cases. Based on this investigation, recommendations for improving international protocols for evidence collection, presentation, and research are outlined.     

Species identification of some common necrophagous flies in Guangdong province, southern China based on the rDNA internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2)

Despite the fact that the differences in epidermal ridge density between men and women have been accepted for some time, they have only been thoroughly demonstrated in a small number of populations. The aim of this study is to determine whether such differences exist in a sample of the Spanish population by counting epidermal ridges within three well-defined fingerprint areas. If significant gender differences do exist, then the likelihood of inferring gender from given ridge densities will be explored. The data used in this study was obtained from all 10 fingerprints of 200 individuals of the Spanish Caucasian population (100 males and 100 females) between the ages of 20 and 30. Results show that women tend to have a significantly higher ridge density than men in the distal region of all 10 fingers (radial and ulnar count areas), but not in the proximal region (lower count area). The application of Bayes' theorem, assuming that prior probabilities known for each sex, indicate a threshold for discrimination of sexes.     

Use of Lucilia species for forensic investigations in Southern Europe

The aim of this study was to highlight the importance of evaluating entomological evidence in forensic investigations on a regional scale. To evaluate climatic, geographical and environmental influences on the selection of carrion-breeding fauna in Northern Italy and consequently on inferred forensic data (post-mortem intervals and post-mortem transfer), we present details of six indoor-outdoor cases. Results show that the most abundant species was Lucilia sericata, together with other fly species of entomo-forensic interest, belonging to the Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae families. In particular, for the first time in Italy, we report finding Phormia regina, Lucilia ampullacea, Lucilia caesar and Sarcophaga (Pandelleana) protuberans on fresh cadavers. The active period of L. sericata in Northern Italy, according to previous findings in Southern Europe, revealing clearcut differences with phenologies in Northern Europe, has important consequences in estimating the period (season, months) of death in cases of long post-mortem intervals (several months or years) if empty puparia of this fly are found. According to our results, the distribution of L. sericata in areas with urban sprawl, like Northern Italian regions, cannot be used to evaluate post-mortem transfer from an urban area to a rural one.     

Y-chromosome STR haplotypes in three different population groups from Ecuador (South America)

POPULATIONS: Over 102 unrelated Mestizos, 102 Native Amerindian (Kichwas), and 102 African Americans who represent the three largest communities of the country Ecuador (South America).