Quantitative analysis of amplifiable DNA in tissues exposed to various environments using competitive PCR assays

Competitive PCR assays were established for the mitochondrial DNA hypervariable region I and the human amelogenin locus. Using these assays, the copy numbers of DNA participating in PCR (amplifiable DNA) were quantified in tissues exposed to different environments. Human ribs, skin and nails were left in three exposure conditions (in the open air, in soil and in water). The amounts of amplifiable DNA in these tissues were quantified during a time period of up to two months. The amount of amplifiable DNA was well preserved in hard tissues (ribs and nails) regardless of the exposure conditions, whereas the soft tissues immersed in water showed a rapid decrease in amplifiable DNA. Strong PCR inhibition was observed in the DNA extracts obtained from buried bones. This phenomenon was clearly identified from an amplification failure of the internal standards in the competitive PCR. A preliminary examination to identify the PCR inhibitor suggested that the soil itself contributed to the inhibition. In addition, the amounts of amplifiable DNA in case samples were also investigated.     

科教兴业:新时期民政事业发展的重要方式

为了顺应科教兴国的大趋势，实现民政事业质的飞跃，解决现阶段民政工作的难点问题，就应将科教兴业作为新时期民政事业再创辉煌的重要保证和新的推动力量。作者在文中探讨了民政科教兴业的基本内涵和实施途径。     

6FAM-HEX-TMR-ROX四色荧光分析体系的构建

目的为在310基因分析仪上进行6FAM-HEX-TMR-ROX四色荧光STR复合扩增分型建立基础条件。方法以pGEM载体作为靶DNA,设计引物扩增获得500~80bp的13个长度不等DNA片段,以这些片段纯化物作为模板DNA,分别扩增获得6FAM、HEX、TMR和ROX标记的M atrix标准物,用4种M atrix标准物在310基因分析仪上构建可用于6FAM-HEX-TMR-ROX四色荧光分析的M atrix文件。结果扩增所得的13个非标记片段,长度分别为80、100、120、140、160、180、200、220、260、300、340、400、500bp,在非变性聚丙烯酰胺凝胶连续电泳-银染凝胶上均表现为单条带,6FAM、HEX、TMR、ROX分别标记的片段通过310基因分析仪检测均为单峰。混合ROX标记的80、120、180、220、260、300bp的6个片段获得的内标,显示出良好的线性关系。结论建立了有效的6FAM-HEX-TMR-ROX四色荧光分析M atrix,为进行多个STR基因座荧光标记复合扩增检测奠定了基础。     

行政哲学何以可能

作为一种特殊的部门哲学,行政哲学能否具有自己相对独立的学科地位,关键在于能否从哲学视野中确定自己独特的“问题域”,而这又取决于哲学是否具有不同于作为具体科学行政学的独特的“问题域”。只有恰当地阐释这些问题,才能有效地说明行政哲学能否可能、何以可能以及可能什么。     

指印生物遗传标记检验的研究现状与展望

综述了血指印和汗潜指印生物遗传标记的研究历史和现状,指印DNA检验面临的问题,包括现场污染,显现剂的影响,载体的影响等,并对指印DNA在法医学中的应用前景进行了展望。     

司法鉴定领域分类和能力范围表述的国内外比较研究

对司法鉴定领域开展科学、有效的分类,进行统一规范的能力范围表述,有助于建立完整的司法鉴定标准化体系,能为司法鉴定机构合理规划组织结构、准确定位发展方向提供指引,也能为司法鉴定行业管理部门的规范化管理提供帮助。对该领域分类和能力表述开展国内外比较分析,是实现上述目标的基础性研究。目前我国在司法鉴定领域的分类方法尚未统一,与国外法庭科学认可分类方法相比,尚有部分项目未纳入分类范围之内;国内能力范围表述在目的、方式、详细程度上与国外相比亦有不同。本文对国内外行业管理组织和国际权威认可机构司法鉴定领域分类及能力范围表述进行了比较分析,研究解析其内容及差异,并提出了制定司法鉴定领域分类国家标准、扩展司法鉴定领域分类内容、适时调整司法鉴定能力范围表述内容等建议。     

Printed artificial sweat as replacement for natural fingermarks: Qualitative and quantitative approach considering an amino acid reagent

The study presented in this paper aims at assessing how printed fingermarks can be used to generate realistic latent marks bearing varying quantities of materials to be detected. Considering dilution series of artificial sweat (eccrine secretion) and 1,2-indanedione/zinc as amino acid reagent, we assessed how printed marks behave in comparison to natural fingermarks provided by a set of 30 donors. The results were assessed in terms of relative intensity (contrast, luminescence) and expert grading (ridge details, overall quality). With regards to the set of 30 donors, this study brought a quantitative look to the influence of intra- and inter-variability on the relative intensity values observed when processing natural fingermarks. This provided new data to further understand the concept of “donorship”. With regards to the use of printed marks, it has been illustrated how dilution series of a concentrated solution allows covering a range of cases: unnatural marks (intensity values well above those obtained with donors), rich marks (corresponding to fingermarks left by good donors), and faint marks (associated with the kind of results observed with poor donors). Such a range of detection performance offers the possibility to generate fine-tuned detection exercises of varying difficulty levels. Printed items made of artificial sweat could hence constitute a valuable alternative to natural secretions in the context of education and proficiency testing.     

The distinction between discriminability and reliability in forensic science

Forensic science plays an increasingly important role in the criminal justice system; yet, many forensic procedures have not been subject to the empirical scrutiny that is expected in other scientific disciplines. Over the past two decades, the scientific community has done well to bridge the gap, but have likely only scratched the tip of the iceberg. We offer the discriminability-reliability distinction as a critical framework to guide future research on diagnostic-testing procedures in the forensic science domain. We argue that the primary concern of the scientist ought to be maximizing discriminability and that the primary concern of the criminal justice system ought to be assessing the reliability of evidence. We argue that Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis is uniquely equipped for determining which of two procedures or conditions has better discriminability and we also demonstrate how estimates of reliability can be extracted from this Signal Detection framework.     

Shifting forensic science focus from means to purpose: A path forward for the discipline?

Forensic science is facing a persistent crisis that is often addressed by organizational responses, with a strong focus on the improvement and standardisation of means and processes. However, organisations and processes are highly dependent on the political, economical and legal structures in which they operate. This may explain why most proposed solutions had difficulties in addressing the crisis up to now, as they could hardly be applied transversally to all forensic science models. Moreover, new tools and technologies are continuously developed by a quasi-infinite number of different scientific disciplines, thus leading to further diversity and fragmentation of forensic science. In this paper, it is proposed to shift the focus from means to purpose and consider forensic science current challenges in terms of discipline, before addressing organisations’ specific issues. As a distinct discipline, forensic science can refocus research and development on shared principles and purposes, such as reconstructing, monitoring, and preventing crime and security issues. This focus change will facilitate a better understanding of the trace as the object of study of forensic science and eventually lead to a more impactful and long-lasting effect. This approach will also foster the development of a forensic science culture (instead of a primarily technological culture) unified by purpose rather than means through more relevant education and research.     

Internet mediated crimes and theoretical approaches

Purpose: in the literature, the term ‘Internet crime’ has been coined to indicate the scenario in which a victim of homicide or other crimes is met through a chat room, and lured to death at the hands of the murderer. Various criticisms have been made of this new concept, on the grounds that the outcome is no different from that of other crimes committed without the use of Web resources, and so the method used has no particular influence. Indeed, it has been claimed that informatic crime just reflects a technological change in the nature of crime rather than a new form of criminal behavior attributable to the use of the Internet for criminal purposes. Method: our reflections were prompted by our experience as expert forensic psychiatry witnesses in three cases in which the aggressors had confessed to having had an exclusively virtual relationship with the victims, in which they spent a lot of time daily in a chat room. Conclusion: this scenario offers points for reflection on the nature of Web-mediated victim–aggressor interactions, to assess the effects on the planning and commission of the crime. Discussion. it’s our opinion that there really is such a thing as Internet-correlated crime, because in this case the quality and quantity of the Internet interactions progressively altered the men’s perception of the real relationship between themself and their victims.