Environmental survey for four pathogenic bacteria and closely related species using phylogenetic and functional genes

Bacterial species with high DNA sequence similarity to pathogens could affect the specificity of assays designed to detect biological threat agents in environmental samples. The natural presence of four pathogenic bacteria, Bacillus anthracis, Clostridium perfringens, Francisella tularensis, and Yersinia pestis and their closely related species, was determined for a large collection of soil and aerosol samples. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gene sequencing were used using group-specific 16S rRNA primers to identify pathogens and related species, and pathogen-specific virulence genes. Close relatives of B. anthracis (B. cereus group species) were detected in 37% of the soils and 25% of the aerosol samples. The B. anthracis protective antigen (pag) gene or a close homolog was detected in 16 of these samples. For the other three pathogen groups, the frequency of detection was much lower, and none of the samples were positive with both the phylogenetic and virulence gene primer sets.     

Assessing the potential of bacterial DNA profiling for forensic soil comparisons

A pilot study was undertaken to evaluate DNA profiling of the bacterial community in soil as an alternative to geological methods for forensic soil comparisons. Soil samples from three different ecosystems were compared, and the variation within and between ecologically different sites was determined by using terminal restriction fragment (TRF) analysis of 16S ribosomal DNA. Comparison of TRF profiles revealed that samples from within a specific ecosystem (e.g., a field) showed a significantly higher similarity to each other than to those from another ecosystem (e.g., a forest). In addition, some profile features were unique to specific ecosystems. These features may allow the determination of characteristic profiles that will facilitate identification of ecologically different sites, so that a given sample collected from a suspect could be identified as originating from, for example, a field, rather than a forest. The implications of these preliminary findings for forensic investigations are discussed.     

把握就业根本开拓就业途径

就业是民生之本.千方百计解决好群众的就业问题,是我们党代表最广大人民群众根本利益的体现.我们必须从实践"三个代表"重要思想的高度,从关心群众疾苦、密切党与人民群众血肉联系的高度,提高认识,为人民群众创造良好的就业环境,扩大就业门路.     

个人生活规则的探索与修正——韦斯勒之认知评价疗法的当代解读

认知评价疗法的核心概念是"个人生活规则",它是指个体的一种认知结构,代表个体对心理和社会性事件的法则化的看法和道德伦理的规定性。个体所产生的各种情绪和对自我的看法、评价皆与个人生活规则相关。个体心理问题之所以出现,在于个体所持有的个人生活规则缺乏一定的适应性,故心理治疗就是要对个人生活规则加以调整和修正。认知评价疗法吸收了诸多人文主义的观点,体现了心理疗法间相互融合的趋势。     

创建农村社会救助体系的新思维

本文从贯彻落实“三个代表“重要思想、全面实现小康社会目标的高度,针砭和整合传统的农村社会救助体系,提出了建立新型农村社会救助制度的思路.     

从边缘到主流--对京、沪、穗三地"流动知青"的定性研究

“流动知青”并不是一般意义上的社会弱势群体,但由于某些现存社会制度内含的针对某些社会群体的社会歧视,该群体具有社会弱势群体的某些特征。随着市场经济的进一步发展和完善,目前尚处于边缘状态的“流动知青”将成为未来青年就业群体中的主流群体。中央政府应尽早着手建立不分城乡、不分区域、全国统一的社会保障体系。     

广西世居少数民族人口生活质量比较分析

广西各世居少数民族在健康和文化素质这两个反映人口生活质量的最基本方面存在较大的差异 ,从总体上看 ,少数民族人口生活质量偏低 ,最主要的原因是其人口文化素质低下 ,因此 ,大力发展少数民族教育事业 ,努力提高少数民族人口文化素质 ,是广西少数民族人口进入小康生活质量行列的关键所在     

全球化下的生活世界与中国文化的当代走向

当代生活世界的主题是全球化,中华民族的崛起在于文化上的自信,而中国文化所包含的传统和现代的两个方面各有所长。中国文化的复兴既不拘泥于传统文化的盲目自大,又不执迷于西方文明的物质主义,而应结合传统文化和当代生活世界的主题创生出自信的中国文化。     

Strengths,Limitations, and Recommendations for Instrumental Color Measurement in Forensic Soil Characterization

Color determination of soil evidence is often done by visual comparison to soil color charts. A handheld spectrophotometer was tested with representative materials for its suitability for forensic soil characterization. Instrumental colorimetry provides accurate colorimetry with ~10-fold better precision than a soil color chart. The minimum sample size for accurate color determination was between 0.02 and 0.04 mg of fine soil for the specific instrument tested. Reporting colors in the L*a*b* space permits quantification of ΔE₀₀, a measure of perceptible color difference, could enable objective quantification of small color differences and thresholds for forensic soil comparisons. A ΔE₀₀ greater than ~ 3.5 to 6 likely indicates disparate soil sources in a forensic comparison, in the absence of confounding factors like sample alteration. Despite the superior precision of instrumental colorimetry, this approach is inappropriate for samples which are mottled at an inseparable scale, attached to a substrate, or too small for instrumental measurement.     

Mites (Acari) as a Relevant Tool in Trace Evidence and Postmortem Analyses of Buried Corpses

This report interprets the presence of mite species in three clandestine graves in Europe, evaluating their potential use as trace evidence or markers. Grave 1 (Sweden): Two mite species Rhizoglyphus robini Claparède, 1869 and Parasitus loricatus (Wankel, 1861) were recovered from the surface of a body buried in a shallow grave in an area surrounded by trees, in close vicinity to house gardens. Grave 2 (Germany): Phoretic deutonymphs of Gamasodes spiniger (Trägårdh, 1910) were attached to an adult fly (Diptera: Sphaeroceridae) found within a shallow grave containing two human bodies covered in soil and dung. Grave 3 (France): P. loricatus were recovered from the soil around a body buried in a deep grave (80 cm under). In graves 1 and 3 both corpses were undergoing advanced decay and skeletization, the locations match with the subterranean habit of P. loricatus, highlighting the value of this species as a marker of graves or burials in soil and during late decomposition. R. robini is a soil mite that feeds on decayed roots and bulbs; this mite species confirms the location of the corpse within top soil, agreeing with a more specific type of superficial burial, a shallow grave. In case 2, the presence of both coprophiles, the mite G. spiniger and the carrier fly confirm association of remains with dung or animal feces. The three mite species are reported for the first time in human graves. There are no previous records of R. robini from Sweden.