Identification in blood stains through DNA typing with C4 and HLA-DR probes

A restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis using double digestion of DNA preparations with XbaI and BglII restriction enzymes and hybridization with C4 and HLA-DR probes is described. The typing conditions selected reveal extensive individual variation in both C4 and DR gene regions. In our panel of 46 unrelated individuals, 37 different phenotypic patterns were recognized when both probes were used, and preliminary discriminative power values of 0.865 and 0.914 were calculated for C4 and DR beta, respectively. The probability of a chance match using both systems is probably about 1.5.10(-2). The potential of this method for individual identification of blood stains was demonstrated on DNA prepared from 6-month-old dried blood stains from seven panel individuals. The seven individuals were all identified when comparing stain DNA patterns with panel control patterns. No RFLP pattern changes were observed following storage of blood stains. Based on these experiments with C4 and DR beta DNA typing under laboratory conditions, it is concluded that DNA typing with such probes may become a powerful tool in future stain identification analyses.     

O& M : A new look at one of the older professions

Any evaluation of O&M should be based on the constraints of its “real world” problem-solving environment, as well as the character of techniques of data collection and project analysis. The demands of several conflicting roles, time pressures, and internal and external conflicts all influence, even bias, the problem-solving process. Traditional scientific management methods and techniques of social science research are used, but both have serious problems either of logic or of applicability to OU's needs. Given the circumstances and problems, O&M analysts can only “satisfice”, relying heavily on informed insight based on the best available methods. Recognizing that O&M is not research or scientific, improvement must come by concern for selecting techniques better suited to Om's needs, better project planning, and more flexible study execution.     

Can women fly?: Vonda McIntyre's Dreamsnake and Sally Gearhart's The Wanderground

In this article Vonda McIntyre and Sally Gearhart have been chosen to represent two different trends in recent speculative fiction written by women: the books written by feminist writers to whom writing comes first, and those by feminists who write because they have a message they want to express. According to traditional literary and critical norms, the former group of writers write fiction, the latter propaganda. The question posed by the article is this: what is one to do if the conclusions reached through literary analysis are very different from the emotional quality of one's reading experience?     

The evolution of suburban relative housing-unit diversity

The diversity of housing-unit supply in suburban areas has been a central concern for planners and policy makers for at least 50 years. Absence of census cross-tabulation data on housing unit structure-type by unit-size (number of bedrooms), has limited our understanding of the historical and regional evolution of relative suburban housing-unit diversity. I use census microdata to estimate measures of relative housing diversity between cities and suburbs, including the housing-unit portfolio compositions, and availability ratios of diverse housing-unit types. Data are presented for the US, regions, metropolitan areas, and across different time periods. Effects of housing-unit supply on household structure and location are estimated. Results indicate that suburban areas, while growing in terms of the absolute number of diverse housing units constructed, are relatively undersupplying diverse housing units, thereby constraining households’ housing opportunities.