Significance of additional RFLP single locus probes analysis after STR based determination of sibship

Autosomal STR typing alone seems to be no sufficient tool for resolving deficiency cases (e.g. cases of questioned paternity or half-sibships). Therefore, we investigated whether the additional analysis of RFLP single locus probes can improve the solution of such complicated kinship cases. We analyzed 207 children and men from 101 families using the AmpFlSTRIdentifiler multiplex PCR kit and three RFLP single locus probes. A comparison between each child and all unrelated men resulted in 11,023 man / child pairs. Less than three excluding STRs were found in 125 child / unrelated man pairs (1.13%). Additional analysis of RFLP results reduced the number of ambiguous cases to 35. Half-sibling pairs were simulated using STR results from 20 cases with high paternity probabilities (group 1) and relatively low paternity probabilities (group 2). Using a commercially available computer program we calculated probabilities for 778 half-sibling pairs. In 35 pairs (4.49%) half-sibling probabilities over 90.0% could be calculated. Additional investigation of RFLP single locus probes did not lead to a more reliable evaluation of these results. The combined investigation of autosomal STRs and RFLP single locus probes can satisfactorily solve deficient paternities but does not contribute to the solution of questioned half-sibships.     

Response to Chemin and to Pitt

We reply to the discussion and criticisms of Matthieu Chemin (MC) and Mark Pitt (MP) to our paper ((Duvendack and Palmer-Jones (DPJ)) (all this issue). MC clarifies many issues which now make replication pure probable (but not yet achieved), and MP identifies a number of problems with DPJ (some of which are shared with Chemin, 2008). Chemin (2008) made at least one crucial undocumented and unrealistic assumption, and did not document many of his variable constructions. MP correctly identifies inappropriate members of control groups, and other problems, but his claim that his propensity score matching (PSM) results provide support for Pitt and Khandker's (1998 – PnK) most important claim is misleading as it is not robust. We see no reason to change our conclusion that PnK is limited as an evaluation of microfinance by a weak research design which cannot be convincingly mitigated by the sophisticated methods used in PnK, or by PSM.     

Contract Law in Common Law Countries: A Study in Divergence

Liverpool Law Review -     

The Cost of Crime and Violence in Five Latin American Countries

This paper provides evidence on the costs imposed by crime and violence in five Latin American countries: Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Paraguay and Uruguay. Crime and violence stand out as one of the major social challenges to be dealt with in Latin America. However, the incidence of crime (and thus its social and economic impact) varies among countries. Based on a common theoretical framework across all five countries, we use a costs-accounting methodology and find that the cost of criminality varies from a striking 10.5 % of GDP in Honduras to a moderate 2.5 % in Costa Rica. Also, by quantifying the different components of the cost equation separately, we provide insight on which felonies are more costly and which agents are burdened most heavily by these costs.     

Carbon monoxide poisoning from indoor barbecues--incidents reported to the German-speaking Poison Information Centers and the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) in Berlin

From 2008 to the end of 2009 the Joint Poison Information Center (PIC) in Erfurt observed 7 incidents involving 17 persons (1 fatality) with signs of carbon monoxide poisoning from indoor barbecues (COFIB). To find out whether COFIB is a regional or a general phenomenon in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, all information about COFIBs recorded by the 11 German-speaking Poison Information Centers and the BfR Berlin were retrospectively analyzed for the period 2000 to 2009. In all, 60 COFIBs (accidental: 90.0 %, suicidal: 8.3%, reason unknown: 1.7%) involving 146 individuals were reported. The number of incidents increased from one case with 2 persons in 2000 to 18 cases involving 34 persons in 2009. The 146 victims (female 26.7%, male 27.4%, gender unknown 45.9%; adults 58.2%, children 24.7%, age unknown 17.1%) lived in 15 of the 16 federal states of Germany and in Switzerland. The highest number of victims was found in Bavaria (23), Brandenburg (18), and Baden-Wuerttemberg (18). The symptoms according to the Poisoning Severity Score were none to mild in 60.3%, moderate in 13.7%, severe in 11.6%, fatal in 6.9% and unratable in 7.5%. No clear correlation was found between the carboxyhemoglobin concentration and the severity of the symptoms. As a rising number of COFIBs often involving several individuals was observed from 2000 to 2009, the general public was informed about the risks of indoor barbecues.     

Micro-Finance,Women’s Empowerment and Fertility Decline in Bangladesh: How Important Was Women’s Agency?

Abstract

As Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen has argued “[Bangladesh’s development achievements have] important lessons for other countries across the globe, [in particular a focus on] reducing gender inequality”. A major avenue through which this emphasis has been manifest lies, according to this narrative, in enhancements to women’s agency for instrumental and intrinsic reasons particularly through innovations in family planning and microfinance. The “Bangladesh paradox” of improved wellbeing despite low economic growth over the last four decades is claimed as a paradigmatic case of the spread of both modern family planning programmes and microfinance leading to women’s empowerment and fertility reduction. In this paper we show that the links between microfinance, empowerment and fertility reduction, are fraught with problems, and far from robust; hence the claimed causal links between microfinance and family planning via women’s empowerment needs to be further reconsidered.     

High Noon for Microfinance Impact Evaluations: Re-investigating the Evidence from Bangladesh

Recently, microfinance has come under increasing criticism raising questions of the validity of iconic studies which have justified it, such as Pitt and Khandker. Chemin applied propensity score matching to the Pitt and Khandker data, finding different impacts, but does not disaggregate by gender of borrower. We first replicate Chemin and extend his analysis in two ways. We test the robustness of propensity score matching results to selection on unobservables using sensitivity analysis, and we investigate propensity score matching estimates of impacts by gender of borrowers. The mainly insignificant impacts of microfinance differ greatly by gender of borrower, but are all vulnerable to selection on unobservables. We are therefore not convinced that the relationships between microfinance and outcomes are causal with these data.     

Anorectic sibutramine detected in a Chinese herbal drug for weight loss

In the presented case, a young healthy woman had ordered a Chinese herbal medicine, called "LiDa Dai Dai Hua Jiao Nang", via internet. She took this product for approximately 1 week, but on the second day she developed severe headache, vertigo and sensation of numbness. After discontinuing medication, symptoms disappeared within 2 days. For identification of the ingredients, a urine sample as well as a sample of the "LiDa" capsule were analysed by GC-MS and HPLC-DAD. One major ingredient was detected in urine as well as in the "LiDa" capsule and was identified as sibutramine. Quantification by HPLC-DAD yielded 27.4 mg sibutramine base, which is approximately two times the amount of the highest authorized single dose available on the pharmaceutical market in Germany. This case demonstrates a common problem with herbal medicines, where adulterations with synthetic therapeutic substances can lead to severe side effects and/or potentially fatal interactions with conventional medicines.