Fingerprints as evidence for a genetic profile: morphological study on fingerprints and analysis of exogenous and individual factors affecting DNA typing

Material recovered from 374 fingerprints left by eleven laboratory workers on three different substrates (glass, wood, metal) at a standard pressure time of 30 s, with and without preliminary handwashing, was submitted to morphological, quantitative, and type analysis. Morphological and agarose-gel electrophoresis analysis showed that a non-negligible amount of epidermal corneal cells presented apoptotic alterations. The quantity of DNA recovered from fingerprints ranged between 0.04 to 0.2 ng, and in a significant number of experiments no DNA was detected. Handwashing reduced the amount of DNA recovered from fingerprints. The "shedder status" of the donor was a very important factor, causing inter-individual variations in the amount of DNA left by fingerprints. Spurious alleles from laboratory-based and secondary transfer contamination, stutters, and other artifacts described when analyzing low-copy-number DNA and capable of affecting correct profiles were observed.     

The Reform of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage: Implications for Governance of the Museum System

The Reform of Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (L.171/2014) has resulted in the restructuring of the Ministry and its organization, redefining the relations between the central and peripheral bodies and external stakeholders. The study is focused on the reform process that involves the Italian state museums highlighting the changes that led to a strengthening of the process of decentralization, streamlining tasks, and granting autonomy. The study begins with an analysis of the evolutionary path of public reforms in the museum sector and analyzes the law texts related to the Italian state museums through the network governance perspective.     

Masculinity,homosexuality and sport in an Islamic state of increasing homohysteria

Although a considerable degree of research has examined the intersection of masculinities, sexualities and sport in the West, this is the first article to address male homosexuality in sport within a Muslim context. To analyze the intersection of sport, masculinities and homosexuality we interview Ghazi, 20, a competitive male bodybuilder in Tunisia. We utilize his narrative to illustrate the similarities and differences between the construction of stigma in both the West and that of Muslim culture in Tunisia. Primarily, we highlight the profoundly negative representation of homosexuality in Tunisia, and the broader Islamic social world, and how it affects the construction and development of masculinity for this Muslim, gay athlete. We utilize Anderson’s notion of homohysteria to help situate the relationship between the expression of femininity and social perceptions of homosexuality in Tunisian culture, comparing it to the Western zeitgeist three decades earlier.