Considering Mixed Mode Surveys for Questions in Political Behavior: Using the Internet and Mail to Get Quality Data at Reasonable Costs

Telephone surveys have been a principle means of learning about the attitudes and behaviors of citizens and voters. The single mode telephone survey, however, is increasingly threatened by rising costs, the declining use of landline telephones, and declining participation rates. One solution to these problems has been the introduction of mixed-mode surveys. However, such designs are relatively new and questions about their representativeness and the intricacies of the methodology remain. We report on the representativeness of a post election mixed-mode (Internet and mail) survey design of 2006 general election voters. We compare sample respondent means to sample frame means on key demographic characteristics and examine how mail and Internet respondents differed in terms of attitudes, behaviors and demographics. We find that overall the Internet respondents were representative of the population and that respondent choice of mode did not influence item response. We conclude that mixed-mode designs may allow researchers to ask important questions about political behavior from their desktops.     

Genetic data on 12 STRs (F13A01, F13B,FESFPS, LPL,CSF1PO,TPOX, TH01, vWA,D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, D5S818) from four ethnic groups of São Paulo,Brazil

Allelic frequencies for 12 short tandem repeats (STRs) (F13A01, F13B, FESFPS, LPL, CSF1PO, TPOX, TH01, vWA, D16S539, D7S820, D13S317 and D5S818) were estimated, also as forensic parameters, from a sample of 916 unrelated Brazilian subjects classified into four ethnic groups: European-derived, African-derived, Brazilian Mulattos and Asian-derived.     

Development of a heptaplex PCR system to analyse X-chromosome STR loci from five Italian population samples. A collaborative study

Many X-chromosome short tandem repeats (X-STRs) have been validated for forensic use even if further studies are needed on allele frequencies and mutation rates to evaluate the extent of polymorphism in different populations and to establish reference databases useful for forensic applications and for anthropological studies. A single multiplex reaction of seven X-STRs, which includes the DXS6789, HUMARA, DXS10011, DXS7423, HPRTB, DXS6807, DXS101 loci, is presented and their allele frequency distribution in a large population sample including 556 subjects (268 females and 288 males) analysed by five forensic laboratories of Central and Northern Italy is shown. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of a single amplification/detection reaction involving seven markers of the X chromosome, which can be fruitfully used in complex kinship analysis.     

Discrimination between human and animal DNA: application of a duplex polymerase chain reaction to forensic identification

Identification of a report's species is one of the basic analyses in forensic laboratories. The authors report the case of 6 bone fragments recovered in a wooded area, which were not attributable to 1 animal species on the basis of morphologic examination. The aim of this study was to develop a duplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to discriminate human and animal origin of bone fragments. The method is based on the PCR amplification of cytochrome b and a 16S ribosomal mitochondrial DNA fragment, which has never been tested up to now. Our protocol combines a single-round PCR with direct visualization of amplicons in agarose gel, without sequencing analysis of the PCR products. The presence of a single band (359 bp) indicates a nonhuman origin of the sample, whereas 2 bands (157 and 359 bp) indicate a human biologic sample.This method revealed to be useful for forensic purposes because the 16S ribosomal mitochondrial DNA is a small human-specific fragment that is easily amplifiable even with degraded DNA from biologic materials such as old bones.     

Infrastructural state capacity in the digital age: What drives the performance of COVID-19 tracing apps?

In a context where states increasingly complement their physical presence with digital means, the classic idea of infrastructural state power needs reconsideration. The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unparalleled opportunity to that end, given the uniformity of one type of digital infrastructural intervention—the offer of contact tracing apps- and its highly varying performance across geographies. Against this backdrop, the article seeks to expand traditional discussions on state infrastructural power by testing a series of propositions on the explanatory factors behind tracing apps' emergence and adoption rates. The findings stemming from a pool of 150 countries show no straightforward connection between traditional and digital forms of infrastructural power. They also point at the primacy of governmental trust over financial, institutional, and technological factors—including privacy standards—when explaining high adoption, suggesting that the relational aspect of infrastructural power acquires a proportionally greater weight in the digital era.     

Development of two new Mini-STR multiplex assay for typing archival Bouin's fluid-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues

Short amplicon autosomal short tandem repeat (Mini-STR) assay has proved to be a highly useful tool in forensic applications, especially for highly degraded DNA samples that typically result in partial profiles and total loss of information from regular STR amplicons.In this study two new quadruplex systems were designed to get nuclear DNA profile from degraded forensic casework samples. In order to obtain PCR products less than 120 bp in size, primer pairs of eight STR markers, included in available commercially multiplex PCR kits, were redesigned and assembled in two PCR-multiplexes: D8S1179, D3S1358, TPOX, D16S539 and CSF1P0, TH01, D13S317, D5S818.After validation, these two Mini-STR quadruplex were employed in paternity testing case that involved DNA extraction from archival postmortem Bouin's fluid-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue where commercial kit yielded low success. The results obtained with the present Mini-STR PCR-multiplexes proved clearly demonstrating their usefulness in analyzing degraded DNA samples.