Applications of Forensic Evidence in Criminal Cases

In 2003, Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney proposed a plan for an infallible death penalty that required irrefutable scientific evidence, effectively removing any doubt regarding potential innocence in death penalty cases. Forensic science encompasses many scientific disciplines including natural sciences and pattern analysis, but not all such areas experience equal amounts of general acceptance or influence in criminal cases. While DNA analysis and fingerprint identification using the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) are both widely accepted forensic applications, recent events expose concerns regarding the authenticity of other disciplines such as hair and bite mark comparison. Before policymakers address the issue of a reinstated death penalty, they must carefully consider the merits of forensic science as well as the potential dangers. Existing issues and a history of wrongful convictions aided by flawed forensic testimony necessitate further investigation and critical analysis of forensic disciplines and the application of forensic evidence in criminal cases

Mass Shootings and the Media: How Race and Ethnicity Influence Media Coverage

Topics related to crime and the criminal justice system comprise a majority of topics discussed in the media. This study explores how media coverage of mass shootings varies based on the racial or ethnic identity of the shooter. Topics examined include popular beliefs and misconceptions about the race of mass murderers, the role mass media plays in influencing public perceptions about race and crime related topics, and the alarming rate at which the public recognizes and accepts the media as a reliable source of information when official data sources provide a much different picture. Further analysis of the Columbine High School massacre and Virginia Tech shooting provides a more targeted and detailed examination of how the media dealt with the issue of race when reporting on these two shootings. Additional research focusing on a larger selection of mass shootings is needed to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the problem in its entirety. Regardless, the mass media’s representation of a shooter’s race and ethnicity has serious policy implications for the criminal justice system and public intergroup relations, indicating that extensive changes in how the media reports information surrounding these events are required

The Role of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Blood Pressure Regulation and Secondhand Smoke-Induced Vascular Dysfunction

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) may lower cardiovascular disease risk by reducing blood pressure (BP). We hypothesized that fat-1 transgenic mice, which convert n-6 PUFAs to n-3 PUFAs, would have improved vascular function in BP regulation and following secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure, compared to wild type (WT) mice. BP was recorded in mice fed an n-6 PUFA, or standard chow diet. On the n-6 PUFA diet fat-1 mice had a lower mean arterial pressure and a greater decrease in diastolic BP when treated with an ACE inhibitor, compared to WT mice. No differences were observed on the chow diet. Next, fat-1 mice on the n-6 PUFA or chow diet were exposed to SHS. SHS enhanced vasoconstriction on the n-6 PUFA diet, but not on chow, but did not affect vasorelaxation. These data suggest n-3 PUFAs have a protective role in basal BP regulation and SHS-induced vascular dysfunction

The Solitary Place Shall Be Glad for Them: Understanding and Treating Mormon Pioneer Gardens as Cultural Landscapes

The gardens of early Mormon pioneers are a unique cultural resource in the western United States, but little guidance has been provided for understanding or providing landscape treatments for Mormon landscapes. Mormon pioneers came to Utah and the Great Basin to escape religious persecution and build their own holy kingdom. In relative geographical isolation, they built towns that have a distinctive character delineating a Mormon cultural region in the West. Self-sufficiency was an important feature of these towns and of the religious culture of early Mormons, both because of their geographical isolation and their desire to be independent of the world, which they viewed as wicked. This emphasis on self-sufficiency made gardens and gardening an important part of every household, encouraged by religious leaders and individual need. The cultural and personal preferences of individuals did influence the style and contents of Mormon pioneer gardens, but perhaps not to the extent that the religious culture of self-sufficiency did. When managing or treating Mormon pioneer landscapes or gardens, it is helpful to start by assessing any historic features that still exist. Then, the property owner or manager can choose one of the standard landscape treatments of preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, or reconstruction, or opt for some combination of these treatments. Because Mormon pioneers brought plants from all over the world, a large selection of heirloom plants may be suitable for historic Mormon landscapes. A few historic plants are no longer appropriate in Western landscapes because of ecological concerns such as invasiveness or water efficiency, but substitutions for these plants can be found by considering the plant\u27s form, function, and meaning in the historic landscape

A Functional Genomics Approach to Overwintering Mechanisms in Insects

Insects living in temperate and polar environments have developed numerous adaptations to increase survival at low temperatures. A majority of insects are freeze-intolerant and die from internal ice formation, but some are freeze-tolerant and can survive ice formation in extracellular spaces. Both categories of insects prepare for winter with a combination of seasonal and rapid acclimation responses, which differ both in time course and in underlying mechanisms. In this dissertation, I examine adaptations for winter survival in several insect species with a specific focus on molecular mechanisms. To better understand the underpinning mechanisms of these adaptations, I leverage functional genomics approaches and tools. In my first research chapter, I established a cell culture system for studying rapid cold hardening (RCH) in Drosophila S2 cells. RCH is a process whereby a brief non-lethal exposure to cold greatly increases survival to a subsequent cold shock. Tissues are capable of undergoing RCH ex vivo, indicating that RCH is largely regulated at the cellular level. In my work, I demonstrated that cultured Drosophila S2 cells are also capable of RCH, which opens the door to use cell culture tools to identify the cell signaling mechanisms that underly RCH. In my second research chapter, I characterized transcriptomic responses during distinct stages of reproductive diapause in the lady beetle Hippodamia convergens. Diapause is a programmed period of dormancy for surviving adverse seasons, and in the case of H. convergens, diapause creates challenges for its use as a biological control agent. Diapausing females either leave fields upon release or remain close by without feeding. Characterizing the molecular regulation of diapause may facilitate strategies to manipulate diapause in this economically important species. Further, molecular studies of diapause are currently dominated by studies in Diptera, so my work will contribute fundamental insights into the evolutionary physiology of diapause. For this study, I assembled and annotated a de novo transcriptome for H. convergens and found that diapause is accompanied by the upregulation of genes involved in locomotion to facilitate dispersal to overwintering grounds and by the downregulation of genes regulating reproduction. In my third research chapter, I identified molecular processes specific to freezing by comparing gene expression profiles in frozen and supercooled larvae of Belgica antarctica larvae. This Antarctic species is freeze-tolerant, and in wet conditions, larvae freeze due to inoculation from ice crystals in the environment, while in dry conditions, larvae supercool their internal fluids to avoid freezing. These dual strategies offer a rare opportunity to directly compare gene expression changes following both freezing and supercooling, a commonly used strategy for freeze-intolerant species. Despite the challenges associated with ice formation, freezing did not elicit greater overall levels of differential expression or stronger expression of antioxidant and detoxification genes than supercooling. These results indicated that gene expression changes are largely driven by changes in temperature rather than ice formation. Overall, my dissertation highlights that while insect overwintering appears passive on the surface, it is regulated by a dynamic web of gene expression, protein function, and hormone signaling. Furthermore, while some molecular hallmarks are shared across species, overwintering mechanisms can be highly unique to individual species. Thus, continuing to advance understanding of insect overwintering mechanisms will require careful coordination of study species, methodological approaches, and thorough data analysis. Together, my work provides critical insights into how insects survive winter at the molecular level

Diagnosis and Long-term Management of Uromodulin Kidney Disease

Uromodulin kidney disease (UKD) is a subtype of autosomal dominant tubulointerstitial kidney disease (ADTKD), and is a rare cause of renal failure and gout in young people. Although it is inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion, the gene mutation exhibits variable expressivity so the phenotype varies dramatically among affected individuals. While it is rare, it is important for physicians in the primary care setting to be able to recognize the disorder, initiate proper workup, and refer patients to nephrology teams that are equipped to manage the long-term needs of these patients. Eventually, most will progress to renal failure with necessary renal dialysis or kidney transplant. Kidney transplant is curative as the new kidney does not have the defective tubule cell gene. The case series that follows highlights the variable presentations of the disorder among members of the same family and the necessary long-term follow-up that will often be handled by the primary care provider in conjunction with the specialist team

Drug Predictive Cues Activate Aversion-Sensitive Striatal Neurons That Encode Drug Seeking

Drug-associated cues have profound effects on an addict’s emotional state and drug-seeking behavior. Although this influence must involve the motivational neural system that initiates and encodes the drug-seeking act, surprisingly little is known about the nature of such physiological events and their motivational consequences. Three experiments investigated the effect of a cocaine-predictive stimulus on dopamine signaling, neuronal activity, and reinstatement of cocaine seeking. In all experiments, rats were divided into two groups (paired and unpaired), and trained to self-administer cocaine in the presence of a tone that signaled the immediate availability of the drug. For rats in the paired group, self-administration sessions were preceded by a taste cue that signaled delayed drug availability. Assessments of hedonic responses indicated that this delay cue became aversive during training. Both the self-administration behavior and the immediate cue were subsequently extinguished in the absence of cocaine. After extinction of self-administration behavior, the presentation of the aversive delay cue reinstated drug seeking. In vivo electrophysiology and voltammetry recordings in the nucleus accumbens measured the neural responses to both the delay and immediate drug cues after extinction. Interestingly, the presentation of the delay cue simultaneously decreased dopamine signaling and increased excitatory encoding of the immediate cue. Most importantly, the delay cue selectively enhanced the baseline activity of neurons that would later encode drug seeking. Together these observations reveal how cocaine cues can modulate not only affective state, but also the neurochemical and downstream neurophysiological environment of striatal circuits in a manner that promotes drug seeking

What Are the Implications of Ageing and Demographic Change in Rwanda?

Having made rapid improvements in life expectancy and fertility as a result of significant investments in the health system and reductions in poverty, Rwanda faces the positive prospects of a ‘demographic dividend’. However, the projected growth in the number of older people over the next 30 years will present significant challenges. Alongside this, other changes resulting from rapid urbanisation and a growth in employment opportunities will affect how the government will support an ageing population and a changing demographic, especially in the area of social protection. Evidence from in-depth research suggests that a non-contributory social pension is feasible and affordable both now and in the future. This would help to significantly reduce poverty amongst older people over the coming years

Industry’s Colonization of Psychiatry: Ethical and Practical Implications of Financial Conflicts of Interest in the DSM-5

The revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), scheduled for publication in May 2013 by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), has created a firestorm of controversy because of questions about undue industry influence. Specifically, concerns have been raised about financial conflicts of interest between DSM-5 panel members and the pharmaceutical industry. The authors argue that current approaches to the management of these relationships, particularly transparency of them, are insufficient solutions to the problem of industry’s capture of organized psychiatry. The conceptual framework of institutional corruption is used to understand psychiatry’s dependence on the pharmaceutical industry and to identify the epistemic assumptions that ground the DSM’s biopsychiatric discourse. APA’s rationale for including Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) in the DSM-5 as a Mood Disorder is reviewed and discussed